AJ Talon's Note and Disclaimer: Had a spot of trouble formatting this
thing, but not to worry. I'll have the second chappy up soon (I hope).
Anyway, I (nor MageXV) don't own Love Hina, all respective characters and
sites belong to Ken Akamatsu. Anything not attributed to Mister Akamatsu
belong to their respective owners. No profit is being gleaned from this for
my personal use. This is just for fun, not money.
The Refreshing of Fate A Love Hina Sequel by MagicianXV and Andrew Joshua Talon
Glass has a funny way of interacting with the changing of seasons; specifically, the manner that light filters through it during different times of the year. In summer, for example, everything is at its peak of color-the trees are in full, lush bloom, and the sun is more than willing to shower everything below with its rays. Spring light tends to be of a cooler variety, and a little more refreshing than in summer; this may have to do with the frequent rainstorms, but no one has yet taken the time to find out. During the Autumn months, especially in places where the leaves change color, the light has a particularly busy feel; autumn is all about preparing for winter, and so the light moves quickly with no time for chit- chat.
Of all these seasons, and all their different sorts of light, Shinobu Maehara's personal favorite was the winter light. Unlike autumn, winter's light was of a slow, unhurried variety. It knew where it was going in the end, but there was absolutely no rush to get there. She had only recently begun to take time to enjoy how shafts of sun filtered through the large front windows of Hinata House, but now that the discovery had been made, the fact that she had never noticed it before was frankly amazing. Everything about the sun made the living room warm and inviting-and also the perfect location for napping.
This was a second item that Shinobu had never thought to study before. Naps had rarely, if ever, been on her mind; there was almost always something to be done in a building as large as Hinata House, and while Keitaro, the present manager, did more than his fair share of maintenance and cleaning, Shinobu was often the one who picked up the slack he couldn't handle. Between cooking, laundry, schoolwork, and various other chores, little time was left to spare for taking daytime rests. Shinobu, however, had been finding out some things about life and herself that she had never known before, and her fondness for naps was one of them.
The perfect place, she had determined, was in the living room by those wonderful windows, directly in the path of the delicious winter sunbeams they so willingly dispensed. She never bothered with a chair or couch; stretched out on the hardwood floor, arms curled beneath her head in place of a pillow, was the best position she had found, and she was content to stay there for hours at a time.
On this particular afternoon, Shinobu had been supplied with the rare surplus of three hours and no immediate tasks that needed attending. Everyone at Hinata House had been even busier than usual which often left Shinobu by herself, owing in part to her present method of attending school- receiving her tests and homework through the mail. It was surprisingly easy to get things done when she was alone, and the usual chores were done in a fraction of the time they could have taken.
And so, she was given the perfect opportunity for a nap.
"I need to get up though," she told herself reluctantly. "Everyone's going to be home soon...Urashima-sempai and Naru-sempai's class is over by now, and Kitsune was only working until five o'clock...so I really do need to get up." Oddly enough, this logic wouldn't click in her mind. It was as if her brain was a puzzle, and the information, reasonable as it might have been, just wouldn't fit into place. "Come on now...you're being lazy. Move, legs!"
Her legs, it seemed, were quite content to stay where they were. As it happened, so were her arms, head, hands, and feet. No part of Shinobu Maehara was at all ready to end the nap.
"Too comfy..." she murmured, rolling onto her back and grinning. "This is awful...I'm being so lazy..."
Her ears twitched at the sound of a bird singing outside; two months ago, she wouldn't have had a clue that a bird was there, but her hearing had increased rather suddenly, and in a very unusual fashion. Shinobu usually wore a hat when she left Hinata House nowadays, because she had a pair of cat's ears-or, more accurately, kitten's ears-peeking through her dark hair. They had taken some getting used to, but despite being a little inconvenient, she didn't mind much. Her hearing was easily three times better than it had been, and they didn't look that bad either.
