All right! By popular demand, it's Shinobu's big chance!
In this bonus length chapter I had to strike a balance between all three of the following:
Firstly, we have a young teen who knows that at least one of her competitors has already slept with the man that she desperately loves. How far will she go to win his heart before he is lost to her forever? She knows that she is too young and isn't ready yet for what she wants. But can she resist her desires? I tried to get inside Shinobu's head and figure out just what the rapidly-maturing girl would do, knowing that her future happiness probably depended on what she did that night. Can she finally win her sempai?
Secondly, we have the single and more open minded and mature Keitaro, who is now free from obsessing about Naru. He desires to do the right thing, but how strong is his willpower when put to the test? He likes Shinobu, but he also knows that she is too young for a fully mature relationship yet. Will he crack? Would YOU crack under what he will soon experience?
Thirdly, there are the expectations of you, the readers. And you all cover the entire spectrum from platonic to hentai! Sheesh!
I had to tread a really fine line here, and at times it wasn't easy. So - bearing in mind the above - please review, and let's hear your opinions on how it turned out.
-:-:-:-:-:-
LOVE HINA: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
By Doctor-T
-:-:-:-:-:-
It was actually somewhat after eleven that night when Keitaro and Shinobu finally made it back to the hotel where they were staying. Both young students had thoroughly enjoyed their S-Pulse Dream Plaza expedition, and had spent a most enjoyable three hours sampling its many late-night attractions. Keitaro and Shinobu had even discovered a purikura photo sticker booth there, to their mutual delight. After eagerly cramming themselves into the booth, the laughing pair had had two sheets of photo stickers taken of themselves in various poses as a souvenir of their trip. And the rapt Shinobu knew that she would treasure her sheet of pictures of her and her sempai forever!
For the entire period of time that they were on their date, Shinobu had been too nervous to invite her sempai to join her in her hotel room afterwards. Only now, after they had arrived back at their hotel, did Shinobu finally summon up enough courage to ask Keitaro to walk her up to her room.
Upon being told that she had a surprise waiting for him there, Keitaro had acquiesced readily enough. He had already guessed that the elated but also jumpy-looking girl was planning to confess to him again tonight, and he was curious to see just how she was going to go about doing it.
Now, at last I'll find out what Shinobu's up to, Keitaro thought, shivering slightly with edgy anticipation as he accompanied the girl towards her room, his left hand clasped tightly in hers as if she was afraid that he would try to bolt at any second. I've got a fair idea of what it's going to be already, but now that I've decided to forget Naru and enjoy myself more, I can accompany her with a clear conscience. And I am really happy that she loves me so much. I really like her, too, but I still can't let anything that may happen physically between us tonight go too far. Shinobu may be incredibly cute, but she is still only fourteen.
"Ah, Sempai, do you mind waiting out here in the hallway for just a second?" Shinobu asked him, her voice quavering with nervousness as they arrived at their destination. "I have to, um, um, tidy up my clothes – yes, that's it! Tidy up my clothes on the floor first. I didn't have time to fold them before we went to dinner, and I don't want you to think that I'm messy."
"Hmmm. Well, okay, I guess…?"
"Thank you, Sempai! I'll only be a moment!" With that, Shinobu turned and dashed into her room, closing the door firmly behind her.
Keitaro scratched at the back of his neck as he stared with puzzlement at her door. Well? What was that all about, I wonder?
Inside her room, Shinobu was running around in a circle, but this time the young teen had a definite purpose behind her movements.
Okay, I'm ready, she reassured herself as she hurriedly lit the dozen-or-so candles that she had positioned at strategic locations around her hotel room, whilst simultaneously going over her plan in her mind for one final time. I'm glad that I found the time to set these up – and the other things that I brought with me in my trunk, too - before we went to dinner. Now that I have the romantic scene set, I have to get Sempai into an even better mood than he is at the moment. And I know just how to do it. I've been keeping the results of my last exam a secret from everyone, and now is just the time to impress him with that!
Shinobu had put a lot of thought into what she was going to do to snare her sempai now that her big chance had finally arrived. As much as she wished it to be otherwise, the teen knew that she wasn't ready to do what Motoko and probably both Kitsune and Su had done with their bodies to try to win Keitaro's love. With her, that deed could and would come later, at the correct time and place – but only if she could succeed in winning his genuine love for her. Everything rode on that vital point.
