Rainer Aquarias: gee, thanks. I've become one of your favorite authors? Frankly, I'm very flattered. I also really like your review. The fact that you say I have an amazing way with words also makes me feel very pleased. Thank you so much
VampyreGirl: thank you for the review. It was really cool. But the ending? The ending for what? The volume or entire story? Because if it's the latter, that won't be a for a very long time. But the volume will end in a few more chapters. Hope you keep on reading!
KrishnaChan: wow, the best... that was a very kind review. thank you very much!
daswitxxher: thank you for the awesome review! and when is the next update? Well... it's now! Duh! (laughs) Just kidding! thank you
Lahmikhara: thank you for the review! I'm glad you like my cliffies! I do really work hard on them! Thank you
red52: nice to know people do like my changes in Keitaro's personality. I wasn't sure or not if it was a good idea. And now I'm just sounding like an idiot because I totally changed his personality in my new story. Stupid... ahem, in any case, thank you
lifelessdummy: thank you! Thanks! You're wonderful! I will! Soon! Okay! I just did! Hope you like it!
Niak: wow... tied for best one ever... err, if you don't mind me asking, which one is the best? Thank you no matter what though. It's really nice
Anubuss: yeah, the stalker thing just popped into my mind all of a sudden when I was joking about stalkers with a friend. And yeah, I wanted Nyamo to finally be able to talk because it just annoyed the crap out of me when she didn't. and a humor rating beyond S? no idea what that could be, but I'm flattered none the less
Filipino_Sniper: well, the next chapter is up, so I hope you're happy! And the romance scene or bloodbath? Well, maybe there could be both. Thank you for the review
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Android K: hello, my pre-reader! How ya doing? thanks for both the review and for helping me. The next chapter is up, (you probably already knew this) but thank you anyway. and the Hypello language? Thank you very much for the shweet review? it wash sho very nice of you? Can't wait for the next Shilent Mobiush?
Knight's Shadow: thank you. I will. Thank you for also wishing me a happy birthday. It was nice
llilbsbllstar10: so sorry for not having Naru in the last chapter, but she can't be in every single one, now can she? Wait, don't answer that. I don't want crazed Naru fanatics barking at me to put in their precious Naru. But don't worry, there's a bunch of cool scenes between our two lovers for the next few chapter. Hope you like them. Don't die on me though, I wouldn't like that. And also, congratulations on getting the last few volumes. I hope you enjoy them
Vivi239: thank you for the great review! I like it when people compliment my writing skills. And don't worry, I'm sure you'll become a very good writer yourself. Just keep on practicing! Or in my case, read hundreds upon thousands of books, mangas, magazines, and many other such literate things. Trust me, things will start sticking in your head after a while
jennyjennai: ghost in the machine? Strange... anyway, hope you enjoy all of my previous chapters as well, and also hope you enjoy the new chapter too. Thank you... and keep on reviewing
Thank you to all my precious reviewers!
And Life Goes On
By Yamiga'sLight
Chapter 8: Why Did You Follow Me?
"..." – talking
"(...)"– English
Naru stood there, her long hair pinned to one side. Her clothes were totally wrecked, her shorts so short, her panties were almost showing, her shirt ragged, five inches above her navel. I saw so much skin, she might as well of been wearing a bathing suit. Even though I probably would have been a bloody mass very quickly, I appreciatively gave her body the one-two. Her long, shapely legs and flat stomach were covered in minute scratches, but God, she looked so amazingly gorgeous!
"Naru, how are you?" I asked hesitantly. "What... what are you doing here?"
Naru didn't answer. She just stepped forward menacingly. I stood up slowly and nervously. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nyamo move to hide behind Gidget. How I wished I could have been with her at that moment. Gidget made an excellent barrier against attacks, though I thought it would have made much of a difference with Naru performing the assault. Naru raised a fist, and I closed my eyes. This was going to hurt. But instead of a hard blow like I expected, all I felt was a light tap on my chest, and then someone fall onto me. I opened my eyes to see Naru's head buried in my chest, her arms around my chest, and she was sobbing softly. It seemed like she was about to crack into a million pieces at any moment. "Naru?" I said gently.
"You stupid jerk," she whispered angrily. "I ought to break every bone in your body." I stiffened. Oh man, I was going to be put in a coma. But hey, if that was what was going to happen, I might as well go happy. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her to me, and rested my chin on top of her head.
"I'm sorry," I murmured. I really was. Naru almost never acted like this. She was never this vulnerable, this fragile. I've always known her for her fiery temper, her hard-headedness, and especially, her strong will. She was always the strongest out of all the other girls at Hinata House, and I loved her for that. I hugged her a little harder for a second before murmuring again, "I'm so sorry, Naru."
"I don't want your apologies, you jerk. I want... "
"Shh... " I moved one hand from her waist to the base of her head. Tilting her head back so that I could see her face, I was surprised to see tiny trails of tears flowing down her slightly flushed cheeks. God, I don't care if she was happy, angry, or sad, she would always be my beautiful goddess. Smiling tenderly, I leaned my head down until I was touching noses with her. "I don't care if you don't want them, I'm still sorry."
She blushed and smiled softly. My gaze moved to her full lips. God, all I wanted to do at that moment was kiss her, to just capture her lips and hold her to me. I hadn't realized it until then, but I had really, really missed her. I missed her face, her voice, her touch. I contemplated to just do it and consequences be damned. Maybe I shouldn't... But then I saw her lips purse slightly and her eyes close, as if she was waiting for something. Oh... screw it.
I was about to kiss her when something rammed into my knees, and I fell backwards, Naru falling with me. I land on something hard and curved while something soft and very curved landed on me. I blushed as I realized what had happened. Gidget had head-butted me again, a little harder than usual this time, and I had fallen backwards onto him with Naru on top of me. I blushed even harder when I found out how much Naru's chest was pressed against mine, and the fact that my leg had found its way through hers, so that she had ended up riding it. My mind conjured up one of its X-rated fantasies with her, and I couldn't help but have a tiny nosebleed.
Sputtering slightly, I quickly raised us both onto to our feet. Naru must have been just as embarrassed as me because she spun around to not look at me and poked her fingers together, blushing furiously. I thanked God that we were as intimate as that because otherwise I would have had to been scraped off of the floor... and the walls... and the ceiling... and the surrounding people... and the–you know what? I'm going to stop now. Let's just say it wouldn't be pretty.
"(Keitaro?)" I turned to see Nyamo, who was looking at me nervously. "(Is that Naru?)"
(Um, yeah.)" Oh damn! I had forgotten Nyamo was there! And here I was, about to make out with Naru, right in front of her! That would have definitely made her uncomfortable. Wait... did that mean that she got Gidget to bump me to stop us... on purpose...? Nah, I'm looking too much into this. Man, I'm getting really paranoid, aren't I? Anyway, I wrapped an arm around Naru's waist and turned her to face me. Reverting back to Japanese, I said, "Naru, I'd like you to meet Nyamo and Gidget." The two of them bowed slightly. "Nyamo is helping me with work, and Gidget... well, I found Gidget on a remote island."
