Disclaimer: I own no part of LH.
Just so you all know, I have no idea just how this fic will turn out yet, so don't give me suggestions as to who to pair Keitaro up with. It's not that I don't appreciate the input, it's just that I tend to go with the flow of the story and whatever happens, happens. (In fact, more happened in ch4 than I had first intended.) In my other fic, this is how my character got paired up with Shinobu.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand...
Chapter 5
The rest of breakfast went by pretty peacefully, what with Naru not in the room and Keitaro being as cheerful and friendly as ever. The only ones who seemed a bit out of sorts during this time was Shinobu and Motoko, the former trying to keep from appearing too happy that Keitaro was paying so much attention to her, and the latter still trying to sort things out in her head with little success.
When everyone finished eating, the girls went off to the hot spring while Keitaro began his managerial duties. "Oh man," Kitsune said. "There's nothing quite like a dip in the hot spring to ease one's tired muscles."
"When was the last time you had tired muscles?" Motoko asked.
"Well, I never said I was speaking from experience, did I?" Kitsune quickly decided to change the subject. "What was that whole thing about you and Keitaro on the roof this morning?"
Motoko got a bit flustered, but didn't show it. "What is there to say? Urashima met me up there, meditated for a while, then left. Naru just happened to find him on his way down." She was careful to leave out certain details.
"He should be more careful," Shinobu said. "If not, Naru might try to really hurt him again and we may not be able to help."
"I almost did just that," Motoko said, instantly giving silent curses to her mouth for working before her brain had a chance to.
"Excuse me?" Kitsune asked.
"While he was on the roof, I almost hit him."
"What did he do?" Shinobu asked.
"That's just it; he did absolutely nothing to deserve my wrath. I was going to beat him purely out of convenience just to vent. He saw my attack coming, but did nothing to stop me. In fact, he intentionally left himself wide open, telling me point blank to go ahead if it was truly warranted. Fortunately, I came to my senses." Motoko looked down at the water. "I am ashamed to have showed such weakness over my own emotions. I don't deserve any kindness from him."
"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself," Kitsune said. "At least you had the strength to stop yourself before any real damage was done. Besides, something must have happened to trigger your attack mode."
"You're probably right."
"You have any idea what it was?"
"Not really," Motoko lied. "I can't let anyone know about this," she thought. "I can only imagine what Kitsune would do or say if she found out that I might... I might..." She couldn't even find the strength to admit it to herself.
"I guess you're not the only one who should watch herself."
"What do you mean, Kitsune?" Shinobu asked.
"If I'm not careful, I might start falling for the guy."
"Y-You what?" Shinobu asked, now blushing furiously.
"I know," Kitsune said, blushing a bit herself. "I never thought it was possible either, but now that Naru appears to be out of the picture, I can't help but wonder where the rest of us stand."
"I don't really care where I stand," Suu said. "I just like playing with him. Plus, he's just a perverted loser."
In a way, Suu took Motoko's words right out of her mouth. "I agree," she said, though with less conviction than when she usually says or refers to such things.
"Well then, that just leaves you and me, doesn't it Shinobu?" Kitsune asked, nudging the young girl a bit.
"W-What are you talking about?!" Shinobu asked.
"You can drop the act, kiddo; you're not fooling anyone."
Shinobu's face grew brighter. "Is it that obvious?"
"Listen," Kitsune said. "The only one who's in the dark about how you feel about Keitaro is Keitaro, but considering the way he's been acting lately, it might not take all that long for him to finally figure it out. When he does, you have to be ready. You know, I really envy you right now."
That one took Shinobu by surprise. "You what?"
"It's true. When the time comes for you, you can be more open about it. What am I supposed to do? I don't think my usual methods will work as well from here on."
"And just what were your 'usual methods'?" Motoko asked.
"You mean you haven't FIGUREd it out by now?" Kitsune asked, chuckling at her deliberate choice of words.
"Oh dear," Motoko said, shaking her head a bit.
