Halloween at the Hinata House
Authour's Notes:
Once again I have a random fic idea pop into my head and it won't leave me alone until I commit it to paper (or disk as the case may be ;)) Love Hina and the characters aren't mine, neither are the various other anime that I'm borrowing from, but hey, it's all in fun and no one gets hurt right?
In any event on with the show and despite what I present here I do think Naru and Keitaro make a nice couple (Mitsumi & Keitaro might make a better couple, but that's another fic for another day)
NefCanuck
October 24th
The residents of the Hinata House sat around the breakfast table on a chilly autumn morning, eating the hot bowls of porridge provided them by the young resident chef Shinobu. Keitaro beamed as he spooned another mouthful of porridge into his mouth "Excellent food as always Shinobu". Shinobu blushed faintly "T-thank you Sempai". Naru looked at the exchange between the pair and merely growled at Keitaro "Don't take with your mouth full, it's disgusting" and calmly shoved Keitaro's face into the hot porridge causing the unfortunate lad to jerk his head back up with a yelp of pain.
Kitsune smiled her trademark grin at the exchange "Aw how cute, a lover's spat. But don't you two think you'd better save that for next week?" Naru looked at her in confusion "What happens next week?" at this Haruka spoke up "Next week is Halloween, every year the town puts on a costume ball with prizes for the best costumes" at this Kitsune's face lit up "Prizes? What kinda prizes?" Haruka shrugged "It's whatever is donated by the merchants in town, sometimes it's money, other times its been gifts including last years prize of a years supply of sake..." at that the fox-girl's eyes did a great imitation of yo-yo's, springing from her head in shock "Sake? Count me in!" and with that she finished her remaining breakfast, thanked Shinobu again for the meal and bee-lined for her room giggling about sake.
Koalla Su the resident foreign exchange student wondered aloud "Halloween? Is it delicious?" Sarah scoffed "No silly. Halloween is like a license to get all the candy you can carry and pig out on it until you're stuffed to bursting. I went out every year back in America." Su looked wide eyed at the American girl "Really? Candy until we burst?" Haruka smirked "Well, I'm not sure how much candy they'll have at this party, but I'm sure you'll get some Su." With that Koalla Su jumped up, grabbed Sarah by the scruff of her neck and tore to her room, dragging the complaining American girl behind her.
Motoko finished her meal and gracefully bowed in thanks for the food "Thank you Shinobu, it was excellent as always, you truly have a warrior's spirit in the kitchen. Now I must go upstairs to practice" and she made her way upstairs, as she was leaving Haruka spoke up "You're not interested in dressing up for the party?" Motoko spoke "No, I am not interested in something as frivolous as a costume, but I will attend the party. Now if you'll excuse me" and with that the enigmatic warrior girl made her way upstairs.
Keitaro spoke brightly to Shinobu "I'll bet you're excited about the party Shinobu." Shinobu blushed "H-hai Sempai, but I'm not really good at costume making so I'm not sure..." Naru's eyes suddenly gleamed behind her glasses in a way that made Keitaro very nervous "Leave that to me Shinobu. I've got just the idea for you!" Naru looked directly at Keitaro "As for you, I'm taking care of your costume myself. I don't want you doing something that will embarrass the Hinata House. Come with me Shinobu" and with that Naru took Shinobu up to her room, leaving the caretaker and his aunt as the last two at the table. Keitaro spoke up to his aunt "Will you be dressing up this year Aunt Haruka?" The enigmatic teahouse owner growled and boxed Keitaro lightly on the head before answering in her usual bored tone "Yes and its just Haruka." Keitaro could only nod weakly as the stars danced before his eyes.
The next week was a flurry activity that seemed to be happening around Keitaro, rather than involving him. Between the figures dashing around him holding bundles of fabric, buttons and snaps and the fights over the one sewing machine in the entire place Keitaro couldn't wait for Halloween to get here if only to end this insanity. Naru didn't make his life any easier, pestering him for measurements, which were initially easily provided but when she started asking for things like inside leg length, he found himself having to do his best impression of a stone statue in order to appease Naru 's incessant need for measurements. Unfortunately for Keitaro having Naru kneeling extremely close to him caused him no end of discomfort and more than a few "accidents" which ended up with him being launched into low Earth orbit on several occasions.