Naru looked at them dazedly. "That's nice... " But then a determined look settled in her eyes and she stared at me critically. I sweatdropped and tried to back away, but her hand shot out and took a firm grasp on my ear. I winced as she tugged. "No," she said grimly. "That's not nice. I didn't come here to meet your friends. Now... we are going to go, and you are not going to complain." She gave another tug to illustrate.
I winced again. "Huh, where... where are we going?"
Naru's face contorted into fury. "Back to Tokyo to see the results!" She yelled right in my face. "Where the hell else do you think?! Now shut up and let's go!"
"Hold on, we're on some island in the middle of the ocean!" I tried to break away from her. I didn't want to go back to prove my horrible failure. I didn't want Naru to know how I had failed her. But even if she didn't know, it still wouldn't matter. Heh... damned if I do, damned if I don't, huh?
Naru tightened her grip on my arm. "And?! We've got plenty of time to get there!"
"What's the point?" I said dejectedly. "I already know the results." Please! Why couldn't she just drop it?!
But she wouldn't. "No, you don't!" She turned away from me, so I couldn't see her face. What was she doing? "You won't know until you're actually standing there. You, me, and Mutsumi made a promise to do our best, and now you won't even bother to look at the results."
Ugh... Why couldn't she just leave me alone? I loved her, but I still wasn't ready to see her yet and discuss this. I still had to finish this recovery trip I had set out on. I wanted to be with her so badly, and yet, at the same time, I wanted to be as far away from her as I could. And so, in the battle of emotions in my soul, I blurted out the stupidest thing I could have said at that moment.
"Look, Naru... It's over for me, okay... I've given up on Tokyo U!" And then came the kicker. "So just drop dead!" Naru froze. I was shocked at my own outburst. Putting my hand to my mouth, I whispered, "Uh oh, I didn't mean that... I'm sorry." Then I saw her wobble on her feet and begin to lean forward. As she fell, a horrible thought came to mind. Oh crap, don't tell me she actually took my words seriously and died! No, she couldn't of... could she?
"Naru!" I leaped forward to catch her. "Don't die on me!" I slipped my arms into hers to stop her from falling and pulled her to me. Turning her around, I saw that she was panting hard, and her face was totally flushed. Thank God, at least she wasn't dead, but... Holding her up with one hand, I put the other one to feel her forehead. Damn! It was flaming hot! She must have passed out from heatstroke or something other like I did.
"Damn," I muttered. "She's burning up."
"(Keitaro?)" I turned to Nyamo who was looking at Naru in concern. "(Is she okay? She's not looking so good.)"
I shook my head. "(No, she's not. She passed out from exertion or something like I did. C'mon, let's get her to the tent.)" Nyamo nodded, and I swung Naru into my arms bridal style. Making sure that I had a good hold on her, I walked out of the restaurant with Nyamo and Gidget trailing behind, Tama-chan on my shoulder. I know I could have had Gidget carry her, I might sound perverted, but I wanted to carry her. I wanted to hold her and make sure that she was okay. I hadn't seen her for a while and I had missed her. You could understand, right?
While carrying her, one of the straps of her shirt fell off her shoulder and partly bared her breasts. What the...?! She wasn't wearing a bra?! And she was that tightly pressed against me?! I thought that I had felt something... No! Argh! No perverted thoughts! Bad Keitaro! Bad, bad, bad! Jesus! Even unconscious this woman had such a strong effect on me that I couldn't believe it. I quickly pushed the strap back up her shoulder and continued on.
When we made it to the tent, I laid Naru on my sleeping back gently and put a pillow to elevate her head. Nyamo handed me a cold compress. I thanked her gratefully and placed it one Naru's forehead to try and cool her down. Nyamo then bowed and quietly left the tent. I guess that she knew that I wanted some alone time with my girlfriend. I thanked her again, silently. It was nice of her to do so.
I heard Naru whisper something in her sleep. I leaned over and heard her say it again. It nearly broke my heart. "Kei... don't... go... " Oh, Naru... what had I done? I let you down, and made it even worse by running away. I really was a coward, wasn't I? I let down the woman that I loved more than life itself, and then had hurt her even more. I wished that I could have taken all of her pain away, but how could I when the cause of it all... was me? Naru was sobbing softly, and it caused me so much sadness to see her like that, so small and frail.
What could I do? Only one thing popped into my mind, to comfort her. Sweeping her into my arms, I deposited her onto my lap. There, I slowly rocked her back and forth, cooing soothing words of comfort. Naru's sobbing eventually subsided, and she fell back into peaceful slumber. I sighed, still rocking her back and forth, and buried my face into her silken hair. Breathing in her scent, I relaxed and held her dear in my embrace. She was my everything, and I had hurt her. "I'm sorry, Naru," I whispered. "I hope you can forgive me when you wake up."
Comforted by her warmth and scent, I gradually fell into a half doze. I only woke up when I felt Naru move restlessly in my arms. Opening my eyes, I saw her wiggle around to sit more comfortably in my lap. Oh, so she was awake? Might as well have some fun then. Moving my hands to her hips, I lifted her up and turned her so that she was facing away from me, set her back down, and pulled her into my chest. Naru yelped, and I smiled. "I'm glad you're awake," I whispered.
Naru huffed and crossed her arms in front of her. She puffed out her cheeks and looked away from me. "You jerk! Don't think I didn't hear that 'drop dead' part! I came all the way out here to look for you, ruined my clothes, and passed out from exhaustion! And all you can say is 'drop dead?!'"
"I'm sorry," I repeated. "I really am, Naru." I kissed her neck gently and nuzzled it with my nose. She sighed and relaxed, snuggling back into me. I was happy. I was back with the person I loved, holding her in my arms. But why was she here? I did tell her that I was fine and that I would be back. Wasn't that enough? I had to know. "Naru?" I asked. She responded with a sleepy nod. "Why did you follow me? I said I'd be back, so why are you here?"
Naru stiffened, and the slumped forward. "Why did I follow you? You dummy... " She began to shake softly, and then she turned around in my arms. I was surprised to find she was crying freely. The tears streamed down as she looked at me forlornly "Because I love you, you jackass! I love you so much it hurts! And I... I... " She just stopped to turn around to face me fully, cried into my shoulder, and repeatedly pounded me on the chest. Now, this might seem like a sappy movie storyline, but trust me, it's different. The damsels? They're not all that strong, so it doesn't hurt when they hit you, but Naru... Let me put it to you this way. Think of sledgehammers being slammed into your body at a constant rate. Get the picture? No? Well then I envy you, you lucky, lucky people. Now...
"Oww, oww, oww, oww... " My body was starting to get really sore so I stopped her by turning her back around and crushing her to my body. I buried my face into her hair and tightened my grip on her waist. "Shh... " I murmured as tenderly as I could. "Please don't cry, Naru. You know I hate to see you cry. So please... please don't."
