A Friend in Need…
By: Tezza1502
Disclaimer: BLAHBLAHBLAHBLAH Love Hina BLAHBLAHBLAHBLAH © Ken Akamatsu BLAHBLAHBLAHBLAH not me BLAHBLAHBLAHBLAH just exercising my imagination BLAHBLAHBLAHBLAH
Notes: WARNING I think I managed to outdo myself on the WAFF towards the end this time.
Chapter 13: Tarnished Blade- Prelude.
Friday started out surprisingly normal for the residents of Hinata-Sou, considering the events of the previous day. Everyone went about their habitual routines for a weekday. Motoko did her morning Kata's on the roof. Shinobu prepared breakfast. Su and Sarah tried to ambush Keitaro in front of his room. Naru behaved like a zombie until her third cup of coffee. The only real difference was Mitsune giving the ambush girls a disapproving glare as she exited her room early and headed for Keitaro's.
Having chased Su and Sarah away, she was considering entering his room and giving the Kanrinin what she felt would be a much more pleasant surprise than the one originally planned when she heard a cracking sound coming from behind her. Following the sound Mitsune discovered that it was coming from the stairwell, where Naru was clenching her fists tightly enough that her knuckles were popping. Tucking her morning plans for her boyfriend away for another time, she put on her game face and started walking towards her seething friend. "Morning Naru. How are you today?" She enquired in a polite tone.
"Why?" The air around Naru was fairly crackling with enraged electricity.
Mitsune let out a tired sigh. "Can we not do this right now? I didn't get much sleep and I'm not in the mood for an argument." She rubbed the dark circles under her eyes for effect.
"Tough! I am in the mood." Naru retorted angrily. "Why did you steal him from me? You knew how I felt about him!"
"Naru. I'm asking you as a friend; please drop it." She appealed, trying to slide past her friend before she lost her temper and said something she would regret.
"Answer the damn question!" Naru demanded again, punching an arm across the stairwell to prevent Mitsune from getting past her.
Mitsune took a deep breath and then looked at Naru with a pissed off expression of her own. 'Fine! Have it your way!' "I didn't steal him from you. He chose me over you." She hissed, going straight for the jugular vein.
"N-no." Naru took a step back in shock. "He wouldn't. H-he-"
Mitsune cut her off sharply. "All he wanted was someone he could open up to without fear of reprisal for every little mistake. I was willing to be that for him at first. Nothing more." A cruel smirk appeared upon her face. "But you just kept punching him to my doorstep. Yet despite getting closer, we were still just friends." Her smirk grew. "And you know what the most ironic thing about all this? If you and kendo girl hadn't punched our lights out that night, we probably wouldn't have ended up together."
"No! He… We…" Naru took another unsteady step backwards as Mitsune's words slammed into her, allowing the fox to slip by her and down the stairs without a backwards glance. The Toudai aspirant stared after her, feeling very shaken and conflicted right then. Deep down, a part of her knew that the Fox was right. She had occasionally treated Keitaro somewhat badly in the past. However, he was the one that had been pursuing her ever since he arrived at the Hinata-Sou. So she decided to focus her anger upon her usual target for those times that she feels frustrated and confused. 'Keitaro played me! How dare he toy with my feelings like that!!' She mumbled angrily to herself as she descended the stairs, forcefully drowning out the small voice in her head that whispered otherwise.
As she walked out of sight, Motoko emerged from further up the stairway. She allowed herself a tight smile. 'Naru should really know better than to engage in verbal combat with Kitsune. Her tongue is as sharp as Shisui.' Her smile faltered as she thought once again about her own predicament. She was also disturbed at the level of fear that had been radiating from Mitsune during the encounter. 'Have Naru and I really become so monstrous in our behaviour that even she can no longer hide her inner feelings?' She pondered, playing over in her mind the subtle cues in the fox's body language that revealed how unwilling she was to be alone with her friend.
Still unable to bring herself to take the first step Mitsune had put before her, Motoko pushed the whole situation towards the back of her mind once again and headed down for breakfast.
The morning meal was subdued and uncomfortable. Naru sat as far away from Mitsune and Keitaro as was possible at the table, throwing angry glares at them both. The new couple stayed silent, unwilling to provoke a repeat of the night before. However, they did hold hands under the table from time to time. And Mitsune squeezed the inside of his thigh once, causing him to choke on a mouthful of food. The rest of them just kept their heads low so as to stay out of the firing line. Even Su was less boisterous than normal as she shovelled her meal down her throat.
Offering their praise to Shinobu's culinary skills, the school bound tenants left first. Keitaro waved Shinobu away from the washing up so that she would not be late herself. Naru retreated to her room to get dressed for the day, leaving Mitsune to watch her man do the dishes.
"Do you mind if I walk with you today?" She asked out of the blue. "To your cram school, I mean."
"Why?" Seeing her face begin to fall, Keitaro rushed to reassure her. "I mean, of course you can! I didn't mean to be rude or anything. I'm just confused as to why." Seeing that she was still looking a bit hurt, he bowed his head. "I'm sorry." The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her in any way.