"Okay," she said aloud, eyes still closed, "I'll count to five, and then I'll get up." She waited for the bird to stop singing, because that would obviously distract her. It continued on for a few minutes before flying away. "There. One...two...three...four...f-"
"We're home!"
Shinobu finished her last word in a way that was completely different that she had planned, although it did use the same number of letters. She scrambled up and dashed to the front hall, where Keitaro and Naru were hanging up their coats.
"Hey, Shinobu!" Naru said, slipping a hook under the collar of her coat. "How was your day?"
"Productive," Shinobu thought guiltily. Aloud, she said, "It was fine, Naru- sempai. How were your classes?"
"Pretty good," Naru replied. She and Keitaro followed her out of the hall, and the three of them moved into the living room. Shinobu sat in an armchair while the two college students shared a couch. "Seta gave a lecture. It was really interesting."
"Especially when he got his notes confused with a recipe for curry bento," Keitaro added. "It was a good way to spice things up though, eh, Naru?" Naru whacked him with a pillow, while Shinobu tried very hard to fake a smile.
"It was better once he got everything straightened out," Naru told her. "He talked about a bunch of the ruins he's been too, and he had slides of some of the artifacts they dug up. I didn't realize how many places he's been, actually. I know he travels a lot, but he's seen more of the world than I probably ever will."
"Not if you want to see it," Keitaro interjected. "It isn't like you have to stay in Japan. Maybe you could get a job that lets you travel a lot, like Seta does."
"Or better yet," Naru said brightly, "maybe I could drop out of college, dump you, marry Seta, and travel the world with him! How would that be?" Keitaro turned beet-red and sputtered intelligently. Naru let him go on for a few seconds, then grinned. "Don't worry, I was just kidding. You're even more spastic that usual today.
"No I'm not!" Keitaro protested. Naru stood and, once her back was to him, gave Shinobu a conspiratory wink. She started off toward the stairs, but paused after a few steps and flexed her shoulder with a pained expression.
"I think I was sitting wrong during that lecture," she muttered, grimacing. "My arm's all stiff...I'm gonna go out to the hot spring for a while. Anybody what to come?" Keitaro perked up suddenly.
"I can come?" He stared at her in disbelief.
"Well, yeah, I guess. I'll just wear a bathing suit or something." His expression lowered a notch or two, but he nodded nonetheless.
"Sure, I'll come. Meet you out there?"
Okay. Shinobu? Would you like to join us?" Shinobu, who had been more than a little caught off guard when Naru's invitation had included Keitaro, jumped at the sound of her name.
"Umm-what? Oh!" She flushed, wishing she didn't get embarrassed so easily. "I should really get started with dinner, actually...everyone's going to be home in a little while."
"They can wait," Naru said carelessly, waving her hand in the direction of the door. "Come on out and relax with us. Just make sure you don't give this guy a chance to do anything perverted."
"So little faith," Keitaro sighed, and he looked so downtrodden that both girls burst out in laughter. Shinobu decided to join them after all, and everyone went off to change. She found Naru outside a few minutes later, waiting by the edge of the spring but not in it yet.
"I wish I knew what I did to my arm," Naru commented, twisting her shoulder in circles. "It really hurts, like I fell on it or something."
"Maybe you tripped, and just don't remember?" Shinobu offered. "That happens sometimes."
"Could be, I guess. Or someone bumped me in a hall...well, either way, there's no better remedy than a nice soak in a hot spring, right?"
"Right!" Shinobu agreed. They stepped in and leaned against the rock walls, each moving to their favorite spots. Shinobu breathed deeply and closed her eyes. Naru sighed contentedly.
"That's better...I'll bet it won't even hurt tomorrow."
"I hope not," Shinobu murmured, although it was rather difficult to care about much in her current situation. She shifted a little on the stone so her tail wouldn't be pressed against the ground so tightly. Having a cat's ears was all right, but the tail had been troublesome; many a pair of pants had been ruined by cutting holes in the back end, and it was still tricky to find a comfortable way to sit.
