Artful: I do want to continue this. Thank you for the review. And I will again as soon as possible
SG: I will. Thank you
Aledeth: thank you for finding Kei's new personality just as enjoyable as before. I will continue and finish this fic. I'm looking forward to it just as much as you are
GC-eva-fan2.0: thank you for the review. Nice to know you like his OOC-ness
migele: urm...thank you? I'm not sure what MA stands for but I hope it's something good...or bad? Maybe? Anyway, thank you very much
keitaromokoto 4 ever: urm...sorry. The hater of all perverts is not who you think it is. Remember, there's another person who hates all perverts...please don't stop reading the fic because you don't like the pairing. It ruins the read for both you and the author. But...thank you anyway
Kara: urm, again I don't know what that term means...A Johnny Sue? Anyway, please keep reading as it does get better...I think (laughs)
Niak: thank you for the review. I like the fact you re-read it again just to review. And about the long chapters? That'll depend on whether I'm being a lazy ass or not. (laughs) In any case, here's another long chapter, 15 sheets worth in my notebook. Though since I have such tiny ass writing it should be greater than that! XD hope you like!
Gothmog: thank you so much for liking this new story. I know I've gone a bit off from my earlier ones by setting in the very beginning of the series and killing off Keitaro's parents, but I decided to make some other genre's the main ones instead of comedy. You understand, right? And no...this will not change any pairings. This is also a N/K story, so I hope that those who don't like these kinds don't flame me to the ends of the earth for it. In any case, thank you for the review
Sexybish666: thank you for saying that you like Kei's new personality. I based him off of Kenshin from the series "Rurouni Kenshin" and I hope I captured a pretty good idea of how he acts. Yes, he is more calm and collected, however...though he's not a spaz anymore, he still has trouble interacting with other people. So don't expect him to be hitting on any of the girls any time soon, k? (winks)
Rainer Aquarias: thank you very much for the review. Nice to know people like my bizarre sense of humor. The tiny jokes are usually more funny then the complicated ones, as I've been told multiple times. Anyway, thank you. I hope to hear from you again
White Rabbit: although I probably know who the person writing this is, thank you very much White Rabbit. May you like this fic as much as the next one
Ular: thank you so much for mentioning my two earlier fics. It means a lot that people not only like my current works but also my first ones too. I also appreciate that you understand how I don't always have the time to write between school, work, and family obligations. Thank you!
Android K: 'ello! You unhappy because this fic's a PG-13? You letch! (laughs) anyway, thanks for helping me out with some of my stories. Hope to see some of yours also very soon. Catch ya later! Oh! Before I forget...you're also in this fic's interview too now. Ain't ya jumping for joy?! Ain't ya, ain't ya! Well, if not...you should be! XD
someone: thank you for the review. And yes, it will be following the basic storyline of the series much like ALGO, but Keitaro is much more mature in this fic, don't ya know, so there will be a lot more changes and maybe some completely different situations for the original. Hope you likey!
Kei-kun: thank you for the kind review. Hope you like this one too
Knight's Shadow: thank you. I will
zero: thank you so much for the great review. It's nice to know people like the energy I put into the background of the story. Although I'd rather not have killed Kei's parents, it was easiest way I could think of changing his personality into that certain type. Hope you don't hate it too much! Thank you!
Thank you to all of my reviewers!
Disclaimer: I, in no way, shape or form, own any of Love Hina. Ken Akamatsu does and I highly doubt he will ever give me the rights to it. So all I can do now is write stories based on Love Hina. Please do not sue! Because if you do... then I probably won't be able to do anything about it at all.
A Moment Worth A Lifetime
Chapter 2: Lost in the Moment
By Yamiga'sLight
"Oh boy...Things have really gotten screwed up, haven't they?"
Now that the girls had accepted him into the inn, Keitaro had made his way back to the landlord's room and was now sitting on the floor, contemplating on what to do. "What should I do?" he asked himself. "Everyone's got it all wrong...I'm not a Tokyo U student! I'm just trying to get in!" How did he get into this crazy mess anyway? No, forget that, why was he still here in the first place? He couldn't interact with women all that well, so why was he staying in a girls dorm? Not only that, but why had his grandmother lied to him?
He sighed in desperation. Well, thinking too much about the unknown wasn't going to help him, now would it? He sighed again and begun to lean back when something caught his eye. It opened in awe, and he stood up slowly before walking over to lean on the railing of the balcony and take in the view. "Wow..." Keitaro murmured. "The sea...Forgot how cool the view was from here." He sighed as he settled his elbows on the railing and gazed at the scenery. Fluffy, white clouds lazily moved through the blue sky as the waves of the ocean lapped gently against one another far below. Then again, he thought bitterly. I seem to be forgetting a lot of things lately.
His thoughts quickly reverted back to the matter at hand, however. He groaned at the compromising situation that had occurred from one little misunderstanding leading to another. What the heck was he to do? He began to chuckle softly as he remembered what had caused them to jump to conclusions in the first place. "Man, Tokyo U's name is so powerful. Haven't seen girls get so excited over me like that in years." He shook his head as more memories flitted back to him. "Well, at least not since my first love. Geez, five years since I first left here. What a day!"
He was so engrossed in his own thoughts he didn't even notice the person sneaking up behind him until she laid a hand on his shoulder. "Who you talkin' about?" she asked slyly. "Your childhood sweetheart?"
His head snapped around to see a grinning face that reminded him of a fox. His eyes widened in surprise before they settled back down. "Oh, hello Kitsune-dono," he smiled.
She backed away a step, shoving a hand into her pocket. "Hey, you remembered my name!" she laughed. She lifted a finger to point at Keitaro. "My real name's Mitsune Konno." She winked and grinned in a friendly manner. "Otherwise know as Kitsune! Pleased to meet you!"
"Umm, pleasure to meet you, Mitsune-dono." Keitaro bowed. "My name is Keitaro Urashima."
She raised an eyebrow. "You always do that?" He looked at her with a questioning look on his face. What did she mean? She answered his silent question quickly enough. "I mean do you always treat people so formally like that? With the dono and all, that is."
A confused expression formed o the young man's face. "Formally? I'm just giving you the proper respect. You are just a tenant in my grandma's inn, neither a friend nor a..." At this, a blush manifested itself on his face. He shook his head and chuckled softly before continuing. "Nor a romantic interest, so I must treat you the way that is most proper towards you." He finished the explanation with a quick smile before leaning back on the railing and staring at Kitsune.
The young woman's face registered in slight surprise. Well, this was going to be a little tougher than she originally anticipated. This guy was no innocent, helpless lad that she could easily manipulate into doing whatever she wanted. She sighed internally before prepping herself to continue the silent battle. "Okay," she said. "But if you're going to call me dono, at least call me Kitsune-dono." She giggled sweetly. "I don't know when someone even considered me a lady let alone so formally." Keitaro nodded, and she cheered mentally in her small victory. She decided to move on.
Giving the sweetest and most simpering schoolgirl expression she could muster, Kitsune looked innocently at him. "So, you're a Tokyo U student, Keitaro?"
He frowned. "Um, actually...about that Tokyo U business. I'm really..."
"Oh, don't worry," she said as she moved to his side and squeezed his shoulder. "I know all about it."
Keitaro sighed in relief. Oh, good, she understands. He smiled, gratefully before saying, "Thanks for understanding. I didn't..."
"What?" she grinned back at him. "Know that Tokyo U students aren't men too? I'm sure you need to peep and act horny and pinch panties every once in a while, right? Otherwise, I'm sure you'd explode from sexual tension!" She giggled into her hand as she gazed at him. "You letch!"
His mouth dropped to hang a bit agape at her statement. What was with all of these women? Did they always think so dirtily like this? He groaned as he dug his face into his hands and leaned back on the railing. "Why do I even bother?" Keitaro muttered to himself.
Kitsune apparently didn't hear him because she then frowned and leaned on the door to Keitaro's room. "But wasn't she an ice queen?" she asked enigmatically.
Removing his face from his hands, he looked back up at her. "Huh? She?"
"Naru Narusegawa," Kitsune answered. "She wanted to throw you out because you saw the both of us totally nude."
Keitaro blushed at the memory. He sighed and closed his eyes, tilting his face to gaze at the ceiling as he opened his eyes again. "You mean the girl with the long hair?" he quipped. The small frown returned to his face as he studied the various cracks imbedded in the ceiling above him. "Her name is Narusegawa?" he mumbled quietly. Where had he heard that name before? Somewhere from...
"Oh?" Kitsune opened both of her eyes and tilted her eyes to look at him coyly. "So, Keitaro..." she smiled softly. "Does that mean you like long-haired girls?" She giggled as Keitaro's face burst into a terrible blush as he struggled to piece a simple sentence together. However, all he managed was a bunch of broken words. Her ego grew as her mind kept trying to successfully trap the young man. When you look closer, she thought joyfully. He's a lot more innocent than I first thought. This might be easier than I thought. In any case, it was time phase two of her plan. Grabbing his hands, she asked, "Keitaro, do you have a girlfriend?"
He froze at the rather tactless question. "Huh?!" he responded frantically. He then calmed down enough to reply rationally to her inquiry. "N-no...I don't have one Kitsune-dono...Why...?"
Well, another small victory. At least he was already taken. That would have made the entire situation a lot trickier. "Oh, really? That's good. The truth is..." She blushed prettily, put a hand up to her cheek, and turned her head to gaze shyly away from Keitaro. "I've always wanted a boyfriend who goes to Tokyo U."
Keitaro almost went into frantics again, but a thought pushed it way through the recesses of his brain and before he could even reconsider, he spoke it. He scratched the back of his head and looked apologetically at her. "Urm, not to be rude, Kitsune-dono, but isn't that a bit of a... shallow desire?"
She cringed internally at the setback. Damn, this ain't looking good... She took a deep breath and plastered the sweet, bashful smile back on her face. "Maybe..." she murmured. "But it would be a nice perk, having a strong, smart college student as my boyfriend." She playfully winked an eye, and Keitaro could feel his girl-panic rise to the surface again. His blush got worse and he began to sweat abnormally. "I know I shouldn't this without knowing how you feel..." Kitsune stopped her abstract finger twirling on the wall to walk over to him. "But..." She took his hand into hers. "What do you think of me?"
