It was a beautiful day in Tokyo. The cherry blossoms were falling gently
from the trees, creating a blizzard of pink, red, and white. The sun was
shining, birds were chirping, everything was perfect.
Keitaro Urashima walked alone along the main concourse of the Toudai campus, heading for the building where the exam results were to be posted. As he looked around, he felt a sense of peace overwhelm him. It's such a perfect day, there's no way I could have failed he thought as he continued on his way. Maybe if I get in, Naru will treat me a little better...
This brought a pang of regret to his heart the instant he thought the words. Naru was a top student at their prep school, beautiful and talented, and in no way similar to himself. He might as well compare a rose to a dandelion when thinking of her being with him. Especially after discovering that she wasn't the girl from him memories.
He sighed. How he managed to take the exam after she told him, he didn't know. He even thought that he did okay, considering the circumstances. As these thoughts made their way through his head, a question arose. If he did make it today, then what of his promise? Would he hope to meet the girl after all, or simply give up on what was beginning to seem to be a futile dream. After all, he was twenty years old, two years of that twenty spent as a ronin, and all of it spent alone. Who was he to assume that there was actually a girl that would accept him for who he was, and not for who he couldn't be?
"Keitaro!"
He turned around to see Naru rushing to meet him. They had agreed to meet here so that they could see the results of their hard work together. She smiled as she reached him at last, a smile that he couldn't help returning. She was just one of those people that could light up a room when she entered it, or make your worst day seem to be nothing more than a minor mishap.
Again, so unlike himself.
Keitaro had a tendency to trip over himself walking on a perfectly clear sidewalk, or to walk in on people at precisely the worst moment, or to say exactly the wrong thing at the most awkward times possible. He was a klutz, the person that no one seemed able to tolerate for more than a few minutes. How Naru managed to help him study for the test without killing him, (though she had come close several times) was beyond him.
"Hey, you okay?" He snapped out of his daze, looking at her. "Yeah, fine." he mumbled. Turning away, he started walking towards the huge boards with the names of those that had made it in. "Lets get this over with."
Naru hurried to keep up. "Hey, what's with you? You've been in a stupor ever since the last test. You've barely eaten a thing, and I had to drag you off the roof to get you here."
It was true. After hearing that Naru was not the girl he had promised himself to, he had indeed been out of sorts. He avoided the other residents, her especially, and spent most of his time sitting on the roof of the old inn, staring out into the sea, wondering what to do with his life. He had been so happy after thinking that she was the one, after thinking that he had found her against all odds.
And then she took that hope, and in one fell swoop, crushed it.
"I'm fine, really. Just a little tired."
Keitaro continued walking, not looking back at the girl who had been the bright spot of his life, and left a his heart a smoldering ember, fast extinguishing itself.
**************************************************************************** *********************
*A10467....A10470....A10471....A10474....A104..76*
His number was not on the board.
Keitaro Urashima, Exam Applicant number A10475, had failed.
Again.
For the third time in a row.
"Oh my God! I got in! I made it!!"
Naru jumped, throwing a fist into the air, celebrating her acceptance. Her smile threatened to split her face as she beamed at Keitaro. "So, what about you?"
Yes indeed. What about me?
Instead of answering her, Keitaro turned, walking away from the board, away from the whoops and cries of joy from those that had fared better than himself.
Away from Naru.
She followed. "What, you didn't make it? Well, it is you we're talking about here, isn't it?"
Keitaro spun around, fixing her in her spot with a withering glare. "Yeah, I failed again. Big surprise, right? Like you actually expected me to pass, especially considering the condition I was in when I took the dammned thing!"
Naru stood in mute shock. Keitaro had never looked so angry. "Yes, I failed," He continued. "and I'm not surprised, either. Have fun next year."
Turning, he ran from her, afraid that if he looked at her face any longer, he wouldn't be able to control his emotions. He ran until his lungs felt that they were going to burst, and then he slowed to a walk, and then finally stopped altogether.
