Disclaimer: I own no part of Love Hina.

"I've become so numb, I can't feel you there
I've become so tired, so much more aware
I'm becoming this, all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you."

-Linkin Park

Chapter 9

"Why?"

That was the one word repeating itself again and again in Naru's mind as she hurried out of the karaoke club during Keitaro's concert. She had been able to deal with Keitaro effectively turning the tables on her for the last week, but blatantly doing it in public was the last straw. The last thing she wanted then was to face said man afterwards.

When she was officially out of what she considered to be harm's way, her pace slowed considerably. "I haven't done anything to him in the last week," she thought, trying her darnedest to keep from shedding tears. "So why does he still treat me like the scum of the earth?! Even he must know how sorry I am for what I've done, but he doesn't even give the time in the day to apologize for it--much less anything else.

In a desperate attempt to get away from what her life has become, she ended up taking a page from Kitsune's playbook as she walked into the first place she could find and ordered some sake, not bothering to wonder why she wasn't carded.

"Why can't things go back to the way they used to be?" she thought as she took a few sips of her drink. "He'd do something perverted, I'd hit him, he'd apologize and everything would be right in the world." She sunk a bit lower in her seat. "Oh, who am I kidding? I've done almost nothing but make his life a living hell. I would hardly even let him plead his case!" Her tears now ran down her face, eventually making their way into her glass. "he was the only man who truly loved me... and I screwed it all up... I FORCED HIM TO HATE ME!!"

Her self-belittling thoughts were interrupted when she realized that the place she had hastily entered was the same one she and Keitaro found themselves in after failing the Tokyo U entrance exam not two months before--in fact, she was seated at the exact same table! "Oh great," she thought bitterly as the memories of that fateful day came flooding back to her. "That's the last thing I need right now."

She remembered how it felt to strive so hard, yet fall short of her goal, how Keitaro must have felt, having experienced that three times over, how the alcohol loosened each of their tongues and the resulting words that spewed forth, cutting a deep wound. The events of that day together with those of the past week let her know, physical abuse aside, what Keitaro has been forced to experience in his time at the Hinata-Sou--how she has treated him from day one.

"How could I have been so stupid?" she asked herself. "All those times, he said it was an accident; why couldn't I believe him? He kept placing the blame on himself only because Motoko and I did the same, but I deserve most of it! I'm the one who overreacts, I'm the one who's short-tempered, I'm the one who deserves to be punished... and now, after all this time, I'm finally recieving it."

She continued to consume her drink, paying little to no attention to how diluted it had become by then. To her, all that mattered was that she was able to calm herself down and regain some semblance of rational thought. "I should tell him how I really feel about him," she thought. "EVen if he still hates me, at least I would have accomplished that much--something he never had the guts to do himself to my face."

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

"You have got to be kidding me," Naru thought when she heard the familiar voice. Turning her head, her eyes fell upon none other than Kentaro Sakata. "What do you want?" she asked without making any effort to sound friendly.

"Oh come now, what kind of greeting is that?" Kentaro asked.

"One I give to someone who has no concept of the word 'no'."

"Fair enough," Kentaro said. "Hey, where's Keitaro? Isn't he usually by your side wherever you go?"

"I'd rather not talk about him right now," Naru said.

"Why not? You never seemed to mind putting him down in the past."

"I SAID--" Naru balled her fist and reared it back, but her sentence was cut short when she realized what she was about to do. She called off her attack and sank back into her depression.

Relieved and somewhat surprised that he had remained unscathed, Kentaro realized that Naru not bad-mouthing the Hinata-Sou manager was the least of his concerns. Throwing caution to the wind, he took a seat next to the downtrodden girl. "What happened?"

"I never thought it would happen," Naru said, her tone drained of all emotion. "I finally pushed Keitaro far enough that he didn't come back. Like you said, he did want to be by my side all the time, but now, he doesn't want to be within ten feet of me."

