Nutty Al: hey, thanks for the review! Of course Naru will get pissed off, that's just her! But the question really is, by how much will she get pissed off?
A.C.C.: thank you! I love your review! It's so nice! Sniff... I think I'm going to cry
Turtle Lady: thank you for the review! And yes, a lot of my chapters end with cliffhangers because that's just the way they ended. Oh well... I like the drama too and there will be a whole lot of different genres mixed in later in the story, but it's mostly just a romantic comedy
Android K: yo Android! How you doing?! Thank you so much for the review and for helping me! I really appreciate it! And I should have sent what you wanted to know. If I didn't, tell me, and I'll punish myself for being an idiot!
Drake Dragon: helloooo, my reviewer! I appreciate that you still bother giving me reviews. You're so nice... I'm really happy
Knight's Shadow: thank you. I will as soon as possible
K34: I'm not even going to ask how you got in that situation... well, maybe if you felt like it. Heh... just kidding. And don't worry about ramblings, ramblings are good for everyone. Rambling rambles on about things that can... (Yamiga promptly falls over asleep) Snnxxx... Huh? Oh, sorry. Thank you for the review
John McCoy: thank you for your review! It's nice! In fact, everything's nice! I like nice things! Maybe I'll include you in a sequel to this I'm already thinking up, but that's not for a while, so you'll just have to wait... heh
jennyjennai: you're right, Keitaro is always in trouble! But if it wasn't for that, the series would be very boring, neh? thanks
Shadowed-Moon2525: thank you for the review! And I read your first chapter. It was actually very good! Sure there were a couple grammatical errors, but I can't complain. I've got four people checking over my mistakes, ha! Anyway, hope you write another chapter soon
Disclaimer: I have never, do not, nor probably will ever own Love Hina. (sob) So please don't sue me. I'm poor, I could never afford an attorney, and I'll probably end up in the streets if you do.
And Life Goes On
By Yamiga'sLight
Chapter 3: Waking Up Next to... Mutsumi?!
It was a beautiful morning outside as I yawned and stretched my tired limbs. "Man, I slept like a log last night." I scratched at a lump on my head, but I couldn't remember what caused it. Oh well, it was probably from one of the beatings I got yesterday. Then I noticed a large object lying next to me.
"Huh? Did Liddo-kun fall into my room?" But... it was warm. Wait! Stuffed animals aren't warm! Was it Su? She always needed someone to sleep with, but Motoko was here so she wouldn't go to me. Maybe it was Naru! She did get pretty warm towards me lately, so maybe she wanted to go a little farther... I prayed that maybe it was and lifter the corner of the futon up.
It was Mutsumi.
And she was totally naked.
What was Mutsumi doing in my futon with me?! Better yet, what was she doing in room at all?! And she didn't have a stitch of clothing on! I could see everything! Everything... Ah, no! Bad Keitaro! I mentally slapped myself. Then the entire situation overtook me, and my brain short-circuited. My instincts took control and I did the first thing that came to mind. I screamed.
"HOLY SHIIITTT!!!"
Maybe that wasn't the smartest thing I could have done, but give me a break. I had a beautiful naked woman, who was not my girlfriend, sleeping in the same futon as me, and I couldn't remember how she got there.
Then I heard Naru's voice from above me. "Keitaro, it's too early for your crap..." She froze as Mutsumi sat up and pulled the blanket over her breasts. "W-wha...?" Her mouth gaped open at the scene. I then felt a breeze and looked down to see that I wasn't wearing my pajama bottoms. Oh yes... I was going to die.
Mutsumi sleepily raised her hand in greeting. "Ah, good morning. Hey, where are my clothes? Oh, dear..." I just turned to stone in front of them. My body cracked and the hand that had lifted the futon cover broke off.
"Kei... Kei..." Naru tried to talk, but kept on stopping. Time stood still in my room until my door, for the second time in 24 hours, were flung open and the rest of the tenants stood in its wake.
"Hey, Keitaro! You die or somethin'?" Kitsune said.
Urashima! You will pay for interrupting my training!" Motoko shouted.
They froze as they saw what was going on. Naru with her head sticking out of the hole, me and Mutsumi in the same futon, me without pants and Mutsumi with nothing on whatsoever. Needless to say, the sight was rather... condemning.
"Kei..."
"Mut..."
"Eww, kinky."
Everyone was simply frozen as Mutsumi took my blanket and wrapped at around her body. "Oh me, oh my. Oh dear, oh dear." She moved across the room and slightly out the door. We all looked at her as she partly hid herself from sight. "I... I seem to have lost my clothes somewhere. Oh, Urashima?" My head cricked slowly and loudly towards the sound of her voice. "Lat night... was a bit painful."
My eyes bugged out, my mouth dropped, and my brain went into red alert. [WARNING! WARNING! SENSORY OVERLOAD! BRAIN MUST SHUT DOWN! ALL PERSONNEL MUST EVACUATE! REPEAT! ALL PERSONNEL MUST EVACUATE!] My overheated brain shut down all unnecessary functions. I fainted before my head hit the pillow.