He found himself at a quiet park, trees and benches scattered around. Finding a bench, he sat heavily and held his head in his hands, as if to physically hold back the tears that were threatening to flow. He was so tired of this, tired of failing, tired of studying, tired of it all. Tired of being ostracized back at the inn, tired of his parents asking whether he had failed his exams again or not, tired of Haitani and Shirai mocking him about his grades and his lack of a girlfriend.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice the girl walk up to him on the park bench, nor sit down next to him. It wasn't until she wrapped his arms around him in a hug that he took note of her being there. He lifted his head to look into a pair of deep brown eyes framed by round glasses. Naru looked at him with tears in her own eyes as she held him.
"Keitaro, I'm sorry I said that back there. I'm sorry for a lot of things. But please don't run away from me."
"Why do you care?"
The tone of his voice carried no emotion whatsoever, was completely flat. "I care because I think that you think that no one cares, and that's not true. All of us at the inn do, even Motoko, though she may not show it so much. Shinobu cares because you told her that she could do anything, and she's had a lot of problems with self-esteem in the past. Mitsune cares, Kaolla cares, and your aunt cares."
She took hold of his chin and turned his head so that he was looking her in the eye. "And I care because you made a promise to a certain girl, and you were dedicated to that promise. You might not have made it, but you kept on trying, and that's the important part."
She stood up. "I'm going back to the inn now. I would really like it if you would come with me."
Keitaro considered. He really didn't have anywhere else to go, and perhaps after a night's sleep he would feel better. "Ok, Naru. I'll come."
They arrived at Hinata House a little later. Haruka greeted them. "So, how did it go?"
Naru balked at the question. "Ahhh, I..."
"She made it. I didn't"
Keitaro walked past the two of them. "I'd really rather not talk about it right now, so lets just leave it at that, okay?"
Haruka looked at her nephew. She'd never heard him sound so resigned, not even after one of Naru's beatings. "Uh, sure, okay. Would you like something to eat? I think I heard Shinobu say that she was getting ready to fix lunch, but I'm sure she'd make you a snack."
Keitaro frowned at hearing her name. Shinobu had told him that she would try harder at her own studies because he told her that she could do anything. Now, after three years of study, he hadn't even made it into Toudai. Big help he was. "No, that's ok. I'll be all right until lunch. I think I'm gonna soak in the outdoor bath for a while, ok?"
He left, going to his room. A few minutes later, they heard him going down the hall to the outdoor bath, sliding the shoji screen shut behind him.
Haruka looked at Naru. "What happened?"
She sighed. "Keitaro told me that he made a promise to someone fifteen years ago, that he would meet her at Toudai. It seemed childish to me, but at the same time, it kept him going. Today, he told me that he was ready to keep the promise that he made."
"To me."
Haruka's jaw dropped. "You?"
"Yes, he apparently thought that I was the one to whom he made that promise. I told him that fifteen years ago, I was just two years old, and that there was no way that I could have done such a thing. I think that he had convinced himself that I was that girl, and after finding out that I wasn't, he lost his motivation."
Haruka frowned. She had thought that Keitaro had had a crush on Naru, but she had apparently underestimated the situation's seriousness. "So what are you going to do now?"
Naru sighed. "I don't know. He doesn't seem to want to talk to me, or anyone for that matter. I suppose the best thing to do would be to let him sleep on it, and maybe try to talk to him tomorrow. I'm not even sure that he's going to try again in a few months. He seemed really depressed."
"I think that I would be too, if that happened to me." Haruka commented. "He did seem to be a lot more happy the past few days." She lit a cigarette, taking a drag. "So how do you feel about him?"
The question caught her totally off guard. "I..I don't know. He's such a klutz, he can't study, and he's constantly walking in on me when I'm changing clothes or taking a bath in the hot springs."
Naru looked out the window. "But sometimes, he can be the sweetest guy in the world, and I almost feel like I can forgive him for all the bad things he does."
Haruka grinned. "So you like him!"
"I never said that!"
Keitaro let himself sink down into the hot water, hoping that the heat would take the chill out of his heart.
How could he have tricked himself into believing that Naru was that girl from so long ago? Naru was two when he had made that promise, and he certainly couldn't imagine a two-year-old promising him that she would meet him at Toudai.
Maybe he would meet that girl again, but the odds were against it. Come to think of it, the odds were against him on a lot of things.
