Chapter Four: Lift Me Up

"Goddammit all! Why didn't you tell me any of this before now, Keitaro?!" I cringed. It's not like that I didn't expect this kind of a reaction from Haruka, but knowing that didn't make me feel any less worse. The deed to the apartments and my letter to the girls were laid out on the table; much to Haruka's dismay. I told her what happened and she lost her flippin' mind! She went out and screamed for the girls to come down and threatened to kick out the lot of 'em. I practically had to gag her with my hand to make her stop. Being hammer-fisted on the head and howling in pain seemed to have calmed her down a bit.

"Because I knew that you would act this way." She gave me that infamous arched brow of hers. Ignoring it, I continued. "I made my decision and had to follow through on it. So, please, can you let this go?"

"That's so unfair, Keitaro. How can I say no to that?" she said in her normal, indifferent tone of voice.

"Is that a 'yes'?" I ask hopefully. She slams her hands on the table and stands up simultaneously, causing me to flinch in fear.

"Don't you dare try to trivialize the situation here! I don't believe that such a document exists," she's definitely talking about what the girls shoved in my face. "or that all of them would sign it; especially the kids! They probably have no idea what just happened!"

"Does it matter? None of them were against me being thrown out of the apartments. Isn't that fact enough to convince you?" I say bitterly.

"Why are you letting them throw you out of your home?!"

"That place isn't my home!" I scream back. "I've been punched and kicked around since the day I came here! I tried my best to satisfy there every need! You don't know the shit I've been through so don't pretend that you know!" I take my shirt off violently and hurl it to the floor as Haruka gasped. "Look at me! Look at all of these scars! Is this the look of someone who's lived in a happy home?!" Haruka ran outside, throwing up on the nearby bushes. I immediately felt pathetic. She didn't deserve that.

I put my shirt back on and walk over to her, rubbing her back as she's convalescing. "I'm such an idiot!" she bawled. "I never should've left you alone with those witches! God, I'm so sorry, Keitaro."

"No, I shouldn't have shown you that so suddenly." I say sympathetically. Even I become disgusted when I look at myself in the mirror. It looks like I've been butchered slowly with instruments of torture. A plethora of discolored skin, stitches, and scars ravage my entire body.

"Keitaro, why? Why didn't you tell me?" she wailed. I took a deep breath before answering, because I didn't want to cry anymore. Retelling all the mistakes I ever did, made me emotional.

"I thought that in my own stupid way that I was protecting them from the world's harsh reality and from being seen as evil people. When I know in my heart that they aren't, but whenever I came back from one of Naru or Motoko's attacks, none of them were worried about my safety, save for sweet, innocent Shinobu. She reminds me of Konako in a way. Maybe that's why I always treat her like a little sister."

"Keitaro." she called.

"Kitsune would sometimes try and get me to drink away my worries, yet I always knew that she had an ulterior motive; money. I worry about her the most though, because as a man I know that others would take advantage of her. So, yeah, sometimes I spoil her by giving her money that I don't have; to keep her out of trouble."

"Keitaro!" she shouted.

"Su's just a playful little kid who doesn't understand the meaning of 'limits'. I couldn't tell you how many times she blew me high into the air, but I knew that it was all in good fun. I did try to get her to stop making things that are destructive, but asking her to stop is like telling her to stop eating bananas; it just isn't done. Little Sara's just getting used to the hang of things, but she does have some resentment towards me. I'm not sure why, yet she hits me to vent out some of her frustrations, so it's not like it was anything personal. She's a good kid."

"Keitaro, listen to me." she said with warning.

"Motoko's just your normal rebellious teenager with a huge chip on her shoulder. Her emotions tend to go to extremes though, but that's not all her fault. In time she'll be able to cope with them. She's a bright girl who's struggling to find her vocation between a woman and a warrior. I'm sure her fury will quell when that happens. She'll eventually turn out to be a gorgeous beauty. Almost makes me sad that I won't be able to see when that happens."

"Please, stop, Keitaro!" she embraced me intensely. Holding me so tightly that her body was trembling against mine. "You don't have to say anymore!" But I couldn't stop. I had to tell her about the one woman who meant so much to me, even if it hurt.

"And Naru, Naru's an angel. So beautiful, so strong, so untouchable. I feel like I committed a crime each time I was close to her, but I learned quickly that heaven hath no fury like a woman scorned. Her wrath has no limit and her patience is also very thin. But I was dazzled by her and I couldn't look away from her. I kept chasing after her like a flower starving for the sun's light. I felt like she could fill the void in my life. So I followed her, bowed to her every whim, gritted my teeth with each blow to my body. Yet, still, still it wasn't enough. I wasn't enough for her. So, she went and found another man. Right under my nose, I had no idea till she told me… I lost her before I had her." I stop to realize that I was crying… and the wet feeling that was growing on my right shoulder.

"You don't have to hurt yourself anymore, Keitaro." she said through her sobs. "I'm here with you. So, just stop defending them. They don't deserve it."

"Aunt Haruka." I whisper softly in her ear. "Thank you." She pulled away from me, but her hands rested firmly on my shoulders.

"I promise that I'll take care of things here, but where are you going to go?"

"I'm not sure, but I just gotta get out of here as fast as I can. Right now it doesn't matter where I'll end up, but maybe I'll go stay with Mutsumi for a while." I at least have to tell her that I'm not living at the Hinata Apartment's anymore.

"I'm gonna be lonely without you here, kiddo." I laughed at the thought, but she looked at me seriously. I felt a tug in my heart. I close the gap between us and sensually grab her around the waist, pulling her against me.

"Do you want me to stay with you, just like that one time?" Haruka blushed a crimson red and immediately pushed me away.

"I told you to never bring that up again." she said stuttering. "And don't you think I forgot that you didn't stop even when I told you to!"

"It's not like it's all my fault, if I remember correctly, you even said that you-" I howled in pain and covered my nose. "You punched me!"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" She kept beating me on the head until I ran from her. When I reached a moderate distance from her I looked back. "You better come back to see me, Kei!"

"I will!" I holler back. I hold my bag firmly in my hands and walk towards the train station. Never looking back, because of the tears that were pouring down my face. "Dammit, and I swore that I'd never cry again."I rubbed my face on my shirt, but I decided it was okay, because the person that was behind me also had tears in her eyes. I was happy to leave with a smile on my face and my head held high.

Sorry for the three week wait my precious readers! Right after finals I came down with a terrible cold that I'm still not over. As for this chapter, it's probably not one of the best things I've written, but bear with me because it's one of those transition chapters that you have to write with not much drama or suspense. I did however leave an opening for Mutsumi and Haruka. As always, please leave any comments, questions, or concerns in the form of a review.

I'm gonna be taking summer classes to try and graduate earlier just to let all of people know. So the timeline for my next chapter may be similiar to this one, but I hope to get in another chapter in a week or so.