Chapter II
Kitsune walked down the hall towards her destination. Inside she was feeling worry for her friend and at the same time she felt determined to get to the bottom of what was going on. Walking up, she gave Naru's door a couple raps.
"Naru? Naru it's me. I gotta talk to you." Kitsune said loudly in front of the door.
"Not now, Kitsune. Now please go away." Came the voice from inside.
"That's it, I'm comin' in." Kitsune said, before throwing open the door and stomping in.
"Now you're gonna tell me what's going on, right here and now…" Kitsune was stopped by the sight of Naru's swollen eyes from dried tears. Naru quickly turned away, covering her face.
Kitsune turned, peaked out into the hall, looking both ways to make sure no one was coming, shut the door and sat down next to Naru.
"Naru, sweetie? Please, tell me what's wrong." Kitsune said as she gently held Naru by the shoulders.
"I…I can't." Naru said, continuing to hide her eyes.
"Why not? What's so terrible that you can't tell your best friend?" Kitsune said, turning Naru's face to her.
Kitsune saw deep sadness in Naru's eyes, which sparkled with tears still hanging on. Then, that sadness converted to anger.
"I just can't, okay!" Naru said loudly, causing Kitsune to release her.
"Please…just leave, Kitsune." Naru said, softness returning to her voice.
"Alright, dear." Kitsune said, standing up and walking to the door. "But if you ever need someone to talk to, you know where I'm at, 'kay?" Kitsune said, turning back for a moment.
"I know. Thanks, Kitsune." Naru said. Kitsune gave a quick smile, and then quietly closed Naru's door behind her, leaving Naru alone once more.
Dinner came and went with the absence of Naru. All during which, everyone would look at her seat every now and again as they ate silently. Keitaro and Motoko would gaze back and forth at each other, but no one else seemed to notice. After finishing another one of Shinobu's delicious meals, they all retreated to their rooms. All but one young man with glasses, that is, who slowly tip toed his way down the hall to Motoko's room. Stopping at her door, he looked up and down the hall to make sure no one else was around. Then he lightly tapped on her door.
"Motoko. Motoko are you there?" Keitaro said quietly.
"Come on in, Keitaro." Motoko said from inside.
Keitaro opened the door to see Motoko, legs folded on her futon, with a picture album open on her lap.
"Oh, a family photo album, huh?" He said, to which she nodded with a smile.
Keitaro walked in, shutting the door behind him. After he sat down next to her on the futon, she placed the photo album on his lap so that they could view the pictures together as she leaned her head on his shoulder. One picture immediately caught Keitaro's eye.
"Hey, is this you when you were young?" He said, pointing to the picture in the center of the page.
"Yup. That's me when I was five years old." She said, smiling.
"Wow, you look so cute. Is that your sister next to you?" He said, looking more closely at the photo depicting a little smiling Motoko in a pink Sakura pedal Kimono, holding a paper windmill in her hand. Next to her was her older sister in a navy blue kimono with an aqua sash.
"Yes, that's my sister when she was fifteen. She was still training at the Kendo School for Girls at that time." She said.
"It's amazing. You two look so much alike." He said, looking over at her and back at the photo.
"Really?" she said in surprise.
"Yeah. You look almost identical to her when she was that age." He said looking over the features of her face.
"I've always wanted to be more like my sister. She's so beautiful, tremendously skilled at the blade and always tries her best. I wish I was like that." She said with a frown.
"What are you kidding, Motoko? You are all of those things. In fact, you're…the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." Keitaro said, blushing incredibly.
Motoko was stunned by his words.
"You…do you really mean that, Keitaro?" She asked, looking into his eyes.
"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't." He said, looking back into hers.
He then placed his hand on her cheek and slowly guided her face to his until their lips met. After a moment, Keitaro began to kiss her more deeply, slipping his tongue past her lips, which shocked her at first, but then she relaxed and followed suit by doing the same back. Motoko was entranced, having never experienced anything like this before. Keitaro felt relieved that she allowed such a bold move upon her. Deep inside he was still a little nervous, treading into unknown territory in terms of this type of contact. Motoko felt the same way. Her fluttering heartbeat was proof of that.