Closing his eyes, he tried to not think about what had happened today. Tomorrow would be here soon enough, and the great thing about tomorrow was that it was another chance.
He heard the screen slide open. He didn't even open his eyes to see who it was. "I'm using the bath right now, I'll be out later."
The splash of water told him that whoever it was had decided not to listen. Oh well, he might as well get pounded again. He kept his eyes closed. "Naru, it's Keitaro, I'll be out in a little while okay?"
"It's not Naru."
Keitaro's eyes snapped open. Kitsune Monno waded gracefully through the water towards him, a cup in one hand, and a bottle in the other. She smiled.
Keitaro turned so that he was not facing her, hopefully to avoid another trip into orbit. He didn't need the additional stress tonight. "What do you want, Kitsune? You don't look like you're drunk yet, so I assume you're not here to hit on me."
"No, I'm not drunk, but I am worried. You haven't been acting the same and I want to know why." She sat against the natural stone seat next to him and poured herself a cup of sake. "You failed your test didn't you?"
Keitaro let out the breath he didn't realize that he'd been holding. "Yes, I failed again."
"Why?"
The question was rather unexpected. "I.I don't know."
This wasn't true. Keitaro knew exactly why he had failed, but he wasn't about to tell Naru's best friend that he had failed because of what she had told him. Especially when said best friend had a nasty habit of using such information to get him pounded all the more.
"You failed because of Naru, didn't you?"
Damn
"How did you know?"
Kitsune sipped at her cup. "I'm her best friend. I know when something is bothering her, and when she's stressing out, and all that. I also know when she likes someone and is afraid to admit it."
Keitaro's heart skipped a beat. Could she mean.
"Does Naru like..me?"
"Well, unless there's another clumsy, semi-perverted twenty-year-old ronin that lives here, then yeah, it would be you that's been making her blush whenever I ask."
Making her blush?
"So Naru likes me? She sure has an odd way of showing it. I've got the bruises to prove it too."
Kitsune grinned. "Yes, she doesn't really show any direct affection. But if she didn't like you, she'd probably have killed you by now."
"Yeah, that's true."
Naru, meanwhile, was in her room, wondering what to do with herself. She didn't have to study for once, and it felt weird to not be studying madly for one test or another. Oh, the time would soon come when she would return to her hectic schedule, and she would have little time for anything else.
But for now she could relax. She had made it at last, after two years of hard work, she had made it into Tokyo University.
The phone rang. She went to pick it up. "Hello?"
"Naru? It's Seta."
She nearly dropped the receiver. Seta had been her tutor in high school, when her parents decided her failing grades were a cause for concern. He had been a Tokyo University student at the time, and she had had the biggest crush on him imaginable. "Umm, hi! How are you?"
"I'm doing pretty well. By the way, congrats on you exam!"
"How did you know."
She heard him laugh softly. "I'm a professor here now. When I saw your name on the admissions list, I was so proud."
Naru's cheeks went beet red. She was beginning to remember exactly what effect his soft, resonant voice had on her. She recalled how she looked forward to every study session, no matter how boring the material was. It was the teacher that intrigued her, with his good looks and intelligence. So unlike Keitaro.
Keitaro.
"Naru? Naru, are you there?"
"Huh? Yeah, sorry about that, it's been a long day, I'm just not sure what to do right now."
"Why not go out, have some fun, make some friends. Maybe even make some guy really happy."
That caught her off guard. She hadn't even thought about having a boyfriend until now. But then again, she had been accepted, so she had a few months until having to worry about school again. "Yeah, maybe I'll do that. Thanks."
"No problem. Well, I gotta go, I'm sure I'll be seeing you on campus. Bye."
"Bye."
There was a click as he hung up. Naru replaced the receiver on the stand. It had been almost two years since she had heard from him, and his voice still made her knees turn to jelly.
Now you know how Keitaro feels
The thought came unbidden into her mind. Was this really how he felt about her? She recalled how clumsy she could sometimes be when Seta was around, tripping over her own two feet. Keitaro acted exactly the same way around her. It occurred to her that, far from being naturally clumsy, he could very well just be extremely shy.