"That's okay, Kei." She touched his arm. "I'm just curious. You two work so hard there. I'd like to see the place that eats up all my man's time." She smiled sweetly.
Suddenly the front door slammed loudly, making them both jump. "Naru has left the building." Keitaro commented dryly.
Mitsune guessed accurately that the girl had been eavesdropping. 'Damn girl's been hanging around me too long.' She grinned for a moment. Then her face fell as she recalled the scene outside Keitaro's room. Her boyfriend noticed her change in mood.
"Kitsu-chan? What's wrong?" He asked, wondering if she was annoyed at her friend listening in on their conversation. "I'm sure she will come around once she's had a bit of time to get used to the idea of us being together." He offered, trying to think of a reason she could be upset at her friend for.
"It's not that, Kei. She um…" Mitsune hesitated.
Keitaro smacked his head as the full importance of the slamming door hit him. "Oh crap! Um, are you ready to go? If Naru's gone, it means I should be gone too." He started to panic at the thought of being late.
Mitsune realised that she might be making him late by just standing here. "What? Oh, yeah. Lemme get my bag." Following him upstairs, she grabbed it and rejoined him at the doorway. Telling him about what took place outside his room would have to wait.
Throwing his pack over his shoulder, he locked the door behind her and started off at a brisk pace down the stairs, hoping he had not missed the tram.
Totally out of breath and with Mitsune grousing about having to move at an unladylike speed, they collapsed onto a seat towards the rear of the tram. Being slightly more fit than her, Keitaro caught his breath and spoke first. "Bet you wish you'd stayed home and soaked in the hot springs instead, huh?" He puffed.
"Almost." She retorted wheezily. They grinned at each other just as a thought occurred to her. "Hey um, where's Naru?"
Keitaro's grin faltered. "She's sitting up the front." When she gave him a questioning look, he shrugged. "Whenever she's pissed at me in the morning, that's what she does." Looking up the carriage, he pointed her out. "She won't sit with me, but she'll keep me in sight. And I know better than to go over to her." He finished, rubbing his jaw in painful memory of the times he had ignored her warnings and tried anyway.
Mitsune looked up just in time to see Naru snort and turn her head to face the other direction. 'She had her chance.' Mitsune repeated to herself again for the umpteenth time, trying hard not to feel guilty about dating Keitaro. Shaking away those unhappy thoughts, she scrunched closer to Keitaro. "Make like a pillow, Kei-kun." She demanded playfully.
Obliging her request, Keitaro wrapped an arm around her shoulders and braced her as she dozed lightly against him for the rest of the trip. 'I hope whatever it is that Haruka has for her does the trick.' He thought to himself. Mitsune's constant catnaps were a source of worry for him, mostly because he could not do anything for her other than be close and offer support. 'I just wish there was something I could do!' He knew that for whatever reason she slept better when he was there with her, but she had put her foot down when he had hesitantly offered to do so. The risk to himself was too great for her peace of mind.
It had been a hard thing for him to work up the courage to say even that much. A LOT of blushing and stammering had occurred during that conversation. Moreover, Mitsune had not made it any easier by pretending to misunderstand what he was offering. 'But at least for a moment she had been her old self.' That alone made up for any amount of teasing. Ever since the 'incident', Mitsune's natural playfulness had been muted by her lack of proper sleep and almost constant nightmares. After two weeks, it was quickly reaching the point that she could no longer even close her eyes without the terrifying images assaulting her mind. 'Please. Whatever Haruka has in mind, let it work!' He prayed as he stroked her hair tenderly.
An hour later, they arrived at the stop for the cram school he and Naru attended. Waking Mitsune gently, he waited until the initial rush of disembarking students was gone before guiding them off the tram. Taking a moment to get her bearings, Mitsune put on her hat and sunnies then indicated for Keitaro to lead the way.
Walking hand in hand, they strolled towards a large block of grey buildings. "Not much to look at." She sniffed.
"Well, it's what's inside that counts." Keitaro answered nervously, scratching the back of his head. He was not sure why Mitsune's opinion about the cram school was important, only that it was.
Mitsune looked at him askance, wondering if he realised the double meaning in what he had just said. 'Nah. Keitaro ain't that subtle.' She decided. "True enough, I s'pose." She shrugged finally.
"KEITARO!"
"YO, WHERE YA BEEN?!"
They turned at the sound of his name to see Hiatani and Shirai heading towards them. "Oh, hi guys." He answered.
Whatever they were about to say next stalled in their throats as they took in the sight in front of them. They both were looking from Keitaro to Mitsune and back with their jaws wide open.
"Um, guys?" Keitaro snapped his fingers in their faces. "Snap out of it. You're catching flies." He glanced around helplessly at the passing students, who were giving them weird looks as they walked around the little group. Mitsune giggled into her hand at their reaction. She knew exactly what was causing them to zone out. Part of the reason she had accompanied him here was to reinforce to him and ram home to anyone else that may have an interest in him the fact that they were together. His friends would broadcast that second part quite enthusiastically without any prodding on her part.
