Ronin and Heart, Part 1
"You're distracting me."
"Aww, c'mon," Kitsune said, giving Motoko a wink as she set a tray on her kotatsu. "You're studying, you gotta keep your energy up." There was a glass of tea and several rice balls on the tray, made by Shinobu of course, as Kitsune still preferred to let others cook. Not that she was much different herself, Motoko thought, but she had her reasons. "If you're gonna wear yourself out, it'd be better if it was something I could help with, y'know?"
"I mean it," Motoko said. She gave Kitsune a stern look. "I need to be studying, not . . . not. . . ."
Kitsune stood and posed, looking as though she was trying to look innocent, holding her arms in front of herself and pushing up her breasts. "Not what?" She grinned. "You're blushing again."
Motoko slammed her pencil onto the table and glared at Kistune. "Not watching you prance around in that outfit!"
While Motoko had to admit that she didn't exactly disapprove of the slightly ridiculous maid outfit that Kitsune was in, it did make it very difficult to concentrate on anything else. And concentrating was something she sorely needed to do. With the exams for Tokyo U only a week away, there was little in her life right now that was more important than cramming as much as possible into her head and hoping that it would stay there long enough for her to pass the test. With all the studying she'd been doing, Motoko had developed some appreciation for everything that Urashima had gone through in his ronin days. Yet with Kitsune around, she was also starting to understand how he'd felt about studying in the same room as Naru.
However, had Kitsune also been trying to study, things would have been considerably different.
Motoko sighed, then pushed up the rising-sun headband she wore and gave Kitsune a weary look. "I'm sorry," she said, trying to smile, "but I really have to keep at this. You know how important it is for me to get into Tokyo U."
"I know, I know," Kitsune said. "And I'm here for you, you know that." She leaned forward and brushed Motoko's hair back from her face, then kissed her on the cheek, making her smile. Kitsune then whispered in her ear, "And when you need to relax, I picked up a book on massage." She reached around and trailed a finger up Motoko's spine, sending a shiver through her.
"Kitsune," Motoko said firmly after taking a second to catch her breath. "I need to concentrate. You're really not helping."
"Oh, fine," Kitsune said, then winked at her as she stood. She headed for the door, then paused. "You'll make it to bed tonight, right? It's . . . y'know, kinda cold and lonely without you." She looked faintly sad for a moment, though she didn't hold the expression for long.
Motoko shook her head. "I can't promise," she said, "but I'll try." She gave her lover a small smile. "I don't like waking up alone much either," she said quietly.
Kitsune smiled back, and for a moment, she looked devoid of her usual lechery, seeming almost innocent in some very bizarre, nearly impossible way. Motoko had to admit, she liked that kind of smile; when Kitsune went beyond the flirting and teasing and showed that yes, she did in fact love her. It made Motoko feel warm inside, and she knew that the heat she felt in her face wasn't due to embarrassment or nervousness.
Kitsune then flashed her red panties for a second before heading out of the room and shutting the door behind her, completely ruining the moment and leaving Motoko to glower at nobody.
She put a hand to her forehead and sighed, then took a sip of the hot tea, trying to clear her head. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate Kitsune's slightly warped attempt to help, it was just that the other woman was, to put it bluntly, insatiable. Under normal circumstances, Motoko wouldn't have minded at all. But she was trying to get into Tokyo U, to show that she was the best both with the sword and in her studies. It was demanding, it was time-consuming, and it was making her feel much older than she was.
It would be worth it in the end, Motoko thought. She'd seen how happy Naru and Keitaro had been once they'd learned that they'd passed the tests. She wasn't quite sure when she'd decided to aim for Tokyo U - it was possible, she thought, that Shinobu's somewhat childlike yearnings had prompted her - but she knew it was a goal that she had to stick with. She just hoped, she thought with a small frown, that it wouldn't put too much strain on things with Kitsune.
Then again, it wasn't as though there was much about their relationship that could be strained. Things had been remarkably simple, she knew that. She loved Kitsune, who loved her; what more was there to worry about? With that in mind, Motoko nodded to herself and turned back to her studies, eager to regain her focus.
"Hey, Naru, can I talk to you?"
Kitsune poked her head into Naru's room, and saw that her old friend was sitting at her desk in the house's padded robe, working with a few piles of notes and muttering to herself under her breath. She had a moment of deja vu before realizing that Naru was probably just going over her stuff for the class she was tutoring. Naru had really been throwing herself into that ever since Keitaro left for the States, Kitsune thought. It was kind of cute how she kept denying that she even liked him, but anyone could see it.