Keitaro then gently broke the kiss and began planting sensual kisses over her cheek and down her neck. Motoko was both in bliss and scared at the same time, feeling all these new sensations flowing through her body for the first time. Forming a pleasureful smile, she placed her hand on the back of his head, moving his hair with her fingers. When Keitaro's lips reached the top of her chest, something woke back up inside of her, clearing away the fog of ecstasy.
"Wait, Keitaro." She said, slowly pushing him away.
"What? What is it?" Keitaro said, a confused look on his face.
"This just doesn't feel right." She said, closing up her Kimono.
Keitaro then quickly came to his senses.
"I'm sorry, Motoko. I probably took it a little too far." He said, the guilt rising inside.
"It's okay. I…I'm just not ready for those kinds of things yet, that's all. I still care about you a lot, Keitaro. I just think we should take it a little slow, that's all." She said, taking his hand. Giving her hand a light squeeze, he smiled.
"I understand. Then slow it is. I just don't want to lose what we have, Motoko." He said.
"I know, neither do I." She said.
A moment of awkward silence passed as their cheeks were still flushed from what had just happened. Then Motoko spoke up.
"Naru has me a little worried. Dinner was quiet without her." She said.
"Yeah. When I spoke to her, she insisted nothing was wrong, but I don't think that's the case." He said, scratching his head.
"Well, she'll tell us when and if she wants to, I guess." She said straightening her kimono and standing up.
"I'm going to take a dip in the hot spring before I go to sleep." She said, grabbing her bathing supplies.
"Sure. I've got some studying to do anyway." He said, standing up as well.
Giving each other a quick kiss, Keitaro then left the room. After the sound of his footsteps faded down the hall, Motoko sat down on her futon, took in a deep breath and exhaled. She then placed her hand on the top of her chest where she felt his lips on her body. Blushing deeply she began to smile.
"Keitaro-senpai." She said quietly to herself.
She then lightly shook her head trying to regain some focus. Motoko stood up and grabbed her bath supplies. Still smiling, she walked out of her room and down the hall to the hot spring.
The next morning, Keitaro was out sweeping the front steps of the apartments. He paused for a moment and looked out upon the beautiful view of the town of Hinata with its many Sakura trees in full bloom swaying in the gentile wind. A wind carrying with it a seemingly endless flowing of sakura pedals from each tree. Keitaro took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled at the relaxing sight. Above him, Naru appeared on the balcony. She had finally brought herself to come out of her room. After crying all night, she didn't get much sleep. As she looked out upon the town, she quickly noticed Keitaro down below.
Soon she found herself staring at him, taking in every detail of his person. From the specific light-tan color that the sun reflected off of his hair to the particular way that his lips were shaped. Snapping her self out of it, she shook her head. 'I've got to do it as soon as possible. I've got to tell him. Tell him how I really…' Naru's thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of Su jumping on her shoulders and playing with her antenna-like hairs.
"Naru! Do you want to play Tokyo Monster Destruction with me? It's a really fun game. I just thought of it five minutes ago. Oh, please, Naru, please." Su said.
"Su, knock it off. Those are not things to play with!" Naru said, lifting Su off her shoulders and setting her down.
"Come on, play the game, play the game!" Su pleaded.
"Maybe later, Su. Not right now." Naru said, straightening her hair.
"Oh, all right. It shall be later then." Su said with disappointment as she walked back inside.
Turning back to Keitaro, Naru smiled to herself and gave a quick laugh before going inside as well.
Motoko, having awoken two hours before, made her way down the stairs to the apartment's main room. Walking through, she saw Kitsune on the sofa, reading a book entitled 'Friend's Strange Behaviors'.
"Good morning, Kitsune. What's with the book?" Motoko asked, walking up to her.
"Huh? Oh, this? Oh, it's nothing. A little light reading material, is all." Kitsune said, quickly hiding the book away. "Anyway, why do you look so happy this morning? Did you and Keitaro have a secret meeting last night?" Kitsune said, noticing Motoko's bright and cheerful demeanor.
Motoko was of course frozen in shock by those words.
"Wha-Wha-Why would you say something like that?! As if there was something going on between us, I mean it's not like there is something going on between us, which I assure you there is absolutely is not!" Motoko said, enthusiastically waving her hands in front of her and blushing.
"Hehehe. Relax, sugah. I was only jokin'. It's not like you would go for Keitaro anyways." Kitsune said, giggling.
