A/N: Yo people! I am back! And so is chapter 4, the secret is out! What is the relationship between Keitaro, Naru and Mutsumi? What really happened 16, 17, wait... just long ago? I am getting lots of ideas for the next chapters, especially the volumes that come much later on. Just to tell you, volume 11's gonna be a lot fun when Keitaro finds some freaky ruins. That's not for a while, but I need to hook you somehow, now don't I? And now, my thanks to my reviewers.
Nutty Al: thank you for the review and I hope that you keep on reviewing. Anyway about the promise girl... I'm sorry if I haven't made this clear people but... Naru is Keitaro's promise girl! I'm sorry if I haven't made this clear, but she is and there's nothing you can do about it. I've read the entire manga series and since I'm basing this story off of the manga, Naru is Keitaro's promise girl. If you still don't understand, read the last chapter of "Holding Hands" and the first chapter of "And Life Goes On" to get a quick recap
anoymonous: I will, I will, I will, I will... thank you
John McCoy: thanks for the suggestion, man. I am thinking of doing a self-insert as a sequel to this story. But that won't be for a while. Anyway, author powers are cool, and I am thinking of installing them, but I'm not going to be all powerful or something like that, so don't worry. And for you to be in it, I will say this once. Since it is gonna have no plot whatsoever, well, maybe some, anyone who wants to be in it, will get at least one cameo. But I warn you, this will only be for my loyal reviewers, NO ONE ELSE!!!!! Got it? Good
Baka-Alaskan: hey baka! Haven't seen you for a while. How you been? Anyway, thank you for the reviews, it's great =P
K3: sorry man, but that was the way your name was written. Sorry. Weird and unexpected... that is the core substance of Love Hina, so I'd suggest you'd get used to it because it's gonna be happening a lot more, heh. Keitaro just unlucky I guess
jennyjennai: thank you so much for the review. I really like it. Yeah, paralleling it with the manga was my point, but trust me, when Keitaro gets to America, it's gonna be a major branching point
Android K: yo my pre-reader! How you doing? Thanks for the review. It was great. Love the fact that you're still working with me, I really appreciate it. Thank you
Knight's Shadow: thank you. I will as soon as possible
Shadowed-Moon 2525: dude, thanks for the review. Bipolar, huh? That's a new one. Course one of my pre-readers said that reading it was like watching an impending train accident, so I'm not too surprised. Can't wait for your next chapter to come out, and I am putting my "Holding Hands" on the same website. And now, to all my readers, for sm2525, I will say this: go to and read his fic, "The New Resident." It be good, sort of like metal gear and LH combined... good times
Lamikhara: man, thanks for the review, it be good. Yeah, cliffies are evil, they drive me crazy when I read them, but I love them anyway. I will and as soon as possible
Turtle Lady: hey girl! Whassup! Thanks for the review! And if I'm now your favorite author then... I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!! Thank you!
Thank you to all my reviewers!
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 4: Memories and Tests
"Kei-kun, is that you?" She turned 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."
My heart skipped a beat, my mouth went dry, and my vision went blurry with tears. Did she... did she remember who she was once was? "Mutsumi," I said slowly and quietly. "You called me 'Kei-kun.' Does that mean you remember? Do you remember what happened long ago?"
"Yes... it's all becoming crystal clear. I used to live at Hinata House a long time ago. And you're Kei-kun and Na-chan, my oldest and dearest friends." Her eyes began to water too. I couldn't believe it. Mutsumi had remembered who she used to be. I was so happy... no, I was beyond happy. I was absolutely ecstatic.
"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.
"Isn't this great, Naru? Two of my dearest friends are here with me, and one of them remembers who she once was. I'm not the only one who remembers what happened back then anymore." I leaned over and kissed Mutsumi on the cheek. She blushed and giggled with an 'oh my.' I then turned to see Naru with an annoyed look. I quickly put that to rest when I kissed her full on the mouth. She was surprised at first, but quickly gave into it.
After a few seconds, I stopped and whispered into her ear, "Thought I'd forget you, didn't you?" She merely blushed, grinned evilly, threw her arms around and kissed me fiercely. I was shocked when she opened her mouth and proceeded to French me. But, just like her, I quickly gave in, moving one hand around her waist, the other cupping her face.
This continued on for a few minutes until Mutsumi interrupted. "Oh my, I hope you two don't mind, but if you're going to breed, could you please do it somewhere else and not in public?" I sputtered and nearly bit my tongue in half. I pulled away from Naru who seemed disappointed, but she just smiled and repeatedly kissed my neck. I could feel my desires begin to accumulate, but I pushed them back down. I didn't think Mutsumi would appreciate it if I knocked Naru down and had my way with her.
"Sooo... Mu-chan," I said. Naru just happily nuzzled my neck as she hugged me. "You finally remember what happened when we were kids. But I have a question, since you didn't make the promise with me, then who did you make it with?" I really wanted to know. Because of her promise, Mutsumi tried so hard to get into Tokyo U.
"Oh yes, the person I made my promise to." Mutsumi blushed and giggled. I wondered why she was doing that. Was she embarrassed by something? "Umm, I'd rather not say. It's kind of embarrassing now that I remember who I made it to." She giggled again.
"Mutsumi..." I drew out her name. Why was it embarrassing? "C'mon, tell us."
"Okay," Mutsumi sighed. "The person I made my promise with was a girl." Okay... that I wasn't expecting. She made a promise to go to Tokyo U and live happily ever after... with a girl, a person of the same gender. Yeah, I can see why she would be embarrassed. If I had made a promise like that, only to find out it was to a guy, I would have probably slit my wrists and would have been happy when I finally died.
