Disclaimer: see part 1.

Steel Rose

Part 4

By Random1377

Sitting perfectly still on the tatami mat in her room, Motoko appeared to be completely at peace. Her smooth, unhurried breathing betrayed nothing of her inner turmoil. It was not that she had anything particularly to be worried about – quite the opposite, actually, as she had no true concerns since becoming Keitaro's kohei.

And that, really, was the problem.

Bad enough that I have to give up the blade, she thought, keeping her breathing deep and even, but it has been weeks… and I've learned nothing so far.

Truthfully, it had only been a week and a half, but it felt much longer to Motoko. Even on a Saturday, when she would normally be practicing, she found herself with nothing to do. All of the chores had been finished earlier than usual – since Shinobu had proved to be quite quick in working on the second floor – and her studies were all up to date, leaving Motoko with an overabundance of free time.

I should have gone to the exhibit with Shinobu and the others, she lamented. Then I would have at least had something to look at.

She opened her eyes as someone tapped on her door.

"Knock, knock."

Motoko frowned faintly, pursing her lips as Naru slid her door open without waiting for a reply and leaned up against the doorframe, assessing her with guarded eyes as she held out two glasses in front of her.

"Truce?"

"Is that champagne?" Motoko wondered, skeptically eying the bottle in Naru's other hand.

Arching an eyebrow, Naru replied, "Sparkling apple juice, actually."

"I see."

"So can I come in or what?"

Motoko reluctantly nodded.

"Try to contain your excitement," Naru muttered, walking to where Motoko was kneeling and setting the glasses down between them. "Where's Keitaro?"

"He went to the art exhibit," Motoko replied. "I chose to stay home."

Naru nodded, popping the top from the bottle and filling both glasses as she murmured, "Yeah, me too. High school art holds less than no appeal for me."

"Sadly, Keitaro does not share that opinion."

Setting the bottle to the side, Naru picked up her glass. "Kanpai."

After a few experimental sips, Motoko said, "Mm very tasty. So did Kitsune go with, then? I know Shinobu asked everyone."

"Nah," Naru said dismissively. "Kitsune and art go together like oil and water. The only reason she'd go is to hit on guys. Last time I saw her, she was outside hanging laundry."

"Really?" Motoko replied, looking a bit surprised.

Naru took another sip before replying, "Uh huh. I guess Shinobu asked her to help out so she could go buy a dress."

"A dress?" Motoko echoed. "For a high school art exhibit?"

Laughing, Naru said, "No – it wasn't for tonight."

"Then why was it so important that she buy it today?"

"I dunno," Naru shrugged, "but she was wearing a skirt when they left."

"Mm…"

For a moment, neither spoke. Naru slowly ran her finger around the rim of her glass, making it sing softly as she whispered, "I'm sorry about the store."

Motoko had thought about how she would respond to this statement since the night of the incident itself, so her voice was perfectly smooth and even as she replied, "It's nothing to worry about. Please forget it."

Naru rolled her eyes. "That was sincere."

The two fell silent once more, staring at each other without blinking until Naru broke the silence by running her finger around the rim of her glass again.

"So," she said with a casual smile, "if you didn't go, and I didn't go, and Kitsune didn't go… does that make it a date?"

Motoko gave her a sharp look. "Well," she said slowly, "Su was going to go… and so was Mutsumi, so-"

"Su's in the basement working on some monstrosity or another," Naru cut in, her smile suddenly falling away as realization hit. "And I talked to Mutsumi earlier. She said she was going shopping. It's just-"

"The two of them," Motoko finished for her. "Naru… I think maybe we should go check on them."

Naru thought about it for a moment. "You're not… seriously thinking that Shinobu, of all people, is plotting to seduce Keitaro… do you?"

"Yes, absolutely," Motoko said bluntly. "She told me a few days ago that she loves him – which we all knew, of course… but she seemed, I don't know, more serious about it than before."

No longer smiling, Naru murmured, "Keitaro would never let anything happen with her."