"So, how has your schoolwork been going, Shinobu?" Naru asked conversationally. "Is it harder to study at home?"
"Not really," Shinobu said, thinking back over the last few days. Since acquiring her ears and tail, going to a public school hadn't seemed prudent. Kitsune had aided in the new arrangements-Shinobu had never dared to ask what ailment her teachers believed she was afflicted with. "It's actually a lot easier. Everyone else is out during the day, so it's nice and quiet."
"It would be," Naru agreed. "Too bad it was never peaceful like that when Keitaro and I were studying for the Tokyo-U entrance exams. Everyone's so busy these days, though..."
She trailed off, and Shinobu didn't pick up the conversation. It was very easy to forget about school and homework in the hot spring, and without consciously trying, Shinobu's sensitive hearing began to explore her surroundings. It was almost like having a second set of eyes; anything she could hear, she could picture exactly in her mind. There was a squirrel in a tree toward the far end of the hot spring, and a few branches below it, the same bird she had heard singing earlier.
An unusual, grumbly sort of breathing belonged to Hinata House's newest resident, Garou-sama. The strange creature was, outwardly, an enormous, black wolf, but in reality he had once been a hurricane. (How this was possible, Shinobu wasn't sure.) He was presently asleep in a shed Keitaro and Seta had built for him, and that was where he usually stayed. The only person who had had any amount of luck in approaching him was Haruka, and that was because she stared him down for a full hour the first time they met-no one else had dared to try.
Vague images drifted through Shinobu's mind; the bird had flown away, and Garou-sama turned over in his sleep. The front door inside Hinata House had opened as well, and two people came inside. She heard Keitaro's voice...but-
"Naru?" Shinobu sat up abruptly, and looked over to the older girl. "Did Keitaro ever come outside?" Naru's eyes fluttered open.
"Did he...no, I guess not. How long have we been out here?"
"Only for a few minutes, I think. Two people just got home, though, and Keitaro was talking to them." Naru frowned.
"Is something wrong? If it was only a few minutes-"
"I think we should go check," Shinobu said, starting to climb out of the spring. "He doesn't sound right." As if to prove the point, her ears twitched rapidly as Keitaro's voice struck them again; he sounded worried, almost panicked. Shinobu grabbed a towel from the ground and hurried inside, Naru on her heels.
Her instincts had been correct; when they entered the living room, the girls found a scene that was far from the ordinary. Keitaro, obviously having been on his way to the hot spring, was wearing swimming trunks and helping Motoko lay Su on the couch. The foreigner was clearly unconscious, which in itself was frightening-she was usually more energetic than three or four normal people combined. Motoko's face betrayed no emotion, but Shinobu could hear her heart racing.
"Motoko!" Naru called, dashing over to them. "What happened? Is she okay?"
"I believe so," Motoko answered, sliding a pillow under Su's head. "Her school called Haruka's teahouse an hour ago, requesting that she be taken home. Haruka was unable to retrieve her, so she relayed the message to me. I was excused from classes early and brought her here."
"What's wrong with her?" Shinobu asked worriedly. "Did she get hurt?"
"She seems to be ill. She was able to stand on her own for most of the trip back, but her strength failed when we were outside the door."
"I'll go see what we have for medicine," Naru murmured. "She probably just has the flu."
"I don't believe so," Motoko said, shaking her head. "I checked carefully, and her temperature is normal. My medical skills are limited, but I believe she is simply overtired."
"All that bouncing around finally caught up with her," Keitaro observed. Her laid his hand on Su's forehead, then took it back and shrugged. "You're right, she doesn't have a fever. Let's just put her in bed for now, Naru. If she isn't up in a few hours, or if her temperature does go up, then we'll give her some medicine." He lifted her carefully from the couch and turned toward the stairs.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Naru asked critically. "We don't even know what's wrong with her. Leaving her alone may be a really bad idea."
"Trust me," Keitaro said confidently, "I've been sick plenty of times, and the best cure is a good, long sleep. She'll be just fine." He carried Su upstairs and out of sight, leaving the three girls in uncomfortable silence.