Meanwhile, both Naru and I were frozen with shock. "A girl?" We both said, our eyes and mouths both wide open. Naru became silent and I spoke again. "W-what do you mean, Mutsumi?" Who the heck could she have made the promise to? I was totally stumped.
Naru broke out of her silent state and took a step towards Mutsumi. "B-but..." She stuttered. "You made... a promise... and it was at Hinata House... so-" Yes, it was Hinata House. That was good enough clue to start with.
"That's right," Mutsumi said as she turned around and clapped her hands together. Okay, so what other girls were at the Hinata House back then besides Mutsumi? I just couldn't remember.
"You mean!?" Naru spoke again. Something inside of my mind clicked. My head snapped to look at Naru. I stared at her as I realized things falling into place. No! Mutsumi didn't mean... No, she couldn't have... Could she?
"That's right." Mutsumi laughed. "I made it with Naru."
My brain nearly went into red alert. [WARNING! WARNING CONFUSION... !] Then my sub-conscious gave it a good kick in its input drive. It short-circuited. [ERROR! OUCH... ] My sub-conscious gave it another kick and wiped its hands together.
'Stupid system. Next time I'll take a sledgehammer to it.' My panic system 'visibly shuddered.
Thanking my sub-conscious again, I watched as Naru tried to speak. "What... W-what?! With me?!" She yelled as she pointed at herself. "Are you serious?!" If I weren't so damned confused over the entire matter, I would have laughed at her gaping mouth and saucer-like eyes.
"Umm..." I scratched the back of my head, looking perplexed. "I am confused... Did you say Naru?"
"Yes, I did. And I'm not surprised that you are," Mutsumi laughed. "But hey, when I made the promise to her, you weren't even there, Urashima." I was surprised. She had met Naru after the first time we had all met together at Hinata House? That was... interesting.
"I wasn't?" I asked.
"No. Here, I'll explain it to you." She took a deep breath and started. "The person that Kei-kun, aka Urashima, made his promise was... it's been so long since I called you that, my little Kei-kun." She reached out her hand and took my cheek between her fingers, pinching it like an old female relative would.
"Mutsumi!" I yelled. It was cute, her treating me like this, but I wanted to know what had happened. Mutsumi giggled and took her hand off her cheek and put it to her mouth.
"I'm sorry," she giggled. "You just have such a cute baby face, I couldn't resist, Kei-kun." She giggled and started again. " The person you made your promise to was... your very first love."
"R-right... and that was Naru, wasn't it?"
"That's right." I sighed and moved over to Naru, slipping an arm around her waist. She jumped slightly, but then relaxed onto me. Mutsumi smiled at the scene. "But Na-chan was still quite young back then. She didn't even remember the promise." Naru stiffened guiltily, but I stopped her when I kissed her cheek. I didn't, no, couldn't blame her. She was only two at the time. Heck, I was five and look at what I did. I combined Naru and Mutsumi into one person! "So a year later," Mutsumi continued. "When I met her again, I had her promise me one more time, 'To go to Tokyo U.'"
"So that means... that... that..." I scratched my head. "Umm, what exactly does that mean?" I had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but I still wanted the exact details. As I have told you before, I am very slow on the uptake.
"It means, Kei-kun, that my promise to her was to help her remember her promise to you."
I felt sad. "I'm sorry, Mutsumi."
She tilted her head. "What for, Kei-kun?"
I looked down. I felt so ashamed. "Because of me, your promise was nothing more than a reminder." How could I do that? The one thing that pushed her to go so far, and I turned it into nothing more than a fucking memo note. Argh! I cause pain to others without even trying to or remembering! "I'm so sorry, Mu-chan."
"Kei-kun..." I looked up to see Mutsumi in front of me... she was smiling? Why? "Kei-kun, so what if it was a reminder? It still helped me get through hard times. And now..." She took a step closer and took one of Naru's my hands into both of hers. "Now I have a reason to get into Tokyo U. To be accepted with you and Na-chan. You're both my best friends..." She then leaned forward and kissed us both on the cheek. "... And I hope you always will be."
I smiled. "Thanks, Mu-chan."
"You're welcome, Kei-kun." Mutsumi giggled. "But I think we should be heading back now. The others might think that you eloped with one of us!" She then started to finish the rest of the stairway up to Hinata House. I smirked at her comment and headed after her until I felt Naru drape her arms across my shoulders. I looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
"Give me a piggyback," she grinned.
"You're kidding me, right?"
"No," she whispered huskily. "Not at all."
Needless to say, that made me give in to her favor. I sighed and bent my knees slightly. Naru squealed lightly and jumped on my back. She circled her arms around my neck and I held her thighs in my hands. I stood back up and began to walk up the stairs. Naru dug her head into the crook of my neck and sighed. I gulped. She was so close, and I was firmly holding her thighs. Her strong, shapely... Ack, no! I mentally slapped. I shouldn't be thinking like this!
I heard Naru giggle. I turned my head to ask what she was giggling at and found myself pressing my lips to hers. She pressed a little harder, and then moved her lips down along my jawbone line. Her arms slid into my pajama top and she began to draw aimless designs on my chest. I gulped again. She was being so forward. Why was she being so forward? Did this have something to do with that pinky swear? Was it a bet between her and Mutsumi? I had to find out.
"Naru?"
"Mmmm?" She had moved up from my jawbone and was now nibbling at my earlobe. I shivered. I was finding it hard to focus when she was doing this to me. I just wanted to knock her off and jump her. It was to my better judgment that I didn't.
"A-are you... I mean... is this..."
"What is it, Kei?" She pulled herself closer and I could definitely feel her soft breasts press into my back. Obviously, this made it even harder for me to do anything at all.
"Does this have to do with that pinky swear between you and Mutsumi?"
"What do you mean?" She moved her mouth to the conjunction of my jaw and throat. By now, I had stopped halfway up the stairs and was just standing there. I let out a small groan and slid my hands down her up her thighs, closer to her rear. I felt her smile against my throat.