After spending about twenty minutes bathing, the girls dried off, got dressed and headed for their respective rooms, but they happened upon a certain someone along the way. "Hey Naru," Kitsune said. "Where are you off to?"
"The hot spring," Naru said. "Maybe a trip there can get my mind off that idiot."
"I don't think that's--" Shinobu started to say before Kitsune placed a hand over her mouth.
"Hope it works out for ya, Naru," Kitsune said. "See you later."
"Why didn't you let me tell her?" Shinobu asked after Naru left the room.
"I think we should let her find out on her own. Besides, it should be fun to watch." With that, she ran up the stairs, giggling as she went.
"This won't end well," Motoko said, shaking her head.
---
At that moment, our favorite landlord just happened to be out cleaning the hot spring. As per his request, the four girls that had made use of it told him when they were done. Of course, that was before they ran into Naru and sent her his way.
Hearing the door open, he turned to see who it was. "Did you forget anyth--" The smile vanished from his face in an instant. "Oh, it's you." "Oh shoot," he thought. "What am I going to do now? I hadn't prepared for this yet!"
"What are YOU doing here?!" Naru (who at the time was wearing a towel and not much else) asked, already angry at seeing the object of her hatred again so soon.
"Cleaning the hot spring," Keitaro said, thinking on his feet. "It is my job, after all."
"Don't give me that! You're just trying to find excuses to sneek a peek at me!"
Keitaro looked a bit repulsed. "Why would I? You're saying that as though it would be worth the effort, even if you didn't catch me and send me across town for it."
Naru definitely wasn't expecting that response. "What are you saying?" she asked.
Keitaro made his way across the hot spring, passing by Naru in the process. While he looked cool, calm and collected on the outside, his mind kept repeating the same words over and over again: "Don't look at her chest, don't look at her chest, don't look at her chest..." When he got to within a foot of Naru, he stopped and looked her straight in the eye. "You're a bright girl; you figure it out." He then walked inside, leaving a dumbfounded Naru in his wake.
---
"Woah," Kitsune thought. She had seen the entire thing from up on the roof. "I thought for sure he would freak out when Naru found him. If Naru in a towel doesn't faze him, what will? This guy just keeps getting weirder and weirder--at least for him." At this point, her mind was split; one side urged her to use these events to her advantage, but the other side only wanted answers--mainly how he turned into his polar opposite in such a short amount of time.
---
Kitsune's mind wasn't the only one plagued with unanswered questions. "What just happened?" Naru thought out loud. She hadn't moved an inch since Keitaro left. "Why didn't he beg for forgiveness when he saw me? Why did he say what he did? Why didn't I hit him when I had the chance?!" Finally, she regained her bodily functions, walking over to the water and taking a seat. "And what did he mean by 'it wouldn't be worth the effort'? It's like he doesn't find me attractive." She laughed at that. "What do I care what that pervert thinks?" Her laughter was short lived, mostly due to the tightness in her chest. "What is happening to me? Could Kitsune be right? Do I actually have feelings for him?" She quickly shook her head. "No, it's not possible. But still, why am I feeling like this right now...?"
After a quick bath, Naru would spend the rest of the morning in her room--mostly to put some space between her and Keitaro and his suddenly sharp wit and even sharper tongue. The next time anyone would see her again would be during lunch; even then, she hardly spoke a word. However, the events after the midday meal would force her out of the shadows--in a manner of speaking. It all started with a simple announcement...
"So long everyone!" Shinobu said. "I'm going to go get some groceries. I'll be back soon."
"Hold on," Keitaro said. "I'll come along."
"Y-You will?" Shinobu asked, now blushing. With this, along with helping make both breakfast and lunch, it appeared that Keitaro was making a conscious effort to be a bigger part of Shinobu's life. She wouldn't have it any other way.
"Like heck you will!" Naru interjected. "There's no way I'm going to trust you alone with her!"
Keitaro frowned. "What does it have to do with you?"
"Well, nothing, I just--"
"Then butt out." Keitaro turned to Shinobu. "C'mon, the sooner we go, the sooner we get back." He glanced back at Naru. "Or we could just take our sweet time." Shinobu simply nodded as they headed for the front door.