So the determined Shinobu had done her research. She had questioned her older, wiser and more experienced friends for ideas on what to do and how to do it, read library books, and drawn on her own extensive knowledge of Keitaro's likes and dislikes. And now, at long last, her days and weeks of planning were about to pay off for her. She was now as ready as she would ever be to carry out the vital task at hand – winning the heart of the man that she loved.
Oh, Sempai, I've waited such a long time to get you alone! And now it's finally happened. I'm as ready as I'll ever be to impress you and win your love, so now I've just got to do it!
"Sempai! You can come in now!" She called out, switching off the electric lights so that her candles would shine with maximum effect.
"Um, thank you," Keitaro replied as he opened the door and walked into her room a second or so later. "So what was the - hey! Just look at what you've done to your room!"
Keitaro's exclamation of surprise and delight was understandable, for the darkened room was now lit only by the soft yellow glow of the candlelight. Outside the gentle radiance cast by the multiple flickering candles, most of the rest of the room was in deep shadow, whilst the area around the bed glowed like a fairytale boudoir.
"I brought all of these candles with me in my trunk," Shinobu explained to her entranced sempai, very pleased with the magical effect that she had created. "With the main lights turned off, don't they make the room look romantic?"
"They sure do! The corners are still in shadow, but over here by your bed it's bright enough to easily read by…"
"Oh, yes, on the subject of reading. Please take a seat, Sempai. I've – uh – got something to show you." She then produced her report card from behind her back, and after Keitaro had made himself comfortable on one of the chairs, she quickly handed it over to him, wringing her hands with anticipation as he began to read it.
"Shinobu! You got an 'A' on your exam. That's great!"
"Thank you, Sempai," Shinobu beamed, struggling to hide her pride at his approval. "I took what you've been teaching me and just applied myself, that's all. And it worked! My grades are much better now, thanks to your help."
"No, it's all your hard work that has got you this 'A'," Keitaro corrected her, leaning forward to first give the girl her report card back, and then to take her hands in his. "Keep up the good work, Shinobu. I'm proud of you."
"Th-thanks! My grades have to be good from now on, too, Sempai. Because I've – well, I've decided that I want to go to Tokyo University, just like you and Mutsumi are going to, you see. I know that I've still got a few years to go before I can take the entrance exams, but, well, there's no time like the present to start preparing myself."
"You do? Wow! I'm really glad to hear that, Shinobu! And I'll be there to cheer you on every step of the way," Keitaro promised her, a look of both surprise and happiness on his face at the teen's declaration of her future ambition. "I'm sure that you can get in if you really apply yourself," he continued eagerly. "And if you need any help with your studies, don't forget that I'm always here to lend a hand!"
"Thank you so much! I'd love you to do that for me, Sempai." Shinobu then grabbed up a tray of biscuits from the dresser and offered them to him. "Um, would you like to try one of my special biscuits? I made them last night for you, but I never thought that I'd be giving them to you in a hotel room in Shimizu, of all places."
Keitaro laughed at her comment, his easy-going smile immediately putting the still-anxious girl much more at ease.
"Yum, these are delicious!" Keitaro declared, his eyes lighting up after taking a big bite out of one of the tempting-looking cookies. "Whatever you do, don't let Su get her hands on these - she'd never ever let you out of the kitchen ever again! And you made them for me, you say?"
"Yes, Sempai. They're from an old family recipe that my mother taught me. She used to only make them for special occasions, and I think that tonight, um, certainly qualifies as one…!" For me, anyway, she added under her breath.
"It's certainly that for me, too," her sempai agreed, industriously chewing on the remainder of the biscuit, and then licking his lips appreciatively. "Hey, can I have seconds? Your cooking rules!"
"H-help yourself! The are for you, after all!"
"Thanks! Hey, feel free to have some as well, Shinobu."
"I'll be fine, Sempai. I'm still quite full from that ice cream that you bought me earlier. Thank you for offering, though."
