Disclaimer: I own no part of LH.
Sorry it's taken so long for updates. Writing papers for school can be a real pain; I'm sure most of you can relate.
Anyway, this story just seems to be a magnet for Naru-bashing, doesn't it? Well, it's not like I don't see why. Alright, let's move on with this Jeckyll and Hyde story before the Naru-lovers start spamming or flaming me.
Chapter 6
Moments after Keitaro and Shinobu left for the market, Naru went out after them to make sure the pervert kept his hands to himself, and ended up with quite the learning experience. The last thing she expected to hear was Keitaro confessing his feeling for her--correction, the feelings he used to have. She then let her targets get away, as she was rooted to that one spot, unable to believe her ears.
"He..." SHe said in barely a whisper, tears beginning to stream down her face. "He... loved me?" Without even fully realizing it, she started to run back towards the inn. She slammed open the front door and ran by Kitsune, Motoko and Suu as she went upstairs.
"Well," Kitsune said. "That answers that question, but brings up so many more."
"Was she crying just now?" Motoko asked.
"So it wasn't just me," Kitsune said. It wasn't often that anyone sees Naru act like she did, so they figured something big must have just happened. Without giving it a second thought, the three started towards where they knew she had gone. "Hey, Naru!" Kitsune said, knocking on the suddenly distressed girl's door. "What's wrong?"
"Go away!" Naru wailed from inside. "Leave me alone!"
"Come on, Naru!" Kitsune shouted. "I just wanna talk!"
"I'll talk when I feel like talking and not before!"
"She is so stubborn," Kitsune muttered. "Well, I suppose there isn't much we can do at this point outside of breaking in."
"Yes," Motoko said. "Our only option is to wait until she becomes more sociable."
"Either way, we're going to need some answers..."
---
"The nerve of that Kitsune," Naru thought from within the confines of her room. "Always sticking her nose where it doesn't belong."
"You can't really blame her, can you?" another part of her brain responded. "You run by her crying your eyes out and expect her not to worry about you?"
"Shut up. She has no idea what just happened."
"And you did a great job of enlightening her, too. You make me so proud to be a part of this brain."
"I said shut up!"
"You don't even know why you're crying right now, do you?"
"If you don't keep quiet, I'm going to--"
"You'll what? You've been able to keep me at bay because of the constant abuse you've been giving Keitaro. He's not even home right now, so ignoring me is no longer an option. Now that we're on the subject, let's talk about Keitaro."
"That's the last thing I want to think about right now."
"Exactly. Why do you think hearing him say what he did struck such a sensitive nerve in you? Could it be that you love him as much as he does you--or should I say, did?"
"Now don't you start! Why would I have any feelings for that no-good pervert?!"
"You can't really believe that, can you? I mean, he gets so apologetic every time something happens. If he's the pervert you always make him out to be, you shouldn't be seeing any remorse from him at all."
The part of Naru that had an obvious lack of rationale didn't know how to respond to that. "Um, well..."
"Keitaro is not a bad man; never has been. He just suffers from bad luck and clumsiness."
"Why are you defending him?"
"Because, Shinobu aside, nobody else will, not even him. He truly believes it's all his fault, and your constant abuse hasn't helped matters. If only you could have confessed your true feelings before he gave up on you."
"NO! How many time do I have to say it?! I do not love him!"
"If that's the case, then you wouldn't care if you saw him with someone else, would you? Funny, you always seemed so against it in the past; why is that?"
"Because he can't be trusted."
"Why, because the first time you saw each other, neither of you had any clothes on? That can't be the only reason."
"It's not like it stopped there. I can't even count how many times he's tried to sneak a peek at me!"
"And now, he hardly even looks at you. Yeah, that's a real improvement. He gave you every opportunity in the world to be his girlfriend, but all you did was push him away. Face it, you blew your shot to be with the only man who truly cared for you--more than Seta ever did, I can tell you that much."
"Please, stop this!"
"The truth cannot be stopped. You have kept it down for far too long to of any good to anyone. Tell him how you fell and maybe, just maybe, he will take you back--that is, if one of the other girls don't get him first."