*****
I regained awareness of my surroundings when someone dumped a bucket of cold water on me. I yelped as the freezing cold touched my bare skin and created goosebumps. I blearily opened my eyes to see what was going on. All I saw were blurry shapes. Of course, I hadn't put my contacts back in after I took them out last night. Wait... last night... Something about last night... My head began to throb and a memory was becoming clearer until someone whapped my head and it dispelled like smoke.
"Oww! What the hell was that?" My vision was fine again and I realized that someone must have slapped my old glasses on my face quite harder than necessary. When I realized where I was, I sweatdropped. I was tied up and hanging in front of a podium not much unlike the ones you see in court. There, in front of me, was Kitsune in an expensive-looking business suit. She was holding herself like a lawyer, holding her hands behind her back. "Umm... what's going on?"
"That's quite easy," Kitsune said grimly. "We're having your trial, Mr. Urashima." Mr. Urashima? When the hell did Kitsune ever call me by my last name? I was starting to get less confused and more nervous by the second.
"Kitsune," I said nervously. "What do you mean? What trial?"
"That's Prosecutor Konno to you, you slime!" Okay, now I was in serious trouble. Kitsune's never, in the time that I have known her, ever cursed anyone off. No matter what, she had never lost her cool and let her emotions get the best of her. She was seriously pissed off. "Now, are you going to plea guilty or not?"
"Guilty? On what charges?" This was past weird and into psychotic.
Kitsune held up one finger. "One, as our manager, you have a responsibility to us, your residents, to explain your actions last night." She held up another one. "Two, you have a responsibility to Mutsumi's stolen chastity." She held up a third finger. "Three, you have a responsibility for shattering my best friend's heart, you son of a bitch." Then all of her fingers came up, and her palm smashed into my face as a hard slap.
I was shocked. It hurt. It wasn't the actual pain, no, that I was used to. It was the person who hit me that hurt. Kitsune, the playful, mischievous fox of Hinata House, had actually slapped me to cause me harm.
"Do you know what it was like to hold my best friend in my arms while she bawled like a baby? She hadn't cried that much since Seta first left." I winced. The fact that Naru used to have giant crush on seta didn't exactly help the matters at hand. "And you're the one who made her cry, Keitaro. You. The one who promised he would never harm any of us."
I winced inwardly again. I had said that that I would never harm any of them intentionally. And yet here I was, hurting all of them, especially the person I loved more than anything else in the whole world, over something I could not even remember doing.
I tried to speak. "Kit... Prosecutor Konno, I can't plea guilty to something I don't even remember doing."
Kitsune nodded. "Fine. Then we will simply find you guilty and push forward your execution."
"Execution?! Wait, you can't... !"
"Urashima, your actions are unforgivable." My brain froze in horror as I turned to see Motoko holding her katana at me. "The time has finally come for me to strike you down once and for all. I have never been happier than at this moment."
"Motoko!" I was scared shitless, but I knew for a fact that I could not have done what they accused me of. All I did the night before was study and go to sleep. I didn't remember Mutsumi ever coming into my room. What did I do, have sex in my sleep? "I swear on my mother's grave that I'm innocent!"
"But your mother is not dead!"
"God damn it, you bitch! That's not the fucking point!" Motoko froze and so did Kitsune. I heard a whimper and I turned to also see Shinobu, Sarah, Su, and Naru standing near the couch beside me. I guess they were surprised, scared or even horrified. They only saw me get pissed off like this once last Christmas, and then I didn't even curse. Oh well, might as well give them a good show. I was seriously pissed off.
"Surprised?" I spat out. "You shouldn't be. What do you expect when you tie a person up and accuse him of having sex with someone in the room below the person he loves sleeps? Of course I would be pissed off. I don't deserve the shit you give to me everyday, and now you accuse me of this?"
I slowly shifted my body arrangement so that I could try to wiggle out. Oh crap, I always hated this part. I twisted my shoulder and all of the girls heard snapping as my arm popped out of its socket. They looked horrified as my arm hung lifelessly to the side while I fell out of the ropes binding me. I stood back up, jamming my arm back into its socket with a pop.
"Damn," I muttered. "I haven't done that for a long time." I looked at the girls. They all took a step back. "Surprised? Scared? Grossed out beyond belief?" I took another step towards them as they back away. A wicked, but painful idea came to my mind and I grinned evilly. Might as well have some fun with their disgust.
Twisting my other shoulder, it fell out with a sickening crack. I took my leg, placed it between the couch's legs, and gave it a sharp twist. Every joint along my leg dislocated and it was totally twisted around, the foot facing backwards. I winced. Ouch, it was beginning to get painful. Maybe I had gone a little bit too far in my demonstration.