"You stupid idiot," Naru sniffled. But she did stop crying and firmly held my hands that were holding her waist. She leaned back on my shoulder and snuggled back into me even more. I rested my chin in the crook of her neck and sighed, breathing in her scent. My thumb had made its way free of Naru's grasp, and was now rubbing tiny circles around her navel. She giggled at my ticklish gestures and shifted in my lap so that she was sideways to me, her legs sticking out to my right. After that, she swung her arms around my neck, lifted her face up to it, and began to nibble on it teasingly.
I groaned softly as I felt her make her way up my neck. My ministrations on her stomach strengthened, and I pressed a little firmer. Naru took my wager and raised it as she made her way to my earlobe and latched onto it. I shivered and almost faltered in my rubbings. Just like her, my ears were also sensitive. Trying to make sure I would not lose this battle, I stopped my thumb right under her navel, and pressed my hand firmly into it. I remembered how she had reacted last time I did it. Though I seemed to have forgotten what the last time led to, but at the moment, I really couldn't have cared less. Meanwhile, my other hand had swept up her back inside her torn shirt to splay its fingers between her shoulder blades.
Naru moaned softly as I pushed her towards me, planting a kiss on her bare shoulder. She released my ear and shifted again so that she was straddling me. I smiled and leaned back to look at her. Her eyes were closed and a silly smile was adorning her cute face. I smiled again. She was with me again, being held in my arms. My angel, my goddess, my Naru. I couldn't have asked for more. I took my hand off of her stomach to cup her cheek. Naru's eyes opened halfway, and she looked at me coyly through her lashes. I smiled again and pushed her towards me. Our lips connected in a sweet kiss. My hand on her cheek also went inside her shirt to push her closer, and hers went against my chest. She nudged forward and knocked me onto my back. Our mouths opened to deepen the kiss.
I suddenly had a wanting to see her. I wanted to see more of her silken, creamy flesh. My hands moved out of her shirt ad to her shoulders. I snagged a finger in one of her straps and slowly slid it down the side of her arm. Naru followed en suite as she moved to the bottom of my shirt and pushed it upward, revealing my slightly toned stomach. Our liplock became more passionate as we lost ourselves in the moment. I guess after our lovers' interlude, the two weeks between our next meeting had made us want each other even more. Heh, guess absence does make the heart grow fonder.
Saying that, my hand moved to her other strap and forced that one don too. Naru's breasts were half-shown to me now, and I broke off from her to look at her form. My eyes cased her pale skin, and then switched back to stare at her deep, brown eyes. "You are so beautiful... " One of my fingers caressed her through the valley of her breasts to land on her ruby lips.
Naru blushed and looked down. "Thanks. You've gotten rather handsome also," she smiled shyly. "You've even got a tan." She pushed my shirt up even farther so that my chest was shown. My tanned cheeks also gained a blush as she rubbed her palms around my chest before laying her cheek on it. "Some nice muscles too," she murmured into me.
I smiled. She seemed so innocent. Totally unlike the way she usually was. Resting a hand on her head, I stroked at her hair, and then smirked. She looked like she was getting mighty comfortable in that position. Not that I minded, I was enjoying it too. Still, I like to have a little fun with my Naru, even if it meant I had to pay for it afterward. Thinking that, an idea came to my mind. It made me blush a little, but hey, I saw her, right? Putting a finger to her chin, I lifted her head, and she looked at me happily. "You look happy there, Naru."
She nodded. "Yes, very much so." She then leaned down and presses her lips to my chest. I groaned from her action and decided to just do it. I lifted Naru's head again, and she glanced at me in disappointment. I grinned and took off my shirt. She looked surprised until she grinned back, and then did something that made me totally regret what I just did.
Her grin grew to an almost insane degree, and before I could even react, she attacked me in a flurry of tickling. I burst out laughing as I felt her slender fingers deftly move over me, Naru laughing along as she continued my horrendous torture. After what seemed like an eternity in that strange Hell, I was able to grab her hands, stopping her. I then was able to flip us over, so that Naru was beneath me, her wrists pinned next to her head. I hovered above her and growled almost ferally. "Don't... do that... "
Naru looked almost frightened as she saw the look on my face. I wouldn't be surprised. Even though her actions were purely teasing in nature, it made my blood boil and my hands itch for reasons to touch her. I didn't like to be teased like this, especially after I had waited for so long for us to be together like this in the first place. My lustful glare made Naru whisper in a half-awed, half-scared manner. "Do... do what?"
"Torture me. Perverts don't like to be tempted when they know nothing will come out of it. If they are, bad things will happen. Very, very... " I halted as I caught her lips in a hungry kiss, my hands moving to tangle their fingers into her hair. I stopped kissing her, the two of us panting, but kept my fingers where they were. "Bad things." Yes, I officially admit it. I am a pervert. I don't care anymore. I like seeing Naru naked. I like touching her. I like all of those things. But frankly, I don't care what you say, I'm happy with who I am. "So unless you want the next person to come into this tent to get an eyeful, I suggest we do something else."
Naru smiled slyly. "And what if I want them to get an eyeful?"
I blinked. "You're mighty flirty."
She looked down embarrassedly. "Well, I can't help it. I've missed you. I've missed you a lot. You know I've never felt this way about anyone before. I've never really loved anyone. And so I... " I quieted her by kissing her tenderly again. I understood, I really did. I couldn't explain how, but I just did. Naru sighed in contentment before pulling me closer, her arms around my neck. I smiled inwardly at her pleasurable sound before concentrating back on my beautiful girlfriend.
Then something occurred to me. The reason I left in the first place: the Tokyo University examination. I wondered how she did. Did she pass? Did she fail? What? I leaned back from her, and she glanced at me curiously. "Hey, Naru," I said. "Did you get into Tokyo U?"
She looked up at me with a surprised look on her face. "Honestly, I have no idea. I guess I did pretty good on the test."
What the... ! Didn't she even go look?! What was she doing here then?! "What do you mean?! Didn't you go to find out?!"
Naru's face went through several expressions before it settled on one of the ones that I feared the most, her death glare. She pinched me tightly in the side, gritting through her teeth in a dark tone. "And whose fault is that I'm on some island while the results are posted, huh? Yours!"
"Gah... " Damn! Naru could be so damn scary sometimes! Her eyes just seemed to drill into me, letting me see nothing else, and trust me, it wasn't a pleasant sight to look at. "Wrong question? Sorry?" Naru released my side, and I sighed in relief as I rubbed it a little. Man, Naru's pinches hurt almost as much as her punches, and she could do these more often. Painful...
Naru lost the death glare, but kept a slightly pissed-off look. "But enough about me, what about you? You going to tell me why you're here and why you ran away?"