Meanwhile, the physical Naru was sitting at her table, her hands gripping the sides of her head as the battle waged on in her mind.
---
While Naru was coming to terms with her inner demons, Keitaro and Shinobu went on to the market to buy groceries, completely unaware that anything was going on back home. The trip went without a hitch, though both of them were in deep thought about surprisingly similar topics. On the way back, Keitaro decided to speak up with intentions of confirming something that he had been curious about since breakfast. "Shinobu?"
"Yes, Sempai?" Shinobu said.
"I've been wondering something lately: Why are you always so nervous around me?"
Shinobu took a deep breath. "Just go ahead and say it," she thought. "Well, for the longest time, I've... liked you."
"Is that all?" Keitaro asked. "I don't see what's so bad about that. I mean, I like you, too."
Shinobu shook her head. "I don't mean it like that."
"Oh." All of a sudden, realization set in, and his eyes grew wide. "Oh!"
"Yeah," Shinobu said. "I don't know when it started, but I've had this crush on you."
"Why didn't you say anything sooner?"
"I didn't want to come in between you and Naru. All I want is for you to be happy, even if it wasn't with me. Now that you two have... well, you know... I don't know what to think anymore."
"She was all too willing to suffer for my sake," Keitaro thought. "As long as I have friends like you around, I'll always be happy," he said in an effort to be reassuring.
"That's just it. I'm scared that I'm going to be just a friend to you and nothing more."
"I can't promise I will ever give you the relationship you want from me, but that does not mean you will go unloved. You are a beautiful girl and in the coming years, boys will be beating down your door to be with you. I can only hope Naru, Motoko or Suu don't catch them tresspassing."
Shinobu giggled at that. "Thank you. I didn't know how you were going to react to all this."
"Believe me, I know how that feels." The rest of the trip home was spent in light-hearted conversation. When they entered the front door, they found some people waiting for them, and they didn't look to happy. "Hello, everyone," Keitaro said. "Is something wrong?"
"I'll tell you something's wrong!" Kitsune said. "What did you do to Naru?!"
"What are you talking about? We haven't seen Naru since we left."
"Well, you must have done something, cuz a few minutes after you left, Naru ran in, crying. She's been locked in her room ever since."
"I don't see what that has to do with me," Keitaro said as he headed for the kitchen to start putting the groceries away.
"Yeah, if Naru wants to cry, let her," Shinobu said.
"My, aren't we cheerful today," Kitsune said. "What's the occasion?"
"I did it."
"Did what?" Motoko asked.
"I told him how I felt."
"Good for you," Kitsune said, giving Shinobu a pat on the back. "How did he react?"
"He was a little surprised, but I think you were right; he was starting to figure it out on his own when he asked why I acted the way I always did around him. That's when I confessed. Excuse me, I have to go help Sempai in the kitchen." With that, she left the room, giggling like the schoolgirl she was.
"What could Urashima have said to make her that happy?" Motoko thought out loud.
"You took the words right out of my mouth," Kitsune said. "Could it be that--" She quickly shook her head. "No, it's not possible. He wouldn't do something like that."
"I'm not so sure," Motoko said. Apparently, the two were on the same page. "Considering how much he has changed, there is no telling what he is capable of."
"I guess there's only one way to find out for sure," Kitsune said.
---
After putting the groceries away, Keitaro headed for his room, but ran across a certain someone along the way.
"Shinobu sure was happy when y'all came home today," Kitsune said, leaning against her bedroom door.
"Yep," Keitaro said. "It's always good to see a smile on that girl's face."
"Yeah, it is. On that note, what did you say to her while y'all were gone?"
Keitaro considered going into denial, but it was just delaying the inevitable. Besides, he heard what Shinobu said just minutes before. "I told her that it probably wouldn't work out between me and her, but that she shouldn't worry about it, since she'll have a long line of guys just waiting for the chance to date her later on in life. She's bound to find the right one sooner or later."
Kitsune just nodded as she listened to Keitaro's explanation. She's heard a lot of let downs in her lifetime--most of which directed towards her--but that one had to have been one of the nicest.