"And the hits just keep on coming," Kitsune muttered after the two made their rather hasty exit. "This is turning into a rout."
"Don't treat this like some sort of game, Kitsune," Motoko said. "The circumstances are far too serious for you to be so casual about it."
"Hey," Suu said. "Where did Naru go?"
Kitsune and Motoko looked around the room. Indeed, it looked like Naru had vanished in thin air. "Good question," Kitsune said.
---
"I'm sorry you had to see that," Keitaro said as he and Shinobu walked down the front steps. "I know how you hate confrontation."
Shinobu slowly shook her head. "It's alright. At least it didn't end with violence like breakfast did."
"Let's just hope that doesn't happen again," Keitaro said.
The next few moments were, at least for Shinobu, spent in an uncomfortable silence. "Um, Sempai?" she asked timidly. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"I was just wondering, how did you really feel about Naru before... well..."
Keitaro gave a sigh before answering. "I suppose it was bound to come up sooner or later." Much to his surprise, the words that had been stuck in his throat for so long just seemed to roll off his tongue. "It's true that I had a crush on Naru. Actually, it was much deeper than that. I was in love with her, pure and simple and almost from day one." He looked down at the ground. "But that's all in the past now. I should have known better than to think that she would ever feel the same way about me. I guess she was right about one thing; I am an idiot."
"Don't say that," Shinobu said, instantly coming to Keitaro's defense. "Love can make people do some silly things." "I know that first hand," she thought.
"You're right," Keitaro said, picking his head up. "There is no sense in constantly looking back at what has already been, when there are so many things that have yet to happen that I could look forward to." He smiled brightly at Shinobu. "Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine."
The redness on Shinobu's face brightened. "Okay," she managed to say.
As the two continued on their way, they were completely unaware that someone had been listening in on their entire conversation, nor the tears that had begun to flow freely down her cheeks.
End of Chapter 5
And the plot thinkens further. What will happen next? Find out next time. See you then! Please R&R!
Just so you all know, I have no idea just how this fic will turn out yet, so don't give me suggestions as to who to pair Keitaro up with. It's not that I don't appreciate the input, it's just that I tend to go with the flow of the story and whatever happens, happens. (In fact, more happened in ch4 than I had first intended.) In my other fic, this is how my character got paired up with Shinobu.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand...
Chapter 5
The rest of breakfast went by pretty peacefully, what with Naru not in the room and Keitaro being as cheerful and friendly as ever. The only ones who seemed a bit out of sorts during this time was Shinobu and Motoko, the former trying to keep from appearing too happy that Keitaro was paying so much attention to her, and the latter still trying to sort things out in her head with little success.
When everyone finished eating, the girls went off to the hot spring while Keitaro began his managerial duties. "Oh man," Kitsune said. "There's nothing quite like a dip in the hot spring to ease one's tired muscles."
"When was the last time you had tired muscles?" Motoko asked.
"Well, I never said I was speaking from experience, did I?" Kitsune quickly decided to change the subject. "What was that whole thing about you and Keitaro on the roof this morning?"
Motoko got a bit flustered, but didn't show it. "What is there to say? Urashima met me up there, meditated for a while, then left. Naru just happened to find him on his way down." She was careful to leave out certain details.
"He should be more careful," Shinobu said. "If not, Naru might try to really hurt him again and we may not be able to help."
"I almost did just that," Motoko said, instantly giving silent curses to her mouth for working before her brain had a chance to.
"Excuse me?" Kitsune asked.
"While he was on the roof, I almost hit him."
"What did he do?" Shinobu asked.
"That's just it; he did absolutely nothing to deserve my wrath. I was going to beat him purely out of convenience just to vent. He saw my attack coming, but did nothing to stop me. In fact, he intentionally left himself wide open, telling me point blank to go ahead if it was truly warranted. Fortunately, I came to my senses." Motoko looked down at the water. "I am ashamed to have showed such weakness over my own emotions. I don't deserve any kindness from him."
