Chapter 25

Time seemed irrelevant for Kitsune after self diagnosing herself the previous night with help from Yui. She had taken refuge in her room to understand how this situation had happened. She was racking her mind trying to remember everything she learnt in school about this kind of thing.

It was now morning and she needed to know for sure. She didn't want to take a test in the house and risk people finding out. She needed somewhere private to go but she had nowhere. Her home was off limits, she dreaded her mother finding out.

Kitsune was snapped out of her daze by Naru. The red head was putting a brown paper bag into Kitsune's hand bag.

"I got this from the pharmacy. It's the best one they have and for the price I should hope so." Naru said.

"Thank you, I'll pay you back." Kitsune nodded.

"Don't worry about it. This is all going to work out. You're going to take the test and see that it's negative and then we're going to have a laugh about it." Naru smiled. "After all, it's only been two weeks since you and he… well you know."

"I lied to you about that. We were together about a week before that. Naru, that first night I was with Tora, we were slightly drunk and ended up spending some time in a love hotel." Kitsune confessed.

"I…I…I..." Naru stuttered.

"I was so stupid." Kitsune muttered.

"This is going to be your wake up call. Everything is going to work out." Naru tried to smile.

"What if it doesn't work out? What if I am pregnant." Kitsune questioned.

"I can't think about that." Naru admitted. "I don't want to think about that."

"Why?" Kitsune asked.

"It's because if you are pregnant then that bastard is the father and I'm scared of what might happen to you." Naru explained.

"How do I tell Tora? He doesn't want kids." Kitsune fretted. "That's one of the reasons he and his wife aren't on the same page. She wants an heir to pass on her father's fortune to."

"I don't want you talking to him right now while you're emotional. The truth is I don't want you talking to him at all. After I found out what he did I was so angry I wanted to…" Naru gritted her teeth.

"I have to break up with him." Kitsune whimpered.

"What was that?" Naru asked unsure.

"I have to break up with him." Kitsune said louder. "I can't get scared every time my boyfriend's phone rings. That's not right."

"How I wish you came to that realization under different circumstances." Naru responded.

"I can't take the test here. I don't want someone finding out." Kitsune said.

"Don't worry; I'll be with you the entire time. I'll make sure no disturbs you while you're taking the test. Yui promised not to say anything so don't worry about it." Naru assured.

XXXXX

Keitaro took a walk through the town trying to clear his mind. He passed the village elders who just seemed to sit around and do nothing. He was having a tough time deciding what to do about Mutsumi.

"You look lost kid." Haruka said walking by. "Is everything alright?"

"I should be asking you that, it's rare for you to leave your café." Keitaro replied.

"I needed to stretch my legs so I went for a walk." Haruka answered. "There are some benches over there, let's have a seat."

Haruka's words were more like an order then a request. Keitaro didn't feel like arguing so he went along and joined Haruka on the bench. Haruka pulled out a box of cigarettes and lit one; she then offered the box to Keitaro.

"No thanks, I don't smoke." Keitaro declined.

"Well you look like you could use a cigarette." Haruka said.

"Something came up and I'm not sure what to do about it. It may be nothing or it may not." Keitaro revealed.

"Well, I've got a few years on you. Maybe I could give you some advice." Haruka responded.

"You know about how Granny Hina got arrested trying to forcibly take Kanako out of the country?" Keitaro began.

"Off course I know. It was just one of the many things they're planning on charging her with." Haruka sighed.

"It turns out Mutsumi has been visiting her a lot." Keitaro revealed.

"She never mentioned that to me." Haruka mumbled.

"Exactly, she never told me either." Keitaro said.

"If she told me we could have car pooled." Haruka grumbled.

"You've been to visit Granny Hina?" Keitaro asked.

"I have a few times. After all she is my grandmother/adoptive mother as her lawyer keeps harping." Haruka admitted.

"Her lawyer?" Keitaro replied puzzled.

"He wants to use the fact Granny Hina adopted me and raised me in her defence. He wants to paint her as a saint." Haruka explained.

"How do you feel about all this? I never asked you before." Keitaro asked apologetically.

