Drop Kick
by Ootsuka Yumi
7 Chapters - 2 volumes
Ran from January 1998-July 1998
Vol. 1 released September 14, 1998

Thanks to a very kind person who provided me with this synopsis of the first chapter of Drop Kick.
    Kotobuki (16) was a the only daughter of the president of Saotome International, a very wealthy and well known company. It starts with New Years Day 1998, Kotobuki and two of her servants were visiting a Shinto shrine. As part of the visit she took out an omikuji, (a kinda of fortune telling lucky dip). Unfortunately she took out one which had extremely bad luck on it while her servants on the other hand picked out extremely good luck. Kotobuki was very upset and demanded that she should be given another omikuji, the second time was also extremely bad luck, and as the manga said "this is when all the trouble begins". In the next few secpnds Kotobuki stepped on dog doodle, had her (head?)smashed by a flying soccer ball and one really big thing which nailed her coffin.  When Kotobuki returned back home she discovered that her father's company had gone bankrupt and they will have to move to a smaller house minus all the luxurious furnitures. Kotobuki was of course extremely distressed, she tried to hide it from her friends as much as possible, seeing that it would be a great humiliation to find out the idol of the school had become, if not poor, pretty close to it. BTW Soushiro goes to the same school as  Kotobuki, he's the only son of a wealthy businessman like Kotobuki herself. Anyway, the next day, Kotobuki hasn't eaten in a while, since her mother isn't the greatest cook in the world and the fact no one in her family seems to understand that they're broke was annoying her. She came across a Ramen shop, as a rich girl she had never even tasted something so common, but desperation and extreme hunger forced to walk in and order something (she was also fully disguised, just in case anyone saw her).  While enjoying her bowlful of Ramen, Soushiro came in, and the shocked Kotobuki sprayed her mouthful of ramen onto his face (a little too graphic? :))
Part 2 (February 1998): She left pretty quickly, after exchanging some harsh words, and accidentally left her wallet there.  Soushirou picks it up, and the next day he makes a deal with Kotobuki-he'll pay her to pretend to be his girlfriend.
This is pretty hard because she doesn't like Soushirou at all, I think because of something he did in the first chapter, which I don't have.  When they walk together after school, eveybody comments on how good they are together, while they try to keep realistic smiles on their faces.  They get into Soushirou's limo and Kotobuki thinks that maybe Soushirou likes her.  She moves a little closer to Soushirou and says something and is brutally shot down when Soushirou just says "Get away".
Part 3 (March 1998): They go to Soushirou's grandmother's house to have supper or tea or something.  The grandmother seems pretty rude, saying thst it's nice that Soushirou has a girlfriend even if she looks like an idiot.  Kotobuki gets angry and reveals who she is(I don't know why it's a big deal)and her and Granny get into a shouting match.  Finally Kotobuki runs away,  and Soushirou follows her, really pissed that she messed up the act.  She explains(I think) and Soushirou stops looking angry.  Then while Kotobuki keeps going, she trips on a stair and knock herself out.  When she comes to, she's in a big bed in the Granny's mansion but...she's not alone.  Soushirou is sleeping beside her!  She screams and Soushirou wakes up and she asks why they were sleeping in the same bed.  I think Soushirou says tthat it's his bed and she never even opened her eyes anyways.  Kotobuki calls Soushirou a lech while he tries to go back to sleep.  She says she's going home. Then he remembers something and tells Kotobuki that they called her house yesterday.  She's stunned by this, and Soushirou thiks it's because her house is something.  Kotobuki says not at all, and opens the bedroom door to find Granny at the door.  She slams the door shut, while Granny asks why she's in Soushirou's room.  Kotobuki runs over to the window and says Bye to Soushirou before he can warn her-the room is on the third floor.  Kotobuki manages to get away(very much worse for the wear) from the servants chasing after her, while Granny looks out the window and sees she's escaped.  She says Kotobuki is very fast.  Soushirou thinks something nice(I guess, there are those romance bubbles around his head, you know what I mean).  Kotobuki limps home and feels really bad that she made everyone worry so much.  When she finally gets in, she creeps in the door, only to find everyone sleeping peacefully and unworriedly(hah, new word).  She doesn't feel guilty anymore, pretty much the opposite ^_^ while Soushirou is given a lecture from his grandmother.  I think she says something he wasn't expecting, like he has to stay with Kotobuki because he chose her.  Those two scenes end March's chapter.
 
