Disclaimer:

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

Chapter 8 – Emotions and Realization

Kitsune stretched her body while she lay on the couch in the living room. Picking up a racehorse schedule from the coffee table, she tried in vain to slip back into her normal routine. After a minute of staring at the paper for over a minute, she folded it back up and tossed it on the floor.

"Man," she sighed. "I guess I'm not in the mood for gambling today."

Reaching over to a can of beer, she took a small swig from it. Despite it being her normal choice of drink for a weekday afternoon, it somehow tasted funny. Particularly, the beer didn't give her that ambitious or intoxicating feeling it once provided.

Kitsune wiped her mouth. "Guess I'm not in the mood for a beer either."

Lying back, she stared up at the ceiling, deep in thought. It had nearly been a week since her little outing with Keitaro. For the most part, everything seemed to be back to normal, say for a couple of things. One was that the fox girl was trying to keep a respectable distance from Keitaro and vice versa. This didn't help reinforce the idea that what had happened in the park was just 'one of those things.'

"Keitaro…why can't I get you out of my head?"

As she lay there, sleep began to take hold of the young woman. As thoughts of the past few days filled Kitsune's mind, her eyes slowly closed and quickly fell asleep.

~~

Minutes later, Keitaro walked in the living room with a plastic container of Spackle and plastic gloves in one hand and a metal scraper in another. He finally had time to fix the cracks in the wall that Naru's accident had produced.

"I need to remember to stock up on this stuff too when I get the chance."

His eyes soon spot Kitsune lying on the couch "Uh…maybe I'll hold off fixing the wall."

As he turned around to leave, he then notices that she's sound asleep. Keitaro mulled over the situation. He didn't want to risk waking her up, but on the other hand he didn't want to put off the repairs to the wall either. His duty as manager, however, compelled him to carry out his initial task.

"I hope I won't be disturbing her too much," he says as he methodically filled in each crack with Spackle.

After ten minutes or so, Keitaro smoothes out the putty-like substance. Satisfied of the repairs, he packs his things and began to make his way the utility closet down the hall. As he was about to leave, his gaze settled on Kitsune's sleeping form.

'She looks so…so much prettier than before,' he thinks.

Defying all logic, he quietly moves toward her and slowly kneels down to her level. With the sound of her rhythmic breathing in the background, the fox girl stirred slightly making a few locks of her hair to cover part of her face. Without thinking, Keitaro moved his hand and gently brushed her hair out of her face, inadvertently caressing Kitsune's face. A small smile formed on her face as she nuzzled his hand.

"Keitaro…" she whispered, and was still once more.

'Is she awake?' wondered Keitaro. 'No…she's just talking in her sleep.'

The young man quietly got back up and smiled at the sleeping girl. As quietly as he could, he gathered up his things and made his way out of the living room. Before leaving, he turned back to Kitsune.

"Despite everything you've put me through…I'm glad that you're apart of my life."

~~

Kitsune looked all around, a light mist covered her surroundings. As the images began to take shape she feels someone tugging at her hand. Turing around, she's surprised to see Keitaro next to her.

"Come on Kitsune, we're almost there."

"Wait," she responds. "Keitaro, where are we going?"

"Oh…you'll see."

Time seemed to slow down as they made their way to their unknown destination. Just then, the world around them began to reveal itself. Kitsune soon realized that they were back in the park – a beautiful night sky overhead. Moments later Keitaro moves to a park bench and takes a seat.

"What are we doing here?" Kitsune asks, taking a seat next to him.

"Well…I just thought that nice walk in the park would help you relax," he answers.

"You really are something else, ya know that?" she says, and playfully jabs him in his side.

The two laugh for a few moments and then stared off into the distance. Turning to each other again, Kitsune moved closer and gave him a small peck on the cheek. Keitaro in turn does the same, making her blush. Moments passed and the pair slowly leans toward each other once more, until they softly pressed their lips on one another. Gradually the kiss became more and more passionate – it spoke volumes that Kitsune had never experienced before. Keitaro reached up and caressed her face as they stopped briefly.

"Keitaro…" whispered Kitsune.

The dream began to fade into memory as light began to enter her eyes. Kitsune's vision was slightly blurred, but she was able to see the form of the dorms manager in the distance. A heartbeat later the world around her came into focus, and she could see a small smile on his face.

"Despite everything you've put me through…I'm glad that you're apart of my life."