"I don't know how I should feel. There's a part of me reminding me that's she's family but there's also a part of me that feels so angry with her for doing what she did. I helped her run the annex and I never knew any of what went on there." Haruka confessed.

"It must be hard for you." Keitaro nodded.

"Why are we talking about me? We should be solving your problem." Haruka laughed to try and play off the tension.

"You don't have to worry about me. I'm going to be fine. I'll talk to Mutsumi and sort this out. So right now, I want to know how you feel." Keitaro replied.

Haruka then put out her cigarette and began to speak freely. "It's been tough. Things have been really confusing. My mother's lawyer is harping in one ear and I've got the prosecutor buzzing in the other."

"Have you spoken to my father about any of this?" Keitaro asked.

"No, after the whole thing with Kanako I don't think Keita would want to deal with all of this now." Haruka shook her head.

"You should try still before they move. I'm sure it'll easier talking to someone who kind of understands the situation you're in." Keitaro suggested.

"That reminds me. I need to buy them a moving gift." Haruka muttered.

"You're changing the topic." Keitaro noted.

"I know." Haruka said getting up. "I wonder what your dad would like."

Keitaro didn't reply because he knew that Haruka was going to talk his dad about everything. He reset his focus on confronting Mutsumi.

XXXXX

Mizuho paced around the common room in the Hinata Dorm. She was on her cell phone but the person she was talking to was in an area with terrible reception. Even though her pacing served no purpose she still did it out of habit.

"Hello, can you hear me? You're breaking up, I can't understand." Mizuho spoke into the device as she moved around.

"Mi… Are… Kei… Hous… eve… don… mone… marr…" The voice on the other end was disjointed and the words unclear as the call ended due to lack of reception.

"Dad, dad." Mizuho said loudly before she realized the call was dropped.

"Is everything alright?" Shinobu asked as she walked by.

"Oh, I'm fine. My dad on the other hand refuses to get a better service provider." Mizuho sighed.

"Okay then." Shinobu replied.

The young chef then noticed that Mizuho had a few recipe books opened. Mizuho was brushing up on cooking techniques and trying to improve her range of dishes.

"If you want, you can borrow these books anytime." Mizuho offered when she noticed Shinobu staring at them.

"Thank you but I have my own set of cooking books." Shinobu replied.

"Shinobu, can I ask you something about Keitaro?" Mizuho requested.

"Err, about sempai? I don't know if I'll be able to help you." Shinobu responded.

"Does Keitaro have a girlfriend?" Mizuho asked.

"Sempai… Girlfriend…" Shinobu mumbled. "Why would you ask that?"

"It's just that yesterday he dressed up, which is unusual and he rushed out of the house saying how he was going to be late. I'm no detective but it seemed like he had a date." Mizuho explained.

"What sempai does in his free time is none of our business." Shinobu replied putting up a façade.

"Honestly, I don't know what I would do if he had a girlfriend." Mizuho admitted defeated.

"I don't understand." Shinobu replied.

"I came here with the sole purpose of marrying Keitaro. In hindsight, my plan was very flawed. My mother, my grandmother, my great grandmother, they all got married around my age and lived happy lives. Here I am, single because of my temper." Mizuho laughed sadly.

"Your temper?" Shinobu questioned.

"To put in terms you would understand, I was like Narusegawa but I ended up with the stigma of a bad reputation for it. It followed me all the way from my home town to here. People love to gossip." Mizuho explained.

"That's terrible." Shinobu mumbled unsure what to say.

"I'm sorry for bothering you with my sappy story." Mizuho apologized.

"It's no problem but I just can't understand why you want to marry sempai." Shinobu responded.

"I made a vow that I would take responsibility and marry him if he failed to get into Todai while I was his tutor." Mizuho answered.

"I'm sure sempai wouldn't hold you to that. He hasn't so far." Shinobu said.

"The truth is that at first I worried about the promise then I realized I wanted to marry him. When he heard the rumours about my demon temper he didn't look at me like I was crazy. Every other guy did." Mizuho clarified.

"Maybe sempai likes violent girls…" Shinobu mumbled to herself thinking about Keitaro's infatuation with Naru initially.

Mizuho chuckled at the comment. "Even if he has a girlfriend, I don't feel like giving up on him and neither should you little chef."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Shinobu blushed.