I hobbled slightly over to them. "Strange ability, huh? You see, the Urashima, for some strange reason, have very a lot skill when it comes to rope attacks. Learning to dislocate body parts is a very useful skill for escaping them." Pain shot through my arm and leg. I winced again and half-fell to the ground. I landed on my bad arm and felt it go slightly numb. Crap, that wasn't good.
"Ouch." I rolled over, took my dislocated arm and put it back in it place by ramming it into the floor. I pushed myself back up onto my good foot. I took my leg in both of my hands and twisted it back into place. It was rather sore. Of course, that's probably because I hadn't purposefully dislocated anything for six years.
"Well, now that I've properly freaked you all out, perhaps you'll listen to me." I stared at them expectantly. Would they listen to what I had to say? They nodded dumbly. At least half the battle was over now. Now all I had to do was convince them that I did not do what they accused me of doing. I mentally tripped. Oh crap, what was I going to say?! I took a deep breath and tried to begin.
"Okay, now in my defense, Prosecutor Konno..." I looked at her saw that her eyes flinched when I emotionlessly called her by her formal name. She probably didn't expect me to take her wanting to call her formally so seriously. She probably expected me to keep calling her by her usual name so as to try to trap me in a false air of friendliness. "First, haven't you ever heard of the saying, "Innocent until proven guilty?" No, I guess you wouldn't considering you always punish me before I have a chance to explain myself."
I smirked inwardly. Oh yes, they were definitely the bunch of vigilantes, taking the law into their own hands. You know, they could probably fight crime with their tactics. I barely restrained my laughter as I imagined them in power-ranger-like uniforms. It was a pretty funny image.
"Okay, now even I have to admit that the scene was kind of implying, but the problem is that I don't even know how it happened. I don't even know how Mutsumi got into my room in the first place."
At this, my head began to throb again. God, this was starting to get annoying! My head hurt like hell and I couldn't figure out why. My other injuries by the girls usually were numbed from the pain by now. So why did my head hurt so fucking much?! Something about last night, but what?! Argh! Okay, I've got to calm down or I'll blow it. But it was too late. My mind was already on the way to self-destruction. It was stretched out so tautly that it could begin snapping at any moment.
I took a deep breath. "All I remember doing is studying then getting ready for bed. The next thing I know is that it's morning and I've got a naked Mutsumi next to me. I couldn't have passed out from drinking because the only one that does that is Prosecutor Konno over there." I jerked my thumb at her. "So we can cancel out the possibility of doing it in a drunken state."
I looked over at Kitsune. She flinched as I cased her body. My mind finally snapped as I saw her try to keep her formal position. "And for the love of God, Kitsune! Will you please get out of that retarded suit?! You're only making me more infuriated by trying to act so seriously! It just isn't you!" I turned to Motoko to see that she still had her katana bared at me.
Another part of my stretched-out mind snapped. I glared at her menacingly. I saw a little fear in her eyes, and a small part in the back of my mind cheered at her fright. I was disgusted by this feeling, but continued on anyway. "And I swear this to you, Motoko. If you even think of using that katana on me, I will take the blade between my hands and snap it in two. And you know I can do it, too."
I looked at Shinobu, Sarah, and Su. Three more snaps to my already warped mind. "And if you three think I would something as heartless as this, you don't know me at all." All three looked scared and Shinobu's eyes began to gather tears. Another broken string. "Don't you dare cry, Shinobu. Don't... you... dare." I almost growled. At this, even Su and Sarah began to become watery. I must have been horrifying if these two were scared, but my raging mind did not care at all of what they were feeling. I just wanted to yell, to scream, to... harm.
My eyes moved to Naru. I saw the hurt, the sadness, the lost of being in her eyes. The last stable part of my mind twanged once, twice, and spilt. It fell into the swirling mass of negative emotions in the bottom of my mind. Rage, depression, loathing, hatred, fury. They boiled over in me, and I saw every dark color imaginable.
How could she? How could she even think that I would do something like that? The negative emotions boiling over in me warped my already completely messed up mind even further. I fell even farther into my depression, and my body language reflected it. My eyes darkened to an almost ebony black, my body slumped over as I held my head in my hands. My entire body quivered as though it would fly apart and I talked in a shaking voice.
"And you, Naru. If you would think that I could do something like that to you, then why did you ever fall in love with me? Because even if you don't think so, I love you, Naru. I love your mind. I love your body. I love everything about you. I even love the fact that you beat me when I'm in an awkward position because it means you care enough about me to get angry. I love you, Naru, plain and simple. And I hope I always will."
My soul wavered on the edge of nothingness, so close to falling into the void, into the darkness slowly consuming every part of me. And the fact that something horrible was about to happen did not help matters.
While in the silence permeating the room, Mutsumi obliviously walked in. I watched her, and the tiny, tiny part of my mind that wasn't screwed up laughed at the way she gaily moved in such a depressing atmosphere. "Um... Urashima? Do... do you have a moment?"
