::: Sakura Kisses :::

by

- GlazedAndConfused -

::: AUTHOR'S NOTE :::

Just a small 'warning' of sorts. At the end of this chapter, there is mild shoujo-ai content. If such scenes offend anyone, despite it's mildness, do not read it.

"..." - denotes speech.
"(...)" - denotes whispering.
Italics denote thoughts and Japanese dialogue.
Chapter Three ::: Clearing Matters Up

Love. Perhaps the most enigmatic of human emotions. It is a strong enough emotion to bind two people together perhaps for the rest of their lives. Yet at the same time, it is justas fragile as it is strong. It is so fragile that all it would take is the smallest of misunderstandings to make or break the love two people have for each other. It is also the most painful of human emotions if it stretches as far as two people competing for the same person. In such a case, for one person in this equation to have the person that they truly loved taken away from them by the person they saw as their best friend is a painful enough experience. For that person to lose the said person in the same way without even being able to confess their love literally feels like having salt added to a fresh wound. Naru Narusegawa discovered this feeling for herself the previous night... the hard way. Her indecisiveness was the feature that eventually led to her love interest and study partner, Keitaro Urashima, losing his romantic interest in her to her second study partner and friend, Mutsumi Otohime; the other two people in question that added to this unstable equation.

It was a cool, crisp spring morning in the small hot spring town of Hinata. The sun streamed in through the closed blinds on the windows and the front doors, providing little light to the lobby. Naru was lying face down on the sofa in the said lobby of Hinata Sou, having slept in an uncomfortable position for the night. She stirred slightly and raised her head from the arm of the sofa. Her face was red, her cheeks stained with tear marks where she had cried herself to sleep the night before. Her hair was matted and she was still wearing her study attire. She sat up, wincing as her joints ached from sleeping in such an awkward position for the entire night. Standing up, she stretched to get the uncomfortable feeling out of her joints and walked into the kitchen. She turned on the cold tap and threw some water in her face to wash the sleep from her eyes and make her more aware. Drying her face, only one thing was running through her mind.

I wonder if Keitaro is awake yet? She wondered. I really need to see him. I better change first, though. The auburn-haired woman began her slow ascent up the stairs and towards the kanrinin's room. As she reached the partition door, she could hear light chatter coming from inside of the room, although she couldn't actually hear what was being said. Probably Mutsumi-san and Keitaro talking to one another over a cup of tea or something.

Inside the kanrinin's room...

Indeed, Keitaro and Mutsumi were sat inside conversing with each other at the kotatsu table, each with a cup of tea in hand. Rather than sat opposite one another like they were the previous night, they were sat side by side; Mutsumi with her head resting comfortably on Keitaro's shoulder, Keitaro resting the side of his head on the top of Mutsumi's head. She was holding one of his hands with her free one, stroking it gently with her thumb.

"Mutsumi..." Keitaro started, uncertainty filling his voice. "Are you sure I should wait for Naru to come to me? Should I be the one going to her?"

Mutsumi lifted her head from Keitaro's shoulder and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She looked at his face. "Keitaro, I'm positive that she should be the one coming to you. After each and every misunderstanding you've both had which were not your fault for a start, you were the one to keep going back and forth and continuously apologise, explain and ask for forgiveness, when you were not the one who was at fault. Besides, Naru-san has had two years to confess her feelings to you. I was going to wait and wait until the day she would finally do so, sacrificing my happiness so you could both be happy with one another. And this has been going on for two years, almost. In all this time, she has not said a word to you. She backed out every time, and the more she did that, the less willing I became to wait and the more willing I became to try to take you for myself."

A light knocking came from the partition door. "Just a moment," Keitaro called.

She looked towards both teacups and motioned at the twigs that were floating on the surface. "Keitaro, the twigs are floating upright. This is a good omen for you." She kissed him on the forehead and walked away, taking the knocking on the door as her cue to leave for the time being. As she opened the door, she revealed Naru, who did not even make eye contact with her. Naru slowly walked in as Mutsumi shut the door behind her, leaving the two in the kanrinin's room. An awkward silence passed through for a few moments, until Keitaro decided to break the ice.

"Hi... Naru."

"Hi." Naru replied in kind.