Motoko stood up. "Oh?" she asked. "The girl that openly worships him, finally coming clean and throwing herself at him, and you think he'll be able to control himself?"

Naru lifted her glass, draining its contents before rising to her feet and mumbling, "I'll get my shoes."

( 0 0 0 )

"Come on, Sempai – you'll love this one!"

Keitaro smiled as Shinobu tugged him through the crowed school auditorium. In spite of the shockingly bad imitation Chagalls and wannabe Renoirs, he found that he was actually having a pretty good time. Shinobu's enthusiasm was contagious, and whenever there was a passable piece of art, she waved down the artist and introduced him or her to Keitaro.

Of course, Shinobu barely knew any of these people, considering how reclusive she was at school, so many of them were shocked to see her being so open and bold about approaching them, but none of them ever showed their amazement, so Keitaro never had a clue that anything was out of the ordinary.

Nor did he notice that every time Shinobu pulled him along to a new piece, she held his hand just a little bit longer, getting him so used to the feel of her hand in his that when she did not let go one time, he thought nothing of it.

"See?" Shinobu said gleefully, "Doesn't Hanada-san do a great Hopper?"

Keitaro nodded, impressed in spite of himself as he gazed up at a proudly displayed reproduction of one of his favorite paintings, titled Nighthawks. The colors were not as vivid as in the original, but the artist had managed to reproduce most of the feel of the piece, with less than two dozen flaws that Keitaro could see – a feat he himself could not have accomplished on his best day.

Oils were not his favorite, after all.

"It's really good," he said, looking around for the artist. "Do you know him too?"

Shinobu's smile remained in place, but she shook her head, leading Keitaro away before he could figure out that Hanada was actually a very pretty girl. "No, I've never met him," she lied. "Come on, Sempai… let's keep moving."

They stayed at the exhibit for nearly two hours before Shinobu suddenly asked if Keitaro was as hungry as she was.

"Yeah," he admitted, scratching his neck in embarrassment as his stomach growled at the mere mention of food. "All this walking around kind makes me feel empty."

"I know a great little restaurant that's not too far from here," Shinobu offered, consciously keeping her tone very, very casual. "They make great milkshakes."

Keitaro's stomach growled loudly.

He hadn't had a good milkshake for a long time.

"That sounds really good," he said honestly.

"Then let's go!"

Shinobu led him from the school, giddy that she had been holding his hand for nearly twenty minutes. She felt a little guilty about her tactics, since she had deliberately served a very light dinner and she had neglected to mention that it was actually a multi-school festival, involving seven different institutions and all of their art students, but she felt that she needed every advantage she could get.

She did not have the assets that the other girls had – up top, or in the age category – so if she was going to have any chance with Keitaro, it would take every ounce of her ability and guile… two skills she felt quite lacking in.

And don't rush it, she thought, imagining that it was Kitsune's voice in her head. Make it friendly at first, like she said, and don't push too hard. Tonight isn't even supposed to be a date, so just keep cool… keep cool and remember to see if he's doing anything NEXT Saturday.

With all of these thoughts in mind, Shinobu's steps were light as they headed to the little diner with the great shakes. She was in such good spirits that when Keitaro abruptly realized that he was holding her hand and blushingly pulled away, she only smiled and pretended that she did not notice.

Rome, after all, was not built in a day.

( 0 0 0 )

"Do you see them anywhere?"

Motoko peered around a large, rather gauche replica of Rodin's 'Thinker' and scanned the crowd carefully. "No, I lost them."

"Damn it," Naru cursed, barely resisting the urge to bash the bad fake with her fist. "They could be anywhere – and did you see how he was holding her hand? Right in front of everyone? You should have let me pound him right there."

"Believe me, I wanted to," Motoko murmured, searching for signs of their errant housemates. "But I do still have an obligation to him as a sensei, you know… and besides, I didn't want to make a scene."

"Obligation?" Naru asked, arching an eyebrow. "Watching you clean up the place, it seems more like a treat."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're not 'suffering' as much as you want us to believe – and don't give me that look. You never complain unless he can hear you."

