Disclaimer: see part 1.

Steel Rose

Part 7

By Random1377

Keitaro dried his hands on a small towel, looking around for Shinobu – more to make sure she didn't get the drop on him than any real need to talk to her. Finding himself (miraculously) alone, he sighed, tossing the towel onto the kitchen table and heading into the living room.

With all that had happened the day before – with Naru, Kitsune, and Motoko – he really just wanted to relax.

Sadly, other parties had different designs for his time.

"Keitarooooo!"

"GAH!"

Keitaro croaked out a complaint as Su, hearing him coming out of the kitchen, launched herself from the bottom stair, wrapping her legs around his neck and laying him flat on his back. Executing a perfect back flip, she planted her butt on his stomach, putting her fists on either side of his head and leaning down to stare into his face with a broad, carefree smile.

"Play with me!"

Sucking in a lungful of air, Keitaro rasped, "O…k…"

"Yay, yay, yay!"

Before he could even blink, he was dragged off through the Hinata, unable to keep his bearings as Su tugged him along behind her, only running him into furniture twice before reaching her destination.

Finally catching his breath, Keitaro muttered, "Where are we?"

"My room."

Keitaro paled with fear. "Can we… play somewhere else?" he squeaked, trying to look everywhere to make sure no large creatures, mechanical or tropical, could get the drop on him.

"Aww!" Su complained. "But I wanna play here!"

"Ok," Keitaro sighed. "…but if I get eaten, I won't be able to play tomorrow."

Su gave him a not-very-reassuring salute.

Still edgy, Keitaro said, "Sooo what did you want to play?"

He crossed his fingers, hoping it wasn't anything too violent or involving the consumption of exotic MolMolease insects. I don't care if they ARE a delicacy, he thought, remembering his last visit to Su's room, I am NOT putting any more bugs in my mouth!

To his surprise, Su simply said, "Whatever you want."

"Whatever I want, huh?" Keitaro said, looking down at the girl with suspicion. "You didn't… have something in mind?"

"Uh-uh," Su shook her head. "I just want to play with you."

Smiling indulgently, Keitaro said, "We could have played upstairs, you know, you didn't have to drag me all the way down here."

"Uh-huh," Su countered. "If we were playing upstairs, someone would come take you away."

"Huh?"

Grabbing his hand, Su pulled him deeper into her room. "Well," she explained, "every time I try to play with you… Shinobu needs something, or Naru needs something, or Motoko needs something, or Kitsune needs something – but I want to play, and they don't like coming down here."

Keitaro thought back over the couple weeks. Wow, she's right, he realized, one of them, or all of them, are always around. Poor Su… I've been ignoring her.

Turning his hand around to hold Su's in a more comfortable grip, he whispered, "What do you want to play?"

"I don't care, as long as it's with Keitaro," Su said happily. "Keitaro is my favorite."

"Heh," Keitaro chuckled. "Thanks."

"That's why I'm going to marry Keitaro."

Keitaro's smile grew rather fixed. "Su," he said slowly, "you're… a little young to… marry, you know. I don't know what the laws are in MolMol, but here, you have to be at least sixteen – maybe even seventeen, and… what?"

He trailed off as Su gave him a look that screamed, 'What ARE you talking about?' before pulling a pair of plastic rings out of her pocket. "There!" she declared, shoving one of the rings onto his finger. "Now you're my husband!"

Smiling with relief, Keitaro took the other ring, slipping it onto her finger and bowing over her hand. "So am I mister Su, or are you misses Urashima?"

"You're mister Su," Su told him, speaking as if this should be obvious, "Keitaro Su the First – Prince of MolMol."

"I like the sound of that," Keitaro laughed. "So what do I need to do, wife?"

Su looked up at him. "You have to be nice to me," she said firmly, "and spend time with me, and play with me…" her voice grew a bit softer, "and all the things you used to do before Motoko and Shinobu and Naru and Kitsune started keeping you for themselves."