And after she had told him...
Oh no!
Now she new precisely why he had done so abysmally on his exam. He had been trying to get in not for himself, but for her. All his hard work, all the abuse he had endured, it had all been for her.
She turned from the phone, thoughts of Seta gone from her mind. She had to talk to Keitaro.
And try to fix everything before it was too late.
"So you think that I should tell Naru how I feel?"
Kitsune heaved a sigh. "Yes."
Keitaro sighed himself. How I the world could he tell her that she meant everything to him? He didn't care about the promise anymore, he just wanted to be with her, wanted to wrap his arms around her and never let go. Unfortunately, the only time they were within arms reach of each other, she ended up pounding him for some clumsy slip-up.
The shoji screen slid open. "Keitaro!"
Naru stood framed in the opening. She was still clothed, and she waded out into the pool towards him, fire in her eyes.
Keitaro closed his eyes. He didn't want to see the blow coming.
The shock was complete, then, when he felt her lips on his, gently at first, then more fiercely than anything he had aver encountered. He felt himself being carried away on a wave of pure happiness, like nothing he had ever felt before. Naru broke the kiss, breathing heavily. Her face was red, and her eyes were bright. "Keitaro.I've been thinking."
He was still in too much of a shock to respond. His entire body felt as if lightning had struck. Kitsune sat watching, her mouth open at seeing probably the last thing she ever expected to see.
Keitaro finally managed to catch his breath. "Thinking about what?"
"Us."
He raised an eyebrow. "Us?"
"You were studying hard to keep a promise to a girl you barely remembered. You didn't care that the odds were against you, just that you might get to see her again. Then, when I told you that I wasn't it, you looked like your heart had been ripped out. Because it was."
She took his face in her hands. "Keitaro, you've put yourself through hell for me. You've done more for me than anyone else ever has."
"But Naru, I-"
She cut him off. "Keitaro Urashima, I love you."
Kitsune's jaw nearly hit the water. "Whoa, hold on. You love him? Twenty- four hours ago you could barely stand him. Now you tell him you love him?"
Naru looked at her best friend. "Yes."
The older woman nodded. "About damn time you admitted it. I was starting to think you two would never get together."
Naru smiled, then turned back to Keitaro. "What about you? Do you love me?"
Keitaro could hardly believe what he was hearing. Naru Narusegawa, quite possibly the perfect girl, was asking him if he loved her. "Naru, I love you with all my heart."
He kissed her then, deeply and fully, taking her breath away. He broke away, breathing raggedly, cheeks red. "I've been wanting to do that for the longest time."
He smiled at her, wet clothes and all. "You'd better get something dry on, you don't want to catch cold."
Naru looked down at herself and realized that she was soaking wet. Her clothes clung to her curvy figure, leaving little to the imagination. Keitaro mentally slapped himself and averted his eyes. Naru took his chin and turned it back. "Not like you haven't seen it before anyway, right?"
"Yeah, but I'm so used to you pounding me for that, I can't help it!"
The couple grinned at each other, together at last.
Over the next few weeks, Naru and Keitaro became closer, spending more and more time together. That summer was the best of Keitaro's life, because for the first time, he felt as if someone genuinely valued him. Naru was like a ray of sunlight on a cloudy day, the way she made him feel.
However, it would soon be autumn, and Naru would start at Tokyo University. Keitaro would not. They would be separated.
One day, about a month before Naru's first day, they were at a small park near downtown Tokyo, strolling along a small pool, enjoying the brisk air. Her hand was in his, their fingers intertwined. Keitaro sighed, at times still unable to believe that this angel was truly his.
Shinobu had been a bit heartbroken, but after seeing the effect that Naru had on him, she relented, happy that he was happy. Motoko still disregarded him most of the time, but didn't threaten his life anymore. Kitsune couldn't help grinning every time she saw them together.
"Kei-kun?"
"Yes?"
Naru looked at him. "I just want you to know that even though I'll be going to school, I'll still be with you. I won't leave you."
He smiled. "I know. I love you, Narusegawa."
She smiled back. "I love you too, Keitaro."