Hiatani finally found his voice. "Dude! When did this happen?"
"What?" Keitaro was still on the wrong page.
"This!"He asked again, pointing to Mitsune first then their joined hands.
"Oh." He blushed slightly, but did not attempt to retrieve his hand. "About a week ago." He suddenly remembered his manners. "Oh yeah! Hiatani. Shirai. This is Mitsune Konno, my girlfriend." Mitsune gave them a slight bow and a cheeky grin as he reintroduced her to them. "Kitsune. These clowns are my best friends, Hiatani Masayuki and Shirai Kimiaki."
"Oh yeah, didn't you two help out with the play at the Beach Café Hinata?" She stroked her chin, fondly remembering all the booze she had conned out of them during that summer.
"A pleasure to meet you again, Miss Konno." They said together as they bowed deeply. Mitsune noticed with amusement that they surreptitiously checked to see if their wallets were still in their back pockets when they thought she was not looking.
"Please boys, just Kitsune will do." She waved dismissively at their formality. "'Miss' makes me sound old."
"Something you most definitely aren't!" Keitaro added emphatically.
Mitsune responded to this compliment with a feather-light kiss on his cheek. "Flatterer!"
"I try." He responded, trying very hard not to ruin the suave image he was attempting to project in front of his friends by going a brilliant red at her touch. He almost succeeded.
Mitsune smirked at this. "You can have him after I say goodbye, boys." She said airily as she led him away from the two flabbergasted ronin towards a quiet corner.
As they disappeared from sight, Hiatani turned to Shirai. "Dude, how the hell did Keitaro pick up a complete hottie like her?" He whispered.
"Dunno." Shirai replied in a hushed tone. "But it definitely explains why Narusegawa stormed through here earlier looking like she'd swallowed a lemon tree."
"Uh-huh." Hiatani nodded as Keitaro and Mitsune reappeared looking a bit ruffled. "We are so torturing him at lunchtime until he spills every detail."
With a last lingering look at each other, the couple separated. "See you tonight, Kei-kun." She waved and blew a kiss at him as she walked off. "Bye, boys."
All three of them waved back. "Bye." Two of them came out of their daze as the warning bell sounded. "Come on Romeo, tuck it back in your pants and get inside before we're late." They grabbed an arm each and led a still stupefied Keitaro towards the school.
Sure enough, during their lunch break they cornered Keitaro and began to bombard him with questions.
"How did it happen?"
"Have you made it to second base yet?"
"Why didn't you tell us as soon as it happened?"
"What about third?"
"What about the other girls at the Hinata?"
"Has she shown you any of her naughty bits yet?"
"Are they available?"
"Details, man. Give us details!"
He put up with it for approximately thirty seconds. "KNOCK IT OFF, GUYS!" He yelled, drawing the attention of the whole dining room.
"Come on, man. How can you walk in like that and NOT expect us to grill you." Hiatani demanded.
"Yeah." Shirai added. "Heck, the last time we saw you, you were pining for Narusegawa. What happened there?"
"I got tired." Keitaro replied cryptically. "Look, long story short:- Kitsune and I went out on the town about two weeks ago. While we were out, she told me that she liked me. A week later, I asked her out. She said yes. Now we're dating. That's it." He finished and crossed his arms defiantly.
The other two looked at each other, then back at him. "Like hell it is! We want details!" They insisted.
"You're not getting them." He retorted.
"Please!"
Keitaro snorted at their antics. "Pouting only works if you're female and cute. Last time I checked, you two were neither."
"Damnit!!" Shirai threw up his hands with disgust. "Some friend you are."
"Yeah. You won't even invite us around to the Hinata so we can try our luck with the other girls." Hiatani scowled.
"Believe me guys, I'm keeping you alive by keeping you away." The bell to return to class sounded, saving him from further hounding. "Come on you nut cases, back to work." He insisted as he left them.
They sat there for a bit longer, watching him go.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Hiatani asked.
"Oh yeah!" Shirai nodded. "Open season on Narusegawa." They both grinned and made plans to catch up with her after classes ended for the day.
As Keitaro exited the school in the afternoon, he passed his friends outside. Shaking his head with amusement, he easily figured out why they were 'resting' in some bushes. They had obviously attempted to ask Naru out in their usual overbearing fashion. "Baka's." He commented while he checked to see whether they had come to any serious harm or not at her hands. Naru was not known for her restraint when she gets angry.
Boarding the tram, he found a corner and stood against it for the long ride home. Allowing his thoughts to drift to his date with Mitsune that night, he did not notice the person shoving their way towards him through the crowd.
"Keitaro!" He opened his eyes and gulped when he focused on the owner of the irate voice.
"H-hi Naru."
"Did you sic those idiot friends of yours on me?" She snarled, her mouth forming a thin line.