"Considering how you've treated him, I'm surprised it took this long."

"You think I didn't realize that?! I've come to terms with what I've done and I want to get back in his good graces, but he won't even let me try!"

"How are the other girls dealing with this?"

"That's just it; he's singling me out! He's all happy and friendly with the others, but looks at me like I used to do to him. Heck, I'm not even sure if they're concerned about my well being, since I've pretty much been a wreck for the last week. That's why I had to get away and why you see me here right now."

Kentaro was amazed by what he was hearing. He figured hell would freeze over before a wimp like Keitaro doing anything like what Naru was telling him. Noticing her now empty glass, he signaled the waiter for a refill and a drink for himself. Over the course of an hour and many drinks, Naru had told him every little atrocity that had been committed against her until the point came that she couldn't speak clearly anymore.

When that time came, Kentaro paid the bill and helped Naru stand up and walk out. The whole time, it looked as though her legs were Jello and that she was on the verge of passing out and it took a little while for him to get them both onto a train. He managed to get them situated in a somewhat comfortable fashion and within moments of her resting her head on his shoulder, she was out like a light. "It's hard to believe," he thought, the words riddled with pity. "To think, you've been reduced to this after losing the affection of a man you claim to have despised all this time. Whatever happened to the confident Naru I once knew?"

---

When Naru finally regained her senses, she found herself lying on cold, slightly damp ground. Opening her eyes and sitting up, she saw that she was in a glade no more than forty feet across and surrounded by a thick forest. "Where the heck am I?" she asked herself. Looking around, she found no sign of tracks that would incidate anyone having arrived or left. In the middle of her fruitless search, she heard a voice come from behind her.

"Why?"

"What?" Naru asked, turning around to find Shinobu standing a few feet in front of her. Needless to say, she was curious how the young girl seemed to appear out of nowhere. "How did you get here?"

"Why?" Shinobu repeated, completely ignoring Naru's question. "Why did you do it?"

"Do what?" Naru asked, somewhat taken aback by the tone of Shinobu's voice and the look on her face, neither of which fit her usual cheerful, yet shy demeanor.

"Ever since Keitaro set foot in Hinata-Sou, the only one who ever cared about his health was me. Do you know who that feels, Naru? Somehow, I doubt that. You're constant abuse didn't just affect him, you know! All those punches--all the pain he has been forced to bear made me worry for his safety so much, I'm surprised my hair hasn't started turning gray by now!"

"Um, I..." Naru started to say, but was effectively rendered speechless by both what Shinobu said and how she said it.

"I can't believe I ever looked up to you," Shinobu continued, slowly walking towards Naru. "At first glance, it looks like you have everything going for you; that no matter what happens, you somehow always end up on top, but as soon as things go wrong you are seen for who you really are!"

"Wh-What are you saying?!" Naru asked, backing up in order to keep her distance from Shinobu--something she never thought she would ever feel the need to do.

"I'm saying that you're nothing more than someone who can't stand not having things go her way. To put it simply, you're a selfish brat who only thinks of herself!"

"NO!" Naru yelled, now at the edge of the forest, which, for the purposes of backing up, might as well have been a brick wall. "You're wrong!"

"Am I? Way back when, you used to act all high and mighty--you were tops in the nation in the practice exams; you looked like a shoe in to get into Tokyo U. Now look at you: A complete and utter failure. Not even the only man who ever truly loved you stayed by your side. Frankly, I think you deserve nothing less."

"Shinobu..." Naru said, tears now making themselves known in her eyes. In the past, she would have wasted no time to put all the blame for her shortcomings squarely on Keitaro, but here and now, the thought never crossed her mind. "You don't mean that. Please, tell me you don't mean that!" Much to her surprise, Shinobu's eyes were starting to tear up as well.