They walked like that for a while, just enjoying the warm breeze and the joy of each other's company. Keitaro was happier that he thought possible.
Keitaro Urashima walked alone along the main concourse of the Toudai campus, heading for the building where the exam results were to be posted. As he looked around, he felt a sense of peace overwhelm him. It's such a perfect day, there's no way I could have failed he thought as he continued on his way. Maybe if I get in, Naru will treat me a little better...
This brought a pang of regret to his heart the instant he thought the words. Naru was a top student at their prep school, beautiful and talented, and in no way similar to himself. He might as well compare a rose to a dandelion when thinking of her being with him. Especially after discovering that she wasn't the girl from him memories.
He sighed. How he managed to take the exam after she told him, he didn't know. He even thought that he did okay, considering the circumstances. As these thoughts made their way through his head, a question arose. If he did make it today, then what of his promise? Would he hope to meet the girl after all, or simply give up on what was beginning to seem to be a futile dream. After all, he was twenty years old, two years of that twenty spent as a ronin, and all of it spent alone. Who was he to assume that there was actually a girl that would accept him for who he was, and not for who he couldn't be?
"Keitaro!"
He turned around to see Naru rushing to meet him. They had agreed to meet here so that they could see the results of their hard work together. She smiled as she reached him at last, a smile that he couldn't help returning. She was just one of those people that could light up a room when she entered it, or make your worst day seem to be nothing more than a minor mishap.
Again, so unlike himself.
Keitaro had a tendency to trip over himself walking on a perfectly clear sidewalk, or to walk in on people at precisely the worst moment, or to say exactly the wrong thing at the most awkward times possible. He was a klutz, the person that no one seemed able to tolerate for more than a few minutes. How Naru managed to help him study for the test without killing him, (though she had come close several times) was beyond him.
"Hey, you okay?" He snapped out of his daze, looking at her. "Yeah, fine." he mumbled. Turning away, he started walking towards the huge boards with the names of those that had made it in. "Lets get this over with."
Naru hurried to keep up. "Hey, what's with you? You've been in a stupor ever since the last test. You've barely eaten a thing, and I had to drag you off the roof to get you here."
It was true. After hearing that Naru was not the girl he had promised himself to, he had indeed been out of sorts. He avoided the other residents, her especially, and spent most of his time sitting on the roof of the old inn, staring out into the sea, wondering what to do with his life. He had been so happy after thinking that she was the one, after thinking that he had found her against all odds.
And then she took that hope, and in one fell swoop, crushed it.
"I'm fine, really. Just a little tired."
Keitaro continued walking, not looking back at the girl who had been the bright spot of his life, and left a his heart a smoldering ember, fast extinguishing itself.
**************************************************************************** *********************
*A10467....A10470....A10471....A10474....A104..76*
His number was not on the board.
Keitaro Urashima, Exam Applicant number A10475, had failed.
Again.
For the third time in a row.
"Oh my God! I got in! I made it!!"
Naru jumped, throwing a fist into the air, celebrating her acceptance. Her smile threatened to split her face as she beamed at Keitaro. "So, what about you?"
Yes indeed. What about me?
Instead of answering her, Keitaro turned, walking away from the board, away from the whoops and cries of joy from those that had fared better than himself.
Away from Naru.
She followed. "What, you didn't make it? Well, it is you we're talking about here, isn't it?"
Keitaro spun around, fixing her in her spot with a withering glare. "Yeah, I failed again. Big surprise, right? Like you actually expected me to pass, especially considering the condition I was in when I took the dammned thing!"
Naru stood in mute shock. Keitaro had never looked so angry. "Yes, I failed," He continued. "and I'm not surprised, either. Have fun next year."
Turning, he ran from her, afraid that if he looked at her face any longer, he wouldn't be able to control his emotions. He ran until his lungs felt that they were going to burst, and then he slowed to a walk, and then finally stopped altogether.