"No, I didn't." He replied a great deal more calmly than he felt. "That was completely their idea. I know you don't like it when guys hit on you."
Her face softened at that. "Well, okay. I believe you, I guess." She offered hesitantly as her anger evaporated. Naru quickly cast about for another topic before 'she' came into the conversation. "You seemed to be determined in class today. I haven't seen you concentrate like that before."
"You were watching me?" He asked in surprise. "I thought you were angry with me because of Kitsune?"
"I-I am." She faltered. "It was just refreshing to see you actually paying attention for once instead of daydreaming." She added, unable to avoid the small verbal jab. 'Damn you Keitaro! Stop ruining the moment.' She fumed internally.
"Oh. Well, I just felt a bit more focused today for some reason." He shrugged.
Before she could think of another topic, the tram braked suddenly and Naru found herself stumbling against Keitaro. He reached out a steadying hand towards her, thanking his lucky stars that he managed to bring his shoulder bag around in front of him before she was pressed against him by the crush of people behind her.
Naru tried to push herself off him with her hands, before giving up in frustration. The carriage was packed so tightly that there was no room for her to move at all. As she gave up the futile struggle, she realised that she still had both hands on Keitaro's chest, and was unconsciously grabbing his muscles through the shirt. 'Huh? Since when has the baka been working out?' She wondered, giving them another pinch to make sure she was not imagining things.
When Naru had bumped into him, his first instinct was to brace for a slap or punch. Making sure she was steady on her feet, he let her go and waited for an impact. When none came, he opened his eyes to find her leaning against him and flexing her hands over his chest lightly. 'Oh hell, she's going to realise what she's doing in a minute and hit me twice as hard!' He began to sweat. When nothing continued to happen, he looked at her face a bit closer and found that she was blushing slightly as she felt him up. There was a twinkle of curiosity in her eye as she watched her fingers rub against him in slow circles. Curiosity, and something else…
Then the smell washed over him. She had washed her hair with that shampoo of hers that he liked. His brain started to fall into sensory overload, driving him nuts. A low, frustrated moan formed in the back of his throat and he was suddenly very glad that there was something between them below his belt.
Naru was still lost in her own world when she heard a small moan come from somewhere. 'Is-is he…enjoying this?' She wondered, her normal instincts finally flaring up when confronted by any sort of overt (pervert?) behaviour from Keitaro. Before she could react, though, a small voice asked her if hitting him right now for something she was doing to him was such a good idea. 'Besides, I thought the idea was to make him yours, not send him racing back to Kitsune?' That stopped her cold.
'But, he's being a pervert.' She argued.
'Yeah. Our pervert!' The voice replied with amusement.
'But-'
'Do you want to drive him back to her?' It demanded.
'No, but-'
''But' nothing! This is what happens to a guy when a beautiful woman rubs herself against him. GO WITH IT!' The voice yelled in a frustrated tone. It was sick of her indecisive attitude towards men in general, and Keitaro in particular.
'I…I…' Unable to form any sort of mental response, Naru decided to give in and see what would happen. 'Well, he did look great when he was being all forceful last night. Besides, it's kinda nice like this with him.' She rationalised to herself as she relaxed her body against him with a small sigh.
Keitaro's thoughts about the whole incident did a complete 180-degree turn when Naru began resting herself against him and settled in for the ride home. 'Hit me! Hit me! Hit me! Hitmehitmehitmehitmehitme!' He screamed mentally, preferring physical abuse to the unwelcome arousal she was inflicting on him right now. Looking frantically about for an escape route without tipping Naru off, he saw that a stop was approaching. Readying himself to move fast, he waited until the tram braked again with a jerk before using the forward momentum to quickly reverse positions with Naru.
Naru was deciding that she could really get used to snuggling with Keitaro like this when the carriage shuddered to a halt again. Feeling herself being jostled, she opened her eyes to find Keitaro being swept away by the exiting crowd. Before she could follow, the doors shut and the tram continued its journey. Pouting to herself, she took Keitaro's place in the corner. 'Darn! I was really getting into that.' This led to another thought. 'I…liked being like that. With him.' The thought branched out in another direction. 'I can't believe I've been pushing away this feeling all this time!' Which finally led to; 'I want to feel that again. I want to feel…him.'
Her eyes flew wide open at this admission. Turning it over in her head, Naru decided that she was in her right mind and thinking clearly about the whole situation. "I want him." She blushed deeply as she whispered this new desire to herself, then repeated it more forcefully, "I want Keitaro."
Meanwhile, Keitaro was feeling particularly disgusted with himself as he watched the tram carrying Naru disappear from sight. 'I can't believe I reacted like that! One second of Naru acting all lovey-dovey, and I…' He trailed off in self-loathing. Feeling a great urge to punch his traitorous crotch, he snarled in frustration. 'And where the hell does she get off, acting that way! She knows I'm dating her best friend. What on bloody earth was she thinking?' He fumed. 'It's as if she's…' His mind sputtered to a halt. 'No way!' Turning his deduction over in his mind, Keitaro tried to pull it apart every way he could think of, without success. "She's…jealous?" Not wanting to jump to any conclusions prematurely, Keitaro decided to drop in to his aunt's teahouse and ask her to check his conclusions before heading up to the Hinata.
