Yakusoku
"Make sure that you're not blooming when someone tells you to bloom, and that you're realizing your potential at your own will."
- Megumi Hayashiraba
Disclaimer:
All characters and story arcs of the Love Hina manga are property of Akamatsu Ken, and the associated publishing house.
Chapter Two: The Beginning Starts Now
I drifted back into conscious, my hands clenched in fists and a cold sweat running down my face. Outside the bedroom, amidst the snow of sakura, morning light poured into my room. Opening my hands, I stared at what I held in my palm. A single cherry blossom just like the one in my promise. Taking a deep breath, I could still smell its sweet fragrance.
Could it be that last night was not a dream? It was so surreal, the promise that we made, the chills that ran through my body as Naru said that she would wait for me at Tokyo University. Softly gracing where Naru kissed me, my right cheek, I remembered the soft lips, Narusegawa's that caressed my face last night, the tender kiss that awoke me to her feelings but yet left me in more confusion. Did she actually finally reveal herself me or once again, it is just a dream that will remain just that, a dream.
And yet when she left, she left with a piece of me. Her forlorn gaze digging into my soul and disappearing into the mist, just as the girl of my promises did. But the single flower I hold in my hand, it is the one thing I remember most from last night, and here it lies in my palm. It is all I need to know that last night was not a dream.
I placed my head on my knees, burying my face in my palms, trying to figure out what happened last night, trying to get a grasp of what happened last night but then a tsunami of guilt rushed over me as I remembered once again the lie that was told yesterday to the very people who were essentially my family about what happened. Yesterday, I had told the truth to Naru but the heavy burden of the lie still rested on my shoulders because I had told anyone else yet.
...
"That's what happened...I don't know what I'll do when they find out..."
"...All you did was fail a term..."
"Na...Naru...do...don't get ma...ad...huh?"
"Just tell the truth, and no one will get mad."
"But it took me four years to get in, and I received all that support from everybody...I feel responsible. And didn't we promise that we'd go to Toudai together? Naru, I'm so sorry... that I couldn't that promise..."
"Well, I don't care about something like that."
"Ah...I'd hope you even a little bit...Ah...that is Naru, I thought we're...you know, maybe getting slowly closer getting closer to each other.
"Ah! Is it already getting late? We should head back to Hinata Sou."
"...she wasn't even listening..."
...
"...listening...Keitaro, are you listening?"
"Naru...what is it?"
I turned around to see a Liddo-kun poking its head through the ceiling. It then retreated back through the hole and Naru appeared, hugging the stuffed animal tightly to her chest.
"I want to talk to you about. Can I?"
"Sure...Naru..."
"It's about last night, Keitaro"
My heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Naru felt the same way about last night? Could it be that Narusegawa was the girl from my past? If she were the girl from my past, it would be like destiny...I didn't make it into Tokyo University twice and I came to Hinata Sou only to meet her.
"I'll be right down Keitaro"
I then looked up only to have a clear, unimpeded view up Narusegawa's dress. The blood began rushing to my nostrils and I ran around the room for tissues to stop the thunderous Niagara falls of blood that I felt would run out of my nose at the sight that lay above me. As I held a large group of Kleenex to my nose, I heard a scream from Narusegawa as she slipped on the edge and fell through the hole.
"NARU-SE-GAWA"
I held the tissues to my nose with one hand, dropping them at the last moment to catch Narusegawa as she fell in my like an angel from heaven. I placed Naru softly on the ground, as she turning away from me, obviously in embarrassment. Placing my hands on her shoulders, I turned her around to face me. Our eyes met and a crimson tone rose to both of our faces. Time slowed down to a snails pace as our lips began to move closer, Naru in my embrace, as her eyes closed and her breath quickening, anticipating the spur of the moment passion.
"Ouch... my glasses."
I looked back at Naru, holding back a girlish giggle, her face still flushed with crimson. I turned away from Naru, staring at the ground, chiding myself, 'Damn, and I came so close.' I still cursed myself at the lost opportunity when I felt her lips once again on my tight cheek. As I felt her soft kiss, I heard her whisper to me softly, like a mother to her child at bedtime, "Tomorrow, it will be alright."
The doors to my room opened as Su swung it open, flanked by Sara. Their yells attracted the rest of the residents of Hinta Sou like vultures to a fresh carcass.