"I mean... is this some sort of bet?"
She stopped. "What?"
"Naru..." I was really nervous. I didn't want her to stop because it felt so good, but I also didn't want her to be doing it if it was a dare. "You have to be the most beautiful and sexually attractive woman that I know. So it's rather... unnerving when you make advances on me like this. And I just wanted to know, are you doing this because of some sort of dare, or is it of your own free will?"
"Keitaro..." Naru sighed and wriggled for me to let her go. I did so and she dropped down to the ground. Turning around to face her, I immediately found her holding my face in her hands. I gulped nervously as Naru touched her nose to mine. "These advances... why exactly do they make you nervous?"
I could feel her warm breath grace my face and involuntarily shuddered. My heart rate raised even more than before and I could feel a blush spread across my face. "B-because," I stuttered. "You're a goddess on earth and I'm... Keitaro Urashima, the perverted landlord of a girl's dormitory." It was true. I'm nothing special. Nothing at all.
"And you're also the sweetest, kindest, gentlest, most caring, giving, persistent and loving man I know of and I love you for all of those things." My eyes widened and she giggled. "Besides, who says you aren't a god. You are immortal after all. Now I think this goddess deserves a kiss from her god." With that, she leaned forward and gave me a sweet kiss. "And about the advances, yes, it is about the pinky swear." I started to feel panicked. Naru noticed and rushed ahead. "But I swear, it's not a dare. It's just something to enhance my already strong feelings for you."
That was a relief. But I still wanted to know exactly what the pinky swear was. I said as much. "Do you think you could tell me what it was?"
This time it was Naru who looked nervous and embarrassed. "Umm, maybe some other time. It's really embarrassing and I'd rather not say at this stage in out relationship. So could we drop it? Please?" She looked at me with the sweetest and most innocent face she could muster. She knew for a fact that I couldn't resist her when things like that. It was a simple fact that would have to live with. But I knew that could do the same thing to her.
"Fine," I sighed. She squealed and threw her arms around me. After a while, I turned around and bent down again. I turned my head and looked over my shoulder at Naru. "You want a piggyback the rest of the way?" She nodded vigorously and jumped on me with enough power to rival one of Su's best glomps. Man, I didn't know Naru could squeeze that hard. I stood up, but before I started to move I warned her. "Naru..." She stopped from putting her hands in my pajama top. "If you do that, I can't be blamed for doing anything drastic."
"Oh," she quirked. "And what would drastic be?"
I grinned at her. "I'm a twenty-one year old, hot-blooded, perverted male with an extremely sexy woman clinging to his back." I slid one of my hands up her thigh to grip her rear. She blushed and I smirked. "Use your imagination." Part of me wanted her to call my bluff. Anything to get her to do those... things to me again. The other part... didn't, to put it plainly. Its logic said that even my sub-conscious wouldn't be able to control my panic system. If that happened, I would do one of two things. One, I would pass out from pure sensory overload, or two, I would have her and consequences be damned within the time space of five minutes.
"Mmm, okay." Naru said. The first part of my brain grumbled in resignation while the second one cheered in victory. My sub-conscious sighed in relief as it tossed away the sledgehammer it was carrying to at least try to fight my panic system with. "But," she grinned wickedly. "You're going to have to make up for it later, Kei." She snuggled into me and I gulped.
'Sorry, bud,' my sub-conscious said. 'You're on your own here.'
I gulped again and made my way up the stairs. The entire way, Naru didn't do anything, and in a way, I was a little disappointed. I guess I wanted her to try to be a 'bad girl.' But she kept her promise and we kept in comfortable silence the whole time up the stairs. When we did get to the top, we found the rest of the Hinata honeys waiting for us.
"So, you finally brought him back, huh?" Kitsune said. "We were wondering where he had gone."
I bowed. "I'm very sorry for acting that way, guys. It was totally unacceptable of me." God, I hoped that they would forgive me. It was wrong of me to yell at them. Unfortunately, I really hadn't cared at the moment since I was so enraged. But still, I should have not done it.
Kitsune put her hand to the back of her head and looked down sheepishly. "Actually, Keitaro, we should be the ones apologizing. It was wrong of us accuse you of such a crime when we really knew that you, of all people, would never do something like that. You had every right to get angry." She then motioned for the others to come over. They lined up and Kitsune said, "And so, we'd just like to say..."
All of the girls bowed to me and said, "We are very sorry, Keitaro!"
I was very touched by their apologetic gesture. But still, I didn't deserve to say all of the things that I said no matter how angry I got. I decided to make a compromise. "I appreciate your apology, but I was still wrong to act like that. So let's admit that we were both wrong and just leave it at that."
Kitsune smiled. "That sounds good to me."
"Thank you, sempai." Shinobu said.
"I thank you, Urashima." Motoko bowed.
"Yay, everything okies!" Shouted Su.
"Thanks, dork," said Sarah. "But I have a question. Why is Naru on your back? Something special happen between you two?" With that, the others look pointedly at us I could feel the warmth of Naru's blush spreading throughout her face. Oh man, if only they knew...
I grinned. "What? Can't I give my girlfriend a piggyback? She was tired after having to find my sorry ass." Not to mention it made it easier for her to make the moves on me. I guess Naru agreed because her blush deepened, but in a good way as she nuzzled her face into my neck.
'Not bad, my friend." My sub-conscious gave me a thumbs-up. "Not bad at all.'
I grinned again and loosened my grip on Naru as a sign for her to let go. She did so, reluctantly, to my pleasure I might add. When she did, I noticed the absence of her body warmth and I felt cold again.