Keitaro swallowed, feeling like a heel as he put his hand on top of Su's head. "I'll always be nice to you," he said softly, "and if you want to play, and someone else is with me, just tell me and I'll come play, ok?"

"Promise?"

"Unless it's something I can't stop doing like working on chores or school work, yeah," Keitaro said, making sure not to dig himself into a hole. "I'll find time for you, Su, any time."

Grinning from ear to ear, Su nodded. "K!"

Suddenly, Keitaro's smile faded, his eyes fixing on the plastic ring around his finger as a rather disturbing thought occurred to him.

"You know we're not… really married… right?"

( 0 0 0 )

Thank GOD Kitsune's still at work.

Motoko glanced around nervously, firming her excuse of hearing a noise in the house and going to tell the manager in case Su or Shinobu should happen to spot her coming down the stairs to Keitaro's room in jeans and a robe.

Fortunately, neither girl was anywhere in sight, and Motoko reasoned that since they were both in grade school, they were probably working on homework together. As I should be, she thought suddenly, my studies have gone downhill since this fiasco started.

As had her stamina, her sword skills, and her reflexes. Basically the only thing she had managed to increase was her attention span, which had been good before, but had grown exponentially by watching Keitaro do absolutely nothing for hours at a time. She was fairly sure that if awards were given for contained screams, she would win first place.

And now she was about to strip for him.

Bah, she thought, tapping lightly on Keitaro's door, this isn't for him at all, and I won't be 'stripping' at all. Tasteful, that's what I told him. Tasteful.

"Hey," Keitaro said, glancing past Motoko to see if anyone else was watching before motioning her in.

At least we're on the same wavelength there, Motoko thought… though her reason – embarrassment – was far different from Keitaro's… which revolved around the fear of being beaten to a bloody pulp.

"Have a seat," he said nervously, pointing to the floor. "I thought about bringing in a chair… but I figured with all the meditating you do for your sword stuff, you'd probably be more comfortable kneeling. Was I right…?"

"Yes, thank you," Motoko said, glancing at the rose and the sword for a moment before forcing her eyes away. "How long will this take?"

Keitaro knelt across from her, grabbing his sketchbook and pencils. "Awhile," he said, shrugging as she pursed her lips. "I don't do many portraits, so it could take awhile, but I'll try to make it quick, ok?"

"Fair enough."

"Are you… going to smile?"

Motoko considered this for a moment before replying, "Do I need to?"

"No," Keitaro said, "I was just trying to picture how you would look with a smile on your face… I thought it would make a good picture."

I smile plenty, Motoko thought with a frown, just not for you.

She forced her face back into its usual, serious expression. Keitaro, she knew, was not the one she was angry with, so redirecting her rage would only make things more awkward between them.

They stared at each other for several minutes in complete silence before Motoko slowly wrapped her hands around the lapels of her robe.

"Could you turn your back?"

"Oh, right, yeah."

Keitaro quickly turned around, waiting with his fists on his knees as the shuffle of moving cloth rose behind him. The urge to peek was nearly overwhelming, but he somehow managed to keep his raging hormones in check until Motoko's soft whisper drew his attention.

"I'm ready."

Slowly turning around, Keitaro had to catch his breath. Somehow, being partially covered made the dark-haired girl even sexier than if she had been completely bared, and it took him a moment – and her clearing her throat – before he remembered why he was there and grabbed his pencil.

I don't hate myself, Motoko told herself, holding perfectly still as Keitaro sketched and scratched at the paper. Kitsune is wrong.

After several endless minutes, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

I am not ashamed of my body…

Slowly, Motoko unfolded her arms, blushing terribly as she laid her hands in her lap.

When Keitaro next glanced up from his sketchbook, his eyes nearly bugged out of his head, and he quickly bowed his head, stammering, "Ahh, I'm sorry! I d-didn't see anyth-"

"Keitaro."

"Y-yeah?"

"…please keep drawing."

Keitaro's eyes shot back up, but he could not produce any sound.

"Please."

After several moments of stunned silence… Keitaro did as he was asked.

