Alright, I won't bother explaining my absense, as most of you have school to deal with as well. Well, I'm sure you all know what is about to happen so let's just get down to the nitty gritty, shall we?
Chapter 8
When Kitsune heard Keitaro's idea for a group outing that morning, the wheels started turning in her head. She saw this as the perfect opportunity for some investigating. All she had to do was convince Keitaro to take Naru with him and make a good excuse to stay home. As she watched the gang walk away, she faintly heard Keitaro unintentionally making her story that much more believable. As soon as they were out of sight, she headed back inside and went straight for Keitaro's room.
"Alright," she said once she got to her destination. "Where should I look first?" A search of Keitaro's closet turned up empty and she was about to go through his dresser when she remembered something from back when this whole thing began. "He said he got a book while he was out," she said to herself. "Maybe that has something to do with it." Her attention quickly turned to the bookcase and she began looking through it for anything that might change someone's personality.
Frustration was beginning to set in for the fox in her fruitless quest until something caught her eye behind Keitaro's stack of girly mags. "What do we have here?" Kitsune asked, reaching for whatever was deliberately hidden there to find a book and notepad. Flipping through the book, she found it contained details on psychological conditions and personality traits. Inside the notebook, there was notes on each girl in the house.
"Is this is what he's been up to this whole time?" Kitsune asked. Almost on reflex, she immediately turned to the page referring to herself and read what it said.
"Mitsune 'Kitsune' Konno: Naru's best friend / Usually drunk to some degree / Lacks inhibitions / Uses sexual advances to get what she wants / Meddles in the affairs of others / Current opinion of me: Open wallet."
"Why that little sneak!" Kitsune said. "I should have known he couldn't have really changed his personality that quickly!" Somehow, she felt violated knowing that Keitaro had been taking notes on everyone, herself included; it didn't matter how true it was. She continued to read down the page:
"Experiment: Resist her advances. / Result: Gradual decline in attempts on her part, though she may try harder before too long." Father down the page was one last note: "Future experiment: Use her tactics against her."
"Is that so?" Kitsune asked. "Well, if he thinks he can turn the tables on me, he's got another thing coming." After reading what Keitaro had written on the other girls, she stationed her on the roof, waiting for the her dormmates to return. When the time came, she rushed back downstairs, not noticing that while five people left, only four came back.
When she reached the living room, after catching her breath, she struck her serious pose just in tme for the door to open. As soon as he entered the building, Kitsune's eyes locked on a certain sneaky landlord. "Keitaro," she said. "We need to have a little chat. Now."
"Sure," Keitaro said. "What's up?"
Instead of saying anything more, she motioned for him to follow her upstairs. "He really should have known better than to leave me here alone," Kitsune thought as the two made their way to her room. "Get in," she said, opening her door. Keitaro quickly obeyed, with her following suit, closing the door behind her.
"Is something wrong, Kitsune?" Keitaro asked.
"I'll say there is," Kitsune said, getting right in his face. "Your attitude, for starters."
"I thought you liked what I have become," Keitaro said.
"I did," Kitsune admitted. "But on you, it just doesn't look natural. It's like you're trying to force it or something." She started walking over to her table and reached for something behind it. "I knew something was up, so I had a little look through your room. It took me a while, but I eventually found this project you've been working on."
Keitaro's face turned pale when he saw the notebook Kitsune was holding; his notebook. "YOU WHAT?!!" he shrieked. Instantly, he slapped his hands over his mouth, knowing that he probably could have been heard on Mars.
"Great," Kitsune thought. "What a time for him to return to normal."
A look of curiosity suddenly appeared on Keitaro's face. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"Improvising," Kitsune said. "And I suggest you do the same, since we're going to be having some company pretty soon."
---
Motoko, Shinobu and Suu, all which still in the living room, instantly recognized the voice and to whom it belonged, but it was in a tone they had not heard in a long time. Without a second thought, all of them rushed up to Kitsune's room. "What happened?!" Motoko asked. A blush instantly appeared on her face and she averted her gaze from the sight before her.
"Oh, nothing," Kitsune said, grinning in her usual way. Despite the fact that she was hiding behind Keitaro, she made it obvious that she wasn't wearing a shirt. "Nothing at all."
"Then why was Keitaro yelling like that?" Shinobu asked, this whole scene making her somewhat flustered.
"She just caught me off guard, that's all," Keitaro said, barely a trace of redness on his face. "Everything's just fine."
"Come on," Motoko said. "Let's go. This isn't something girls our age should be seeing."
"But I want to know what's going on!" Suu half-whined.
"I have a couple bananas stashed in the kitchen," Shinobu said.
"Then what are we waiting for?!" Suu said, quickly losing interest in the two older people in the room. "Let's go!" Quick as a flash, she bounded out, with Shinobu following with somewhat less enthusiasm.
