[K, for starters, The story is only going to become less angsty from this point, To answer several questions MT is close, the cross over will NOT be part of this one. Therefore I WILL NO LONGER BE ACCEPTING VOTES TO CROSS THIS STORY OVER; I AM STILL ACCEPTING VOTES TO DO A LH/TM CROSSOVER THOUGH. So please quit posting them for this story. Use the first chapter for a reference on how it will be done. I have yet to decide which series I'm going to use I could even end up using the Tenchi GXP continuity *not really but it's an option.*, as said I feel one disclaimer is enough for one story so, read on.]
Reminiscing
Mutsumi slowly walked up the step of Hinata sou, she had heard what happened to Keitarou from Obaasan Hina along with a fax. Stopping on the top she looked at the inn. Once full of vibrant life it now stood silently, the sun highlighting it and the surrounding area. Sighing she walked towards the inn.
'I had better tell them, it would be bad if I didn't tell them.'
********
Naru sat on the couch in the main living area clutching her liddo-kun to her chest. Shinobu was helping Keitarou downstairs into the living area, Kitsune was keeping track of Su who was climbing on one of the book shelves. Motoko was also sitting in the main living area when Mutsumi walked into the room.
"Ara, did I come at a bad time?"
"No you didn't, we were getting ready to go out for a walk. Keitarou needs to get some fresh air and to get away from this place, he keeps on insisting on cleaning and fixing this place. It makes me sick every time I see him doing that." Said Motoko who sounded rather irritated towards the end of her comment.
"Oh, well I got a fax from Obaasan Hina." Said Mutsumi smiling and holding up the fax. "It has to do with the girl that Kei-kun promised."
Naru looked up at Mutsumi and blinked a few times, then it sunk in.
'The girl that Keitarou promised when he was a little kid, I could contact her and then tell her what happened. It's the only way I'll be able to make it up to him.' Naru lunged for the paper desperate to see who it was. Taking the paper and looking at it seemed to make the situation even less secure. 'This doesn't help at all. Dig in the sand box at the playground. That makes no sense, she wants us to play in the sand. How will that help us make it up to Keitarou.' Naru then felt someone tapping her on the shoulder.
Looking up she saw Mutsumi who then took Narus' liddo-kun and flipping it over gave Naru and every one in the room a good look at its bottom.
"Mut-Mutsumi, You're the promised girl?" gasped Naru, they all looked up from the writing on the bottom of the doll at Mutsumi.
"Oh, I am? I thought Naru was. After all she was there too." Mutsumi then sat down a tin container in the shape of a liddo-kun and opened it.
Inside of the container were several things you would normally find in a time capsule. A few toys, marbles, dice, a rubber band, a piece of paper stood out from the rest of it. On the paper in faded pen was a triangle with a line moving down from the top to the bottom of the page. On each corner of it was a name. Naru, Keitarou, Mutsumi on the corner it read. "we will go to toudai together." Naru looked at the paper in disbelief. How could she have missed all the clues, Hina had put Keitarou in charge for a reason, did she want them to get together? But then why not say it outright and present the proof, that would have been so much easier. Naru started to cry however.
"Why didn't she tell me, us, that we had promised that? Why? I wouldn't have been so mean to him, none of this would have happened. We could have all studied together and gone out on dates while we still had the chance. Things would have been different, happier. But it's too late now, I've done too much to ever be forgiven. I hate my life, whenever something goes right for once, I usually screw it up." Naru now crying full force chocking out words between sobs had curled up in a little ball sitting on the floor.
"Naru-sempai, don't be so hard on yourself. It'll only make things worse." Said Motoko who was trying to comfort the crying girl.
"How, How can they get any worse? Everything is over because of me, I ruined Keitarous life. I threw that punch, I did. I ruined everything, no one will want Keitarou now that he's lost his sight, his hearing, and his ability to speak. I can't even get near him without him cowering, because of how I was to him.
"How is that for being the person that he's supposed to marry? An abusive wife that gets her kicks out of seeing your face covered with fear? Everything he could have had is gone. The promise can never be full filled. I, I don't deserve him."
"Naru, don't be so hard on yourself. Nobody knew that this was going to happen, Nobody even knew that you and Otohime were the girls in his promise." said Kitsune.
Naru stood up tears still running down her face. She then took a few steps towards Keitarou, who was still being held up by Shinobu. As she approached he recognized her foot steps and stumbles back away from Shinobu and curled up on the floor near the stairs.
"See, he is scared of me. I love him and he loved me and because of how I was to him. He thinks that I will still be the same way to him. It's not fair, he's put up with so much from me and now he doesn't even want to be near me." She motioned to Keitarou who cringed a bit more, Obviously she was yelling so loud that he could make out that she was upset. Several thoughts came to mind of what he was thinking, all of them bad and again she fell to her knees and cried some more.
"Naru, please, calm down. It's not too late, it's never too late." Motoko again "look at Su. She made up with Keitarou. We can too."
"You can, I can't. I couldn't ever make up for what I've done. It has cost him too much for him to ever forgive. Unlike you, I can't earn him back, he will always be afraid of me, and I am the one who is supposed to be nice to him."
"Naru, just calm down. Naru!" Then she felt a hand on her shoulder.
********
Keitarou had been aware of something going on across the room. The vibrations of the floor showed that there was a lot of activity. Then he felt hard, angry vibrations heading his way. Naru, he didn't know what was going to happen, but she vibrations were not good, so he did what he normally did.
He moved away from her and tried to move as far as possible, hitting the wall and still trying to move further away he sunk into a position, his arms over his head to protect it. The boards shifted, twisted slightly and he felt some vibrations through them that only confirmed what he thought. She was upset over him. His mind spun, they were going to throw him out. He knew it, without his ability to do any really heavy duty performances and his inability to overcome his fears of them it was a matter of time.
Then again the others had not been as cruel to him lately, maybe they felt some pity for him. But pity was short lived, and now they were going to do something to get back at them for being so weak. For giving up whatever they gave up because of his weakness. Then he felt it, Narus weight shifted and the boards rocked back and forth slightly. This was new to him, it felt strange, almost as if she wasn't angry with him.
He had seen several movies where people had cried hard from grief. The boards felt like she might be doing just that. He decided to risk it and reached out his hand shook and when it was over where he was feeling the source of the shaking from the boards he lowered his arm, slowly from where she normally stood and finally felt her shoulder under the palm of his hand.
She shifted, ha assumed to look at him. He waited for the punch to come, hand trembling involuntarily, It never did. She instead gave him a hug, then a kiss on the cheek. He felt moisture on her cheeks, she had been crying. Then she was gone, up the steps. Even though he couldn't see he still fallowed her up the steps falling behind as the vibrations faded. He felt his cheek and for once since the accident, he considered that maybe they didn't mean what they did, that it was just some sort of game, one that went horribly wrong. But then, why did they say those things.
[things have been slow, it's getting harder and harder to write since I'm reaching the end of the fic here soon. One of the next chapters is going to be the last. I used another manga reference in this one. The time capsule is shown in Manga 14 right before they go into Emmas' introduction. Right around Naru and Keitarous wedding. I am still counting votes and so far I've got 2 votes for a multiple ending and for the middle ending and about five for the good one and three for the bad. I am no longer accepting votes to cross THIS story over, I have no intention of crossing this story over but I am STILL accepting votes to make a TM/LH crossover written. Till then, Ja.]