The time crawled by interminably for Motoko as Keitaro fumbled with his pencil and continually mumbled apologies, seemingly trying to draw by memory as he took half-second long glimpses of her body. She knew that her cheeks were as red as his, but she willed herself to remain still, feeling that this was important – if for no other reason than to prove to herself that Kitsune was wrong about her.

Ultimately, she had to avert her eyes, unable to look Keitaro in the face. It was not the first time he had seen her naked, not by a long shot, but it was the first time she had allowed it, and it felt disturbingly intimate to her.

It was a feeling she did not like.

God, he's intense right now, she thought suddenly, her gaze drawn back to Keitaro's focused brown eyes. Is it because he's drawing… or because it's ME he's drawing…?

She shivered, nearly pulling her robe back on and running from the room as Keitaro's eyes suddenly locked on hers.

Don't look at me like that, she thought, her bottom lip trembling slightly as he seemed to stare right into her. You shouldn't see me this way! I don't want -

"I'm done."

Motoko shook herself, slowly pulling her robe back up onto her shoulders, though it suddenly seemed like a useless gesture. What good did it do to cover what was probably etched into Keitaro's memory for all time?

The fact that she could not decide if she was happy or unhappy with this idea confused and frightened her more than she could have imagined.

"Here…"

Slowly, almost ritualistically, Keitaro set the sketchbook on the tatami mat and pushed it across to her… and there she was, in all her grotesque glory. Her muscular shoulders, washboard flat stomach, embarrassingly large breasts… all of it carefully detailed in pencil by hands far more gifted than their owner knew.

Pulling her robe tighter around her shivering body, Motoko whispered, "Keitaro…?"

"Yeah?"

"…please destroy that."

Without another word, Motoko rose to her feet, crossed the room… and slowly lifted her sword off of its stand, carrying it from the room without ever looking back.

( 0 0 0 )

The waters of the hot spring lapped gently against the rocks as the residents of the Hinata languished in their warm embrace. Each had taken a spot as far from the others as possible, lost in their own thoughts as the waters relaxed their tense muscles. Su, of course, was the exception to this rule, splashing and swimming around as if completely oblivious to the other girl's small frowns and darting eyes.

It almost made Kitsune envious.

How sad, she thought dismally, jealous of a kid for being happy. Next thing you know I'll be swearing off booze and trying to make myself a 'better person.' She snorted to herself, scooping water up and wiping her face. Yeah… like that'd ever happen…

"Something funny?"

Kitsune glanced up, finding Naru gazing at her from the corner of her eye. "Nope," she said lightly, "just thinking that when I was a kid my parents would have freaked if they'd found out I was hanging out in a hot springs past bedtime on a school night."

As expected, everyone – again, barring Su – gave her a dirty look. Even Naru, who was not that much younger than her, seemed to think it was a personal attack, though rather than exploding, she simply said, "Maybe you should have listened to them. If you had, you probably would have graduated from college by now."

Yawning, Kitsune said, "Nah, if I spent all my time in stuffy classrooms, I'd never land a rich, doting husband. Besides, I never was too good at sticking to things. I'm sure some of us here can understand that, right?"

As if on command, everyone's eyes darted briefly over to where Motoko's sword was propped up against the Hinata's outside wall. It had been on the dark-haired girl's hip since she had left her room in the morning, and while no one had asked her what had happened, it was fairly obvious that the arrangement she had agreed to with Keitaro was over.

The manager himself had very little to say to anyone, and spent the entire day doing chores and avoiding eye contact, confirming that some type of falling out had taken place. Eventually, Kitsune knew, the truth would come out. Neither Keitaro nor Motoko was terribly good at keeping secrets.

If Motoko was bothered by Kitsune's insinuations, however, she said nothing about it. She simply adjusted the hand towel on her head and leaned back on the rocks, looking up into the cold winter sky with a perfectly unreadable expression as she quietly whispered, "How was your date, Naru?"

Shinobu, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly went very rigid.

"D-date…?" she whispered, trying unsuccessfully to keep her cool as her eyes flashed to Naru's calm, collected face. "Who did you go out with, Naru-sempai?"

