Love Hina: Coming of Age
by Bug-chan
A/N - This is what will turn out as my first lime fic, so if sexuality in general bothers you, STOP READING NOW. Oh, if you are going to read, remember that lime is NOT lemon.
Timeline-wise, this story takes place after Keitaro comes back from his half-year trip to America, so calculate everyone's ages accordingly.
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15-year-old Maehara Shinobu walked up the stairs leading up to Hinata Inn slowly, her head slightly down and swirling in thought. Behind her walked Suu and Sara, both curious as to why Shinobu was so silent. They repeatedly tapped on her shoulder, trying to get her attention. Minutes later, Suu had enough and slapped her rear end, jolting Shinobu.
"Wah! What'd you do that for?" the blue-haired girl asked, annoyance evident in her voice, while rubbing the sore part to get rid of the pain. The other two simply grinned and giggled before Suu stopped.
"Why were you so quiet? You weren't responding to our calls or taps," Suu simply asked, looking at Shinobu intently. Sara followed suit. Shinobu shrunk back a bit.
"Just...things," she stammered, not wanting to tell what she was thinking. She backed up the stairs as the other two slowly walked up towards her.
"What things?" Sara asked innocently, her curiosity piqued.
"Yeah, what things?" Suu asked. She paused, and hazarded a guess. "Guys?"
"N...no!" Shinobu denied, on the verge of crying. "It's not like that!" As the other two prepared to pressure her into spilling, they heard a voice.
"Oh, you guys are back from classes!" Keitaro said from the top of the stairs, looking down and carrying a bundle of wood. "Good timing, we're going to have a barbecue today and we could use an extra hand or two."
'Good timing! Thank you Sempai!' Shinobu mentally screamed and ran up the rest of the stairs to the Inn, leaving the other two confused out of their minds. Seconds later, Suu's head registered the word "barbecue" and with a watering mouth, bolted up the stairs right behind Shinobu, totally forgetting what happened seconds earlier. Sara, not wanting to be left alone, ran after her.
The barbecue passed normally, normally meaning involving Keitaro groping at least one of the girls and suffering the consequences and Suu devouring without rest what edible material she could get on her hands. A few hours later, the group called it quits and started cleaning up, each person doing something. As Shinobu took the pack of raw meat and vegetables by herself back to the kitchen, she thought about today's lessons at school.
FLASHBACK
"All right class, today, we are going to learn something different," the teacher said and took out two wall scrolls and set them up. When the class saw what was on the scrolls, the reactions were quite varied. Some giggled or snickered while others stayed silent and just looked down and blushed in embarrasement, Shinobu being a member of the latter. Pointing at the wall scrolls, which showed the anatomy of the male and the female sexual organs, the teacher announced, "Today, we will be learning about sexuality." Even though she was blushing furiously and couldn't bring her head up to see the pictures or whatever else the teacher showed, she listened intently and jotted massive amounts of notes.
END FLASHBACK
'So...when a man's organ and a woman's organ unite, that's how a child is produced,' she pondered. Her next memory made her blush even harder.
FLASHBACK
Shinobu sat in her desk, still with a blush. The lecture had just ended and the teacher left, giving the students a short break to prepare for the next subject. While she switched books around, she overheard a bunch of girls behind her talking in hushed tones and giggling every now and then. Curious, she clandestinely listened as she took out different books.
"I hear that the first time is extremely painful and you bleed...down there," one girl said quietly.
"But I also hear that it feels good," another said. They all burst into a fit of giggles before calming down.
"That's why you should do it with someone you like the most, because after that, there is no more 'first time'," a third girl added.
END FLASHBACK
'You should do it with someone you like the most,' she thought. 'Someone I like the most,' she pondered, and a picture of Keitaro popped in her head. 'Sempai??' she mentally yelled, her face now a stop sign. She dropped the food in shock, temporarily frozen and unable to move or think coherently. Naru noticed the younger girl struck by fear and the food on the floor and approached her.
"Shinobu-chan, are you all right?" she asked with concern. The said girl regained her senses and looked at Naru.
"Yes, I'm all right now. Thank you," Shinobu quickly replied and paused. Then, as in an afterthought, she hurriedly added, "And I won't take Sempai away from you!" and picked up the food. She scurried away to the kitchen, leaving Naru in shock and confusion.
'What got into her?' she wondered and headed her way afterwards, 'and what about her not stealing Keitaro from me???'
A while later, all the ladies took a dip in the hot springs, relaxing in the warm water. Everyone around traded words in dialogue...everyone except Shinobu, who quietly sat still and didn't say anything. Kitsune noticed her unusual silence and decided to poke some fun in hopes of seeing a reaction. "Ne, Shinobu?" she asked. The said girl looked up, nervously chewing her food. "What's with you? Guy problems?" she continued, knowing that the young resident had some form of a crush for the sole male of the house. Her reaction was, however, totally unexpected.
Just as Naru was about to show her displeasure at her friend's teasing and Kanako could give her a death glare, Shinobu's eyes widened as she fell back. Panic-stricken, she tried to keep her head above the shallow hot springs as the rest tried to calm her down. Motoko got to her first and pushed some pressure points, calming the blue-haired girl down significantly.