Keitaro's mind nearly broke at that point had it not been for the tiny, nagging feeling tugging at the back of his mind, telling him to be careful and not trust this fox girl completely. "K-Kitsune-dono! W-what are you trying to say?!"
She answered his questions in a way least expected. "Put your hand here." She guided his hand to land on one of her breasts. She blushed and smiled teasingly at him. "Can you feel my heart racing?"
Okay, so...some girl that he had just met had made him touch her in one of her forbidden zones (at least to him.) What the heck was he supposed to do now? Easy, the only reaction that his girl-anxious brain knew. He yelped in fright and flung his hand from her chest, stumbled backwards, and fell. He landed on his back and scuttled away from Kitsune before banging his head on the wall. Keitaro winced in pain as he felt the lump forming on his head. Noticing the annoyed look on Kitsune's face, he blushed when he fully understood what she had done. "K-Kitsune-dono!" he stuttered. "W-what was that for?!"
She bent over, giving him an ample view of her cleavage. "I thought that was obvious," she whispered seductively.
"B-but you said that if I did anything pervy, I'd be thrown out!" He sat up and pushed himself against the door to try and be as far away from the sultry female as possible. "Besides..." he stalled, trying to think of an excuse to get out of this scary and unusual situation. "What if the others found us?"
Grinning, Kitsune advanced on the helpless young man. "It can be our dirty, little secret." She finally reached him and bent over, her face barely an inch from Keitaro's. "And how are they gonna find out, hmm? You gonna tell them?" She cheered mentally as a look of defeat formed on his face. Now it was time to claim her hard-earned prize. She slowly began to lean in.
It was then Keitaro heard what sounded like a large thump coming from behind the door (the one that he was currently trying to melt into.) He grinned helplessly. "I think that they already-" The door was forcefully slid open and he fell backwards again. "Ouch."
Standing there in the doorway was Naru, full of disbelief and rage, with a grinning Su flanking her on one side and Motoko unsheathing her katana on the other. "Hey!" she shouted. "What do you two think you're doing?!" Her face changed into a look of confusion when all she saw was Kitsune on her hands and knees with an irritated expression etched within her slanted eyes. Naru tilted her head, and Kitsune responded by pointing at her feet. She looked down to see a weakly smiling, closed-eye Keitaro. She blushed as she realized that if he opened his eyes he would a perfect view of her unmentionables. To make sure that he didn't, she lashed a kick at his head. "Stupid pervert!"
Keitaro's hand shot out and caught her foot before it made contact with his skull. "Naru-dono," he said pleasantly enough, though everyone there could hear the warning tone underlying his words. "If you're going to assault someone, at least have a perfectly good reason to do so, not because of a position you put them in." He pushed her foot aside and stood up. He continued, brushing off his shirt while not even looking at the girls as he spoke. "As much as you think I'm a pervert, I assure you that I am not."
He finished brushing and looked up at Naru, giving a smile that gave off nothing but merriment, surprising the teenager. "But if you want to call me a pervert you can." He chuckled as he turned around. "I really couldn't care less! Though if you must see me as that, I suggest you take Kitsune-dono and leave. It's not polite to just barge into someone's room uninvited and then insult them."
Needless to say, all of the girls were rather surprised by his firm yet gentle speech. Naru merely nodded dumbly, grabbed Kitsune's arm, and dragged her out of the room, closing the door behind them. After hearing the door shut, Keitaro took a quick look over his shoulder, confirmed that the door was indeed shut, and sighed deeply before collapsing to the ground on his butt.
Oh, God, he thought desperately. What the hell have I gotten myself into? This is just getting worse and worse by the second. He glanced at his hand, curling it into a fist and then uncurling it. Well, it was nice for a first time but I'd it had been someone I was actually involved with... He groaned, knowing what Kitsune had tried to do. He had realized it after seeing the guilty look she had given when she had left, as if apologizing for something. Now he knew what she was apologizing for. And not someone who was trying to seduce me for their own purposes...
He sighed again as he looked around the room. "Been so long since I've last lived here. Wonder if anything's really changed..." He got up and walked over the row of pictures sitting on the dresser. He picked one up. In it, he saw something that brought tears to his eyes.
A young Keitaro was being carried on his father's shoulders, grinning happily with one of his front teeth missing. His father, Kenchi Urashima, was holding onto his leg with one hand and holding his mother's, Minako Urashima, shoulder with the other. Minako was sitting down, grasping her husband's hand fondly, a kind smile on her face. And Kenchi, he was also smiling, but it was more of a stern smile, his lips only a little curved at the corners. But his eyes...his eyes were filled with warmth and laughter. Something in Keitaro's heart broke at that moment, releasing emotions he wished he never had.
It's been too damn long...
Small tears began to trail their way down Keitaro's face. Too damn long of being alone... The trails became longer as more painful memories resurfaced once more. Too damn long after losing almost everyone that I've ever cared about... The tears grew heavier, and Keitaro clutched the picture to his chest, panting as gasping as if out of breath. Too damn long with nothing to care for... He sunk to his knees, his eyes now a raging waterfall, unleashed by the feelings of lost, despair, and sadness that were uncovered by that simple family photo. He bent over, sobs wracking his body as he cried his entire soul out.
Just too...damn... long...
Outside his door, Naru paused in knocking on it, listening to the heart wrenching sobs coming from inside. Was...was that no-good, lousy, worthless pervert...crying? She quietly slid the door open a crack and peeked inside. There, bent over on the floor, was the crying fake Tokyo U student, clutching something to his chest that seemed to be the only thing keeping him from losing his very sanity. Little did she know that the picture was what had triggered turning him into the sorry excuse for a human that she saw in front of her.
She closed the door again before turning around to lean backwards on it and stare at the ceiling. She sighed once before closing his eyes and making her way back to the lobby where Su, Motoko, and Kitsune were waiting for her. Kitsune sat up quickly from her lounging position on the couch and fully opened an eye after seeing the somber Naru's face.
"So...? Did you tell him where the bathroom was?"
Naru shook her head. "No. I was going to but I..." She trailed off, and Kitsune raised an eyebrow at her reluctance to continue.
"But you what?"
"I...I found..." She sighed and took a deep breath before finishing her sentence. "I found him...crying."
All of the other girls' face formed into one of surprise at her remark. He was what? Motoko was the first to respond. "What do you mean, 'he was crying?'" She leaned forward and looked at the older girl with both interest and intrigue on her face. "You mean he was actually crying? Like with tears and everything?"
Naru nodded. "Not just tears, I mean crying. The guy was bawling like a little baby. He was curled into the fetal position, pushing something into his chest, and literally running the waterworks." She sighed before sitting onto the couch next to Kitsune. "I just don't get this guy." The others crowded around her to hear what she meant. She put a hand to her forehead, covering her eyes. "I mean, we've known the guy for less than a day, and he's already shown several different personalities. First, he's some sicko pervert who was peeping on us. Then he's a Tokyo U student and all of a sudden becomes Mr. Serious. And now...he's like a little lost kid."
"Maybe he has spilt personalities or something," Su joked. The others just looked at her. She smiled nervously at her bad humor before looking down at her hands.
Naru shook her head in exasperation. No, that couldn't be true, it was just too weird...like Su. Even if Keitaro was a bit strange at times in the short period they had known him, he wasn't mentally unstable.
"No, I don't think that's it," she said. "It was like...it was like something was really tearing him up inside. Like he was a little kid again. I mean..." she pulled her feet onto the couch and gathered them into her chest. She groaned. "I don't really know how to explain it. It's just that, when you look at him, and he smiles..." She hesitated when she saw the perplexed looks on the others' faces. "His smile and expression are just so...so empty and sad, it hurts. It actually hurts to look at him. And...I can't help but feel sad for him, too."
"Naru-sempai." The young woman looked up from her knees to see Motoko with a strange look on her face. "Don't tell me you actually feel sorry for him. I thought you absolutely despised the man." One of her eyebrows quirked, and she looked at her with a slightly amused air. "Or could it be that you're actually falling for him?"
Naru's jaw dropped. That was totally absurd. How could Motoko even ask she something like that? Of course she could never have feelings for a pervert like that! But then, what could explain that...feeling she had received when he done the simple act of touching her shoulder from before? No! she refused, absolutely refused to have feelings, other than hate and loathing, for some slimeball who she had met only a few hours ago. And he had seen her completely naked, no less!
Naru shot up from her seat on the couch to glare perilously at the kendo girl. "Motoko! How could you even think of something like that! I could never like someone like him! He's but an idiot, a slimeball, a pervert, a – Kitsune, what the hell are you doing?!"
During her tirade, Kitsune's eyes had widened to about the size of saucers. For some reason, unknown to Naru, she kept waving her hands in front of her wildly and making slicing motions across her throat. By the time Naru had noticed what Kitsune was doing, Su and Motoko were looking past the fiery redhead with twin looks of surprise and shame. Naru finally realized they weren't looking at her but behind her. Her stomach gained a feeling of dread, and it was only confirmed when she heard Keitaro's calm and steady voice behind her.
"Naru-dono, just as I'm sure you would not like someone to spy on you and then talked about it, I'm also quite sure I would appreciate it if you didn't do that to me either. So please refrain from these activities any further and I know we'll get along just fine. His tone reverted back to its cheery, mischievous form. "But besides that, just what was it that you wanted to tell me?"
Naru turned around. What she saw was probably one of the biggest oxymoron that she knew of. Keitaro was smiling but, just like she had said from before, it was simply...empty. There was no actual mirth contained in that void of a smile. And his cheeks...they were literally stained with the tears he had shed not too long ago. Naru's heart couldn't help but break a little at the desolate expression on the young man's face.
"I..." She tried to speak and was just able to, but still...that smile of his. "I just wanted to tell you where the toilet was."
"Oh, is that all?" He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "Down the hall, third door on the left, and make sure to juggle the handle or otherwise the entire room gets flooded?"
Blinking in surprise, Naru simply nodded. "How...how did you know that?"