"Oh, you didn't tell her," Kitsune 'helpfully' mused. "Well, I guess if you're dating Keitaro, it's nobody's business but yours."

Shinobu wet her lips. "You and Keitaro-"

"We are not dating," Naru cut in flatly. "Why the sudden interest, Kitsune? Does slinging videos around all day for minimum wage leave you enough free time to worry about what's going on in my personal life?"

Looking absolutely panic-stricken, Shinobu looked from one girl to the other, clearly trying to decide which potential opponent worried her more. She had admitted to Kitsune that she saw her as a threat… but everyone at the Hinata Sou knew that there were two universal truths about living under that roof – one, that Keitaro was at his clumsiest when Naru was around, meaning that she was the one he liked most, and two, if Naru put her mind to something, she made it happen, no matter what stood in her way.

Kitsune gave her a complacent smile. "I'm just worried about my best friend," she said disingenuously. "Since when is that a crime?"

"It's not," Naru said coolly, "when it's sincere."

"I am sinc-"

"She can't be dating Keitaro, because he married me today."

Everyone fell silent as Su paddled past.

"Well there you go," Kitsune said with a shrug. "He's off the market. Problem solved."

Rising to her feet, Motoko announced, "I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

She hesitated… then, to everyone's surprise, she pulled her hair back over her shoulders and strode almost regally over to where her towel lay, making absolutely no move to cover herself in any way as she moved through the hot springs, the droplets of water on her silk-smooth skin and pitch black hair catching the moonlight and transforming her into an almost ethereal vision of grace and beauty.

Su whispered the thought that was on everyone's mind in a voice filled with appreciative awe.

"…pretty."

Kitsune averted her eyes, pretending that she had not seen the way Motoko's hands where shaking as she picked up her towel and wrapped it around herself. Point taken, Motoko…

After a moment of quiet, Naru whispered, "I'm going too. Congratulations on your marriage, Su."

Smiling from ear to ear, Su gave her a jaunty wave.

Shinobu looked as if she desperately wanted to know what was going on, but with Su there, and Motoko potentially within earshot, she held her tongue.

Man, Kitsune thought, living in this dump gets more complicated every damn day. Sinking into the water until her nose nearly touched the surface, she closed her eyes, another thought crossing her mind as Su continued to splash around.

So, Naru's given up. Interesting…

( 0 0 0 )

Keitaro sat on the Hinata's rooftop, looking up at the shockingly blue sky and thinking, not for the first time, that he should start using colored pencils. I'd love to have that sky on paper, he thought, absently scooping up a handful of snow and compacting it into a ball. I was never good at color blending, though, so I'd have to practice a lot before I got it right.

Thinking about art, he found, was much, much easier than thinking about how confusing things were in the boardinghouse he presided over.

That rose sketch came out pretty well, though, he thought, unconsciously clenching his hand and crushing the snowball into powder as he recalled the last time the rose's rightful owner had been in his room. Maybe I'll do another one…

Brushing the snow off of his hands, he shook his head, toying with the idea of going back into the Hinata… but he decided that he really liked the quiet of the outside better, and since all the chores were done, Naru still wasn't speaking to him, and Kitsune and Motoko were both avoiding him, he really had no incentive to be anywhere other than where he currently was.

Until the soft crunch of boots on snow made him lift his head.

"Hi Shinobu," he said, keeping his voice low to preserve the peaceful atmosphere as the girl approached him. "Is there something you need?"

Shinobu gave him a hesitant smile. "It's past lunchtime," she said, reaching into the impossibly puffy jacket she was wearing. "I thought you might be hungry."

Finally reaching his side, she pulled a metal thermos out of her jacket and offered it out to him, waiting expectantly for him to take it.

When he did not, her smile slipped a bit. "It's… chicken soup," she said awkwardly. "You like that, don't you?"

"Yeah," Keitaro said softly, finally taking the thermos and setting it between his feet. "Thanks, Shinobu."

"Could I, umm… sit down with you?"

"Sure."