I looked down to see I still had my pajamas on with my coat wide open in windy, thirty-degree weather... Argh! No wonder I was so cold. I closed my coat around me to try to conserve body heat, but I still couldn't help my teeth from chattering. I looked up at the girls. "Y-y-you think we c-can g-g-go inside n-now, girls?" I said through chattering teeth.
"Very well, Urashima." Motoko said. "But first, I need to ask you, where is my katana?" She looked at me with burning eyes and I realized I'd better answer correctly or I would die a slow, horrible death. Motoko's katana was like her other half, it was a part of her. The only problem was, I didn't have it.
"Oh, shit! I left it underneath the tree I was near!" I yelled out.
"Urashima..." Motoko growled, the fire of Hades in her eyes.
"Don't worry! I'll get it!" And with that I flew down the stairs, my coat flapping out behind me.
*****
After twenty minutes of running back to the place where I was and another ten minutes of fighting a rather dog, who for some reason thought that Motoko's katana was an extra-large bone (don't ask), I was finally able to get it and head back to Hinata House. There I gave it to a very grateful Motoko. She had to be grateful because she didn't punish me for stealing it in the first place. Finally, I went to my room to finally change out of my pajamas and into a warmer apparel. Now I was leaning on the banister of the laundry deck, watching the sky darken as the sunset came closer.
I sighed. The last few days had been busy. I had finally recieved honmei chocolate from Naru, not to mention a couple nice interludes, had been accused of a crime I hadn't even remembered committing, luckily nothing had really happened, and Mutsumi had regained memories of her lost childhood just like I had. Man, it was almost as crazy as when Naru and I had confessed our love for each other. And now, in about a week or so, we had exams coming up. Argh! I was going to fail! I just knew it! I put my hands to my head and rubbed furiously.
That's when I felt a weight drape across my back and two arms come around my waist. I turned around to see Naru's smiling face. "Oh, hey, Naru."
"Hi, Kei," she said back. "You okay? You were doing one of your 'losing your mind' deals."
"Ehh, just thinking about what happened and what's going to happen."
"You mean Mutsumi and the exams?" She let go of me and moved over to lean on the banister. I followed and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to me. She smiled and rested her head on my shoulder.
"Yeah," I sighed. "I still can't believe she remembers too, but I'm still very happy nonetheless."
"I envy you guys." Naru sighed.
I looked at her. "How come?" I asked. Why would she be envious?
"Because you two remember what had happened when we were kids, and it creates a sort of bond between you. I feel like the outsider when you talk about things like that."
A bond? Yeah, I guess I could see where she was coming from. But still, it was nothing to be envious of. I gave her a quick peck on the forehead. "It's nothing to be envious of, Naru." I said. "Sure, we may have memories of our early childhood, and memories are nice to have. But like I said last Christmas, they're just memories. We should be more involved with making our memories now, at this moment. Besides..." I gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Do you really want to regain your memories like we did ours? I had to get the flu and be blown up, and Mutsumi had to smash into a tree. "I grinned. "To get yours back, you'd probably have to get smashed on the head with something!"
We both laughed. Naru put her arms around my waist and snuggled into me. I tightened my grip on her. We stayed like that for a little while until Naru said, "You know, I never said this before, but you're really warm."
I was startled by this comment. "Really now?" I said. "And when did this come up?"
"Last Christmas," she replied. "When I held your hand for the first time. It was so gentle and warm."
"Then I guess it's true about being dumb and warm," I laughed. "Since I've got to be the dumbest person on Earth, I've also got to be the warmest too."
Naru giggled. "That's not true. Well, not totally true." She giggled again at the look I gave her. "Things are starting to click into place for you. If you just don't spaz out, you'll do just fine. Remember the center exams?"
I winced. How could I forget? That was a bad time for my studies. I was so worried about passing that my brain stopped functioning at times. My sub-conscious had not yet appeared to me in its chibi form and so my panic system was going on full blast. I dropped things, fell down flights of stairs I didn't even know we had, ran into various stationary objects, walked in on the girls a lot more than usual and other things that caused much bodily (not to mention property) damage.
Then when the exam actually came, my panic system completely took over and my brain went on vacation. Not only did I manage to completely rip my answer sheet in half, but also a mysterious draft blew it halfway across the room where I had to run after it to catch it. Then the real problem started. Taking the actual test, I... well, I lost consciousness to tell the truth. The next thing I knew, the test was over and my test was done. I guess that was one of the times my sub-conscious took over and helped me.
Of course, me being the spaz that I am, I thought that I had failed the first day and had sulked around the exam hall. It was just my luck that a TV news crew had to come on to the scene and get some live feedback from the students taking the exams. So they picked me. Out of all of the people who could have been picked, they picked the jackass who thought he had failed his test. I made a total moron of myself on national television. It was horrible.
After that I ran off to the skating pond to go and die. But noooo... I couldn't even do that. Naru and Mutsumi used the help of Tama-chan to find me. I, of course, lied to them when they asked me about the test results and therefore felt even worse afterward. I ran off again and into Seta. Well, more like I fell into the hole he ice fishing out of. Don't ask me; I don't why he was ice fishing in the middle of a skating pond. Anyway, he gave me some real good advice: "Just do your best. Whatever you do, you should enjoy it. That's the only way to be happy in life." That sentence helped me choose to change my decision of not doing the second day of exams.
Of course, Naru found out and gave me a good tongue lashing for lying to them and even thinking about giving up. But then we made up rather quickly and she helped me grade my paper. Ironically, I got a better grade than her. Yes, I am a man cursed with the most bizarre luck with tests. With that, I actually passed my center exams.
I chuckled. Naru looked at questioningly. I just shrugged and hugged her closer. "Nothing, just thinking how I actually got higher than the former nation's tops." A sudden pain happened in my side. "Ouch! What was that for?" Naru removed her fingers from my side, grinned and shrugged. I sighed. Well, what did I expect? I sighed again, kissed her cheek and watched the rest of the sunset with her before going down to dinner.