"This was probably what she was worried about the whole time," Keitaro continued. "But our age difference alone would have put any relationship we would have on shaky ground from the get go. Plus, if Motoko or Naru ever caught wind of it, they'd give me a death sentence for cradle robbing. I have to admit, though, if I had met her a few years from now, I'd be the one nervous around her, not the other way around." With that, both Keitaro and Kitsune went into their respective rooms.
"Okay," Kitsune thought. "Naru and now Shinobu have been eliminated, and Suu's not interested, so that just leaves me and Motoko. Geez, I think I really am starting to fall for him."
---
Naru heard the sound of Keitaro's door opening and closing. Her inner struggle has been going on this whole time, and it wasn't about to end now. "Alright," the suddenly agressive part of her mind said. "He's back, so go down there and tell him how you feel!"
"I'm not sure," the other side responded. "He doesn't have feelings for me anymore; you said it yourself."
"Then at least try to patch things up while you still have a chance!" Somewhat reluctantly, Naru crawled over to the plywood cover and removed it to find Keitaro sitting at his table, textbook open and writing in a notebook. "Good, he's studying. Try to use that to your advantage."
"Uh, Keitaro?" she called out loud.
"Yes?" Keitaro asked, not bothering to turn around to face his visitor, giving the impression that he didn't care that she was speaking to him.
"Are you already studying for the next entrance exam?"
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Keitaro shot back.
"Well, do you want to come up here and study with me?"
Keitaro tapped his chin with the eraser end of his pencil a couple times. "Let's see, I can either stay in here and at least try to get some peace and quiet, or I can go up to your room, where I'll get yelled at, insulted and eventually beaten. Gee, they both sound so appealing."
Keitaro's sarcastic tone let Naru know he wasn't coming up any time soon. "Oh, okay," she said., replacing the cover and going over to her own table. "There must be some way to get him to like me again," she thought, new tears rolling down her cheeks. "There just HAS to be!"
Meanwhile, Keitaro went back to writing his notes on Shinobu, based on what happened earlier. Upon completion, he turned to a fresh page, titling it, "Naru Progress Report" and began writing once again.
End of Chapter 6
Tell me what you think. I'll try to get the new chapter of my original fic up soon.
Sorry it's taken so long for updates. Writing papers for school can be a real pain; I'm sure most of you can relate.
Anyway, this story just seems to be a magnet for Naru-bashing, doesn't it? Well, it's not like I don't see why. Alright, let's move on with this Jeckyll and Hyde story before the Naru-lovers start spamming or flaming me.
Chapter 6
Moments after Keitaro and Shinobu left for the market, Naru went out after them to make sure the pervert kept his hands to himself, and ended up with quite the learning experience. The last thing she expected to hear was Keitaro confessing his feeling for her--correction, the feelings he used to have. She then let her targets get away, as she was rooted to that one spot, unable to believe her ears.
"He..." SHe said in barely a whisper, tears beginning to stream down her face. "He... loved me?" Without even fully realizing it, she started to run back towards the inn. She slammed open the front door and ran by Kitsune, Motoko and Suu as she went upstairs.
"Well," Kitsune said. "That answers that question, but brings up so many more."
"Was she crying just now?" Motoko asked.
"So it wasn't just me," Kitsune said. It wasn't often that anyone sees Naru act like she did, so they figured something big must have just happened. Without giving it a second thought, the three started towards where they knew she had gone. "Hey, Naru!" Kitsune said, knocking on the suddenly distressed girl's door. "What's wrong?"
"Go away!" Naru wailed from inside. "Leave me alone!"
"Come on, Naru!" Kitsune shouted. "I just wanna talk!"
"I'll talk when I feel like talking and not before!"
"She is so stubborn," Kitsune muttered. "Well, I suppose there isn't much we can do at this point outside of breaking in."
"Yes," Motoko said. "Our only option is to wait until she becomes more sociable."
"Either way, we're going to need some answers..."
---
"The nerve of that Kitsune," Naru thought from within the confines of her room. "Always sticking her nose where it doesn't belong."
"You can't really blame her, can you?" another part of her brain responded. "You run by her crying your eyes out and expect her not to worry about you?"
"Shut up. She has no idea what just happened."
"And you did a great job of enlightening her, too. You make me so proud to be a part of this brain."