Meanwhile, Keitaro had his chin in a hand and was looking off to the side of the floor while quietly muttering to himself. "Grandma still hasn't fixed that thing yet?" He sighed. "Why am I not surprised?" He looked back up to see an extremely annoyed Naru due to his ignoring her. He chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, sorry," he said. "I lived here for a while up until five years ago, so I know most of the quirks the building has." He chuckled again as he remembered something. "Like the faucets for the bath. They still explode if you turn them too fast?"
At this, Su shot up and grinned ecstatically. "Yep!" she cried. "They're just so much fun! You turn them and go flying! Just like this!" Barely finishing her sentence, she launched herself at Keitaro. He didn't even have time to react as she knocked him to the floor and then flipped off of him to crouch by his feet like a cat. "See? Wasn't that just tons of fun?" Keitaro just remained inert on the floor. Su crawled around his side and poked his cheek with her finger. He only groaned in response. Su put the same finger she had poked him with to her mouth and turned her head to gaze worriedly at the others. They were in plain shock at her sudden attack. "Oopsie..." she mumbled guiltily. "I think I broke him."
"You didn't break me, miss."
Su spun back around to look happily at a slowly gaining consciousness Keitaro. He rose from his position on the floor to sit up, holding both sides of his head in his hands. He groaned again as he rubbed small circles around his temples, trying to soothe the throbbing pain that had resulted when his head smacked against the wooden floor.
"Though the last time I was knocked out like that was when I fell off the roof of my apartment building and onto my manager's flower garden." He grimaced at the memory. Tanuka had thoroughly chewed him out after he had crushed his treasured flowers. Keitaro had been punished by having to take care of the plants till they were back to their original selves. "Luckily I wasn't really injured."
"You fell off your apartment building and didn't get hurt?" Kitsune asked with a bit of awe.
"Eh heh..." He scratched his cheek. "No, only a few bruises and a mild concussion. For some reason I'm really tough when it comes to accidents. It's helpful when I mess up during training."
Motoko nodded her head. "Yes, that would make sense." That would explain why during their fight he seemed to move so effortlessly. He had had some type of training in the martial arts. However... "But I do have one question for you." Keitaro looked at her in awareness. "How come you were able to block Naru-sempai's and my attack so efficiently, and yet Su took you down in one move?"
He tilted his head and looked at her anxiously. "Do you really want to know, Motoko-dono?" She merely stared at him sternly, answering his questions with her eyes alone. "Because Motoko-dono...Su-dono had no malice in her attack, only a playful desire. Since she did not want to hurt me, I saw no reason as to defend myself from her." Keitaro let out a bitter chuckle, one that almost scared the girls. "However..." He leaned over, a smirk on his face, his eyes contradicting it with an cross glare. "You and Naru-dono had nothing but malice in your attacks. You both severely wanted to hurt me. And on that note..." He grunted, standing up and patting his backside. "I think it would be best if I left, before I incur anymore of your wrath." He bowed to them. "Sorry if I was rude. Good-bye now." He abruptly spun around, put his hands behind his back, muttered something under his breath, laughed, and then quickly walked out of the room.
Kitsune watched him leaved and faced Su, the closest to him before he left. "Su, what did he just say?"
The young foreigner cocked her head. "I think I was something along the lines of, 'If this is the way all women are, I'm glad I've never had a girlfriend.'" She blinked and looked back to where Keitaro had disappeared. "He's never had a girlfriend? How come? He's funny and cute..."
However, none of the others were really paying attention to what she said. Only one though passed through all of their minds about the young man. What a strange guy... They'd just have to learn about him, whether it'd be sooner or later. He was that much of an enigma, needing to be solved.
Jeez, what a strange bunch...
Keitaro was making his way through Hinata House with no particular destination in mind. They were a strange bunch indeed – first trying to kill him, then seduce him, and then articulate the very depths of his soul. That's right; he had had come to the lobby early enough to hear them talking about his so-called "personalities."
But still... he thought mirthfully as he rubbed his nose. I haven't had this much fun in a long time. His mouth drooped into a frown. But it's all based on a lie! The only reason I'm here is because they think I'm a Tokyo U student! Keitaro stopped and angrily lashed his foot at an innocent wall. It caved in easily enough, but he didn't notice or, if he did, did not care. "Damn it! Even if they did try to hurt me they're all still really nice people, I just know it!" He sighed and began to walk again. I really do wish I could have met them under different circumstances.
Keitaro winced in discomfort as he walked into the courtyard of the inn, the sun unexpectedly shining in his eyes. It was just like from before, light blue and seemingly never-ending. He sighed, shoved his hands into his pockets, and began walking again. What am I doing, thinking about the damn sky? I've got worse problems on my mind right now. He sighed again. Thinking back to his conversation, he realized that one of them had been missing. Let's see... He began to count the girls off of his fingers. There's Naru-dono, Kitsune-dono, Motoko-dono, Su-dono, and... He scratched his head in confusion. Who was the last one?
"Um...hello!"
Lifting his head, Keitaro saw the person that had been eluding his mind. The young blue-haired girl was standing a few feet in front of him, looking down at the ground and fidgeting with a book she held at about waist level. He smiled. "Oh! Umm, hi! You're Shinobu-dono, right?"
She bowed. "Y-yes! M-my name is Shinobu Maehara!" Throughout the entire time, she never looked at his face, only at the ground. "Umm, err..." She lifted a finger to her mouth and raised the other with the book in it up shyly. "I was wondering if you could...check my homework for me."
Well, I should be able to handle middle school problems. Making his decision, he smiled. "Sure, I'd be glad to! But..." Shinobu lifted her head to see him smile ruefully and point at his face. "Do you mind if I wash this first? I just cried a little earlier and I doubt you'd want someone with tear streaks sitting right next to you. Be a bit depressing, wouldn't it?" She nodded quietly. Keitaro flashed her a quick smile. "Thanks."
After swiftly washing his face, Keitaro joined back up with Shinobu. The two of them sat down on one of the porches. "So, what do you need checked?" he asked.
Shinobu handed him the workbook and pointed out the beginning of her homework questions. "Right here."
He nodded and took a quick look at her work. But...why was it so hard to read all of a sudden? "Oh, almost forgot." He set the book down on his lap and began patting his chest. "Where'd I put those things?" he muttered softly. Shinobu watched in interest as he continued to pat his chest. Then a look of realization appeared in his eyes, and he slipped his hand into his pants' pocket before fishing out a pair of glasses. He flicked them open and slid them onto his face, the words coming into better focus as he did so. He then caught Shinobu looking at him. "Mmm?" Keitaro smiled. "What is it, Shinobu-dono? Do I have something on my face?"
She blushed and shook her head. "No, it's not that. It's just that, uhh..." She pointed at the large, rectangular frames that were perched on his nose. These glasses gave him a totally different look, projecting the image of an absolute bookworm, one that did nothing but study in a library all day. Or at least...that's what it seemed like to her. "Your glasses. I didn't know that you wore them."
Keitaro scratched a cheek in confusion before chuckling softly. "Oh, you mean these?" He took them off and held them in front of him while gazing at them mirthfully. "Yeah, I do. Wear them, I mean." He chuckled as he remembered something. "I can still recall I hated wearing them when I first got them. But..." He put the glasses back on and used a finger to push them back up the bridge of his nose. "Without them, I wouldn't be able to read. So I guess it's good that I have them, huh? In any case, I better check this, shouldn't I?" With that, he went back to the homework.
As he looked over it, his full concentration on just it, he didn't notice Shinobu holding her head in both her hands and gazing at him fondly. He, a Tokyo U student, was so nice to help her, a simple seventh grader, like this. And not only is he really nice, she thought wistfully. He's really sweet, too...And also kinda cute. A small blush rose to her face at this thought, but Shinobu kept silent as she watched Keitaro finish the rest of her math.
"X-squared plus..." Keitaro mumbled absently. "If you substitute the y in here, you're okay!" He smiled as he handed her book back to her. "That's how it goes."
"Thank you so much," Shinobu laughed gaily as she took the book from his hands. She laid it next to her and then clapped her hands together. "Oh, right!" She twisted around to pull out a small bowl of cookies. "I made some cookies," she smiled. "Want some?"
"Huh?" Keitaro pointed at himself. "These are for me?" Shinobu nodded happily. He thanked her gratefully before taking one and popping it into his mouth. He chewed a bit before a dreamy look settled on his face. "Wow..." he murmured in awe. "Delicious...I haven't anything this good for a long time..."
"Really?" she asked excitedly. "I'm so glad!" She blushed merrily, stuck her cheeks between her hands, and giggled like the little schoolgirl that she was. "I'm still learning how to make them. Thank you!" And now he was complimenting her cooking! It couldn't get any better than this.
But it did. "Well, if this is how they are when you've just started, I can't wait to taste them when you really get going. I'm sure they'll be perfect." Oh yeah, she was in heaven. However, their cozy moment was all but ruined by his next statement. "But Shinobu-dono, I was wondering..." She looked up at him from her hands. "Would it be possible if Naru-dono had some too, considering she's right behind us. And if I'm not mistaken...armed?"
Shinobu turned around to see, indeed, Naru with a broom in her hands, looking as if she were ready to bash it over Keitaro's head at a moment's notice. But besides that, Naru was surprised yet again by his ability to know she was there without her announcing it. What is with this guy? How does he always know when I'm, or anyone else, is behind him? She managed to snap out of her thoughts, though, when she noticed a slightly surprised Shinobu and a bemused Keitaro staring at her. She crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks. "What?" she asked in annoyance, directing her question at the young man. "You think I'd leave Shinobu alone with a perv like you?"
"Naru-dono," he sighed. "Do you enjoy picturing me like that?"
"I'm not picturing anything!" she shouted back. "I'm just telling the truth!"
At this point, Shinobu decided to interfere their quickly rising heated argument. "But Urashima is just helping me study!"
A skeptical frown forming on her face, Naru's eyes slanted and she looked at Keitaro doubtfully. "Oh, really? Then maybe he can help me out, too." She reached into the pocket of her pants and pulled out a small booklet. Holding it up to eye level, she raised an eyebrow curiously. "With this. Can you give me the answers?"