He found himself at a quiet park, trees and benches scattered around. Finding a bench, he sat heavily and held his head in his hands, as if to physically hold back the tears that were threatening to flow. He was so tired of this, tired of failing, tired of studying, tired of it all. Tired of being ostracized back at the inn, tired of his parents asking whether he had failed his exams again or not, tired of Haitani and Shirai mocking him about his grades and his lack of a girlfriend.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice the girl walk up to him on the park bench, nor sit down next to him. It wasn't until she wrapped his arms around him in a hug that he took note of her being there. He lifted his head to look into a pair of deep brown eyes framed by round glasses. Naru looked at him with tears in her own eyes as she held him.
"Keitaro, I'm sorry I said that back there. I'm sorry for a lot of things. But please don't run away from me."
"Why do you care?"
The tone of his voice carried no emotion whatsoever, was completely flat. "I care because I think that you think that no one cares, and that's not true. All of us at the inn do, even Motoko, though she may not show it so much. Shinobu cares because you told her that she could do anything, and she's had a lot of problems with self-esteem in the past. Mitsune cares, Kaolla cares, and your aunt cares."
She took hold of his chin and turned his head so that he was looking her in the eye. "And I care because you made a promise to a certain girl, and you were dedicated to that promise. You might not have made it, but you kept on trying, and that's the important part."
She stood up. "I'm going back to the inn now. I would really like it if you would come with me."
Keitaro considered. He really didn't have anywhere else to go, and perhaps after a night's sleep he would feel better. "Ok, Naru. I'll come."
They arrived at Hinata House a little later. Haruka greeted them. "So, how did it go?"
Naru balked at the question. "Ahhh, I..."
"She made it. I didn't"
Keitaro walked past the two of them. "I'd really rather not talk about it right now, so lets just leave it at that, okay?"
Haruka looked at her nephew. She'd never heard him sound so resigned, not even after one of Naru's beatings. "Uh, sure, okay. Would you like something to eat? I think I heard Shinobu say that she was getting ready to fix lunch, but I'm sure she'd make you a snack."
Keitaro frowned at hearing her name. Shinobu had told him that she would try harder at her own studies because he told her that she could do anything. Now, after three years of study, he hadn't even made it into Toudai. Big help he was. "No, that's ok. I'll be all right until lunch. I think I'm gonna soak in the outdoor bath for a while, ok?"
He left, going to his room. A few minutes later, they heard him going down the hall to the outdoor bath, sliding the shoji screen shut behind him.
Haruka looked at Naru. "What happened?"
She sighed. "Keitaro told me that he made a promise to someone fifteen years ago, that he would meet her at Toudai. It seemed childish to me, but at the same time, it kept him going. Today, he told me that he was ready to keep the promise that he made."
"To me."
Haruka's jaw dropped. "You?"
"Yes, he apparently thought that I was the one to whom he made that promise. I told him that fifteen years ago, I was just two years old, and that there was no way that I could have done such a thing. I think that he had convinced himself that I was that girl, and after finding out that I wasn't, he lost his motivation."
Haruka frowned. She had thought that Keitaro had had a crush on Naru, but she had apparently underestimated the situation's seriousness. "So what are you going to do now?"
Naru sighed. "I don't know. He doesn't seem to want to talk to me, or anyone for that matter. I suppose the best thing to do would be to let him sleep on it, and maybe try to talk to him tomorrow. I'm not even sure that he's going to try again in a few months. He seemed really depressed."
"I think that I would be too, if that happened to me." Haruka commented. "He did seem to be a lot more happy the past few days." She lit a cigarette, taking a drag. "So how do you feel about him?"
The question caught her totally off guard. "I..I don't know. He's such a klutz, he can't study, and he's constantly walking in on me when I'm changing clothes or taking a bath in the hot springs."
Naru looked out the window. "But sometimes, he can be the sweetest guy in the world, and I almost feel like I can forgive him for all the bad things he does."
Haruka grinned. "So you like him!"
"I never said that!"
Keitaro let himself sink down into the hot water, hoping that the heat would take the chill out of his heart.
How could he have tricked himself into believing that Naru was that girl from so long ago? Naru was two when he had made that promise, and he certainly couldn't imagine a two-year-old promising him that she would meet him at Toudai.
Maybe he would meet that girl again, but the odds were against it. Come to think of it, the odds were against him on a lot of things.