Motoko's jaw fell open. "Are you implying that I'm enjoying this?"

Folding her arms over her chest, Naru replied, "I'm not just implying it, Motoko, I'm saying it flat out."

"How dare you?" Motoko said angrily. "Because I'm making due does not mean I am enjoying this… this servitude! I'd just as soon-"

"I thought you didn't want to make a scene."

Both girls jumped as a third voice cut into their conversation.

Kitsune leaned casually against the bad sculpture, smiling brightly as the two gaped at her with open shock.

"Hiiii!"

"When did you get here?" Naru blurted.

"Oh, an hour ago," Kitsune said dismissively, "same as you. I followed you guys when you left home."

Motoko pursed her lips. "Unlikely," she said suspiciously. "I've lived with you long enough to know how you move. I would have felt your presence."

Kitsune grinned. "You ain't feeling my presence – or any other part of me – unless I say so," she said with a wink. "But I might not have had the same 'presence' as you put it, because I brought a friend."

So saying, she reached into her shirt and pulled out-

"T-tama-chan?" Naru stammered.

Motoko squawked, stumbling backward a step and raising her hands defensively as Kitsune shoved the turtle toward her face.

"Like Aoyama Kryptonite," the gray-haired girl said with some satisfaction, putting the turtle on her head and giving the shaken Motoko a broad smile. "So… what'cha guys doin'?"

"If you've been following us this whole time, you know very well what we're doing," Naru said, completely unfazed by Tama's jovial wave… though at her side, Motoko quailed and tried to hide. "God, pull it together," she muttered, "you're embarrassing yourself."

Kitsune stuck a finger triumphantly in the air. "Ah-ha!" she exclaimed, sounding like a bad Sherlock Holmes impersonator. "So you admit that you're stalking them! But the question is why!"

"To make sure Keitaro doesn't do anything inappropriate, of course," Motoko mumbled from somewhere behind Naru. "You know how lecherous he is."

"Boy do I," Kitsune hummed suggestively. "Soft hands, though. And that ton-"

"Can't you be serious for like, two seconds?" Naru cut in angrily.

"Nope," the fox-girl said brightly. "I tried it once, but my boyfriend kicked me out of bed – said seriousness kills the mood."

Motoko tugged on Naru's arm. "This isn't getting us anywhere," she muttered. "Come on, maybe we can still find them."

"Mm," Kitsune mused, "maybe you can… but you still haven't answered my question."

"Yes we have," Naru said bluntly. "You asked why we're here, we said to protect Shinobu. Case closed."

"Oh, but that wasn't the question."

Kitsune tapped her bottom lip thoughtfully as the two other girls finally gave her their full attention.

"Now I seem to recall Shinobu asking to be treated like an adult," Kitsune said thoughtfully. "And from what I heard, she invited him out tonight, right?"

"Well, that's true," Motoko admitted reluctantly, "but who knows what Keitaro might do when he gets her alone?"

Smiling indulgently, Kitsune said, "Whatever it is, I'm sure she wouldn't say no… since she's the one that wants to be alone with him."

"No she doesn't," Naru countered immediately, "or she wouldn't have invited me!"

"Or me," Motoko jumped in. "Your argument is sounding very thin, Kitsune, and you're wasting our time by keeping us here."

But Kitsune wasn't finished.

"Invited you… when she knew you're getting tired of seeing Keitaro all day?" Kitsune offered smoothly. "And you… on the one night you do nothing but study?"

Naru looked pale. "But she invited Mutsumi… and Su… and…"

Kitsune looked downright amused. "Mutsumi, who can't remember to put her own name on a test, and Su, who knows Shinobu well enough to make up an excuse when she knows she would be the only thing standing between Shinobu and a nice, quiet date with the man she loves?"

"And you…" Motoko said suddenly. "She invited you too…"

The smile on Kitsune's face was almost pitying as she whispered, "And if her careful plans were figured out, who do you think would keep you two in check?"

"You're in on this!" Naru gasped, leveling a finger at Kitsune. "You're not just guessing all this stuff – you know it! You HELPED her with it!"