Oh man... she just had to ask me that, didn't she? Well, I couldn't really expect much other than that, now could I? I was the one to bring up Tokyo U, and even if Naru didn't exactly know that that was what the problem was, I inadvertently brought this upon myself. So what was I to do? Should I lie, tell the whole truth, part of the truth, what? But all I could say was a string of incoherent babble. "Umm... well... you see... the thing is... "
Naru put her hands on either side of my face and pulled me closer. I became anxious as I saw her stare at me critically. But all she did was firmly press her forehead to mine, still keeping that same drilling stare. I began to sweat slightly until she spoke up. "Was your exam really that bad?"
"Yeah... " I leaned back off of her, and Naru scooted back from underneath me, resting on her knees while I sat up cross-legged. I slumped over, hanging my head down, my hands folded in my lap. Okay, so I would tell her. I had to. She was the woman I loved. It was better for me to tell her then for her to find out from someone else, right? I hoped so. "In fact, when I skimmed the last part, I knew I had it made."
"What?! Really?! But then what?" Naru said, a look of pure shock adorning her face. Yeah, I bet she would have. Me knowing the entire exam? Yeah, and a man saw Santa Claus having tea with the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny. No, wait, I think that someone actually did see Santa Claus having tea with someone, but I believe it was with a leprechaun and Napoleon. I swear, the wackos these days...
I kept looking down at my lap as I slowly took off my glasses. My vision became blurry, and I was grateful for that. At least that way, I wouldn't have to see Naru's disappointed and disgusted face when I told her. That was the one thing I never wanted directed at me. "I guess I got a bit over-confident... a bit lax... During the test, I sort of... fell asleep. When I woke up, I had only five minutes left, and the last half of my exam was blank."
"You fell asleep during the exam?!" Naru screeched. I flinched. Her voice sounded so demeaning, so spiteful. I wished that my ears would had just fallen off at that moment. "What are you, retarded?!"
"It would seem so," I said, closing my eyes. My vision might have been blurry, but I still could see the look of disgust on Naru's face. I felt so depressed. I just wanted to run away and get the hell out of there. But I couldn't. I couldn't, and I had to stay. Taking a deep breath, I continued. "Back to the story. I got desperate, so I started writing down a lot of stuff. But I honestly can't remember what any of it said." Damn... that was horrible. The first answer that I thought was right, I wrote down. I had no time to consider anything. And the essays, oh God, I would be surprised if they could decipher my almost illegible writing. I finally opened my eyes and looked back into my lap. My face must have looked like the one of a dying man. "God, I felt so pathetic after everything was over... I screwed up my last chance, and I couldn't bring myself to face any of you."
Naru's features softened. "I see... " Her hands moved to hold my face, and she lowered it to hers. I closed my eyes and waited for her touch. It came all right. My eyes snapped open as Naru pinched my cheeks between her fingers and stretched my face out. "Who told you to go all shinji on me?!" She growled. She stretched my face out even farther, and tears unbiddingly came to my eyes. "Are you a man or what?! Why didn't you just explain that to us before you left, huh?!"
"I'm sorry!" I cried. My arms flayed back and forth as I tried to escape her grasp. "Just please let go of me! You're really hurting my cheeks!" She lost the pissed off look and released my face. I closed my eyes and sighed in relief. "Thank y-mmph." My thanks were cut short as Naru covered my mouth with hers. I willingly gathered her into my arms as she encircled her arms around my chest.
When we stopped, she planted her forehead against mine. "I'm sorry," she murmured.
I merely shook my head and put my glasses back on my face. When Naru's face came back into focus, I smiled and gave her a peck on the nose. "It's okay. I deserved that."
Naru's face spilt into a beaming smile and she lightly tackled me backwards. I felt the air escape from my chest as she landed on me. While I tried to regain my breath, she smiled softly and hugged me, burying her head into my throat. "Alright," she said happily. "Pass or fail, we're going home. Everyone's been worried sick about you." She continued in a quieter tone. "...Especially me. I've missed you so much." Naru hugged me tighter and snuggled even closer. It was like she was trying to become a part of me. Needless to say, I found the entire situation extremely blissful. "I never really thought about you leaving after we got together. I should have known better, huh?"
"I'm sorry," I said. "But I'm here now, aren't I?"
Naru lifted her head to look at me. She grinned. "Yes, and I'm going to make sure you never run away again."
I grinned back and tangled my hands in her hair. Lowering her head until we bumped noses, I leaned up and kissed her gently. "Oh, really?" I uttered against her. "And what would that be?"
"You're doing it right now," she purred back.
"Then I think I like this tactic."
"Shut up and kiss me."
I smirked and rolled us over onto her back, settling my weight on her. I took her hands, interlaced them with mine, and then pinned them above her head. "Whatever you say, my love. Whatever you say... "
*****
We both emerged from the tent giggling like little kids. Naru sighed dreamily as she put her arms around my waist and hugged me to her. "My little pervert certainly knows how to treat his woman." I simply laughed and kissed her cheek. Now for all the real perverts out there, I will say this. We did not go all the way, only a very mild second base. In fact, the extent of our romantic interlude was me just gently fondling her chest. And I'm happy to say that I wasn't punched into oblivion because of it. If anything else, Naru actually encouraged it when she removed her torn shirt, giving me total access to her breasts. I was very happy from these circumstances. But in any case, back to the present...
"My love... " I stopped her and pulled her to me, her feet a little off of the ground. "I will always treat you right as long as I live. And as long as I'm put into the hospital for making advances."
Naru smiled brilliantly and pulled my head down to hers. "Works for me." She closed the distance between us, and I gladly accepted what she offered. Our little moment was interrupted, however.
"Well, it seems like you two are enjoying yourselves." We broke off to see Seta grinning viciously at us with Nyamo nervously standing next to him. We both blushed furiously, and Naru let go of me, but I refused to lessen my grip on her waist. You couldn't blame me for feeling a little possessive after what we just did. Naru didn't take it the wrong way, though, because she did turn around, but she also placed her hands over the ones that were around her waist.
"Hello, Seta. It's nice to see you again." Naru said.
"Nice to see you too, Naru." He took a drag of her cigarette and smiled through the smoke. "So it was true what Haruka said about you two getting together. Good for you two."
Naru blushed and looked down. I felt her squeeze my hands and murmur under her breath, "Yes. Very good." I smiled and rested my chin on her shoulder, tightening my grip on her. It was nice to know she was happy to be with me. Naru then looked back up. I noticed her eye Nyamo. "Is that the Nyamo you were trying to introduce to me earlier, Kei?" She whispered.
"Yeah," I whispered back. "She works with Seta and me on the excavations here. But you have to speak with her in English because it's the only language she understands."
"Oh, okay." She raised a hand in greeting. "(Hi, Nyamo. My name is Naru Narusegawa.)"
Nyamo nervously bowed. "(H-hello, N-Naru.)"
Naru looked at her strangely. "Did I do something to offend her?" She whispered to me.