"I said shut up!"
"You don't even know why you're crying right now, do you?"
"If you don't keep quiet, I'm going to--"
"You'll what? You've been able to keep me at bay because of the constant abuse you've been giving Keitaro. He's not even home right now, so ignoring me is no longer an option. Now that we're on the subject, let's talk about Keitaro."
"That's the last thing I want to think about right now."
"Exactly. Why do you think hearing him say what he did struck such a sensitive nerve in you? Could it be that you love him as much as he does you--or should I say, did?"
"Now don't you start! Why would I have any feelings for that no-good pervert?!"
"You can't really believe that, can you? I mean, he gets so apologetic every time something happens. If he's the pervert you always make him out to be, you shouldn't be seeing any remorse from him at all."
The part of Naru that had an obvious lack of rationale didn't know how to respond to that. "Um, well..."
"Keitaro is not a bad man; never has been. He just suffers from bad luck and clumsiness."
"Why are you defending him?"
"Because, Shinobu aside, nobody else will, not even him. He truly believes it's all his fault, and your constant abuse hasn't helped matters. If only you could have confessed your true feelings before he gave up on you."
"NO! How many time do I have to say it?! I do not love him!"
"If that's the case, then you wouldn't care if you saw him with someone else, would you? Funny, you always seemed so against it in the past; why is that?"
"Because he can't be trusted."
"Why, because the first time you saw each other, neither of you had any clothes on? That can't be the only reason."
"It's not like it stopped there. I can't even count how many times he's tried to sneak a peek at me!"
"And now, he hardly even looks at you. Yeah, that's a real improvement. He gave you every opportunity in the world to be his girlfriend, but all you did was push him away. Face it, you blew your shot to be with the only man who truly cared for you--more than Seta ever did, I can tell you that much."
"Please, stop this!"
"The truth cannot be stopped. You have kept it down for far too long to of any good to anyone. Tell him how you fell and maybe, just maybe, he will take you back--that is, if one of the other girls don't get him first."
Meanwhile, the physical Naru was sitting at her table, her hands gripping the sides of her head as the battle waged on in her mind.
---
While Naru was coming to terms with her inner demons, Keitaro and Shinobu went on to the market to buy groceries, completely unaware that anything was going on back home. The trip went without a hitch, though both of them were in deep thought about surprisingly similar topics. On the way back, Keitaro decided to speak up with intentions of confirming something that he had been curious about since breakfast. "Shinobu?"
"Yes, Sempai?" Shinobu said.
"I've been wondering something lately: Why are you always so nervous around me?"
Shinobu took a deep breath. "Just go ahead and say it," she thought. "Well, for the longest time, I've... liked you."
"Is that all?" Keitaro asked. "I don't see what's so bad about that. I mean, I like you, too."
Shinobu shook her head. "I don't mean it like that."
"Oh." All of a sudden, realization set in, and his eyes grew wide. "Oh!"
"Yeah," Shinobu said. "I don't know when it started, but I've had this crush on you."
"Why didn't you say anything sooner?"
"I didn't want to come in between you and Naru. All I want is for you to be happy, even if it wasn't with me. Now that you two have... well, you know... I don't know what to think anymore."
"She was all too willing to suffer for my sake," Keitaro thought. "As long as I have friends like you around, I'll always be happy," he said in an effort to be reassuring.
"That's just it. I'm scared that I'm going to be just a friend to you and nothing more."
"I can't promise I will ever give you the relationship you want from me, but that does not mean you will go unloved. You are a beautiful girl and in the coming years, boys will be beating down your door to be with you. I can only hope Naru, Motoko or Suu don't catch them tresspassing."
Shinobu giggled at that. "Thank you. I didn't know how you were going to react to all this."
"Believe me, I know how that feels." The rest of the trip home was spent in light-hearted conversation. When they entered the front door, they found some people waiting for them, and they didn't look to happy. "Hello, everyone," Keitaro said. "Is something wrong?"
"I'll tell you something's wrong!" Kitsune said. "What did you do to Naru?!"
"What are you talking about? We haven't seen Naru since we left."
