Disclaimer: I own no part of Love Hina.
The suspense must be killing you. Admit it.
Chapter 2
After Naru sent him on his latest involuntary flight, she finished changing and set out for the living room as though nothing was different. Granted, Keitaro getting his lights punched out wasn't exactly something new to Hinata-Sou, but that's beside the point.
As she entered the living room, she saw that everyone else--well, almost everyone--had already gathered there. From the looks on their faces, it was obvious that they had heard what just befell their manager. "What did he do this time?" Kitsune asked, as though it was no big deal.
"He tried to sneak a peek again, that what!" Naru said, still pissed at the perverted ronin. "When will he know better?"
"Never, I hope." Kitsune said. "I like seeing him get punished."
"I hope he's alright," Shinobu said, almost in a whisper.
"Why do you worry yourself over that no good, lecherous, perverted, sorry excuse for a man?" Motoko asked.
Shinobu's face started to turn red. "Um, well, I..."
"Shinobu loves Keitaro! Shinobu loves Keitaro!" Suu sang over and over again.
"SUU!" Shinobu yelled, embarrassed to no end by the foreign girl's taunting. Despite her efforts, she couldn't get Suu to stop, so she ran out of the room.
"You see?" Naru asked. "If it wasn't for him, our lives would be so much simpler!"
"Maybe, but it would be pretty boring without him around," Kitsune said.
"Unlike you, some of us actually have something to do during the day," Motoko said.
"Well, aren't we all high and mighty today," Kitsune shot back.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Motoko asked.
Now, Naru knew well enough not to get involved when Motoko and Kitsune started arguing, so she decided to go check on Shinobu. When she eventually found the young girl in her room, crying her eyes out. "Are you alright?" Naru asked.
"Suu can be so mean sometimes," Shinobu sobbed.
"Don't worry," Naru said, bringing Shinobu close to her in a comforting manner. "I'm sure she was just playing around like she always does."
"That's just it," Shinobu thought. "I think I do love Sempai. But I know he loves Naru. She's so mature looking and I'm so... not. I don't see myself ever getting the attention that I really want from him. I wish it was him hugging me instead of Naru. I miss him already. I hope he gets back soon."
---
While the girls were referring to him in various ways, the wheels were turning in Keitaro's head. The plan that he had come up with was too perfect to pass up. Sure, he may end up regretting his actions, but he felt it was the only way--at this rate, he felt life could only get worse. He has been the quintessential puinching bag for far too long, and it had to end; by any means necessary. "I only hope it works the way I want it too," he mused. As he started making his way up the steps, he mentally prepared himself for what was about to go down; now wasn't the time to get cold feet.
---
Now, you must take into account the fact that Keitaro was taking longer than usual to get back this time around. In most cases when he sent halfway across town, he's back in about twenty minutes. At this point, it has been an hour and he still has yet to return, and it was starting to get the girls a bit restless.
"Where the heck is he?" Kitsune asked out loud. "How far did you send him this time, Naru?!"
"I didn't hit him any harder than usual," Naru said. She and Shinobu have already returned to the living room, where they made Suu promise to stop pestering the young girl.
"Depending on where he might have landed, who knows what condition he is in," Motoko said. Inside that emotionless exterior, she was starting to worry about him as well. Most days, you could almost set your watch to the guy, so when something like this occurs, one can't help but wonder what has happened to cause it.
"You mean he could be out there somewhere, seriously hurt?" Shinobu asked. "Or worse?!"
"He's not dead," Naru said. "I've hit him enough times to know that he practically invincible. Knowing him, he most likely just got himself stuck in a tree or something."
"Yeah, your probably right," Kitsune said. "Though that wouldn't keep him for this long, would it?"
Hearing the front door open, everyong rushed over to find their manager entering, seemingly unharmed--well, no more so than usual. "Where the heck have you been?" Naru asked. "You had us all worried about you!"
"Why?" Keitaro asked, clueless as ever. "What happened?"
"You being gone three times longer than usual, that's what!" Kitsune said. "Hey, what's in that bag?"
"Oh, this?" Keitaro asked, revealing a paper bag from behind his back. "It's just some light reading I picked up on the way home. I guess I must have gotten so involved in it that I lost track of time."
"What is it?" Shinobu asked.
"It's nothing, really. Not worth mentioning. Well, I'll see you guys later."
"Hold on a minute," Naru said, blocking Keitaro's way. "Don't you have something you want to say to me first?"
"Like what?"
"Oh, I don't know... an apology, maybe?!"
Keitaro looked a tad confused. "Apologize for what?"
"For trying to peek at me, that's what, you dumbass!"
A serious expression appeared on Keitaro's face. You must understand that everyone in the room had expected him to begin begging for forgiveness like his life depended on it by now, and none of them could have forseen what would come out of his mouth next. "Why would I want to peek at you?" He put emphasis on that last word. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." He walked right past Naru on his way up to his room, leaving all the girls in a state of shock, and rightly so.