Finally it was Halloween and the night of the party, it had been agreed jointly that in order to keep the element of surprise for the party, each person would don their costume and leave separately with enough time between them to avoid ruining the surprise. Keitaro sat in his room and looked at the costume in the bag that Naru had handed him. The first things he noticed were the two blue hairclips that fell out of the bag. His face fell as he pulled the white and blue body suit out of the bag "She's got to be kidding me!" But as he laid out the costumes various parts he could plainly see that she meant for him to dress as Shinji Ikari, resident punching bag of Evangelion. "Is it too late to call in sick for this party?" Keitaro mumbled to himself even as he dressed in the skin-tight uniform.
Upstairs in her room Naru grinned even as she pulled her ear from the floor. She knew that Keitaro would do anything she asked, even going so far as to put on the costume that she made, knowing full well what that costume represented. Naru slipped her own costume, admiring how well she and Shinobu had worked together to create her costume. Naru surpressed a giggle even as she put together her final accessories, a sneer on her face and made her way into town.
Shinobu looked at her costume and smiled softly, having worked on Keitaro's costume together with Naru she knew exactly what he was going as and couldn't help the slight flush on her cheeks as she realized how well she and Keitaro would fit together. The toughest part of Shinobu's costume had turned out to be the hairdye. Finding a dye that would react the way that she needed with her hair had been a challenge, trying to keep the failed experiments a secret had meant a few days wearing hats. Finally she slipped the special contacts in her eyes and after blinking to adjust them and a final look in the mirror, made her way to the party, wondering what Keitaro's reaction would be.
Motoko sat cross-legged in her room in a meditative state, it wasn't that she was necessarily against the idea of dressing in costume, but the practical part of her failed to see the purpose in it. Motoko was broken out of her trance by an insistent rapping on her door and before she could make a move to answer it. Kitsune dressed as Misato Kitsuragi from Evangelion burst into the room, giggling and obviously well on her way to imitating her apparent idol's usual state of drunkenness. Motoko openly gaped at Kitsune "What are you doing Kitsune?" Kitsune smiled lopsidedly "Why getting you in your costume of course, we're not going to have one of our own Hinata House members show up as the lone party-pooper!" and she advanced on Motoko. Motoko unsheathed her sword "No thank you, in that case I will stay here and you can advise them that I am not feeling well." Kitsune blinked, shrugged and pulled out her secret weapon. Tama-chan dressed as Luna-P! Motoko blinked in shock as the Luna-P "myuhed" at her. Motoko issued a high pitched squeal and passed out in fright. Kitsune grinned and pulled the bag that she had left outside Motoko's room inside and started the process of dressing her up in the costume Kitsune had selected for her.
Eventually all the lights at the Hinata House went dark as the last of the tenants made their way to the party. Keitaro wandered about enduring the snickering from more than a few people that felt his choice of costume suited him all too well. Keitaro sighed "I hope the others are having a better time than I am. I wonder where they all are?"
Motoko woke up with a start, the first thing that she realized was that she was outside.... that her legs seemed oddly chilled and her hands had gloves on them that nearly went to her elbows. Her face drained of all colour as she attempted to stand and found her self tottering unexpectedly on high heels. Motoko made her way on shaky legs to a full-length mirror and could only gasp in shock at what she saw as she stood there. Motoko's reflection was that of a near perfect mirror image of Sailor Mars! "Kitsune!" she roared and raged off to find the fox-girl to deliver a devine retribution for this humiliation.
Koalla Su wandered about dressed as the hacker Ed from Cowboy Bebop, running randomly to and fro while behind her a grumbling Sarah dressed as Chibi Moon was followed by a floating Luna-P that "myuhed" happily as it floated behind her. Koalla Su happily munched on the free candy while Sarah and the Luna-P went off in search of her favourite target Keitaro to see if she could use the silly pink sceptre that she was stuck with on him.