"Shinobu-chan, are you all right?" she asked, worry evident in her voice. Instead of answering or nodding, she simply and blankly stared at her. Noticing the lack of response, she placed a hand on her shoulder and gently shook it. Shinobu's eyes regained focus.
"I...I'm all right, thank you," she whispered hurriedly and ran up the stairs. Everyone looked at her retreating form in confusion.
"Anyone know what got into her?" Kitsune finally asked.
Sara spoke up, "She's been acting funny since we walked back from school." Everyone gave her their attention. "Suu and I tried to get her attention but she wouldn't respond. It took a hard hit by Suu to wake her up." The group digested the fact as they proceeded to sit in silence, contemplating what might make her act weird.
"Why don't we give her a few days to think it out? It might be personal," Naru suggested. Everyone else nodded, agreeing that it was the best course for the time being.
The next day, a Sunday, Keitaro came downstairs, looking for breakfast. He came in and noticed Shinobu giving the finishing touches to the table. "Shinobu-chan?" he asked.
The resident chef looked up and her eyes opened in fear. "G--good morning, Sempai," she let out and bolted up the stairs. Keitaro tried to stop her but she ran too quickly and he simply looked up towards the stairs.
Breakfast passed in silence again, due to the lack of Shinobu at the dining table. Everyone was still trying to figure out her erratic behavior, but the girls, at least the older ones, had a different thought in mind. When breakfast was done and Keitaro volunteered to do dishes, took them and went into the kitchen, Kitsune spoke up. "Motoko, Naru and Kanako, can you come to my room with me?" Her face lacked the usual slight smile she always carried and the other three noticed her seriousness and complied. Suu and Sara ran off to the former's room, preparing for yet another crazy invention.
Once Naru and Motoko came in, she closed the door and they sat around her low table. "Let me get to the point. Tomorrow, I'm going on a trip to South America, Motoko's going to kendo camp, Naru's going to Kyoto with her club, Kanako is going to visit Granny Hina, Suu is going on a field trip with her class and Sara's being picked up by Seta, and as far as I know, Shinobu's staying and so is Keitaro," she explained.
"So you're worried about leaving those two together?" Naru asked. Her evenness of her tone surprised the older woman.
"Doesn't leaving a fifteen-year-old girl under the care of a man who's not related bother you?" Kitsune asked. "I'm not saying that Keitaro's a bad guy, but if anyone found out, there would be all sorts of weird rumors."
"I trust Urashima to take care of Shinobu," Motoko voiced her opinion. "The six months he spent overseas has made him into a more reliable and trustworthy man."
"Oneesan would never do anything of that nature," Kanako added. "Do not worry, Kitsune-san, he will do well."
Kitsune just shook her head and smiled. "I guess I'm just worrying too much. Oh well, I guess we'll have to get ready eh?" The girls nodded and got up, getting ready to pack up.
Meanwhile, Shinobu sat in front of her desk, her notebook showing the notes she took from the sex ed. class a couple days back. Next to that sat a laptop Suu had made for her, connected to the Internet via hacked satellite connection and showing more information based on the same topic.
'The man places his organ between--' she started reading then stopped, too embarrassed to continue. She fidgeted in her seat and simply groaned in frustration. 'Why is it that when I'm near Sempai I feel different? Is it...' she trailed and filled in with embarrasement, 'hormones?' She violently shook her head, trying to get rid of the idea. Then another dialogue she overheard came back.
FLASHBACK
"Hey, Taki-chan, you have a boyfriend right?"
"Yeah, why do you ask?"
"What did it feel like when you first met him?"
"Hmm...I don't really know how to explain. I felt...different, like it seemed stuffy in the room and stuff like that. I blushed easily too."
END FLASHBACK
'Is this love?' she then asked, and immediately denied it again. Before she could think any more, she heard some noise coming from the door, the noise specifically being someone knocking on the door. She got up and upon opening the door, saw Naru. "Ah, Naru-sempai?" she asked, curious as to what the older woman would want from her.
"Hey, Shinobu, Kitsune, Motoko, Kanako and I are all leaving Hinata for a few days so could you prepare some food for us, please?" she requested.
"Hai," Shinobu agreed and took out her apron. 'I hope cooking will take my mind off these...issues,' she mentally wished as she walked down towards the kitchen. Taking out some meat and vegetables, she started chopping them and mixing some of them for different lunch boxes. She took some oil and a frying pan out and started to heat some oil, on top of which the meat and vegetables went. As she idly stirred it, she heard a loud masculine shout. Dropping the heat on the stove, the resident chef walked out to see Kitsune, obviously drunk, crawling up on a panicking Keitaro.
"Now, you be a good boy when we're gone ya?" the drunken woman slurred, her face very close to Keitaro's, close enough that he could smell her sake-laden breath. Panic-stricken, he bobbed his head, hoping she'd get off of him, but unfortunately, more was in store. Kitsune drew her face even closer until their noses were making contact. "You take care of Shinobu ya? No funny business ya?" she slurred, softer than before. Keitaro vigorously nodded yet again.
As Shinobu saw the older woman crawl up on the poor man, surprisingly, she didn't panic and whine. Instead, an image from her earlier web surfing came to mind.
