I never worry
Now that is a lie
from "Under the Bridge" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Kitsune held the top of the sake bottle under her nose and took a deep whiff. Her nostrils felt a moment of both burning and tingling. That smell had long been a small comfort to the foxgirl but today it was of no help. Kitsune sighed and just poured herself another glass of sake anyway.
Once that was done Kitsune looked down at her drink and could see her own face reflected in the sake. A weary face floated in the rice wine. She looked away.
"I really can't believe this is happening," sighed the girl to herself. "Damn mom and her so-called 'good news'. That was really just her way of hinting to me what she and dad are likely planning for me. They're so transparent sometimes."
Kitsune grimaced at the thought and took a deep drink of sake. Once she'd gulped it down she stood and began to pace; both the sake bottle and half-full cup still in her hands. "They've barely been involved in my life for the past couple of years and now this. Sure, mom didn't out and out *say* anything about what's happening to them having any big affect on me, but I can read between the lines. And the message is 'The good times at the Hinata are over!'."
Kitsune stopped her pacing and glowered. "Damn them both! All my life when I was with them in was this emotional roller coaster ride. Up and down, up and down. Family life is good, family life is hell.
"When it finally got to be too much for all of us they sent me here. Amazingly enough, here turns out to be a good place and I end up being happier than I can ever remember being since I was real little. I graduated high school, carved out a little niche for myself and now just went where life took me. I had sake; I had a place to call home, good friends…the whole deal. But now they drop this on me. It's…it's…"
The anger within her had stolen the foxgirl's words. Unable to express herself any other way Kitsune hurled the glass of sake to the floor and watched as it shattered. Silence reigned supreme as she watched the alcohol spread across the floor.
"Kitsune?" called Naru's voice several moments later. "What's going on in there? I heard something break."
Her friend's voice brought the troubled girl back to reality. "Oh, uh, Naru, um, just a little accident. Everything's cool," Kitsune stammered.
Naru pulled the room's door open and stepped inside. "It sounded to me like glass breaking. You didn't cut yourself or anything did you?"
Kitsune waved her right hand in a protesting gesture while holding up the bottle of sake with the other. "No, no, I'm fine. I just tripped and dropped a glass of this stuff. It's a damn shame too. This sake was expensive."
Naru studied her friend's face for a moment. The longhaired girl had a sense her friend wasn't telling her something. "Are you sure? You seem a bit…off. Is everything okay?"
Damn, Naru knows me too well, Kitsune thought. If she finds out what's going on this will turn into one big drama scene that I don't need right now. I better get her out of her fast.
"Yeah, everything is fine," assured Kitsune. "I'm just still a little out of sorts from all that sake I had last night."
For several long moments Naru studied her friend trying to determine is she was really just hungover or if something more was going on. But Kitsune just flashed one of her drunken grins. Her friend proving to be unreadable for the moment, Naru just shook her head. "You got so drunk you couldn't even walk yourself home last night and now you're drinking again. No wonder you're tripping over your own feet."
"Yeah, yeah," said Kitsune. "Look, if I promise not to drink anymore until after dinner will you get off my case? You've got that 'I'm going to give you a lecture' look on your face you sometimes get and I'm too hungover to listen to it."
"Oh, all right," sighed Naru. "But remember, you promised."
"I know," replied Kitsune. "Not to be rude, but could you leave me alone for awhile? I think I feel a headache coming on."
"Okay," said Naru and she turned and headed for the door. "Just be sure to clean up that glass right away. If you don't you might end up cutting your feet."
"Right, right. I'll go get a dustpan in a minute. But now could you just leave me be?"
Naru gave her friend one last concerned look before stepping out of the room and closing the door. Kitsune stood unmoving until the sound of her friend's footsteps vanished. The foxgirl then glanced down at the broken glass on the floor. "Well, *that* was unnecessarily dramatic of me. A real soap opera moment," she grumbled to herself.
In an effort to drive her concerns from her mind, even if it was just for a moment, Kitsune decided to start fulfilling her promise to Naru. She put the bottle of sake away, retrieved a dustpan and broom from a nearby closet and quickly cleaned up and disposed of the broken glass. The sake she'd been drinking had been a clear brand, so the foxgirl took a moment to be glad there would be no stain on her room's carpet. With those tasks done Kitsune plopped lengthwise down onto her couch.
She lay there for a time, trying not to think of anything. But a feeling of dread continued to gnaw at her from the bottom of her stomach. Suddenly the foxgirl gave a little laugh. "Where's all that good luck that damn fortune I got yesterday at now? I wonder if I were to tell Motoko about this if it would change her mind about just how accurate those stupid fortune are."
Kitsune then sighed and exhaled deeply. "Yeah, right, tell Motoko. She may be an ace with that sword but emotional stuff like this is out of her league."
Again Kitsune just lay for a time. The same emotions run through her again and again until she could take it no more. Suddenly the foxgirl sat up and slammed a fist into the cushions in frustration. "Gaaah! This is driving me crazy! I've got to tell *someone* about this or I'm gonna go nuts!"
The foxgirl then stood and again began to pace like a caged tiger. "Okay, so I've got to tell someone what's happening or have a mental breakdown. But whom can I tell? I can't tell Naru. Since she knows all about my parents she'd probably understand what mom was hinting at. That's sure to cause her to have some sort of emotional freakout. She'd probably start hovering over me like a mother hen too. I don't need that and she's got the entrance exams for Tokyo University coming up soon. I can't burden her with this now.