Kitsune's grin widened until it was all tooth.

"Ya think?"

As one, Motoko and Naru turned to storm off, but Kitsune grabbed their arms, yanking them close to her as she whispered, "Leave them alone. You promised Shinobu you'd treat her like an adult, and I'm here to make damn sure you live up to your end of the deal – and don't give me that crap about Keitaro being a horny pedophile. He's never deliberately touched her once, or either one of you, if we're laying it all on the table."

Motoko and Naru both opened their mouths, but Kitsune suddenly leaned closer.

"Unless the real problem here is that you want him to, and you're jealous that she had the guts to do something about it instead of just waiting around and hoping he'll figure out that you like him."

Naru's teeth ground together so hard that Motoko was sure she was going to crack a molar. "And what about you, Kitsune?"

"What about me?" Kitsune said cheerfully. "I'm just a friendly, helpful-"

"You're not in school," Naru cut in sharply, "you don't work… and whenever Keitaro's in the house, you 'conveniently' happen to be just a little tipsy, so no one questions why you're always brushing up against him or leaning on his back."

Kitsune laughed. "Oh, now you're just grasping at straws," she said merrily. "Don't project your own repressed desires on me, because-"

"Because you've got enough repressed desires for the whole house."

With that, Naru yanked her arm free, pulling Motoko into the crowd and leaving Kitsune shaking her head.

"What do you think, buddy?" the gray-haired girl asked, rapping the Rodin in the temple. "Freud would have a field day with those two, huh?" Abruptly, she noticed that a boy of about twelve was staring at her as if she'd lost her mind. "What?" Kitsune said defensively, "Can't a girl talk to her boyfriend in peace?"

Moving away from the sculpture as the boy hurried off into the crowd, Kitsune shook her head. Those two kill me, she thought with some amusement. Next they'll be telling me that Keitaro's gonna marry Motoko and take over her dojo.

( 0 0 0 )

Keitaro had done something wrong. He wasn't sure what, exactly, or when, but he had definitely stepped on some toes at the Hinata. Nothing was said to him, of course, but Naru was giving him more cold shoulder than usual, and Motoko's fingers were always curling and uncurling at her side – exactly where her sword should have been.

The only people who did not seem to be angry with him were Shinobu, who (other than always being underfoot) treated him the same as always, and Kitsune… who seemed to know exactly what was going on, and thought it side-splittingly funny.

He didn't consider Su in the equation, since she didn't ever really have any changes in mood, and Sarah had gone out on an expedition with Seta so she was not even around, though Keitaro was sure that if she was there, she would be giving him the evil eye every chance she got. Not that this was unusual, but there was only so much negative energy Keitaro could absorb.

"You're going out again?"

A week had passed since his pleasantly low-key evening with Shinobu, quietly bringing Saturday back around, and – somehow – focusing Naru's wrath squarely on him.

"Wh-what?" Keitaro stammered. "It's just a play. You were invited too, you know, but you didn't want to go."

"I have a test to study for!" Naru complained. "You know I've been stressing about it for two weeks – there's no way I could go out two days before the test!"

How is that my fault? Keitaro thought desperately.

Instead of asking this, he simply replied, "But I didn't even know about the play until last week!"

"Yeah," Naru shot back, "and you kept it to yourself."

"Heh," Keitaro laughed awkwardly. "Actually… I forgot until Shinobu reminded me just now."

"…right."

"Naru, are you being mean to my KeiKei?"

Naru glared as Kitsune draped her arms over Keitaro's shoulders. "I don't suppose you're going to the play with Keitaro and Shinobu later, are you?"

"A play?" Kitsune exclaimed. "Why, I love plays! But I'm afraid I have to pass… I got a job interview tonight."

"You do?" Keitaro asked, trying unsuccessfully to turn and face the gray-haired girl. "Congratulations!"

"Well, my savings are getting a little low again," Kitsune drawled, "it's been a few months since my last job, after all. Time to start stocking up again."