That went well! My plan's going great, Shinobu told herself in elation, trying hard to stop herself visibly quivering with a mix of anxiety and excitement as Keitaro dug into the plate of biscuits with relish. Now it's time for stage two – and this is the bit that I'm the most n-nervous about. I need Sempai to 'accidentally' catch a glimpse of me in the shower – just long enough for him to see…um, what I've got, but not for too long. I'm not an exhibitionist! I have to time this just right – to tempt him and get him thinking about me as a young woman, not as just a school kid! Shinobu gulped and steeled her nerve. Okay, here g-goes…!
"Er, Sempai? Well, I've just had an idea. To celebrate my good grades, why don't you – um – go down to the hotel bar, and bring us up a bottle of some good wine? I'm not old enough to buy liquor yet, or else I would have bought it myself, earlier. Here-!" Quickly Shinobu placed some yen notes into his right hand. "I'll pay for the wine - I'd really, really like to do that. And while you're gone, I'll – I'll jump in the shower for a – um – a quick wash, okay?"
"Ah – sure, Shinobu. I'll do that for you," Keitaro answered, wondering where she was going with this, but certainly feeling like a drink himself after their fun-filled evening and night out on the town. He put the now very depleted plate of biscuits back onto the dresser next to his seat, and then stood up again. "I'll go and get it right now, and be back in, say, ten minutes, if that's all right with you?"
"Yes, that'll be fine! Thank you, Sempai. Well, I'll go and have my shower now…"
The second that her bemused target had left her room, Shinobu ran to her bathroom door and opened it, to reveal a large, full-length dress mirror propped up at a forty-five degree angle to the corner of the far wall of the ensuite. Then she switched on the bathroom light, ran back to the hall doorway, turned and anxiously looked back across the room at the reflective surface of the mirror.
"Yes! I can still see in the big mirror right to where I'll be getting out of the shower," Shinobu enthused, her face lighting up with relief. "There's no way that Sempai can miss seeing me in it when he comes back into my room!"
Shinobu had taken no chances with this particular part of her master-plan. To save vital time, before their dinner-date, she had already set up the big dress mirror from next to her bed in its new and correct position in the bathroom. And just to make doubly-sure that Keitaro would catch a crystal-clear look at her upon his return, she had also gone so far as to spray the glass with anti-fog, a spray can of which she had brought with her from the Hinata Apartments for just this eventuality. The spray would prevent any buildup of steam and water droplets on the mirror's surface, which might impede Sempai's view of her soon-to-be naked body.
Shinobu hurried back into the bathroom, leaving the door wide open. Her towel, bathrobe and extremely skimpy lace underwear that Kitsune had helped her choose on their triple date with Keitaro were also already in place, so everything was now set for her visual seduction of her sempai.
Perfect! Okay, Shinobu, you'd best hurry. Sempai will be back soon!
The small blue-haired teen quickly turned on the shower; undressed, and then jumped into the soothing flow of steaming water the second that the hissing liquid was warm enough for her to do so.
I'm scared…but this is also so thrilling! Shinobu thought as she soaped herself down, goose bumps prickling at her smooth skin despite the heat of the falling water. I'm about to let Sempai see me – all of me! I'm sure he will like what he sees… But I must get Sempai thinking about me as a sexy woman, not a young girl, and with the way that my body has been developing over the last six months, I do have something worthwhile for him to catch a glimpse of now. I'll be a bit embarrassed, but it'll be worth it to get him thinking about me in a different and more mature way… Oh, hurry up, Sempai – the suspense is killing me!
Then, after Sempai has 'accidentally' caught his glimpse of me, we'll have a drink of wine together to relax us both, and hopefully get him into a mellow frame of mind. And then it's time for an idea that I picked up from Kitsune's talk to me, 'Seduction 101' – altered somewhat to fit my age. I don't want him to go quite that far with me – well, yes I do, but not just yet, anyway. I want to do it with him so badly, but I know that it's too soon for me to take that step yet. Sempai knows this fact, as well, and so I trust him to stop and pull back from doing anything too inappropriate. Even if I do give way to what I want with him, and find that I can't control my own desire…!
Shinobu gulped with nervousness at what she was about to attempt to do with her body. Her plan to win Keitaro was the culmination of almost two years worth of nightly prayers full of tearful longing, and wild and impossible imaginings of them being together. And, at long last, her selfless devotion to the man of her dreams was going to pay off for her – hopefully?