Closing his eyes, he tried to not think about what had happened today. Tomorrow would be here soon enough, and the great thing about tomorrow was that it was another chance.
He heard the screen slide open. He didn't even open his eyes to see who it was. "I'm using the bath right now, I'll be out later."
The splash of water told him that whoever it was had decided not to listen. Oh well, he might as well get pounded again. He kept his eyes closed. "Naru, it's Keitaro, I'll be out in a little while okay?"
"It's not Naru."
Keitaro's eyes snapped open. Kitsune Monno waded gracefully through the water towards him, a cup in one hand, and a bottle in the other. She smiled.
Keitaro turned so that he was not facing her, hopefully to avoid another trip into orbit. He didn't need the additional stress tonight. "What do you want, Kitsune? You don't look like you're drunk yet, so I assume you're not here to hit on me."
"No, I'm not drunk, but I am worried. You haven't been acting the same and I want to know why." She sat against the natural stone seat next to him and poured herself a cup of sake. "You failed your test didn't you?"
Keitaro let out the breath he didn't realize that he'd been holding. "Yes, I failed again."
"Why?"
The question was rather unexpected. "I.I don't know."
This wasn't true. Keitaro knew exactly why he had failed, but he wasn't about to tell Naru's best friend that he had failed because of what she had told him. Especially when said best friend had a nasty habit of using such information to get him pounded all the more.
"You failed because of Naru, didn't you?"
Damn
"How did you know?"
Kitsune sipped at her cup. "I'm her best friend. I know when something is bothering her, and when she's stressing out, and all that. I also know when she likes someone and is afraid to admit it."
Keitaro's heart skipped a beat. Could she mean.
"Does Naru like..me?"
"Well, unless there's another clumsy, semi-perverted twenty-year-old ronin that lives here, then yeah, it would be you that's been making her blush whenever I ask."
Making her blush?
"So Naru likes me? She sure has an odd way of showing it. I've got the bruises to prove it too."
Kitsune grinned. "Yes, she doesn't really show any direct affection. But if she didn't like you, she'd probably have killed you by now."
"Yeah, that's true."
Naru, meanwhile, was in her room, wondering what to do with herself. She didn't have to study for once, and it felt weird to not be studying madly for one test or another. Oh, the time would soon come when she would return to her hectic schedule, and she would have little time for anything else.
But for now she could relax. She had made it at last, after two years of hard work, she had made it into Tokyo University.
The phone rang. She went to pick it up. "Hello?"
"Naru? It's Seta."
She nearly dropped the receiver. Seta had been her tutor in high school, when her parents decided her failing grades were a cause for concern. He had been a Tokyo University student at the time, and she had had the biggest crush on him imaginable. "Umm, hi! How are you?"
"I'm doing pretty well. By the way, congrats on you exam!"
"How did you know."
She heard him laugh softly. "I'm a professor here now. When I saw your name on the admissions list, I was so proud."
Naru's cheeks went beet red. She was beginning to remember exactly what effect his soft, resonant voice had on her. She recalled how she looked forward to every study session, no matter how boring the material was. It was the teacher that intrigued her, with his good looks and intelligence. So unlike Keitaro.
Keitaro.
"Naru? Naru, are you there?"
"Huh? Yeah, sorry about that, it's been a long day, I'm just not sure what to do right now."
"Why not go out, have some fun, make some friends. Maybe even make some guy really happy."
That caught her off guard. She hadn't even thought about having a boyfriend until now. But then again, she had been accepted, so she had a few months until having to worry about school again. "Yeah, maybe I'll do that. Thanks."
"No problem. Well, I gotta go, I'm sure I'll be seeing you on campus. Bye."
"Bye."
There was a click as he hung up. Naru replaced the receiver on the stand. It had been almost two years since she had heard from him, and his voice still made her knees turn to jelly.
Now you know how Keitaro feels
The thought came unbidden into her mind. Was this really how he felt about her? She recalled how clumsy she could sometimes be when Seta was around, tripping over her own two feet. Keitaro acted exactly the same way around her. It occurred to her that, far from being naturally clumsy, he could very well just be extremely shy.
And after she had told him...
Oh no!