Mitsune was officially nervous.
Naru had entered the Hinata-Sou at the usual time. Without Keitaro. She had walked in, actually greeted Mitsune civilly, and then made her way upstairs to her room humming softly.
Mitsune stayed in the foyer and waited, growing more tense as time passed. By the time Keitaro entered almost an hour later, she was wound up incredibly tight and ready to tear strips off him. "Where the hell have you been?" She demanded. "We're supposed to be leaving in a few minutes!"
"I uh, I missed the tram and had to wait for the next one." He offered, cringing a little and not meeting her eyes.
"…right." She replied in a tone dripping with sarcasm. "Whatever. Just hurry up and get ready." She turned and headed back to her room without waiting for a reply.
Keitaro watched her storm up the stairs and sighed. The brief talk he had with his aunt before coming up here swam around his mind. 'Later. I'll tell her later.'
The trip to the resturaunt was uncomfortably silent for both of them. Mitsune knew that something had happened between Keitaro and Naru before they got home. And she could understand his reluctance to discuss it with her. The number of ways the poor guy had been punched and/or slashed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time was far too high to count. However, they are a couple now. If another girl is trying to cut in on their relationship, she felt entitled to know. If only so she would know who to put the frighteners on. And it hurt that he thought that she would not listen to his side of things or understand. 'Damnit, Kei, I thought we had settled this weeks ago. Give me a chance to prove I'm different from the others.' She thought with a tinge of desperation.
Keitaro felt as if he was being strangled. His instinct was to come clean and accept whatever Mitsune does to him in punishment. However his reflexes, honed after many months of living at the Hinata-Sou, were screaming at him to run and don't look back. 'Typical' He moaned internally. 'I wish I could find my promise girl, and it turns out I have two candidates to choose from: a passive aggressive cutie with a mean right hook, and a gorgeous woman so scatterbrained she makes an M. C. Escher painting look uncomplicated. I wish I could get the chance to learn how to behave around the opposite sex without making a fool out of myself, and I end up living in a girl's dormitory full of Angry Young Females hellbent on grinding me into dust. I finally get a girlfriend, and my ex-crush decides NOW is the right time to play nice and cosy up to me! Can something nice possibly happen to me without it turning into a nightmare!' He despaired.
Eventually, Keitaro indicated the stop they were to get off at. Stepping into the street, he hoped he had remembered Haruka's instructions correctly. Taking her hand, he started walking towards an alley off the main street. He noticed that it felt awkward to be touching her like this now. A quick glance at his girlfriend confirmed that she seemed to be feeling the same awkwardness. 'I'm telling her during dinner.' He decided. He had been getting comfortable with being close to her recently, and he wanted that sensation back. Any amount of grovelling would be permissible to achieve this goal.
Mitsune was starting to wonder if her boyfriend was taking her to a noodle stand or something. The neighbourhood they were walking through did not inspire images of respectable resturaunts with romantic settings. 'I don't care if Haruka did recommend it to him, this place had better be pretty special or I'm gonna go postal at both of them!' Her expectations were not helped by the crappy doorway he was directing them towards.
Keitaro was starting to sweat. 'Oh God, this is her payback for all those times I called her Aunt Haruka!' His frame of mind was not helped by the name of the place. It read:-
THE HOLE IN THE WALL
-in bright blue neon above the small awning.
The irony of this was not lost on Mitsune. '"If Haruka's recommended it, the restaurant should be good. Not just some hole in the wall!"' She parroted internally, recalling her words to herself when Keitaro had asked her out. Now she was definitely going to kick the older woman's arse.
Walking up to the hulking bouncer stand at the entrance, Keitaro cleared his throat. "U-Urashima. Party of two." He stammered, thoroughly intimidated by this giant of a man who was glaring down at them over the tops of his dark glasses. With an air of humouring them to kill some time, he glanced down the list in front of him.
"Hrm?" He grunted in slight surprise. "Mister Keitaro Urashima? Accompanied by Miss Mitsune Konno?" He rumbled, sounding surprised that their names were actually on his list.
"Yes." Keitaro squeaked, clearly relieved that the man had their names, and was not going to eat them or somesuch to pass the time on a slow night.
"Welcome to the Hole in the Wall. Please wait in the foyer and someone will be along to seat you shortly." He offered a twitch of the lips that could pass for a welcoming smile as he waved them down the stairs.
Deciding not to take the chance that he may change his mind, Keitaro quickly led Mitsune inside with a nod of thanks. Reaching the bottom of the staircase, they exchanged looks before laughing quietly.
"Holy crap! I've seen some intimidating bouncers in my time, but that guy takes the cake!" Mitsune said, the tension between them forgotten for the moment.
"Got that right." Keitaro agreed. "I got the feeling he would have used me as a toothpick if our names had not been on that list."