What I'm going to do soon is all totally new to me, especially the bit after he sees me, where I'm going to…touch him. I'm very nervous and scared, but I'm going to force myself to be brave and confident and go ahead with it. I've planned for just this night for months. I'm positive that my plan to win his love will work – if I can only have the courage to carry it out? Tonight, Sempai will be mine - oh please, Sempai, be mine?! I couldn't bear it if you were to reject me, and want to be with another girl instead of me, now!
"I've seen the way that Motoko looks at him," Shinobu growled out aloud, the thought of another girl stealing Keitaro away from her, snapping the anxious teen out of her funk. "I won't lose to her. I won't lose to anybody," she vowed resolutely, clenching her tiny fists with grim determination. "Sempai will be mine. And I'll make him forget that he ever loved Naru, too, if it's the last thing that I ever do!"
Then the resolute teen's heart almost stopped with shock as a loud knocking sound came from her hallway door.
"Shinobu, I'm back!" Keitaro's voice loudly informed her from the hotel hallway. "I've got the wine! Can I come in?"
Sempai's here! Ohmygod, I've got to show myself to him – right now!
"Um, um, yes!" Shinobu forced herself to loudly reply, her heart pounding like a jackhammer as she switched off the flow of water, and grabbed her towel. "The d-door's unlocked! C-come on in, Sempai, I'll only be a minute…!"
Almost leaping out of her shower, the shivering teen quickly ran the thick white towel up and down over her body, then turned at a slight angle and pulled it up over her face and hair – just as the hallway door clicked open and Keitaro stepped in to the other room, his eyes facing directly towards the brightly-illuminated bathroom doorway.
"Shinobu, I've - GACK!"
Keitaro slammed to a halt, a spider web of cracks radiated across his glasses, blood flew from his nose and both his jaw and the bottle of wine hit the floor with a simultaneous crash as, reflected in a large mirror in the bathroom, he saw-!
Shinobu was standing there in three-quarter profile, totally naked, her arms raised above her head as she dried her dark-blue hair with a towel!
Whoooa! I can't believe it, that's – that's little Shinobu! Oh, wow, j-just look at her, she's really filled out, and-! Hey?! I shouldn't be peeking at her! I-I've got to look away, but-but, oh, wow! I can't help it – oh, yes - yes, I can!
His face the color of a stop sign, Keitaro somehow tore his gaze away from the seductive sight and fumbled at his feet for the luckily unbroken bottle of wine. Then he scurried off over to her bed and flopped himself down onto the duvet, his numbed mind totally fixated on the vision of radiance that he had just glimpsed in the big mirror through the open bathroom doorway.
"S-sempai, I won't be a moment! Please can you open the bottle and pour us two drinks? The wine glasses are on the dresser!"
"Y-yeah, sure, sure!" Keitaro called back, the sound of Shinobu's sweet voice snapping him back to reality. Jumping up again, his hands shaking with nervousness, Keitaro fumbled the cork out of the bottle - nearly taking his left eye out in the process as the cork ricocheted at high-velocity off his glasses - and then he somehow managed to fill the pair of long-stemmed wineglasses up to their brims without spilling too much of the bubbly onto himself or the floor.
Calm down, Keitaro! So you saw Shinobu in the nude. Okay, you can handle this situation, just take deep breaths and calm down, the student repeated forcefully to himself in his mind over-and-over again as he carried out his task. That's it. Relax…! Be calm, cool and collected, just like Kitsune said. Oh, god, her body was so-?! No, just calm down and breathe-!
"Haah-huuh! Haah-huuh-!" He panted, trying to catch his breath.
By the time that the slightly-flushed-looking girl re-entered the room, Keitaro had managed to wipe his nose clean, finally calm his labored breathing, and slow his heart-rate down enough to assume a reasonably convincing façade of normality. But that pose flew straight out the window again as he saw what the nervously smiling teen was now wearing.
Shinobu had donned her loose-fitting silk bathrobe – and by the looks of it, not much else. An amazing amount of her smooth, pale skin could be seen through the half-open front of the robe, along with the tiniest bra of red mesh that he had ever seen. And the flimsy bra was only partially cradling the rounded curves of-!
"Haah-huuh! Haah-huuh-!"
What in the hell's going on here? When did little Shinobu get to look like this?! Has she had a secret boob-job done, or something?! She's always been cute, but now she's turning into a real beauty as well…!