"Heh heh, yeah that's right. It's not like I would go for guy like him." Motoko said, forcing herself to laugh.
Inside, she cursed herself for saying such a thing, but knew it was necessary for the time being.
At that moment, Keitaro walked in through the front door carrying the broom with him.
"Oh, hello Kitsune. Good morning, Motoko." Keitaro said as he walked up.
Kitsune said "Yo" with a quick wave.
"Good morning, Keitaro." Motoko said indifferently on the surface, but inside she was all smiles.
"Wow, 11am already. I'd better get up to my room and start on the apartment paperwork. See you guys later." He said, heading up the stairs.
Motoko watched him the whole way with a smile that she hid from Kitsune.
Keitaro walked down the hall and was about to open his door when he was stopped by Naru's voice behind him.
"Keitaro? Can I talk to you a minute?" She said, walking up.
"Huh? Oh, Naru." He said, turning around.
His eyes beheld a sight to be seen. She wore a form-fitting red turtleneck, a tight black skirt that came down to mid-thigh and on her lips was a beautiful dark shade of ash red lipstick, which took her a half an hour to pick out, complementing the outfit perfectly. The sweet smell of her perfume danced through the air. The scent of jasmine reached Keitaro's nose, to which he breathed in deeply through his nostrils.
"Uh, sure, step right inside." He said, motioning to the inside of his room after opening the door.
Shutting the door behind them, Keitaro lead her to the center of the room. His window was open. A cool breeze blew in, gently moving her silky brown hair.
'What is with Naru, today? She's dressed up so nice and that perfume smells incredible.' He thought to himself.
Every second that went by, he became more and more affected by her appearance. Keitaro gave a nervous swallow before speaking.
"Ulp. W-What was it you wanted to talk about, Naru?" He said, unevenly.
She folded her arms, walked over to the window and looked out.
"Keitaro, did you ever find out something that you were sure it was best to keep secret?" She said, looking over the horizon where the light blue sky met the pink of the blooming Sakura trees.
"I guess so. Why?" He said, curiously.
Turning back to him, she opened her mouth to speak, but then hesitated and remained silent.
"Well, I'm sure we all have something we wouldn't want everyone in the world to know about. So I guess some things are best kept to ourselves." He said, walking over and standing next to her, by the window.
"I have to say, you had us a little worried yesterday. Whatever happened, I'm glad to see you're doing better today." He said.
"Um, Keitaro? Tell me. What kind of girl do you like?" She quietly asked, looking into his eyes.
"What kind of girl do I like?" He felt his cheeks begin to heat up as his blush started to show. "Well, um, I guess I would like a girl who is honest with her feelings and is honest with herself. A girl who has a good heart, you know? Why do you ask, Naru?" He said, getting more curious as to what she was getting at.
In hesitation, her gaze wandered around the room. As she found the confidence once more, she looked back into his eyes.
"I…that is…would you ever like a girl like me?" She said softly. His heartbeat sped up. For a quick moment he was not able to find the words to respond.
"I…uh…oh." Was all he could get out.
"Please answer me, Keitaro!" She said, folding her hands in front of her chest and moving closer.
"I…I don't know, Naru." He said, thinking of Motoko.
Tears started to well in her eyes.
"Oh, Keitaro!" She said, throwing her arms around him and holding tightly.
Keitaro's heart skipped a beat as he felt Naru's body pressed against him.
"Naru, what's wrong? What brought this on?" He said, not sure whether to put his arms around her to comfort her or to keep them at his sides.
She then pulled back, moved her face close to his, slowly took off his glasses and stared into his eyes.
"N-Naru, w-what are you mmff-" His mouth was then silenced by her lips pressing against his.
Keitaro was unable to move.
'Her lips, they're so soft. And she smells so good.' He thought as he slowly closed his eyes and began to kiss back.
Then at that moment, Motoko appeared in his mind and his eyes opened wide. Breaking the kiss immediately, he pushed Naru away. The look of longing and confusion were painted across her features.
"I…I'm sorry, Naru. I just can't do this." He said.
"Why not?!" she yelled.
Slowly turning around, he placed both hands on his desk and hung his head.
"I understand. It's because of Motoko, right?" she said, her gaze falling to the floor.
Keitaro gasped and looked up at her.