"Haruka's got some serious payback coming to her for not warning us about him." She said. Keitaro nodded as he looked around the room they found themselves in. To be honest, it was not what he had been expecting from the outside. The walls were draped with crushed velvet, deadening any sound that may make its way from outside. Embroidered on the drapes was a pleasant design showing Mount Fuji at dusk, the rich colours of a flawless sunset complementing the low light perfectly. Along the far side of the wall away from the doorway was a deeply cushioned bench that looked very inviting to Keitaro right now after the day he had had.
"Mister Urashima? Miss Konno?" A small voice asked from behind them. Turning, they saw a petite woman in a beautiful kimono bowing at them. "Welcome to our humble establishment. My name is Mikako, and I will be your hostess for tonight. Please follow me." She bowed again and walked through a heavy curtain.
Holding it aside for them, the hostess waited until Keitaro and Mitsune passed through into the main dining area before moving past them. Pausing for a minute to take it all in, Mitsune leant over and whispered into his ear; "Earning major brownie points for yourself, Urashima."
Keitaro could only nod dumbly. The far end was mostly taken up with an open cooking area, where three chefs were hard at work preparing meals. In the midde of the room was a desk with a fifty-ish man who he assumed to be the owner standing behind it keeping a careful eye on the room. Larger tables were arranged in a double circle around it. And along the sides were two person tables that recessed into the walls. More drapes in the same style hung around the entire room. This time the design was of a pleasant day in spring, with the Sakura trees in full bloom. The whole effect was one of warm intimacy and privacy.
As they took in the room, Mikako moved away from them and walked to the desk in the middle. Whispering to the man, his eyes lit up and he followed her back to them. "Greetings and welcome to my resturaunt. My name is Kenji Hondo. It's an honour to have the nephew of Haruka Urashima and his partner in my restaurant." He greeted enthusiastically. "Please, do not hesitate to order whatever you wish tonight. It is on the house."
Keitaro blinked in surprise, but quickly recovered. "Thank you for your kindness Mr. Hondo, but I couldn't-"
"Nonsense! I won't hear of it." Mr. Hondo interrupted. "Please. I insist."
Not wishing to insult the man or his kind offer, Keitaro relented. He was, however, somewhat relieved. After seeing how upper class this place was, he had been having serious doubts as to whether he would be walking out of here without washing all the dishes to pay their bill first. "Very well, I accept your kindness. Thank you." He bowed politely.
"You honour me." Mr. Hondo replied, gesturing to Mikako to lead them to one of the booths along the side of the room. "Remember; anything you wish." He reminded them as he turned away.
Following the hostess to a corner of the room, Keitaro helped seat Mitsune first before taking his own seat. Giving them both a menu, Mikako told them she would return shortly.
Mitsune looked around the room once more before resting her eyes on Keitaro. "You know, I have spotted three actors, four high ranking politicians and the current number one popstar with a model not his girlfriend, just in the last five minutes." She remarked casually. "And our meal is on the house. How on earth does Haruka know this guy, and what has she got on him?"
"I don't know." He shrugged. "All she said was that they go way back, and she did him a favour once or twice."
Pouring herself a glass of water, Mitsune sipped it before looking at Keitaro over the rim. "So, are you going to tell me what happened between you and Naru on the way home? Or is it going to hang between us and ruin the rest of the evening." She made sure to keep her voice neutral.
Keitaro looked stricken. Yes, he had planned to tell her tonight. However, he had not counted on her forcing the issue out in the open so early. Taking a sip of his own glass to stall for time, he finally began speaking. "I guess it started on the tram home when she confronted me about Hiatani and Shirai…"
Mitsune listened and watched him closely as he explained in painful detail about their encounter. When he had finished, he hung his head and waited for her to pass judgement.
Before she could, Mikako returned to take their orders. Casting a fast eye over it in panic, Keitaro was relieved when Mitsune calmly began asking the hostess about certain dishes and suggesting options to him. Taking her time, his girlfriend stretched it out until he was able to make his choices without blindly pointing at things and hoping for the best. They even managed to pick out a bottle of sake of a decent vintage that was not so expensive that he felt they were abusing the hospitality presented to them by Mr. Hondo.
Retrieving the menus and bowing, Mikako stepped away. Watching her go, Keitaro felt that the further away she went, the shorter the time before his execution.
"Keitaro?" He returned his attention to Mitsune. "How did you feel when Naru was doing that to you?"
"Dirty. Like she was taking advantage of me without any thought to how I felt." He stated honestly.
"In other words, she treated you like she says you treat us." Keitaro nodded. "And you didn't enjoy it."
"No!" He lowered his voice. "I mean, a few months ago, I would have been overjoyed if she had acted like that. But, not anymore. That's over. I'm with you now." He was almost pleading with her now. "All I wanted was to get away from her. And I did as soon as I could. The reason I was late was because I needed to talk with Haruka and get some advice."
"So why didn't you tell me straight away?" She asked, curious.
