Disclaimer: see part 1.

Steel Rose

Part 6

By Random1377

Keitaro sat on the couch, feeling a bit like a king on his throne, surrounded by loyal subjects. It was a skin-deep ideal, of course, as the women surrounding him were anything but subjugated, but it was a pleasing diversion for his bored mind, as the movie the Hinata residents were watching was screamingly bad.

Attack of the Leech Monsters from Jupiter, he thought dismally, Kitsune picked a real winner.

Pretending that he had not jumped several times at the cheap schlock onscreen, he turned his mind to other topics. No resolution had been reached in his discussion with Motoko and Naru on Monday night, so they had done what most people did when a complicated situation with no clear solution presented itself.

They ignored it, hoping it would go away.

The reason for the movie marathon, starting with the aforementioned, dreadfully bad horror movie, was to celebrate Kitsune making it through a week at the video store without offending any customers, dying of boredom, or getting hit on by her manager – a milestone, in the gray-haired girl's book.

Maybe the other two will be better, Keitaro mused, glancing at the spines of the remaining DVD cases sitting on top of the TV. At least I've HEARD of those…

He squirmed a bit, trying to pretend that Kitsune's left breast was not pressed against his right arm, and that Shinobu's hip was not brushing his outer thigh, and that Motoko's disapproving gaze was not on him more often than the television.

Overall, it was not a pleasant movie-watching experience – and not just because of the sub-par viewing material.

"Oh, Naru-sempai," Shinobu said suddenly, drawing Keitaro from his musings on the low standards of current cinema. "I thought you were studying."

"I am," Naru said simply. "But it's cold up in my room, so I thought I'd come down here to work for a while." She held up her book with on hand, and made a scooting motion with the other. "Make some room, would ya?"

From the way she had moved her hand, it was clear that she wanted Shinobu to move over – which was logical, since Kitsune was up against the right arm of the couch, and Shinobu had quite a bit of space on the side not grazing Keitaro.

Was the younger woman happy about this? No… no she was not.

"Of course, sempai," she replied with a fixed, very obviously forced smile, moving over only when Naru walked towards the couch.

"Thanks."

Opening her textbook, Naru immediately set about the business of ignoring everything else. As the horror movie ended, Kitsune bounced up, announcing, "The next one's even scarier!"

Motoko rose from her chair, giving Naru a questioning glance before murmuring that she was going to the bathroom.

"Hey, wait up," Kitsune said suddenly. "I'll go too."

"I think I can handle it," Motoko deadpanned, "go upstairs."

"Don't be like that," the gray-haired girl said pitifully. "I don't wanna go by myself… there might be leeches."

Everyone stared at her for a long, long time.

Finally, Motoko muttered, "I'm sure you'll be safe…one kills leeches with alcohol, after all."

"Plleeeaase?"

"No, you're a grown woman, go by yourself."

"But I won't be able to!" Kitsune complained. "I'll keep thinking of big space bugs. I need someone to talk to."

"What would you do if no one was home?" Motoko demanded. "Just hold it indefinitely?"

Kitsune shook her head. "Well, if I was alone, I'd just think about waterfalls and rivers and streams, and I'd leave the sink running and listen to the sound of flowing, rushing, spilling water pouring all over-"

"Oohhh," Shinobu moaned, "Now I have to go…!"

Grinning suddenly, Kitsune said, "Great! You can come with me."

Keitaro chuckled. Clever, he thought, impressed at the fox-girl's craftiness. Very clever, Kitsune…

"I'll go too!"

Everyone jumped as Su popped out from under the coffee table.

"How long have you been there?" Kitsune wanted to know, covering her heart as she leaned on Shinobu for support. "Jeez, for a second there I thought I wouldn't have to go all the way to the bathroom."

"I've been here since the giant space leeches latched onto the school teacher's back," Su declared proudly. "I even grabbed Keitaro-hentai's ankle and made him scream like a girl."

