Chapter one:

Keitaro looked around.

What was there? There was nothing. Black. White. It was indifferent. He felt tight. As if he was being squeezed into a box. He needed to run.

Running as fast as he could, he saw something in the distance. Something that stood out in this vast oblivion.

"Narusegawa!" He yelled. The thing didn't move. He kept running, his already short stamina not holding up under his strenuous rush. As he bent down to catch his breath, his hands on his knees, he noticed the thing had moved to its original distance from himself.

"No!"

Keitaro lunged for the figure, which suddenly burst into a sunny whirlpool of colors. Rushing around him, Keitaro was spinning too. He felt his arms being separated form his body, painlessly, but leaving him to another place. His toes were coming off...

His eyes were coming out.

Blinded and without appendages, the pain came.

Excruciating pain.

Keitaro began to beg while tears streamed down his face. His glasses shattered, leaving broken glass in his face. The color were still whirring, lunging in at him now, hitting him. Each burst sent him further and further away.

"No... please stop... enough... please!" Keitaro pleaded with this thing until...

It stopped.

Keitaro Urashima woke up in a cold sweat. He tried to wipe his hand on his forehead, but that only spread the sweat out more. He sat up, and decided to get a drink of water.

He hobbled out of his room, quietly tiptoed down the hall and stairs, and into the kitchen. As he approached the room, he heard slurred mumbling and bumping noises. Although a little intimidated that it was 1:30 in the morning, and hearing strange noises from the kitchen, he proceeded inside fearlessly.

It was good he hadn't freaked out, because it was simply Mitsune Konno sitting and drinking, as she always did.

"Oh... h-hey Kitsune" Keitaro said, addressing in her commonly-used nickname.

"Hiya, suga'! Hows about you and me have a drink of this here sake? I gots plenty more!" Kitsune shrugged, while swaying back and forth.

"Ehh... no thanks, Kitusne. I have a zero-period class tomorrow morning, around eight, so I can't be hung over.

"Awright, awright..." Kitsune said, defeated.

Keitaro got the water jug from the fridge, and poured a glass of water. He grabbed some left over cake from last week's birthday party that they had for Su. He sat down a couple spots over from Kitsune, as to not disturb her.

Keitaro ate and drank as Kitsune rambled on about random things that were, half the time, inaudible. Regardless, Keitaro would nod and smile now and then to assure his friend that he was, in fact, listening. When he was done, he began to stand up, when he suddenly felt Kitsune grab the back of his pants' waist.

"Whaaaat? Kitsune, I need to go to bed!"

"Hey, hey. You ain't be wearin' a shirt. Why is that?"

Keitaro looked down, and realized she was right. He had taken to sleeping with no shirt routinely, because it was more comfortable.

"Kyaah... Kitsune, I-"

"Oooh, I see! You and Naru were-"

"NO! It's not like that at all!" Keitaro snapped back, angrily

"So you haven't even gotten there yet? Man. Some relationship..."

Keitaro opened his mouth to reply when he noticed she was right. He was engaged with Naru Narusegawa and they hadn't even really done it yet.

"I... I guess..." Keitaro said, exasperatedly

"Well, I'm always here, you know..." Kitsune said, lowering Keitaro down to the ground next to her. She leaned forward, revealing plenty more cleavage than was already visible in her overly-baggy shirt. Keitaro obviously began his usual male reaction to these things, but took the liberty to stop Kitsune. Before he could speak, his hand had been guided down Kitsune's skirt to her pussy.

"GLORK!" Keitaro exclaimed at the sudden never-before-felt-feeling of this part of a woman's body.

"What's wrong? You don't want this?" Kitsune asked, cocking her head to the side

"No! Kitsune-" He struggled to get his hand out from under the girl's surprisingly strong grasp. Kitsune soon reached over to Keitaro's hardening member.

"Rrrrr...NO!" Keitaro screamed at Kitsune like he had never screamed before. "This is what always happens!" He yelled "Something stupid like this happens, then everyone walks in, misunderstands, and beats the shit out of me!"

"Hun-"

"NO MORE, KITSUNE! I'm sick of nobody supporting me any more! Even Naru still punches me for everything! GRRAH!"

In a sudden outburst of emotion, Keitaro pushed past Kitsune, and ran out into the chilly February air. Without noting he had no possessions, neither a shirt, he ran.

He just ran. Just like he had in his dream, but away, not toward. He wanted to get away. Naru wasn't even open enough to kiss him when he willed it! He just wanted out.

He was out.

He ran.