"Would you have listened?" He replied. "You had the same look on your face that Naru or Motoko gets whenever I've accidentaly crashed into someone. Defence denied. Sentence passed. Punishment immanent." He retorted with frustration.
Mitsune was dismayed. While she had been upset with him being late, plus the scenarios running through her head as to why, she had not realised that her emotions had been so plainly obvious on her face. Looking over at him, she realised that he was trembling under the strain of her not saying anything to him about all this one way or the other. "You know, just before you came down for breakfast, Naru and I ran into each other outside your door." She then related her own confrontation.
When she finished, she took a deep breath. "Keitaro, was she right? Did I steal you from her?" She sighed anxiously, the thought that had been plaguing her now out in the open.
Keitaro looked at her in surprise. Noticing that she was looking nervous herself, he realised that this tied in with his own episode with Naru somehow. "No, you didn't, Kitsu-chan. Put that out of your mind right now." She relaxed slightly. "Actually, I was starting to let Naru go before you and I began spending more time together." Mitsune raised an eyebrow. "It started when I found out about her feelings for Seta. There was no way I could compete with him." Mitsune thought otherwise, but kept that to herself for now. "And she never clearly said how she felt about me. I mean, she would say or do something and then turn around and either deny it or take it back. I felt like a chew toy in a dog's mouth. Tossed all over the place and left outside when I wasn't needed anymore. I couldn't take it. So…I began to let her go."
Looking at her with blurry eyes, Keitaro spoke. "Mitsune Konno, I asked you out. I chose you. Do not ever doubt that you are first in my heart." Reaching across the table, he put his hands out. "Please, forgive me."
Mitsune started to tear up herself at the honesty burning in his eyes. "Oh Kei-kun, there's nothing to forgive. I believe you." She replied earnestly. "And I'm sorry for dragging it out like this, but I needed to be sure of how you felt about me." She took his hands in hers. "Do you forgive me?"
"Yes." Ignoring how it might look to the other patrons, Keitaro got up, leant over to Mitsune and very tenderly kissed her on the lips. Taking his time, he dragged it out until she began moaning into his mouth before separating and sitting down again. "Are we okay now?"
"Oh yeah." She drawled, trying to catch her breath and bring him back into focus. "But I wish you could have said something when you came home. I said I would always give you the chance to explain, Keitaro." She admonished him.
Keitato looked sheepish. "I know. I remember. Old habits, and all that." He offered lamely.
"Good! And I'm going to make sure you don't forget." She smirked mischievously at him.
He started to sweat. Mitsune had not directed that particular expression at him in a while. "How?" He squeaked.
"Tonight's movie is cancelled. You are taking me dancing instead." She insisted sweetly.
"Dancing! But…But…" He sputtered, dread oozing out of his every pore. Mitsune had danced with him before, usually when she was drunk and looking to cause mischief. And she would keep upping the ante until she got what she was after. Seeing her start to pout, he gave in reluctantly. "Okay. Just remember, I'm not the most coordinated person at the best of times."
Giving him a smile full of promise, she told him not to worry about it.
With the tension from the afternoon neutralized, the atmosphere at the table took a sharp upswing. They talked, gossiped, and flirted with each other while the meal was consumed. They offered their complements to both their hostess and Mr. Hondo and again expressed their gratitude to him for waiving the check. Mr. Hondo in return thanked them for their courtesy. "And please, when you talk to Haruka-san again, remind her not to be such a stranger. I haven't seen her and Mr. Noriyasu in here for a long time."
"Okay." Keitaro agreed, absorbing this new fragment of his Aunt's past with Seta readily.
Stepping out into the night, Mitsune thought for a minute before taking Keitaro's hand and leading him away. Soon enough, they were in the middle of a roomful of tightly packed dancing bodies. Seeing that her boyfriend was starting to lose his nerve already, she took steps to make him forget he was in a room full of strangers.
Keitaro was finding new levels of nervousness within himself as they waded through the pack. He was just about to plead with her to get out of here when she put her arms around his neck and began moving them both to the beat. He instantly stopped feeling self-conscious and focused on her eyes, which were gazing at his intently. With an inviting smile, she brought her mouth to his ear.
"I know you don't like crowds, Kei-kun. Say the word, and we'll go somewhere else." She offered as she moved against him.
Keitaro flashed on all the other times she had danced with him during one of their numerous parties at the Hinata-Sou. Usually, she was looking to stir things up amongst the other tenants or get a reaction out of Naru. Watching him squirm had been part of it as well. This time, however, she was not trying to cause a scene. She just wanted to dance with her boyfriend, he realised. He was not going to be struck. There would be no blackmail involved afterwards, or strings attached. She only wanted to share something she enjoyed with him.
Finally understanding the difference between now and all those other times, he replied to her offer by giving her a shy smile and putting his hands lightly on her hips.
Mitsune beamed when she felt them start to sway in harmony, guided by him. The next few hours were spent like this, with Mitsune showing Keitaro a variety of moves. Sometimes he pulled them off. More often he ended up tripping over his own feet and hanging on to her to keep his balance, which neither of them seemed to mind all that much.