Keitaro had found a bench and was sitting quietly when two people came up to him, the costumes seemed oddly familiar even if they weren't. "Hey Keitaro!" the taller of the pair said "Nice costume" the shorter one snickered, while pointing at Keitaro. Keitaro looked at the pair in confusion "Who are you guys again?" The pair face-faulted "We're Shirai & Haitani! Your best friends remember? Check out our costumes, we're Prince Phil & Gourry from Slayers. What do you think"? The pair did a pirouette in front of him, drawing strange looks from the crowd. Keitaro could only mutter "Uh, nice" under his breath while hoping the freaky pair would move on when they realized he wasn't enthralled with their costumes, though he had to admit they were surprisingly well made. The pair finally wandered off, leaving Keitaro in a comfortable silence.
It didn't last long as a girl dressed as Steel Angel Kurumi suddenly wandered into his field of vision and after tripping over an errant power cord nearly ended up crashing into the very bench that Keitaro was sitting at. In one swift motion Keitaro found himself holding onto the girl's waist with his arms just below her 'assets', rubbing dangerously against them as she breathed a sigh of relief. Keitaro began to stammer and blush furiously even as the girl looked up into his eyes and laughed lightly. Keitaro blinked in shock "Mitsumi? Is that you?" Mitsumi smiled happily "I'm so glad you recognized me Keitaro! Do you like my costume?" She got to her feet and twirled around gracefully once, before her natural reflexes kicked in and she found herself square in Keitaro's lap. Keitaro's blush could have ignited a forest fire by this point as he stammered out his compliments while trying very hard not to think about the young lady in his lap and the sensations that were filtering through his costume.
Mitsumi turned around in his lap and giggled. What she did next surprised Keitaro as she gently cupped his face with her hands and kissed him full on the lips! Keitaro broke the kiss and could only stammer in shock at her forwardness. A sudden squeak of surprise caused him to jerk his head around until he was facing Naru dressed as Asuka and Shinobu dressed as Rei Ayanami! Shinobu stood there blushing furiously while Naru stalked up to him and proceeded to send him skyward with her right fist. Naru stalked off tears visible in her eyes even as Keitaro fell back to Earth and landed in a heap in the bushes nearby, Mitsumi having wandered off to look for something to drink.
A new voice called out cheerily "Having fun Keitaro?" Keitaro staggered out of the bushes to find the speaker was Seta, he was dressed as Spike Spiegel and with him was Keitaro's aunt Haruka dressed as Faye Valentine. The pair looked as if they were made for the roles. Keitaro sighed "I didn't mean for that to happen Seta, honest!" Haruka smiled gently "We saw the whole thing Keitaro, I'm sure if you can get Naru to come back here, we can vouch for your innocence." Keitaro sprang to his feet "Thanks Aunt Haruka, you're the greatest ACK!" a rap to the head from Haruka served as a reminder that he had forgotten and called Haruka 'Aunt' again, a term that made her feel far older than her 27 years of age.
Naru sat under a tree grumbling, having lost the well meaning, but innocent Shinobu to be alone with her own thoughts as dark as they were. "Stupid pervert! I go to all that trouble to create a costume for him and what thanks do I get?" Naru grumbled to herself. She looked up and found herself staring straight at Mitsumi. Mitsumi smiled apologetically "Naru I'm so sorry, what you saw back there was all my fault, you see I tripped and..." Naru got to her feet in one fluid motion "Sorry Mitsumi, I'm not interested in hearing the explanations for this. Every time I give him a chance he proves again that he isn't deserving of it" and with that she made to stalk past the pink-haired party-goer. She found her progress impeded by a hand on her arm, Mitsumi had a deathgrip on her arm and uncharacteristic for her, a scowl on her features "Naru that's not fair, Keitaro loves you more than anything in the world! He's utterly devoted to you and yet you keep treating him like dirt!" Naru shrugged off Mitsumi 's hand and faced her "So what? Is it my fault he's a pathetic wimp that can't keep his act together for more than..." her remaining tirade was cut off as Mitsumi slapped her hard across the face "How dare you talk about Keitaro like that! He'd stop a bullet for you if you asked him to! You don't deserve him!" and with that Mitsumi turned on her heel and stalked away leaving Naru holding her tender cheek.