Recognizing the cover of the book almost instantly, Keitaro's brain went into minor shock. However, due to years of being ready for the unanticipated, he did not show it easily. "That's...Tokyo U's old exam questions, isn't it?"
"Yep." Naru replied innocently. Though he didn't show it, she couldn't help but feel suspicious of his tale, and now was a perfect time to prove if her theory of him lying was right or wrong. Ohhh...how little did she know her plan was about to backfire in the most spectacular of all ways. "If you're at Tokyo U, these should be a snap for you."
Keitaro was in a bit of a bind. He knew some of the questions, years of make-up studying will do that to a person, but not all of them. If he got any of them wrong, they would find out the truth about him. Wait a minute...the truth...That was it! They still think I'm a Tokyo U student! So if I get all of them wrong, I'll finally be able to tell them the truth and get out of here without hurting anyone else! I can just leave! Satisfied with his plan, he closed the book without even looking at it and tossed it back to Naru. "The first one is C. Second is B."
"Wha?! C and B?!" Naru responded hectically. Her plan was already falling apart. Keitaro had answered her questions quickly and effortlessly, and was wearing a small smile that shone with unbound joy, one of the biggest ones she had seen in her whole life...next to Kitsune, of course.
"Then question three is D, and question four is A." He chuckled at his conquest. Now they would know the truth! "How'd I do?" But he knew how he did. He would fail each and every one of them, and then he could escape this horrible lie. He was out! He was free! He was-
"N...No way...They're all... correct! "
"Whee! That's incredible, Urashima!"
The words barely registering in his mind, his brain sent a message to his legs. One of them crossed over the other when it shouldn't have, and before he knew it Keitaro had tripped over his own two feet and fell to the floor, his body absolutely frozen with more shock and horror than he had ever had in his life. he creakily turned his head to look at the origins of that simply awful sound he had heard. He had gotten them all right? Impossible. But the awe-filled expression of Shinobu and the annoyed, surprised, shocked, angry, etc. look on Naru proved him otherwise.
Naru's hands trembled uncontrollably as she stared in the back of the booklet where the answers were. Her voice was hardly understandable as she shook like a fish on a hook. "H-how did you...?" She gulped back the lump in her throat at his astounding feat of either pure dumb luck or genius intelligence. "And barely even looking..."
Meanwhile, Shinobu was absolutely amazed beyond belief. "Amazing!" she squealed in delight. "That's incredible! I'm so impressed, Urashima. Can I call you sempai?" Stars seemed to gather around her eyes, giving her face the appearance that it was twinkling like the way various precious gems did.
Picking himself off of the ground, Keitaro scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and anxiety. He took off his glasses and let them hang by his side. "Umm, I appreciate the compliment, Shinobu-dono, but I really don't think I deserve such a title." He blanched as Shinobu blasted her puppy-dog eyes at him full force. "Err...but if you insist, I'd be honored to." He sighed in relief as she reverted back to her "shining-eyes" mode. "But, urm, about these questions..."
"What about those questions?"
"Wha..." Keitaro turned around when he felt someone poking him in the back. When he did, he was surprised to find Su waving at him with, as always, a stern Motoko behind her, holding her katana over her shoulder. He found it funny that he did not sense them approaching, but then again, with what had just happened, he shouldn't have expected to notice them. Putting his glasses back in his shirt's pocket, he smiled at them. "Su-dono, Motoko-dono. What are you doing here?"
"Wanted to see what you were doing!" Su grinned.
"And I just came to make sure she doesn't get into trouble." Motoko added.
Su switched her attention to Naru and sidled up next to her before craning her neck and staring at her mischievously. "What's up, Naru?" she asked, a purely innocent question in context, but the smirk etched in her mouth said otherwise. "Is your plan failing or something?"
Naru scowled in annoyance. "Shut up, Su!" She didn't need someone like Su if her plan to expose Keitaro as a fraud succeeded or not. It was like adding insult to injury if she did actually fail. Motoko just watched their exchange, her other normal look of amused exasperation plastered on.
As a new conflict was arising, Shinobu took the opportunity to grab Keitaro's hand and began tugging him in a different direction from the others. "This way, Urashima," she requested firmly. Keitaro followed her lead, chasing after her as they made their way through the inn. They eventually emerged at the top of Hinata House, the annex, and Shinobu let go of Keitaro's hand. She climbed over the fence and onto the roof. He came quickly after her.
From this vantage point, he could see the entire village of Hinata Hot Springs nestled to the wide sea. A reminiscent smile tugged on his mouth as he gazed at the wonderful sight before him. "Wow!"
"This is my special place," Shinobu said.
"What an incredible view! This really is special, Shinobu-dono." His eyes closed as memories, both happy and sad, flooded back into the realms of his consciousness. It should be, he thought. This used to be my special place. After the accident, Keitaro had spent most of his time on this very same roof, just staring at the horizon. Through good times and bad, he had been here, collecting his thought on his problems or just life in general. It had been his own private sanctuary, and even though he was a little jealous, he was glad someone had found the uniqueness of it, especially if it had been someone like Shinobu.
Shinobu giggled into her hand before hopping on one foot to the edge of the roof. She teetered dangerously on it, and Keitaro tried to yell a warning but was cut off when she twirled back around to face him, her hands clasped together behind her back. "Um, sempai?" she asked, a tint of blush spread across her cheeks. "Can I ask you something? Promise not to laugh?" He tilted his head in confusion. "Umm...what does it feel like to be a student at Tokyo University?"
"Huh?" Keitaro's eyes widened as he realized what she was asking him. He made his way back down the roof towards her. "You know, I..."
Shinobu continued, oblivious to his protests. She smiled sadly as her head sank lower onto the railing, her eyes gazing at the ground far below. "It must feel great. I...I'm just so terrible at studying." She sighed. "I'm sure I'd never get into Tokyo U, no matter how hard I tried."
Keitaro's heart broke a little at how unhappy and forlorn she sounded. He could hear the tone etched in her voice and he recognized it, it was a tone he knew all too well – despair. Shinobu was like a lost pet, separated from its owner and thinking that it would never see the face of its master again. And he knew, he knew what it was like to feel that way. He knew...because he had felt that that exact same way for most of his life. But he wouldn't, he couldn't let someone feel like that, not like him... ever.
He sighed and shook his head, looking at the floor. "...No, that's not true, Shinobu-dono. That'll never be true." She turned around to glance at him, a surprised look on her face. Keitaro smiled. "I'm sure you can get in."
Shinobu laughed. "But you're so smart, sempai. It's easy for you to say that."
He chuckled at the irony of her words. Oh, how wrong she was. "It's not how smart you are." He laughed bitterly. "Trust me, it's never that easy."
A hint of a smile returned to her face. Her eyes gained a hopeful, anxious look to them. Her voice became more eager as she spoke. "Really?"
"Sure!" he smiled. This was good, she was changing back into the happy girl he had seen less than several minutes ago. "You can't give up before you even start, Shinobu-dono. If you give it your best shot, you really could get into Tokyo University. Look at me." He jerked his thumb up to point at himself. "Even I got in!" The second he said it, however, he realized his mistake. Oh, crap... Keitaro had just managed to dig himself an even bigger hole, but this one had consequences that he would never want to encounter. He struggled to make his way back out of it but all that he could say was an aghast, "Well..."
Unfortunately for him, his lie had the desired effect on the young girl. Shinobu's face blossomed into a gigantic smile. The corners of her lips were spread across her face and her eyes sparkled with hope. She clasped her hands in front of her and bowed. "Wow! Thank you very much!" She stuck her tongue out and smiled sheepishly. "The truth is my grades have been real bad since I got into middle school. But I feel so much better now!" She raced off, waving a hand behind her. "Thank you very much, sempai!"
Keitaro feebly tried to call her back but only a strangled noise was uttered from him. He watched hopelessly as she disappeared, skipping down the stairs into the inn. His head sagged down before he snapped it back up, grasping at his temples as he screamed at himself mentally.
Now I've done it!
--------
Later, the unlucky ronin was busy seething in his temporary room at his own stupidity. Self-loathing was the main emotion on his face as he buried it into his hands and groaned miserably. He started to speak to himself out loud, a bad habit he had had since childhood and had not truly ever gotten rid of. "Ahh...now what?" he sighed unhappily. "I was just going along with the flow but now I've made one little misunderstanding into a huge lie."
His memory brought back the smiling face of an extremely pleased Shinobu. "Wow, thank you very much!"
He cried silently, smacking his face onto the top of the table. "And to an innocent little girl to boot...What the hell am I trying to accomplish here? Ruin as many lives as I possibly can?"
Outside, a pair of slippers made its way through the hall. It stopped right outside of Keitaro's door at what he spoke next. "Mmph...I'm not really a Tokyo U student at all. I lied...lied to all of them." His head snapped up and pounded his fist on the table. "But now that it's gone this far, I can't let anyone find out. Maybe...when this whole thing has settled down, I can tell them the truth...and hope that they'll forgive me..."
The pair of slippers stood silently beside his door's entrance, listening to what he said. Luckily, his back was turned, so he couldn't see the pair's owner. Also, as he was so wrapped up in his self-chiding, Keitaro didn't bother using his senses to feel for anyone's presence. He continued, oblivious that someone was listening in on him.
"But I won't be as lucky as I was today. So I have to make sure that I can at least earn their trust before I tell them the truth." His head sagged down. "Oh...who the hell am I kidding? No matter what I do, I'll just hurt all of them. But...this is what I've set out to do, and I will do it, no matter what!" He nodded before rolling up his sleeves, sliding on his glasses, and slamming a book onto the table. "Alright then! I'll get started with this book of Tokyo U problems they left me!"
He bent over, ready to start, but right before he put pencil to paper, a feeling blasted through his mind. What the...?! He shot up and rushed to the hallway, poking his head out and looking both ways. "Hello?" he called out. "Anyone there?" However, no one answered, as there was not a soul in the empty hall. Keitaro scratched his head, perplexed, before heading back in. "Strange," he muttered. "I could have sworn there was someone outside of my room." He laughed nervously. "I hope that wasn't it. I don't want everyone to find out too soon."