"Okay," Kitsune said. "Tell me I didn't just hear what I thought I heard. Naru, are you sure you didn't hit him harder than usual?"
"It seems he may have finally grown a backbone," Motoko said.
"Is Keitaro not a pervert anymore?" Suu asked, most likely not all that aware of what she was saying.
Naru's mind was an absolute mess, trying to sort things out, without much success. Out of everything that could have happened, this was probably the last thing she would have ever considered. Never before had she ever seen him stand up to someone, nor speak in such a malevolent tone--and to her of all people!
Shinobu ended up voicing Naru's feelings out loud. "Why is Sempai acting this way all of a sudden?" she asked, looking worriedly at where Keitaro had left the room. Without even realizing it, her legs started moving her in the direction of Keitaro's room. She was also unaware of the fact that everyone was following her lead until she got there. Somewhat hesitantly, she knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Much to everyone's surprise and confusion, Keitaro's voice sounded very pleasant and inviting, almost the opposite of the way he was downstairs.
Shinobu for one didn't know what to think at this point. "Um, we all just wanted to speak with you for a minute."
"Sure, come on in." Shinobu was just about to open the door when Keitaro spoke up again. "Wait, is Naru out there with you?"
"Yeah, I'm right here," Naru said, somewhat meekly.
Keitaro's voice suddenly changed again. "She can't come in."
"Well, why not?!" Naru asked, suddenly angry at the upstart ronin.
"Why should I try to explain myself to you? It's not like you'd actually listen or anything!"
"Fine! I don't feel like talking to you anyway!" Naru started to walk away.
"When do you ever?"
Infuriated, Naru ran off. Nobody knew where she was headed, but they figured she wanted to get as far away from there as possible. After she was out of sight, Shinobu slowly opened the door, dreading what she might find behind it. "Um, Sempai?" she asked, seeing his seated at the table.
"Yes?" Keitaro said, the cheerfullness in his voice returning full force.
"Uh... I..."
"Didn't you say you all wanted to talk to me?"
"Um, yeah." Everyone then started to enter the room.
"This may sound silly," Kitsune said. "But who are you and what have you done with Keitaro."
"You're right," Keitaro said with a slight chuckle. "That is silly. I am who I've always been."
"I must disagree," Motoko said. "You have always been a spineless coward, but today, you stood up to Naru and trying to pass it of as nothing."
"Yeah," Kitsune said. "You can't just go and make your personality do a complete 180 and not expect us to wonder why."
"Maybe he's under some sort of brain control or something," Suu thought out loud, lightly poking at Keitaro's head.
"Everyone, I can assure you that nothings wrong; I have just done some thinking and made a few life choices, that's all."
"Um, Sempai?" Shinobu said. "Why were talking that way to Naru?"
"What do you mean, Shinobu?"
Shinobu's already red face grew brighter as Keitaro smiled at her. "I mean... I mean..."
Kitsune decided to speak up for the flustered girl. "She means that you used to almost worship the ground she walked on. What gives?"
"I finally realized that, for this whole time, I had been worshiping a false god. There's no point in pursuing someone who makes it obvious that the feelings aren't mutual."
"I guess that makes sense," Shinobu muttered.
"Is something the matter, Shinobu?"
"Uh, no! Nothing at all!" Shinobu said, laughing nervously. "I need to go do the laundry." She quickly made her way to the door.
"Don't work to hard, okay?"
"Well, I suppose we'll all leave you alone for a while," Kitsune said.
"See you all later," Keitaro said.
"Okay," Kitsune said as soon as the door was closed. "Is it just me or did he just change for the better?"
"I agree," Motoko said. "He seems more disciplined than before. Even his aura appears morer focused."
"Let's just hope it's not temporary."
"Sempai..." Shinobu thought. Out of everyone, she was probably the most disoriented by this odd turn of events. A unique opportunity has been presented to her, but she wasn't sure if she would ever bring up the strength to take advantage of it.
---
"Well, that went better than expected," Keitaro thought after they left, taking a deep breath. "This is it; I cannot turn back now. I must move forward with this. And to think, this whole thing was inspired by this book." He reached underneath the table and produced said book--entitled "Psychology and You". "I never thought I would ever speak to Naru in such a way, but I must find out how she really feels about me. Hmm, while I'm at it, I could do the same for the others as well." He went to his bookshelf and retrieved an empty notebook. "Let's see, what do I know about everyone so far...?"
End of Chapter 2
What do you think? By now, you can pretty much guess that the title was somewhat misleading, and what happened here might have been a bit of a let down for those of you who like dark fics. If so, I apologize, but this is what I had planned from the start. See you next time! Please R&R!