"Shinobu…you look - look stunning," Keitaro finally managed to force out through his very dry lips. "When? How? I mean - um?"
"I'm g-glad that you approve of my looks, Sempai," Shinobu hastened to tell him, her cheeks pink with guilty pleasure at his positive response to her blossoming charms. "I've grown up a bit in the last year or so. P-please relax, and pass me that drink that you poured for me. We…need to talk…about, um, important things to do with us."
"Ah, yeah, sure! He-here."
Whew! She sure has grown up, all right! And I don't think that she noticed that I accidentally got a look at her drying herself. Thank god! I sure don't want her to start thinking that I'm a peeper or a pervert, after all. Especially not now, with us both alone in her room like this!
To his relief, Keitaro somehow managed to transfer Shinobu's drink in his shaking right hand to hers without spilling it. The very last thing that he wanted right now was to appear like a dork in front of the sexy young girl who loved him so much.
"Cheers, Shinobu."
"Cheers, Sempai! Mmmmm… This wine is nice."
Not as nice as you are! Keitaro's churning mind told him, as he fought to keep his eyes averted from Shinobu's half-open robe. Wow…!
"So…? Do you want to – um? To say something to me, Sempai?" Shinobu asked, after taking a deep draught out of her wineglass. She smiled coyly at Keitaro as she reclined back on her bed next to him, her long, slender legs almost totally uncovered and in full view of his rapidly-blinking, sweat-filled eyes. "What's on your mind right now?"
"Well…? Ah-Ahahah…! Actually…you kinda are," Keitaro confessed, lowering his glass again after gulping down its entire contents in one go, his forehead now sweating profusely at his close proximity to the very cute and very sexy young girl on the bed at his side. "I mean, I never knew that you could…well, look and act so, um? Well, grown up!"
Shinobu laughed merrily at his edgy admission, her sweet voice sending a ripple of anticipation racing up Keitaro's spine as she placed her now half-empty wineglass back down on the small table next to her side of the bed. Then Shinobu unexpectedly leaned forward towards him with a shy and uncertain smile on her lovely, pink-flushed face, giving the sweating student an even better view of the swelling curves of her breasts.
"Sempai, I – I want you to know that I…that I-!"
"Sh-Shinobu?"
Yikes! S-so this is what Shinobu is up to, tonight. I was right - she is trying to seduce me! Oboy! Oboy-oboy!
But-! But she's too young to be doing 'it' with me – she told me that herself, a few days ago. And she's right about that, so what do I do? How do I play this out? I'm not going to break my word to Aunt Haruka and take advantage of her love for me, I'm not! But, would you just look at her lying there half-naked like that? God, I want…I want...!
Now's my chance! Shinobu simultaneously thought, the unconscious expression of longing for her that had just flickered onto Keitaro's blushing and trembling face giving the bluenette her green-light cue for action. Sempai just told me he thinks that I'm grown up, and I can see in his eyes that he wants me right now! This is my moment; it's now or never! Oh, Sempai…?!
Next second, the decision about what Keitaro should do for the best was taken out of his hands, and in a very forthright manner. Recognizing her golden opportunity, Shinobu went for broke, abruptly leaning close to his face and kissed him full on the lips! Surprise caused Keitaro to begin kissing her back – surprise, and the sudden and powerful surge of almost uncontrollable desire that he was experiencing for the seductive young girl now lying tightly in his arms.
My god, her breasts are pressed right up against me, and I can feel her warmth…and also-? I – I don't mind kissing her, but I can't let it go much further than that – I can't! She's not M-Motoko or Kitsune, she's too young! Kissing, just kissing, that's all!
"I love you, Sempai, and that's not going to change," Shinobu whispered down to him, her eyes filled with longing staring directly into his own, once their lips had finally parted. "I remember what you said last week about you being capable of loving a girl my age – provided that the girl was me. Do…you still feel that way about me, now?"
W-what? Yes, yes, despite Shinobu's age, I do. I really do!
"Yes," Keitaro whispered back to her, feeling an extraordinary and totally unexpected surge of warmth and happiness permeate his tense body as he heard her re-expression of her true love for him. "And after tonight, now more than ever," he found himself breathlessly admitting.
And…I'm not lying to Shinobu, either. It's – it's true. I do feel that! This is amazing! Am I…falling in love with her…?