Elsewhere Keitaro wandered around the grounds of the party looking for Naru. So far he was unable to spot her, though he did get a look at most of the other Hinata Housers' costumes. Keitaro found his eyes nearly bugging out at the sight of Motoko stalking around angrily in her Sailor Mars outfit, but the mental image of a crying Naru put that thought far from his mind. Suddenly he found himself being yanked backwards into a nearby tent and landing on his butt facing a very inebriated Kitsune dressed as Misato Kitsuragi. Kitsune grinned slyly "I like your costume Keitaro, it shows off all your good points" as her eyes lazily drifted downwards. Keitaro quickly rearranged himself on the floor so as to eliminate his embarrassing position. "Aw you're no fun spoilsport, you're getting as prudish as Naru..." Keitaro winced at the name of his housemate. Kitsune looked critically at Keitaro "Did you make Naru mad?" Keitaro at first waved his hands in denial but then realized it was futile and proceeded to tell the mischievous fox-girl everything that had happened.
Kitsune was flabbergasted, once again her best friend Naru had managed to misread a situation completely causing all sorts of unnecessary grief between her and Keitaro. Now Kitsune never said so openly but she thought that Naru & Keitaro were a perfect match, she the yin to his yang. Kitsune rubbed her chin in thought on how to resolve the situation when Keitaro suddenly stood up, his eyes blazing with determination. "Where are you going Keitaro?" Keitaro looked at Kitsune, his features set in determination "I'm going to do what I have to Kitsune. I'm going to tell her the truth about what she saw and if Naru can't accept that then maybe there really isn't anything between us if she can't believe me." Keitaro stalked out of the tent with a purposeful stride. Kitsune stared after the retreating figure in shock "When did Keitaro grow a spine? Must be the costume" and with that she shrugged and went back to her bottle of sake.
Naru was wandering around the party in a daze, not that Mitsumi 's slap had been all that hard, but her words had cut deep "Maybe I don't deserve him, I'm always flying off the handle at him, over mostly trivial accidents and misunderstandings." In her mental fog didn't see the person she wandered into and they collided with a grunt. "I'm so sorry sir!" Naru began flustered but was brought up short by the realization of who she had bumped into "Oh... it's you" she casually remarked to Keitaro. Naru noticed that he seemed determined about something, as if his very life depended on it. "Out with it Keitaro, what's on your mind?"
Keitaro lost focus for half a second but quickly recovered and told Naru exactly how he and Mitsumi came to be in the position that she and Shinobu had found them in. Naru stood mutely for what seemed like an eternity, she couldn't comprehend how Keitaro was able to recite the whole absurd story without failing about stuttering or tripping over his own tongue. Keitaro looked at her with concern at the lengthening silence "Naru, are you okay?" Naru awoke from her trance with a start "I'm fine.... Now close your eyes Keitaro." Keitaro blinked "Pardon?" his newfound confidence already wavering at the sight of Naru doing her best trademark scowl and looking frighteningly similar to person whose costume she wore.
Keitaro did as instructed, his stomach turning queasy at the thought of another unscheduled flight into space when he felt something on his lips and cracked open an eye to find Naru kissing him full on the lips! Keitaro stood mutely in shock as she pulled away from the kiss and quietly whispered "I'm sorry Keitaro, I should have at least heard you out back there." Keitaro snapped out of his trance and smiled warmly at Naru "Think nothing of it Naru, it's okay" and the pair laughed even as a flying foot from Koalla Su to the back of Keitaro's head caused him to stumble forward into Naru.
And the Keitaro satellite made yet another unscheduled trip into space as the Hinata House tenants gazed skyward, Haruka remarking "Good thing he's so tough eh Naru?" as the rest of the assembled group started laughing at the furiously blushing girl.