Keitaro shifted in his seat uncomfortably as neither person willingly met one another's gaze. Deciding that beating around the bush was not the best way to go around this, he decided to go straight to the point, even if it meant hurting Naru more than she already did.

"Naru..." He said, his impassive face turning into a frown. "Are you hurt by the fact that I now love Mutsumi-san?"

Naru gritted her teeth, not out of anger, but out of sheer determination not to let her tears show. "Baka... you ask themoststupid questions..." She trailed off as she realised what she was saying, and that it was making Keitaro's frown deepen. "Gomen, I shouldn't have said that. I mean... I am hurting, hai. I don't know who to blame for it, though... you or myself."

Keitaro remained pensively silent, encouraging Naru to continue.

"But..." Naru continued, her fight to stop the tears from flowing from her eyes becoming a losing battle as her eyes glazed over once again. "With that said... I have a feeling that it's my fault this happened. Because... well, I could never feel good for the girl in this place whose life you were making happier. I felt... jealous, in many ways. Because I wanted whoever it was you were making happy... to be me. I wanted it to be me you were making happy; me that you were holding in your arms and telling that everything would be okay; me that was the one you were sharing jokes and laughing with."

The kanrinin nodded, urging her to go on; he knew there was more to be said.

"I also knew that the rest of them loved you in many of their own unique ways. Kitsune sees you as the brother she never had... Motoko sees you as a friend she can trust... Su sees you the same way as Kitsune, plus as a playmate... Sarah, well... I don't know how she sees you... Shinobu has a massive crush on you... and, Mutsumi... well, we both know how she feels about you." The tears that she had been trying to hold back finally decided to flow down her cheeks, her body wracking with each sob like the waves in the sea breaking against the shoreline. "I know I should have tried and made things go that step further... but I guess that in not trying, I had already failed. I was worried about how the rest of them would react... that's what I was afraid of."

"You shouldn't have been worried about what the others would have thought about us... it wouldn't have been down to them to say whether we should or should not be going out with each other. We would have proven that we were just as good as any other couple in this town, if not better."

Naru nodded her head in understanding. "But... that's not all. There was something else I was afraid of. I was afraid of one of the other residents showing an interest or staking a claim in you. I was afraid that you would eventually show an interest... which would inevitably lead to me taking a drastic measure that would kill off any feelings you had for me once and for all. That was a risk I just couldn't take, because I liked the feeling you had for me... I just wanted to love and be loved, but not actually fall in love. I guess it just wouldn't have worked out that way, huh?"

Keitaro nodded in response, his face forming an expression of bitterness and mild anger. "The worst thing was that, judging by what you've told me, you came to a conclusion about me already. It's just that you wouldn't act upon your feelings. You just kept second guessing and when it actually came down to it, you'd push me away in ways nobody would like to have done to them. If you honestly hadn't known about how you felt for me, that would have been fair enough... I would have waited for as long as it would have taken for you to make up your mind. But you decided against it as soon as I twigged on slightly... in the most brutal, spiteful way possible; physical violence and verbal abuse. Do you have any idea how much that hurt? It hurt me more than I even care to remember."

The tears sprang to Naru's eyes again upon hearing those words. Mutsumi was right. She never took into consideration how Keitaro felt emotionally whenever she would reject him after coming so close to admitting her feelings there and then. But the kanrinin wasn't quite finished yet; as much as it hurt the auburn-haired woman to be brutally honest with her, he just had to get it out; all the pent up frustration from when he was repeatedly attacked and victimised for his bouts of clumsiness.

"That's also how much it hurt whenever you and Motoko would constantly attack me for falling over and grabbing whatever I could for support. I can't help it that I am clumsy. It's been that way ever since I was younger. You two may think it's nothing but a cheap excuse to 'cop a feel'. But it isn't. You can even ask Haruka-obasan. Honest to Kami, I try not to grab your breasts, pull your pants down, or end up with my head in someone's skirt or blouse when I fall over. And when I'm in the hot springs at the same time as everyone else, it's not because I want a peek. It's because you either choose to have a bath at the wrong time; for example, when I'm cleaning the hot springs. Or when you or Motoko launch me into the air and I land there. Now think about some of these 'compromising' situations that I end up in; my first night here, for example. You remember that time when you, Su and Motoko walked in and found me and Kitsune alone in my room, my hand on her breast?"