"I can't tell Motoko, Shinobu or Su either. Shinobu was just cry and I'd feel awful if I did that to her. Like I said before, Motoko isn't equipped for this emotional stuff. Heck, knowing what a traditional girl she is, she'd likely just tell me I should respect and go along with what my parents want. That's the last thing I wanna hear right now. There's no telling how Su would react if I told her. Besides, she's just a kid and I don't want to drop this on her.
"I might be able to talk to Haruka. She and I always have gotten along really well. But she knows a lot of the history with my folks and me too. Plus, she's spent a lot of time being the responsible adult around here. She might even take my parent's side. I'd really rather not have this drive a wedge between us."
Kitsune felt the dread within her grow a bit. She gazed listlessly at the wall as she mentally hit her last option. "So that just leaves…Keitaro."
Kitsune ran a hand through her hair and continued to look at the wall. "For all his faults Keitaro does really seem to care about all of us that live here. He's easy to talk to and doesn't know about my past. Plus, he's pretty easy to manipulate so it would be a snap to convince him not to say anything."
At that the turbulent emotions within Kitsune seemed to abate, if just for now. The foxgirl allowed herself a genuine smile. "Newsflash, Keitaro; the job of sympathetic ear has just been added to your list of manager's duties."
~*~
Meanwhile, in Shinobu's room, the Hinata's youngest resident was sitting on her bed and in the midst of an important decision." Hhhmmm, what should I call you?" asked Shinobu as she looked at the KeroKero doll Keitaro had given her the night before. The doll had no reply so the girl just continued to think.
"I don't normally give my stuffed animals names," explained Shinobu to the doll. "But you were a gift from sempai and that makes you special. So you have to have a special name. I just have to think of one. Something other than KeroKero."
"What's a KeroKero? Can you eat it?" came a voice from behind.
Shinobu jumped to her feet in surprise and whipped around. Beside her suddenly stood Su looking at the doll in her arms intently.
"Kyah! Su, please don't sneak up on me like that!" said Shinobu. Su scratched the back of her head and grinned. "Sorry, Shinobu. But like I said, can you eat a KeroKero? Whatever that is."
"KeroKero is the name of the character this doll is based on," explained the shorthaired girl. "In Japanese 'kero' means 'frog'."
"Oh, a froggy! I get it!"
Shinobu blinked and looked at the doll. "Froggy?"
"Froggy! Froggy! Frog's legs!" cheered Su. "Now I'm really hungry!"
Shinobu wasn't fully listening. She just continued to look at the doll and think of Keitaro. She then smiled. "Su, I've just thought of the perfect name for my doll. I'm going to call him Mr. Froggy."
"Sounds good to me," said Su as she gave two thumbs up. "Say, Shinobu, now that you're done with that could you fix me something to eat? I'm hungry!"
Shinobu just smiled at her odd friend. "Sure. Just let me put Mr. Froggy away. Then I'll fix you something to eat."
The young girl then headed over to a dresser near her bed and carefully placed the doll on top. That's perfect, she thought. Now Mr. Froggy can watch over me in my sleep. The same way I wish that sem…
Shinobu blushed at that thought. She then turned back to her waiting friend. "Okay, Kaolla. I'll fix you something now."
"Can it be frog's legs?" inquired the foreign girl excitedly.
"Uh, I don't have the ingredients to make frog's legs," said Shinobu uncomfortably. "How about some miso soup instead?"
"Great!" exclaimed Su. "Can we play after that?"
Shinobu could feel Su's energy and enthusiasm in the air. That combined with the warm feelings that had been stirred up by the doll and thoughts of Keitaro had put her in a good mood that was higher than the one the earnest girl was normally in. Some time playing with her friend seemed like the perfect companion piece to all that.
"Sure," smiled Shinobu. "After you eat we'll play for a while."
"Yay!" cheered Su as she bounded out of the room.
Shinobu took a moment to enjoy the other girl's happiness before following quickly behind her.
~*~
In the Hinata's laundry room Keitaro was pulling clothes out of the dryer by the armload. Though laundry was normally one of Shinobu's chores, the Hinata residents each took a turn at washing clothes every so often so as to not put too much stress on the young girl. Today happened to Keitaro's turn.
In short order Keitaro had the entire load put into a laundry basket. Now he had to take the basket around to each of the girls' room. The girls would then pick out what was theirs. When one of the girls did this chore they'd separate the clothes out by person first. But Keitaro had been forbidden from going through the girls' clothes for obvious reasons. So with the basket now full he headed for the main living area.
"Let's see, Kitsune wasn't feeling too well at breakfast this morning," Keitaro said to himself. "So she's likely still in her room. I guess that makes her as good a place to start as any."
As he headed for the second floor the ronin's mind drifted back to the night before and the kiss the foxgirl had given him. "I can't believe she was so drunk she doesn't even remember kissing me," he sighed. "I always thought my first kiss would be something the both the girl and I would remember. Something special like that shouldn't be forgotten.
"Well…it was special to me. Who knows how Kitsune would feel if she remembered. She's pretty unpredictable."
Keitaro shook his head as he continued to walk. "On the other hand, maybe this is for the best. Things could get uncomfortable around here if they other girls knew Kitsune and I kissed. Even if it was because she was really drunk and she kissed me first. Living here and being with the girls means a lot to me. I don't want anything getting in the way of that."
Keitaro was so lost in thought he failed to notice a banana peel lying on the floor. In a moment straight out of an old comedy movie, the ronin's foot stepped on the peel and he went flying feet first into the air along with all the laundry. The ronin landed on the floor hard amidst a rain of clothes.