I turned my almost lifeless eyes to her. "Mutsumi... you're here..." I giggled slightly. Yes, Mutsumi was here. She could tell what had happened. "Please, can you tell everyone what really happened last night?"
"Oh... I... I'm sorry, but... Urashima... Narusegawa..." She put her hands in her face and blushed embarrassingly. What could she be so happy about? "M... my... my test came back positive."
That one little statement blew me out of the water. My rage and depression drained away from my body, leaving only a void. My soul had finally fallen into the black hole that was consuming it. I swear that if you could have seen my eyes.. They lost all shine and became black orbs of darkness. If you had looked into them, you would have seen that my soul was completely missing.
All I could hear was Mutsumi's statement repeating itself. "My test came back positive... My test came back positive..." It drilled itself into my mind, searing itself into the very wrinkles of my brain. It pounded on my ears, letting me here nothing else. I even saw Mutsumi in the exact same position, repeating herself over... and over... and over again.
I didn't even notice that Naru had walked over to my side. I barely even noticed when she slapped me right across the face. "You bastard," she whispered. I put my hand up to where she had slapped me. It burned and felt numb at the same time, like if you stay out on a cold, windy day for too long.
I stared at her and smiled. She backed away as she saw the emptiness I projected from that void of a smile. "Yes I am." I smiled again and looked at the fist I had made in front of my face. "Yes I am," I giggled crazily. My next action surprised even me.
I took my fist, moved it far away as I could from myself, and then smashed it into my face. The cartilage in my nose rubbed painfully into each other and I felt a trickle of liquid fall from my nostrils. I wiped underneath my nose and saw quite an amount of blood on my hand. "Oh my," I giggled. "I seem to be bleeding." Blood. It seemed so good to look at. I wanted to see more. I wanted more blood, more pain, anything to fill that bottomless hole that was my soul.
"Blood," I giggled harshly. "Bloody, bloody, blood, blood." I looked at Motoko. She flinched at my gaze. "Motoko... give me... I want your... give me your katana," I whispered hoarsely.
"Urashima?" She gasped back.
"Give it to me."
"Why?"
"Because..." Because I wanted to see blood, to feel pain. I wanted something to prove that whatever was happening was real and not a dream, or in my case, a nightmare. But since I could never hurt any of the girls for my own selfish desires, I need to hurt myself. I... needed to bleed. "I want to bleed, Motoko. I want to cause myself so much pain, it hurts just to realize that I'm alive. Give me your katana, Motoko, and let me bleed. Let me bleed myself dry."
Yes... that's what I wanted to do. Like the leaches of medieval times, I wanted to bleed all impurities out of my body. But since I had to be the most impure person on Earth, I would have to drain myself of everything. Everything, until I was nothing more than a husk.
"Urashima?"
My eyes moved to Motoko. She was strangely out of focus. My deranged mind didn't even register that she was looking at me with a worried at concerned look. After all, my reasoned, why would she? I was the most horrible person on Earth. My lightless eyes bore into her as I said, "Isn't that what you want, Motoko? Haven't you always wanted to strike down the evil that plagues you all?"
I stared down at my hands. The blood from my nose had caked them, creating a reddish-brown layer of crust. I marveled at how amazingly beautiful ye horrifyingly grotesque it was. "Yes, I am slime. I am a son of a bitch. I am a bastard. And I am definitely a pervert. So let me punish myself. Let me end my worthless existence and rid you all of this horrible plague that harms you all."
"My statement shocked them all. "But, Keitaro..." Naru moved closer to me. "That doesn't mean we want you to die."
I looked at her. Her eyes had lost the sadness and in its place was... pity? Why pity? "Is that true, Naru? Aren't you all telling me to, "Die Pervert!" all the time?" Her eyes flinched. "So let me do it for you. Let me die, and make us all much happier."
I couldn't take it anymore. This void in my heart was crying out for sweet oblivion. I wanted to end it all, to just end it. They would all be much happier if they didn't have the scum of the world living with them, right? Right? Of course. In a spilt-second, I ran from Naru's gaze to Motoko, grabbed her katana, and sped out the door. They were all frozen from my actions as they watched me run away with the katana clutched in my hands.
I ran. I ran from everything that was dear to me in that dormitory. I ran and ran and my heart couldn't take it anymore. I cried. I felt the tears flow down my face like a waterfall as I ran away from my friends, my home, and the one I loved and betrayed.
*****
She found me crying underneath a tree. The katana was carelessly thrown a few feet away, its blade up to the hilt in the ground. There was no blood on it. When I got there, I just couldn't do it. I just couldn't end my life. Instead of shedding blood, I shed tears. Gallons upon gallons of tears. I so wanted to stop the suffering of the girls, but a small part of my mind kept telling me not to do it this way.
