Kako Motoya/Relationships

Kako and Kota first meet at a mixer party intended for adults, which Kako and Mikado had snuck into, pretending to be 22-year-old college students.

While the adults around her (and Mikado) are getting wasted, Kako notices that Kota keeps staring at her. This initially creeps her out slightly, but when Kota saves her from having to take a shot of tequila, she brushes off her suspicions. When the party is over and its participants are getting ready to go continue their night elsewhere, Kako quickly offers her thanks to Kota by giving him a non-alcoholic drink from the vending machine. She then tries to hurry away from the scene, however, Kota offers to walk her home, which she out of politeness cannot refuse. On their way home, Kota asks Kako if there is anyone she is seeing at the moment, which Kako's quick to deny, exclaiming that if she had a boyfriend she would not have come to a mixer. Kota is relieved by this, which surprises her. He goes on to explain that he believes that Kako is a good person. Her respectful and responsible behaviour throughout the night had cought his attention, and he expresses that he would like to befriend her. However, their pleasant conversation comes to a screeching halt when Kota asks Kako how long she has lived in Oto, and she accidentally reveals her real age. After this, he immediately gets angry with her and sends her home with the next taxi he can catch, scolding her for acting so foolishly.

The next day, Kako and Mikado share Kako's bike on their way to school. They talk about the happenings of the previous night, but soon Mikado spots a police officer nearby. Knowing that it is illegal for two people to ride on the same bike, she quickly tries to hop off it, but the girls get stopped by the officer. As Kako and Mikado turn around to apologize bitterly, they notice that the officer is in fact Kota, who also recognizes the girls. Kako then tries to apologize for what happened the night before, however, she only gets scolded by Kota again, who suddenly seems like a completely different person.

What follows is a series of events, in which Kako and Kota keep getting dragged into each other's company, whether they want to interact with one another or not. These incidents include Kako almost getting molested and subsequently being saved by Kota, a workshop visit to the Oto High School by the police force, etcetera.

All these events lead to Kako at one point overhearing a conversation between some local delinquents, who plan on taking revenge on Kota. She initially plans to report this to either Harada-sensei or the Police Box, however, Heisuke Okami, one of the delinquents, talks her into not alerting any authorities. Scared of what might happen if she were to go against Heisuke's orders, Kako finds a way to help Kota without telling anyone- later that same day, when the delinquents attack Kota, Kako jumps in between them, shielding Kota from a blow to the head whilst getting herself hurt instead. Feeling not only responsible for Kako's sorry state, but also frightened by the possibility of losing her, Kota ends up coming to see her in the hospital after work, waiting for her to wake up. This upset her parents, as they think Kota's motivations behind this are fully guilt-based. However, when Kako finally comes to, Kota is relieved, and after a short conversation with Kako, he ends up proposing to her, explaining that dating would be impossible for them, but marriage would allow them to be together. After her initial shock over the sudden proposal, Kako is overjoyed and accepts.

After this, their married life begins with a rocky start, but gradually turns into a sweet, loving relationship.

#### Tsuu-chan

Kako and Kota's daughter, Tsuu-chan, is shown to have a good relationship with both of her parents, though she seems especially biased toward her mother.

#### Kaoru Sagano

Kaoru and Kako meet for the first time when Kako is at Kota's apartment and Kaoru comes on a surprise visit to see his wife. She is at first fooled into thinking that Kako is a teenage prostituted whom Kota had hired, but her suspicions are soon after proven completely false. As it turns out, Kota had only briefly mentioned that he had gotten married in a voicemail and had given absolutely no description or details on his wife, also leaving out the part that Kako was only 16 at the time. Despite the awkward start to their relationship, Kako and Kaoru are close friends. Kaoru always makes sure to provide Kako with pictures and videos of Kota when he was little, and loves watching Kako's reactions to them. She also trusts Kako to be mature enough to care for Kota, despite her young age.

### Friends

#### Mikado Yaguchi

As mentioned earlier, Mikado and Kako are best friends. They have a very loving and supportive relationship from the get-go.

#### Heisuke Okami

Kako met Heisuke for the first time when she accidentally happened to overhear a conversation between him and some of his friends, when the group of delinquents discussed taking revenge on Kota for taking them into custody. Kako contemplates reportong their plans, but accidentally drops her phone and gets caught by the guys. One of them picks the phone up for her, and lightly scolds her, telling her "phones are fragile" and that she should "treat it like it's her own child." This momentarily fools her into thinking that maybe the boys are not as bad as they seem, however, right after Heisuke threatens her and tells her not to tell anyone about what she had overheard.

Later on, Kako gets in between Kota and Heisuke in a fight, shielding Kota from a blow in the head. This leads to Hesuke accidentally hitting her instead, and her fear of him is heightened to the maximum.

When Kako starts her second year in high school, she and Mikado are quick to discover that Heisuke, despite being a year older, is listed as being in the same class as them.

#### Jiro Nagakura

Jiro is Kako's classmate, and a mutual friend of Mikado's.

#### Yui Sendo

Kako and Yui's relationship starts out cold, as they both seem to share a mutual hatred for each other.

### Others

#### Tee-sensei

Kako is introduced to Tee-sensei when she's volunteering at her local children's home with Yui. She accidentally mistakes him for a child twice, however, he doesn't take offence to it, noting that it is a common misconception due to his height. The two share a somewhat friendly relationship, in which Tee-sensei gives her his blunt opinions on things, like Kako's approach to her work ethics. By being fully honest and transparent, he ends up helping her a lot in her work. Kako, in turn, ends up growing somewhat attached to him, thinking of him as a precious co-worker.