FIN
Authour's Notes:
Once again I have a random fic idea pop into my head and it won't leave me alone until I commit it to paper (or disk as the case may be ;)) Love Hina and the characters aren't mine, neither are the various other anime that I'm borrowing from, but hey, it's all in fun and no one gets hurt right?
In any event on with the show and despite what I present here I do think Naru and Keitaro make a nice couple (Mitsumi & Keitaro might make a better couple, but that's another fic for another day)
NefCanuck
October 24th
The residents of the Hinata House sat around the breakfast table on a chilly autumn morning, eating the hot bowls of porridge provided them by the young resident chef Shinobu. Keitaro beamed as he spooned another mouthful of porridge into his mouth "Excellent food as always Shinobu". Shinobu blushed faintly "T-thank you Sempai". Naru looked at the exchange between the pair and merely growled at Keitaro "Don't take with your mouth full, it's disgusting" and calmly shoved Keitaro's face into the hot porridge causing the unfortunate lad to jerk his head back up with a yelp of pain.
Kitsune smiled her trademark grin at the exchange "Aw how cute, a lover's spat. But don't you two think you'd better save that for next week?" Naru looked at her in confusion "What happens next week?" at this Haruka spoke up "Next week is Halloween, every year the town puts on a costume ball with prizes for the best costumes" at this Kitsune's face lit up "Prizes? What kinda prizes?" Haruka shrugged "It's whatever is donated by the merchants in town, sometimes it's money, other times its been gifts including last years prize of a years supply of sake..." at that the fox-girl's eyes did a great imitation of yo-yo's, springing from her head in shock "Sake? Count me in!" and with that she finished her remaining breakfast, thanked Shinobu again for the meal and bee-lined for her room giggling about sake.
Koalla Su the resident foreign exchange student wondered aloud "Halloween? Is it delicious?" Sarah scoffed "No silly. Halloween is like a license to get all the candy you can carry and pig out on it until you're stuffed to bursting. I went out every year back in America." Su looked wide eyed at the American girl "Really? Candy until we burst?" Haruka smirked "Well, I'm not sure how much candy they'll have at this party, but I'm sure you'll get some Su." With that Koalla Su jumped up, grabbed Sarah by the scruff of her neck and tore to her room, dragging the complaining American girl behind her.
Motoko finished her meal and gracefully bowed in thanks for the food "Thank you Shinobu, it was excellent as always, you truly have a warrior's spirit in the kitchen. Now I must go upstairs to practice" and she made her way upstairs, as she was leaving Haruka spoke up "You're not interested in dressing up for the party?" Motoko spoke "No, I am not interested in something as frivolous as a costume, but I will attend the party. Now if you'll excuse me" and with that the enigmatic warrior girl made her way upstairs.
Keitaro spoke brightly to Shinobu "I'll bet you're excited about the party Shinobu." Shinobu blushed "H-hai Sempai, but I'm not really good at costume making so I'm not sure..." Naru's eyes suddenly gleamed behind her glasses in a way that made Keitaro very nervous "Leave that to me Shinobu. I've got just the idea for you!" Naru looked directly at Keitaro "As for you, I'm taking care of your costume myself. I don't want you doing something that will embarrass the Hinata House. Come with me Shinobu" and with that Naru took Shinobu up to her room, leaving the caretaker and his aunt as the last two at the table. Keitaro spoke up to his aunt "Will you be dressing up this year Aunt Haruka?" The enigmatic teahouse owner growled and boxed Keitaro lightly on the head before answering in her usual bored tone "Yes and its just Haruka." Keitaro could only nod weakly as the stars danced before his eyes.
The next week was a flurry activity that seemed to be happening around Keitaro, rather than involving him. Between the figures dashing around him holding bundles of fabric, buttons and snaps and the fights over the one sewing machine in the entire place Keitaro couldn't wait for Halloween to get here if only to end this insanity. Naru didn't make his life any easier, pestering him for measurements, which were initially easily provided but when she started asking for things like inside leg length, he found himself having to do his best impression of a stone statue in order to appease Naru 's incessant need for measurements. Unfortunately for Keitaro having Naru kneeling extremely close to him caused him no end of discomfort and more than a few "accidents" which ended up with him being launched into low Earth orbit on several occasions.