Keitaro had been momentarily stunned when he'd hit the floor. As he opened his eyes he realized that something made of cloth was covering his face. He pulled the article off as he sat up. "Ugh!" grimaced Keitaro as he looked down to see that he was holding a pair of his own boxer shorts.
The ronin then looked at the floor and saw the banana peel lying there. "Dammit, I've told Su a hundred times to make sure she always throws stuff like that in the trash. I'm lucky I didn't break something."
Muttering to himself in mild annoyance, Keitaro began to gather up the clothes. He stopped suddenly as he felt his hand close on something soft and lacey. He looked down to see a pair of black thong panties in his hand. The ronin gulped.
There's only one person these could belong to, Keitaro thought. Nobody but Kitsune would own something like this. God, these look *so* naughty. I've seen the girls in some of my magazines wear things like this. When they actually had clothes on, that is.
"Damn you, Keitaro Urashima!" boomed a voice suddenly. "Once again I find you engaged in the most base of perversions!"
Keitaro felt his blood run cold as he turned to see Motoko standing behind him. Her sword was drawn and there was a look of righteous anger on her face.
"W-Wa-Wait a second, Motoko! I know how this looks but it's not what you think! I swear!" he sputtered.
"I will hear none of your lies, Urashima!" retorted the kendo girl. "Now face my blade's punishment! BURNING THUNDER STRIKE!"
Motoko's sword swung toward the Hinata's manager almost faster than the human eye could follow. There was a loud boom like a thunderclap and Keitaro went sailing and screaming through the air and out a nearby window that was conveniently open.
As Keitaro's scream faded into the distance Motoko allowed herself a small smile of self-congratulation. "The justice of my blade is swift and true. That pervert will think twice before attempting to rifle through our undergarments again."
Just then Kitsune poked her head out of her room. "Hey, what's all the noise about? I was trying to take a nap."
"I caught Keitaro fondling a pair of someone's undergarments. He has been dealt with," informed Motoko simply as she pointed at the black panties in question with the blade of her sword.
"That would explain the screaming," said Kitsune as she picked up her underwear. She looked at them and then gave Motoko one of her best foxgirl grins. "Hey, Motoko, you really should get yourself some undies like this. They'd be dynamite on a girl with a figure like yours."
Motoko flushed a very deep shade of red. "Such…apparel is unbecoming for a warrior. It implies…questionable moral character."
She can swing a sword like Musashi but she's as prudish as an old lady sometimes, thought Kitsune. Which makes Motoko all the more fun to tease. And a little teasing is just what I need to cheer me up right now.
"Come on, Motoko," said Kitsune, her voice full of mischief. "A warrior is supposed to use every advantage they have to win, right?"
Motoko could feel that Kitsune was setting her up for something but was clueless as to exactly what. Her only option for now seemed to be to play the foxgirl's game. "That is indeed true."
"Then you should try using a little sex appeal! Flashing a panty thong at the right moment is the perfect thing to distract a male opponent."
Motoko somehow managed to even redder. "Such, um…tactics are dishonorable and unbecoming of a true warrior."
"Oh, come on," prodded the foxgirl. "Don't tell you intend to tape down your breasts and wear that boring, vanilla panties your whole life. You need to get yourself something like this and really show off what that body of yours can do!"
Motoko's face lost it's composure and turned as red as the hakama of her training outfit. "I…shall take your advice under consideration. Now if you'll excuse my I have some katas I must practice."
With that the kendo girl dashed off as fast as her legs could take her.
Kitsune just chuckled to herself. "That was fun. I swear, when I'm not dealing with Naru and Keitaro's kindergarten love antics I should spend some more time trying to get Motoko to act like a real girl. It's almost as entertaining."
Just then Kitsune heard someone coming up the second floor steps. She turned and moments later a somewhat battered Keitaro appeared. "Hey, Keitaro, how'd you get back here so quick? Normally it takes you a little while to walk back after Motoko or Naru send you into orbit."
"I guess you could say I got lucky," sighed Keitaro as he picked a scrap of a leaf from his hair. "If you count getting clotheslined by one of the trees outside lucky. Still, I guess it did save me a walk."
Say, now's my chance to get Keitaro alone where I can talk to him, the foxgirl thought. Now's not a good time for our little chat since everyone is running around the house doing whatever. Better to wait until after dinner.
Her plan of action decided, Kitsune suddenly gave Keitaro a sexy grin. "Say, Keitaro, I was wondering something."
"Uh, yes, Kitsune," gulped the ronin.
Kitsune moved in, still smiling, until she was very close to the Hinata's manager. Keitaro began to sweat.
"You see, Keitaro, something's happened," she began, her voice still sexy but also earnest. "It's something very personal and need some I can talk to about it."
"I'm, uh, flattered, Kitsune," said Keitaro who was now blushing deeply. "But wouldn't Naru be the person to talk to? She is you best friend after."
The mention of Naru made playing sexy suddenly lose its appeal. Kitsune took a step back and looked to the floor. "This is something I can't tell Naru about. It's something she's close to. I don't she'd handle what I have to tell her well," she said with sudden seriousness
To that Keitaro had no response. He reached out a hand to try and touch the foxgirl's shoulder to comfort her. "Kitsune…"
The foxgirl suddenly turned her back on the ronin. "This is something I have to talk with you about, Keitaro. You're the only one I can discuss this with. It's complicated that way."
Keitaro stopped his hand in midair. A bit of pain had creeped into Kitsune's words. It was so subtle Keitaro wondered if even she'd even noticed.