But...what if they did? What if they do know? What can I do? How can they possible forgive me for being so...so...
He shook his head to dispel the dark thought. Now was not the time to second-guess himself – not now...and not ever. If he wanted to move forward, he had to keep going, and not turn around every moment to think what might have happened. He needed to do it or not at all.
Relieved by this small talk with himself, Keitaro set back to the task of trying to figure out the problems. He stopped at the very first question. Oh, damn...calculus. It just had to be calculus, didn't it? He groaned before beginning to work on it. This was going to be torturous but he had never shied from this responsibility before. He had been doing this for the past fifteen years and he wouldn't stop now of all times.
But why did it have to be calculus?
Eight hours and three thousand fried-out brain cells later, Keitaro finally succumbed to sleep, slumping before letting his head splat right into the middle of his answer booklet. He was exhausted. Wars, absolute values, names of dead poets in countries he had never even heard of. When we would ever use this information in real life? The obvious answer was never, unless he was going to be in a game show that asked such inane questions. But he would still need to know them if he wanted to get into Tokyo University.
The sun rose over the horizon, shining its golden rays all over Hinata House. Keitaro snoozed peacefully, a small puddle of drool collecting on his book where his head rested. Unknown to him, a very unpleasant being was about to wake him from his deficient two-hour amount of sleep. His alarm clocked shrilled out its morning call, right next to his ear no less, on the table where he had placed it. Keitaro woke up with a start.
He looked around frantically, not recognizing his surroundings for a minute. This wasn't his apartment! Where was he? Yesterday's event clicked quickly into place, and he groaned. His head smacked into the tabletop again as he slumped forward. He winced as he missed the padded book and instead hit the wood of the table. He gently prodded the small lump forming there.
Keitaro sighed as he took his attention off the slight tingling in his forehead to check out how he had done. Most of the booklet was filled with answers and work, albeit most of the writing was scratched out and written all over again. He had actually only gotten through half of the problems. "Damn..." he muttered as he looked over his work. "I am an idiot."
He leaned back and looked outside at the rising sun. Noticing it was still quite early he decided to meditate for a little while. Maybe it would help him relax and be able to study better. Knowing his situation, he needed all the help that he could get.
Folding his legs, Keitaro laid his arms across them, palms upwards, and closed his eyes. With his sight now robbed, Keitaro used the opportunity to enhance his other sense. Training in this way had allowed him to accomplish such a feat. For example, his hearing could now pick up the tiniest sounds, mainly the ones that came form the wildlife outside. A bird's chirp, a cat's yawl, the breeze pushing itself through the trees' branches.
What he could smell was particularly pleasant. So many smells, each one so different and unique. The first one that came to him was a pungent, nearly overpowering smell. It invaded his nostrils, forcing him to clamp his nose with one hand. He scowled, recognizing the scent...
It was sake, gin, vodka, whiskey, rum, beer...nearly every liquor know to man. How he hated that smell, knowing what it emanated from. Alcohol stole his parents away from him, and he swore to himself that he would never touch the vile substance. Besides, the few times he had actually had it only made him feel sluggish and week; he hated feeling either one of those.
He sighed, closing his eyes again, and blotted out the smell of liquor to see what else there was. The next smell he found was definitely a pleasant one. The slight scent of perfume mixed with...ink? Yes...it was ink, ink from hundreds of books. Keitaro let out a little smirk. Obviously a bookworm. He then smacked himself mentally. That wasn't nice; whether or not the person was a bookworm, he had no right to make fun of them. Could probably take a page out of their book, he mused softly.
A soothing smell was the next to come. Keitaro relaxed as it came to him. Incense, the type used in shrines and holy ceremonies, along with the light musky smell, floated from wherever it originated from to his senses. Whoever this was not only kept way with old Japanese customs, but they also must be a fighter as well.
The next one to come after was more or less...domestic. The scent of soap, fresh laundry, cooking. Keitaro sighed, allowing his mind to wander back to a life long past. His mother's image popped up immediately. Yes, she was the type of person he would associate with the scent of home. A few tears prickled the corners of eyes, and his mouth curved into a small reminiscent smile.
The last smell he could fully recognize was... interesting, to say the least. Keitaro could have sworn he smelled what seemed like the damp, musty smell of a forest. But...that couldn't be right. It was if an entire ecosystem was contained within one room. Not only that, but didn't he also smell...smoke. A lot of smoke, like what would occur from burning something wasn't exactly organic...like welding or something other.
Keitaro opened his eyes, his sense of sight quickly returning. He sighed as his other sense reverted back to their original states of awareness. The smells, disappeared, the sounds, everything returned to their peaceful quiet form. He sighed again as he stretched his arms over his head, relishing the feeling of how relaxed they were after that small time of meditation. He rested a cheek on his hand, thinking to himself. What an interesting place. I've never seen such a melee of different personalities.
That much was true. He usually based what he thought of people on what actions he saw them take, the feelings of their auras, and how each of the lived. Usually just by the scent of their rooms. And amazingly enough, he was rarely ever wrong. A lot could be told from the simple ways of a person, and Keitaro could tell how each of them were almost flawlessly.
For example, the smell of liquor had to have come from Kitsune's room. The scent of sake lingered on the young woman's clothes. Not to mention her seemingly loss of inhibitions and shameless seductions towards him could only mean that she spent a lot of her time drunk. That, or just because she liked to stir choppy waters wherever she went. Keitaro shook his head. Most likely it was a mixture of both.
It was then he sensed a flurry of movements. Apparently everyone was finally starting to wake up. This sense was swiftly accompanied by the noises of people moving around, alarm clocks going off, and a low, feminine voice calling for someone to shut up. Keitaro smiled at how quiet it was at one moment and then at the next...A large thump followed by a scream and then giggling proved his point.
"What an interesting place indeed..."
His view landed back on the booklet. He frowned. And then there was this whole problem. He sighed and turned back around to face the dreaded test. Well, he had to finish this, even as idiotic as both the booklet and he was. He promised himself he would. But why was it so hard. Or better yet, why was he even bothering to do this in the first place? Shinobu flashed up in his mind again. Ah yes, that.
He picked his pencil back up and slowly made his way through the problems again after his short break. He chuckled. "The things I do for other people..." It wasn't long before Keitaro was completely engrossed in the book's troublesome questions.
--------
Kitsune sleepily walked down the hall in her nighttime yukata, a toothbrush clenched between her teeth as she absently brushed them. While walking by Keitaro's room, the sound of graphite steadily scratching on paper caused her to look into his room (his door was still open from last night.) she was surprised to see the young man diligently studying. "Huh..." she murmured to herself. Footsteps from behind her made her turn around to see Motoko and Su staring at Keitaro as well. She grinned. "Would you look at that! He starts studying at the crack of dawn."
Motoko, already in her gi and hakama, folded her arms across her chest, holding her bokuto to her, and looked at Keitaro. "Well!" A slightly amused look was on her face.
Su was still in her pajamas. Her eyes perked up when she saw the last to dorm members walk up to them. She raised a hand in greeting and waved it enthusiastically. "Ah! Morning!"
"Good morning." Shinobu responded cheerfully. Naru looked at her in interest. Shinobu was never this energetic. Usually a nod or a few words were the most they could get out of her. When the two got to where the others were, Shinobu checked in on her sempai. "Wow!" she giggled. "Sempai's already working hard." Naru remained silent all the wile. Shinobu then balled up her fists and brought them upwards. "Whatever! I'm going to work hard too!"
Motoko blanched at the pre-teen's show of eccentricity. "What are you yelling about?" Shinobu instantly blushed at this and broke down into uttering incomplete sentences.
Kitsune noticed this. She smiled secretly before putting her fingers to her chin and gazing at Keitaro. "I'd better start acting like a girl or else I'll get left in the dust!"
Naru looked at her best friend in annoyance. "What are you talking about?"
Kitsune spun around. "Well y'know, since that came here, things have gotten a lot more lively in this dorm." Naru didn't know what to say to this. She just snorted doubtfully and crossed her arms. Kitsune sighed and rolled her eyes. Her friend would never learn; she was just too hardheaded. She decided to change subjects. She walked over to Shinobu and pointed a finger at her, grinning slyly. "How 'bout it, Shinobu, are you going after him, too?"
Shinobu's blush deepened. "N-no...that's not it..." However, Kitsune kept prodding her, much to her discomfort and everybody else's exasperation. Just another morning in Hinata House except for one key element – the young man blissfully aware of their watch.
--------
"I...I'm done!"
The night had come and gone, and night had finally descended its dark blanket upon the dorm. Keitaro had finished doing and grading his work on the Tokyo U booklet. What he saw was not very pleasing. Grades ranging form ten to as high as...thirty-eight? He just stared at the horrible work before him and sighed. Well, what did I expect? If I could solve these problems, I'd already be in Tokyo U.
His stomach rumbled, signaling the fact that it had not had anything to digest since the cookies given to it by Shinobu. And cookies, it grumbled at its owner, are not an actual meal...even if they were very tasty. Keitaro groaned. "That's it..." he muttered dejectedly. "I quit. There's no way I can pull this off." He looked out the window, seeing that night had been there for quite some time. He chuckled cynically. I worked the whole day without any food...and it was all for nothing.
He began to pack his bag, knowing what he had to do soon. "I better tell the truth and leave this place...before I hurt anyone else. I suppose I'll just go back to my apartment and be alone...all over again." He laughed sadly. "Alone...Funny, the word never really bothered me so much." Keitaro's body began to shake slightly, though from his own sorrow or the humor of his entire situation he could not tell. "God...why am I so..." A knock interrupted him from his thoughts, and he turned to see one of the tenants standing in the doorway, a tray in her hands. "Oh, hello, Naru-dono."
She nodded and raised the tray up. "I thought you'd like a snack. You haven't been down for any meals since you arrived."
Keitaro's face gained the tiniest of smiles, and the tears that threatened to escape were pulled back in at this thoughtful gesture. "Thank you very much, Naru-dono. That's very kind of you to do so." He motioned for her to come in, and she took him up on his invitation, walking next to him and setting the tray of tea and food next to him. When Keitaro look at what the food was, however, he was basically freaked out by what he saw.