Finally it was Halloween and the night of the party, it had been agreed jointly that in order to keep the element of surprise for the party, each person would don their costume and leave separately with enough time between them to avoid ruining the surprise. Keitaro sat in his room and looked at the costume in the bag that Naru had handed him. The first things he noticed were the two blue hairclips that fell out of the bag. His face fell as he pulled the white and blue body suit out of the bag "She's got to be kidding me!" But as he laid out the costumes various parts he could plainly see that she meant for him to dress as Shinji Ikari, resident punching bag of Evangelion. "Is it too late to call in sick for this party?" Keitaro mumbled to himself even as he dressed in the skin-tight uniform.
Upstairs in her room Naru grinned even as she pulled her ear from the floor. She knew that Keitaro would do anything she asked, even going so far as to put on the costume that she made, knowing full well what that costume represented. Naru slipped her own costume, admiring how well she and Shinobu had worked together to create her costume. Naru surpressed a giggle even as she put together her final accessories, a sneer on her face and made her way into town.
Shinobu looked at her costume and smiled softly, having worked on Keitaro's costume together with Naru she knew exactly what he was going as and couldn't help the slight flush on her cheeks as she realized how well she and Keitaro would fit together. The toughest part of Shinobu's costume had turned out to be the hairdye. Finding a dye that would react the way that she needed with her hair had been a challenge, trying to keep the failed experiments a secret had meant a few days wearing hats. Finally she slipped the special contacts in her eyes and after blinking to adjust them and a final look in the mirror, made her way to the party, wondering what Keitaro's reaction would be.
Motoko sat cross-legged in her room in a meditative state, it wasn't that she was necessarily against the idea of dressing in costume, but the practical part of her failed to see the purpose in it. Motoko was broken out of her trance by an insistent rapping on her door and before she could make a move to answer it. Kitsune dressed as Misato Kitsuragi from Evangelion burst into the room, giggling and obviously well on her way to imitating her apparent idol's usual state of drunkenness. Motoko openly gaped at Kitsune "What are you doing Kitsune?" Kitsune smiled lopsidedly "Why getting you in your costume of course, we're not going to have one of our own Hinata House members show up as the lone party-pooper!" and she advanced on Motoko. Motoko unsheathed her sword "No thank you, in that case I will stay here and you can advise them that I am not feeling well." Kitsune blinked, shrugged and pulled out her secret weapon. Tama-chan dressed as Luna-P! Motoko blinked in shock as the Luna-P "myuhed" at her. Motoko issued a high pitched squeal and passed out in fright. Kitsune grinned and pulled the bag that she had left outside Motoko's room inside and started the process of dressing her up in the costume Kitsune had selected for her.
Eventually all the lights at the Hinata House went dark as the last of the tenants made their way to the party. Keitaro wandered about enduring the snickering from more than a few people that felt his choice of costume suited him all too well. Keitaro sighed "I hope the others are having a better time than I am. I wonder where they all are?"
Motoko woke up with a start, the first thing that she realized was that she was outside.... that her legs seemed oddly chilled and her hands had gloves on them that nearly went to her elbows. Her face drained of all colour as she attempted to stand and found her self tottering unexpectedly on high heels. Motoko made her way on shaky legs to a full-length mirror and could only gasp in shock at what she saw as she stood there. Motoko's reflection was that of a near perfect mirror image of Sailor Mars! "Kitsune!" she roared and raged off to find the fox-girl to deliver a devine retribution for this humiliation.
Koalla Su wandered about dressed as the hacker Ed from Cowboy Bebop, running randomly to and fro while behind her a grumbling Sarah dressed as Chibi Moon was followed by a floating Luna-P that "myuhed" happily as it floated behind her. Koalla Su happily munched on the free candy while Sarah and the Luna-P went off in search of her favourite target Keitaro to see if she could use the silly pink sceptre that she was stuck with on him.