"Uh, okay, Kitsune. I understand. What's the problem?"
"Not here and now," said Kitsune as she turned around, a look of relief flashing momentarily across her face. "Meet me on the roof about twenty minutes after dinner. We can be alone then."
"Uh, okay," Keitaro nodded.
"Great! I'll see you then," exclaimed the foxgirl who suddenly seemed her old self again. She then turned and headed back into room. A moment later her head popped back out again.
"Keitaro?"
"Yeah?"
"Keep this to yourself, okay?"
The ronin nodded again and Kitsune vanished back into her room.
Keitaro stood blinking for a moment and then quickly gathered up the laundry on the floor. Then he silently went to his room.
~*~
Kitsune plopped lengthwise onto her couch and grinned a fine fox's grin. Out of habit she began to reach for the sake bottle, but stopped short when she remembered the promise she's d just made to Naru. "Promises; nothin' but trouble," she grumbled.
Kitsune then settled back onto the couch and stretched. "All right, I only have to wait a few more hours and then I can get this stupid monkey off my back. Of course, I've actually got to figure out a solution to this mess, but I'll worry about that tomorrow. Right now is coping time."
It was then that Kitsune frowned for a moment. "It's a good thing I talked to Keitaro when I did. This thing was really starting to eat at me. I actually cracked a little bit out there and let some of how much this is bugging me show. Luckily, Keitaro's not the most observant guy in the world. I doubt he noticed. If he did most likely he'll chalk in up to 'feminine issues' or something like that."
Kitsune frowned again and then chewed her lip for a moment. "I know Keitaro well enough by now that I'm sure I can work him to keep his mouth shut about what I have to tell him. But now that I think about it, once I tell him this our relationship won't ever be what it is right now. Heck, the only ones who really know what's up with me and my parents are Grandma Hinata, Haruka and Naru. I'm not going to be telling him everything that they know, but still…"
Kitsune was silent for a moment considering the weight of her thoughts. "This would make the first guy I've really opened up to in any real way since... And before him there was Seta. Heck, it was Seta that…"
The foxgirl suddenly sat upright and shook her head hard. "Oh no! I've had enough painful memories for one day. I am so not going there!"
After collecting herself, Kitsune settled back down on the couch. She sat there for a time thinking about numerous things from her life and how they'd all led her to this moment.
Then an odd thought hit her. "Heh, I guess Keitaro's not the only with strange luck around here. I bet his fortune didn't prepare him for what I have to tell him."
~*~
After Kitsune went back to her room, Keitaro gathered up the clothes still lying on the floor and entered his. He put the laundry basket down by the table and then sat down himself.
"What in *heck* was that about?" Keitaro asked himself. "I don't think I've ever seen Kitsune like that. She was trying to hide it but something's bothering her. Something so big she can't tell Naru. And for some reason she wants to talk to *me* about it! What in the world…"
At that moment realization cut through the ronin like a slash from Motoko's sword. Keitaro sweatdropped. "Oh no. Kitsune's being emotional…She can't tell Naru what the problem is…I'm the only one she can talk with…This can only mean one thing! Kitsune's remembered us kissing last night!"
Keitaro felt a momentary bout of dizziness at his revelation. But after a deep breath he managed to get himself under control. "Okay, Keitaro, get a grip. This could turn into a real mess, but if I think this out I should be okay."
The ronin went for another deep breath before he began to contemplate his situation. "Kitsune remembering kissing me last night is the only explanation for the way she acted in the hall. If what happened didn't mean anything to her then she'd be teasing me without mercy right now."
Keitaro's mind momentarily drifted back to those moments in the hall when his housemate had, just for a few moments, seemed rather fragile. "But she wasn't teasing me. She was trying to hide it, but I'm sure she was upset about something. So clearly kissing me did mean *something* to her."
The ronin suddenly felt as if a flock of butterflies were flitting about his stomach. "Could…could it possibly be that Kitsune…likes me?"
Keitaro shook his head back and forth violently to try and clear his head. "What am I saying?" he asked himself. "The idea of Kitsune liking me is silly. Next I'll be imagining that Shinobu has a crush on me.
"So, silly daydreams aside, if she doesn't like me in that way why would Kitsune be so upset? I doubt that was her first kiss. Kitsune's…"
An image of a grinning Devil Haitani and Devil Shirai flashed in the ronin's mind.
"Little creeps," Keitaro grumbled. "Anyway, Kitsune's clearly had, um, romantic experience before. So a first kiss, other than mine, isn't likely. I guess that's a good thing."
Keitaro sat for a while trying to understand the foxgirl's odd behavior. After much consideration a new possibility popped into his mind.
"Could the reason Kitsune is upset be Naru?" mused Keitaro. "Kitsune knows that I do like her. And if Naru found out Kitsune and I kissed…Boy, I don't know how she'd react. After calling me a pervert and punching me in the face that is. I know she'd do *that*."
The more he thought about it the more certain Keitaro was that he was on the right track. "Yeah, the whole Naru thing has to be it," he said to himself. "I have feelings for Naru and I think she might like me. Just a little. If she found out about what happened last night she might flip out and demand I leave the Hinata for taking advantage of Kitsune while she was drunk.
"Of course, since grandma left this place to me she can't really kick me out, but I don't think she'd ever forgive me. That would make living here a nightmare. And the other girls wouldn't exactly be happy with me either. I couldn't take that. I'd have to give the Hinata back to Aunt Haruka, forget about Tokyo U and going crawling back to my parents."
