AN/Disclaimer: I own nothing of Love Hina. This is my first Love Hina Fic or Fanfic in general so please, no flamers. Also, please I would like your honesty so I can improve my work. This fic however is an AU as in (author's universe) so don't expect anything to as you'd see it in the manga or anime except appearances and personality for the most part.
Chapter 1
She couldn't help it anymore. True, she'd promised herself she'd stop wanting him but she couldn't deny how she felt any longer. Unfortunately, this turn of emotions had begun too late. She knew he was married and it was outright galling that she of all people was his bride. She remembered her feelings of vexation as she stood amongst the congregation. No, vexation in her mind was too weak a word; more along the lines of agony. She'd watched the entire ceremony with a cold indifference but this supposed indifference slowly grew into a burning hatred and when their lips finally touched in the solemn and final kiss of matrimony which sealed their contract before God, she felt her heart break apart for the feeling was as if a red hot iron were slowly separating her heart.
Lost in this seemingly endless pool of regret and misery, her thoughts were interrupted by the touch of her constant companion. She looked down at the cat with its massive ears and she gently stroked the animal's back. She sighed with frustration as she let her body fall back against the leather recliner in which she sat. The sound of the rain outside helped soothe her but only temporarily for the image of her step-brother was never far from her mind. She took a picture from the nearby lamp table and she looked at his smiling face. She caressed the pictures cheek and then after a few minutes, got up and opened the window to let the sound of the rain have its full effect.
The day was temperate but the sky was dark gray and almost menacing. A slight breeze blew in her face allowing some of the falling water droplets to enter her eyes. The rain was unusually cold for the time of year but she remembered it was always colder in the upper atmosphere so naturally everything on its way down was near freezing. She looked down on the street below and saw some people still meandering about evidently quite unsure of where to go or what to do. She on the other hand knew exactly what to do. True, while she couldn't talk to him in the romantic way she so desired, she knew that talking to him would be enough to slake her lust for him if only for the time being.
Just then, there was a heavy swift rap at the door of her apartment. She let out a sigh and waited for the response she knew was inevitable, "Hey, Kanako!" rang a nasally voice, "Come on! Its Shawna, open up!"
Kanako rolled her eyes as if to say to herself, "You see what happens when you're kind to people? They latch onto you and sadly, you can't ever shake them off without being brutally honest about what you don't like about them."
She went to the door and opened it with a slight sigh of regret. The woman on the other side came in and after setting down the bags she had on her arms gave out a very light sigh and then proceeded to unwrap herself. Kanako knew it was raining out but the extent to which Shawna wrapped herself was in her eyes absolutely ridiculous. A tan trench coat with a matching hat and a white scarf was what Shawna's wardrobe consisted of and her perfectly polished leather boots finished the outfit. The entire thing in Kanako's eyes was not only completely unnecessary but was in the end, insulting. Could she fault Shawna on the basis she came from money? Not really. Still, it helped having her around if not for the money, for the admittedly amusing day to day stories of her life.
After Shawna had gotten out of her numerous layers, she began to put the groceries she'd bought away. Shawna was more your typical roommate. However, there was one thing above everything else Kanako liked about her and that was her almost immediate compulsion to keep everything clean. After she'd finished putting the groceries away, she headed over to the drinks cabinet which thanks to Kanako's habit for having things always full was fully loaded with every variation of alcoholic beverage you could imagine. From hard apple cider to Sambuca, it was an AA instructor's worst nightmare. While Shawna busied herself with making martinis, Kanako inspected the groceries. She wasn't at all surprised by what she found: salmon; filet magnon, manicotti, Cajun seasoned chicken, and various trays of lasagna. She closed her inspection and prepared to make the salmon.
Meanwhile, Shawna looked at herself in the mirror which hung over the drinks' cabinet. She was fair skinned, a fact that irritated her to no end as she burned ever so easily in the sunlight, she had her auburn hair which usually hanged in a ponytail to her mid back was fashioned so that it was in a small bun and made her look far more orderly while her greyish blue eyes in her mind where her best feature as they simply naturally worked with what seemed to her to be a chaotic profile. As she finished her examination, she saw Kanako enter with a small glass of lavender wine. Taking that as her cue, she sat down adjacent her roommate in a black leather couch.
Kanako looked her over and after taking a drink asked, "So, humor me, what was your day like?"
"Not all that interesting really," was Shawna's reply as she felt a sense of unease in her companion's presence, "just…you know…"
"No. No I don't know," Kanako replied flashing a smile of supposed humor but in reality, it was a smile which had the intention of getting the formality of discussing the day out of the way, "Tell me, what your day was like."
"Basic work you know I mean. Just work followed by some shopping before coming home by the way, how's your step brother, Kitero doing?"
"Keitaro," Kanako replied in a semi-stern manner, "He's doing well last I heard from him. He and his wife are going to have a child soon and I'll be the "aunt" I suppose. But then I can't be too sure with all the legal implications."