It said that even though I might end one of their sufferings, I'd cause another. Didn't I even think that my death would cause them sadness? Of course it would. Even if I made them miserable, they still cared enough for me to feel horrible if I died for their sake. I laughed sadly. No matter what choice I made, I would always make them sad. I continued to wallow in my misery and self-loathing.
Then I felt two arms circle around my neck and a weight press against my back. I lifted my head from my knees and tried to turn around. "Wha-?" I stopped when I felt someone put their lips to my neck for a gentle kiss and said, "Shhh..." I calmed down when that same person put their cheek against mine and began to nuzzle me. "Who's that?" I croaked. "Naru?"
"Shhh... it's okay." Naru whispered. She pulled back and tugged my head with her hands as she pillowed it on her breasts. "It's okay, Kei. Everything is okay." She brushed the bangs out of my eyes and softly caressed my face. Why was she being so nice? I just had sex with her in the room beneath her, and on top of that, that same woman was pregnant!
I looked up at her kind face and I couldn't help but begin to cry again. "How can you say that?" I sobbed. "How can you still not hate me and still call me by that name?" I couldn't stop the flow of tears. Why? Why was she still near me? Why wasn't she cursing my very existence? "How-"
She stopped my questions by firmly pressing her lips to mine. I kept sobbing, but I held on to her lie my life depended on it. She stopped the kiss and dropped one last butterfly kiss on my lips before leaning back and smiling at me. She looked into my watery eyes as she held my face in both of her hands. "Because... I love you, Kei."
"Because I love you, Kei." Those words kept circling around in my head, a light shining through the darkness clouding my heart. But doubt kept creeping into my mind. How could she still love me? What did I ever do to deserve that? "How can you? How can you possibly love something like me?" I wanted to know, wanted to know why she loved me after all this.
"I-I... I don't know how I still do. I just know that I do. I know that I love you, Keitaro." She smiled sadly. "You don't know how sad I was when I saw you and Mutsumi together. I thought someone had ripped a gaping hole in my heart."
I flinched. "I sorry, Naru. I-" She stopped me by kissing me again. This time, when she stopped, she moved away and pushed me down. Like the day before, she crawled on top of me and lied on my stomach. She circled her arms around my neck and pulled herself up to my face. Once again, she put her mouth to my bottom lip and suckled on it. I shivered at the sensations this woman who was lying on top of me was giving me. Her touch was bringing me out of my depressed state of mind.
Heartened by my relaxing state, Naru tried harder to get me to respond. She nipped my lip playfully then moved to my chin. She place a kiss there, and then began to slowly and sensually brush her lips along my jawbone line to my earlobe. She began to lightly suck on it and I couldn't help but put my arms around her and hug her to me. I wanted to accept her tender advances. I so wanted to just lose myself in her body, her touch. But I knew I couldn't.
I lifted her head and looked at her. There was love radiating from her eyes, but why? Why was an emotion I would never tire of seeing in the eyes of the woman I betrayed? I just couldn't take it. "Naru," I said. "We can't do this."
"Why not?"
"Why...?" She was asking why I couldn't be with her. So close after I was found with another woman? "Because of me... and Mutsumi... And now she's... pregnant..." I looked down shamefully.
"Keitaro..." I looked at her. A soft smile adorned her beautiful face. "It's okay. You and Mutsumi didn't do... this." She illustrated her point, pressing her body against mine. Despite my depression, I could feel a blush spreading across my face. She giggled and pressed even more. Her soft body molded to me like a glove and it felt wonderful. Was this what "that" felt like? That though rocked me back to reality.
"But... she was in my bed, naked. And I can't remember how she got there..." There was hope shining in me, but I still wanted to make sure. I wanted to be told by the one I though I had betrayed to tell me that everything was all right.
"Oh, that..." Oh, that?! "Well, I'll tell you..." A grin spread across her face not much unlike Kitsune's. She giggled sweetly and moved her mouth back to my ear. She blew on it and whispered, "But only if you touch me." She lowered her lips and started to nibble at my earlobe. "Mmm... please?" She murmured as she snuggled into my body.
Well, she certainly got me out of my depressed state. Whatever happened couldn't have been too bad if she was making the moves on me like this. I slowly moved one of hands from its position on her waist to lightly place it on her rear. She almost purred in contentment. Did she really like it that much? "Okay... now will you tell me?"
"Mmm, squeeze..." I did so. This time she definitely did purr. I could hear the rough sound emanating from her throat into my ear. "To put it simply, Mutsumi sleepwalks." I looked at her. She merely giggled and moved her head underneath my chin where she nuzzled into the crook of my throat. "After you ran off..." I winced. She noticed and snuggled closer. "After you ran off, I did so too and met Haruka. She said that Mutsumi's got really bad sleeping habits. She wakes up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and ends up falling down stairs or peeing on the floor or getting hit by cars... you get the point."