Naru looked up and blinked after a second, then blinked again after seeing how Kitsune was dressed. "Kitsune? If this is about your rent, I don't think working as a maid counts--"
"What? Oh!" Kitsune grinned. "No, I was just bringing Motoko some tea and service. You busy?"
"Sort of," Naru said, gesturing to her papers. "But what's up?"
Kitsune stepped into Naru's room and closed the door, then leaned against the wall by Naru's desk. "When you and Keitaro were studying all the time, and he was really into it, did you ever start to think that he was getting a little too into it?"
"What - what do you mean?" Naru asked, looking flustered for a moment. "It's not like how it is with you and Motoko," she said, waving her hands back and forth.
"Close enough," Kitsune said with a smile and wink. "It's just that . . . I don't know." She sighed. "Motoko's been doing nothing but studying for the past three months, she's just as bad as you guys ever were." She paused. "At least she's not rolling around on the floor and screaming 'I can't do it,' but she does keep threatening to commit harakiri if she doesn't make it."
"I don't think you need to worry about that," Naru said calmly, though she was smiling. "Motoko's as sensible as any of us, maybe more, most of the time."
"Well, yeah," Kitsune agreed. "She's dating me, so I'd think that's pretty obvious." She smirked at Naru. "But no, that's not really what I'm worried about. It's like all she ever wants to do is study. She's not even training as much as she used to, and she hasn't given me a kendo lesson in a week. And she's tired all the time, so it's not like we're, y'know, getting much quality time in bed either."
"Hmm." Naru frowned a bit, and looked down, though Kitsune saw she was turning a little red. "I don't really know. Maybe she just wants to make sure she passes; you know how she can be about mastering something."
"No kidding," Kitsune said with a shudder. "Did you see that time when she tied me to a log so she could practice that Boulder Cutting Blade?"
Naru pulled back, still frowning. "Is that the one that tears peoples' clothes off?"
"No," Kitsune said, then added, "I wish," leering a bit. "But it's weird. Sure, she's dedicated to that. But I'm worried about all her studying. I'm worried about. . . ." She gestured vaguely, then leaned back and sighed again.
"Kitsune." Naru leaned forward, giving Kitsune a small smile. "You keep telling me to be honest, so why don't you? If it's really something you're worried about, then why don't you just tell her?"
Kitsune started to say something, paused, then blinked at Naru. "Wait, why am I coming to you for relationship advice?" She grinned and ducked as Naru started to glare. "Especially when you just tell me the same thing I keep telling you?"
"Kitsune!" Naru yelled, fuming.
"Oh, I'll be nice," she said. "But yeah, you're right. Then again," she said with a shrug, "who else could I really go to for advice in this house? Shinobu'd just blush, Su's crazy, Mutsumi just keeps asking for details, and Haruka. . . ." Kitsune paused, putting her hand to her chin as she thought. "Haruka might not be such a bad idea."
"Probably," Naru said with a nod. "She's still working things out with Seta, so she might know what you're going through. He's always so focused on his digs and what he finds, half the time he hardly knows she's there."
Kitsune had to grin at that. "No kidding. She's still going to be at the café this late at night, right?"
"Yeah, but Mutsumi's probably going to be there too," Naru said. "Like you said, she's going to ask for details."
"Maybe," Kitsune said. "But Haruka might also, and stuff like that's more fun with an audience of more than just one." She winked at Naru as the other girl's eyes opened wide, then sped out of her room.
"Ah. . . . Finally."
Motoko closed the last of her history books, and rubbed at her tired eyes. That was the last of it, she thought. She'd been through all of the basics, knowing them for the most important part, as she'd heard from Naru and Urashima countless times. Their studying techniques, as well as the tutoring she'd been getting from Naru, had been helpful in more ways than she could count.
She glanced up at the clock. It was just after nine. Good, she thought; she would have time to get in some practice and take a quick bath before bed. First, though, she'd have to find Kitsune and tell her that perhaps they could both make use of the massage book - her back was more than a little sore from sitting all day, and she loved the thought of returning the favor.
After putting on her kendo garb, Motoko headed out of her room in search of her lover. She ran into Su and Sarah first, who were careening through the halls as usual. For some reason, Su was still wearing her santa hat, even though Christmas had been about two months ago.
"And Motoko is freed from her books!" Su yelled as she ran up to Motoko and skidded to a halt. "Whatcha up to?"
"Just looking for Kitsune before I begin my night's practice," Motoko said with a smile. "Have you seen her?"