I shook my head. "No, she's just like this around new people. You should have seen her when we first met. She couldn't stop stuttering." I chuckled at the memory. I then focused my attention back on Nyamo. "(Nyamo, it's okay. Naru won't hurt you... as long as you don't piss her off, that is.)"
"(Hey!)" Naru cried. She pinched my side for a second before breaking into giggles. "(That's not true! Nyamo, don't listen to this guy, he's nothing but a pervert.)" She then got serious and stared at Nyamo. "(He didn't try to grope you, did he? Because if he did... )" She suggestively cracked her knuckles.
I gulped nervously. She wasn't serious, was she? However, it wasn't long before I got annoyed instead. Naru knew I would never do that... well, at least not intentionally. But now I'm just committing suicide, aren't I? Okay... back to reality... I tightened my grip on her waist and nearly growled. "You know that's not true, Naru," I said indignantly. "The only female I ever want to grope is you." I immediately froze, fully realizing what I had said. Seta looked at us before just bursting out laughing while Nyamo tilted her head in a confused manner. I sure was glad she didn't understand Japanese. Otherwise she'd probably be in hysterics, just like Shinobu.
Meanwhile, both Naru and I were back in furious blush mode. I nervously waited for Naru's wrath, but it never came. Instead, all I received was her interlacing one of her hands with mine, squeezing it softly. "You know what?" She murmured. "I'm not really bothered anymore when you say things like. In fact, I get a sorta fuzzy feeling when you do." She rested her head on my shoulder and looked up at, a mischievous smile on her face. "Just don't make a habit out of it... or else."
I sighed in relief and smiled back at her. "Yes, ma'am." Well, at least my foot-in-mouth disease wouldn't totally be the death of me. But... I still had to be careful if I wanted to live the average lifespan of a human being. Our little tender was broken, though, when Nyamo spoke up again.
"(Keitaro?)"
I looked up at her. "(Yes, Nyamo?)"
"(Do you two always joke around like this?)"
I cocked my head in puzzlement. "(No, not usually. Why?)"
"(Well, when I was near your tent earlier, there was a lot of laughing and giggling going on. I wanted to go in to see what was so funny, but Mr. Seta wouldn't let me.)" Okay, now that... that... Well, you know how I said earlier that Nyamo was pretty acute for someone so innocent? Scratch that. She was still as innocent as a little babe. And you know Naru's and mine furious blush mode? It was back after a couple second break, and how now elevated to atomic cherry meltdown. If either of us became any more embarrassed, our heads would have exploded. They nearly did with Seta's next comment.
"(Oh yeah, you two. It sounded like it was hilarious. Do you think you could tell it to us?)" He took his cigarette between his fingers and smirked. "(Or if you'd prefer... show it.)"
And that did it. Naru and I took one panicked look at each other before springing apart, opening a gap between us of about five feet. Naru put her head into her hands, trying to cover her blush and muffle her frantic muttering. What the heck was she saying? It sounded something like, let's see... "Bad Naru, naughty Naru, perverted Naru"? Okay... once Naru started talking to herself in the third person, I knew she was embarrassed. And her... delicate choice of words? Naughty Naru? What kind of thoughts was she thinking? And was I any part of them...
I tore my view from her to look at Seta. His eyes were closed and he was smiling innocently, but when he opened one eye to look back at me, I saw the glint that twinkling mercilessly at me. At that one moment, staring at him with a totally embarrassed Naru at my side and completely mystified Nyamo next to him, I had never wanted anything more then to strangle Seta to within an inch of his life. This feeling was probably conveyed to my body language because Seta glanced down at my hands before taking a step back.
Looking down, I noticed that my fingers were trembling, as if itching to take hold of something and just squeeze it. I looked back up at Seta and grinned. This just proceeded to scare him even more because apparently my right eye was twitching every so often giving the appearance that I was on the verge of a mental breakdown. I certainly felt like it. "Seta... " I managed to ground out between clenched teeth. "As much as I would like to repeat the... joke... " At this, Naru's head snapped up, and she stared at me with a look that promised death even I even tried. "I'd rather not be put into a coma. Now... "
I walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. I gazed up and smiled dangerously at him. "I know I'm not as good as you in martial arts," I muttered. "But don't tempt me." Hell, I don't know why I said that. I guess I was caught in the moment of being embarrassed and pissed off. Even though... it did do the trick, as he smiled back, a little anxiously in fact.
Backing off, I smiled again, this time a little friendlier. "Well!" I laughed. "Now that that's over, it's time for me to get back to work!" I then began to walk off towards the excavation sire, leaving everyone behind.
"Keitaro! Wait!" turning around, I saw Naru running towards me. She stopped right in front of me, an angry look on her face, and pointed a finger in my face. "Where do you think you're going?"
I stared blankly at her. "Umm, back to work?"
"I don't think so!" She grabbed my cheek and pulled.
"Oww!" Damn it, that hurt! Why'd she have to keep on doing that? It was pointless and just painful! Taking my hand, I detached her fingers from my skin and looked at her in an annoyed fashion. "What'd you do that for? It's just mean!"
"Oh, don't be such a baby," she muttered. "It didn't hurt that much." Right, and Kitsune would give up drinking for the rest of her life. Saying that any physical injury given by Naru didn't hurt was like saying a nuclear bomb wouldn't cause any damage. I should know, Su really likes her radioactive experiments. "Listen," Naru continued. "I said you were coming back, and you are going to whether you like it or not!"
"Yes, ma'am," I scoffed. God! She could be so damn bossy sometimes! "And I said I would, Naru, but I'm still pretty sure I failed. Besides... " I motioned towards the excavation site. "I still have work left here to do." That's right, I promised myself I'd do this and nothing, not even the love of my life, would stop me from doing it. This was something I had, not to mention wanted, to do.
Naru looked slightly surprised. "Work? You man this whole excavation thing?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I've been working with Seta and Nyamo looking for artifacts and such. I don't know why, but the work has been really exciting lately." Just thinking about it made me so thrilled. I never realized how fun archaeology was. When I first thought of it, it made me conjure up images of dusty old museums and dried-out professors. But now... now it was cool to do the actual work. Being with a guy like Seta just usually did that to a person, I guess. I must of looked thrilled too because I was bouncing eccentrically on the balls of my feet while talking.
Naru blushed for some strange reason. I wondered why she did that. Did I do something? She looked down at her feet and poked her fingers together, mumbling something under her breath that I could not hear. "Naru?" I asked. "You say something?"
She looked back up at me and spoke louder. "I said, umm... could... could you show me what you're doing?"
My face registered in surprise. She wanted to know what I was doing. I smiled. That was nice to know. "If you want." She smiled, and I grinned back at her, my eyes closed. Scratching the back of my head, I held out my other one towards her. She walked over and took hold of it, her small hand sliding into my larger one. She smiled happily, and I did too before shouting out to Seta and Nyamo. They walked towards us as I talked to Naru. "I can tell you a little of what's happening, but if you want to know everything you'd better ask Seta or Nyamo. They've been working on it longer than I have and know more."