"Well, you must have done something, cuz a few minutes after you left, Naru ran in, crying. She's been locked in her room ever since."
"I don't see what that has to do with me," Keitaro said as he headed for the kitchen to start putting the groceries away.
"Yeah, if Naru wants to cry, let her," Shinobu said.
"My, aren't we cheerful today," Kitsune said. "What's the occasion?"
"I did it."
"Did what?" Motoko asked.
"I told him how I felt."
"Good for you," Kitsune said, giving Shinobu a pat on the back. "How did he react?"
"He was a little surprised, but I think you were right; he was starting to figure it out on his own when he asked why I acted the way I always did around him. That's when I confessed. Excuse me, I have to go help Sempai in the kitchen." With that, she left the room, giggling like the schoolgirl she was.
"What could Urashima have said to make her that happy?" Motoko thought out loud.
"You took the words right out of my mouth," Kitsune said. "Could it be that--" She quickly shook her head. "No, it's not possible. He wouldn't do something like that."
"I'm not so sure," Motoko said. Apparently, the two were on the same page. "Considering how much he has changed, there is no telling what he is capable of."
"I guess there's only one way to find out for sure," Kitsune said.
---
After putting the groceries away, Keitaro headed for his room, but ran across a certain someone along the way.
"Shinobu sure was happy when y'all came home today," Kitsune said, leaning against her bedroom door.
"Yep," Keitaro said. "It's always good to see a smile on that girl's face."
"Yeah, it is. On that note, what did you say to her while y'all were gone?"
Keitaro considered going into denial, but it was just delaying the inevitable. Besides, he heard what Shinobu said just minutes before. "I told her that it probably wouldn't work out between me and her, but that she shouldn't worry about it, since she'll have a long line of guys just waiting for the chance to date her later on in life. She's bound to find the right one sooner or later."
Kitsune just nodded as she listened to Keitaro's explanation. She's heard a lot of let downs in her lifetime--most of which directed towards her--but that one had to have been one of the nicest.
"This was probably what she was worried about the whole time," Keitaro continued. "But our age difference alone would have put any relationship we would have on shaky ground from the get go. Plus, if Motoko or Naru ever caught wind of it, they'd give me a death sentence for cradle robbing. I have to admit, though, if I had met her a few years from now, I'd be the one nervous around her, not the other way around." With that, both Keitaro and Kitsune went into their respective rooms.
"Okay," Kitsune thought. "Naru and now Shinobu have been eliminated, and Suu's not interested, so that just leaves me and Motoko. Geez, I think I really am starting to fall for him."
---
Naru heard the sound of Keitaro's door opening and closing. Her inner struggle has been going on this whole time, and it wasn't about to end now. "Alright," the suddenly agressive part of her mind said. "He's back, so go down there and tell him how you feel!"
"I'm not sure," the other side responded. "He doesn't have feelings for me anymore; you said it yourself."
"Then at least try to patch things up while you still have a chance!" Somewhat reluctantly, Naru crawled over to the plywood cover and removed it to find Keitaro sitting at his table, textbook open and writing in a notebook. "Good, he's studying. Try to use that to your advantage."
"Uh, Keitaro?" she called out loud.
"Yes?" Keitaro asked, not bothering to turn around to face his visitor, giving the impression that he didn't care that she was speaking to him.
"Are you already studying for the next entrance exam?"
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Keitaro shot back.
"Well, do you want to come up here and study with me?"
Keitaro tapped his chin with the eraser end of his pencil a couple times. "Let's see, I can either stay in here and at least try to get some peace and quiet, or I can go up to your room, where I'll get yelled at, insulted and eventually beaten. Gee, they both sound so appealing."
Keitaro's sarcastic tone let Naru know he wasn't coming up any time soon. "Oh, okay," she said., replacing the cover and going over to her own table. "There must be some way to get him to like me again," she thought, new tears rolling down her cheeks. "There just HAS to be!"
Meanwhile, Keitaro went back to writing his notes on Shinobu, based on what happened earlier. Upon completion, he turned to a fresh page, titling it, "Naru Progress Report" and began writing once again.
End of Chapter 6
Tell me what you think. I'll try to get the new chapter of my original fic up soon.