"Good," the blue-haired schoolgirl breathed into his left ear. "And now, Sempai, because it's you, and also because I truly believe that you do care for me, I…have something for you that I've been thinking about doing with you for a long time." Then her hesitant hand crept downwards to his belt, to unbuckle it and pull down his zipper.
"Sh-Shinobu, I – ah?" Keitaro stuttered nervously, despite being more-than-sure that he knew what she was about to do. "What are you-?"
"Shhh, Sempai. Just wait…"
The prone Keitaro bounced on the bed, his breath hissing out in a surprised gasp of ecstasy as her warm hand slipped even further down the front of his body under his clothing, to close around his now rather large appendage and pull it free of his boxer shorts.
"Ahhh…!"
Shinobu let out a tiny gasp of her own, and her dark blue eyes widened with both shock and the sudden thrilling feeling that had jolted her entire body like a lightning bolt as she saw and felt the hardness of his manhood.
Oh, S-Sempai? It-it's so hard! Is it – like this because of me?
Oh, shit! Does Shinobu want to have sex with me, right now, after all? Keitaro asked himself in semi-panic, torn between his conscience frantically ringing alarm bells in his head and the almost mind-numbing rush of desire he was feeling for the seductive young girl – no, woman – cradled gently in his arms. No, I can't let her go that far, I can't! I want her bad – but I can't!
"Sh-Shinobu, we can't do this, not yet! We can't have sex tonight, remember? I'm – you're, um, I mean-? We mustn't give in to our desires! Not yet!"
We mustn't give in to our desires…? Does – does that mean that Sempai wants me, too?! Yes! He does, he does want me!
"It's…all right, Sempai. I'm not going to try to go that far with you now," the inwardly very nervous teen quickly reassured the sweating, wide-eyed student laying next to her, her heartbeat hammering with renewed hope as to the success of her mission after hearing Keitaro's revealing words. "This is the first time that I've ever done anything like this to a man with my h-hand, but…I do know what I'm doing. And it's just going to be this, not the f-full deed, okay?"
Ohmygosh! I can't believe that I'm actually touching his…thing! It's - so hard! Oh, I'm so nervous, but I really want to give him some pleasure tonight. I'm definitely not going to go too far with Sempai – yet. But if I do just this for him, he's sure to remember me forever!
"Um? Uh-huh! Okay-!" Keitaro finally panted out, the girl's explanation of her actions effectively silencing his objections for the moment. "But y-you can s-stop whenever you want to-!"
Then Shinobu's slender fingers began to move up-and-down on the object that she was holding, and, as if by magic, an almost painful expression of ecstasy appeared on her sempai's face at her actions. As her hand continued her steady rhythm, the pink-flushed girl's trembling lips moved down to cover those of her sempai, and she gave him another long and lingering kiss. Shinobu felt as if her own heart would explode with joy as she felt the man of her dreams begin to respond to her solicitations with at first a hesitant, and then an increasingly more-and-more passionate kiss of his own.
Sempai likes it – he likes me doing this to him! But this sensation, this feeling that I have inside myself for him - it's too much! I've got to stop; I've got to stop doing this right now, while I still have enough control over myself to resist Sempai! I want to, I want to have him now – NO!
Summoning every last amount of her faltering will-power, Shinobu released her hold on Keitaro's appendage, and broke the kiss with a nervous laugh of delight.
"N-not tonight, Sempai, my love," Shinobu managed to pant out to him, feeling as if she was going to faint from desire at any second. "If…we keep doing this for too much longer, I'm afraid of what I – um - might end up doing with you. I want to be with you so much, right now, but…we have to wait. Please understand, I love you, but – I'm too young for what I want – really want to happen between us tonight!"
"…You're right," the red-faced and perspiring Keitaro admitted very reluctantly, feeling as if his red-hot loins were about to explode like a volcano at the remembrance of her soft and gentle touch. "Whew! If you'd kept doing…that to me for a second-or-so longer, then I would have – um? I mean…well, it felt really good, you see? But, yes, I can wait until you're ready…I can."
"So, you're not too upset with me stopping doing…it…to you, right now?" Shinobu asked him anxiously as she struggled to maintain her calm facade.