She nodded, still smiling. There was something about that smile though. It was as if she was hiding some sort of secret, one that she would never reveal... under any circumstances. As I glanced sidelong at her, I made a promise to myself that I would find out what she was thinking. As we were waiting for Seta and Nyamo to come to where we were, Naru caught me looking at her. She looked at me in a perplexed manner, and I glanced away, embarrassed, and absently scratched my nose. I promised I would find out.
Seta and Nyamo finally got to where we were, and the four of us made our way to one of my earliest excavation sites. Actually, it wasn't so much an excavation site as it was a giant crater that a meteorite would make after it drove itself into the ground. I sweatdropped at the manner of getting stuck in it after I dug too far deep and couldn't get back out until someone had found me and brought a ladder. I sighed mentally. It was pretty stupid of me to dig about twenty feet into the ground without thinking about how to get back out.
I shook my head to release me from my thoughts and looked over at the others. Naru was talking animatedly to Seta while he just grinned helplessly. Nyamo was quietly walking one Seta's other side, a reminiscent smile on her face as she stared at the ground, her hands interlaced behind her back. Looking around, I noticed two of our members were missing. Circling around Naru and Seta, I came up behind Nyamo and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped slightly and turned around to look at me. I smiled and moved to her side.
"(Nyamo,)" I said. "(Do you know where Tama-chan and Gidget are? I haven't seen them since Naru arrived.)"
"(Oh! Umm... )" She closed her eyes and put a hand up to her mouth. Damn! I still couldn't get out the thought that she looked and acted exactly like Shinobu. After thinking for a moment, she opened her eyes and said, "(That's right! They're over by the site that we're heading over towards now.)"
I smiled again. "(That's nice. I'm sure Naru will be happy to see Tama-chan again. She's been with me since I started this whole recovery trip.)"
"(Oh, yeah... Tama-chan's originally from where you're from, right?)"
"(Yep.)"
By now, we had reached the excavation site. Naru looked over the edge and whistled. "Wooow! What is this?"
"Part-timer dug this the first time he got here. Busy little guy, ain't he?" Seta laughed
"Yeah... " I chuckled. "It was a trial spot dig, but I actually got a little carried away and dug a skoche too much. Eh heh heh... " I trailed off as I saw a blank expression on Naru's face as she kept staring into it. "Naru, you okay?" I asked her.
"This isn't a trial spot dig," she muttered. "It's a freaking crater." See what I mean? Her head then perked up, and she pointed a finger into the site at something. "Hey, what's that?"
I looked to where her finger lead and saw a large and small greenish blob pounding something against the sides of the site. Looking closer, I realized it was our two missing turtles banging excavating tools on the walls. Hey, considering the intelligence of these two, I wasn't too surprise. "Hey, it's Tama-chan and Gidget!" I waved and shouted to them. "Hey, Tama-chan! Gidget! Up here!"
Tama-chan turned and lifted her head. She noticed us and waved back, an archaeologist shovel in her flipper. "Myuh!" She cried. "Myuh myu-" She stopped as her head snapped up and she shakily turned to Gidget, who had a pickaxe wedged into the wall of dirt towering over them. "Myuh?" She asked nervously. Gidget grunted, his mouth still clamped on the pickaxe's handle. Tama-chan sweatdropped and began to back up slowly. That's when the two of them exploded.
My eyes bugged out as the two of them were rocketed upwards by a tsunami of boiling water. I barely heard the others' screaming over my own and the downpour of water upon us. The minute it touched me... Well, let's just say... It was so fucking hot! Gaahhh! I thought my skin would fall off just because of the steam alone, let alone the scalding liquid! I screamed in pain until the mini-flood subsided. I then heard Naru screaming.
"Kyaaahh! Pervert! Not in public!" Next I saw a blur, which had to have been Seta, go flying off into the sky, only to fall back down, landing on a palm tree. I could literally see the blood spurting from yet another gash imbedded in that thick skull of his. I sweatdropped with a few mixed feelings. One, I was happy that it wasn't me. And two, I was sorry that it had to be Seta.
"Umm, Naru?" She twisted her head from Seta's figure to glance at me. "I think you just punched Seta again."
Instead of being surprised or embarrassed, she instead just gaped at me, her mouth slightly open and her eyes full of fury. Why was...? "(Keitaro...?)" It was then I noticed that I was gripping something tightly in my arms. I knew I had grabbed onto something after the dig spot exploded with the hidden hot spring, (because that's what the water had originated from) but I did not know what it was at the time.
What it was was a very embarrassed, extremely blushing, slightly frightened Nyamo. I froze. It wasn't hard to say that my panic system was definitely trying to get me to do its namesake and perform something stupid. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, it didn't need any help. Naru quickly ran over to my side and screamed, "Now you're groping a little girl?!" before letting out a patented Naru-Punch, and propelling me into the air too... only to land on the same palm tree as Seta... well, more like on him.
"Wow, part-timer," Seta coughed. "You deal with this all the time?"
"Yeah," I groaned.
"Ahh... Reminds me of the good old days with your aunt."
"She used to kick the crap out of you too?"
Seta's head moved up to look at me sprawled sideways on his stomach. He raised an eyebrow and grinned questioningly. "Yeah! How'd you know?"
"Ugh... lucky guess." Yeah, something had definitely happened between Seta and Haruka if they had a relationship like Naru's and mine. There was no way they couldn't otherwise. Great, another mystery upon my already warped life.
In any case, I rolled off of Seta and the palm tree, fell about fifteen feet to the ground, and then had Seta land on me. Urgh, this was starting to get annoying. Seta picked himself off of me and lent me a hand to help me up too. I gratefully took it, and he pulled me to my feet. After a quick brushoff, we both made our way to the others, but quickened our pace when we heard Nyamo shouting our names. "(Mr. Seta! Keitaro!)" She waved frantically and pointed into the now draining passageway. "(Come look what happened!)"
We rushed over and looked into the dig spot. My eyes widened and mouth dropped a little. This was... this was... "I see, the hot water washed over the walls' surface and... "
"Wha... what is this?" Naru said, a little surprised herself. "A painting?"
"This is... this is truly amazing... " Seta murmured, awe and glee shining in his eyes.
*****
Hours later, I was running back to the excavation site with a lumbering Gidget behind me, and a eccentric Tama-chan hopping from one of my shoulders to my head, to my other shoulder, and back again. Heh, she wasn't the only one that was excited, I was too. We had made a major find! A giant carving was found that hinted towards an actual turtle civilization. This was a big deal! Seta had been ecstatic, staying near the carving the entire time while the dig spot was drained of the last of its water as he sent me to get ready for an excavation into the heart of Pararakelse. Apparently the carving also showed where we could find the long lost ruins of the turtle civilization. This was so cool!
