miscoupling
you were everything, everything that i wanted, we were meant to be, supposed to be, but we lost it, and all of our memories so close to me just fade away, all this time you were pretending, so much for my happy ending. -"my happy ending" by avril lavigne
Right smack from the beginning of the series, it seems almost virtually impossible that these two would actually hit it off. They're introduced as the All Hanjin-Kyojin (the dwarf and the giant), the comedic group. You can easily tell that they're out to get eachother's necks, no matter how pointless their argument is. Their teacher seems to assume they are lovers, but everytime they are accused, they bite back at the same time. Anyway, despite this, both of them have to attend summer school for whatever reason - mostly because they're falling a little behind. This is where we meet the entire cast of characters - from Chiharu, Nobu, Nakao, and Suzuki. The key players in the Love*Com saga. Risa seems almost hopeless at finding a guy her height (since that's her particular preference, rather than Otani, the "shorty"), not until Suzuki comes along, who's about 1-2 inches taller than her. She instantly falls in love, and Otani notices this almost as instantly as it happens.The two walk home together that same day we first meet Suzuki, but they walk home with business in mind. Otani asks Risa about her crush on Suzuki, and Otani offers a deal: If he can become friends with Suzuki and invite him to the pool, Risa, in return, has to invite Chiharu, because Otani has fallen hard for her. Of course, almost instantly, she agrees! The pool scene with Risa and Otani is where we begin to see some sort of.. "spark" happening between themselves, instead of having a "spark" with the ones they intend to be with.
At the pool, Risa and Otani seem to be other only ones ecstatic, and run in usion to the water, completely forgetting who they're with! After that, though, Risa and Suzuki are alone, while Otani and Chiharu are along. Things "seem" to be going "well", but for some reason, Risa can't make a proper conversation with Suzuki! The atmosphere around the guy, in general, is kinda awkward. Just when she is about to give up, Otani hits her with a ball, saving her from near embarassment of "giving up". He reassures her, making her feel alot more comfortable:
"Just be yourself, Koizumi, act normal!"Just after they play ball, Nobu and Nakao go missing, but are seen right after wards, riding down a large water slide. Risa and Otani are dying to go, but Chiharu and Suzuki refuse, so the two go off and ride together. :) It's safe to say that this is the first time they look like a couple. When they are confronted with "You two are getting along well." - They instantly eat eachother's heads off, eachother with, "You did it again!! This is your fault!!" "Oh no, we did it again!" After this scene, we see all of them talking with their "significant other" and Otani/Chiharu seems to be going well. Risa glances over at Otani (who seems to be "curing" Chiharu of her guy-phobia) and says to herself:
"He really is an amazing guy."Something alarming happens though - but on Risa seems to notice. When going home, Suzuki and Chiharu are going the same direction! Otani assumes this is only because they live in the same direction, and Risa decides to walk home with Otani. Both seem pretty pumped and optimistic at their first "double date" with the people they want to be with, but the next morning, just as Risa suspected, Suzuki walked her all the way home. At first it doesn't seem like Chiharu isn't really into Suzuki, but on the other hand, Suzuki seems to take a liking to her. When Risa asks Chiharu about how she feels about Otani, she simply replies: "He's so short and easy to talk to, I don't see him as a guy!" Coincidentally, Otani is standing right there when she says it, and runs, saying his name is "Kotani" (tiny) instead of "Otani" (big).
Risa follows him (*gasp*) and he doesn't seem to want a pep talk, but almost instantly, they start to argue. Risa tells him: "So she said you're small, big deal! Be a man about it!" And he replies back with "She's saying i'm not a man BECAUSE i'm small!" Then WHAM. Risa punches him, and tells him that he's been called that all the time, so he should be used to it, and couldn't possibly be scarred for life just because one girl said that about him. Risa calls him pathetic and walks off, while he nurses his red cheek, "You really hurt me where it hurts, amazon."
Right after, Risa runs into Suzuki, and they have a casual conversation until Suzuki asks her: "Am I scary?" -- Worried for Chiharu's sake. He begins to ask about Chiharu, and Risa explains that Chiharu is a little scared of guys, in general. A little hope sparks when he tells her that he's not so good at talking to girls, but it's different when he talks to Risa, because she's so tall she doesn't seem like a girl. The expression on Risa' face is priceless: "Where have I heard that reason before? (Refering to Chiharu and Otani) Risa's suspicions are true! Suzuki is falling for Chiharu, which gives her no chance to have a shot at Suzuki! Suzuki denies it, but is obviously very red. Risa breaks down and cries in frustration, as Otani approaches her, seemingly happy again. Now she has Otani's pain from before hit back at her! With the same action, Otani punches her in the face, and tells her to not give up, and repeats the speech that Risa had given Otani moments before. Feeling better for one another, and working together to get who they want, Otani smiles at Risa, telling her:
"Hey, i'm really glad I had you around today. 'Cause if I didn't, i'd have just stayed really bummed out."Risa thinks:
"This guy really pisses me off sometimes. But I probably understand his feelings better than anyone else. Our problems are the exact opposite, but we both have the same complex: our height."Around the second chapter of the first book, we can see them being matched up by Nobu - they say things simultaneously, on impulse! Both refuse the thought, but don't even think about the "secret meetings" they have concerning Chiharu and Suzuki. One afternoon, however, Nobu, Chiharu, Risa, and Suzuki are watching Otani play basketball, and seeing at how hard he tries at his sport, Risa is actually quite impressed, and decides to walk home with Otani instead, planning to apologize to him, for always calling him small fry.
Otani: "It was embarassing for Chiharu to see how much pathetic I was! The teacher kept yelling at me!"Otani tries to pump Risa up about Suzuki, but she remembers that Suzuki has it hot for Chiharu, and the feeling is mutual, as told to her by Nobu (which is actually true). Without telling Otani this, she's thinking of the pain he might be going through, since his complex is much worse than his. Otani tells Risa about the summer festival, and urges her to invite Chiharu, while he invite Suzuki.
Risa: "Speaking of that old man, what's his problem!? It really pisses me off how he calls you little kiddo!"
Otani: "I know right?! I would've scored if it wasn't for his yelling! Just bececause i'm small, im trying to jump as high as I can! He better remember that! For Chiharu to see me in a pathetic, embarassing situation.. this is really bad.." Risa: "Is that so? I thought you were rather cool!"
Otani: "..There you go! Trying to tease me again!"
Risa: "No really.. you were very cool-looking!"
At the summer festival, as soon as Risa arrives to see Otani, he is awestruck and blushes, staring at Risa in a yukata. She seems to not notice his flushed look, but is worried she looks weird in the yukata. And just as soon as Chiharu and Suzuki arrive, they are already acting as if it was a date! Both Otani and Risa are shaken up by this, but they both agree to give up on Suzuki and Chiharu, having fun for the rest of the night. They actually seem to act like a couple, running together and whatnot, but what really sets it on fire is when Risa almost loses Otani, and Otani, ticked off that she couldn't find him, aggressively takes her hand and walks her off with him. People begin to talk about them being a couple, and their hands tear away instantly. In conclusion, the two had more fun with eachother than with Suzuki and Chiharu, who have a hard time trying to get together, but with Otani and Risa's help, they end up going out.
Afterwards, Risa and Otani make a bet: Whoever gets a boyfriend/girlfriend before the other has to treat the other to whatever they want! Of course, neither of them want to lose.