"Oh," Shawna replied after taking a drink of her martini, "I'm sure they'll be very happy with that won't they?"
Kanako thought to herself, "Oh, they most certainly will and it'll be just in that wench's nature to flaunt her belly in my face. God, I hate her." but replied with a soft, "I'm sure they will. I know that in having a child, they only have the baby's best interest at heart."
Within no time at all, it seemed that the salmon was ready for the small talk continued for most of the evening up until dinner. The two of them ate their meal in near silence as they were watching a film on the television. As Kanako watched, an idea began to formulate in her brain. Not the pleasant kind but the kind of plan that emerges after having secretly dwelled on a solution to a problem that finally meets the standards of the individual. She finished her dinner and after a final nightcap, headed off to the shower. The hot water seemed to slightly alleviate her burden of thought and after a while passed, she felt as if she were somehow empowered with a level of thought that was beyond human capability.
Stream of consciousness seemed to override her functions and soon, all she could think about was Keitaro. Not Keitaro as her respectable step-brother but instead as the very center point of her fantasies both carnal and emotional. As she left the bathroom, she was deep in thought over how she'd make her fantasy reality. Such a task she knew wouldn't be at all easy. Instead, it would probably be one of the most time consuming and exhilarating experiences of her life.
When she made it to her room, she locked the door and began to do what was deemed by her to be the necessary research for the upcoming task at hand. She knew of course she couldn't by any means rush this process. She knew Keitaro's standards for faith were well-nigh unshakable once set. Yet, she knew that beneath the stone-like exterior of every man was a weakness in their moral armor. If tempted enough and with the proper assets, she concluded she could ensnare him if only for a little while. That little while would be enough for her for, it was an odd condition for her that in the fit of sheer ecstasy time would seem to go by extremely slowly and by that standard, every second would seem minutes and every minute, an hour.
She knew it'd been some time since Keitaro and Naru made their vows but it was time enough. In the year since the ceremony, she'd been studying and researching with fervor so intense, that it would make even the most dedicated shrink back in admiration. For a year, she'd studied nonstop the effects of natural herbs and plants, the effects of certain natural substances on the human body, and even the unique rates of time it took for certain blood types to absorb said substances. In addition to this, she'd studied one more field which she'd revert to under the circumstances of extreme last resort. Yet, she knew that even when she said last resort, it wasn't truly the last resort but the option she turned to when she knew it would never turn out her way. This particular field was one of which she was lady and mistress over and the very power of the general application of such knowledge would surely solve any problems no matter how physically imposing.
As she began preparing for the anticipated baby shower, she packed her materials with an organization so calculated and neat, she trembled with elation at the possibilities the shower could bring. She knew that if Keitaro elected to stay with Naru, she'd revert to her second plan. Of course, she knew better than to bring the subject of his loyalty fully to bear but then she also knew that his talent for catching on to things was less than ideal. As she snapped the clasps shut on her suitcase, in her mind, whatever the outcome was, was set in stone. It didn't matter rejection in her mind could be overcome with her alternative plan but should he accept, she shuddered at the gyration of pleasure that surged through her frame.
She got ahold of her senses after a moment and then thought the whole thing by ferry would be ideal since she knew they never really checked your cases and then she could go by speed rail until she reached Tokyo. The plan sounded pretty solid but as Kanako knew in her experience, plans that are usually so basic and thorough don't go as planned. The baby shower was in two weeks which gave her more than enough time to send her notice she was coming while simultaneously making sure than every necessary item was In her suitcase in addition to rehearsing exactly what she was going to say to Keitaro. As far as Naru was concerned, she could care less about her. The very fact that she was with Keitaro's child was bad enough but coupled with the fact that she had a unbearable superior attitude was enough to make her want to strangle the woman in addition to the hair-trigger temper which she knew could be easily remedied with a few tranquilizers.
While Kanako combed over the contents of her suitcase once again, she heard Shawna knock at her door and then the nasal voice asked, "Hey, Kanako, there's a movie on tonight I thought you might take an interest in."
"What movie is it?" Kanako asked as she fitted a vial filled with an silver colored liquid into the case, "By that I mean, what genre?"
"It's called, By the Doctor's Order. It's a suspense movie. You know…your kind of thing."
Kanako thought to herself, "Insufferable little fool. Well, weaning her off the American cuisine is proving hard enough and if I don't do something with her then I'll never hear the end of her questions." She sighed and replied, "Alright, I'll be right there."
As she closed her suitcase a last time, she looked at the picture of Keitaro she had nearby her bed. She smiled to herself and said in a whisper, "Don't worry, Keitaro. We'll be together again soon. You may find it hard to come to terms with you find, eventually we'll be able to get by on our own. It's only a matter of time now and finally, my dreams will become reality and your happiness will hopefully be complete."
AN: As I said before, this is my first fanfic so please be gentle. But be honest. Read and Review. Thank You.