*****
Time flew by and it was the day before the second Tokyo U exam. I sighed. My fourth examination to get into Tokyo University. Was I really ready for it? My mind was in turmoil from worrying about the exam and I was extremely fried. "Argh!" I yelled out loud to myself, holding my head in my hands and rolling around on the floor. "I've got to keep focused or else I'm screwed! I can't let Naru and the other girls down!"
I sat back up and pounded my hands on the table. Hey, what did I have to worry about? I knew the material! And I've been studying! As long as I didn't freak out, I wouldn't have another near death experience! That's right, I wouldn't have to worry as much since my sub-conscious could stop my panic system from activating.
But I still couldn't shake that tiny, nagging feeling that kept on saying, 'You're going to fail. You're going to fail.' Crap, this wasn't good at all. I sighed again, put on my coat and walked out of my room and down the stairs to go outside. If I went to the exams all stressed out, I was sure to blow a fuse like at the center exams. Maybe some fresh air would do me some good.
The second I got outside however, the fresh air decided to mock me and turned into a chilly wind. I hugged my arms to me as I looked over the city skylight. Damn, it was cold. The doubt crept back into my mind. Why was I really trying to get into Tokyo U? Was it because I wanted to? Was it because I wanted to impress the girls? Was it because of that promise I made? Or was it... was it because of Naru, the woman I loved. I sighed again. Truthfully, I did not know.
"Hey! What do you think you're you doing there?!" I jumped slightly and turned around. There was Naru in her pajamas, leaning on her banister. "You're gonna catch a cold!"
"Naru! I was just... getting some fresh air." Could she read my mind? How else could she appear at the exact moment I was feeling doubt and thinking of her?
"So, tell me how you're feeling. Think you'll pull it off?"
"Umm, sure, maybe." I shook my head. Aww, who was I trying to kid? This was Naru, she would know if I was lying or not. "Actually, to tell the truth, I'm really not sure. I'm really worried."
"Oh, don't be. You'll do just fine."
"Only you smart people say that." I chuckled. "Or maybe not. I did get a higher score on my center exam than you."
I could hear Naru growl from where I was. "Don't make me chuck something at you."
"I won't," I grinned. There was a few moments silence until I spoke again. "Hey, Naru?"
"Yeah?"
"If by some miraculous event I do pass, will you go on a date with me?"
"Where?"
"Someplace special." I wasn't about to tell her considering I didn't even really know myself. Call it spur of the moment.
She tapped her chin and looked up. Oh, great, keep me in suspense, why dontcha? I knew what she was going to say, but I guess she wanted to add drama to it or something. Girls... "Mmm, okay. But... !" She held a finger up. "Only if you pass."
I sighed. I knew she was going to say something like that. It was just totally... Naru. Just like her. "Thanks! Just another incentive for me to pass tomorrow, huh?"
"Yeah," she laughed. "Anyway, good luck tomorrow. If you do your best, you'll do just fine. I'll see you tomorrow morning."
"Yeah... good night, Naru." I waved to her. She waved back and went into her room. Ii saw her light turn off and the entire inn was silent. I tuned around and looked at the city's skylight again. It was so beautiful, all of the different lights turning off as each of its inhabitants went off to peaceful slumber. I decided then to take Naru's advice. As long as I remained focused, I'd do just fine. There wasn't any need to worry about things I couldn't control... At least... that's what I kept telling myself. I sighed again and went to bed.
*****
The next morning I woke up with both dread and hope lying in the pit of my stomach. I groaned with frustration. Why was I still so worried over the exams after all the crap I went through and all the encouragement I received? Just like last night, I truly did not know. I dressed up in warm clothing and went out my door into the hall. There I met Kitsune in her usual risqué clothes.
"My, you're up early," she yawned.
"I could say the same for you, but yeah, nerves woke me up." I responded.
"Ah, don't worry," she said as she patted me on the back. "You'll do fine."
"Yeah, I know... I think." I scratched the back of my head and looked at Kitsune. "Is umm..." I pointed upward. "Is Naru up yet?"
She shook her head. "Nah, lazy girl still not awake. You'd think she'd wake up early like you to get ready."
I shook my head too. "No, sleep is important right before an exam. I should be asleep right now, but... since this is my fourth one, my brain decided to poke fun at me and wake me up." I grimaced. It seemed my panic system was able to sneak by my sub-conscious and blast me with a wake-up call. I was really starting to hate that infernal part of my brain.
Kitsune gave me one of her fox grins. "Yeah, well... your brain isn't exactly normal." I glared at her and she laughed. "Anyway, go downstairs. Shinobu's got your breakfast ready."
I sweatdropped. It was 6:30 in the morning! What eighth-grader would be up this early? I mentally bonked myself on the head. This was Shinobu I was talking about. That girl was the youngest iron chefs I knew of, and she was always extra nice to me whenever anything related to exams popped up. I waved good bye to Kitsune and went down the stairs to the kitchen. I poked my head in the kitchen and saw Shinobu busy making breakfast for the dorm. "Hey, Shinobu."
I guess I had surprised her because she jumped slightly. "Oh! Hello, sempai! How are you? Are you ready for your big day?" That's Shinobu for you, always thinking about other people. She truly has a heart of gold. It's too bad she always gets too emotional over things.
"I think," I smiled. "I should be able to scrape through a decent enough grade. Thanks for your concern." I scratched the back of my head nervously. "Kitsune said..."
Shinobu smiled and pointed at the dining room. "It's already in there."
"Thanks, Shinobu." I walked into the dining room and took one step before stopping. Right before me was a rather strange scene that made me choose not to eat my breakfast. I sweatdropped and walked back over to the kitchen. "Hey, Shinobu?" I called. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I can eat your food."