Blobs of white stuff with some seaweed wrapped on them sat haphazardly on the plate, looking as though they were buildings about to collapse in on themselves. He smiled weakly and pointed to them. "Urm, Naru-dono...What are these supposed to be? Rice balls?"
Naru's face flushed – her lips an annoyed scowl, her eyes narrowed into angry slits. If he didn't like her hard work then...She snatched the tray back with a snarl and stood up quickly. "If you don't want them, I'll take them back!" She strode away, her aura a mess of insulted pride.
Keitaro broke out of his stunned silence at her sudden movements and called her back fretfully. "Wait! Wait! I'll eat them!" She looked at him over her shoulder, a gleam of doubt in her eyes. He shrugged helplessly. She sighed and walked back over to him, shoving the tray into his hands and plopping down at the table across from him. Keitaro nodded gratefully before putting one of the rice balls to his lips. Naru-dono doesn't seem to like me much, he thought. Maybe I shouldn't be so rude? He took a timid bite of the snack. His eyes widened in surprise and delight. "Wow! These are really good!"
Naru looked down, avoiding his gaze. An embarrassed blush rose to her cheeks. "R-really...?" she whispered softly.
He took another bite. "Really!" Keitaro mumbled through it. "They're delicious."
She smiled at his antics. "It's not polite to speak with your mouth full."
He blushed. "Ahh...sorry."
She shook her head. "It's okay." She then proceeded to pour some tea into both of their cups. She kept her eyes closed while she did this, giving no clue as to what she was thinking at that moment. "By the way..." He looked up from the table. "They say the miso-boiled lobster in the Tokyo U cafeteria is the best." Her voice became calmer, alerting Keitaro to the danger he was going to be in very soon. "Ever had it?"
He gulped. Somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered if there was such a food as miso-boiled lobster, but that wasn't the point right now. What did matter was that he was being asked a question about a college he knew nothing about. What would he...Ah right...Now was the perfect time to be honest and say what was really going on. "I wouldn't know," he replied truthfully. "I've never had it."
"Oh." Naru tried to keep steady from his calm response, but it was obvious that she was disappointed. She had finally come up with another plan to expose him, and her plan had failed miserably again. "I was just wondering if it was true or not." He shrugged. She sighed and sipped at her tea.
Keitaro looked at her, noticing her reluctance to leave it at that. He sighed rather loudly. Well, the moment of truth had arrived. "You know, don't you, Naru-dono?"
Her head snapped up, and she blinked at his abstract question. "What do you mean?"
"The truth about me." He leaned back on his hands and looked out the window to his room. Naru remained silent. "Frankly, I'm relieved. I thought none of you would ever figure it out. The fact that you and the others actually thought I was a Tokyo U student was the most absurd thing I'd ever heard." He smirked, knowing how true it was. His smirk changed quickly, though, turning back into a somber frown. "I don't like to lie, Naru-dono, I honestly don't. But it seems I've done nothing but lie since I got here, and for that I'm sorry. I really and truly am sorry."
Naru spoke not a word as she listened to him complete his speech and then flop backwards. She looked down for a second before speaking. "I don't understand you..." Keitaro quirked an eyebrow and sat back up, looking at her in puzzlement. "You lie to us and then think a simple apology will make up for it? You tricked an impressionable junior high student into thinking you were a student in the law program at Tokyo University!"
Her voice became angry and spiteful as she clenched the bottom of her dress, her knuckles turning white. "You lied to her, a little girl, when you're only a total idiot! I mean...you've flunked twice, your grades stink, and the only reason you're here is because you lied!" After finishing her tirade, she panted heavily, contempt radiating from her like heat from a fire.
He looked down shamefully as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I...I'm sorry, Naru-dono. I honestly don't know what else to say. All I can do is apologize from the bottom of my heart, and hope that you and the others can find it in yourselves to forgive me." Keitaro glanced up from his lap, his eyes pleading for him to be absolved of his crimes.
It was then Naru began to shake. He leaned back, recalling that the last time she had shaken like this was when she had tried to tear his head off. A snicker escaped from the teenager's lips, prompting Keitaro to reconsider the idea that he wasn't going to die after all.
"You're hopeless!"
Shocked by the comment, Keitaro sat silently until he responded, his face drawn into a confused frown. "I am?"
"Give me a break!" she laughed. Resting a cheek on her curled hand, she closed an eye and looked at him capriciously with the other. "You don't have to act so solemnly. It's not as if none of us have never lied before. But still..." she giggled, totally banishing the tomboy attitude she had from before. "Did you really think you could fool all of us so easily?" She giggled again. "Silly boy!" The look of uncertainty still lingered in his eyes though. "Joking!" she reassured him. "I was just joking!"
Realizing he wasn't going to be executed, Keitaro sighed in relief. Naru smiled, reaching forward and removing the glasses from his face. "I'll let you go this time," she said as she stood up, placing his glasses upon her own face. "Shinobu was so happy. She decided to try even harder after you told her she could do anything." She walked towards the railing of the outside balcony while Keitaro's eyes followed her lithe figure move with interest. She looked up at the sky, continuing her little explanation.
"She's been really depressed lately but she cheered up because of you!" Her voice became quieter, kinder. "If you get into Tokyo U next year then your lie won't be a lie anymore, will it?" She then turned around and hopped to sit on the railing. She took the glasses off, holding them in front of her. A genuine tender smile adorned her face. "You can do anything if you try hard enough. Just don't give up!"
Keitaro's heart skipped a beat. A breeze had picked up, blowing her ginger-colored hair off to the side. The city's skylight illuminated her from the background, making it seem as if she had a halo of light around her. Her face was kind, gentle...so much unlike the hardened edges she owned previously. Her dress had ridden up her outstretched leg the tiniest bit, revealing the creamy flesh of her thigh, making it both tempting yet modest. It was at this moment that he saw a whole other side to this girl and realized just how beautiful she was.
He blushed. W-what the...? He continued to stare at her in awe as she smiled back. She's pretty cute!
Naru noticed the embarrassed look on his face. She grinned before hopping back off the railing and walking back to him. She crouched down and playfully pointed at him. "Wow!" she giggled teasingly. "I didn't really notice before but you're actually kinda cute!"
As per his normal reaction to a female paying him a compliment, Keitaro's speech disintegrated into incoherent babble, his face flushed to the extent of crimson, and he began to sweat abnormally. "Huh?! Err...what?!"
While he was busy stuttering, Naru's eye caught something fairly displeasing. She made a curious noise and bent down, picking up a pile of papers. Her eyes widened in shock and disbelief as she skimmed over the ronin's shoddy tries at answers. "Wait! What's with these answers?! Did you do this?" Her voice took on a disgusted tone. "This is the result of a whole day's work?! You missed this question?! I take it back! You'll never get into Tokyo U!"
All the while, Keitaro's ire had been slowly rising at every derogatory remark sent at him. Finally, he couldn't contain it anymore. In a rare state of anger, he shot up and stared dangerously at her. "What was that?! I take it back, too! You're not cute at all!" He lunged forward, his arms outstretched. "Give me back my glasses!"
She leapt back, out of his reach. "Yeek! Don't touch me!" she cried. "What if stupidity is contagious?!"
Keitaro growled and lunged again. He caught the side of his glasses between his fingers, but a slightly raised tatami mat caught him as well, causing him to fall. But since Naru still had his glasses on, his momentum carried her along also. The two of them fell to the floor with a few shrieks and yells.
When the two opened their eyes, they were stunned to see the position they were in. Keitaro was slightly sitting up, his upper back propped against the wall of his room. His fingers were tightly his glasses that hung half-on, half-off Naru's face. As for Naru, she was in situation. She was on her hands and knees directly above Keitaro. What was even more embarrassing was the fact that their faces were barely a couple inches or so away from each other.
The two stayed speechless, absolutely frozen in that exact same position. The top of Naru's dress had slipped down and bared her chest, giving Keitaro an unwanted but appealing view. The both of them blushed profusely, each feeling the other's warm breath brush across their faces, mingling with their own. Keitaro was at last able to mutter a small command.
"G...get off!"
"Let go then."
"No, you."
"P...pervert!"
He blinked. "Wha?" She still thought it was his fault? Such a stubborn gi-
"Hold it..." His thoughts were cut short by her voice – silken and just the tiniest bit husky. He lay there, mesmerized by the movements of her lips. They were there right in front of them, looking so soft, so full, so moist. What if he...No! He couldn't think of someone like that, especially one he had just met and who thought he was worthless. But...that wasn't the only reason. He couldn't be with anyone because that was exactly what he was...worthless. He could never make anyone happy...No one...ever. He was just meant to be alone...
She looked at the boy beneath her. His eyes were glazed over, their warm, chocolate color reflecting both great despair and...desire? Well, of course it was desire. He was nothing but a pervert, wanting her like the filthy slimeball he was. But then...why was her heart beating so hard and fast, her head feeling so fuzzy? Why did she stay there on top of him? Why didn't she just slap him, get off, and leave. And why, why did he look so cute and utterly... adorable right now? Was she...
"Urm, Naru-dono..."
She woke up from her daze to see that their faces had grown even closer. Half an inch of air was the only separating their most sensitive membranes from touching. Naru absently licked her lips as she stared into Keitaro's eyes. Suddenly, he moved closer. Now it was only centimeters of air between them. Then millimeters. And then, there was nothing...
Naru let out a tiny gasp as Keitaro brushed his lips against hers. Almost involuntarily, a quiet moan followed after, her hands reached up to grip at his shirt, and she pulled him closer, crushing her lips to his. He bore the brunt of her actions, moving his hands to gently cradle her face between his palms. The both of their minds were in a frenzy of emotions, passion, and desire. It was definitely not something expected.
Naru for the most part was finding herself battling between her twin feelings of pleasure and disgust. He mind kept on reeling between the two, never truly keeping one of the emotions before discarding it for the other. What the heck is going on?! Why is this pervert kissing me?! This is so gross! But...he's being so gentle. He's not forcing me to do anything at all and...No! This can't be happening! I can't be losing my first kiss to some scumbag! I...I wanted it to be special. I wanted to save it for someone I loved or at least liked. Not some... Keitaro's thumb fondly rubbed one of her cheeks, breaking her from her spiteful train of thought. She simply melted at these tender ministrations. On the other hand, for a first kiss, this is kinda...nice... She relaxed her grip on him, allowing herself to enjoy the moment more.