"Ahh-hah...I saw you two were kissing just now."
"Kiss, kiss!"
"No...it's not..."
"What! The two were making out when you should be studying!"
"Making out! No..."
"Ura-shima! Your head is mine today!"
...
When everyone was at the dinner table, I stood up and stated that I had an importance announcement. Su stared at me with her mouth stuffed full of food, Motoko grabbed her katana as if expecting that she would need it, Kitsune's eyes widened and placed she placed her glass of sake down, and Shinobu had tears coming to her eyes as if expecting some like of statement that would made her cry. Only Naru and Sara remained their usual selves; Naru already knew what I was going to say, and Sara probably didn't care. I was nervous as all the faces stared at me.
"Sorry, the truth is that I failed a term."
I dropped to my knees, closed my eyes and prayed, expecting physical from any or all of the residents of Hinata. After a few moments, I opened my eyes to see the girls staring at me but not one of they had removed themselves from their places at the dinner table.
"What's a failed term? Is it edible?"
"Is that all, stupid? You stopped dinner for that?"
"Sara, that's not nice. Sempai failed the term because he didn't go to Toudai because of the leg fracture."
"Poor guy. His fracture took so long to heal. I feel sorry for him even though he is a weakling male."
"Don't worry about it Keitaro. Drink up and all your worries will be washed away in sake."
I sighed heavily, relieved at their reaction to my confession. It's not even a big deal to them at all. I sat down at the table, next to Naru. She leaned over to me and whispered in my ear, "I told you that if you told the truth, no one would get mad. It's not even a big deal to them."
"Sorry. Naru, everyone for understanding and not getting angry at me. I haven't spoken to Aunt Haruka about my situation yet. I have to go to the tea shop and look for her.
I stood up and excused myself from dinner. I bent over to give a Naru a quick peck on the cheek, catching her by surprise. She rubbed her cheek with her hand and held it there, as if covering something precious.
...
"Aunt Haruka, can I talk to you for a second?
I told her everything about my situation. How I failed the first semester and how I covered it up. Little things, which I didn't want to say, slipped out during our conversation, like my relationship with Naru.
"Keitaro... out here in the world, there are good lies... and there are bad lies. I told you this once before. When you first came to Hinata Sou, everyone said you were a pervert. But now, without a doubt, you have a place in the hearts of every resident, in fact, you have an important part of their lives. You don't have to hide anything from them anymore. They are no longer a group of strangers like when you first came here. You don't have to lie to them, Keitaro.
So then...What do you want do next, Keitaro?"
Haruka was leaning against the wall and sighing, wearing her drab apron and slacks, taking a puff of her ever present cigarette. One hand sat on her hip, the other held a cup of tea and she looked at me like she was deep in a Zen-like trance.
I sipped on a mug of tea Haruka had made for me. I digested what Aunt Haruka said about my relationship with the others at the inn. It was true; everything had changed, not only for them but also for me. At the beginning I cared about them because it was my duty as manager to look after my tenants but now I care because I know each and everyone on a personal basis. I care because I want to. "Ummm...first, I have something I want to do."
"Hmm..."
"That's why...I want you to accept me once again to remain as kanrinin (resident manager). I'm sorry if I worried or disappointed you, Aunt Haruka."
"...What ever pleases you then. I suppose you want to stay here and make up the failed term. I suppose also, you want to fulfill your promise with Narusegawa to enter Tokyo University together."
"It's a wish I won't vocalize but as long as it's with her, I want it to come true. Whatever the time, my heart is here, with Naru. Therefore, I'm here. I'm looking for love. As long as it's the two of us, it'll change into gentle tears. We'll keep our promise and the dreams that I have will certainly come true.
She reached back, with her cigarette in her hand and slapped me gently on my head.
"Just call me Haruka. I knew you wouldn't give up on your promises. For fifteen years, you've been chasing a dream that everyone says is impossible, even your parents, even after all this, you chase another dream. We're two of a kind, you and me. Stubborn, prideful, but we make sure that we're not blooming when someone tells us to bloom, and that we're realizing our potential at our own will"
Haruka towards back into the teashop stopping to look back at me, winking. She whispered to me, "Turn around. There's someone waiting for you." She chuckled and walked into the storeroom of the tea shop.