"Narusegawa?" Motoko said quietly, a few moments after he had left. Naru looked over at her.
"Yeah?"
"I...I do not mean to pry, but I noticed...that..."
"What's wrong, Motoko?" Naru asked. Shinobu looked up at the samurai curiously; there was an unusual amount of discomfort in her voice.
"I am not certain how to ask you this, but...has Urashima been exercising? He was able to pick Kaolla up with little effort, and the muscle tone on his arms seems more defined." Naru's eyebrows went up, and she giggled.
"Motoko? Are checking out my boyfriend?" Motoko blushed furiously.
"Absolutely not! I was only inquiring-"
"Don't worry, I was just teasing." Naru patted her shoulder, but Motoko didn't look very relieved. "I don't think he's been working out or anything. I'm sure he'd tell you if you asked, though..."
"That will not be necessary," Motoko said briskly, straightening her uniform. (It didn't look crooked to Shinobu, but Motoko seemed happier after she had attended to it.) "If Urashima wishes to improve himself, that is an admirable decision, but no business of mine. I have unfinished schoolwork from this afternoon, so if you will excuse me..."
She snatched her bag from the doorway and vanished up the staircase.
"She was checking him out, you know," Naru told Shinobu quietly, still grinning. "She was totally blushing the whole time." Shinobu found herself doing the same, and was very glad that her tail was hidden behind her; she had discovered that whenever she was embarrassed, it had a bad habit of getting very fluffy.
"I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it," Shinobu murmured, sitting down on the now-vacant couch. She pulled her towel more tightly around her shoulders and studied the floorboards intently.
"I wonder if Keitaro has been doing something differently," Naru said thoughtfully. "He's been a lot less klutzy than usual, now that I think about it. It's been a while since he pulled my skirt down, or anything like that." Shinobu's tail practically turned into a feather duster at the mental images that conjured. "I don't think I'll ask him about it, though. I might jinx it. But then again..."
"What?"
"Maybe I should ask. My Naru-Punch is getting rusty."
Way to think, Narusegawa. Anyway, the next chapter will be complete soon (I hope), so just keep your fingers crossed.
The Refreshing of Fate A Love Hina Sequel by MagicianXV and Andrew Joshua Talon
Glass has a funny way of interacting with the changing of seasons; specifically, the manner that light filters through it during different times of the year. In summer, for example, everything is at its peak of color-the trees are in full, lush bloom, and the sun is more than willing to shower everything below with its rays. Spring light tends to be of a cooler variety, and a little more refreshing than in summer; this may have to do with the frequent rainstorms, but no one has yet taken the time to find out. During the Autumn months, especially in places where the leaves change color, the light has a particularly busy feel; autumn is all about preparing for winter, and so the light moves quickly with no time for chit- chat.
Of all these seasons, and all their different sorts of light, Shinobu Maehara's personal favorite was the winter light. Unlike autumn, winter's light was of a slow, unhurried variety. It knew where it was going in the end, but there was absolutely no rush to get there. She had only recently begun to take time to enjoy how shafts of sun filtered through the large front windows of Hinata House, but now that the discovery had been made, the fact that she had never noticed it before was frankly amazing. Everything about the sun made the living room warm and inviting-and also the perfect location for napping.
This was a second item that Shinobu had never thought to study before. Naps had rarely, if ever, been on her mind; there was almost always something to be done in a building as large as Hinata House, and while Keitaro, the present manager, did more than his fair share of maintenance and cleaning, Shinobu was often the one who picked up the slack he couldn't handle. Between cooking, laundry, schoolwork, and various other chores, little time was left to spare for taking daytime rests. Shinobu, however, had been finding out some things about life and herself that she had never known before, and her fondness for naps was one of them.
The perfect place, she had determined, was in the living room by those wonderful windows, directly in the path of the delicious winter sunbeams they so willingly dispensed. She never bothered with a chair or couch; stretched out on the hardwood floor, arms curled beneath her head in place of a pillow, was the best position she had found, and she was content to stay there for hours at a time.