Keitaro had found a bench and was sitting quietly when two people came up to him, the costumes seemed oddly familiar even if they weren't. "Hey Keitaro!" the taller of the pair said "Nice costume" the shorter one snickered, while pointing at Keitaro. Keitaro looked at the pair in confusion "Who are you guys again?" The pair face-faulted "We're Shirai & Haitani! Your best friends remember? Check out our costumes, we're Prince Phil & Gourry from Slayers. What do you think"? The pair did a pirouette in front of him, drawing strange looks from the crowd. Keitaro could only mutter "Uh, nice" under his breath while hoping the freaky pair would move on when they realized he wasn't enthralled with their costumes, though he had to admit they were surprisingly well made. The pair finally wandered off, leaving Keitaro in a comfortable silence.
It didn't last long as a girl dressed as Steel Angel Kurumi suddenly wandered into his field of vision and after tripping over an errant power cord nearly ended up crashing into the very bench that Keitaro was sitting at. In one swift motion Keitaro found himself holding onto the girl's waist with his arms just below her 'assets', rubbing dangerously against them as she breathed a sigh of relief. Keitaro began to stammer and blush furiously even as the girl looked up into his eyes and laughed lightly. Keitaro blinked in shock "Mitsumi? Is that you?" Mitsumi smiled happily "I'm so glad you recognized me Keitaro! Do you like my costume?" She got to her feet and twirled around gracefully once, before her natural reflexes kicked in and she found herself square in Keitaro's lap. Keitaro's blush could have ignited a forest fire by this point as he stammered out his compliments while trying very hard not to think about the young lady in his lap and the sensations that were filtering through his costume.
Mitsumi turned around in his lap and giggled. What she did next surprised Keitaro as she gently cupped his face with her hands and kissed him full on the lips! Keitaro broke the kiss and could only stammer in shock at her forwardness. A sudden squeak of surprise caused him to jerk his head around until he was facing Naru dressed as Asuka and Shinobu dressed as Rei Ayanami! Shinobu stood there blushing furiously while Naru stalked up to him and proceeded to send him skyward with her right fist. Naru stalked off tears visible in her eyes even as Keitaro fell back to Earth and landed in a heap in the bushes nearby, Mitsumi having wandered off to look for something to drink.
A new voice called out cheerily "Having fun Keitaro?" Keitaro staggered out of the bushes to find the speaker was Seta, he was dressed as Spike Spiegel and with him was Keitaro's aunt Haruka dressed as Faye Valentine. The pair looked as if they were made for the roles. Keitaro sighed "I didn't mean for that to happen Seta, honest!" Haruka smiled gently "We saw the whole thing Keitaro, I'm sure if you can get Naru to come back here, we can vouch for your innocence." Keitaro sprang to his feet "Thanks Aunt Haruka, you're the greatest ACK!" a rap to the head from Haruka served as a reminder that he had forgotten and called Haruka 'Aunt' again, a term that made her feel far older than her 27 years of age.
Naru sat under a tree grumbling, having lost the well meaning, but innocent Shinobu to be alone with her own thoughts as dark as they were. "Stupid pervert! I go to all that trouble to create a costume for him and what thanks do I get?" Naru grumbled to herself. She looked up and found herself staring straight at Mitsumi. Mitsumi smiled apologetically "Naru I'm so sorry, what you saw back there was all my fault, you see I tripped and..." Naru got to her feet in one fluid motion "Sorry Mitsumi, I'm not interested in hearing the explanations for this. Every time I give him a chance he proves again that he isn't deserving of it" and with that she made to stalk past the pink-haired party-goer. She found her progress impeded by a hand on her arm, Mitsumi had a deathgrip on her arm and uncharacteristic for her, a scowl on her features "Naru that's not fair, Keitaro loves you more than anything in the world! He's utterly devoted to you and yet you keep treating him like dirt!" Naru shrugged off Mitsumi 's hand and faced her "So what? Is it my fault he's a pathetic wimp that can't keep his act together for more than..." her remaining tirade was cut off as Mitsumi slapped her hard across the face "How dare you talk about Keitaro like that! He'd stop a bullet for you if you asked him to! You don't deserve him!" and with that Mitsumi turned on her heel and stalked away leaving Naru holding her tender cheek.