"No, Shinobu, you did the correct thing in these circumstances," Keitaro automatically answered her, his heartbeat pounding in his eardrums, and his mind a jumble of conflicting thoughts and images at what had just happened between them both.
Shinobu's fantastic! And her touch on me…it was – that was-?! Oh, wow! God, it's just not fair! Shinobu's such a sweet and sexy girl. Why, oh why couldn't she have been two-or-three years older right now, dammit?!
"Thank goodness, Sempai! I was so worried that you might not…!"
"It's fine," Keitaro reassured the radiant young woman in his arms as they hugged each other tight. "Really." Then his eyes grew even wider as a sudden and very important realization dawned in his head. It was like his previously blinkered mind had just exited a dark tunnel of ignorance out into the bright and truth-revealing daylight.
Whoa! I've just realized something else about her. I - I really don't think that I've ever felt quite like this about any girl before - not even Naru! And, unlike Naru, Shinobu loves me. She really, really loves me!
So, Shinobu wants me to wait a year-and-a-bit until she's sixteen and ready for – proper love. A year-and-a-bit? That's not too long to wait for her – is it? No, no, for her love, it's not!
"Sempai, um?" Shinobu said, breaking into Keitaro's jumbled thoughts, dragging him back to the present. "Even though we can't go all the way just yet, I'd still like us to – um – us to be able to date each other until I'm ready to take the…next step. If you don't mind taking a schoolgirl of my age out on dates, that is?"
This is it, my moment of truth. Oh, Sempai, please say 'yes'! Say 'yes'! She pleaded silently to him, her heart in her throat with worry.
Shinobu wants me to take her out more often? Heck, why not? After tonight, I sure wouldn't mind getting to know her a lot better. And we get on so well already, too. I'm single, so what have I got to lose? I'll do it!
"Yeah, yeah, sure! Ah, I mean – okay, Shinobu, I'd like that just fine," Keitaro declared, catching himself just in time, and slowing down his overeager voice. "We can date, definitely. I don't mind that at all."
"Oh, thank you, Sempai!" the relieved teen exclaimed, her heart flipping with joy at his prayed-for answer. "You won't regret dating me, I promise you!"
I'm pretty darn sure that I won't, too, Keitaro whooped silently to himself as he grinned like an idiot back at her. This is going to be great! I will date Shinobu - and Motoko, too, I think. After all, I'm a young, single and eligible bachelor, and I don't have to choose between anyone just yet, do I?
"Shinobu, I have something to say to you before we go any further," Keitaro spoke up, deciding to lay it all on the line right now, so that there would be no misunderstandings between the two of them. "I feel that you should know a couple of things."
"Yes, Sempai. I'm listening."
"Urm. Right, then. Ah – firstly, I think that you should know that I have decided that…I'm no longer going to be chasing after Naru. I decided that even before we went away on this trip. You were right about what she had been doing to me. I never should have put up with it for as long as I did, and you were also right when you said that if she really loved me, she wouldn't be treating me the way she did. So…? Well, it's over between Naru and me."
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yesss! At last, Sempai has come to his senses! Oh, thank you, god! I'm so happy that he's finally free of her!
"Secondly, as you already know, I'm already dating – ah – Motoko. I'm single, and, well, enjoying it, you see. So I…I want to continue to be able to see her, as well as you. That – won't be a problem, will it?"
"No, don't worry about that, Sempai," Shinobu declared truthfully, noticing just how anxious the once-again sweating Keitaro looked after he had said his piece. "All I want is my chance to win your love fairly, that's all."
"Whew! That's a relief! I really like you, Shinobu, so I don't want you to be upset if you see me with other girls-"
"I know that I'm nowhere near being your girlfriend yet, Sempai. So, until that happens – if it happens, I mean - it's all right with me. I have no right to try to stop you seeing Motoko, or anyone else. I'm just really, really happy that you want to keep dating me, and that I've got a good chance of you picking me when you finally are ready to make your decision."
"That's good to know," Keitaro told her, a relieved look in his eyes. "And I'll also promise you this – if I do ask you to be my girlfriend, and you say 'yes' to me, I definitely won't be dating any other girls after that time. You have my word on that, too, Shinobu."
"I trust you, Sempai, I do! Thank you! And the same goes for me. I'll never cheat on you, either, I swear it!"