I turned around in time to see Naru turning away from the slightly-ajar door of Haruka's teahouse. Did she hear what I had to say about her? Does she feel the same way? I walked towards the door to see Naru walking away.
"Narusegawa! No...Narusegawa, I..."
I grabbed her hand as she was walking down the steps of the teahouse. And pulled her into my embrace. Her hands covered her eyes and a single tear ran down her cheek. I had nothing to say as she pulled my closer into a hug and placed her head on my shoulder as we sat on the steps on the teahouse.
End of Chapter Two
Notes :
Six days, that's quite a long time between updates. I sure most of the readers on fanfiction.net are used to quick updates between chapters, like two or three days. I write as I go along with the story so I don't have multiple chapters lined up in a row like some authors. The six days is due to summer school (bleh!), trying to find a job (yay!), and simply not being on a computer in a few days (boo!). Its summer and I try to have fun in the sun especially since I live in Florida where summers really rock. I hope my story's quality is sufficient to compensate for the slow pace at which I write. Hopefully, I'll start pumping out chapters at a pace of one every two to three days.
The little response giving by Keitaro when he was speaking to Aunt Haruka was from a translation of a song, "Be for you, Be for me." However, I'm not a native speaker so they might be off somewhat when I use them and when I check if the translation is 100% accurate which is very hard since many Japanese words have pun meanings. If anyone has a different translation for that part I used, feel free to point the mistakes. If you notice, I use quite a bit of song translations in my stories as I love the music from the Love Hina series. Music is generally my favorite part of any anime series and is one of my top priorities when thinking highly of a series.
"In my heart that's dried up and thirsting;
I took notice of it and suddenly stopped in my tracks.
In the street where everyone is busy,
I tried to walk a little more slowly.
It's a wish I won't vocalize (but) as long as it's with you, I want it to come true.
Sometimes I feel like I want to cry. I'll close my eyes and think of "try."
However, you're here. I'm asking for love.
Whatever the time, my heart is here, with you.
Therefore, I'm here. I'm looking for love.
As long as it's the two of us, it'll change into gentle tears.
The dream will certainly come true."
- Love Hina Again OST & Drama CD
Track Thirty One - Be for you, Be for me ~ Keitaro & Naru Version (Yuji Ueda and Yui Horie)
- Megumi Hayashiraba
Disclaimer:
All characters and story arcs of the Love Hina manga are property of Akamatsu Ken, and the associated publishing house.
Chapter Two: The Beginning Starts Now
I drifted back into conscious, my hands clenched in fists and a cold sweat running down my face. Outside the bedroom, amidst the snow of sakura, morning light poured into my room. Opening my hands, I stared at what I held in my palm. A single cherry blossom just like the one in my promise. Taking a deep breath, I could still smell its sweet fragrance.
Could it be that last night was not a dream? It was so surreal, the promise that we made, the chills that ran through my body as Naru said that she would wait for me at Tokyo University. Softly gracing where Naru kissed me, my right cheek, I remembered the soft lips, Narusegawa's that caressed my face last night, the tender kiss that awoke me to her feelings but yet left me in more confusion. Did she actually finally reveal herself me or once again, it is just a dream that will remain just that, a dream.
And yet when she left, she left with a piece of me. Her forlorn gaze digging into my soul and disappearing into the mist, just as the girl of my promises did. But the single flower I hold in my hand, it is the one thing I remember most from last night, and here it lies in my palm. It is all I need to know that last night was not a dream.
I placed my head on my knees, burying my face in my palms, trying to figure out what happened last night, trying to get a grasp of what happened last night but then a tsunami of guilt rushed over me as I remembered once again the lie that was told yesterday to the very people who were essentially my family about what happened. Yesterday, I had told the truth to Naru but the heavy burden of the lie still rested on my shoulders because I had told anyone else yet.
...
"That's what happened...I don't know what I'll do when they find out..."
"...All you did was fail a term..."
"Na...Naru...do...don't get ma...ad...huh?"
"Just tell the truth, and no one will get mad."
"But it took me four years to get in, and I received all that support from everybody...I feel responsible. And didn't we promise that we'd go to Toudai together? Naru, I'm so sorry... that I couldn't that promise..."
"Well, I don't care about something like that."
"Ah...I'd hope you even a little bit...Ah...that is Naru, I thought we're...you know, maybe getting slowly closer getting closer to each other.