I nodded. Yeah, that sounded just like Mutsumi. But what did Mutsumi's sleepwalking have to do with her getting into my room? I took my hand off of her rear and moved to stroke at her hair absently. I could feel her smile as she tightened her hold around my neck. "So... how'd she get into my room?"
"Umm..." She giggled. "It could have to do with the fact that there's a hole in my floor."
"Oh." The hole. Of course...
"Yes, oh." She lifted her head and looked at me. "You're such a silly boy, Kei."
I lifted an eyebrow. With those simple acts of love and explanations, Naru had brought me out of the void that was once me. She had made me happy to be alive again. "Silly boy? Is that finally going to replace my original name of pervert?"
She grinned. "Maybe." She pressed into my body and I felt a certain appendage of mine stiffen. Her eyes widened and she grinned even more. "Ooooh..." She lowered her lips to mine. "Especially if you'll react like that... silly boy," she breathed.
I smirked. "You are definitely the woman I fell in love with, albeit your sex drive is ten times more than I think you want it to be." I moved my hand down to her rear again, but this time I slid it into her skirt, feeling her silken panties.
"Oh my..."
I tilted my head. "You know, you sounded like Mutsumi for a sec there." Naru froze. Embarrassment was clearly shown in her eyes. Her face was almost as dark as a cherry. "What's wrong?"
"Oh... my..."
Naru grinned nervously. "Uh... I forgot the others were helping me to look for you when I asked them to." Wait... if the other girls were helping her, and I thought I heard Mutsumi, did that mean...?
"Oh..."
I turned my head to see Mutsumi with a hand to her mouth, her eyes opened wide and her totally speechless. I looked at Naru and mine's position. She was lying on top of me with my hand stuck in her skirt clutching at her panties. My brain decided to go into red alert again. [WARNING! WARNING! HOSTILE FORCE IMMINENT! TAKE EVASIVE MANEUVER... ] My mind went off red alert completely. A chibi version of me was standing bedside my brain, holding an electric plug.
'Who are you?!' I mentally yelled at my chibi self.
It shrugged. 'Guess you could call me your sub-conscious.'
I blinked. 'Okay... Now what are you doing?'
Thought that was obvious,' it replied. I blinked again and it bonked me on the head. 'I was stopping you from doing something stupid.'
'By turning off my panic system?! How would that help me?!'
'Let me answer that question with another question,' my sub-conscious said. 'What exactly are your "evasive maneuvers?"'
'Yank my hand away.'
'Let's think things through first, for a change. You do realize your hand is in the hem of her skirt.'
'Umm... ' Mental images flashed through my mind. Me yanking my hand away while it was still in Naru's skirt. One fabric ripping later, and Naru would have nothing below her waist but her stockings and underwear. One pervert calling later, and I would be imbedded in the tree we were under. 'Thanks.'
My sub-conscious smiled. "You're welcome, but I think I'll keep your warning system off in situations like these. It might save a you a lot of trouble and pain.'
'It probably will,' I chuckled. 'It probably will.'
Okay, back to reality for me. I stopped myself from yanking my hand up and thereby preventing Naru's bottom half from being devoid of outer clothing. I slid my hand from between her skirt and rear and put it to her shoulders with the other as I sat us both back up. "Hello, Mutsumi." Needless to say, all three of us were surprised when the situation didn't end horribly after Naru and I were caught in that odd position.
"Oh my, hello, Urashima, Narusegawa. I didn't mean to catch you in one of your romantic interludes."
"That's okay," I said. "It sort of started out when Naru explained what happened and I apologized and kinda ended up like this." I grinned at Naru as she blushed, but she still kept her arms around my neck. If anything, she actually tightened her grip on me, as if she were protecting me. I was surprised, and showed as much by raising an eyebrow. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately, raising an eyebrow I mean.
She responded by grinning back and moving over to drape herself on my back, resting her chin on my shoulder. She grinned again, and nuzzled into me. I sighed. I don't think I'd ever understand what that woman was thinking. But anyway, back to the matter at hand. "She told me you got into my room because of your strange sleeping habits," I said to Mutsumi.
"Oh, yes, I must've been sleepwalking again and then I found this bunny and I fell down this hole. It felt like I was floating and the next thing I knew, I collided with your rock-hard head. When I woke up, it was already morning and everyone was so happy to see me."
Something in my mind clicked. "So that's where I got that lump on my head from! I was wondering why my head kept hurting every time I thought about what could have happened last night." Another click. I groaned. "That would also explain why I had no pants on. I was knocked unconscious while I was changing."
Naru giggled. "It does make sense when you think about it."
I sighed again. "Well, that's that, but... what about that test you were talking about this morning? That little statement of yours blew my entire little tirade out of the water."
"Oh, that." Mutsumi put her hand up to her forehead and stuck out her tongue. "I wanted to tell you that I finally finished those really hard math problems you let me borrow."
"So then why'd you say it like you did?!" I yelled. What she said had made me contemplate suicide!