On this particular afternoon, Shinobu had been supplied with the rare surplus of three hours and no immediate tasks that needed attending. Everyone at Hinata House had been even busier than usual which often left Shinobu by herself, owing in part to her present method of attending school- receiving her tests and homework through the mail. It was surprisingly easy to get things done when she was alone, and the usual chores were done in a fraction of the time they could have taken.
And so, she was given the perfect opportunity for a nap.
"I need to get up though," she told herself reluctantly. "Everyone's going to be home soon...Urashima-sempai and Naru-sempai's class is over by now, and Kitsune was only working until five o'clock...so I really do need to get up." Oddly enough, this logic wouldn't click in her mind. It was as if her brain was a puzzle, and the information, reasonable as it might have been, just wouldn't fit into place. "Come on now...you're being lazy. Move, legs!"
Her legs, it seemed, were quite content to stay where they were. As it happened, so were her arms, head, hands, and feet. No part of Shinobu Maehara was at all ready to end the nap.
"Too comfy..." she murmured, rolling onto her back and grinning. "This is awful...I'm being so lazy..."
Her ears twitched at the sound of a bird singing outside; two months ago, she wouldn't have had a clue that a bird was there, but her hearing had increased rather suddenly, and in a very unusual fashion. Shinobu usually wore a hat when she left Hinata House nowadays, because she had a pair of cat's ears-or, more accurately, kitten's ears-peeking through her dark hair. They had taken some getting used to, but despite being a little inconvenient, she didn't mind much. Her hearing was easily three times better than it had been, and they didn't look that bad either.
"Okay," she said aloud, eyes still closed, "I'll count to five, and then I'll get up." She waited for the bird to stop singing, because that would obviously distract her. It continued on for a few minutes before flying away. "There. One...two...three...four...f-"
"We're home!"
Shinobu finished her last word in a way that was completely different that she had planned, although it did use the same number of letters. She scrambled up and dashed to the front hall, where Keitaro and Naru were hanging up their coats.
"Hey, Shinobu!" Naru said, slipping a hook under the collar of her coat. "How was your day?"
"Productive," Shinobu thought guiltily. Aloud, she said, "It was fine, Naru- sempai. How were your classes?"
"Pretty good," Naru replied. She and Keitaro followed her out of the hall, and the three of them moved into the living room. Shinobu sat in an armchair while the two college students shared a couch. "Seta gave a lecture. It was really interesting."
"Especially when he got his notes confused with a recipe for curry bento," Keitaro added. "It was a good way to spice things up though, eh, Naru?" Naru whacked him with a pillow, while Shinobu tried very hard to fake a smile.
"It was better once he got everything straightened out," Naru told her. "He talked about a bunch of the ruins he's been too, and he had slides of some of the artifacts they dug up. I didn't realize how many places he's been, actually. I know he travels a lot, but he's seen more of the world than I probably ever will."
"Not if you want to see it," Keitaro interjected. "It isn't like you have to stay in Japan. Maybe you could get a job that lets you travel a lot, like Seta does."
"Or better yet," Naru said brightly, "maybe I could drop out of college, dump you, marry Seta, and travel the world with him! How would that be?" Keitaro turned beet-red and sputtered intelligently. Naru let him go on for a few seconds, then grinned. "Don't worry, I was just kidding. You're even more spastic that usual today.
"No I'm not!" Keitaro protested. Naru stood and, once her back was to him, gave Shinobu a conspiratory wink. She started off toward the stairs, but paused after a few steps and flexed her shoulder with a pained expression.
"I think I was sitting wrong during that lecture," she muttered, grimacing. "My arm's all stiff...I'm gonna go out to the hot spring for a while. Anybody what to come?" Keitaro perked up suddenly.
"I can come?" He stared at her in disbelief.
"Well, yeah, I guess. I'll just wear a bathing suit or something." His expression lowered a notch or two, but he nodded nonetheless.