Naru nodded meekly, listening intently while feeling guiltier with every word he spoke.

"That wasn't even my fault." Keitaro continued. "Nobody even bothered to let me explain my side of the story when you took Kitsune away from me. She took my hand and placed it on her breast, claiming that she had feelings for me. And how about the time after New Year's Day, when you found Mutsumi in bed with me. Haruka-obasan let me know that she told you about Mutsumi's odd sleeping habits... but did you have any idea about how much it drained me emotionally to just be tied up and hung from the ceiling while Kitsune was in that solicitor's suit, interrogating me? Nobody even let me explain my side then... Shinobu honestly believed that I did sleep with Mutsumi, Motoko threatened to re-introduce capital punishment, and to cap it all off, you sent me through the roof with one of your punches... and you didn't even tell anyone to let me explain; it seems that all I am in yours and Motoko's eyes is to just be victimised and used as a source to vent out your frustrations, just because I am the only male of Hinata Sou. There have been so many times I have wanted to hit you both back for each time you both hurt me. If you and me were to become a couple, that was what I feared would continue. A life of physical violence mainly inflicted by you on me for each and every misunderstanding we both had."

If Naru's heart wasn't broken before, it certainly was now. She could not deny that he was correct, even if she wanted to. Every single word he spoke in that soliloquy was entirely true; she never gave him a chance to explain his side of the story after each misunderstanding they had before sending him into the Earth's orbit, and then she would try and make him go on a guilt trip by ignoring his attempts to apologise. Her tears were now falling uncontrollably, despite her best efforts to hold them in.

"I know that it is probably too late to say this now..." Naru stammered, her shoulders heaving from her crying. "But... I am so sorry. I never took how you felt into consideration. I should have thought about everything I did before just going by instinct. I should definitely have said something about how I felt... but if you loved me as much as you said you did, then why did you stop loving me all of a sudden?"

Keitaro shook his head. "Naru, you get the wrong idea. It wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. I thought about this, believe me. Way before me and Mutsumi even decided to meet. It's not that I don't love you anymore; I do... but just no longer in a romantic manner, like I used to. I can't even imagine what my life would be like without you as my friend... if there is anyone I would place more trust and confidence in than anyone else here apart from Mutsumi, it is you. Over the past two years, I've gotten to know you more than anybody else. I don't regret a single moment of that. I wouldn't worry about me losing my romantic interest in you... with your looks and your brains, there will be plenty of guys queuing up around the block. Trust me. You'll find the perfect person for you in time."

Naru wiped the tears from her eyes, stifling a choked sob. "I... I will?"

Keitaro gave her a reassuring smile. "Most definitely." He looked at the clock on the wall. "Shinobu-chan will be calling for breakfast any minute now. Shall we go down?"

"Hai," Naru replied, allowing Keitaro to help her up. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him closely, with the kanrinin returning the embrace. "Keitaro... you mean so much to me, I couldn't bear it if I lost you as a friend. Can you forgive me for everything I've done?"

"Of course."

Naru smiled, sniffling. "Well, let's get down to breakfast."

"Hai."

With that, Keitaro opened his partition door and allowed Naru to leave first, before walking out and closing the door behind him. They walked down the stairs and into the kitchen without another word being said between them. Keitaro took his seat next to Mutsumi and Keitaro while Naru took hers next to Kitsune.

Breakfast passed as if nothing had happened at all, with the normal activities such as Su's consumption of twice her bodily weight in food and nothing much else except for light chatter between Su, Sarah and Shinobu, and Kitsune, Motoko and Naru. After washing up the dishes and cups, Keitaro was the first to go his separate ways, with Mutsumi following him up to his room after she helped Shinobu with some of the cleaning. She rapped softly on his door, a knocking that Keitaro easily recognised.

Mutsumi... he thought, sighing wistfully. I'd recognise that knock anywhere. "Come in," he called. Without much hesitation, the beautiful Okinawan came into the room. She was wearing her generic green jumper and brown overalls, with black tights and knee-high brown boots. Her trademark cheery, optimistic exterior remained unfazed as she walked into the middle of the room and sat on Keitaro's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"So, how did things go with Naru-san?" She asked, curiously.