"That was you?" Keitaro muttered. "…and would you mind not calling me that?"

With the younger girls in tow, Kitsune headed upstairs. Motoko left a moment later, hesitating as she studied Naru's bowed head.

Something was amiss… but she could not quite put her finger on it.

As Motoko's footfalls faded down the hall, Naru closed her book and turned to face Keitaro. "What are you doing tomorrow night?"

Shrugging, Keitaro replied, "Nothing, I guess. Cleaning, like always, little studying… nothing big. Why?"

"Let's go out for dinner."

"Dinner?" Keitaro said thoughtfully. "That sounds ni- wait a minute, what?"

Naru rested her elbow on the back of the couch, leaning her head against her fist and looking into Keitaro's eyes. "You, me, dinner, tomorrow," she said, speaking as if he was a complete idiot. "Is that clear enough?"

"Umm, it is," Keitaro admitted. "But how come?"

"Because I want to be with you."

"O…k…"

"Good."

As Naru reopened her textbook, Keitaro said, "I thought we decided it would be a bad idea to pretend I was dating one of you to make Shinobu back off."

Naru gazed down at her homework, waiting until she heard footsteps coming back down the hall to ensure that he would not have a chance to reply before whispering, "Who said I'm pretending…?"

( 0 0 0 )

Mmm, weekends are too short, Kitsune thought, rubbing her face with both hands as she sat up on her futon. Sunday already, so no drinking tonight… and those movies sucked. On a scale of one ten, this weekend's been a solid four.

Throwing her covers back, she got to her feet, glancing down to make sure she was suitably covered. In shorts and a loose-fitting tank top, the other, more prudish girls in the Hinata may have felt underdressed, but Kitsune simply shrugged. Nothing was hanging out, she figured, and she was just running down to the kitchen for some toast.

No big deal.

It's so quiet, she thought, marveling at this fact as she reached the ground floor. I know Su said something about dragging Shinobu off to find some hidden turtle ruin, or some crap like that, and Naru's in her room, I saw her on the way by, so that just leaves Motoko and Keitaro unaccounted for.

A quick glance at the front door showed Motoko's shoes conspicuously absent.

"So she's out somewhere," Kitsune murmured, turning towards the kitchen, "so all that's missing is Keitaro."

"Hmm? Were you calling me?"

Poking his head out of the kitchen, Keitaro gave Kitsune a questioning look.

"I was just wondering where everyone was," Kitsune shrugged. "But I figured it out."

"Oh, ok."

"Hey – Keitaro, look out for that bar of so-"

Too late.

With a cry, Keitaro's foot slid out from under him. Considering who he was, and how his luck ran, it should be no surprise that he stumbled and fell directly into Kitsune, carrying her to the floor with a muffled thump.

"…ow."

The bar of soap flew up into the air… and miraculously kept going, sprouting wings as it cruised off into the next room.

Not soap, Kitsune thought, finally realizing what it was she was seeing, turtle.

"S-sorry…!"

Kitsune returned her attention to Keitaro, finding him on all fours, straddling her body. His knees were on either side of her waist, and his hands had landed on either side of her head, creating the perfect illusion of dominance and power.

Too perfect, in fact, for Kitsune to remain silent.

"I'm not complaining," she whispered, giving him her best melt-in-your-mouth smile. "I'm just a little surprised. I never knew you were so… forceful…" As he tried to pull away, she slipped her arms around his chest, keeping him close. "Where ya goin'?"

"I should… go finish c-cleaning," Keitaro stammered, blushing brightly and trying not to look down at Kitsune's ill-concealed cleavage.

Pouting, Kitsune said, "You're always so quick to get away from me… don't you like me, Keitaro?"

Keitaro wet his lips. "That's not it, I do, I just-"

"You like me?"

"Y-yeah, I-"

"How much?"