"I apologize for our intrusion," Motoko said, bowing before taking her leave as well.
As soon as they were alone once again, Keitaro breathed a sigh of relief. "That was a close one," he thought. "I can only imagine what would happen if all the girls found me out all at once. Speaking of which..." "Kitsune, not that I'm ungrateful or anything, but why didn't you tell them about what I've been doing?"
"I could have," Kitsune said as she put her shirt back on. "But first, why don't you tell me how you thought all this up?"
"You know well enough that, since I got here, my life has been a living hell, what with Naru and Motoko trying to kill me every other hour. Of course, that's just the physical pain; if it was just that, I wouldn't mind it as much, but Naru adds that little something extra that makes it unbearable." Kitsune nodded, knowing what he was referring to. "After my last flight into town last week, I knew something had to be done or else I wouldn't be able to hide my torment from you girls any longer. On the way home, I passed by a bookstore and I figured that might be just the thing to distract me from my worries--I'm sure you found what I bought there."
"Yeah, your so called 'light reading'," Kitsune said.
"Right," Keitaro said. "As soon as I saw that psychology book, the wheels started turning in my head and a plan started to form. I had to know exactly how Naru felt towards me. As much as I hated it, there was only one way to do that."
"Stop being so nice to her," Kitsune said. "That must have been hard to do."
"Surprisingly enough, all I had to do was think about all she had done to me in the past and that was all I needed, but the whole time, I feared that, once I started, I wouldn't be able to stop."
"I can see where that can be a problem," Kitsune said. "But if that was what you were trying to accomplish, why are there notes on all of us in this notebook of yours?"
"Eventually, I decided to expand my horizons to include everyone. Honestly, it was more of a learning experience than I ever thought it would be."
"I should say so, considering how much you wrote in here," Kitsune said.
"Well," Keitaro said with a sigh. "It was good while it lasted. No doubt, you're going to tell everyone about this."
"Don't be so hasty," Kitsune said. "What makes you think I'll do something like that?"
"Now who's acting?" Keitaro asked. "From what I know about you, either you're going to tell them or I'll have to make some sort of deal with you to keep you quiet."
"True, that's usually the case," Kitsune said. "And it's also true that you've been pretty underhanded in the last week, but I must say that I am impressed with what you have done."
That caught Keitaro by surprise. "What?"
"I never would have thought you would do something like this and actually get away with it. I mean, you pulled off this complete change in personality and I'm the only one who got suspiscous. Sure, I gained a bit of respect for you back when this whole thing started, but finding out it was all an act only made me respect you that much more."
"Really?" Keitaro asked, who had yet to recover.
"Yes, though there is one comment I feel I need to make."
"What's that?"
"Some of your notes look a bit incomplete. I can understand this though, as no matter how close you may get to us, there are just some things that we're not going to tell you to your face."
"I kinda figured as much," Keitaro said. "But I was planning on ending it as soon as I found out whether Naru truly liked me or not."
"And until that day comes, I think you need a girl on the inside to help you out; and I'm just the one to do that."
Keitaro's face lit up. "You'd really do that?!"
"Sure," Kitsune said. "After all, I can't have someone being a sneak around here and not be a part of it, now can I? Besides, because of you, Shinobu's gotten over that confidence problem of hers. Also, just between us, I think Naru deserves the treatment you've been giving her."
The smile on Keitaro's face quickly went away. "Please don't say that," he said. "I don't know what makes me feel worse, the fact that I did what I did to her or that I did it on purpose. It pains me to see her in that state of mind." Tears started to appear in Keitaro's eyes. "I want nothing more than to comfort her; to tell her everything's going to be alright, but until I get a clear answer from her, I have to continue putting her down." He finally broke down, burying his face in Kitsune's shirt. "I don't know how much longer I can keep this up!"
"Shh," Kitsune said, gently placing her hands on the back of Keitaro's head. "Let it all out." Inwardly, she sighed. "After all that has happened in the last week," she thought. "Deep down, he's still the same old Keitaro."
It took a couple minutes for Keitaro to regain his composure. "Thank you, Kitsune," he said, wiping away what was left of his tears. "Thank you for everything."
"Hey, what are friends for?" Kitsune asked. "Though there is still something I've been meaning to ask you."
"What is it?" Kitsune moved uncomfortably close to Keitaro. Despite their faces being only a couple inches apart, he could still see the grin on her face that meant she was up to no good.
"Just this one thing," Kitsune said in almost a whisper, wrapping one arm around Keitaro neck and tracing circles on his chest with the other. "When were you planning to come on to me like it said in your notebook?"
By now, Keitaro's face was beet red. Until then, he had completely forgotten about that little detail. "Um, I..." was all that came out of his mouth.
End of Chapter 8
Not what you expected, was it? See you next time around. Please R&R!