Keitaro flopped back on the floor and looked up at the slab of wood that covered the entrance to Naru's room. "God, I never would have guessed my first kiss would turn into such as mess. Why couldn't that stupid fortune have warned me about this?"
"Hey, Keitaro, are you in there?" called a voice suddenly.
Keitaro bolted up and looked toward the door. "Yeah, I'm in here. Come on in."
The door opened and Naru stepped in. She was wearing a pink sweater, jeans and a cross look on her face. "You're supposed to be doing laundry but where do I find you? Sitting on your butt in your room. I've been waiting for my clothes for almost a half hour."
"Sorry, Naru," apologized Keitaro as he stood and picked up the basket. "I…um, well, I got distracted by something and…Oh, nevermind. Again, I'm sorry. I'm just feeling a bit out of sorts right now."
Since his apology sounded genuine Naru decided to be merciful and spare Keitaro the punch she'd been planning since leaving her room. Luck had apparently not totally abandoned the ronin.
"It seems that there's a lot of that 'out of sorts' stuff going around," said Naru as she began to pull her clothes from the basket. "I talked to Kitsune earlier and she seemed a bit out of it. Then again, considering how drunk she must have been last night I guess we should be grateful she can even walk."
"Uh, really?" said Keitaro nervously. "Did she say what was bothering her?"
At that Naru stopped grabbing clothes and looked at Keitaro. "Funny you should say that. I asked her if anything was wrong too. She insisted she was fine. Even after knowing Kitsune as long as I have, there are times when even I don't know what's going on in her head."
Keitaro nodded in understanding.
Naru quickly gathered the rest of her clothes and then turned to head back to her room. When she was about halfway to the door she stopped and turned. "Hey, Keitaro?"
"Yeah?"
"Um, thanks for taking care of Kitsune the way you did last night," said Naru, who suddenly felt a bit embarrassed for reasons she couldn't name. "I know she can pretty much take care of herself, but I do still worry about her. You were there for her at one of those times she wasn't able to handle herself."
The ronin automatically thought of what really had happened between him and the foxgirl last night. Keitaro felt of a wave of guilt run over him.
"I doubt she'll ever tell you so, but I'm sure she's grateful," continued Naru. "And, um, so am I. Good work, Mr. Manger."
Before he could respond Naru gave a quick smile and disappeared out the door.
Keitaro again flopped to the floor. "God! I don't know if I should feel ecstatic that Naru complimented me like that or if I should feel like scum because I kissed the drunk girl I was supposed to be taking care of!"
Again Keitaro's eyes drifted to the hole to Naru's room. He then glanced that the wall that was the barrier between his room and Kitsune's.
He shook his head. "If there was any doubt left in me this clinches it. It really is going to be 'strange luck' for me this year."
~*~
As day turned into evening life continued on at the Hinata House. After another of Shinobu's wonderful meals everyone drifted off to pursue their own interests.
During the meal Keitaro glanced several times at Kitsune to see if he could glean anything from his housemate's mannerisms that would give him a clue as to what she wanted to talk with him about. But the foxgirl acted as she always did which only left Keitaro more baffled.
To kill time before the meeting Keitaro headed back to his room to try and grab a few minutes of study time. He grabbed a textbook at random and flipped to a pre-marked page. By chance it was a science book and the ronin happened to turn to the section on astronomy.
"The planet Venus was named after the roman goddess of love and beauty," read Keitaro aloud as he looked through the book. "Venus' orbit is 108,200,000 km from the sun. It is 12,103.6 km in diameter and weights 4.869e24 kg. It is the brightest object in the sky except for the Sun and the Moon.
"The first spacecraft to visit Venus was the United States' Mariner 2 in 1962. It was subsequently visited by…"
After a time Keitaro glanced at his watch and saw that the twenty minute wait after dinner that Kitsune had requested had elapsed. He put his book down and quietly slipped into the hall. The light was off in Kitsune's room and no one was about in the hall. Since the coast was clear young man headed toward the roof.
As he headed up the roof's stairs Keitaro noticed that the moon was full and unusually blue. However, a few clouds were slowly drifting across its face. "I got astronomy on brain," the Hinata's manager muttered.
Kitsune was already there waiting, a large bottle of sake and a cup sat by her right side. To the ronin's surprise a guitar sat in her lap and the foxgirl was tuning it with her left hand.
"Hey, Kitsune," called Keitaro in greeting. "That's a nice looking guitar you have there. I didn't know you played."
"I don't," said Kitsune as she continued to tune the instrument. "Well, more like I haven't for a couple of years. This was a gift from an old tutor of mine. He's the one who taught me to play, in fact. He went off to do his own thing and after a while I just lost interest in playing. Even so, this thing has a lot of sentimental value so I couldn't just toss it out."
"That's interesting," said Keitaro as he sat down a respectful distance from the foxgirl. "Hey, why don't you play something? I'd really like to hear you."
"You'd 'really like to hear me', huh?" repeated Kitsune with an amused look on her face. "You sure about that, Keitaro?"
Keitaro had a feeling that there was a double meaning to the foxgirl's words. But exactly what he wasn't sure. Pushing that thought aside he nodded.
"Well, too bad," smirked Kitsune. "I'd need a lot more sake in my than I do right now to try playing. Singing karaoke I'm up for anytime, but playing is something different."
Keitaro didn't understand why his housemate's reluctance to perform but decided to put it aside and deal with the matter at hand. "So, Kitsune, there was something you wanted to talk to me about…"
"Yeah," nodded the foxgirl with sudden seriousness in her voice. "This is heavy stuff, Keitaro, so I'm just going to lay it out. This morning I got a call from my mother. It was the first time I'd spoken with her in almost a year."