For a very, very long moment, Keitaro simply stared into her eyes, completely at a loss for words. He's so cute when he's flustered, Kitsune thought, returning his stare with a soft, seductive smile. Maybe if Shinobu wasn't so serious about him I- oh God, what am I thinking? This is Keitaro, for God's sake! He…

Her thought trailed off as Keitaro suddenly moved forward, turning his head slightly to the side – almost as if he was about to kiss her.

"I'm home!"

Keitaro was on his feet and into the kitchen before Kitsune could even place the voice calling out from the front door. Ok, whoa, she thought, what was that…?

"Kitsune? Why are you lying on the floor?"

Pushing herself up on her elbows, Kitsune stared at the kitchen door. "Slipped on a terrapin," she muttered, still trying to piece together the last few minutes in her mind.

Did he just… he didn't, did he?

Sliding her shoes off, Motoko dryly asked, "You didn't hurt yourself, did you? You certainly don't have any clothing to pad your fall."

Kitsune shook her head, rising to her feet and dusting her backside with one hand. "Not really in the mood for this right now," she said evenly, her thoughts racing as she tried to even picture the scenario her mind was insisting on framing.

"Oh, you can dish it out, but you can't take it," Motoko said coolly. "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me. It's not as funny when you're the butt of the joke, is it?"

"Lay off," Kitsune warned. "I just said I'm not in the mood."

Motoko folded her arms. "Do you stop to think that other people might not be in the mood before you start in on them?"

Staring at the other girl for a moment, Kitsune suddenly said, "It's the fifteenth, isn't it? You always start on the fifteenth."

Flushing, Motoko stared the other woman down. "That has nothing to do with this," she said warningly. "I saw Keitaro leaving when I walked in. What's going on in here, Kitsune?"

Kitsune ground her teeth. "Nothing," she gritted out, "nothing at all! We were just talking."

"You still can't admit that you like him," Motoko scoffed. "Even Naru's taking the gloves off, did you know that? She invited him out to dinner tonight, you know, and Shinobu's barely even keeping her attraction to him a secret now."

"Yeah, so?" Kitsune countered. "I told you before, I don't like him that way!"

Motoko pursed her lips. "If you were more honest with yourself, you'd be a happier person," she observed. "Perhaps you-"

"Yeah, well, perhaps you should deal with your own issues before tackling mine," Kitsune cut in sharply. "I might not know what I want from my romantic life, but at least I have some goddamn self-respect." Abruptly, she got right in Motoko's face and whispered, "At least I can look at a mirror for more than five seconds at a time."

Paling, Motoko whispered, "I can't believe I ever trusted you."

"Neither can I," Kitsune shot back. "You can't even stomach your own reflection, so why…"

She trailed off, taking a step back and scrubbing a hand through her hair as she realized just how harsh she was being.

"I think… you should stay away from me for a while," Motoko said quietly, looking very much as if she wanted to wrap her hands around Kitsune's throat.

"Yeah," Kitsune said softly, unable to meet the other girl's hurt gaze. "Yeah, maybe I should."

( 0 0 0 )

For the rest of the day, Motoko avoided everyone else at the Hinata. Her blowout with Kitsune had made her question several very basic aspects of her life, and as she no longer had her blade to take comfort in, she was forced to meet them head-on.

I don't hate myself.

This, she decided, was the root of her concerns. If she hated her reflection, the disgust must go deeper than the skin – that is what she had always been taught… but she had never once, in all of her life, considered the possibility that she, of all people, had issues with self-esteem.

Until Kitsune rubbed her nose right in it, that is.

And how does she handle things? Motoko thought bitterly. Hiding in her room and drinking, of course – and she has to be at work in the morning!

Blinking, Motoko found herself outside of Keitaro's room.

"Why am I here?"

In her mind, however, a nebulous idea was forming. There was nothing wrong with her. She was stable, self-respecting, and had no problem looking at herself in a mirror – if she needed to. Perhaps, though, there was another way to prove to herself, and Kitsune, that her body image was doing just fine.

