Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina or "Hanging by a Moment" by Lifehouse



Fallen Even More in Love with You
"Hanging By a Moment" by Lifehouse



Urashima Keitaro wanted to let Naru know how his feelings for her had changed when a flying kick connected with the back of his head. Keitaro swallowed his angry words and looked up to see Kaolla smiling back at her. As if talking to the flying hot spring turtle, Kaolla nodded in agreement with Tama-chan after it made seemingly random and incoherent Myuu noises. "Yeah, you have a point." Kaolla's stare met Keitaro's and she gently rose her skirt and showed off her sky blue panties.

"Oh my god, what did you do that for?" Keitaro reached over to pull her skirt down in a panic. "Do you want to get me pulverized?" Keitaro nervously searched the horizons for Narusegawa."

"No," Kaolla said, smiling innocently, "Tama-chan just thought you needed some cheering up. I thought that might cheer you up." Kaolla frowned. "Did I upset you?"

Sarah popped up from behind Keitaro. "Upset him, the pervert doesn't look upset to me." Keitaro wanted to protest until he felt a metallic taste in his mouth. Amorous blood had gushed out of his nose and into his mouth. Spitting out the blood, Keitaro came to another realization. His eyes had not left the exposed area between Kaolla's legs. Keitaro certainly did not do it on purpose. "Hey, take your eyes off her crotch, Keitaro."

"Yes," a dark voice echoed from deep down in the Hinata-sou tunnels. "Take your eyes off her sacred regions, now, you pervert." Keitaro recognized the neighborhood kendo feminist fifteen-year-old Aoyama Motoko before she stepped out of the darkness. "You think you get away with this. I'll tell Naru and have you punched into the sky. Or …" The sound of sword leaving its scabbard piqued the attention of Keitaro's eyes away from Kaolla's blue panties. Ambient light caught her eyes, Motoko charged at him, with all the fury and proportions of an Amazonian angel of death.

"Motoko, don't do it," Keitaro said, forcing all the air in his lungs out on those words. Motoko announced her deadly and powerful succession technique and lashed the blade down on Keitaro. A gust of hurricane wind slashed at his clothes and sent him tumbling into air.

Times like these reminded Keitaro of a song he heard in America. He limped up to front porch near Naru's window. He tossed a couple rocks at her window. She came to the window, visible annoyed. /Okay, now or never, baka boy,/ Keitaro thought to himself. /Don't blow it./ The music entered his heart and he began where the song began.

"[Desperate for changing
Starving for truth
Closer to where I started
chasing after you
I'm falling even more in love with you
letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you.]"

In her absence of his life, Keitaro's feelings for her had grown and taken shape. Everything she did looked beautiful beyond description. Narusegawa even looked kind of cute … completely confused. In his mind, he intimately understood two Naru's. One Narusegawa acted out of unconditional kindness and charity. But the other Narusegawa acted out of fear of loneliness. In a strange way, Keitaro embraced both Naru's now more than ever. /You can't scare me anymore, Naru. I love all of you and will not let any of you go./ He did not deserve a girl like Narusegawa, but he had to try./ Though unable to recognize where his own fantasies ended and the real world began, Keitaro remembered the rest of the song.

"[Forgetting all I'm lacking
Completely Incomplete
I'll take your invitation
you take all of me
now I'm falling even more in love with you
letting go of all I've held on to
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you
I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and I'm not quite sure where to go
and I don't know what I'm diving into
just hanging by a moment here with you
There is nothing else to lose
There is nothing else to find
There is nothing in the world
that could change my mind
There is nothing else…]"

Keitaro looked up to Naru and grew tense. If she lost it right, Keitaro would get clobbered where he stood. Urashima Keitaro learned the hard way once that Naru's super punch had a good fifteen yard reach. Keitaro removed his glasses, Naru always said he looked cute without his glasses. Keitaro hoped that this "cuteness" would loosen up the mood. Still, Naru could not look away from his intense off-colored eyes. Keitaro cheered himself on mentally as the rest of the song rose his throat and keep his blurry vision trained on the red-haired blur.

"[Desperate for changing
starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started
I'm chasing after you.]"

Narusegawa turned red and Keitaro panicked but his spirits rose when he realized that Naru understood the song. She seemed flattered. Not every guy would learn to sing a love song in perfect key just to confess his feelings, especially one in a foreign language.

"[I'm falling even more in love with you
letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you
I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
and I don't know what I'm diving into
just hanging by a moment here with you…]"

Keitaro knew every word by heart. Seta and Haruka told him that the song centered around a boy whose growing love for a girl made him brave enough to risk everything on their future together. Keitaro liked the idea and hope Naru did to. Looking up to see Naru's blur had vanished from her balcony, Keitaro's heart sank. The song must had struck the wrong nerve. Whatever happened, knowing would not dull the pain of rejection, which ached Keitaro worst than a thousand Naru punches. His eyes grew vacant and cold. His private world of optimism and hope collided with the possibility of rejection, finally cracking Keitaro's spirit in a way he could ignore or smile about.

Like a prize boxer, he had given it his best shot and everything fell apart like last time. Keitaro turned away to enter the Hinata-sou as he saw a shape run up to him as he tried to enter. He put on his glasses and saw Naru, blocking the door and out of breath. "Hey, Keitaro," Naru said, panting heavily. "Do you … do you ..." Naru stopped to take a deep breath. "Do you want to go somewhere for some tea?"

"Like a date?" Keitaro knew read a dozen romance novels that start out like this. They start out with tea, then holding hands, then … Keitaro smiled as he looked down. As if with minds of their own, their hands had found each other.

Narusegawa blushed and took a deep breath. "Call it whatever you want. Just don't try anything perverted." As stern as that sounded, Keitaro could not help but smile. She had not withdrawn her hand and they walked like that, hands intertwined all the way to the teahouse. Seta and Haruka broke away from each other's embrace and took time to appreciate the eighth wonder of the world, Narusegawa Naru and Urashima Keitaro together as lovers, so it seemed. But then again, call it whatever you want. Naru rested her head on Keitaro's chest. Keitaro had felt like questioning this dream-like situation and wanting to know what the future had in store for their relationship, but now all that worry and fear had passed. Now, he felt content just coming this close to heaven with his true love and hanging by a moment.



The End.