This time it was Keitaro who leaned forward, Shinobu's lips moving across to meet his with alacrity. When they finally parted from their passionate kiss again, Shinobu accidentally caught a glimpse of the time on the alarm clock on the dresser to his rear.
Oh my goodness! Is it really that late? We've both got to get some sleep, or else we'll never be able to get up in the morning. But I don't want tonight to end. I want to lie here in Sempai's arms forever…!
"Huh? Whatcha looking at, Shinobu? Oh, the time – geez! It's nearly half-past-twelve already! We both should be in bed - oh?!"
We sorta are already, aren't we…? Ah-heh-heh-heh…!
"Yes, you're right, Sempai," Shinobu grudgingly conceded, only now becoming aware of just how tired she was beginning to feel after their hectic day and night out on the town. Darn it!
"It is getting really late now, Sempai, so I'm sorry, but we'd, um, best go to bed now – our own ones, I mean," Shinobu forced herself to say. "I'd really, really like you to stay and spend the night here with me, you know, but we can't do that – yet." The radiantly happy teen quickly kissed the surprised-looking Keitaro on his mouth once more, and then unwillingly stood up from her bed, adjusting her robe as she did so.
"Yeah, we should go and get some sleep," Keitaro reluctantly agreed, wishing that he could stay longer in her room, as well, but too much of a gentleman to impose on her. "It's just as well that neither of us has to go to school tomorrow."
Oh, I want him to stay here with me! But – if he stays, I won't be able to resist my feelings for him. I don't trust myself! But I can tell him this…
"You may have to go now, Sempai – but you won't have to when I'm a little older. So…if you'll wait for me until I'm sixteen, then – if you still want to – on the night of that birthday I promise you that we'll – um – we'll finish what we started together here tonight."
"Shinobu… I feel…er? I mean, yeah, s-sure…! And…I have another confession to make to you, too. You see, before tonight I've never really noticed just how much you've grown up. I always knew that you loved me, but now, you're so much more mature, too. And I'm beginning to have…well, feelings for you, as well. Strong feelings."
He - he does love me! Oh, thank you, god!
"Thank you so much, my beloved Sempai," Shinobu whispered, trying hard to keep her dark blue eyes from bursting forth with tears of joy. "Sleep well. And please remember what I've admitted to you about what I want to – um - happen between us on my sixteenth birthday. On that night, you won't have to leave my room…I promise."
"Don't worry, Shinobu," Keitaro blurted out, his mind suddenly filled with visions of them both in her bed, their naked bodies pressed tightly together in a pleasure-wracked embrace. "How am I possibly ever going to forget that?! I'd - best be going now, so g-good night!"
Keitaro jumped up from her bed, and promptly fell over his pants that were now down around his ankles! After hurriedly pulling the offending piece of clothing back up with a silent string of expletives, no sooner had the still bright-red student made it back up onto his feet, when he was suddenly engulfed in Shinobu's tight and tearfully-happy embrace. The two then kissed lovingly and at great length, before he reluctantly broke the lip-lock due to his body's incessant demand for air right now. Then Shinobu escorted him to the door, clinging tightly to his near arm. Once there, they gave each other another long and lingering kiss, before the panting and totally-captivated prospective Tokyo U student finally backed out of the room and made his unwilling departure.
-:-:-:-:-:-
The second that Keitaro re-entered his own room, he flung off all of his clothes and his glasses like a wild man, dashed into his ensuite and turned on the shower, then dived in under the still-cold water.
Dammit, I feel so hot! Shinobu! Oh, god, if she'd kept doing that to me for even a second longer-? Man, how am I supposed to get any sleep tonight after what we both just experienced together? I just can't get her out of my mind! If that was her plan to get me to notice her as a woman, then it worked to a 'T'!
-:-:-:-:-:-
Back in her own room, the wildly-happy and laughing Shinobu was now positive that she had finally achieved her aim of attracting the man of her dreams – and she was also sure that her plan had worked out even better than she had dared to hope that it would.
Good food may be one of the keys to a man's heart, the excited schoolgirl told herself with contentment as she finally calmed herself down enough to first blow out all of the flickering candles, and then snuggle up into her warm and cozy bed. And Sempai already loves my cooking, so I've got that bit all sewn up already. But a second way to a man's heart is 'always leave them wanting more!'
…Just like I always, always want with my dear Sempai, too…