Wait a minute, she thought, hesitating with her hand raised to knock on Ketiaro's door. Why do I HAVE to prove anything to her? This isn't grade school… I don't have to say 'see, I told you so,' every time someone insults me. Right – this is stupid, and I'm not going to do it.

In spite of this thought, she still knocked on Keitaro's door.

"Coming."

Ok, now why did I do that…?

"Motoko, hi," Keitaro said, clearly surprised to see her. "What can I do for you?"

"Keitaro," she said formally, "do you have a minute?"

"I do," the manager replied, nervously glancing at the clock, "but could make it quick? I'm going for dinner with some… some friends…"

Motoko's lips pursed. Well, she thought clinically, at least he has the taste to try to lie to me. He probably thinks that I don't know about Naru – not that I care, of course.

Ignoring the twinge of discomfort this thought gave her, she stepped into Keitaro's room and slid the door shut. This move did not go unnoticed by Keitaro, who took a cautious step back, remembering that it had not been that long since the last time she had propelled him through the drywall with barely a moment's warning.

"Can you sketch me?"

"Er, yeah, I could," Keitaro said uncertainly, clearly unprepared to hear these words from her mouth. "I mean, I've done it before, so…"

"I mean a more professional sketch," Motoko said. "A portrait."

Keitaro considered the request. "You'd have to sit still longer," he said slowly, "so we'd have to do it somewhere no one could interrupt, like my room, or your ro-"

"You're not coming into my room."

"Ok," Keitaro said, "then my room, I guess. What did you have in mind? Any specific pose?"

"I want something artistic," Motoko said calmly. "Perhaps… a classic pose like this?" she crossed her hands over her chest.

"I could do that," Keitaro said confidently.

Motoko hesitated for a moment before adding, "Only… only without a shirt."

"W-with…out?"

"Is that a problem?"

"No, no," Keitaro said quickly, quickly wiping at his nose to ensure that it was not spewing blood. "I've just… never done a drawing like that."

"Then your answer is no?"

Keitaro frowned, quickly picking up on the fact that Motoko wanted him to say no.

"I'll do it," he said carefully, "if you really want me to."

"I do."

"…alright."

"Tomorrow night, then," Motoko whispered, "while Naru's at school."

"Y-yeah… yeah, sure…"

"Have a nice evening, sensei."

Keitaro returned her rather formal bow, rubbing his sweating palms on his pants as the very idea of being alone with Motoko in his room – sans shirt – made his heart pound hard enough to bruise his ribs.

"See you later."

( 0 0 0 )

"Could you pass me a roll?"

Keitaro looked up from where he had been staring into his water, shaking his head and nearly tipping his glass over as he quickly grabbed Naru a roll.

"Little jumpy tonight, aren't you?" Naru asked, accepting the roll and breaking it open before unwrapping a little foil packet of butter. "I don't make you nervous, do I Keitaro?"

Yes, you do, Keitaro thought immediately, but that's not what I was thinking about…

Many people would think that being on a date with Naru was reason enough to be edgy, considering her volatile nature, but in all honesty, it was a minor distraction compared to having Motoko Aoyama ask for a topless sketch – even one where her hands would be covering her chest.

It's just not like her, Keitaro mused, mumbling that he was fine. She looked like she was forcing herself to ask. Maybe someone made a bet with her or something?

"Ahem."

Glancing up, Keitaro found Naru glaring at him. "Wh-what?"

"I said, do you know what you want yet?" Naru grumbled, clearly annoyed at his inattentiveness. "I'm getting spaghetti."

"That sounds good," Keitaro nodded, giving the menu a cursory glance. "I think I'll get that too."