FLASHBACK
In her room, Shinobu grabbed hold of the mouse attached to her custom- made laptop as she clicked every six or so seconds, going to a different page. About a minute later, the clicking stopped as the young girl became interested in one page's material, titled "A Girl's First Time -- How to Make the Most out of It". As she read the material, she ran into a picture of a woman and a man just hugging while sitting in the sofa (A/N - Volume 9, chapter 76) albeit in a slightly compromising manner. This brought back the one moment when she walked in on what she thought was a makeout session of Keitaro and Naru. Reading and scrolling down, she soon saw a woman pinning a man down and becoming awfully comfortable on him. At this point, her imagination gained a mind of its own and took off to fantasyland. There, she saw herself pinning a calm Keitaro down on a giant heart-shaped red bed. Her head came closer and closer to his as she came in for a kiss when...
END FLASHBACK
The image of her on top of him came back in full force as she observed the situation in front of her, oblivious to either participant. In fact, it came down with such force that she saw HERSELF on top of him instead of Kitsune, seducing the man and closing the distance between her and his lips. Just as the lips were millimeters away from each other, reality struck once again when her sensitive nose picked up a burning scent from the kitchen. Her chef side took over and she ran into the kitchen, saving most of the food from burning and charring. She hurriedly turned the stove off and took out four boxes. She evenly distributed the food and the rice and sealed them. Just then, Motoko walked in.
"Oh, Motoko, the food's done," she told the older girl.
"Oh? Okay, I'll tell everyone else. Please keep them warm until tomorrow," Motoko said. Shinobu nodded and she turned back to the kitchen to prepare for dinner without a word, obviously deep in thought again. Motoko, being the most observant member of the residents, noticed the subtle changes in the young resident but left it alone and walked back outside to see a still panicking Keitaro with an inebriated Kitsune on top of him. With a sigh, she approached the scene and lifted the lady, and placed her on a different chair, where Kitsune promptly fell asleep. Keitaro finally got up on his two feet and wiped his brow with a handkerchief. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, now I am. Thanks, Motoko," he let out, calming down. She nodded and walked back upstairs. Keitaro turned around and saw Shinobu working in the kitchen, but noticed something odd. 'Her movements...so robotic,' he observed, as he watched Shinobu navigate her way between passages, doors and plates of food. Usually, whenever he saw her work in the kitchen, she did it like second nature: she flowed with the kitchen like how water flows down a stream. Today, however, her movements seemed forced, as if she didn't want to do something. Concerned, he approached her.
"Shinobu-chan?" he asked worriedly. The said girl dropped whatever she was carrying in her hands the moment she registered exactly WHO called her name out, and once again her chef side took over when she heard numerous *CRACK*s on the floor. Her eyes widened as she saw broken eggs on the floor along with various vegetables. "Oh no!" both gasped. They bent down at the same time, intent on picking up and by coincidence or by purpose, two hands made contact as they headed for one particular egg shell, one over the other. The two, now blushing, slowly lifted their faces, making eye contact, and much to her surprise, Shinobu slowly closed in the distance between her and him.
'Sempai's lips...are getting closer...' she thought as the distance closed in. 'Closer....closer....closer...closer...' She could feel his breath on her face as he stood, transfixed, with his eyes fixed onto hers as if they were connected. Seconds later, she felt her lips pressed against something else and her eyes regained its focus. 'I'm....kissing...' she idly thought. Her eyes then looked at where her mouth was and her brain went into overdrive. 'I'M KISSING SEMPAI!!!!' she panicked as she immediately pulled back. Her sudden fallback caused her to land painfully on her posterior as she gently rubbed her lips, her face as red as a stop sign. Keitaro, on the other hand, simply looked down and covered his lips, finally realizing what had transpired between those two.
"Shinobu-chan," a subdued Keitaro called. Shinobu, however, had different ideas.
"Sempai! I'm sorry!" she yelled and got up quickly, intending to bolt. Before Keitaro could do anything, the young girl was out of the kitchen and running up the stairs for her room. Confused, Keitaro simply cleaned up the mess and finished cooking dinner. Suddenly, he didn't feel so hungry and after setting up enough dishes for all the ladies, he headed upstairs, changed into his white gi, left a note telling of his whereabouts on the dinner table and headed for the waterfall near the Inn, hoping that some meditation would clear up his mind.
After a slight amount of worry from the ladies when they noticed the lack of their manager and the subsequent note of his whereabouts, they all sat down and started eating. Suu, the one with the most sensitive, yet the dullest taste buds, noticed something different. "Shinobu?" she called curiously. The said girl looked at Suu. "You didn't cook, did you?"
Shinobu took a bite and played around with it for a second before swallowing it. "No, it was Sempai," she confirmed. Almost immediately, a tingling feeling took over her as she simply said 'Sempai' earlier and she could feel a blush running through her entire body. Naru, sitting across from her, noticed the unusual redness.
"Shinobu, are you all right? You're blushing all over," Naru pointed out with concern.
"I'm sorry, I just don't feel very well right now," she whispered.
"It's all right. Head to your room, one of us will bring you your food," the older girl instructed. The blue-haired resident complied as she slowly walked up the stairs, her hand clutching the banister tighter than usual. After she had gone out of sight and earshot, Kitsune spoke up.
"Well, it looks like she's just sick." Everyone nodded in agreement.
"It isn't necessarily a good thing, but it definitely is compared to whatever else is out there," Naru agreed as she put the extra set of food on a tray and took it upstairs. A minute later, she approached the door to Shinobu's room and lightly frapped on it.