"Yeah, I know. I've known since yesterday, when I saw you two walking down the street together." She said, looking back at him with a frown as she folded her arms.
"Listen, Keitaro. The truth is…I've liked you for a long time now. Back when we were near the Onsen when you first came here? When I stumbled and we fell over, your glasses came off. I thought you had the nicest eyes I'd ever seen. Since then, my feelings for you have been growing, more and more. I like you so much, Keitaro. I was just never able to bring myself to say it, to you or to myself. So, you can imagine how I felt when I saw the two of you together." She said, her eyes turning to the window.
"Naru, please understand. I really do care about Motoko. Please, I…"
Interrupting, Naru quickly turned back to him and yelled,
"Damn it, Keitaro, she's only Sixteen years old!!"
"I know and I don't care about that!" he yelled back, causing her to gasp.
"It shouldn't matter how old you are. The only thing that matters is that we both understand how each other feels. Listen, I understand you have feelings for me. I just can't return those feelings. I'm sorry, Naru. There's nothing I can do for you." He said.
A single tear ran down her cheek as her head tilted down. Then she looked back up at him with fiery anger in her eyes.
"You big idiot!" she screamed, as she performed the Naru punch, knocking him backwards to the floor.
Storming out, she looked back at him for a second, shedding more tears. Then she left, slamming the door behind her.
After hearing all the noise, Motoko walked up the stairs to see what all the fuss was about. When she reached the top of the steps, she caught sight of Naru storming down the hall and disappearing around the corner.
Inside his room, Keitaro sat on the floor, contemplating the troublesome situation he was in. Then a knock came at his door.
"Keitaro? It's me. Can I come in?" Keitaro gasped at the sound of her voice.
'Motoko! What am I going to tell her? She has to know the truth. It's only fair.' He thought.
"Keitaro?" she called again.
"Y-Yes. Come in, Motoko." He said, standing up.
She walked in. As she closed the door behind her she said,
"I heard a lot of yelling up here. I thought I heard yours and Naru's voices. What's going on?"
Keitaro just looked at her and by the look in his eyes she knew that something was wrong.
"Motoko, I think you should sit down." He said plainly as he stood up.
"I don't want to sit down, Keitaro. I want you to tell me what's wrong." She said impatiently.
"Alright then. Naru…saw us yesterday. She saw us together, walking down the street near the theatre." He said.
"What?" she said, raising her hand to her mouth.
"She also…confessed her love to me. And she kissed me." He said, as honestly as he could.
Her head tilted down and her eyes hid behind her bangs.
"Answer me one thing, Keitaro." She said softly.
"Anything, Motoko." He said, stepping closer.
"Did you…enjoy…her kiss?" she said.
He thought about it for a moment. About how the kiss felt and how it made him feel.
"I…I don't know, Motoko."
Motoko was deeply affected by those words, and what they could mean. Keitaro, disturbed by her silence, walked up to her and reached out to hold her. As his hands reached within a few centimeters of her body…
"Don't touch me." She said, with a tinge of anger and disgust.
"Motoko?" He said.
"I trusted you, Keitaro! How could you betray me like this? And to not be able to tell me a straight 'no' means that you did partially enjoy that kiss, if not fully!" She said, showing her anger filled eyes. "I don't think we should continue this relationship." She said, turning her head away from him.
"Motoko." Keitaro said, longingly.
She turned around and made way for the door. In his desperate feelings, Keitaro reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Motoko, wait! Please!"
Motoko pulled out her sword and spun around.
"I said get away from me!" she said, performing the Sword technique, Wind Blade.
Flying across the room, Keitaro landed underneath the window.
He looked up at Motoko.
Motoko looked down at him.
"I really did care about you, Keitaro. Now I feel like a fool for doing so." Saying that, she then calmly exited his room and closed the door. Keitaro, weakened from her assault, reached out his hand for her from where he lay as the door closed, but then his vision became blurred due to the many tears forming in his eyes. Motoko stood there outside of his room with her hand still on the door. Tears were forming in her eyes as well.
'I really did love you, Keitaro.' She thought to herself.
The tears fell down her face as she walked away, washing her face in the sorrow of a broken heart. Keitaro, still on the floor, rolled onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. Tears flowing out of the sides of his eyes he said softly,
"I really do love you, Motoko."