Elsewhere Keitaro wandered around the grounds of the party looking for Naru. So far he was unable to spot her, though he did get a look at most of the other Hinata Housers' costumes. Keitaro found his eyes nearly bugging out at the sight of Motoko stalking around angrily in her Sailor Mars outfit, but the mental image of a crying Naru put that thought far from his mind. Suddenly he found himself being yanked backwards into a nearby tent and landing on his butt facing a very inebriated Kitsune dressed as Misato Kitsuragi. Kitsune grinned slyly "I like your costume Keitaro, it shows off all your good points" as her eyes lazily drifted downwards. Keitaro quickly rearranged himself on the floor so as to eliminate his embarrassing position. "Aw you're no fun spoilsport, you're getting as prudish as Naru..." Keitaro winced at the name of his housemate. Kitsune looked critically at Keitaro "Did you make Naru mad?" Keitaro at first waved his hands in denial but then realized it was futile and proceeded to tell the mischievous fox-girl everything that had happened.
Kitsune was flabbergasted, once again her best friend Naru had managed to misread a situation completely causing all sorts of unnecessary grief between her and Keitaro. Now Kitsune never said so openly but she thought that Naru & Keitaro were a perfect match, she the yin to his yang. Kitsune rubbed her chin in thought on how to resolve the situation when Keitaro suddenly stood up, his eyes blazing with determination. "Where are you going Keitaro?" Keitaro looked at Kitsune, his features set in determination "I'm going to do what I have to Kitsune. I'm going to tell her the truth about what she saw and if Naru can't accept that then maybe there really isn't anything between us if she can't believe me." Keitaro stalked out of the tent with a purposeful stride. Kitsune stared after the retreating figure in shock "When did Keitaro grow a spine? Must be the costume" and with that she shrugged and went back to her bottle of sake.
Naru was wandering around the party in a daze, not that Mitsumi 's slap had been all that hard, but her words had cut deep "Maybe I don't deserve him, I'm always flying off the handle at him, over mostly trivial accidents and misunderstandings." In her mental fog didn't see the person she wandered into and they collided with a grunt. "I'm so sorry sir!" Naru began flustered but was brought up short by the realization of who she had bumped into "Oh... it's you" she casually remarked to Keitaro. Naru noticed that he seemed determined about something, as if his very life depended on it. "Out with it Keitaro, what's on your mind?"
Keitaro lost focus for half a second but quickly recovered and told Naru exactly how he and Mitsumi came to be in the position that she and Shinobu had found them in. Naru stood mutely for what seemed like an eternity, she couldn't comprehend how Keitaro was able to recite the whole absurd story without failing about stuttering or tripping over his own tongue. Keitaro looked at her with concern at the lengthening silence "Naru, are you okay?" Naru awoke from her trance with a start "I'm fine.... Now close your eyes Keitaro." Keitaro blinked "Pardon?" his newfound confidence already wavering at the sight of Naru doing her best trademark scowl and looking frighteningly similar to person whose costume she wore.
Keitaro did as instructed, his stomach turning queasy at the thought of another unscheduled flight into space when he felt something on his lips and cracked open an eye to find Naru kissing him full on the lips! Keitaro stood mutely in shock as she pulled away from the kiss and quietly whispered "I'm sorry Keitaro, I should have at least heard you out back there." Keitaro snapped out of his trance and smiled warmly at Naru "Think nothing of it Naru, it's okay" and the pair laughed even as a flying foot from Koalla Su to the back of Keitaro's head caused him to stumble forward into Naru.
And the Keitaro satellite made yet another unscheduled trip into space as the Hinata House tenants gazed skyward, Haruka remarking "Good thing he's so tough eh Naru?" as the rest of the assembled group started laughing at the furiously blushing girl.
FIN