For Keitaro, his mind was basically the same as a broken record – repeating the exact same phrases over...and over...and over again. It had seemed that his brain had gone on vacation while the rest of his body filled in for it. Okay, let's see...I'm on the floor, Naru-dono is on top of me, and I'm kissing her. I'm on the floor, Naru-dono is on top of me, and I'm kissing her. Naru-dono is on top of me, and I'm kissing her. Naru-dono is on top of me, and I'm kissing her... He stopped for a second when he heard Naru whisper his name. It was then when his brain came back, only to see what travesty his body had done in its absence. I'm...kissing...Naru...dono...I'm kissing Naru-dono. I'm kissing Naru-dono! Oh shit! I'm kissing Naru-dono!
Keitaro's eyes shot open. Both his greatest dream and most horrible nightmare had come true. For the good, one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen was kneeling over and kissing him (seemingly enjoying it.) However, and this was the bad, this girl would more than likely disembowel him the second she realized she had been wronged. He swiftly broke off the intimate contact from her and blasted backwards, which was pretty much useless as he was already pressed up against the wall quite firmly. He watched in terror as Naru slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing that she saw was a terrified Keitaro trying to escape her supposed wrath. She stared at him with half-lidded eyes before raising a hand to her lips. They felt tender, warm, and she could still taste "him" upon them. She looked back at him, her eyes silently asking. Keitaro felt such shame for himself as he gazed at those questioning eyes, asking why he had done such a thing. Naru slowly leaned back, sitting on her legs as she kept the same hand to her mouth. A small murmur was all that he heard, but it was enough to make him feel like dirt.
"My...first...kiss..."
That one little statement made him feel like the lowest man on earth. He had just taken away an innocent – well, maybe not so innocent – girl's first kiss away. How could he have done such a thing? But...it was his first kiss too! Didn't that mean anything? He saw the nearly desolate expression on the young woman's face. to her, his first kiss meant nothing. After all, she had the possibility of having a future with someone while he would have probably lost his first kiss to some other random person sooner or later. It was just the way his life played out.
To try and make things right, he bent over, touched his head to the floor, and made a hurried apology. "Naru-dono, I am very sorry for what I just did! I meant no harm or insult towards you! Please...forgive me!"
She looked down at him, her eyes containing a raging war of emotions. On one hand, she was understandably angry at Keitaro for kissing her without warning or even her permission. On the other hand, the main reason why she felt so conflicted, was that...she had actually enjoyed it. As unwelcome and unexpected as it was, it was still a very nice, very satisfying first kiss. She couldn't help but feel butterflies in her stomach or stop her face from tingling because of his touch.
That being said, the deeper, more primal part of her soul wanted more. As idiotic and perverted as this boy was, some part of her wanted to kiss him again. Ironically enough, this would probably be one of the last things that would ever be on the young Naru's mind, but...well, that was just the way Fate worked itself into people's lives.
"Keitaro..."
He raised his head to look at her and was surprised to see a warm smile gracing her lips. He slowly sat back up to kneel, an anxious expression on his face. Naru blushed but still couldn't fight the urge of wanting to kiss him again. Slowly, hesitantly, she raised her hands up to grip his shoulders. Keitaro's anxiety rose as well when she stared strangely at him. Then, she began to move closer. He closed his eyes, his face a look of abject terror. He knew he was going to die, no matter how bizarre Naru's actions were. There was no other action she would take except kill him.
He felt something bump into his nose. Opening his eyes, he saw that instead of a punch heading his way, Naru's nose had hit his while she was leaning towards him. She moved her head back and opened her eyes. She then tilted her head to the side, closed her eyes, and leaned in again. Keitaro, finally having an inkling as to what was going to happen, closed his eyes and leaned in also. Once again, the distance between them shrunk. Their faces became closer, closer, closer...
"Ya in here, Tokyo-Ewe?!"
"We've got something for ya!"
"Umm...I made some rice balls...so..."
At that opportune moment, the rest of the Hinata House tenants slammed open Keitaro's door. What they found as it opened surprised them to know end. Naru was leaning over Keitaro, holding his shoulders, with her face not even an inch from his. Both of they eyes were clamped shut, but when the others burst in, they instantly snapped open, looking both surprised and extremely guilty. It didn't take a crystal ball to figure out how they would react.
The tray of food that Shinobu was holding fell from her numb fingers, making a metallic sound as it hit the floor. Su raised a hand to her mouth, letting out a noise of surprise and awe. Motoko's face immediately went into its death glare mode as she slowly drew her katana from its wooden confines. And Kitsune...Kitsune was more or less pissed off that her friend had gotten even farther than her.
"Naru! You..." A vein was throbbing dangerously on her temple as he bunched her shaking hands in much more hazardous and threatening shaking fists. Baring her teeth, Kitsune flung her head up and yelled angrily a her friend, "And you were yelling at me?! You hypocrite!"
Naru looked at Kitsune, back at Keitaro, and then back at Kitsune. Her eyes widened and her face flushed completely as she fully realized the position she and Keitaro had been caught in. Scrambling off of the young man as fast as she could, she stood up. "K-Kitsune!" she stuttered. "What do you mean?! This...this isn't what it looks like!"
"Uh-huh," Kitsune scoffed. "Right...I'm sure you just happened to fall on him, and your arms conveniently moved onto his shoulders like that. What were you trying to do with your face so close to his then? Wanted to see if he brushed his teeth?"
"She's telling the truth, Kitsune-dono." Kitsune and the others looked down to see Keitaro staring back at them. He had his hands folded behind his head to pillow himself against the wall and was gazing intensely at them as he spoke. He seemed overly calm for someone caught in a compromising act like that. "Naru-dono was just trying to play a joke on me so that I wouldn't act so seriously. She stole my glasses, and when I tried to get them back I accidentally pulled her on top of me. It's as simple as that."
His eyes narrowed as his tone became accusing. "And even if she was trying to show affection, at least it was genuine and did hold any ulterior motives along with it..." His voice lowered to almost a whisper. "Unlike with a certain fox I know."
Kitsune's eyes widened, a rare event that only happened when her emotions moved into the extremities. In this case, it was embarrassment and shock that Keitaro had seen through her facades so easily. Well, she had thought he was a little more perceptive than some of the other clowns she usually swindled. Her eyes swiftly reverted back to their original slits, accompanied by a blush that stained her already alcohol-induced red cheeks.
Seeing that he successfully knocked the young woman speechless, Keitaro let out a tiny smirk before covering it up with a somber frown. Well, he had better tell them all now and get it over with. He grunted softly as he pushed himself off of the ground. The girls watched the familiar pattern as he patted off imaginary dust from his clothes before he turned to Naru. "Do you think I could have my glasses back, Naru-dono?"
Startled by the question after their risqué event together, Naru stared blankly at him for a second before seeing that he was looking at her strangely. Trying to be rid of his boring gaze, she nodded. "Oh! Umm, sure! Sorry if I did anything to them."
Keitaro smiled and took the glasses from her outstretched hand. "Don't worry, Naru-dono," he politely responded. "If anything happened, it would have been my fault. But thank you for the concern." He slid them into his chest and then faced the girls. "Actually, I'm glad all of you are here because I have something to say. The truth is that...I'm..."
--------
"I knew that it couldn't last..."
Keitaro sighed as he hitched his pack again. He was walking steadily down the stone staircase to make his way to the dorm's parking lot. Recalling what he had done last night, he groaned before covering his face with a hand and glanced through the slits up at the sky.
"Why am I such an idiot sometimes?"
After telling the girls who and what his true position in life was, the change in their demeanors was almost mind-boggling. Instead of the friendly aura they had projected when they had gotten used to him, they were instead the cold, spiteful ones he had received when he had first arrived. Motoko was full of simple disgust. Su's was just curiosity and childish disappointment. Kitsune's was, as he expected, sheepish relief. But Shinobu's...Shinobu's was the worst of all.
He groaned as he remembered how horrible the little girl had looked, not to mention the aura she was giving off was downright depressing. So many sad and angry emotions – sorrow, rage, betrayal, mistrust, despair – all contained within such an innocent heart. His heart broke, knowing the wrongs he had committed against such a pure child. Keitaro sighed. Well, he thought bitterly to himself. It's only what I deserve.
Finally arriving at his motorcycle, he took his helmet from the side of his pack, put it on his head, and latched the clasped together. He then climbed on the cycle, knocked off the kickstand, and turned the ignition before revving the engine. It roared to life...right before puttering off and then dying completely. He groaned. No, not now. Why'd it have to happen now? He turned the ignition. Nothing.
Again.
Zip...
Again.
Zilch...
Again!
Nada...
Keitaro growled before jumping off the bike and kicking it. "Stupid bike!" he yelled. "You just had to do this to me, didn't you?!" His eyes moved to the heavens, full of spite and anger. Rarely did he ever react to anything like this, but after his short stay at Hinata House, the emotions he kept locked away were beginning to escape their imaginary bonds.
"Damn you, God!" he screeched. "Why are you doing this to me?! First you take away my loved ones then my soul, and when I finally begin to recover, you make me deceive such sweet people! Why?! Why do you torture me?! Why?!" His eyes started to leak tears, his voice became lower, and he sank to the ground.
Why?
"An accident? Are they okay?"
Why must I suffer?
"No, sweetie...They're...gone..."
Why must others suffer with me?
"This is a girls dorm! We can't have a sicko like you here!"
Why must I be hated?
"So, you're a Tokyo U student, Keitaro?"
Why must I lie?
"Oops...I think I broke him."
Why must I worry others?
"Halt, vile male!"
Why must I fight?
"Wow! Thank you very much!"
Why must I give false hope?
Why? Why?! WHY?!
"Damn you, God! Why?!" He crouched over, pressing his curled fists into his forehead. A splitting pain exploded in his temples. His mind kept playing his life over and over again – his pain, his deceit, his sorrow, his despair. Why were these things always happening to him? Why was he always alone, always isolated? Why...was he so...damn... afraid?! Why?!