"Nope," Su said, "thought I saw her goin' out of Naru's room in that maid dress, but that was a while ago." She then whipped off her hat and planted it on Sarah's head for no apparent reason.
"Stop it!" Sarah pulled the hat up so it didn't cover her eyes, then grinned up at Motoko. "What's the matter? Lovers' quarrel?"
"I--" Motoko blushed for an instant, then shook her head. "Nothing like that. I just wanted to ask her about something."
"Okay, gotcha," Sarah said. "Just thought maybe she was goin' after Naru now that the dork's gone."
Motoko frowned, and gave Sarah a hard glare. "I sincerely doubt that," she said, then smiled to herself. It was difficult to picture something less likely happening; not only was she sure that Kitsune loved her, she also knew that Naru wouldn't do such a thing. Kitsune might joke about something like that, of course, but she would never be serious. If she'd been in Naru's room wearing the maid outfit, then she must have gone there right after bringing the tea and rice balls.
That, however, was enough to give Motoko pause. What reason would Kitsune have for needing to talk to Naru right away? One would think that she would change, so as not to be prancing around Hinata House in the maid outfit. . . . Then again, this was Kitsune, who'd never had trouble with flaunting anything to anyone. Motoko sighed.
"I'm sure she's around here somewhere," she said, "but thank you."
"Okies," Su said, then snatched the hat back off of Sarah's head and took off down the hall. Sarah, for some reason, followed.
Motoko couldn't help smiling at them. Life at Hinata was never boring, but those two seemed to add a great deal to the general state of chaos.
A short while later, Motoko stood on the outside deck, practicing a thousand strokes under the light of moon and stars. Her sword's black blade flickered and flashed silver as she swung, leaving trails that glowed for an instant before fading. This was something she could not neglect, she thought, no matter what. If she was to prove herself as both woman and warrior, then she must tend to both sides, and come out on top no matter what. Her center test had gone quite well, so she felt certain that she was up to the task of passing Tokyo U's entrance exam.
After her strokes were done, Motoko sheathed her blade and wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel. One more week, she thought. One more week, and then all her work would pay off. She could understand what Naru and Urashima had gone through for their exams, and why they'd both been so nervous, but she had to admit that she didn't feel quite the same way. She was strong, she was prepared, and she hadn't a doubt that she could do it.
She was also cold, Motoko thought with a shiver, and headed back into the house, in search of Kitsune yet again. A bath was always nice before bed, and she had to admit that they were always better with Kitsune around. Something about the warmth, and just leaning close to each other. . . . She smiled warmly, feeling her face begin to heat. Perhaps she had been spending too much time studying recently, she thought.
Motoko found Shinobu in the kitchen. The younger girl was setting some meat out to defrost for tomorrow's breakfast, and gave Motoko a bright smile as she walked in.
"Have you seen Kitsune?" Motoko asked, then frowned when Shinobu shook her head.
"Su asked if I'd seen her a while ago," Shinobu said, "but it looked like Sarah was chasing her, so I didn't really get to answer."
"That sounds about right," Motoko said with a quiet laugh. "I'll search for a bit more, then I'll be in the bath; tell her to come join me if you see her."
"All - all right," Shinobu said, starting to blush.
Motoko headed to the washroom, laughing a bit at old memories and thinking of how some things never seemed to change. While Shinobu had grown up a good deal in the time she'd been at Hinata, it seemed that there were some things that would always fluster her. It wasn't truly a bad thing, though. If nothing else, Kitsune would come to find her when if Shinobu saw her, though Motoko was sure that Kitsune would tease the younger girl a little for her blushing.
However, Kitsune never did join Motoko in the bath, and half an hour after she'd arrived, she left with a frown. Something else must be going on, she thought; Kitsune would have come running if given the opportunity. Perhaps she'd already gone to bed, though Motoko didn't think that was very likely.
It wouldn't hurt to check, though.
Motoko put on her sleepwear and sneaked to Kitsune's room, then slid open the door as quietly as she could. She could see the futon on the floor; Kitsune never seemed to bother picking it up. Motoko crawled over, but by the time she reached it, she could tell that it was empty. She sighed, but slid under the cover anyway. She could stay awake until her lover arrived, she thought with a yawn. Of course she could.
"So that's what it's like, she just studies and studies and it's like we don't even have time to see each other, and we live in the same house!"
Kitsune leaned forward over her beer, trying not to cry, not caring that she was being really melodramatic. Something about Café Hinata just brought it out of her, and the fact that she'd come here for advice only seemed to make it worse. Mutsumi was sitting next to her at the table, patting her shoulder to comfort her, while Haruka sat across from her, smoking as always. Tama-chan, the resident bizarre hot springs turtle, was perched on Mutsumi's head. A plate with a few watermelon rinds and a few dozen seeds on it sat on the table in front of Kitsune.