"Come in!" she yelled from inside. Naru walked in with the tray and noticed her sitting hunched over a book.
"Shinobu, you shouldn't work yourself out like that when you're not feeling well," the older girl chided.
"N-no, this is important," Shinobu replied as she flipped some pages in her notebook.
"All right, if you say so. But remember, you should get some rest," Naru said as she walked out the room. The younger girl sighed in relief as she turned off the screen saver on her laptop and continued reading a particular page.
'People feel attraction because of a chemical called pheromones. When one person releases them, the other person picks them up and releases his/her set of them. All this happen without anyone knowing because pheromones are colorless and odorless. In fact, the pheromones have such power that sometimes they can cause a person to not observe what is going on while he/she is attracted/attracting his/her partner.'
Shinobu paused to digest the short information. 'Is that why we were so transfixed?' she pondered as she remembered what had happened.
FLASHBACK
As her lips homed in on Keitaro's lips, he stood there, transfixed and, in a sense, hypnotized. On her side, she couldn't help but feel like she was attracted by the other pair of lips...almost like two magnets with opposite poles facing each other.
END FLASHBACK
The young girl, for once having figured out something, albeit with a bout of embarrasement, finally relaxed in bed as she let the blush recede. As she relaxed, various phrases from all sources of reading material surfaced, but one of them made itself prominent: 'The first time will hurt. Do it with someone you love and trust.'
'Someone you love and trust...' she trailed as she drifted away to sleep.
The next day started with a flurry of activity as the majority of the population dragged bags down the stairs, with Keitaro's help, towards the exit. In the midst of the chaotic moving, Shinobu left for school quietly, those thoughts never escaping her. As the rest walked down the stairs, Naru yelled, "Take good care of Shinobu while we're gone!"
Following her, Motoko added, "And don't make her cry!" Minutes later, they had all disappeared, leaving Keitaro alone in the house, with Tama as company. Keitaro proceeded to work on multitudes of repairs, now that the girls were out of the house and he wouldn't be interrupted.
The day passed as normal and Shinobu returned from school. Upon opening the door and entering, she only noticed one pair of shoes in the doorway and moments later, saw Keitaro walk downstairs. "Tadaima!" she yelled, as per custom.
Keitaro looked towards the voice and noticed the young girl. "Okaeri," he replied, welcoming her. She took off her shoes, and instead of bolting or avoiding him, she walked upstairs like her usual self. 'She seems more herself today,' he mused. Minutes later, she came back downstairs, and gave Keitaro the shock of his life. Instead of the usual plain one-piece dress, she came out wearing a white spaghetti strap that left the midriff bare, paired up with a red miniskirt that really left little to the imagination. 'Whoa...what got into her?' The girl, noticing his looks, came up close to him.
"Sempai, how do I look?" she asked cheerfully and did a twirl. It took all his willpower and some to not fall over and start a fountain of blood as he saw more of Shinobu than he would ever expect to see, not that he wanted to see more in the first place.
"Y---y---you look good," he let out, applying extra pressure on the fingers gripping his nose. "Excusemeihavetogotothebathroom," he blurted out as he made a mad dash for the nearest restroom. Shinobu saw him run off, first confused, then giggled as she made her way toward the kitchen.
Once he secured the door, he ran to the sink, turned on the tap and let go of his nose. Just as he let go, a massive stream of blood poured out, going down the drain. Keitaro sighed in relief as the pent-up blood kept coming and coming (A/N - We're in an anime world; you can lose gallons of blood and still live). 'That Shinobu...when did she grow up so much?' he wondered, then slapped himself. 'No! Don't think like that!' he reprimanded himself. After half a minute of letting it loose, the bloodstream slowly trickled down and it stopped flowing. He started to wash around his nostrils to get rid of any trace of blood, cleaned the sink, wiped himself dry and walked out the bathroom. As he walked out and headed upstairs, intent on going to his room, he looked into the kitchen. The resident chef was back to her old self as she immersed herself in cooking and fluidly went from one part to another. For about a minute, he stood there and watcher her just cook and soon caught himself staring at HER. Just at that point, Shinobu turned to face him, making eye contact for a moment. She smiled, and turned back to her food, this time with a slight blush and a smile. Keitaro, feeling his face on fire, proceeded to walk up the stairs to do some work.
A few hours passed as Keitaro immersed himself in archeology-related work. As Keitaro closed all his books with a sigh, a familiar presence landed on his head. "Myu," it said.
"Tama, what brings you to my room?" he asked as he picked up the turtle off of his head.
"Myu myu," Tama said as she pointed towards the dining room. Keitaro followed the fin's line of sight.
"Oh, dinner's ready?" he asked. The resident turtle simply nodded as she freed herself and leisurely flew out and towards the dining room. Keitaro got up and followed suit, looking forward to another great meal as usual. As he approached the stairs, he noticed how dark the room underneath seemed. 'What's going on down there?' he wondered as he cautiously made his way down into the darkened room...
TBC
A/N - Not to fear folks! That's only one of two chapters done! This was first intended to be a one-chapter piece, but as I realized how much harder it became to write this, I had to stop this somewhere and finish it up. Besides, finals are coming up and I have to prepare for them.