Shinobu's eyes began to tear up. "W-what do you m-mean, s-s-sempai?" She blubbered. I winced. I hadn't thought about what to say to explain the scene and had hurt her feelings. Idiot! I was such an idiot! "Isn't it g-good."
I put my hands up in front of me as if to try to stem the flow of water coming from her eyes. "No, I'm sure it was delicious, Shinobu!" She stopped sobbing and hiccupped. "It's just that..." I put my hand behind my neck. "I just don't think I can actually eat it considering that it's inside Su and Sarah now." Maybe I should have explained it beforehand, huh?
"What?!" Shinobu yelped. She ran out of the kitchen and into the dining room. I followed and saw the same scene again. Su was lying on the table over the plates that had once held Shinobu's cooking, semi-conscious and stomach bulging. Sarah was lying on top of her, stuffed with the leftovers Su didn't eat.
"Su! Sarah!" Shinobu yelled at the prone figures. They moved slightly and Sarah fell off Su onto the where she groaned.
Su lifted her head sleepily. "Whatzat? Shinobu?"
"I don't believe you two!" Shouted Shinobu. "You ate sempai's special exam food!"
"But we were hungry..." Su whined.
"I don't care! It wasn't..." She trailed off as I put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me apologetically. I smiled and shook my head. I then turned around and walked back into the kitchen. A few seconds later, Shinobu walked back in smiled nervously at me. I just chuckled. What did she expect? With Su in the house, any food was for the taking. And if it had any type of banana seasoning or actual bananas in it, you might as well hide it in a safe. Course, she'd probably blow up the safe with one of her mecha-Tamas and eat what non-radioactive part of the banana was left... and maybe even the tainted part too. That was just the way Su was.
But Sarah didn't usually act so strangely. I guess hanging around Su for so long was finally starting to rub off on her. The same could be said for Su as she was becoming more devious in a child-like way like Sarah was. I chuckled at the thought. Here I was thinking those two would never change, and yet they were... into each other. I chuckled again and shook my head. Shinobu looked at me strangely, but I just waved her off.
"I'm sorry about your meal, sempai," she said sadly.
"It's okay," I responded, I didn't want her to feel bad. I did really want to have the special meal she made for me, but her normal, everyday food is just as delicious. I knew I'd be fine with the food she was already making. "I'll just take whatever you're cooking. Besides..." I gave her a wicked grin. "That just means they don't get breakfast."
Shinobu looked horrified. "I can't do that, sempai!" She yelped.
"I know, Shinobu," I said, a soft smile on my face. "You're kind like that."
Shinobu blushed and mumbled, "Thank you, sempai." I smiled and stayed there until she was able to make a dish for me, which I took and walked back into the dining room. There was Motoko, sipping a cup of tea. She nodded towards me and I smiled back. I went to the table when Su was moved off into her chair and began to eat quietly. Motoko took another sip of tea and spoke.
"So, Urashima," she said simply. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"I hope you pass." She took another sip of her tea, then folded her hands and leaned forward. "You know, you've changed a lot since your first examination here."
"Really?" I said, a little taken aback.
"Yes," she replied. "You're not so much the perverted, weakling male you once were when you first came here." I was surprised. I never thought that Motoko would compliment me. Granted, it wasn't so much a compliment as it was an absolution from my previous crimes, but coming from Motoko it was actually very... nice.
"Gee, thanks, Motoko." I scratched the back of my head. "That means a lot to me." She nodded and went back to her tea. I finished my meal and left the room. Su and Sarah were still semi-conscious by the way. I went back to my room and sat down. Sighing, I looked up at the ceiling. So, the day was finally here. My fourth exam. Was I really ready? Would I ever really know? I sighed again and moved to my dresser to get my exam ticket. But when I opened the drawer, it wasn't there.
"Oh, crap! Where is it?!" I muttered frantically. If I couldn't find that ticket, I wouldn't even be able to take the exam! I had to find it! That's when I noticed a white corner sticking out of the drawer next to it. I opened it and there was my exam ticket. Why was it...? Oh well, I probably either forgot where I put it or moved it by accident. Without bothering to look at it, I shoved it into my travel bag. I sighed in relief and pulled on my coat. It was going to be a big day.
Walking downstairs, I saw all of the Hinata honeys lined up to send me off. "Hey, guys."
"Hey, Keitaro," Kitsune said back. "Aintcha gonna wait for Naru? She's till getting ready."
"No, I kind of need some alone time right now." Well, that much was true. I needed to be alone while I thought about what was going to happen. "Just tell her that I went off ahead, okay?"
"Okay, Keitaro," Kitsune grinned. "Now c'mon, we've gotta sent you off."
They followed me out of Hinata House and to the top of the stone staircase. There they stood in a line, and Su, Sarah and Tama-chan whipped signs out of nowhere. Su's said, "Good Luck!©" Sarah's said, "Good luck Naru, Urashima! By Papa." That one had to be from Seta, and Tama-chan's, of course, said, "Myuh."
"G-good luck, sempai!" Ah, Shinobu... always the kind-hearted.
"Just remember. You know the routine by heart." Kitsune... the ever confident one.
"If you take it one step at a time you'll do fine, Urashima!" Motoko, in her usual stoic-warrior attitude.
"Jus' take it easy and relax!" The giant bundle of energy that was Su.
"Don't screw up!" And of course, that had to be Sarah.
I sweatdropped slightly at their enthusiasm. It was... normal, strangely enough. "Umm... thanks... guys." As I waved to them and walked down the stairs, I raised my head to look at my surroundings. The sky was mostly clear, with a few clouds to give it a picturesque look. The sun was shining brightly through the foliage of the tress, creating random silhouetted designs on the ground that changed rapidly because of the fierce wind blowing every so often. I could see my breath appear in the cold air, and then, just as suddenly, disappear. It was a perfect day for an exam.