As I got closer to the carving, I noticed that there was a large group of people crowded around it. Well, seta did say that there was a lot of local interest, so it wasn't too surprising. I grinned in spite of myself about the discovery. Funny that it was thanks to two turtles just randomly hitting against an old excavation site's walls. Eh, Fate works in funny ways, you know? When I arrived, I caught the two I was looking for out of the corner of my eye. I grinned and ran towards them, waving an arm. "Heeey! Naru! Seta! Over here!"
They turned to me, and Seta grinned back at me. "Oh, hey, part-timer. Are you all set there?"
"One-hundred percent!" I said excitedly. "I'm ready to hit the desert. Just give the word."
Seta sweatdropped as he saw me lug on the numerous heavy bags full of archaeologist tools I had accumulated. They probably weighed about a hundred pounds in total, but in the eve of this exposition we were going to make, they pretty much seemed insignificant to me. He chuckled at my enthusiasm. "Whoa, slow down there, man. You sure you'll be okay with all that stuff around?"
"Sure, it's nothing I can't handle!" I laughed. "This find had got me all pumped! This is a huge discovery!"
Seta shook his head and patted me on the back. "You really are excited about this, aren't you, part-timer?"
I tilted my head and looked at him in a confused and bemused manner. "Of course. I never expected something like this to happen." Why would he ask me if I was excited after I put that show of eccentricity on? What was he thinking? "This is something I really wanted to do."
Seta's face gained a slightly more serious look. He put a hand on my shoulder and looked me straight in the eye. "Are you sure about that, Keitaro?"
I looked at him strangely. "Of course, Seta. Why wouldn't I?"
"Well... " He put a hand behind his head and pointed at something with the other. "That mostly... among other reasons." I followed his finger's trail and saw Naru talking to an apparently very nervous Nyamo. Naru? Naru? Why...? Seta answered that question for me before I could even ask it. "She really wants you to go home with her, part-timer. I've never seen her so happy, not ever. Not when I tutored her, nor when I came back. She really loves you, part-timer."
I was taken aback by his comment. For someone who was as oblivious as a brick most of the time, he could be pretty deep and into it at other times. Well, that was just Seta. He surprised you at the strangest times... which in my life was pretty much all of the time. I smiled ruefully. "Yeah, I know," I said. "I know she does, and I love her too, but... " I just waved helplessly. Well, what could I say? That I was a total loser? Wait, don't answer that. I don't think I want to know.
"Okay, part-timer," Seta sighed. "It's your life. I can't lead it for you, only help." Yeah... Seta really had helped me throughout the time that we had known each other. He helped me form a new perspective on life. Because of him, I'm a lot more positive in my outlook on life. I'm still really jittery when it comes to most things though. Eh, but that's just me. I'm naturally anxious. "In any case... " Seta continued. "We better get going. He took a long drag of his cigarette and blew, the smoke dissolving in the tropical air. He glanced at me questioningly. "So what are you going to do about Naru?"
I scratched my head. "Well, I suppose we could drop her off at the airport. She really should go back to check the Tokyo U results."
"Whatever you say, Keitaro."
I grinned sheepishly. Seta simply sighed and shook his head, chuckling a bit. I shrugged my shoulders at his reaction and turned to face Naru before calling out to her. "Hey, Naru! Come here!" she turned around to look at me and spared on last glance at Nyamo hiding behind Gidget (strange, have to ask her about that later) before walking over to us. I smiled at her perplexed look. "Seta and I are heading out to look for the long lost ruins of the turtle civilization, but I think it be best if you went back home. We'll drop you off at the airport, alright?"
Her face registered into shock. "Huh... what... No!" She gripped my shoulders and forced me to look in the eyes... which by the way were fairly pissed off. "Now, hold on, Keitaro... What about the Tokyo U results?"
I put a hand behind my head and looked down at the ground off to the side. "Hey, I know I failed... " I smiled sadly. "But I love the work I'm doing with Seta." I looked up at her and moved my hands up to cradle her face. My thumbs moved to her lips to stop her from talking. I smiled tenderly at her. "But you have a future, so get back to Japan and check those results. I know you aced that exam." Leaning forward, I kissed her gently. "I'll see you again, maybe soon," I uttered against her. "Bye, love." Breaking off, I smiled at her dreamy look and then ran off for Seta's van where he was waiting. Looking at her over my shoulder, I shouted, "Take care of yourself! And say hi to the rest of the girls for me!"
Naru's dreamy look broke, and she glared at me hysterically. She raised a fist into the air and screamed angrily. "But... Wait... You can't just kiss me like that and the dart off! Get back here!" I froze in the middle of picking some equipment up to turn around and look at her, along with a surprised Seta, anxious Nyamo, and somewhat oblivious Gidget. Naru sweatdropped at our quizzical stares and looked down. She mumbled something under her breath, and then clenched her fists and eyes before looking back up and yelling, "...Seta! Please... I wanna go too!"
The three of us humans sweatdropped as we watched Naru stare at us, panting heavily, an almost desperate look in her eyes. Seta scratched the back of his head and looked at her in a confused manner. "Uh, oh... kay," he said slowly. Well, this was certainly getting interesting, wasn't it now? Had to see how it all turned out... for better or for worse.
*****
Not so long afterwards, the six of us (yes, six; Tama-chan and Gidget came along with us, too) were piled up in Seta's metal death trap... ahem, sorry, van... and were now heading out into the desert to find the fabled... Turtle Ruins! Ok, so it wasn't that exciting, but still... it was cool. As we made our way through the sandy wasteland, I made idle chat with Seta about various things, archaeology mostly, while Nyamo played with Gidget and Tama-chan, and Naru looked out of the vehicle's window with a half-wistful, half-exasperated look on her face. Seta broke off talking to me to glance at her and then back at me, one of her eyebrows raised. I simply shrugged at his expression. I don't think I'd ever understand what that woman was thinking... or any other woman for that matter. But that's beside the point and I'm just rambling now, oh well...
Seta sighed at my vacant expression and called to Naru over his shoulder. "Nary, what's the matter?" She slowly turned her head to look at him. "You're awfully quiet. Sure you don't want us to turn this car around?"
Her face broke out into a frenzied look as she waved a hand back and forth in front of her face. "Huh, what? Oh, no way! I... I'm completely into this!" She continued in a quieter tone, meant more for herself than for anyone else, but I still heard her anyway. "Or at least watching those two." I chuckled inwardly at her little confession to herself. It was cute. "Besides... " she pulled herself up to lean on the passenger's seat's headrest as she crossed her arms over it. "Those results'll be up for about five more days... Staying another night or two will still give me plenty of time."
"My, how times have changed," I murmured. Seta only laughed.
Naru smiled too, but it was more of an annoyed kind of mirth than anything else. "Umm, not to be rude, but... " We both turned around to look at her. She spread her arm out and waved it behind her. "Why do you have a little girl and a gigantic turtle as part of your excavation force?!" Nyamo looked up from Gidget to stare at her, perplexed. Naru wrinkled her nose, her tone becoming more disgusted. "And your van really stinks back here." I scoffed inwardly. Well, what did she expect from three humans and two turtles working under a blazing sun for hours upon end? For us to smell like roses?