"You might be young now but in 4-5 years he will have to look at you as a woman." Mizuho said.

XXXXX

Yamato and Motoko sat across from each other at the Hinata House dinner table. Since everyone had already eaten dinner the table was free. Between them was rectangular board with wedge shaped pieces on it.

"When you said you needed help, I didn't think it meant playing shogi." Yamato said as he looked at the board and realized he was being decimated by Motoko.

"Since I can't train my body I need to keep my mind sharp and unless you try harder I won't be able to do that." Motoko responded.

"It's been ages since I played this game. I never was any good at this." Yamato admitted.

"I can see that. Your mind isn't on the game." Motoko noted.

"No, no, my mind is one hundred percent on this game and nothing else." Yamato retorted.

"I should hope you are lying to me there, checkmate." Motoko said ending the game.

"That was quick and decisive." Yamato gulped.

"What did you think of Aika-senpai yesterday?" Motoko asked.

"Who's Aika-senpai?" Yamato responded.

"Aika-senpai was the one from my kendo club who spoke to you yesterday." Motoko explained.

Yamato's mind raced back to that meeting and only one feature of the girl he saw stuck out in his mind and he had Yasunobu to blame for that.

"Oh yes, the one with the big melons…" Yamato blurted out without thinking.

The table shook as Motoko gripped it with her uninjured hand to try and restrain herself.

"So you were looking at her like that." Motoko gritted her teeth.

"No, you don't understand. It was Yasunobu; he put the idea in my head." Yamato tried to explain.

Yamato watched as Motoko's face grew red. Her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. She started breathing deeply with a heavy noise. With her body tense and muscles quivering she gave Yamato a look that would wither a tree from afar.

"At school it was a constant problem because boys kept flooding our practice sessions to harass her. It reached a point where all male students were banned." Motoko scoffed.

"I'm sorry. I can't say anything to make how I referred to Aika-senpai seem alright. Guys shouldn't refer to girls in that way, I know that." Yamato said trying to cool things down.

Motoko got up in haste. Yamato knew she was mad at him but her face seemed to show she was more upset now than angry.

"You're just like all the other guys I've met at school. I guess I just wanted you to be different." Motoko muttered as she stormed off.

Yamato heard what she said clearly but didn't know what to do. He remarked at the fact he was still in one piece. The old Motoko would have been crying pervert and attacking him. Yamato knew he was missing something about what just happened with Motoko and the taunts from his 'old friends' rang in his head.

'How long did you think she was gonna wait for your confession?'

'How shameful? ~ That's what I told him. It's because of that attitude that Suzuka dumped you.'

Yamato got up and chased Motoko he managed to stop her just before she entered her room.

"I'm almost completely clueless when it comes to a girl's feelings but I know something is wrong here. You're mad at me but the reason isn't what it seems." Yamato exclaimed.

"I'm angry because you're a pervert." Motoko huffed.

"No you're not. That's your lying voice." Yamato accused walking towards her.

"I don't have a lying voice you leech." Motoko retorted.

"You're upset so I'm just going to let this entire thing slide but just tell me what wrong." Yamato pleaded standing behind her.

"It was the way you looked at Aika-senpai. I saw it." Motoko confessed as she turned to face him.

"Oh, I may have glanced in her direction as she spoke but I didn't stare. I made sure I didn't." Yamato replied.

"I was jealous." Motoko came clean.

"Now I'm completely lost." Yamato sighed.

"You looked at her like you were interested in her. You never looked at me like that and we've spent so much time together recently. I was jealous of that." Motoko explained.

"Wait, that means… I'm sorry, I didn't know." Yamato mumbled trying to say something appropriate.

"Just forget I said anything." Motoko dropped her head and hurried into her room shutting the door.

XXXXX

Naru waited outside the bathroom of the Hinata House standing guard as Kitsune was inside taking the pregnancy test. Naru grew worried as it seemed to be taking a long time but then again Naru was unsure about how long these things normally took.

"Naru, can you come in?" Kitsune asked almost pleading.

Naru walked and Kitsune held up the test for Naru to see the results.

"I…I…I…Its positive." Naru stuttered.