Now she new precisely why he had done so abysmally on his exam. He had been trying to get in not for himself, but for her. All his hard work, all the abuse he had endured, it had all been for her.
She turned from the phone, thoughts of Seta gone from her mind. She had to talk to Keitaro.
And try to fix everything before it was too late.
"So you think that I should tell Naru how I feel?"
Kitsune heaved a sigh. "Yes."
Keitaro sighed himself. How I the world could he tell her that she meant everything to him? He didn't care about the promise anymore, he just wanted to be with her, wanted to wrap his arms around her and never let go. Unfortunately, the only time they were within arms reach of each other, she ended up pounding him for some clumsy slip-up.
The shoji screen slid open. "Keitaro!"
Naru stood framed in the opening. She was still clothed, and she waded out into the pool towards him, fire in her eyes.
Keitaro closed his eyes. He didn't want to see the blow coming.
The shock was complete, then, when he felt her lips on his, gently at first, then more fiercely than anything he had aver encountered. He felt himself being carried away on a wave of pure happiness, like nothing he had ever felt before. Naru broke the kiss, breathing heavily. Her face was red, and her eyes were bright. "Keitaro.I've been thinking."
He was still in too much of a shock to respond. His entire body felt as if lightning had struck. Kitsune sat watching, her mouth open at seeing probably the last thing she ever expected to see.
Keitaro finally managed to catch his breath. "Thinking about what?"
"Us."
He raised an eyebrow. "Us?"
"You were studying hard to keep a promise to a girl you barely remembered. You didn't care that the odds were against you, just that you might get to see her again. Then, when I told you that I wasn't it, you looked like your heart had been ripped out. Because it was."
She took his face in her hands. "Keitaro, you've put yourself through hell for me. You've done more for me than anyone else ever has."
"But Naru, I-"
She cut him off. "Keitaro Urashima, I love you."
Kitsune's jaw nearly hit the water. "Whoa, hold on. You love him? Twenty- four hours ago you could barely stand him. Now you tell him you love him?"
Naru looked at her best friend. "Yes."
The older woman nodded. "About damn time you admitted it. I was starting to think you two would never get together."
Naru smiled, then turned back to Keitaro. "What about you? Do you love me?"
Keitaro could hardly believe what he was hearing. Naru Narusegawa, quite possibly the perfect girl, was asking him if he loved her. "Naru, I love you with all my heart."
He kissed her then, deeply and fully, taking her breath away. He broke away, breathing raggedly, cheeks red. "I've been wanting to do that for the longest time."
He smiled at her, wet clothes and all. "You'd better get something dry on, you don't want to catch cold."
Naru looked down at herself and realized that she was soaking wet. Her clothes clung to her curvy figure, leaving little to the imagination. Keitaro mentally slapped himself and averted his eyes. Naru took his chin and turned it back. "Not like you haven't seen it before anyway, right?"
"Yeah, but I'm so used to you pounding me for that, I can't help it!"
The couple grinned at each other, together at last.
Over the next few weeks, Naru and Keitaro became closer, spending more and more time together. That summer was the best of Keitaro's life, because for the first time, he felt as if someone genuinely valued him. Naru was like a ray of sunlight on a cloudy day, the way she made him feel.
However, it would soon be autumn, and Naru would start at Tokyo University. Keitaro would not. They would be separated.
One day, about a month before Naru's first day, they were at a small park near downtown Tokyo, strolling along a small pool, enjoying the brisk air. Her hand was in his, their fingers intertwined. Keitaro sighed, at times still unable to believe that this angel was truly his.
Shinobu had been a bit heartbroken, but after seeing the effect that Naru had on him, she relented, happy that he was happy. Motoko still disregarded him most of the time, but didn't threaten his life anymore. Kitsune couldn't help grinning every time she saw them together.
"Kei-kun?"
"Yes?"
Naru looked at him. "I just want you to know that even though I'll be going to school, I'll still be with you. I won't leave you."
He smiled. "I know. I love you, Narusegawa."
She smiled back. "I love you too, Keitaro."
They walked like that for a while, just enjoying the warm breeze and the joy of each other's company. Keitaro was happier that he thought possible.