"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself," Kitsune said. "At least you had the strength to stop yourself before any real damage was done. Besides, something must have happened to trigger your attack mode."
"You're probably right."
"You have any idea what it was?"
"Not really," Motoko lied. "I can't let anyone know about this," she thought. "I can only imagine what Kitsune would do or say if she found out that I might... I might..." She couldn't even find the strength to admit it to herself.
"I guess you're not the only one who should watch herself."
"What do you mean, Kitsune?" Shinobu asked.
"If I'm not careful, I might start falling for the guy."
"Y-You what?" Shinobu asked, now blushing furiously.
"I know," Kitsune said, blushing a bit herself. "I never thought it was possible either, but now that Naru appears to be out of the picture, I can't help but wonder where the rest of us stand."
"I don't really care where I stand," Suu said. "I just like playing with him. Plus, he's just a perverted loser."
In a way, Suu took Motoko's words right out of her mouth. "I agree," she said, though with less conviction than when she usually says or refers to such things.
"Well then, that just leaves you and me, doesn't it Shinobu?" Kitsune asked, nudging the young girl a bit.
"W-What are you talking about?!" Shinobu asked.
"You can drop the act, kiddo; you're not fooling anyone."
Shinobu's face grew brighter. "Is it that obvious?"
"Listen," Kitsune said. "The only one who's in the dark about how you feel about Keitaro is Keitaro, but considering the way he's been acting lately, it might not take all that long for him to finally figure it out. When he does, you have to be ready. You know, I really envy you right now."
That one took Shinobu by surprise. "You what?"
"It's true. When the time comes for you, you can be more open about it. What am I supposed to do? I don't think my usual methods will work as well from here on."
"And just what were your 'usual methods'?" Motoko asked.
"You mean you haven't FIGUREd it out by now?" Kitsune asked, chuckling at her deliberate choice of words.
"Oh dear," Motoko said, shaking her head a bit.
After spending about twenty minutes bathing, the girls dried off, got dressed and headed for their respective rooms, but they happened upon a certain someone along the way. "Hey Naru," Kitsune said. "Where are you off to?"
"The hot spring," Naru said. "Maybe a trip there can get my mind off that idiot."
"I don't think that's--" Shinobu started to say before Kitsune placed a hand over her mouth.
"Hope it works out for ya, Naru," Kitsune said. "See you later."
"Why didn't you let me tell her?" Shinobu asked after Naru left the room.
"I think we should let her find out on her own. Besides, it should be fun to watch." With that, she ran up the stairs, giggling as she went.
"This won't end well," Motoko said, shaking her head.
---
At that moment, our favorite landlord just happened to be out cleaning the hot spring. As per his request, the four girls that had made use of it told him when they were done. Of course, that was before they ran into Naru and sent her his way.
Hearing the door open, he turned to see who it was. "Did you forget anyth--" The smile vanished from his face in an instant. "Oh, it's you." "Oh shoot," he thought. "What am I going to do now? I hadn't prepared for this yet!"
"What are YOU doing here?!" Naru (who at the time was wearing a towel and not much else) asked, already angry at seeing the object of her hatred again so soon.
"Cleaning the hot spring," Keitaro said, thinking on his feet. "It is my job, after all."
"Don't give me that! You're just trying to find excuses to sneek a peek at me!"
Keitaro looked a bit repulsed. "Why would I? You're saying that as though it would be worth the effort, even if you didn't catch me and send me across town for it."
Naru definitely wasn't expecting that response. "What are you saying?" she asked.
Keitaro made his way across the hot spring, passing by Naru in the process. While he looked cool, calm and collected on the outside, his mind kept repeating the same words over and over again: "Don't look at her chest, don't look at her chest, don't look at her chest..." When he got to within a foot of Naru, he stopped and looked her straight in the eye. "You're a bright girl; you figure it out." He then walked inside, leaving a dumbfounded Naru in his wake.