"Sure, I'll come. Meet you out there?"
Okay. Shinobu? Would you like to join us?" Shinobu, who had been more than a little caught off guard when Naru's invitation had included Keitaro, jumped at the sound of her name.
"Umm-what? Oh!" She flushed, wishing she didn't get embarrassed so easily. "I should really get started with dinner, actually...everyone's going to be home in a little while."
"They can wait," Naru said carelessly, waving her hand in the direction of the door. "Come on out and relax with us. Just make sure you don't give this guy a chance to do anything perverted."
"So little faith," Keitaro sighed, and he looked so downtrodden that both girls burst out in laughter. Shinobu decided to join them after all, and everyone went off to change. She found Naru outside a few minutes later, waiting by the edge of the spring but not in it yet.
"I wish I knew what I did to my arm," Naru commented, twisting her shoulder in circles. "It really hurts, like I fell on it or something."
"Maybe you tripped, and just don't remember?" Shinobu offered. "That happens sometimes."
"Could be, I guess. Or someone bumped me in a hall...well, either way, there's no better remedy than a nice soak in a hot spring, right?"
"Right!" Shinobu agreed. They stepped in and leaned against the rock walls, each moving to their favorite spots. Shinobu breathed deeply and closed her eyes. Naru sighed contentedly.
"That's better...I'll bet it won't even hurt tomorrow."
"I hope not," Shinobu murmured, although it was rather difficult to care about much in her current situation. She shifted a little on the stone so her tail wouldn't be pressed against the ground so tightly. Having a cat's ears was all right, but the tail had been troublesome; many a pair of pants had been ruined by cutting holes in the back end, and it was still tricky to find a comfortable way to sit.
"So, how has your schoolwork been going, Shinobu?" Naru asked conversationally. "Is it harder to study at home?"
"Not really," Shinobu said, thinking back over the last few days. Since acquiring her ears and tail, going to a public school hadn't seemed prudent. Kitsune had aided in the new arrangements-Shinobu had never dared to ask what ailment her teachers believed she was afflicted with. "It's actually a lot easier. Everyone else is out during the day, so it's nice and quiet."
"It would be," Naru agreed. "Too bad it was never peaceful like that when Keitaro and I were studying for the Tokyo-U entrance exams. Everyone's so busy these days, though..."
She trailed off, and Shinobu didn't pick up the conversation. It was very easy to forget about school and homework in the hot spring, and without consciously trying, Shinobu's sensitive hearing began to explore her surroundings. It was almost like having a second set of eyes; anything she could hear, she could picture exactly in her mind. There was a squirrel in a tree toward the far end of the hot spring, and a few branches below it, the same bird she had heard singing earlier.
An unusual, grumbly sort of breathing belonged to Hinata House's newest resident, Garou-sama. The strange creature was, outwardly, an enormous, black wolf, but in reality he had once been a hurricane. (How this was possible, Shinobu wasn't sure.) He was presently asleep in a shed Keitaro and Seta had built for him, and that was where he usually stayed. The only person who had had any amount of luck in approaching him was Haruka, and that was because she stared him down for a full hour the first time they met-no one else had dared to try.
Vague images drifted through Shinobu's mind; the bird had flown away, and Garou-sama turned over in his sleep. The front door inside Hinata House had opened as well, and two people came inside. She heard Keitaro's voice...but-
"Naru?" Shinobu sat up abruptly, and looked over to the older girl. "Did Keitaro ever come outside?" Naru's eyes fluttered open.
"Did he...no, I guess not. How long have we been out here?"
"Only for a few minutes, I think. Two people just got home, though, and Keitaro was talking to them." Naru frowned.
"Is something wrong? If it was only a few minutes-"
"I think we should go check," Shinobu said, starting to climb out of the spring. "He doesn't sound right." As if to prove the point, her ears twitched rapidly as Keitaro's voice struck them again; he sounded worried, almost panicked. Shinobu grabbed a towel from the ground and hurried inside, Naru on her heels.