"They went okay, to be honest," Keitaro replied, cupping Mutsumi's cheek with his hand and brushing her skin with his thumb, making her shiver slightly, a slight blush forming. "She seemed to accept it, and we both made our feelings clear. Then we decided to start off fresh."

"That's good."

After a moment of silence between the two, Mutsumi spoke up. "So, Keitaro, would you like to go out today? You know, to be in more private company with one another? We can call it a date if you want."

Keitaro smiled. "Of course. When do you want to leave?"

Mutsumi looked at the clock on the wall. It read 10.52 am. "Does 12.00 pm sound good to you?"

"Hai. We better tell the others we won't be here for lunch though. When do you expect us to be back?"

Mutsumi pursed her lips and moved up to the ceiling as if trying to remember a troublesome little detail. "Possibly about 6.00 pm."

"But... what shall we do until then?"

Mutsumi smiled brightly as she thought of an idea. "Why don't we take a bath?"

Keitaro's head snapped up. "N-N-Nani?! W-We can't! What w-will the rest of the girls say?!"

The beautiful Okinawan tilted her head bemusedly. "We don't have to take it in the open bath. Why not take it in your tub?"

The kanrinin calmed down. He thought that it was a good idea too. After all, the bath had it's advantages. Itwas privatised. It wassecluded. Andit was alsosmall...

...Small. Now that was a problem. There was only room enough for one person to move around comfortably, and it would be a tight squeeze for the two of them to fit in. Nevertheless, it would have to suffice. Mutsumi stood up and took Keitaro's hand in hers, helping him up and leading him to the eastern side of Hinata Sou, towards theprivate tub. This was decided upon as it was a far safer option than the open hot spring. Once the tub was filled up, Keitaro waited out in the hall while Mutsumi changed near the tub, despite the fact that she did not mind him being with her while she was changing. Nonetheless, she returned the favour and waited outside while he changed into a towel that was wrapped securely around his waist, covering his netheregions. By the time he finished, Mutsumi was already in the bath, her chest resting on the rim of the bath. His anxiety levels by now went through the roof as his eyes widened and he waved his arms about frantically.

"Agh! G-G-Gomen, Mutsumi!" He stammered, covering his eyes while turning around at a breakneck speed, trying out of desperationtohold back thenosebleed that was yearning to come out.

Mutsumi tilted her head in confusion. "Nani? Keitaro, we're a couple now. It's okay to do things like this." She smiled. "Besides... I don't mind you seeing me naked."

Keitaro managed to keep his blood pressure at stable levels, preventing a sudden spray of blood at the sight of a naked Mutsumi. Finally deciding that there was no harm in them bathing together (after much debate between the moral side of his brain and the immoral side, the former winning by a landslide) as they were now officially a couple, Keitaro walked over to the tub and got in. Mutsumi then began to clean his back, the magic touch of her fingertips against the bare skin of his back making him relax more than anything.

After she had done washing his back and he had done washing his front, they switched places, with the Okinawan now in front of Keitaro. The kanrinin now decided to return the favour by shampooing her hair, a round object on her head to protect her eyes from any of the lather which would leak down. She felt as if she was in heaven as his fingers scratched and massaged at her scalp, leaning back against his body as he continued to do so. She wanted to stay in this position forever, with the man she loved more than anybody.

After around fifteen minutes of shampooing and washing, they both got out of the bath, dried one another and got changed into a fresh set of clothes. For the forty-five minutes leading up to midday, they both just spent time with one another; not necessarily doing anything bar a few kisses and caresses, per se.

They made their way down to the kitchen holding hands, where they found Shinobu. The petite cook turned to them.

"Konnichiwa, Urashima-sempai and Otohime-sempai!" she greeted, a brilliant smile on her face.

Keitaro and Mutsumi returned the greeting in kind, before the kanrinin spoke up. "Oh, Shinobu-chan?"

"Hai?"

"Just to let you know, me and Mutsumi are going out together in a minute. So don't bother to make any lunch for us."

"Okay. Arigato."

They both turned and left, slipping a jacket on to keep themselves warm, and walked out of the old inn, hand in hand. Little did they know that two pairs of eyes had watched them; those belonging to Kitsune and Naru. Although they had both accepted the fact that Keitaro now loved Mutsumi, the latter of the two could not help but feel jealous at seeing them both together, wishing that it was her he was going out with.