Kitsune, as Keitaro had learned, was something of a job-hopper. She would work at one job for a few months, picking up as many extra hours as possible and saving every penny that did not go towards rent, and then she would quit and coast along for a few months on what she had earned, drinking and slothing around until the money ran out.

Admittedly, there was a certain appeal to such a lifestyle, but the other residents all felt the need to have something to look forward to, and silently agreed that Kitsune's freewheeling would, someday, come back to bite her on the ass.

"It's not that great," Kitsune said, breaking the thoughtful silence that had fallen. "If I get it, I'll be a clerk at the video store downtown." She winked at Naru, pulling Keitaro a bit closer. "You should stop by sometime," she said teasingly, "just make sure you get there before any… younger renters beat you to it – you never know when they're going to get their hands on something you want before you even admit that you want it."

Naru's lips peeled back from her teeth. "Watch it, Kitsune."

Keitaro, sensing an air of impending doom, said, "I think I hear Motoko calling me – talk to you guys later."

Without waiting for a reply, he pulled away from Kitsune and hurried up to the second floor, putting a hand over his heart and taking a deep breath to see if he could get it to stop racing as he leaned up against the wall.

"Sempai?"

"Hmm?"

"You're standing on my broom."

Keitaro blinked, looking down to find that he was, in fact, standing on the edge of a big push broom. Glancing up, he found Shinobu standing to one side, smiling faintly as she retied the kerchief keeping the hair out of her eyes.

Must have stopped to get a drink, he thought, stepping off of the broom. She looks really sweaty.

"Are you… doing ok?"

Shinobu nodded. "Uh huh!" she said emphatically, grabbing the handle of the broom and leaning it up against her shoulder. "Can't stop to talk, though – lots to do before the play!"

Tentatively, Keitaro caught her arm as she started to leave. "Shinobu, you don't have to do this."

"What do you mean, Sempai?" Shinobu wondered. "The second floor is my job."

"But it shouldn't be," Keitaro said evenly. "Look, just… you don't have to do it anymore, ok? I'll-"

"No."

"Huh?"

"I said no," Shinobu said, wiping a bit of sweat off of her face and lowering her gaze. "I agreed I'd take the second floor… so I will."

"But you don't have to! Motoko was… look, Motoko was just worked up when she said that. You don't have to keep doing this much work – it isn't fair."

Shinobu blushed, lacing her hands together to keep them from fidgeting. "You're worried about me…?"

"Well, yeah," Keitaro blurted. "You're trying to do too much. You're going to end up with a fever again."

Though she hid it very well, Shinobu felt as if a spotlight had just been turned on inside of her soul. He really does care about me, she thought, feeling a bit weak in the knees. God he's so perfect!

"I'll be ok, Sempai," she said, gently laying her hand on his forearm and gazing earnestly up into his eyes. "But if you're worried about me… you could umm… t-take me out for ice cream, or, or something before the play so I could maybe cool down a little."

"Sure," Keitaro said quickly. "Sure, I'll do it."

Briefly squeezing his arm, Shinobu stepped back, not wanting to overdo it. "Then let's leave around four instead. Motoko and Su can meet us there."

Looking relieved, Keitaro nodded. "Four it is."

As she turned away, Shinobu could not stop a huge, victorious smile from breaking out on her face. Positioning her broom for maximum coverage, she whispered, "Kanpai," and rushed to get the place swept as fast as she could.

Four o'clock was only two hours away, and if she wanted to take a shower and put on makeup, she would have to hurry. Rounding a corner, she picked up the pace, nearly laughing out loud as she imagined spending the two hours before the play alone with Keitaro, with his undivided attention on her, and no one trying to interrupt or cut into their private time.

"…kanpai."

Continued…

Author's notes: it's getting harder to write this story. There are so many threads in it that I'm constantly worried that I'm forgetting one, so I'm constantly going back to double-check and make sure everything's getting covered. Makes for slow writing.

Hawker-748 pre-read once more. Thanks man… hopefully I'm not making your head spin trying to keep everything straight.