Seta seemed oblivious to her second remark because he laughed and said, "Oh, Nyamo? Everyone else is working on the carving, so we're short a few hands. I figured she'd be able to help us out."
I nodded my head, agreeing along with him. I put a hand on Nyamo's shoulder and squeezed it fondly. "Also, Nyamo can translate the native language for us." Not to mention she had to follow in her grandfather's footsteps and find what he couldn't.
Naru's face burst into an impressed expression. "Really?" She moved over to us and put a hand on top of Nyamo's head. "Wow, you're so smart, aren't you, Nyamo?" She giggled, ruffling Nyamo's hair. "And working so hard for a girl your age!"
It seemed, however, that Nyamo wasn't so pleased about her comment. She gave her one almost terrified look, trembling all the while, and then bolted to hide behind me, peeking at Naru over my shoulder. "Huh?" I looked at Nyamo to Naru to Nyamo and back to Naru again. "Will you look at that?" I laughed, pointing at a frightened Nyamo. "You really scared her, Naru."
"But... but I wasn't threatening her! It was a compliment!" Naru cried
I couldn't help but to continue to laugh unchecked. "(Don't worry, Nyamo,)" I joked "(I'll protect you.)"
"Would you just quit it, Keitaro?!" Naru growled as she grabbed me neck cuff and tried to strangle me.
My mirth must have transferred to Seta because he joined in on the fun. "Come on now, kids," he chuckled. "Let's not get too feisty back there. You don't want Papa Seta to pull this van over, do you?" He paused. "The road's getting pretty rocky now, though, so hold on – WHOA!"
That was the last I heard from Seta as his piece-of-crap van's door was flung open. The van tipped slightly, and Naru, Nyamo, Gidget, Tama-chan, and I were propelled out of it and down the steep rock-face we were on to the desert wasteland below. Needles to say, it was not at all pleasant.
A/N: Wow... eighth chapter is finally done... Somehow, no matter how lazy and how much I don't want to write sometimes, I can't help but feel a great amount of self-esteem whenever I'm done doing a chapter. Maybe it's the fact that I'm proud of my stories. Maybe it's because of you wonderful reviewers. All I know is... that I truly enjoy doing this. It is a great pleasure in my life. (sighs) In any case, I'll talk to you guys after the interview.
The Hinata Crew is all crowded together, conversing silently on what's going to happen next. Keitaro, Naru, Nyamo, Gidget, Tama-chan, Taro, and Panic are absent for obvious reasons. The entire group perks up as I walk over to them, oblivious to the horrors awaiting me...
Me: (waves) Hi, girls! How you all doing?
Motoko: (raises head; looks at me dangerously) Hello, Yamiga... We've been talking about you...
Me: (grins nervously) Oh really? Err... about what?
Kitsune: We were wondering why you not only cut us out of the story completely, but also why our time was spent trekking through the desert like a bunch of nomads?!
Shinobu: (tears up; cries) I almost got eaten by a snake! And I didn't have any readers to feel sympathy for me!
Motoko: (growls) Kitsune flashed me to a bunch of motorists and caused a sever accident!
Sarah: (whips out her infamous clay face; raises it menacingly) I almost died from heat exhaustion!
Su: (pouts) My Mecha-Tamago 4 ran out of juice and died in the middle of a barren wasteland!
Mutsumi: (frowns) Oh, my! I fainted!
Everybody sweatdrops.
Me: Um, when's that different from any other time you faint?
Mutsumi: (smiles absently) I don't know. I was just trying to go along with the crowd.
Me: (smiles nervously) Well, I'm sorry, girls, but I have nothing to do with the basic plot of your timeline. You don't believe me, here, take a look at this. (snaps fingers; a copy of Love Hina, Volume #8 appears out of nowhere and drops into my hands; talks seriously) In this books lies your past, your present, and your future. You will know things that no one should. (cheekishly) And just in case you try to use this information, I'll erase your memories. (tosses book) Have fun!
Kitsune: (grabs book and opens it; eyes widen) Holy shit! It's us!
Motoko: Let me see that! (grabs book too) Ahhh! Turtles everywhere! (throws book into air)
Su: Turtles?! (leaps up and grabs book) Turtles! So many turtles! Yahoo, suppertime! (flips page; looks closer) Hey, look! It's Shinomu!
Shinobu: Huh? Can I see that? (Su hands it over; blushes) Waaahhhh! I'm naked! Sempai's going to see me naked!
Mutsumi: Oh my, can I see? (takes book; flips a few pages) Oh my, look at that! Kei-kun and Na-chan seem to be getting on rather well!
Sarah: (looks over Mutsumi's shoulder; scowls) Ewww... The dork and the ditz are getting it on! (looks closer) Hey, there's Papa! I miss Papa!
Me: Well, that's enough of that. (snaps fingers; book returns to my hands)
Everybody Else: (annoyed) Hey!
Me: (shrugs) Sorry, guys, but I can't let you see too much. Would ruin all of the fun I have planned for you later, (winks) wouldn't it? In any case, don't worry, you guys make quite the dramatic entrance in the next chapter. Now... (smiles sickingly sweet; everybody else shudders) Before I erase your memories...
Su: Awww, Yamiga... Do ya have to?
Me: Su...
Su: (sidles up to me; smiles coyly) Pweaseeee, Yamigaaaa?
Me: (blushes) Errr... Sorry, but no can do, Su. Bye! (computer console appears; inputs go in; glass capsules around girls)
Everybody Else: Yamiga!
Me: Sorry! (more inputs; gas goes in, consciousness go out; girls slump to floor; sighs) Really didn't like to do that, but... oh well... In any case... Please Review!
A/N: Well, finally got that done, hope all of you have really enjoyed this chapter. I hate to admit it, but I am really starting to get hooked on writing all of these stories. I'm writing so many right now, five to be exact. Anyway, I'm writing so many different stories, my brain is absolutely on the fritz. This would probably explain why I'm only getting about four hours of sleep a day. (sighs) Oh well, hope to get the next chapter out soon and see all of you again soon. Please review and remember, no flames!
Preview!
Next Chapter: Livin' and Lovin; in Pararakelse
I hugged her to me as tenderly as I could, nuzzling my cheek against hers. Naru sighed in absolute pleasure and contentment as she nuzzled me right back. This was something that came right out of a corny romance movie. The two of us embracing each other tightly in a topical paradise, the sun slowly setting in the far distance, and my love in a skimpy leaf bikini. Heh, it couldn't get any better than this. But then it did. Naru pushed my head back, gazed me fondly in the eyes for a quick second, and then leaned forward to kiss me. Her lips were the best things I had ever felt. However, something interrupted us. A deep rumbling made the two of us break off. What the heck was...? Oh, it was just a bunch of rockets... Wait... Rockets?!