"I know how you're feeling, girl," Kitsune said, wrapping an arm around her. "You've made your peace with Keitaro, but you're still finding it hard to move on after loving him for so long."

Naru had a downcast expression on her face. "Hai. I still like him, but that doesn't ease the pain in my heart whenever I see them getting romantic with one another. But still... I can't be angry at them both for the way they feel about one another. After all, it's only human nature."

Kitsune frowned slightly, and placed her hand under Naru's chin, tilting her head up so they both made eye contact with one another. "Naru-chan, you need to let him go. You need to move on, no matter how hard it may seem. Trust me, I've been down that route before and I know how it feels. It takes ages to fully recover from something like this if you really loved them, but you'll find someone else. I know you will."

The Toudaisei's face brightened up slightly. She smiled lightly at her fox-eyed friend, wrapping her arms around her, an embrace that was returned. "Arigato, Kitsune..." Kitsune was the only other person Naru felt comfortable being around the most, other than Keitaro. Despite her often conniving and fun-loving nature, she could be a very heart-warming person at the best of times. She returned Kitsune's gaze, staring into her seyes that were now half-open.

They both found themselves unable to turn their gazes away from one another, becoming absorbed in each other's eyes. They were so absorbed that neither of them noticed that they were closing the distance between one another's faces until they actually made contact with their lips. At the touch, their eyes widened, but both of them seemed hesitant to break it off, enjoying the warmth and securitythat they felt. After a few moments, they did break off, both of them heavily blushing. Nothing was said between either of them for a few moments, until Kitsune broke the ice.

"That was... new, and unexpected." She whispered.

"Hai... it certainly... was." Naru replied in kind.

Another silence loomed over the two.

"Well... I'm gonna go to my room for a drink."

Naru said nothing, replying only with a meek nod. Kitsune gave a friendly smile and went up, leaving the auburn-haired woman with her thoughts. As soon as the fox-eyed woman reached her room, she slammed the door and ran over to the middle of the room, taking a bottle of saké out of her secret chiller. What the HELL just happened there?? Kitsune thought, her mind going at a thousand miles a minute. Me... and Naru-chan... kissed! How did that happen? Okay, deep breaths, deep breaths...She calmed down after a few moments, hugging the said bottle close to her chest. Then again... I never felt that she would feel so... nice. Those lips against mine... they were so soft. A heavy blush formed on her face, her eyes widened. If her room was pitch black at this moment in time, anyone who had walked in would have been able to determine her position easily by seeing what looked like a glowing red beacon.

Downstairs, Naru was having similar thoughts. How... how did that happen? Me and Kitsune... we kissed. All we were doing was talking and shared a hug... then somehow it turned into a kiss! She turned as red as a tomato. I'll take nothing away from her, though... she's a good kisser. It's a wonder she's not been able to maintain a stable relationship; speaking of which,I hope she finds someone. She thought, placing her fingers against her lips. She laid back and stared at the ceiling, her mind switching to a different subject. Keitaro... I lost you as a love interest. Please, don't let me lose you as a friend. You mean too much to me for that...

::: END CHAPTER THREE :::
::: AUTHOR'S NOTES :::

Well, at least Naru is on the road to acceptance. Though I'd still want to chain her to a wall and not let her down for ages... (grins like Gendo from Evangelion). This is also the first time I've implemented shoujo-ai in a story, so don't kill me if it's not satisfactory; flame me all you want, but don't kill me... I'm too young to die... (ducks and covers from possible wrath of fellow authors).

 Well, at least Naru is on the road to acceptance. Though I'd still want to chain her to a wall and not let her down for ages... (grins like Gendo from Evangelion). This is also the first time I've implemented in a story, so don't kill me if it's not satisfactory; flame me all you want, but don't kill me... I'm too young to die... (ducks and covers from possible wrath of fellow authors).

Apologies if this chapter seems rushed. In a way, it is; I have so many ideas running through my head at the momentthat this fic now becomes harder to write. That, and I'm finding it the hardest of all to write a concluding chapter to one of my other fics, "Keitaro, The Savant".

QuickEdit is crap! I've had to edit the bloody formatting of this chapter plenty of times before I saw it as good enough to be posted up...