Disclaimer:

I do not own anything from Love Hina or any copyrighted material. Any other characters used in this fic are mine, however.

Chapter 2 – Advice from a Ronin

The last rays of the sun began to fade into the horizon as things began to settle down in the Hinata Sou. Everyone was gathered in the living room looking at the pictures Kitsune had taken at her sister's wedding. They were all surprised how lovely Akane looked in her wedding gown – they were all in awe and admiration once they saw how extravagant the entire ceremony actually was. The fox girl was doing her best to push her emotions to the back of her mind; being surrounded by the images that reminded her of them wasn't helping much.

"Wow Kitsune," commented Keitaro. "I knew you said that no expenses were going to be spared, but this is unbelievable."

"Your sister's really lucky," Shinobu chimed in as her eyes lit up. "It's just like one of those fairy-tale weddings."

"Yeah…both families went the whole nine yards and then some," said Kitsune.

"So the entire wedding went on without a hitch," asked Su. "The groom didn't trip over and pulled her wedding dress down or something?"

Everyone else laughed lightheartedly at Su's comment – except Kitsune who just smiled at the younger girl.

"No, not really," Kitsune replied. "No fires or fist fights broke out either."

"It looks as though you sister is happy," said Motoko. "I'm sure that she'll have many more years of happiness ahead of her."

Kitsune sighed. "One can only hope."

She then reached over to another envelope of pictures and opened it. Checking to make sure it was the right one, she proceeded to pass it around the group.

"These are pictures I took at the reception," she said. "The party was so-so compared to the actual wedding itself…but the food was actually good."

All the tenants gazed at each photograph, commenting how wonderful it must've been here and there. All seemed to go like clockwork until Naru unintentionally pointed out something that got everyone's attention.

"Hmm," Naru said to herself. "That's strange."

"What is?" asked Kitsune.

"Umm…it just that you look a bit…different in some of these pictures," she answered, gesturing to several in front of her.

Kitsune looked at her best friend with a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

Keitaro, Su, Motoko, and Shinobu took a look at the photos in question – this time more intently than before. After studying them, they began to see what Naru was talking about. Su was the first to answer Kitsune's question.

"I know what it is," the young girl proclaimed. "You acting more mellow than you normally would at any party."

"Yeah that's it," added Naru.

"What was the matter Kitsune?" asked Shinobu. "Were you ill or something?"

Kitsune was taken back a bit by their comments, adding to her slight discomfort. Fortunately for her, Motoko came to the fox girl's aide.

"It isn't unusual for a relative to abstain from drinking more than they should," Motoko stated. "Even Kitsune has the courtesy to show her older sister the respect she deserves on her wedding day."

"That," added Kitsune, "and I would've gotten some flak from my family if I was drunk all night."

"Well that explains it," said Shinobu.

The others nodded in agreement except Keitaro who just sat there studying Kitsune's facial expression – specifically her eyes. As the others proceeded to look through the rest of the photos, he began to ponder over the fox girl's strange behavior.

'Hmm…I think there more to it than just common courtesy,' he thought. 'I just hope that it's not something too serious.'

"Well I hate to say this," Kitsune said while getting up, "but I'm keen on making up for the three days I missed here."

The others gathered all the pictures and placed then back in their respectable envelopes. Soon the group dispersed and went on about their business, leaving just Naru and Kitsune in the living room. As Kitsune began to make her way upstairs, Naru asked her something that made her stop altogether.

"Kitsune I'm just curious, but do you know who caught the bouquet at the end of the reception?"

"Umm…no not really. I guess someone on my new brother-in-law's side," she answered, trying hard not to give up the truth to her friend. She didn't want any of the girls to make a big deal about it – all it would've done is make her feel more uncomfortable.

With that said, she quickly made her way up the stairs. Naru stood there confused at her friend's odd behavior. Sighing, the brown-haired girl began to wonder what got into Kitsune.

~~

Once on the second floor, Kitsune entered her room and closed the door behind her. She took a seat next to her table and sighed. Her gaze soon falls on her bag that was sitting on the other side of the room…and once again the same feeling she had since the wedding began to take hold as she remembered the bag's contents.

Kitsune lied back on the floor in deep thought; she felt a little guilty lying like that, but she didn't want her feelings to be made public…well, not yet anyway. The last thing she needed was everyone trying their best to help her with her emotions…and in her experience, it only lead to unnecessary headaches. No – this was something that she had to face by herself.

For now, she was content on dealing with her problems the way she normally would – first off by cracking open a fresh bottle of sake. All things considered, sake sounded appealing now more than ever.

~~

The next morning was pretty much the same routine. Shinobu, Su, and Motoko had already left for school, leaving the older tenants in the dorm. Kitsune was lying on the couch trying to make the best of her day until she noticed Naru walking down the stairs with her coat in her hands.