"Keitaro... it's okay." Naru said. She kissed me on the cheek. "Everything is okay."
"But..." She kissed my cheek again, and I fell silent. I sighed. "Fine... but in a way, I'm kind of disappointed nothing happened."
"Disappointed?" Maybe that wasn't the right thing to say. It was then I realized that even though Naru had me in a loving embrace, she was also in quite a good position to start strangling me. I waited for my panic system to activate, but my sub-conscious seemed to have still been able to keep it disabled. For that, I was grateful. I could now answer back rationally.
"What I mean was that I've always wanted kids, but the only person I want to have children with is you, Naru," I gulped. Oh God, please let her believe me. I really didn't want our cozy little moment ruined by my blatant remark. I really have always wanted kids. You know, "play with the little tykes?" And truth be told, I wanted to be with Naru always. I wanted to grow old with her.
I guess some of those feelings must have been shown in my eyes because her disgruntled look softened, and she rubbed her cheek against mine whispering, "silly boy." Her arms relaxed against me and she drew me back into a loving hug. I then noticed it was kind of chilly. I looked down, and then up again. "Urm... were either of you ever going to mention that I'm still in my pajamas?"
They looked at each other, blushed and giggled. Mutsumi pulled out my coat and held it out to me. "Here," she said. "Naru ran out too quickly to take it, so the others gave it to me and told me to follow her." I thanked her and took my coat, putting it on. I immediately felt much warmer. I closed my eyes and sighed happily. I felt all warm and toasty.
Then I felt a body press against my arm and I felt even warmer. I looked over to see Naru wrapped around my arm, her head on my shoulder. She looked up at me and smiled. I smiled back and scratched the back of my head nervously. Why was she being so forward in public?
"Oh my, Narusegawa," Mutsumi giggled. "I never thought you'd take our pinky swear so quickly to heart."
"Pinky swear?" I said to Naru. What pinky swear? What on earth were those two talking about? I was getting really confused. Was that why Naru was acting... funny?
"It's nothing!" Naru said quickly while waving a hand in front of her face. Well if it was nothing, than why was she being so antsy about it?
"Care to repeat that?" I asked, trying to push the matter further.
"Just drop it!" She yelled. I decided to. I didn't want to anger her when she had such a good grip on my arm. All I did was smile off-handedly and put my hand behind the back of my neck. I was still curious, but I was sure that she would tell me when she wanted to. Besides... if that pinky swear made her so warm towards me like this, I would just lie back and let it happen.
"The others have calmed down by now," Mutsumi said in her lilting voice. "So we should be heading back now." I sighed. At least now that they knew the truth, they wouldn't punish me for my alleged crime. But I would have to apologize for yelling at them all in my rage and anger. I sighed again and pulled my arm out of Naru's hold. She looked hurt until I smiled and put my arm around her tiny waist, pulling her to me. She almost glowed as she put both her arms around me and pulled me into a hug, her head on my shoulder. With that, the three of us headed back to Hinata House.
*****
At the stairs to the dormitory, we started to talk about the exams. "So," I said. "Only ten days left to go."
"I can hardly wait!" Mutsumi said happily.
"We've got to give it our all!" Naru exclaimed.
"Do you think," Mutsumi said with her hands behind her back. "That we can stay friends even after we get into Tokyo University?"
"Of course, Mutsumi," I smiled. I then grinned nervously and scratched the back of my head nervously. "But I'm worried I won't get in. I do have the intellectual capacity of mitochondria." Sigh. It was true. My intelligence was not even close to average, let alone extraordinary like Naru's and Mutsumi's. Things just did not gel in my brain.
"Boy, you're such a pessimist." Mutsumi giggled. "Cheer up." That's just like Mutsumi, always looking on the bright side of things. She is the biggest optimist I have ever known in my entire life. She said that even if she failed the exams this time around, she would try again next time. Now this is just me, but failing four or five times would not be a happy experience for me! Oh well...
"Stop beating yourself up," Naru said. "You're gonna do just fine," she mumbled through the kiss on my cheek. She tightened her hold on me and I smiled. Naru was definitely going to be my biggest supporter throughout that ordeal. I decided there and then that I would do my best to make sure I got accepted along with her and Mutsumi.
I loosened her hold on me and she glanced at me questiongly. I just smiled, moved closer to Mutsumi and stuck my hand between the three of us. Naru smiled in recognition and put her hand on mine. A moment later, Mutsumi giggled and did the same. "Well then," I said. "All together now. Here's to the future..."
We all threw our hands up. "To the future! Tokyo U, here we come!" A breeze flitted between us and lifted up Naru's skirt. Her panties and stockings were shown as a furious blush crossed her face.
"Oh, boy."
'Sorry, buddy,' my sub-conscious laughed. 'You're gonna die no matter what you do.'
"I'll kill you!" Naru yelled while raising a fist.