Anyways, R/R plz!
A/N - This is what will turn out as my first lime fic, so if sexuality in general bothers you, STOP READING NOW. Oh, if you are going to read, remember that lime is NOT lemon.
Timeline-wise, this story takes place after Keitaro comes back from his half-year trip to America, so calculate everyone's ages accordingly.
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15-year-old Maehara Shinobu walked up the stairs leading up to Hinata Inn slowly, her head slightly down and swirling in thought. Behind her walked Suu and Sara, both curious as to why Shinobu was so silent. They repeatedly tapped on her shoulder, trying to get her attention. Minutes later, Suu had enough and slapped her rear end, jolting Shinobu.
"Wah! What'd you do that for?" the blue-haired girl asked, annoyance evident in her voice, while rubbing the sore part to get rid of the pain. The other two simply grinned and giggled before Suu stopped.
"Why were you so quiet? You weren't responding to our calls or taps," Suu simply asked, looking at Shinobu intently. Sara followed suit. Shinobu shrunk back a bit.
"Just...things," she stammered, not wanting to tell what she was thinking. She backed up the stairs as the other two slowly walked up towards her.
"What things?" Sara asked innocently, her curiosity piqued.
"Yeah, what things?" Suu asked. She paused, and hazarded a guess. "Guys?"
"N...no!" Shinobu denied, on the verge of crying. "It's not like that!" As the other two prepared to pressure her into spilling, they heard a voice.
"Oh, you guys are back from classes!" Keitaro said from the top of the stairs, looking down and carrying a bundle of wood. "Good timing, we're going to have a barbecue today and we could use an extra hand or two."
'Good timing! Thank you Sempai!' Shinobu mentally screamed and ran up the rest of the stairs to the Inn, leaving the other two confused out of their minds. Seconds later, Suu's head registered the word "barbecue" and with a watering mouth, bolted up the stairs right behind Shinobu, totally forgetting what happened seconds earlier. Sara, not wanting to be left alone, ran after her.
The barbecue passed normally, normally meaning involving Keitaro groping at least one of the girls and suffering the consequences and Suu devouring without rest what edible material she could get on her hands. A few hours later, the group called it quits and started cleaning up, each person doing something. As Shinobu took the pack of raw meat and vegetables by herself back to the kitchen, she thought about today's lessons at school.
FLASHBACK
"All right class, today, we are going to learn something different," the teacher said and took out two wall scrolls and set them up. When the class saw what was on the scrolls, the reactions were quite varied. Some giggled or snickered while others stayed silent and just looked down and blushed in embarrasement, Shinobu being a member of the latter. Pointing at the wall scrolls, which showed the anatomy of the male and the female sexual organs, the teacher announced, "Today, we will be learning about sexuality." Even though she was blushing furiously and couldn't bring her head up to see the pictures or whatever else the teacher showed, she listened intently and jotted massive amounts of notes.
END FLASHBACK
'So...when a man's organ and a woman's organ unite, that's how a child is produced,' she pondered. Her next memory made her blush even harder.
FLASHBACK
Shinobu sat in her desk, still with a blush. The lecture had just ended and the teacher left, giving the students a short break to prepare for the next subject. While she switched books around, she overheard a bunch of girls behind her talking in hushed tones and giggling every now and then. Curious, she clandestinely listened as she took out different books.
"I hear that the first time is extremely painful and you bleed...down there," one girl said quietly.
"But I also hear that it feels good," another said. They all burst into a fit of giggles before calming down.
"That's why you should do it with someone you like the most, because after that, there is no more 'first time'," a third girl added.
END FLASHBACK
'You should do it with someone you like the most,' she thought. 'Someone I like the most,' she pondered, and a picture of Keitaro popped in her head. 'Sempai??' she mentally yelled, her face now a stop sign. She dropped the food in shock, temporarily frozen and unable to move or think coherently. Naru noticed the younger girl struck by fear and the food on the floor and approached her.
"Shinobu-chan, are you all right?" she asked with concern. The said girl regained her senses and looked at Naru.
"Yes, I'm all right now. Thank you," Shinobu quickly replied and paused. Then, as in an afterthought, she hurriedly added, "And I won't take Sempai away from you!" and picked up the food. She scurried away to the kitchen, leaving Naru in shock and confusion.
'What got into her?' she wondered and headed her way afterwards, 'and what about her not stealing Keitaro from me???'
A while later, all the ladies took a dip in the hot springs, relaxing in the warm water. Everyone around traded words in dialogue...everyone except Shinobu, who quietly sat still and didn't say anything. Kitsune noticed her unusual silence and decided to poke some fun in hopes of seeing a reaction. "Ne, Shinobu?" she asked. The said girl looked up, nervously chewing her food. "What's with you? Guy problems?" she continued, knowing that the young resident had some form of a crush for the sole male of the house. Her reaction was, however, totally unexpected.
Just as Naru was about to show her displeasure at her friend's teasing and Kanako could give her a death glare, Shinobu's eyes widened as she fell back. Panic-stricken, she tried to keep her head above the shallow hot springs as the rest tried to calm her down. Motoko got to her first and pushed some pressure points, calming the blue-haired girl down significantly.