"You have no idea how it feels," Shinobu said, the anger in her voice beginning to falter. "To push aside your feelings for someone. It was no secret that I had a crush on Keitaro--who knows, maybe it was more than that, but I kept myself from acting on it because I thought he liked you more than he might ever like me. I thought he would be happier with you. Well, where did it get me, huh?! Nowhere! I let myself suffer so that you and him might be together and you threw it away without a care in the world! How could you do such a thing?! I wish I never met you!" With that, she started running off in the other direction.

"Shinobu, wait!" Naru called out, getting to her feet and giving chase, but Shinobu would enter the forest long before she could catch up, vanishing from sight shortly thereafter. "I've never seen her so angry at anyone," she thought. She didn't get any more time to contemplate Shinobu's rant, as she was suddenly hit in the back of the head, forcing her back onto the ground. "What the heck--?" she started to say as she turned her head to see who was now seated on her back--as if she couldn't already guess. "Why did you do that?!"

"Because I felt like it," Suu said, sporting her usual grin. "That's the only reason you ever needed, right?"

"Just because you--wait, what?!"

"At least when I hit him, he always knows it wasn't because I didn't like him or anything. I was just trying to play with him; why couldn't you play with him instead of being such a meanie all the time?"

Naru was barely listening to what Suu was saying, as she was focused more on trying to get up, but found herself unable to. For some undeterminable reason, the energrtic inventor had suddenly gained a couple thousand pounds--or at least it seemed that way. "Suu, would you get off me please?!" she asked.

"And he hardly ever complained," Suu added, not moving an inch. "Then again, he didn't complain that much when you punched him either; I just remember him apologizing a whole lot."

"Suu, leave her alone," another voice said out of nowhere.

"Aw," Suu whined. "Can't I stay just a little while longer, Motoko?"

"You heard me," Motoko said in a tone that let Suu know that negotiating was out of the question.

"Oh, alright," Suu said begrudgingly, getting off of the still struggling Naru. "Keitaro was always more fun anyway." She then skipped off into the forest, where she dissapeared just like Shinobu did moments before.

"Thank you, Motoko," Naru said with a couple groans as she got to her feet. "At least I know I can trust you to see things my--" It was at that point that she looked up to find the tip of Motoko's sword just inches from her face. "WHOA!" On instinct, she moved backward, causing her to stumble but was somehow able to keep her footing. "What are you doing?!"

"It is true that we once shared the same mindset," Motoko said, her voice emotionless as always. "But I have since been able to learn from the mistakes that I have committed--that the things that Urashima has done where not of his own design."

"You think I haven't?!" Naru asked. "I've been practically forced to learn the hard way!"

"No," Motoko said. "All you have done is run away from your problems instead of trying to overcome them. For this, disiplinary action must be taken."

"Now hold on just a--" Naru's attempt at a response was cut short when Motoko charged forward, sword poised to strike. A scream rang out as Naru was barely able to avoid being sliced in half. "I don't want to fight you, Motoko!"

"What makes you think I was expecting you to?" Motoko asked. Without missing a beat, she continued her attack.

With dexterity she never knew she had, Naru was barely able to evade each swing Motoko made until she eventually tripped over her own feet. While she lay prone, she watched Motoko leap into the air with intentions of delivering the final blow. "NO!!" Naru screamed, knowing she wasn't be able to avoid this one. She crossed her arms in front of her face in readyness for what was to come, shutting her eyes tight as well. Time slowed to a crawl and it felt like an eternity until she was finally hit by... a slight breeze.

"Huh?" Opening her eyes, Naru saw that, like Shinobu and Suu before her, Motoko had vanished without a trace. Wiping sweat from her forehead, she sat up and proceeded to catch her breath before standing up for the third time in a manner of minutes. "Okay," she said. "I am officially freaked out right now."

"Naru, Naru, Naru," yet another voice said from behind her. "You have not changed one bit."

"Oh no," Naru thought as she instantly recognized who the voice belonged to. "Not her too!" She turned around and, sure enough, she found Kitsune leaning against a tree, her arms crossed and an unreadable expression on her face.