When I made it to the bottom, I saw Haruka standing outside of her tea house. I waved to her and she nodded back in acknowledgement. I took the last few steps to the landing and walked over to her. "Hi, Aunt Haruka," I said.
She whacked me in the head with a paper fan. "Just call me Haruka," she grumbled.
I rubbed at the lump she gave me. "But you'll always be my Aunt Haruka."
She gave me another good-sized lump. "Don't care. Makes me sound old."
"But you always used to want to be called that when we were younger."
"Keitaro..." She growled, and I saw her hand ball up into a fist.
I decided to veer away from that conversation. "So, Mutsumi up yet?"
"Yeah, but she's still getting ready. I swear, the girls these days take too long to get ready for anything."
"That's right. How come you never take long to do anything, Haruka? Usually you just throw on a shirt, some shorts and your apron." Those words that came out of my mouth were probably not the smartest ones to say.
Haruka's stoic face changed into a mask of cold fury, her lips a tight line, her eyes both freezing cold and raging hot. I took a step back as she exhaled, the smoke framing her face like a picture of a devil. You would think by now that I would have remembered to never insult a woman unless you absolutely can't help, and I mean absolutely can't help it.
"We're going to leave it at that," she said calmly, too calmly. I gulped. I was treading dangerous ground here, like a minefield. If I made one wrong move, there wouldn't be enough left to identify me with. I decided to do the safest thing and slowly back away from the very scary problem in front of me.
"Yes, ma'am." I gulped again and scratched the back of me head nervously. I grinned to try to lighten the mood, but Haruka just shot me a look that stopped all levity. I gulped and said, "I'm off now then. See ya, Haruka." I wasn't about to add on to her wrath by adding the aunt part. I wasn't that stupid. At least... I hoped I wasn't.
Haruka then gave me a smile. Not a forced smile like I thought she would have after our not-so-friendly conversation, but an actual, genuine smile. "Good luck, Keitaro. I hope you do well."
I smiled back and headed to the trolley that would take me to Tokyo U. when it came, I got on and it went on its way. I sighed. It was time for my fourth exam, to get into Tokyo U, and also to live happily ever after with Naru. My mind moved to that thought. I hadn't even thought about that. I still thought of Na-chan and Naru as two different people, one as the little girl I made my promise to, the other the woman I fell in love with.
It wasn't long before I fell asleep, images of Naru dancing within my mind.
*****
"Tokyo U. Tokyo U."
I roused out of my sleep to the ringing voice of the trolley conductor. I got up and sleepily walked out of the vehicle. The chilly winter air immediately woke me up. "Whoa! Cold!" I yelled out. A few people took a couple steps away from me and I flushed at my sudden outburst. I put my head down and walked silently onto the campus as a few people watched me, whispering quietly to each other.
I was kinda early as the test didn't start for a couple hours, so I decided to take a walk. It was absolutely beautiful. I would have gone to Tokyo U just for the face value of its outside. The landscaper had done a very good job to bring out a peaceful sight for the entire campus. Everything was neat and orderly, but also seemed to burst with life.
I walked around, noticing couples walk hand in hand. I smiled, thinking about how maybe Naru and I could do that if I actually ever did make it into Tokyo U. I mentally hit myself. No, not if I ever made it. When I made it into Tokyo U. if I thought negatively like this, I'd already lost half the battle. I shook my head and kept walking until I found a nice place on a hill to lie down. I did so, pillowing my hands behind my head as I looked up at the azure blue sky.
I sighed. It was so beautiful here. I would do anything to be part of its prestigious alumni, especially if it was with Mutsumi and Naru, my best friend and the woman I loved. I sighed again. I couldn't let them down, could I? My mind drifted off to aimless matters as I thought about what my life would hold for me while the sun slowly moved across the sky.
Finally, it was time to start the test. I sighed and rose to my feet. Time to take the bull by the horns, do or die, face the-
'Just shut up and go, idiot!' My sub-conscious shouted.
Right. Time to go. I began walking back to the entrance to see if I could catch Naru and Mutsumi before they went to their rooms. There they were, chatting amiably with each other. I smiled and walked towards them. Mutsumi noticed me and waved. "Good morning, Kei-kun!" She said gaily.
"Hi, Mutsumi." I turned to Naru. "Hi, Naru."
She pouted and puffed out her cheeks. "You left without me."
"I'm sorry," I grinned sheepishly. "But I need some time alone."
"Oh, leave him alone, Na-chan." Mutsumi giggled. "I don't think Kei-kun needs any extra pressure on him right now."
"Oh, fine." Naru huffed. She moved over to me, took my arm and whispered into my ear, "But you're going to pay for it later." I gulped, dreading the punishment I was going to receive. Mutsumi giggled, pulled Naru over to her and whispered something into her ear. After finishing, they both broke down into a fit of goggles and Naru leered at me. Then again, the way she was looking at me showed that maybe this 'punishment' might not necessarily be one that I would not like.
After they finished giggling, Mutsumi spoke up. "Well then..." She put a hand on both mine and Naru's shoulders. "Na-chan, Kei-kun... this is it. Good luck and give it your all. Bye now!" She turned away and waved to us before running off to the building where the test was being taken. Before she got in however, she tripped and fell flat on her face. We winced as we saw her twitch, and then get back up. "I'm okay!" She yelled back at us. Then she woozily made her way into the building.
Naru and I looked at each other and laughed. I offered her my arm. "May I escort you to the exam?" She slid her arm into mine, smiling impishly. We made our way to the building, our arms linked with each other. "What exam room are you in?" I asked her.