"Shinobu-chan, are you all right?" she asked, worry evident in her voice. Instead of answering or nodding, she simply and blankly stared at her. Noticing the lack of response, she placed a hand on her shoulder and gently shook it. Shinobu's eyes regained focus.
"I...I'm all right, thank you," she whispered hurriedly and ran up the stairs. Everyone looked at her retreating form in confusion.
"Anyone know what got into her?" Kitsune finally asked.
Sara spoke up, "She's been acting funny since we walked back from school." Everyone gave her their attention. "Suu and I tried to get her attention but she wouldn't respond. It took a hard hit by Suu to wake her up." The group digested the fact as they proceeded to sit in silence, contemplating what might make her act weird.
"Why don't we give her a few days to think it out? It might be personal," Naru suggested. Everyone else nodded, agreeing that it was the best course for the time being.
The next day, a Sunday, Keitaro came downstairs, looking for breakfast. He came in and noticed Shinobu giving the finishing touches to the table. "Shinobu-chan?" he asked.
The resident chef looked up and her eyes opened in fear. "G--good morning, Sempai," she let out and bolted up the stairs. Keitaro tried to stop her but she ran too quickly and he simply looked up towards the stairs.
Breakfast passed in silence again, due to the lack of Shinobu at the dining table. Everyone was still trying to figure out her erratic behavior, but the girls, at least the older ones, had a different thought in mind. When breakfast was done and Keitaro volunteered to do dishes, took them and went into the kitchen, Kitsune spoke up. "Motoko, Naru and Kanako, can you come to my room with me?" Her face lacked the usual slight smile she always carried and the other three noticed her seriousness and complied. Suu and Sara ran off to the former's room, preparing for yet another crazy invention.
Once Naru and Motoko came in, she closed the door and they sat around her low table. "Let me get to the point. Tomorrow, I'm going on a trip to South America, Motoko's going to kendo camp, Naru's going to Kyoto with her club, Kanako is going to visit Granny Hina, Suu is going on a field trip with her class and Sara's being picked up by Seta, and as far as I know, Shinobu's staying and so is Keitaro," she explained.
"So you're worried about leaving those two together?" Naru asked. Her evenness of her tone surprised the older woman.
"Doesn't leaving a fifteen-year-old girl under the care of a man who's not related bother you?" Kitsune asked. "I'm not saying that Keitaro's a bad guy, but if anyone found out, there would be all sorts of weird rumors."
"I trust Urashima to take care of Shinobu," Motoko voiced her opinion. "The six months he spent overseas has made him into a more reliable and trustworthy man."
"Oneesan would never do anything of that nature," Kanako added. "Do not worry, Kitsune-san, he will do well."
Kitsune just shook her head and smiled. "I guess I'm just worrying too much. Oh well, I guess we'll have to get ready eh?" The girls nodded and got up, getting ready to pack up.
Meanwhile, Shinobu sat in front of her desk, her notebook showing the notes she took from the sex ed. class a couple days back. Next to that sat a laptop Suu had made for her, connected to the Internet via hacked satellite connection and showing more information based on the same topic.
'The man places his organ between--' she started reading then stopped, too embarrassed to continue. She fidgeted in her seat and simply groaned in frustration. 'Why is it that when I'm near Sempai I feel different? Is it...' she trailed and filled in with embarrasement, 'hormones?' She violently shook her head, trying to get rid of the idea. Then another dialogue she overheard came back.
FLASHBACK
"Hey, Taki-chan, you have a boyfriend right?"
"Yeah, why do you ask?"
"What did it feel like when you first met him?"
"Hmm...I don't really know how to explain. I felt...different, like it seemed stuffy in the room and stuff like that. I blushed easily too."
END FLASHBACK
'Is this love?' she then asked, and immediately denied it again. Before she could think any more, she heard some noise coming from the door, the noise specifically being someone knocking on the door. She got up and upon opening the door, saw Naru. "Ah, Naru-sempai?" she asked, curious as to what the older woman would want from her.
"Hey, Shinobu, Kitsune, Motoko, Kanako and I are all leaving Hinata for a few days so could you prepare some food for us, please?" she requested.
"Hai," Shinobu agreed and took out her apron. 'I hope cooking will take my mind off these...issues,' she mentally wished as she walked down towards the kitchen. Taking out some meat and vegetables, she started chopping them and mixing some of them for different lunch boxes. She took some oil and a frying pan out and started to heat some oil, on top of which the meat and vegetables went. As she idly stirred it, she heard a loud masculine shout. Dropping the heat on the stove, the resident chef walked out to see Kitsune, obviously drunk, crawling up on a panicking Keitaro.
"Now, you be a good boy when we're gone ya?" the drunken woman slurred, her face very close to Keitaro's, close enough that he could smell her sake-laden breath. Panic-stricken, he bobbed his head, hoping she'd get off of him, but unfortunately, more was in store. Kitsune drew her face even closer until their noses were making contact. "You take care of Shinobu ya? No funny business ya?" she slurred, softer than before. Keitaro vigorously nodded yet again.
As Shinobu saw the older woman crawl up on the poor man, surprisingly, she didn't panic and whine. Instead, an image from her earlier web surfing came to mind.