"Listen," Kitsune said, making a couple steps towards Naru. "We've been best friends for a long time, am I right?"

"Of course," Naru said, getting curious as to where Kitsune was going with this exchange of words.

"Yes, and knowing you as well as I do, I gotta say that I'm surprised it took this long for you finally get was has been coming to you."

Naru sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know what I did to Keitaro was--"

"You think I only talking about Keitaro?!" Kitsune asked, anger beginning to rise in her tone. "You've been doing this since high school! For as long as I've known you, there has been a long line of guys trying to get your attention. Not once did you ever give any of them the time of day, much less a chance for a date! After they get rejected by you, I end up taking pity on them and offer myself as sort of a rebound. Do you have any idea how many rejections I've gotten because of you turning guys down left and right?!"

"Um," Naru said, once again intimidated by a dormmate. "Not exactly."

"Well, neither do I! It's happened so many times, I lost count!"

"I guess it's a bit late for an apology," Naru said barely above a whisper.

"If it was just that, I wouldn't be making such a big deal out of this."

"You mean there's more?" Naru asked, fearing the worst.

"I'm sure you remember Seta, don't you?"

"Of course I do. Why bring him up?"

By this point, Kitsune was glaring daggers at Naru. "Shinobu's not the only one who sacrificed her feelings for your sake."

Naru's eyes opened wide. "You mean..."

"That's right! I had a crush on him and it might have been able to become something more, but as soon as you said you liked him too, I stepped to the side and let you have him and what did you do? Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"

"Well, he did leave all of a sudden..." Naru said in a feeble attempt at making an excuse.

"You could have at least told him how you felt or something! But no, you just had to keep getting tongue-tied until it was too late. I tried to let go of my affections for a man to help you once before, but I'm not going to allow it to happen again!"

"You're not saying..." Naru said, tears once again threatening to appear.

Without saying a word, Kitsune moved her arm as though she was putting around someone's shoulders, but the lack of someone actually being there was quickly rectified. Much to Naru amazement, in some sort of movie dissolve effect, Keitaro appeared before her very eyes, his arm already around Kitsune's waist.

"Hello, Naru," Keitaro said, all friendliness he used to have towards the redhead long since gone.

"Um, hi," Naru said weakly.

"Well?" Kitsune asked. "Don't you have something to say to him?"

"It doesn't matter," Keitaro said before Naru got the chance to speak up. "There is nothing she can say that would make any difference."

"I guess you're right," Kitsune said, her face showing a grin for the first time since her arrival. "C'mon, let's go. This place is just too depressing."

"I agree," Keitaro said.

Watching her best friend and the man she loved leave as a couple might have been bad enough for Naru, but seeing them kiss beforehand, not to mention them making sure she could see it, was too much to bear. Dropping to her knees, letting her tears fall where they may. "Keitaro... WAIT!!! I LOVE YOU!!!"

"Too little, too late!" Keitaro called back, not bothering to turn around. "You should have said that back when I would have cared!"

Naru quickly found herself alone once again. "No..." she whispered. "It can't end like this. IT JUST CAN'T!!!"

---

Naru's eyes suddenly shot open as she woke up short of breath. "Oh, thank God," she thought. "It was all just a dream; a horrible, horrible dream." On reflex, her hands went to her head as she began feeling the after-effects of all those drinks she had. "Ow, my head. How can Kitsune stand all these hangovers?"

All of a sudden, something dawned on her. "Hey, where am I?" she thought. Looking around, she saw what looked like a bedroom, but not one she had ever seen before. "How did I get here?" Her eyes fell to the bed she was laying in--and the man sleeping soundly next to her. The last thing she noticed--which probably should have been one of the first--was that all her clothes were gone. "Oh God..." she thought, tightening the grip her hands had on her head. "WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?"

---

And the Naru-bashing continues with a little something extra added in. See y'all next time! Please R&R!