The Italian restaurant Naru had chosen was nice without being overly expensive, and Keitaro had to admit that the dimly lit, cozy tables gave the place an undeniably intimate ambiance. Realizing this, though, gave rise to the questions, 'why did she invite me here?' and 'is she going to confess?' and a million more along the same lines.

All of which finally allowed him to push the uncomfortably warm image of Motoko's bare midriff from his mind.

"Hey!"

"Gah! What?"

Naru pointed to her right as Keitaro looked up, breaking the thoughtful trance he had fallen into.

"It's time to order, dufus!"

Several embarrassing moments later, two spaghetti specials had been ordered, and the Hinata residents had fallen back into contemplative silence.

"Keitaro," Naru said finally, "can we talk?"

Oh, why do I not like the sound of that? Keitaro thought, wishing his stomach was not doing summersaults.

"Um, sure."

Toying with her roll, Naru said, "School's getting pretty intense. I'm probably going to be pretty busy for the next couple months, you know? So I was thinking…"

Taking a sip of his water, but finding that it did nothing to calm his stomach, Keitaro prompted, "You were thinking…?"

Naru dropped her roll onto her plate and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table to look him squarely in the eyes. "So I was thinking it's time to ask you to wait for me."

"Huh?"

"This is hard already, Keitaro," Naru said softly. "Don't make it harder. I'm saying I won't be able to be with you very much… but I want you to wait for me, ok? I know… I haven't been very good to you lately, and we've never really confirmed what it is we have, but I can't really tap-dance around it anymore – I just don't have the time. Be my boyfriend."

"Y-your boyfriend?" Keitaro stuttered, his jaw dropping open at this open declaration.

Naru looked irritated. "It would be great if you would stop repeating me and actually talked," she said flatly. "Yes, be my boyfriend – not out in the open, at first… I don't want anyone to think I'm taking advantage of you or trying to get lower rent or something, but when we're alone, yeah, I want you to be my boyfriend. I know this is a lot to ask, since I'll be studying all the time and I won't be with you that much when school's in session, but I'm still going to ask you, Keitaro. I'm worth a few months of waiting, right?"

"Of course you are," Keitaro said awkwardly. "But… but what if you meet someone at school that you like?"

Frowning slightly, Naru said, "I won't cheat on you if you're my boyfriend, Keitaro."

"That's not what I meant," Keitaro said awkwardly. "I'm just thinking there are so many guys out there better than me. What if you meet one you like more while you're stuck with me?"

"That's not going to happen, Keitaro," Naru said, her brows drawing down further as she stared at him. "I want to be with you."

"Are you sure?"

Why am I doing this? Keitaro thought suddenly, feeling a very powerful urge to slap himself in the forehead as Naru stared at him. What am I thinking? This is what I've wanted all along, isn't it? It's Naru I want… it's always been Naru!

He opened his mouth to say this, but Naru abruptly whispered, "Forget it. Just… forget it…"

"Naru, I-"

"You know, I'm really not that hungry," Naru said suddenly, rising to her feet and pushing her chair back from the table. "Here… get mine to go or something."

So saying, she dropped a pocketful of bills on the table and turned around, heading for the door without a backward glance.

"Naru, wait!"

Stuffing his hand into his pocket, Keitaro fished out his wallet and fumbled out enough money to cover the tab. Catch her, he thought frantically. God, go catch her you idiot – you stupid, STUPID IDIOT!

By the time he reached the street, however, Naru was nowhere in sight. Knowing it would be useless to try to find her, Keitaro went back into the restaurant and sat back down at the table, staring at his recently delivered plate of spaghetti with a deep, forlorn sigh.

Picking up his fork, he whispered, "Way to go, genius… way to go…"

He set his fork back down after only two bites. It tasted great… but Keitaro had lost his appetite.

Continued…

Author's note: think you know what's going on? Think you have it all figured out? Think you know how it's all going to end? Gimme a second. I'm just warming up.

Pre-read courtesy of Hawker-748. Thanks again, amigo. Time for things to get interesting.