Haruka puffed out a cloud of smoke, then shrugged. "Love's like that sometimes," she said.
Kitsune blinked at her. "Y'know, I kind of thought you'd have a little more to say than that," she said. "Then again, you're dating Seta, so maybe not."
"The dating thing's up for debate," Haruka said pointedly. "But I can see how you're worried. Things have been rosy for you two so far, right?"
"Pretty much," Kitsune said, then downed the rest of her beer. "There was that one time when her crazy sister yanked her off to Kyoto, but that's about it for problems."
"Right," Haruka said. "So the first time something like this comes up, and it looks like it could last a while, you're getting worried. No surprise there."
"Studying takes a lot of focus," Mutsumi said, looking oddly serious. "Kei-kun and Naru-san and I all had to put in so much work to make sure we passed." She paused, then smiled. "It's good that Motoko has a kotatsu, they're so helpful."
Kitsune had to grin at that. Leave it to Mutsumi, she thought, to find the simple and oddly cheerful way to look at this. She did have to admit that there were advantages to the kotatsu, like that one time-
"Ara . . . you're turning red, Kitsune," Mutsumi said. She leaned forward. "Have you had too much to drink? Or are you thinking of something you feel like sharing?"
"Umm . . . just. . . ." Kitsune put a hand to her mouth and giggled. "Yes. Kotatsus are good. Anyway," she continued, looking back to Haruka - who looked a little too interested, Kitsune thought - "it's bothering me." She frowned; it wasn't easy to say all this but she had to get it out. She had to be honest, just like Naru had said, just like she herself kept saying. "I know she really wants to get into Tokyo U, I know it's important to her. But I just feel. . . ." She gestured vaguely.
"Neglected?" Haruka offered.
"Unfulfilled?" Mutsumi asked.
"Ignored?" Haruka suggested.
"Frustrated?" Mutsumi hinted.
"Myuh?" Tama-chan said.
"Myuh," Kitsune said. "Definitely myuh."
"You're so eloquent sometimes, Tama-chan," Mutsumi said with a giggle.
"Look, just go back and tell her what you told us," Haruka said, and ground out her cigarette in an ashtray. "Motoko will listen, you know that. It's when you stop talking that everything starts to fall apart."
"Yeah. . . ." Kitsune reached for her beer, found it empty, and shrugged, then slowly got to her feet. "Yeah, you're right. She's just been so busy, I didn't really want to bother her."
"Oh, but you'll be bothered more if you don't say anything, won't you?" Mutsumi asked.
Kitsune looked down at the turtle girl, who was holding a hand to her mouth and looked perfectly innocent. How could Mutsumi be so perceptive, she thought, and yet so clueless, often at the exact same time? But Kitsune knew that she was right.
"Yeah," Kitsune said with a slow nod. "Yeah, I will." She sighed. "Haruka, thanks for the beer, and the advice. Mutsumi, thanks for the watermelon and for reminding me about the kotatsu thing." She winked at the other girl, who just kept smiling.
"Anytime, Kitsune," Haruka said. "Just don't screw it up."
That, Kitsune thought as she headed back down to Hinata House, was the last thing she wanted to do. She was happy with Motoko, and that was probably why she was feeling all awkward about messing with it in any way. It was like if she said anything, she thought, then it'd get all weird, and things wouldn't be the same. But if she didn't say anything, then it might get worse, and then where would she be?
"Doomed," Kitsune said to herself, and hurried back to her room.
She heard Motoko's breathing as soon as she arrived, and grinned widely when she saw that there was someone in her bed. Oh, good, she thought. Her little sexy kendo girl had been thinking the same thing, or at least something close enough. She quietly stripped out of the maid outfit, watching the futon to see if Motoko had heard her, then slipped under the cover.
"Hey, love," Kitsune whispered, "I'm--"
Motoko's breathing was slow and even, and as peaceful as she looked, Kitsune could tell that she was fast asleep. "Damn," Kitsune whispered, then snuggled close to her as well as she could. It wasn't what she wanted - okay, it was supposed to be part of what she wanted, not the entire thing - but it'd have to do, she thought, though she did feel a little cheated. But it was the first time Motoko had been in her futon for a while.
Eh, Kitsune thought, they could talk tomorrow; no point in waking her up just to start complaining. For now, this would be enough. Kitsune draped one arm over Motoko, then rested her head on the pillow and drifted off to sleep.