The suspense must be killing you. Admit it.
Chapter 2
After Naru sent him on his latest involuntary flight, she finished changing and set out for the living room as though nothing was different. Granted, Keitaro getting his lights punched out wasn't exactly something new to Hinata-Sou, but that's beside the point.
As she entered the living room, she saw that everyone else--well, almost everyone--had already gathered there. From the looks on their faces, it was obvious that they had heard what just befell their manager. "What did he do this time?" Kitsune asked, as though it was no big deal.
"He tried to sneak a peek again, that what!" Naru said, still pissed at the perverted ronin. "When will he know better?"
"Never, I hope." Kitsune said. "I like seeing him get punished."
"I hope he's alright," Shinobu said, almost in a whisper.
"Why do you worry yourself over that no good, lecherous, perverted, sorry excuse for a man?" Motoko asked.
Shinobu's face started to turn red. "Um, well, I..."
"Shinobu loves Keitaro! Shinobu loves Keitaro!" Suu sang over and over again.
"SUU!" Shinobu yelled, embarrassed to no end by the foreign girl's taunting. Despite her efforts, she couldn't get Suu to stop, so she ran out of the room.
"You see?" Naru asked. "If it wasn't for him, our lives would be so much simpler!"
"Maybe, but it would be pretty boring without him around," Kitsune said.
"Unlike you, some of us actually have something to do during the day," Motoko said.
"Well, aren't we all high and mighty today," Kitsune shot back.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Motoko asked.
Now, Naru knew well enough not to get involved when Motoko and Kitsune started arguing, so she decided to go check on Shinobu. When she eventually found the young girl in her room, crying her eyes out. "Are you alright?" Naru asked.
"Suu can be so mean sometimes," Shinobu sobbed.
"Don't worry," Naru said, bringing Shinobu close to her in a comforting manner. "I'm sure she was just playing around like she always does."
"That's just it," Shinobu thought. "I think I do love Sempai. But I know he loves Naru. She's so mature looking and I'm so... not. I don't see myself ever getting the attention that I really want from him. I wish it was him hugging me instead of Naru. I miss him already. I hope he gets back soon."
---
While the girls were referring to him in various ways, the wheels were turning in Keitaro's head. The plan that he had come up with was too perfect to pass up. Sure, he may end up regretting his actions, but he felt it was the only way--at this rate, he felt life could only get worse. He has been the quintessential puinching bag for far too long, and it had to end; by any means necessary. "I only hope it works the way I want it too," he mused. As he started making his way up the steps, he mentally prepared himself for what was about to go down; now wasn't the time to get cold feet.
---
Now, you must take into account the fact that Keitaro was taking longer than usual to get back this time around. In most cases when he sent halfway across town, he's back in about twenty minutes. At this point, it has been an hour and he still has yet to return, and it was starting to get the girls a bit restless.
"Where the heck is he?" Kitsune asked out loud. "How far did you send him this time, Naru?!"
"I didn't hit him any harder than usual," Naru said. She and Shinobu have already returned to the living room, where they made Suu promise to stop pestering the young girl.
"Depending on where he might have landed, who knows what condition he is in," Motoko said. Inside that emotionless exterior, she was starting to worry about him as well. Most days, you could almost set your watch to the guy, so when something like this occurs, one can't help but wonder what has happened to cause it.
"You mean he could be out there somewhere, seriously hurt?" Shinobu asked. "Or worse?!"
"He's not dead," Naru said. "I've hit him enough times to know that he practically invincible. Knowing him, he most likely just got himself stuck in a tree or something."
"Yeah, your probably right," Kitsune said. "Though that wouldn't keep him for this long, would it?"
Hearing the front door open, everyong rushed over to find their manager entering, seemingly unharmed--well, no more so than usual. "Where the heck have you been?" Naru asked. "You had us all worried about you!"
"Why?" Keitaro asked, clueless as ever. "What happened?"
"You being gone three times longer than usual, that's what!" Kitsune said. "Hey, what's in that bag?"
"Oh, this?" Keitaro asked, revealing a paper bag from behind his back. "It's just some light reading I picked up on the way home. I guess I must have gotten so involved in it that I lost track of time."
"What is it?" Shinobu asked.
"It's nothing, really. Not worth mentioning. Well, I'll see you guys later."
"Hold on a minute," Naru said, blocking Keitaro's way. "Don't you have something you want to say to me first?"
"Like what?"
"Oh, I don't know... an apology, maybe?!"
Keitaro looked a tad confused. "Apologize for what?"
"For trying to peek at me, that's what, you dumbass!"
A serious expression appeared on Keitaro's face. You must understand that everyone in the room had expected him to begin begging for forgiveness like his life depended on it by now, and none of them could have forseen what would come out of his mouth next. "Why would I want to peek at you?" He put emphasis on that last word. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." He walked right past Naru on his way up to his room, leaving all the girls in a state of shock, and rightly so.