"Ah! Is it already getting late? We should head back to Hinata Sou."
"...she wasn't even listening..."
...
"...listening...Keitaro, are you listening?"
"Naru...what is it?"
I turned around to see a Liddo-kun poking its head through the ceiling. It then retreated back through the hole and Naru appeared, hugging the stuffed animal tightly to her chest.
"I want to talk to you about. Can I?"
"Sure...Naru..."
"It's about last night, Keitaro"
My heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Naru felt the same way about last night? Could it be that Narusegawa was the girl from my past? If she were the girl from my past, it would be like destiny...I didn't make it into Tokyo University twice and I came to Hinata Sou only to meet her.
"I'll be right down Keitaro"
I then looked up only to have a clear, unimpeded view up Narusegawa's dress. The blood began rushing to my nostrils and I ran around the room for tissues to stop the thunderous Niagara falls of blood that I felt would run out of my nose at the sight that lay above me. As I held a large group of Kleenex to my nose, I heard a scream from Narusegawa as she slipped on the edge and fell through the hole.
"NARU-SE-GAWA"
I held the tissues to my nose with one hand, dropping them at the last moment to catch Narusegawa as she fell in my like an angel from heaven. I placed Naru softly on the ground, as she turning away from me, obviously in embarrassment. Placing my hands on her shoulders, I turned her around to face me. Our eyes met and a crimson tone rose to both of our faces. Time slowed down to a snails pace as our lips began to move closer, Naru in my embrace, as her eyes closed and her breath quickening, anticipating the spur of the moment passion.
"Ouch... my glasses."
I looked back at Naru, holding back a girlish giggle, her face still flushed with crimson. I turned away from Naru, staring at the ground, chiding myself, 'Damn, and I came so close.' I still cursed myself at the lost opportunity when I felt her lips once again on my tight cheek. As I felt her soft kiss, I heard her whisper to me softly, like a mother to her child at bedtime, "Tomorrow, it will be alright."
The doors to my room opened as Su swung it open, flanked by Sara. Their yells attracted the rest of the residents of Hinta Sou like vultures to a fresh carcass.
"Ahh-hah...I saw you two were kissing just now."
"Kiss, kiss!"
"No...it's not..."
"What! The two were making out when you should be studying!"
"Making out! No..."
"Ura-shima! Your head is mine today!"
...
When everyone was at the dinner table, I stood up and stated that I had an importance announcement. Su stared at me with her mouth stuffed full of food, Motoko grabbed her katana as if expecting that she would need it, Kitsune's eyes widened and placed she placed her glass of sake down, and Shinobu had tears coming to her eyes as if expecting some like of statement that would made her cry. Only Naru and Sara remained their usual selves; Naru already knew what I was going to say, and Sara probably didn't care. I was nervous as all the faces stared at me.
"Sorry, the truth is that I failed a term."
I dropped to my knees, closed my eyes and prayed, expecting physical from any or all of the residents of Hinata. After a few moments, I opened my eyes to see the girls staring at me but not one of they had removed themselves from their places at the dinner table.
"What's a failed term? Is it edible?"
"Is that all, stupid? You stopped dinner for that?"
"Sara, that's not nice. Sempai failed the term because he didn't go to Toudai because of the leg fracture."
"Poor guy. His fracture took so long to heal. I feel sorry for him even though he is a weakling male."
"Don't worry about it Keitaro. Drink up and all your worries will be washed away in sake."
I sighed heavily, relieved at their reaction to my confession. It's not even a big deal to them at all. I sat down at the table, next to Naru. She leaned over to me and whispered in my ear, "I told you that if you told the truth, no one would get mad. It's not even a big deal to them."
"Sorry. Naru, everyone for understanding and not getting angry at me. I haven't spoken to Aunt Haruka about my situation yet. I have to go to the tea shop and look for her.
I stood up and excused myself from dinner. I bent over to give a Naru a quick peck on the cheek, catching her by surprise. She rubbed her cheek with her hand and held it there, as if covering something precious.
...
"Aunt Haruka, can I talk to you for a second?
I told her everything about my situation. How I failed the first semester and how I covered it up. Little things, which I didn't want to say, slipped out during our conversation, like my relationship with Naru.