What? thought Keitaro. This doesn't sound like she's remembered us kissing at all. I better not say anything about that for now. It sounds like she's got something personal to tell me.
The ronin could see in Kitsune's eyes that she was starting to tread on painful memories. Not sure as to what else to do he just nodded for her to go on.
"Before I tell you what she told me you have understand something about my parents," continued Kitsune. "They're both really driven, determined people. They both graduated from college with top marks, landed jobs at the biggest trading firm in Osaka and worked their way up the ladder really quick. My dad is only forty-five and he's already a vice president. My mom is not only the highest female manager in the company, she's one of the top managers period.
"The problem with my folks is that they had a lot of trouble leaving work at the office and home at home. It's too long a story to go into detail, but to put it bluntly they tended to fight. A lot."
"That sort of thing is tough," said Keitaro sympathetically. "My parents didn't fight anymore than anyone else's, but I still hated it when they did. But they loved each other so they always made up afterwards."
"In a way my parents were like that too," picked up the foxgirl. "As much as they fought they still loved each other a lot. It would take things getting really, really bad, but they would come times when they'd realize that their marriage should come before their jobs. When that happened they'd actually start talking to each other like real people and things would get a lot better. Normal family better.
"For a while, anyway. Then they'd slip back into the old routine and everything would be just like it was before. All my life it was like that."
"I notice you haven't really said much about how you fit into their lives," said Keitaro softly.
Kitsune ran a hand through her hair and nodded. "Yeah, me. There's not really much to say on that one. I knew my folks loved me and they did the best they could. They each spent time with me and taught me stuff like parents are supposed to. Sometimes they'd put whatever they were fighting about that day aside and we'd go out and do something fun as a family. I always loved those times. It wasn't a perfect childhood, but those only exist on TV. Despite how it sounds I really was fairly happy more often than not."
"But anyway, when I was sixteen things between them got really bad. Worse than things had ever been. The separated for a while and started talking about getting a divorce. I was stuck in the middle with both them trying to get me on 'their side'. It was total hell."
"I've had some friends who've parents got divorced," informed Keitaro. "They've told me what that's like. Though it sounds like you had it really bad."
Kitsune reached for her cup and took a long drink of sake. After she was done she set the cup down and again nodded. "My parents marriage had always been a bit unstable, but when that happened it felt like my world was falling apart.
"I'm sure I was in a state of clinical depression when my mom finally realized what this was doing to me. She sat my dad down and they managed to put the bad feelings aside long enough to decide that it would be best if I went somewhere else for a while. Neither of them had any close relatives who could take me in so they were stuck.
"Then one day my mom got a call from an old friend of hers. She told her friend what was happening and asked if she knew any place I might be able to go. It turns out that did.
"You see, my mom's old friend actually lived here in Hinata City. She'd heard about your grandma turning her hotel into a girl's dorm and that there were room open. So my folks called your grandma, worked out the details and within ten days of the call from my mom's friend I moved in here. I was the first resident, in fact."
"Wow," said Keitaro. "I never really thought about why any of you girls came here. It didn't really seem like my business to ask."
"It's really a good thing you didn't," responded Kitsune. "It would likely kick up bad memories for them too.
"Anyway, enough backstory. Back to the call from mom this morning. The reason she called was to tell me that their firm was opening up a new branch in the US. They asked my parents go over there as part of the senior management staff for their new office in San Diego."
"Isn't San Diego in California?" asked Keitaro.
"Right. I guess all that studying you've done with Naru is paying off," answered the foxgirl with a small grin. But that grin vanished as Kitsune continued to explain. "The thing isn't so much my mom telling me about her and dad moving to the US. It's what she didn't say."
"I don't follow," said Keitaro.
"My mom tends to try hide our hint at bad news with good news. Heck, when she and dad separated she told about it by first telling me we were moving to a new apartment. She went on about how great the new place was going to be for half an hour before she got around to telling me that 'we' didn't include dad. Over the years I've learned to read between the lines."
"So…what was she really trying to say?"
Instead of answering Kitsune took a long drink of sake right from the bottle. Keitaro didn't like the look of that but said nothing.
"What she was saying, Keitaro, is that they expect me to come with them," said the foxgirl bluntly. "My parents want me to leave the Hinata House and move with them to America."
Keitaro's eyes got large and his jaw dropped at the girls words. I don't believe it. I really can't imagine the Hinata without Kitsune around stirring things up all time, he thought.
Kitsune noticed his reaction and nodded. "Yeah, that was about how I felt. The funny thing is, that going to the US sounds like the only downside. You see, my mom also told me that she and dad have been getting pretty intensive marriage counseling for the last ten months. According to her they've buried a lot of old hatchets and are getting alone as well as they did when they were first married. If I were to go with them I think we might have a real shot at that normal family thing."
It took a few moments, but Keitaro managed to shake off his shock at what he'd just been told. Kitsune had sat there waiting silently and looking out toward the sea. "So, uh, I guess this means you're leaving, huh?" asked Keitaro.
At that Kitsune looked at him and frowned. "I have no intention of leaving," she said in a slightly angry voice. "I'm an adult now and I make my own decisions. New attitude towards family or not, my dad isn't the type to take 'no' for an answer. He's always been stubborn that way.
"They aren't leaving for the US for a couple of months so I've got plenty of time to think of something. This isn't the first time they've tried to push me to do something I don't want to and I've always found a way to get out of it. This time won't be any different."