Her instincts had been correct; when they entered the living room, the girls found a scene that was far from the ordinary. Keitaro, obviously having been on his way to the hot spring, was wearing swimming trunks and helping Motoko lay Su on the couch. The foreigner was clearly unconscious, which in itself was frightening-she was usually more energetic than three or four normal people combined. Motoko's face betrayed no emotion, but Shinobu could hear her heart racing.
"Motoko!" Naru called, dashing over to them. "What happened? Is she okay?"
"I believe so," Motoko answered, sliding a pillow under Su's head. "Her school called Haruka's teahouse an hour ago, requesting that she be taken home. Haruka was unable to retrieve her, so she relayed the message to me. I was excused from classes early and brought her here."
"What's wrong with her?" Shinobu asked worriedly. "Did she get hurt?"
"She seems to be ill. She was able to stand on her own for most of the trip back, but her strength failed when we were outside the door."
"I'll go see what we have for medicine," Naru murmured. "She probably just has the flu."
"I don't believe so," Motoko said, shaking her head. "I checked carefully, and her temperature is normal. My medical skills are limited, but I believe she is simply overtired."
"All that bouncing around finally caught up with her," Keitaro observed. Her laid his hand on Su's forehead, then took it back and shrugged. "You're right, she doesn't have a fever. Let's just put her in bed for now, Naru. If she isn't up in a few hours, or if her temperature does go up, then we'll give her some medicine." He lifted her carefully from the couch and turned toward the stairs.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Naru asked critically. "We don't even know what's wrong with her. Leaving her alone may be a really bad idea."
"Trust me," Keitaro said confidently, "I've been sick plenty of times, and the best cure is a good, long sleep. She'll be just fine." He carried Su upstairs and out of sight, leaving the three girls in uncomfortable silence.
"Narusegawa?" Motoko said quietly, a few moments after he had left. Naru looked over at her.
"Yeah?"
"I...I do not mean to pry, but I noticed...that..."
"What's wrong, Motoko?" Naru asked. Shinobu looked up at the samurai curiously; there was an unusual amount of discomfort in her voice.
"I am not certain how to ask you this, but...has Urashima been exercising? He was able to pick Kaolla up with little effort, and the muscle tone on his arms seems more defined." Naru's eyebrows went up, and she giggled.
"Motoko? Are checking out my boyfriend?" Motoko blushed furiously.
"Absolutely not! I was only inquiring-"
"Don't worry, I was just teasing." Naru patted her shoulder, but Motoko didn't look very relieved. "I don't think he's been working out or anything. I'm sure he'd tell you if you asked, though..."
"That will not be necessary," Motoko said briskly, straightening her uniform. (It didn't look crooked to Shinobu, but Motoko seemed happier after she had attended to it.) "If Urashima wishes to improve himself, that is an admirable decision, but no business of mine. I have unfinished schoolwork from this afternoon, so if you will excuse me..."
She snatched her bag from the doorway and vanished up the staircase.
"She was checking him out, you know," Naru told Shinobu quietly, still grinning. "She was totally blushing the whole time." Shinobu found herself doing the same, and was very glad that her tail was hidden behind her; she had discovered that whenever she was embarrassed, it had a bad habit of getting very fluffy.
"I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it," Shinobu murmured, sitting down on the now-vacant couch. She pulled her towel more tightly around her shoulders and studied the floorboards intently.
"I wonder if Keitaro has been doing something differently," Naru said thoughtfully. "He's been a lot less klutzy than usual, now that I think about it. It's been a while since he pulled my skirt down, or anything like that." Shinobu's tail practically turned into a feather duster at the mental images that conjured. "I don't think I'll ask him about it, though. I might jinx it. But then again..."
"What?"
"Maybe I should ask. My Naru-Punch is getting rusty."
Way to think, Narusegawa. Anyway, the next chapter will be complete soon (I hope), so just keep your fingers crossed.