FLASHBACK
In her room, Shinobu grabbed hold of the mouse attached to her custom- made laptop as she clicked every six or so seconds, going to a different page. About a minute later, the clicking stopped as the young girl became interested in one page's material, titled "A Girl's First Time -- How to Make the Most out of It". As she read the material, she ran into a picture of a woman and a man just hugging while sitting in the sofa (A/N - Volume 9, chapter 76) albeit in a slightly compromising manner. This brought back the one moment when she walked in on what she thought was a makeout session of Keitaro and Naru. Reading and scrolling down, she soon saw a woman pinning a man down and becoming awfully comfortable on him. At this point, her imagination gained a mind of its own and took off to fantasyland. There, she saw herself pinning a calm Keitaro down on a giant heart-shaped red bed. Her head came closer and closer to his as she came in for a kiss when...
END FLASHBACK
The image of her on top of him came back in full force as she observed the situation in front of her, oblivious to either participant. In fact, it came down with such force that she saw HERSELF on top of him instead of Kitsune, seducing the man and closing the distance between her and his lips. Just as the lips were millimeters away from each other, reality struck once again when her sensitive nose picked up a burning scent from the kitchen. Her chef side took over and she ran into the kitchen, saving most of the food from burning and charring. She hurriedly turned the stove off and took out four boxes. She evenly distributed the food and the rice and sealed them. Just then, Motoko walked in.
"Oh, Motoko, the food's done," she told the older girl.
"Oh? Okay, I'll tell everyone else. Please keep them warm until tomorrow," Motoko said. Shinobu nodded and she turned back to the kitchen to prepare for dinner without a word, obviously deep in thought again. Motoko, being the most observant member of the residents, noticed the subtle changes in the young resident but left it alone and walked back outside to see a still panicking Keitaro with an inebriated Kitsune on top of him. With a sigh, she approached the scene and lifted the lady, and placed her on a different chair, where Kitsune promptly fell asleep. Keitaro finally got up on his two feet and wiped his brow with a handkerchief. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, now I am. Thanks, Motoko," he let out, calming down. She nodded and walked back upstairs. Keitaro turned around and saw Shinobu working in the kitchen, but noticed something odd. 'Her movements...so robotic,' he observed, as he watched Shinobu navigate her way between passages, doors and plates of food. Usually, whenever he saw her work in the kitchen, she did it like second nature: she flowed with the kitchen like how water flows down a stream. Today, however, her movements seemed forced, as if she didn't want to do something. Concerned, he approached her.
"Shinobu-chan?" he asked worriedly. The said girl dropped whatever she was carrying in her hands the moment she registered exactly WHO called her name out, and once again her chef side took over when she heard numerous *CRACK*s on the floor. Her eyes widened as she saw broken eggs on the floor along with various vegetables. "Oh no!" both gasped. They bent down at the same time, intent on picking up and by coincidence or by purpose, two hands made contact as they headed for one particular egg shell, one over the other. The two, now blushing, slowly lifted their faces, making eye contact, and much to her surprise, Shinobu slowly closed in the distance between her and him.
'Sempai's lips...are getting closer...' she thought as the distance closed in. 'Closer....closer....closer...closer...' She could feel his breath on her face as he stood, transfixed, with his eyes fixed onto hers as if they were connected. Seconds later, she felt her lips pressed against something else and her eyes regained its focus. 'I'm....kissing...' she idly thought. Her eyes then looked at where her mouth was and her brain went into overdrive. 'I'M KISSING SEMPAI!!!!' she panicked as she immediately pulled back. Her sudden fallback caused her to land painfully on her posterior as she gently rubbed her lips, her face as red as a stop sign. Keitaro, on the other hand, simply looked down and covered his lips, finally realizing what had transpired between those two.
"Shinobu-chan," a subdued Keitaro called. Shinobu, however, had different ideas.
"Sempai! I'm sorry!" she yelled and got up quickly, intending to bolt. Before Keitaro could do anything, the young girl was out of the kitchen and running up the stairs for her room. Confused, Keitaro simply cleaned up the mess and finished cooking dinner. Suddenly, he didn't feel so hungry and after setting up enough dishes for all the ladies, he headed upstairs, changed into his white gi, left a note telling of his whereabouts on the dinner table and headed for the waterfall near the Inn, hoping that some meditation would clear up his mind.
After a slight amount of worry from the ladies when they noticed the lack of their manager and the subsequent note of his whereabouts, they all sat down and started eating. Suu, the one with the most sensitive, yet the dullest taste buds, noticed something different. "Shinobu?" she called curiously. The said girl looked at Suu. "You didn't cook, did you?"
Shinobu took a bite and played around with it for a second before swallowing it. "No, it was Sempai," she confirmed. Almost immediately, a tingling feeling took over her as she simply said 'Sempai' earlier and she could feel a blush running through her entire body. Naru, sitting across from her, noticed the unusual redness.
"Shinobu, are you all right? You're blushing all over," Naru pointed out with concern.
"I'm sorry, I just don't feel very well right now," she whispered.
"It's all right. Head to your room, one of us will bring you your food," the older girl instructed. The blue-haired resident complied as she slowly walked up the stairs, her hand clutching the banister tighter than usual. After she had gone out of sight and earshot, Kitsune spoke up.
"Well, it looks like she's just sick." Everyone nodded in agreement.
"It isn't necessarily a good thing, but it definitely is compared to whatever else is out there," Naru agreed as she put the extra set of food on a tray and took it upstairs. A minute later, she approached the door to Shinobu's room and lightly frapped on it.