"Where are you off too?"

"It's my turn to do the errands this week," answered Naru. "I'm gonna be out for a couple hours, give or take."

"Aright," said Kitsune. "Have fun."

Naru approached the door, but turned back to Kitsune. "By the way, do you need anything while I'm out?"

Kitsune shook her head. "Not that I can think of."

Naru shrugged and waved goodbye as she shut the door behind her. Kitsune lied back on the couch in an effort to clear her head. Alcohol did do much to help relieve her of her uneasiness; after a couple of minutes had passed, Kitsune sat up.

'Maybe some fresh air will do me some good,' she thought.

Walking upstairs, the fox girl began to make a trip through the Hinata Sou until she wandered out on the deck where the clothes are usually dried. Leaning over the rail, she spotted Keitaro not too far from her. His attention was fixated on the task at hand, and was oblivious to what was going on around him. Seeing an opportunity, Kitsune crept as quietly as she could until she was right behind him.

"So," she said, "having fun working on the rooftop?"

Keitaro was startled, nearly losing his balance. Seeing whom the voice belonged to, he regained his composure once more and laughed lightly.

"More or less – I just wish I didn't have to fix it for the second time this week."

"Well…things happen I guess," commented Kitsune, taking a seat next to him. "More than usual around here especially."

Keitaro stood near the damaged section of roof and sighed. "Yeah. Luckily I only have this last bit to patch up – it should only take me a minute.

"That's good to hear."

Keitaro rubbed the back of his head and then proceeded to hammer in the last of the shingles in place. Satisfied with the repairs, he got up and dusted his legs off.

"Finally," he said. "That should keep the elements out."

"So what's next on the agenda?" asked Kitsune.

Keitaro reached in his back pocket and pulled out his planner and sat back down. "Let's see…I finished the repairs on the roof, changed the light bulbs in the commons, plastered all the damaged walls…" he flipped ahead a few pages "…hmm, it seems like I'm done for now."

"That's good to know," commented Kitsune.

A brief moment of silence passed between them as they sat there admiring the scenery before them. Keitaro took a deep breath and broke that silence.

"Kitsune…are you really okay?"

The fox girl quickly turned back to Keitaro, a mix of surprise and nervousness adorning her features.  She had hoped her ruse had worked last night – turns out it didn't.

"N-No, I'm fine," came her reply.

Keitaro sighed, not satisfied with her answer. "Kitsune…if something's wrong, you know I'll try and help."

At first, Kitsune was about to tell him off until something stopped her. Looking at Keitaro's face, she could tell that he only wanted to help – her conscious told her that he could be trusted. Taking a deep breath, she began venting her problems to the ronin.

"It's like this…ever since I got invited to my sister's wedding a couple months ago, I've had this feeling that…well…it's kind of hard to explain."

Keitaro sat next to Kitsune, hearing what the resident fox had to say. He didn't know how to help her at that moment – the only thing he could do was listen.

"It's as if…something's out of place," she continued. "Part of me wants to try and forget about it while another part doesn't. I really don't know what's wrong, but it's been driving me crazy to no end."

Keitaro pondered over what Kitsune had said. He didn't know what to tell her exactly, but he took a deep breath and gave it his best shot anyway.

"Kitsune…I can't say that I know how you feel," he said, "but I'm glad that you told me at all. The best advice I can give you is to listen to what your instincts are telling you."

Kitsune turned to Keitaro, and then shifted her gaze toward the view once more. Another moment of silence passed between the two, until Keitaro spoke once more.

"I'm sorry…guess I'm not much help am I?"

"No, no don't be," replied Kitsune. "I'm glad that you have time to listen to my problems."

"Don't mention it – that's one thing I'm really good at," came his reply. Keitaro flashed a small smile at her, and then an idea came into his head.

"Hey – how about you and I go get a bite to eat or something?" he asked. "I mean, I have all this free time now, and I hate to waste it here."

Kitsune couldn't help but smile. For a guy that never had a girlfriend in his lifetime, he knew how to make someone's day a bit brighter. She already felt a little better talking to him.

"Sure, why not…maybe it'll help clear my mind," she answered.

"Great! Let me just grab a few things and we'll get going."

The two got up and proceeded to the respective rooms to get their coats and other items. Minutes later, the two strolled out the front door and down the steps of the Hinata Sou. As they walked to their destination, neither Kitsune nor Keitaro couldn't help but feel that things were about to brighten up.

***

A/N – There you have it – chapter 2! It took me longer than expected to write, partly because I wanted to keep the storyline as fluid as I can to avoid rushing the plot. Secondly, I wanted to keep everyone as 'in-character' as possible since it's my weakest point – hopefully, I did a better job than usual.

Well, thanks for everyone who review my last chapter! Keep sending me your comments and suggestions, and I'll get to work on chapter 3 soon!   ^_^