"A-1040," she responded.
"Really?" I was surprised. She had the same exam room as me. "That's mine, too."
She just smiled and pulled me closer. "That just means I get to be with you longer," she said. I grinned at her and we walked to the entrance of the building. We then looked at each other, nodded and stepped over the threshold.
A/N: Well, I'm happy to say that that chapter's done and finished! I hope you people like it. Yeah, I know. It's not a cliffie like I usually do, but my original work didn't stop there and continued, and I don't think you would have enjoyed reading an almost 40 page chapter. Get tedious after a while, no? Anyway, got half of chapter 8 done, partly into volume eight. Ideas are coming to me, and I am glad for it. Now I'll talk to you later after my interview.
Me: Well, that's done with. Now I'd like to introduce you guys to the two new characters from the last chapter: Keitaro's sub-conscious and panic system! (trumpet blares in fanfare off in background; I sweatdrop) Eh, that wasn't necessary.
Keitaro's sub-conscious and panic system walk out onto the scene. To give a visual, the panic-system looks like one of those big, bulky super-computers from the late 1900s, and the sub-conscious is a chibi form of Keitaro. If you've seen the video game/dream episode of the Love Hina anime, you'll know what I'm talking about. They walk over to me.
Me: So hey guys, how you doing? Should I call you by any specific name? Panic system and sub-conscious are too long to say normally.
Sub-conscious: (shrugs) I guess you could call me Taro, seeing how it's part of my guy's Keitaro's name. Him... (points to panic system)
Panic System: JUST CALL ME PANIC!
Me: (sweatdrops) Do you really have to talk in caps and end in exclamation points?
Panic: ... ... ... ... ... ... YES!
Me: Okay...
Taro: Heh, just ignore him. He's a nice guy once you get to know him.
Me: (scratches head) That's strange... I thought I made you guys out to be bitter enemies.
Panic: THAT'S JUST DURING THE FIC!
Taro: Yeah, Yamiga, we get along pretty friendly outside of it. (grins) Plus he knows that I have my hammer to get him to shut up.
Panic: SPEAKING OF HAMMERS... I THOUGHT THAT ONLY FEAMLE ANIME CHARACTERS CARRY HAMMERS AROUND!
Me: Heh, yeah well... I saw how you guys needed conflict and a hammer just seemed like the best deal to go with. In any case... now that I've introduced you guys, would you mind if I got the other characters in here?
Taro: Sure.
Panic: FINE!
Me: (grins) Cool. (whistles) Yo, guys! Come on in and meet the new characters! (the rest of the Hinata Crew walks in) I'd like to introduce you to Kei's panic system and sub-conscious, now known as Panic and Taro.
Shinobu: Kyaaahhhh! Sempai's sub-conscious is sooo cute! (goes over and gives Taro a big hug)
Taro: Gack! Miss, please don't do that! You are having an effect on Keitaro, you know!
Shinobu: Huh? (turns around to see Keitaro with a dazed look in eyes) Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, sempai! (lets go of Taro)
Keitaro: (snaps out of daze and laughs nervously) It's okay, Shinobu. I do find this extremely freaky though.
Kitsune: Yeah, that's right. If these guys are part of Keitaro's mind, then how can they be here?
Me: Kitsune, I'm an author. I can do whatever I damn well please in this world. And saying that... Naru, Keitaro, come over here. Got something to say to you about next chapter.
The two walk over to me and I pull them close before whispering something into their ears. Their eyes go wide and when I finish, they're both blushing furiously.
Me: (grins) Taking that you two like that. (they both nod) Good...
Motoko: Yamiga, what exactly do you do to them next chapter?
Me: That would be none of your business, Motoko.
Motoko: (growls) Yamiga...
Su: Hey, what does this button do? (reaches out for a button on Panic)
Me: No, Su! Not that button! (click) Too late...
Panic: WARNING! WARNING! FAILURE IMMINENT! STRESS IMMINENT! SENSORY OVERLOAD! EVACUATE! EVACUATE! (lights blink on and off as Panic turns to mist and disappears into Keitaro's body)
Keitaro: Waaaahhhhhh! I'm going to fail! I'm going to die! Naru's going to hate me! I'm going to hate me! Yamiga's going to write me off! Whyyyyyy meeeeeee?!?! (runs off)
Naru: Kei!! (runs off after him)
Me: (sighs) Damn it, Su.
Su: (grins sheepishly) Heh, sorry.
Kitsune: What the hell just happened?
Me: Kitsune, Panic is Keitaro's panic system for a reason. And Su just turned him on full blast.
Shinobu: That's not good is it?
Me: Nope. And now Taro's gonna have to chase after him. Taro?
Taro: (pulls out sledgehammer and grins) With pleasure.
Me: Before you do that, could you, uh... (points to audience)
Taro: Sure. (bows) Please Review! (runs off)
A/N: Cool, that's finally over. Now, just to warn you, the next chapter gonna have some a pretty good amount of citrus in it. Whether it's a lemon or not, I'm not too sure. Is a lemon when they actually have sex, or close to it? If somebody could tell me what the parameters of a lime and lemon are, I'd appreciate it. Okay? Cool... I'm gonna start asking for suggestions on different things later on in the story from you guys, so don't be surprised if I just randomly ask you something. I like feedback since I am still only beginning. Okay? Okay. Anyway, please review, and remember, no flames!
Preview!
Next Chapter: Rise Before the Fall
The first thing I saw when I woke up was a pair of brown eyes staring right at me. They were filled with such love and warmth that I couldn't help but be mesmerized by them. That's when I realized that if there were eyes, there had to be a face for them to be on. And in that respect, that face had to be attached to a body. And if that was the case, then I had a very warm, soft and feminine body contained within my arms. My sub-conscious never had a chance...