"How is this my fault?!" I cried while trying to run away from a berserk Naru. Unfortunately, I tripped and crashed into Mutsumi. She flew off in a daze, turning and around as she headed towards the stairs. "Mutsumi, look out!"
"Abbbuu!" She smacked herself face-first into one of the cherry blossom trees and fell down in a heap.
"Oh geez! That's got to hurt!" I cried as I rushed over to her. I pulled her up and inclined her head on my upraised knee. "Are you alright?"
"Mutsumi, don't go towards the light!" Naru yelled.
"Don't... worry. I'm fine." Mutsumi murmured.
A strong wind then suddenly blew through the area as the sun shown through the clods, shading the ground. Its dazzling rays sparkled on the snow thrown around by the wind. The snow reflected a soft, pinkish tint as it fluttered back down to the ground. It was so amazingly beautiful, it took my breath away. Memories were pooping up like crazy as I watched this wonderful display of light shining all around us.
"Wooow!" Naru said in complete awe. "The snow looks like... cherry blossoms. Wow."
I was silent. It was just like back then... Memories of my early childhood flooded back to me in torrents as I watched this beautiful sight. I remembered. The cherry blossoms floating in the air as my two best childhood friends played in the play ground in front of me. They laughed as they pulled me along.
"Kei!"
"C'mon, Kei! Let's all play together!"
I could feel tears begin to gather in my eyes as those wonderful memories came back. I had forgotten so many of them... for so long. I had only remembered some of them from last Christmas, and only so few. So many happy times that I could not recall... could not remember. I then noticed Mutsumi slowly rising to her feet. She closed her eyes and slowly moved forward as if in a trance. Finally, she turned her head over her shoulders and opened her eyes.
"Ke... Kei-kun?"
I froze.
"Kei-kun? Is that really you?" She turned completely and pointed a finger at Naru. "And Na-chan... you're here too? I haven't seen either of you... for a long, long time."
A/N: Well, another cliffhanger. I love myself for torturing you like this. It gives me a strange feeling of pleasure. Or maybe that's not such a good thing. Anyway, I've finally got this chapter done and I've almost got the seventh chapter drafted into my notebook, so I'm happy! Unfortunately, I'm starting to slow down because school is beginning to pick up. Oh well, what you gonna do? In any case, I hope I can keep writing chapters you will enjoy and I'll be right back with you after the interview. Oh, before that, about the dislocations? I don't why I inserted those, but let's just say life experiences inspired me. I have never broken a bone in my body, but I have nearly dislocated every single joint instead. Painful...
Me: Well, aren't you happy that I ended the resolve so nicely? You guys even got to cuddle a little.
Keitaro: (chuckles) Yeah, I guess you could say that.
Naru: Pervert! (pulls Keitaro into a bear hug)
Keitaro: Ack! I'm sorry! Please let go!
Naru: (lets go slightly) But you're my pervert...
Keitaro: (grins) And I always will be.
Me: Awww... so cute. It's getting annoying, even for me. Bye-bye.
I type some commands into my keyboard and transport the two lovebirds into a more private room. Now they can... ahem. Anyway...
Me: (grins) I love my author powers.
Su: (pops up behind me) Yeah, they're nice to have.
Me: Wahh! (puts hand to chest) How do you do that, Su?!
Su: Do what?
Me: Just appear out of nowhere.
Su: It's a secret.
Me: (shakes head) How did I know you were going to say that?
Su: Because you know me.
Me: (smirks) That's right! You're my favorite character! Reminds me a bit of my brother except you're a girl and much cuter to boot.
Su: (looks at my slyly) Yamiga, are you hitting on me?
Me: (scratches back of head) You know, I'm really not sure.
Su: (sweatdrops) Well, if you are, it's an okay start.
Me: Heh... Oh well, in any case, I'm sorry I can't put more of you and the other girls in. But since this is mainly a Keitaro/Naru fic, you other guys don't show up that much, but don't worry! You'll have plenty to say during the next interviews!
Su: Good. Well... (glomps onto my back and looks over my shoulder)
Me: Ugh... Su, you got to warn me next time. In any case...
Su: (grins) Please Review!
A/N: Well, I finally did get this chapter done, so I'm happy. I'm such a slow typer and writer, so bear with me if the updates take too long sometimes. I'm really sorry. Anyway, I'm writing as quick as I can. Oh, and sorry about adding the panic system and Keitaro's sub-conscious in the interview. I just didn't think in time. I'll include them next time though. Okay? Okay. Anyway, please review, and remember, no flames!
Preview!!!
Next Chapter: Memories and Tests
"Mu-chan!" I cried out as I ran to her and pulled her into a bear hug. She hugged me back as I swung her in a circle. "Mu-chan, you remember... I'm so happy. So very happy, Mu-chan." I said as I put her down and she cried into my shoulder. I saw Naru standing awkwardly to the side and grinned. I leaned over slightly, shot an arm around her shoulder, and pulled her into the hug with me and Mutsumi...