"It's so cold," Shinobu exclaimed, settling in right next to him and giving him a sideways glance. "Aren't you freezing, Sempai?"

Keitaro shrugged. "It's not that cold," he said. "Actually, compared to yesterday, it's pretty warm."

"I guess so."

As casually as she could, Shinobu leaned back, putting her hands flat on the roof and letting the pinky finger on her right hand rest lightly against Keitaro's left one. Making sure he didn't move too fast, Keitaro pulled his hand away, using it to open the thermos so Shinobu would know he wasn't sickened by her touch or anything like that.

"Smells great," he said honestly. "Thanks."

Shinobu smiled happily. "Sure."

Waiting as he sipped from the thermos, Shinobu made idle patterns in the snow with her fingers, clearly waiting for him to finish before speaking again.

No way around it, Keitaro thought. The soups good, but I can't sip it forever. Eventually it'll be gone, so I might as well just get this over with.

"Is there something else you needed?"

"No," Shinobu said immediately. "Just… don't stay up here too long, Sempai… I don't want you to catch a cold."

"Ok."

Shinobu fell silent, leaning back again to look up at the sky. After a few moments, she turned towards him, her breath puffing in small clouds from her lips as she tentatively moved closer to his face, hesitated, then pulled back and rose to her feet, her cheeks flushed with color as she dusted the snow off of her pants.

"S-see you later, then," she stammered, nearly dashing from the rooftop and leaving Keitaro staring after her, his mouth hanging open in amazement as – like Kitsune – he realized what had almost happened.

What's GOING to happen, he corrected himself, staring down at his hands, pink from handling the snow, if I don't find a way to stop this.

Throwing his hands up in the air, he pitched back into the snow and closed his eyes, letting the cold seep into his bones until he was shaking all over, because – of all the girls in the Hinata – only Shinobu made it perfectly clear what she felt, and while it made him feel dirty to even contemplate it, he realized…

…that he really, really wanted her to kiss him.

Continued…

And now, courtesy of Hawker-748 – an omake!

Motoko entered Keitaro's room quickly, and shut the door behind her, locking it. Unconsciously, she held the robe tighter around herself as she nervously looked around the room.

Then a faint frown creased her graceful features. "Sensei, I don't think you have the right idea about this sketch."

"Why do you say that Motoko?"

"Why are the lights dimmed?" she asked him.

"I thought it would put you at ease, and the shadows will look lovely," Keitaro easily replied.

"When did you get a loveseat?"

"It's comfortable for me when I sketch."

Motoko's frown deepened. "When did you have colored lights installed?"

Swallowing once, Keitaro said, "The different colors can make for some nice looks when sketching a subject."

"Really... Why is there music playing?"

"To-to set the mood," Keitaro stammered, now visibly sweating.

To Motoko, the sounds of "Candyshop" by 50 Cent created only a foul mood. She walked past Keitaro to where her sword was mounted. "Why did you have a pole installed?" she growled, her eyebrow starting to twich dangerously.

"It-it-it helps me with my stretching," a now frightened Keitaro replied.

Taking hold of her sword, Motoko turned on Keitaro, a chillingly sweet smile on her face. "One last question."

"Y-yes?" Keitaro was now feeling a strong urge to urinate, and he was glancing nervously at the door, mentally calculating if he could escape before Motoko fell upon him.

Her beautiful features twisted in anger, Motoko bellowled, "Why do you have a neon sign that says 'Champagne Room' in here?"

"K-Kitsune gave it to me," Keitaro squeaked faintly.

"DIE!"

At the outburst, Kitsune looked up from her glass of alcohol, shaking her head sadly.

"Now that he had coming..."

End Omake

Author's notes: I don't really have any notes for this chapter, actually.

To Plug – if you're reading this, kindly drop me an e-mail. I can't find you on ffnet anymore, and I wanted to ask you a couple things. Thanks.

Hawker-748 pre-read and kept me in check on characterization… which has to be a lot of work. Doesn't someone want to donate a copy of Love Hina to me for research? No? Sigh… didn't really think so…