Part 4 (April 1998): Kotobuki goes to the ramen shop again and Arima forgets her name.  He tells her that if she can eat a big bowl of ramen in under 20 minutes, she gets 10000 yen.  He says, he's so sure she can't do it, he'll bet 20000 yen instead.  Big mistake.  She accepts and Arima places a huge bowl in front of her.  Kotobuki finishes in a minute
 and 28 seconds, in front of the awed customers and a grossed out Arima.  Kotobuki asks if she can work there and the owner says yes, because he can tell she loves ramen.  She's happy, but then Soushirou walks in and she remembers about him.  She tells him she's just going to work as a volunteer,  and he says she's really changed.  She asks what he means, and he says she's different from the girls at school.  Then he give her a message from his grandma: Please visit again.  Kotobuki is stunned and says she thought she would never be allowed there again, and Soushirou says it seems that his grandma changed her mind.  He says it's strange but his grandma has seemed a lot more cheerful since Kotobuki was there, like she's found a new reason to live, because she has to educate Kotobuki to be a good bride for Soushirou.  Then he thanks Kotobuki because it's been a long time since his grandma was so lively.  Kotobuki is surprised at how nice he can be, and then asks if perhaps he's a "grandma's boy".  Soushirou chokes on his ramen and spits it out onto Kotobuki's face.  Then Arima corrects Kotobuki, saying it's not "baa-chan ko" but "babacon", a grandmother complex.  Soushirou's parents were really busy, so his grandma raised him for the most part.  Before he can say anymore, Soushirou tells him to shut up or else, and starts shouting at him after Arima says he's being shy.  Kotobuki thinks to herself that now she knows Soushirou's true character and she'll never be afraid of him.  She's glad, and then wonders why it matters to her.
    Later, she's walking over a bridge, thinking of what she'll do with the prize money, when the
wind takes it out of her hand and it floats into the river.  Some passersby stop her from jumping in after it.
 
    Part 5 (May 1998): Her first day working, Arima pushes her pretty hard.  Another part-timer, who hasn't been working in a while comes in.  Her name's Machiko, and she's amazing: incredibly fast at cleaning, greeting guests, doing dishes, whatever(but not very attractive).  It almost seems like she's trying not to let Kotobuki do anything, so they end up fighting over a customer and then breaking a whole pile of dishes trying to outdo each other.  Arima yells at them and tells them they're fired.  Kotobuki is upset and turns to Machiko to sympathize, but Machiko has fainted!  A while later, she wakes up on a park bench next to Kotobuki.  She confesses that she didn't like Kotobuki because she seemed to be well-liked in the store and she was jealous.  She says she's never had the courage to confess her love, and gets up to leave. Kotobuki says she has to confess, and drags her back to the restaurant. Arima asks if they've thought about what they did, but is cut off by Kotobuki, who tells him that Machiko has something really important to say to him and he'd better say "OK" to it.  He's cowering a bit, and Machiko has trouble getting the words out, but finally she confesses to the old man that she's always liked him(bet you didn't see that one coming).  Everything seems okay at the store, but elsewhere, Soushirou has just read something in the newspaper that alarms him.
 
Part 6 (June 1998):  Soushirou reads an article in the paper announcing Soushirou's betrothal to some heiress and gets really mad.  At school, everybody treats Kotobuki with sympathy because they think her heart is broken, but she doesn't know why, and yells at Soushirou he tells her.  She asks if his grandma did it, and he says no, maybe his father did.  Kotobuki thinks he won't go to the betrothal party, but he says he will.  Later, she's depressed at work and Arima tells her not to worry about Soushirou, which makes her get mad at him.  Then, on the TV in the restaurant, she sees her dad announce to everybody that her family is poor!  She runs home and scolds her parents, who say that they don't mind being poor.  Kotobuki gets really mad and runs out of the house, ending up at the house where the betrothal party is being held.  Soushirou sees her outside and goes to talk to her.  She's really upset and Soushirou comforts her.

Part 7 (July 1998): Kotobuki and Soushirou are talking outside at his betrothal part, and Soushirou seems about to make a declaration when Soushirou is called inside by his dad.  Soushirou says he has to be more independent of his family as well and tells Kotobuki to watch.  He goes inside and tells his father that he's not going to marry that girl or continue the company, and he came to the party just to say that.  Kotobuki can't hear outside and stumbles inside just as Soushirou turns to leave.  Soushirou's dad recognizes her and starts insulting Kotobuki and her family, and then offers Kotobuki money to leave Soushirou alone!  Kotobuki slaps him and says maybe her family is poor but at least her dad doesn't use her to further his business career, and her family loves each other.  Soushirou's dad calls security but Soushirou stops him, saying he thinks he's acting contemptibly(I think^_^).  Then he and Kotobuki run out, with Soushirou's grandma looking on approvingly and his dad unbelievingly. His dad cries out that he onl;y wanted Soushirou to be happy, and his grandma says she understands now why Soushirou likes Kotobuki.  Her butler or something says she's just like her when she was younger, which at first she denies, saying she wasn't so vulgar.  The butler repeats that she was just like that, and Grandma says then surely Kotobuki will do well.
 Kotobuki and Soushirou are outside talking, and Kotobuki asks him to continue what he was going to say, which turns out not to be a confession.  Later, though, they get romantic again and almost kiss but are interrupted by Kotobuki's family out looking for her.  There's a happy reunion, and Soushirou goes back home with them.
 A couple days later, their servant runs in with a lottery ticket saying they won the lottery.  Kotobuki, having decided again that she hates being poor, starts celebrating...until Soushirou examines the ticket and discovers it's from last year...
THE END

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