"Keitaro... out here in the world, there are good lies... and there are bad lies. I told you this once before. When you first came to Hinata Sou, everyone said you were a pervert. But now, without a doubt, you have a place in the hearts of every resident, in fact, you have an important part of their lives. You don't have to hide anything from them anymore. They are no longer a group of strangers like when you first came here. You don't have to lie to them, Keitaro.
So then...What do you want do next, Keitaro?"
Haruka was leaning against the wall and sighing, wearing her drab apron and slacks, taking a puff of her ever present cigarette. One hand sat on her hip, the other held a cup of tea and she looked at me like she was deep in a Zen-like trance.
I sipped on a mug of tea Haruka had made for me. I digested what Aunt Haruka said about my relationship with the others at the inn. It was true; everything had changed, not only for them but also for me. At the beginning I cared about them because it was my duty as manager to look after my tenants but now I care because I know each and everyone on a personal basis. I care because I want to. "Ummm...first, I have something I want to do."
"Hmm..."
"That's why...I want you to accept me once again to remain as kanrinin (resident manager). I'm sorry if I worried or disappointed you, Aunt Haruka."
"...What ever pleases you then. I suppose you want to stay here and make up the failed term. I suppose also, you want to fulfill your promise with Narusegawa to enter Tokyo University together."
"It's a wish I won't vocalize but as long as it's with her, I want it to come true. Whatever the time, my heart is here, with Naru. Therefore, I'm here. I'm looking for love. As long as it's the two of us, it'll change into gentle tears. We'll keep our promise and the dreams that I have will certainly come true.
She reached back, with her cigarette in her hand and slapped me gently on my head.
"Just call me Haruka. I knew you wouldn't give up on your promises. For fifteen years, you've been chasing a dream that everyone says is impossible, even your parents, even after all this, you chase another dream. We're two of a kind, you and me. Stubborn, prideful, but we make sure that we're not blooming when someone tells us to bloom, and that we're realizing our potential at our own will"
Haruka towards back into the teashop stopping to look back at me, winking. She whispered to me, "Turn around. There's someone waiting for you." She chuckled and walked into the storeroom of the tea shop.
I turned around in time to see Naru turning away from the slightly-ajar door of Haruka's teahouse. Did she hear what I had to say about her? Does she feel the same way? I walked towards the door to see Naru walking away.
"Narusegawa! No...Narusegawa, I..."
I grabbed her hand as she was walking down the steps of the teahouse. And pulled her into my embrace. Her hands covered her eyes and a single tear ran down her cheek. I had nothing to say as she pulled my closer into a hug and placed her head on my shoulder as we sat on the steps on the teahouse.
End of Chapter Two
Notes :
Six days, that's quite a long time between updates. I sure most of the readers on fanfiction.net are used to quick updates between chapters, like two or three days. I write as I go along with the story so I don't have multiple chapters lined up in a row like some authors. The six days is due to summer school (bleh!), trying to find a job (yay!), and simply not being on a computer in a few days (boo!). Its summer and I try to have fun in the sun especially since I live in Florida where summers really rock. I hope my story's quality is sufficient to compensate for the slow pace at which I write. Hopefully, I'll start pumping out chapters at a pace of one every two to three days.
The little response giving by Keitaro when he was speaking to Aunt Haruka was from a translation of a song, "Be for you, Be for me." However, I'm not a native speaker so they might be off somewhat when I use them and when I check if the translation is 100% accurate which is very hard since many Japanese words have pun meanings. If anyone has a different translation for that part I used, feel free to point the mistakes. If you notice, I use quite a bit of song translations in my stories as I love the music from the Love Hina series. Music is generally my favorite part of any anime series and is one of my top priorities when thinking highly of a series.
I took notice of it and suddenly stopped in my tracks.
In the street where everyone is busy,
I tried to walk a little more slowly.
It's a wish I won't vocalize (but) as long as it's with you, I want it to come true.
Sometimes I feel like I want to cry. I'll close my eyes and think of "try."
However, you're here. I'm asking for love.
Whatever the time, my heart is here, with you.
Therefore, I'm here. I'm looking for love.
As long as it's the two of us, it'll change into gentle tears.
The dream will certainly come true."
- Love Hina Again OST & Drama CD
Track Thirty One - Be for you, Be for me ~ Keitaro & Naru Version (Yuji Ueda and Yui Horie)