Before she could do anything, Keitaro turned around and disappeared around a corner. Kitsune slowly sat up, and place her hand on her chest. Her heart was beating faster and stronger and she felt overwhelmed with a mix of emotions. Covering her face with her hands, she tried to listen to what they all were trying to tell her.

"Love…that what it is?"

Sighing, she reached for the open beer hoping its alcoholic properties would help her escape reality for a brief moment. Drinking the rest of the now-warm liquid, she made a face and shook her head.

"Ugh…that's the last time I'll drink warm beer."

~~

The rest of the day passed on without much incident as the sun began to set in the west. Almost everyone had called it a day, and things began to calm down around the dorm. Kitsune was getting undressed in the women's changing room, hoping that some time soaking would help clear her mind. Stepping out onto the onsen, she quickly discovered that she wouldn't be alone.

"Hey Motoko," she said. "Didn't know that you'd be here."

Motoko, who was busy realizing herself turned around. "Oh Kitsune, I didn't know you'd be here as well."

"I see you're taking a break from practice," commented Kitsune.

"Yes. I decided that some time in the hot springs followed by meditation would be in order for today."

The two girls just sat there in the water, enjoying what it had to offer. Minutes passed as they both sat in silence. Kitsune looked at Motoko for a moment, deep in thought. Truthfully, she really wanted to talk to someone about what's been going on recently.

'Motoko's the type who could be trusted,' she thought. 'Maybe it'll be okay to as her in a hypothetical way.'

Clearing her throat, Kitsune looked into her eyes. "Motoko…can I ask you a question?"

"Why sure Kitsune."

"Well," she started, "hypothetically, if you've been having dreams or feelings that suggest certain emotions…but are unsure if they mean what they really mean…should you act on those emotions, or wait until you're clear what your feelings are exactly?"

"Um, Kitsune," said Motoko, "I don't think that I'm the kind of person to ask for such advice."

"Come on Motoko," commented Kitsune. "Just give my your honest opinion."

'Hmm…I sense that she's really at a loss,' thought Motoko, and turned to meet Kitsune's eyes. "Personally, I think that I would listen to what my subconscious is trying to tell me – look at everything before I act."

"So…your say that it's better to wait?" asked Kitsune.

"No – all I'm saying is listen to what your mind and spirit…it won't lead you a stray," answered Motoko, "and trust fate."

Kitsune's face began to soften, contemplating what Motoko had said. "I…think I understand. Thanks."

"You welcome," replied Motoko, getting up. "If you're ever in trouble, you know that I can always be called for assistance."

With that, she stepped out of the hot spring, leaving Kitsune alone with her thoughts. The fox girl thought about all the events that took place over the past few days. She thought about her dream, her feelings and, most importantly, Keitaro. Then it soon became clear to her.

"I…I have feelings for him," she whispered. "I'm…I love him."

Saying those last words caused her emotions to hit her like a tidal wave – so much so that it began to overwhelm her. Kitsune's eyes began to mist with tears as a small smile began to form on her face. Unfortunately, another though crossed her mind that replaced her joy with anxiety.

'Does he feel the same way?' she wondered. 'What if it's all one-sided?'

Getting up out of the water, she quickly got dressed and began to make her way out of the onsen. She knew that she had to talk to Keitaro about this – there was no way that she'd bury her feelings for him. Finally reaching her destination, she took a deep breath. Pushing all her fears aside, she gently rapped on his door.

"Keitaro," she said. "C-Can I talk to you for a moment."

"He's not in his room Kitsune," said a voice.

Turning around, she saw Shinobu standing behind her. "Well where is he?"

"Um…I think he and Naru are studying again her room," the young girl answered. "Sempai said something about talking to her about something important afterwards."

"Thanks Shinobu," replied Kitsune, and began to make her way to Naru's room.

'I wonder what he's going to talk about with Naru?' she thought.

The minute she reached her friend's door, she stopped. Kitsune could hear voices coming from behind it. Despite the door being closed all the way, she could tell the two weren't talking about their studies. Curious, she approached the door and opened it slightly. Placing her ear over the small opening, she began to listen in on what Keitaro and Naru where talking about.

It would prove to be a fateful decision.

***

A/N – Eight down, a few more to go! I hope I didn't put anyone in suspense, but I really wanted to kick the romance factor a few more notches before the story hits its climax.

Just to let everyone know, the next two weeks are going to be hectic for me because of my final exams – so I'm not sure if I'll get time to write. Don't worry…I still have a good idea where to take it, so once I'm done with school, I should be okay.

Anyway that's enough announcements – please send me a review and comments, and I'll try to have chapter 9 up soon!     ^_^