Every now and again, a guy tried to cut in on him and take his place with her, figuring that an attractive woman like her was wasting her time with such a wimpy looking person. Mitsune would, completely by accident of course, step on the intruder's foot when this happened. Hard. And before he limped off in defeat, she would give the offender an innocent look before latching on to Keitaro passionately. Keitaro even managed to smirk at them himself as they shuffled away, nursing their bruised pride and toes.
Finally, their feet were becoming too sore to ignore. With an arm wrapped around each other, they made their way slowly home. Entering the Hinata, they paused. When no one leapt out at them, they shrugged at their good fortune and headed upstairs.
"I had a wonderful time tonight, Keitaro." Mitsune said at the threshold of her room.
"Me too." He agreed. "We'll have to figure out a way to thank Aunt Haruka."
"Yeah." Giving him a lingering kiss, she hesitated briefly. Changing her mind at the last moment, she said goodnight.
"Goodnight, Kitsu-chan." He smiled and made his way to his own room. Inside, he leant against the closed door and relived the evening with a goofy smile on his face. 'So that's what a real date is like, huh?' He grinned, remembering all the other times he had gone out with one of the girls. 'A rocky start, to be sure. But it all worked out in the end. Everything went great. And best of all, I wasn't put into orbit!' He chuckled to himself as he got changed. He was about to slip between the sheets when someone knocked softly on his door. Tensing up, he padded over and opened it, wondering if it was Motoko or Naru finally arriving to take a shot at him for being out so late.
To his surprise, Mitsune was standing there, looking unusually vulnerable. "Hey. What's up?"
"I um…" She was dressed in possibly the most conservative pyjamas he had ever seen her wear. They were loose cotton pants and a long-sleeved, button-up top. Despite this, they still could not entirely hide her curvaceous figure. And he noticed absently the Chibi foxes all over it. "Do-do you mind if I spend the night here. With you." She fiddled with the hem of her shirt nervously.
Despite her wide eyes looking at him pleadingly, he did not answer immediately.
"P-please? It's been such a wonderful night. I don't want to spoil the memory of it by having nightmares." She pleaded.
Keitaro found himself unable to refuse her request, despite all his instincts screaming at him that this was such a bad idea. "Um, sure." He gestured for her to enter his room.
Sliding the door shut and making sure it was locked, he turned to find her still standing in the centre of the room, waiting for him in the darkness. Walking up to her, he wrapped her up in his arms and just held her. Stroking her hair softly, he spoke. "Are you sure about this? I mean, if the others…" While he had stayed with her before, there had been an excuse for it, no matter how slim. This time was different. This time, it was not a case of waking up in a blind panic and latching on to him. He did not go to check on her after hearing strange noises in the night. She was in his room. On purpose.
"I don't care. I need this!" She was almost begging now.
"Alright." He stepped back from her and led her to the mattress. Getting in first, he watched as she slid under the sheets and snuggled up to him. Neither of them was currently in a mood to make out. Giving him a peck on the lips, she turned over and spooned against him. When he put a hand on her hip timidly, she grabbed it, brought it up to her chest and held it there with both of her hands.
"It's okay." She said when he tensed against her. "I trust you." Slowly, she felt him relax against her. "Kei?"
"Mm?"
"I know sometimes I can get carried away when I want to be close to someone." She admitted reluctantly. "If I…If I ever push you too hard, or make you feel uncomfortable, or-or act like Naru did today, I want you to say something." She demanded softly. "I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable with me. Ever! Okay?"
"Okay." He answered, wide-eyed that she would think that she was pushing him. Shaking it off, he pressed his lips lightly against the back of her neck. "Good night Kitsu-chan."
Mitsune squirmed at the sensations he was triggering within her by doing that. "G-good night, Kei."
The next morning, Haruka was cleaning the tables outside her teahouse in preparation for the day's trade, when a shadow fell across her.
"Ah, good morning." She looked up to see an old acquaintance standing there. "I've been expecting you. Come inside and I'll tell you what's been going on over a cup of tea." She offered.
Her visitor nodded graciously and accepted the invitation.
Notes: Well, that was a big'un! I briefly considered cutting this in half, but I felt that it worked better as one long chapter than two badly split chapters. It should go a long way to satisfying those readers who have been after more words per installment. Next up:- the truth behind Mitsune's nightmares. Get ready for a fight!
FYI- Jugular Vein: n. Any of several large veins carrying blood from the head. (Just in case the term was unfamiliar to my readers.)
Shisui- The name of Motoko's original blade. The one that got broken by Tsuruko in Ch 72 of the Manga.
M. C. Escher:- b. 1898 d. 1972. A Dutch national, his graphic art usually depicts objects that are not possible to create in the real world through using quirks of perception and perspective. Just type W. C. Escher into Wikipedia and you'll get his bio. Interesting stuff, just don't look at it for too long. It's a bit trippy!