"Well, that's good," said Keitaro, a bit a of relief clear in his voice. "Things around here wouldn't be as interesting around here without you. Plus, the other girls and I would all miss you."
The foxgirl's mood brighten at those words. "Of course you'd miss me. Beautiful, clever, fun-loving girls are in short supply these days. Without me around you guys would end up boring each other to death or something. Plus, I'd miss everyone here too. The Hinata's a lot of fun."
"Yeah, I've noticed that too," chuckled Keitaro. "There's never a dull moment around here. And I got admit, a good part of that is true because of you."
"Well, I do my best." Kitsune then gave Keitaro a serious look. "Listen, Keitaro, I just told you some really personal stuff. I know you're a decent guy, but keep all that to yourself, okay? I don't like people knowing about my family. And whatever you do don't say anything about my parents wanting me to go to America with them to anyone. Especially Naru. If she finds out there's be a big scene that I don't want to have to deal with. This is my problem, not hers."
"I understand, Kitsune," nodded the ronin. "You have my word, I won't repeat what you told me to anyone."
"Then let's drink to the promise between us," proposed Kitsune as she picked up her cup and handed it to Keitaro. "I expect you to treat this just like that promise you made to your dream girl all those years ago."
"A promise is a promise," said Keitaro resolutely as the shorthaired girl poured a generous amount of sake into his cup.
"That's good enough for me," said Kitsune as she grabbed the sake bottle and raised it in toast. "To the Hinata House and everyone in it. May the good times last forever!"
"May the good times last forever," Keitaro toasted. The pair then began to drink. As the sake flowed down his throat a thought crossed the young ronin's mind. Kitsune was drinking from this glass just a minute ago. So me drinking from it now sorta makes this an indirect kiss!
Keitaro blushed a little at that thought.
By then he'd finished his drink. Keitaro looked over to she that she was looking at him with an amused look on her face. "Hey, Keitaro, you're blushin'. What's the matter? This stuff too strong for you?"
"Uh, just a bit," Keitaro lied, hoping the foxgirl wouldn't really pick up on what he'd been thinking. "I really shouldn't be drinking anyway. I still have studying to do."
"Okay, Mr. Tokyo U, I guess you better get back to your books," said Kitsune as she took back the cup. She then glanced away. "Hey, Keitaro, thanks for listening to me. I really needed to get that off my chest."
"No problem. I'm the Hinata's manager so it's my job to help you girls anytime you need help. Are you sure you're okay now?"
Instead of answering Kitsune took another long swig from the sake bottle. When she was done she flashed one of best fox-like grins. "The Kitsune brand drunken smile is back on my pretty face. Don't worry, I'm fine."
Keitaro nodded and stood. "That's good to see. Though…"
"Though what?" quizzed the foxgirl.
Keitaro scratched the back of his head and looked uncomfortable. "It's just…well…if you don't mind me saying this…"
"Aw, spit it out already!"
Keitaro was clearly blushing a bit now. It's, uh, just…I think your smile is a prettier when you're not drunk."
Kitsune blinked and felt her face getting a bit warm. "Uh, thanks, Keitaro. That was…sweet."
"Uh, yeah, well, it's the truth. Anyway, I better get going." Without further words Keitaro scrambled back down the stairs.
Kitsune waited until the ronin's footsteps had vanished before bringing a hand to her face. It was still a bit warmer than usual. "Did that…did he…did that goof actually just make me blush?" she wondered aloud.
Kitsune turned what had just happened over in her mind for a minute and took another drink of sake. "Well, I guess even Keitaro can say the right thing at the right time once in a while," she said to herself a bit later. "Come to think of it, that was the first time I've been called pretty by someone not looking to get in my pants in a long, long time. And since Keitaro is a fairly bad liar I know he meant what he said."
Kitsune made an amused sound and smiled to herself. "I've given the poor little spaz enough nosebleeds to know that he'd finds me sexy, but it was still nice to hear Keitaro call me pretty. A girl needs to her that from time to time."
The foxgirl again felt her face get a bit warmer. At that she stiffened and shook her head. "Oh no, I'm not going to blush again! I'm past the blushing stage in my life thank you very much! And even if I were to blush over a guy, it would be over one far cooler, better looking and richer than Keitaro Urashima!"
To push the offending thoughts from her mind Kitsune checked the tuning on her guitar. It seemed to be in perfect tune now. She then made a careful survey of the roof to make certain no one was around.
"Oh, what the heck. If I keep it low no one will hear." With that, Kitsune gave the guitar a strum and began to sing.
Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday.
Suddenly, I'm not half to man I used to be,
There's a shadow hanging over me.
Oh, yesterday came suddenly.
Why she had to go…
Kitsune was silent for several moments after she trailed off. Then she gave a small chuckle. "It's funny, I'd actually forgotten that 'Yesterday' was one of Seta's favorite songs. Boy, the ghosts of the past are just all over me today."
The foxgirl then stood and stretched. "I've had enough of the past for one night. I think I'll head back to me room, finish of this bottle and call it an early night. After all, I've got some thinking to do come tomorrow."
Kitsune then gather up her things and headed back to her room. For a long moment the roof of the Hinata was silent and still.
Then from behind the railing of the side opposite to where Kitsune and Keitaro had been sitting a head popped up and glanced across the rooftop. "Interesting," mused Kaolla Su. "Very, very interesting."
To be continued…
Author's Notes: At long last the second chapter is finally done. Sorry for the wait, folks, but several real life things have been eating up my time of late. College, of course, is still the main one. But I've also got a monthly Internet column going on and I was part of the staff setting up an anime convention called C-Kon. The con was a ton of work but everyone involved had a total blast.