"Come in!" she yelled from inside. Naru walked in with the tray and noticed her sitting hunched over a book.
"Shinobu, you shouldn't work yourself out like that when you're not feeling well," the older girl chided.
"N-no, this is important," Shinobu replied as she flipped some pages in her notebook.
"All right, if you say so. But remember, you should get some rest," Naru said as she walked out the room. The younger girl sighed in relief as she turned off the screen saver on her laptop and continued reading a particular page.
'People feel attraction because of a chemical called pheromones. When one person releases them, the other person picks them up and releases his/her set of them. All this happen without anyone knowing because pheromones are colorless and odorless. In fact, the pheromones have such power that sometimes they can cause a person to not observe what is going on while he/she is attracted/attracting his/her partner.'
Shinobu paused to digest the short information. 'Is that why we were so transfixed?' she pondered as she remembered what had happened.
FLASHBACK
As her lips homed in on Keitaro's lips, he stood there, transfixed and, in a sense, hypnotized. On her side, she couldn't help but feel like she was attracted by the other pair of lips...almost like two magnets with opposite poles facing each other.
END FLASHBACK
The young girl, for once having figured out something, albeit with a bout of embarrasement, finally relaxed in bed as she let the blush recede. As she relaxed, various phrases from all sources of reading material surfaced, but one of them made itself prominent: 'The first time will hurt. Do it with someone you love and trust.'
'Someone you love and trust...' she trailed as she drifted away to sleep.
The next day started with a flurry of activity as the majority of the population dragged bags down the stairs, with Keitaro's help, towards the exit. In the midst of the chaotic moving, Shinobu left for school quietly, those thoughts never escaping her. As the rest walked down the stairs, Naru yelled, "Take good care of Shinobu while we're gone!"
Following her, Motoko added, "And don't make her cry!" Minutes later, they had all disappeared, leaving Keitaro alone in the house, with Tama as company. Keitaro proceeded to work on multitudes of repairs, now that the girls were out of the house and he wouldn't be interrupted.
The day passed as normal and Shinobu returned from school. Upon opening the door and entering, she only noticed one pair of shoes in the doorway and moments later, saw Keitaro walk downstairs. "Tadaima!" she yelled, as per custom.
Keitaro looked towards the voice and noticed the young girl. "Okaeri," he replied, welcoming her. She took off her shoes, and instead of bolting or avoiding him, she walked upstairs like her usual self. 'She seems more herself today,' he mused. Minutes later, she came back downstairs, and gave Keitaro the shock of his life. Instead of the usual plain one-piece dress, she came out wearing a white spaghetti strap that left the midriff bare, paired up with a red miniskirt that really left little to the imagination. 'Whoa...what got into her?' The girl, noticing his looks, came up close to him.
"Sempai, how do I look?" she asked cheerfully and did a twirl. It took all his willpower and some to not fall over and start a fountain of blood as he saw more of Shinobu than he would ever expect to see, not that he wanted to see more in the first place.
"Y---y---you look good," he let out, applying extra pressure on the fingers gripping his nose. "Excusemeihavetogotothebathroom," he blurted out as he made a mad dash for the nearest restroom. Shinobu saw him run off, first confused, then giggled as she made her way toward the kitchen.
Once he secured the door, he ran to the sink, turned on the tap and let go of his nose. Just as he let go, a massive stream of blood poured out, going down the drain. Keitaro sighed in relief as the pent-up blood kept coming and coming (A/N - We're in an anime world; you can lose gallons of blood and still live). 'That Shinobu...when did she grow up so much?' he wondered, then slapped himself. 'No! Don't think like that!' he reprimanded himself. After half a minute of letting it loose, the bloodstream slowly trickled down and it stopped flowing. He started to wash around his nostrils to get rid of any trace of blood, cleaned the sink, wiped himself dry and walked out the bathroom. As he walked out and headed upstairs, intent on going to his room, he looked into the kitchen. The resident chef was back to her old self as she immersed herself in cooking and fluidly went from one part to another. For about a minute, he stood there and watcher her just cook and soon caught himself staring at HER. Just at that point, Shinobu turned to face him, making eye contact for a moment. She smiled, and turned back to her food, this time with a slight blush and a smile. Keitaro, feeling his face on fire, proceeded to walk up the stairs to do some work.
A few hours passed as Keitaro immersed himself in archeology-related work. As Keitaro closed all his books with a sigh, a familiar presence landed on his head. "Myu," it said.
"Tama, what brings you to my room?" he asked as he picked up the turtle off of his head.
"Myu myu," Tama said as she pointed towards the dining room. Keitaro followed the fin's line of sight.
"Oh, dinner's ready?" he asked. The resident turtle simply nodded as she freed herself and leisurely flew out and towards the dining room. Keitaro got up and followed suit, looking forward to another great meal as usual. As he approached the stairs, he noticed how dark the room underneath seemed. 'What's going on down there?' he wondered as he cautiously made his way down into the darkened room...
TBC
A/N - Not to fear folks! That's only one of two chapters done! This was first intended to be a one-chapter piece, but as I realized how much harder it became to write this, I had to stop this somewhere and finish it up. Besides, finals are coming up and I have to prepare for them.
Anyways, R/R plz!