"Damn you...Just leave me alone. Please..." He broke down into sobs.
Let me be alone...I don't want to be hurt...anymore...
--------
Haruka left her teashop, thoughts bouncing off the walls of her mind like the balls in a pachinko machine. So many things had happened in the last couple of days. Her nephew, who she hadn't seen or heard from for the past eight or nine years, appeared out of nowhere saying that his grandmother, her mother, had invited him to stay. Even Haruka had not known about this. It was as big a surprise to her as it was to the rest of the tenants. Granted, she was very happy to see her only nephew, but her normally stoic face was now nothing but a look of confusion.
She sighed as she chewed on her unlit cigarette, contemplating whether or not to light it. She raised the light stack of paper that had just been faxed to her a little while ago and stared at them. And then there was this too. Her mother had sent them, the papers explaining what she did not. Haruka shook her head and took a lighter out of her apron's pocket. Screw it. She needed the rush of nicotine from its heavenly insides to deal with this problematic situation.
Flicking the lighter open, she placed it underneath the cigarette's butt before pressing down on the switch to release the flame. It flickered before bursting to life as it crinkled the end of the cigarette with its all-giving heat. Haruka flicked the lighter back shut before taking a drag. The smoke flew into her lungs, bringing its acidic taste along with its rush of pleasure. Haruka sighed, blowing the smoke back out, and looked the papers once more.
Relaxed after the smoke, a wry smile rose to her lips when she realized what the consequences of Hinata's decision were. Well, her mother always did like to rile things up, and this time it would be no different. She shook her head in exasperation before heading off to where she thought her nephew was. She had heard him yelling, and it didn't sound like he was happy.
When she arrived, he was right where she hoped he was – still in the parking lot. He was sitting on the ground, his back propped against the motorcycle. He was sitting cross-legged, leaning over slightly, his bangs covering most of his face. Haruka saw him muttering to himself and sighed to herself before walking over to him. Stopping a few feet away, she bent over.
"Hey, nephew," she said, a little concern hidden in her tone. "You okay?"
"What do you think, Haruka?" he replied sullenly, still keeping his gaze on the ground.
"I think you look like you're about to attend a funeral." She bent her knees, crouching down and craning her neck to try and see Keitaro's face. "You wanna tell me what's wrong?" He hesitated slightly before shaking his head. She moved closer and put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Keitaro, it's me, your aunt Haruka."
He shrugged the hand off before coldly responding. "The same aunt Haruka who used to chew me out and hit me for the stupidest reasons?"
She looked down before dropping the cigarette from her hand and crushing it underneath her foot. She smiled. "Yes, but I was also the aunt Haruka who used to hold you when you cried and comforted you when you woke up from a bad dream." Keitaro flinched but quickly reverted back to his somber state.
"Maybe," he murmured. "But that was a long time ago. People change. You change, I change, we all change. You're not the same Haruka I knew. You're older, wiser, more mature. And I'm...I'm even more alone than I was before." His shoulders began to shake, and Haruka noticed small puddles of tears collecting on the paved ground and sobs emanating from her younger relative.
"Damn it..." he muttered bitterly. "Damn...Damn...Damn it...Damn it...Damn it! Damn it all!"
He lifted a clenched fist, and before Haruka could stop him or even move, he pounded it into the ground with all of his might. The ground literally shook from the power he put into that enraged, helpless punch. The asphalt cracked and then shattered completely, forming a miniature crater from where his hand had come in contact with it.
Haruka had fallen backwards from the shock of Keitaro's actions. She was on her rear, he legs splayed out haphazardly in front of her, and her face was an expression of pure surprise. She never knew Keitaro held so much power. She knew that he was very resilient...but the idea that he could crush tone...? Then again, with her mother training him, she couldn't really expect anything less. Still, the power, the fury, the absolute anguish and pain...It was almost overwhelming.
"Why do these things always happen with me, Haruka?"
The older woman broke out of her stupor to see that Keitaro had finally lifted up his head so that she could see his face. The sight wasn't pleasant. His eyes were overflowing with silent tears, looking both dark and dead. His mouth was pulled into the grimmest of frowns, and his cheeks seemed to sag with unimaginable sadness. He looked exactly like he had when he found out about his parents.
"Why am I always hurt? And why, why can I only respond by hurting others?" He started clenching his fists again. "I lied to them, I lied to them, I lied to them. Damn it, I hate lying and that's all I did! Lie! I lied! I..." He sighed and sniffed softly. "All I can ever do is harm people, never help them. That's all I'm good for." He heaved his hand from the pavement and looked at his ripped up and bruised knuckles. They were bleeding profusely. All he did was laugh. "Look at me, acting like a child. I even broke your parking lot."
Haruka gasped at his mangled excuse for his hand and immediately moved forward to grasp it. He winced, and she frowned. "I'm more worried about your hand than a stupid parking lot," she chided him. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. When she moved to wrap it around his hand, he jerked it away.
"There's no need for that," he grumbled. "It'll heal in a couple of days. You know I don't keep injuries for long. Besides, I don't want your handkerchief to get all bloody." He winced again as she lightly smacked him on the head.
"Idiot." He looked at her hurtfully. She smirked as she grabbed his hand again, quickly wrapping it with the cotton of her handkerchief. She tied a knot before pushing it back to him. He looked at it, a small smile slowly appearing. She smiled back. "Like I said, you are my nephew, one that I haven't seen in a very long time but my nephew nonetheless. And you know what?" He looked at her. "I still she the little boy I knew from before, always blaming himself for other peoples' problems."
"But it is my fault! I lied to them!"
"No...it isn't." She put a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to face her. "You've got to stop acting like a martyr. Unless you do, no one will ever respect you. And then you really will be all alone."
Keitaro opened his mouth to speak but paused for a second then closed it. He sighed. "Fine, then what am I supposed to do? They all must hate me now..."
"I wouldn't say 'hate,'" Haruka interrupted. "More like disappointed that you allowed them to believe a lie that they created. And if that's the case, then I've got the perfect solution to win back their trust." She smirked, fishing out the stack of papers. "Mom just faxed these to me a few minutes ago. I think you'll be presently surprised."
He received the papers from her and quickly looked them over. An eyebrow rose as he fixed his gaze back on Haruka, his face half-stuck between puzzlement and disbelief. "W-what is this? Real estate...Deal of ownership?"
Haruka winked. "It's all legal. Mom said she's giving everything to you."
"What?" Keitaro looked, stupefied, at the writing on the very last sheet of paper. It couldn't be 't...But it was. The last piece of evidence was all he needed to verify this nearly surreal event.
Letter: From Grandma to Keitaro
I, Hinata Urashima, give to my grandson, Keitaro Urashima, the real
estate in my possession, Hinata House, and the land it stands on.
August 10, 1998 Hinata Urashima
Haruka grinned at his expression. "Hinata House is all yours! If you become the landlord..."
Keitaro stared, horror clearly spread across his face. "Landlord?!"
A/N: Yay! I'm done this chapter! And just in time for my birthday too! Yep today's my birthday and I am now official an adult! But...that means I now have to pay income tax! Oh God, noooooooo! Ah well, that's what happens when you grow up! Anyway, thanks for reading this new chapter. I hope it was to your liking. Here comes the interview now, and I'll talk to ya again when it's all over! See ya!
Yamiga: Hey, folks! (waves) Welcome back to my interview! It's been a while, so let's get started, eh?!
Chaos: (sighs) I swear, Yamiga...you are just way to energetic at time...
Yamiga: It's either this or a mood that could conquer Naru's angry one any day. Now...which one would you like?
Chaos: (chuckles) Heh, yeah...I've seen you on those days...Never mind...
Keitaro: Urm...Yamiga-dono? Who's this?
Yamiga: Huh? Oh, sorry... (laughs sheepishly) This is Chaos. He's a friend of mine. You've met him before, but just not in this dimension or time.
Keitaro: Chaos...dono?
Yamiga: Don't bother. He doesn't deserve a title like that. (smirks) Right, Chaos-bozu?
Chaos: (growls) Yamiga...don't make me kick your ass like last time.
Yamiga: Yeah, yeah. No one was ever declared the winner, so let's leave it at that. Anyway... (turns to Keitaro) Keitaro, you ready to meet the girls again?
Keitaro: (fidgets) Urm, do you think we could wait until the next chapter? I don't think I deserve to meet them right now.
Yamiga: (sighs) Yeah, sure...Anyway, I sure made this chapter long. You enjoy yourself?
Keitaro: (frowns) Except for the fact that I betrayed all of them, and that they all probably hate me now? (shakes head) No, not really.
Yamiga: Sorry...
Chaos: Yamiga, you're digging yourself a bigger hole. Better wrap it up...
Yamiga: Sure...Anyway, don't worry, Keitaro. None of them hate you. Some of them actually like you a lot...maybe even more than that. (winks)
Keitaro: (blushes) Yamiga-dono!
Yamiga: (laughs) In any case, everything will get better. So don't you worry! You're gonna have a blast! Now, will you do the answers?
Keitaro: (smiles) Of course... (bows) Please review!
A/N: Wow...that was a long chapter...36 pages. Think that's the most I've ever written in one sitting...well, except for that one chapter in ALGO that I had to spilt apart...Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter because there are plenty more to come! The wheels of fate have begun to turn and the characters of Love Hina are caught up in it! May you enjoy all of your future reads! Until then, please review, and remember, no flames!
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Next Chapter: Discussions, Discoveries, and Decisions
"Oh, don't worry. How bad could it..." She opened the book and immediately trailed off. This...this couldn't be right, could it? She flipped to a random page. There was again. Another one. Again. Another one. The same. Every page she flipped to, the same image stared back up at her, always unmoving never changing. The only differences in any of them were the varying frames. She looked back up at him, her eyes full of disbelief and mockery. "Are all of these...are all of these pictures of you...alone?" Keitaro refused to meet her gaze, blush becoming worse. Naru soon began to giggle. She tried to stifle it, but it only escalated into a full-blown laugh. Soon she was cackling loudly, unable to bind her mirth...