I was actually extra lucky. Because I'm such a Love Hina fanboy I got to run a Love Hina panel. A panel were Wendee Lee herself was a guest. For those who don't keep tabs on such things, Wendee is Su and Tama-chan's English voice as well as the director of the English version of Love Hina. To add to the coolness she brought a copy of The Love Hina Christmas Movie with her which we got to show before it was out in stores.
I could yammer on about this forever, but suffice to say Wendee Lee was really a great guest who had some interesting stuff to say about Love Hina and the fans and I enjoyed her a lot.
As for the story, I was a bit worried about this chapter. When you put angst into characters who normally don't have much angst you're really pushing the envelope. As I was writing this I really tried to keep Kitsune sounding like herself even while she was dealing with some pretty emotional stuff. Plus, her past was stuff that I made up which only added to the pressure to get things right.
It took a couple of passes, but I think I finally found the words to have Kitsune say what I needed her to say without sounding out of character. But I guess the readers will be the ultimate judges.
One thing that's never really explained in the manga or anime is why Kitsune is living at the Hinata. Since she's been there since her high school days I think it's safe to say that she's been living there since she was a minor. So if she moved in when she was still underage then her parents or guardian would have to be okay with it.
Now we know that some of the girls are at the Hinata because of family problems. It only made sense to me that Kitsune would be there for the same reasons.
As for Kitsune's parents, I know several people who's folks are just like that. They're super focused on their jobs and don't know how to not bring the office home. And if they work with their spouse they tend to bring up stuff from home at work. It's not a fun situation.
On the other hand, I didn't want Kitsune's folks to come off like monsters. I really wanted to drive home that they do care about each other and Kitsune. They just have problems with putting what's really important first. And yes, for those who are wondering, we will be meeting Kitsune's folks down the line a ways.
One thing I really thought a lot about is why Kitsune drinks so much. People don't booze at the level she does just because they enjoy a good time. If someone is drinking that much they're likely doing it to cover some inner pain. Keitaro's starting to catch onto this after seeing the way Kitsune drank while talking about her folks on the roof. Needless to say, this is something else he's going to have to deal with.
I'm sure a few people out there are wondering "Since when does Kitsune play the guitar?". Look closely at the manga or anime and you'll see she keeps a guitar sitting on the couch in her room. I find it hard to believe she'd keep an instrument she doesn't know anything about sitting in a place like that. Plus, I could just see Kitsune as the sort to play the guitar. Of course, tying it to Seta gives us a reason as to why we haven't seen her play before.
Hopefully everyone knows that "Yesterday" is a song by The Beatles. I'm not really into The Beatles but that is my favorite song of theirs. I think it rather nicely illustrates Kitsune's desire for the simplicity her life had only the day before.
Quoting that Red Hot Chili Peppers song at the beginning was a bit different. Those lines just seemed perfect for saying that even though she's very carefree on the outside it doesn't mean that Kitsune doesn't have her own problems and demons to deal with.
This would make the first guy I've really opened up to in any real way since... And before him there was Seta.
I bet this line perked a few people's ear up. As I was thinking about Kitsune's life I wondered if their wasn't someone she had feelings for after Seta. Plus, she's clearly been around the block a few times. Where did Kitsune's experience with those sort of things come from? So yes, in my little world Seta isn't the only guy to break our foxgirl's heart. That's something else that will come up later on.
As he headed up the roof's stairs Keitaro noticed that the moon was full and unusually blue. However, a few clouds were slowly drifting across its face.
In Japanese culture the moon the very symbolic of young women and there feelings. Clouds covering a full mean indicate a girl's heart is troubled. Not the most subtle of symbolism, I grant you, but I like it.
The mention of Venus was also symbolic, but I don't think I need to explain that one.
Even though his job was mostly to just listen to Kitsune, I had a lot of fun writing Keitaro this chapter. Having him think about Kitsune wanting to talk to him and then jumping to exactly the wrong conclusion was really enjoyable. As was his reaction to the 'indirect kiss'. That's something else that's a big deal in Japanese culture that just doesn't register here in the West.
I wanted Naru to have a bigger part in what was going on but couldn't think of anything to do with her. Though her thanking Keitaro seemed like a nice moment.
Of course, I couldn't pass up the chance to have a little fun with Shinobu and her crush on Keitaro. Mr. Froggy will indeed turn up again. Plus, I think I'll be playing more with Shinobu and Su's friendship. I think there's something to be gained from that. Plus, Su needs someone other than Motoko to hung with until I get around to bringing in Sara.
Speaking of Su, I've found her to be the hardest character to write. You never know what she's going to do in any situation. On the other hand, she's great for sneaking in pop culture references that would be really out of place in Japan.
Su's spying on Keitaro and Kitsune's conversation will be coming into play again though not for a while. After all, we don't know how much of that conversation she heard or how she might interpret what she did hear. Heh, heh, heh…
As for other things, Kitsune will be having more fun with Motoko. They're such opposites that they're great to write together. Keitaro needs some guy pals to talk about stuff with so I think Haitani and Shirai will be popping up more. There will, of course, be more Haruka. Mutsumi, Seta and Sara won't be showing up for a while, but I'm already planning their entrances. We'll likely be seeing a few flashbacks to what life at the Hinata was like before Keitaro came at some point. Plus, some characters exclusive to the anime will be popping up in what I think will be a very funny guest role.
That's all I have for now, folks. See ya next time.