---
"Woah," Kitsune thought. She had seen the entire thing from up on the roof. "I thought for sure he would freak out when Naru found him. If Naru in a towel doesn't faze him, what will? This guy just keeps getting weirder and weirder--at least for him." At this point, her mind was split; one side urged her to use these events to her advantage, but the other side only wanted answers--mainly how he turned into his polar opposite in such a short amount of time.
---
Kitsune's mind wasn't the only one plagued with unanswered questions. "What just happened?" Naru thought out loud. She hadn't moved an inch since Keitaro left. "Why didn't he beg for forgiveness when he saw me? Why did he say what he did? Why didn't I hit him when I had the chance?!" Finally, she regained her bodily functions, walking over to the water and taking a seat. "And what did he mean by 'it wouldn't be worth the effort'? It's like he doesn't find me attractive." She laughed at that. "What do I care what that pervert thinks?" Her laughter was short lived, mostly due to the tightness in her chest. "What is happening to me? Could Kitsune be right? Do I actually have feelings for him?" She quickly shook her head. "No, it's not possible. But still, why am I feeling like this right now...?"
After a quick bath, Naru would spend the rest of the morning in her room--mostly to put some space between her and Keitaro and his suddenly sharp wit and even sharper tongue. The next time anyone would see her again would be during lunch; even then, she hardly spoke a word. However, the events after the midday meal would force her out of the shadows--in a manner of speaking. It all started with a simple announcement...
"So long everyone!" Shinobu said. "I'm going to go get some groceries. I'll be back soon."
"Hold on," Keitaro said. "I'll come along."
"Y-You will?" Shinobu asked, now blushing. With this, along with helping make both breakfast and lunch, it appeared that Keitaro was making a conscious effort to be a bigger part of Shinobu's life. She wouldn't have it any other way.
"Like heck you will!" Naru interjected. "There's no way I'm going to trust you alone with her!"
Keitaro frowned. "What does it have to do with you?"
"Well, nothing, I just--"
"Then butt out." Keitaro turned to Shinobu. "C'mon, the sooner we go, the sooner we get back." He glanced back at Naru. "Or we could just take our sweet time." Shinobu simply nodded as they headed for the front door.
"And the hits just keep on coming," Kitsune muttered after the two made their rather hasty exit. "This is turning into a rout."
"Don't treat this like some sort of game, Kitsune," Motoko said. "The circumstances are far too serious for you to be so casual about it."
"Hey," Suu said. "Where did Naru go?"
Kitsune and Motoko looked around the room. Indeed, it looked like Naru had vanished in thin air. "Good question," Kitsune said.
---
"I'm sorry you had to see that," Keitaro said as he and Shinobu walked down the front steps. "I know how you hate confrontation."
Shinobu slowly shook her head. "It's alright. At least it didn't end with violence like breakfast did."
"Let's just hope that doesn't happen again," Keitaro said.
The next few moments were, at least for Shinobu, spent in an uncomfortable silence. "Um, Sempai?" she asked timidly. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"I was just wondering, how did you really feel about Naru before... well..."
Keitaro gave a sigh before answering. "I suppose it was bound to come up sooner or later." Much to his surprise, the words that had been stuck in his throat for so long just seemed to roll off his tongue. "It's true that I had a crush on Naru. Actually, it was much deeper than that. I was in love with her, pure and simple and almost from day one." He looked down at the ground. "But that's all in the past now. I should have known better than to think that she would ever feel the same way about me. I guess she was right about one thing; I am an idiot."
"Don't say that," Shinobu said, instantly coming to Keitaro's defense. "Love can make people do some silly things." "I know that first hand," she thought.
"You're right," Keitaro said, picking his head up. "There is no sense in constantly looking back at what has already been, when there are so many things that have yet to happen that I could look forward to." He smiled brightly at Shinobu. "Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine."
The redness on Shinobu's face brightened. "Okay," she managed to say.
As the two continued on their way, they were completely unaware that someone had been listening in on their entire conversation, nor the tears that had begun to flow freely down her cheeks.
End of Chapter 5
And the plot thinkens further. What will happen next? Find out next time. See you then! Please R&R!