"Okay," Kitsune said. "Tell me I didn't just hear what I thought I heard. Naru, are you sure you didn't hit him harder than usual?"
"It seems he may have finally grown a backbone," Motoko said.
"Is Keitaro not a pervert anymore?" Suu asked, most likely not all that aware of what she was saying.
Naru's mind was an absolute mess, trying to sort things out, without much success. Out of everything that could have happened, this was probably the last thing she would have ever considered. Never before had she ever seen him stand up to someone, nor speak in such a malevolent tone--and to her of all people!
Shinobu ended up voicing Naru's feelings out loud. "Why is Sempai acting this way all of a sudden?" she asked, looking worriedly at where Keitaro had left the room. Without even realizing it, her legs started moving her in the direction of Keitaro's room. She was also unaware of the fact that everyone was following her lead until she got there. Somewhat hesitantly, she knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Much to everyone's surprise and confusion, Keitaro's voice sounded very pleasant and inviting, almost the opposite of the way he was downstairs.
Shinobu for one didn't know what to think at this point. "Um, we all just wanted to speak with you for a minute."
"Sure, come on in." Shinobu was just about to open the door when Keitaro spoke up again. "Wait, is Naru out there with you?"
"Yeah, I'm right here," Naru said, somewhat meekly.
Keitaro's voice suddenly changed again. "She can't come in."
"Well, why not?!" Naru asked, suddenly angry at the upstart ronin.
"Why should I try to explain myself to you? It's not like you'd actually listen or anything!"
"Fine! I don't feel like talking to you anyway!" Naru started to walk away.
"When do you ever?"
Infuriated, Naru ran off. Nobody knew where she was headed, but they figured she wanted to get as far away from there as possible. After she was out of sight, Shinobu slowly opened the door, dreading what she might find behind it. "Um, Sempai?" she asked, seeing his seated at the table.
"Yes?" Keitaro said, the cheerfullness in his voice returning full force.
"Uh... I..."
"Didn't you say you all wanted to talk to me?"
"Um, yeah." Everyone then started to enter the room.
"This may sound silly," Kitsune said. "But who are you and what have you done with Keitaro."
"You're right," Keitaro said with a slight chuckle. "That is silly. I am who I've always been."
"I must disagree," Motoko said. "You have always been a spineless coward, but today, you stood up to Naru and trying to pass it of as nothing."
"Yeah," Kitsune said. "You can't just go and make your personality do a complete 180 and not expect us to wonder why."
"Maybe he's under some sort of brain control or something," Suu thought out loud, lightly poking at Keitaro's head.
"Everyone, I can assure you that nothings wrong; I have just done some thinking and made a few life choices, that's all."
"Um, Sempai?" Shinobu said. "Why were talking that way to Naru?"
"What do you mean, Shinobu?"
Shinobu's already red face grew brighter as Keitaro smiled at her. "I mean... I mean..."
Kitsune decided to speak up for the flustered girl. "She means that you used to almost worship the ground she walked on. What gives?"
"I finally realized that, for this whole time, I had been worshiping a false god. There's no point in pursuing someone who makes it obvious that the feelings aren't mutual."
"I guess that makes sense," Shinobu muttered.
"Is something the matter, Shinobu?"
"Uh, no! Nothing at all!" Shinobu said, laughing nervously. "I need to go do the laundry." She quickly made her way to the door.
"Don't work to hard, okay?"
"Well, I suppose we'll all leave you alone for a while," Kitsune said.
"See you all later," Keitaro said.
"Okay," Kitsune said as soon as the door was closed. "Is it just me or did he just change for the better?"
"I agree," Motoko said. "He seems more disciplined than before. Even his aura appears morer focused."
"Let's just hope it's not temporary."
"Sempai..." Shinobu thought. Out of everyone, she was probably the most disoriented by this odd turn of events. A unique opportunity has been presented to her, but she wasn't sure if she would ever bring up the strength to take advantage of it.
---
"Well, that went better than expected," Keitaro thought after they left, taking a deep breath. "This is it; I cannot turn back now. I must move forward with this. And to think, this whole thing was inspired by this book." He reached underneath the table and produced said book--entitled "Psychology and You". "I never thought I would ever speak to Naru in such a way, but I must find out how she really feels about me. Hmm, while I'm at it, I could do the same for the others as well." He went to his bookshelf and retrieved an empty notebook. "Let's see, what do I know about everyone so far...?"
End of Chapter 2
What do you think? By now, you can pretty much guess that the title was somewhat misleading, and what happened here might have been a bit of a let down for those of you who like dark fics. If so, I apologize, but this is what I had planned from the start. See you next time! Please R&R!