Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina it belongs to it's great creator and I thank him for the many hours of enjoyment his characters have given us.
Moonlit Comforts
Keitaro sighed. Standing at the bottom of the steps that led up to Hinata Inn he couldn't help but feel sad and frustrated. It had been two days since the incident with Naru at the hotel room, two days since he had walked out on her. He had spent the intervening time at a friend's apartment in Tokyo feeling unable to face Naru. Keitaro was still unsure how she would react to him now after what had happened, worse he didn't know how he would react to her. He didn't know if walking out on Naru had been the right thing to do, but there would be no running away forever. Keitaro had spent the last forty eight hours searching his own feelings and asking himself some tough questions about his relationship with Naru. He didn't like the answers. Heaving one final sigh Keitaro began to trudge slowly up the long staircase towards home. Above a crimson moon cast all in a soft red glow.
Sliding the door shut behind him Keitaro stepped into the darkened living room, he had postponed his return to avoid facing everyone out right. Keitaro wanted to be able to talk to everyone on a more individual level, plus he just didn't feel up to dealing with his tenants all at once. He just wanted to be back in his own room and get things back to normal. Of course there were the more practical considerations to coming home as well; his clothes stunk from two days of being lived in, he needed access to the books he had here for his classes, plus his friend Masaki's instant ramen was no match for Shinobu's cooking.
He might have gone to Mutsumi's, his usual source of comfort, but he had felt the need to extract himself from the situation entirely. Not to mention in his aggrieved state he wasn't sure he could keep himself under control around the ever tempting Mutsumi. Keitaro knew there were some lingering feelings and he was pretty hard on the rebound. No Mutsumi's had definitely been out of the question. He would find the time to go see her later, maybe after he had a chance to see Naru.
Right now though Keitaro just wanted to have a peaceful moment at home to himself. As quietly as he could Keitaro made his way to his room to find a clean change of clothes and headed to the roof. The upper most reaches of Hinata were a haven to the often beleaguered Keitaro, no one ever intruded upon his contemplations when he was up here. Perched on the edge of the roof over looking the nightscape of the tranquil town below Keitaro let his thoughts rise to the stars above. Up here, alone with his thoughts and feeling free of earthly constraints Keitaro always gained perspective. Here he seemed to be without his inherent clumsiness able to achieve a form of grace and wisdom he lacked anywhere else. It was as close to enlightenment as Keitaro was likely to get.
"What went wrong," Keitaro whispered to the empty night lost to his own inner turmoil.
Again Keitaro replayed the entire evening in his mind; The quiet train ride into Tokyo, their wonderful dinner together, and finally Naru's offer to stay with her. Will you stay with me tonight, he'd wanted to here those words for so long it made his heart nearly stop. Keitaro loved Naru, loved her with all his heart and soul. He knew Naru loved him as well but where he was open and honest with his love Naru seemed afraid. It had taken nearly losing him for her to finally admit she loved him, and even then she could grow distant at times. What was she so afraid of, Keitaro asked himself over and over again. How can I make it right. Theses questions consumed him more than anything, except for the last one. Why am I never good enough? Tonight even the stars and the light of a full red moon weren't enough to calm the storm of emotions swirling through him. Keitaro sunk down onto the roof shoulders slumped in defeat and despair. It was then he felt a soft, slender pair of arms wrap themselves around his shoulders in a comforting embrace.
He sat there against the wall his head bowed in pain surrounded by a carpet of paint chips and broken plaster. She stifled a gasp and reached out towards him from where she sat on the bed tears welling up in her eyes when he looked up. The look in his eyes, so filled with hurt and sorrow wrenched her heart. To know she was the cause of such pain caused her soul to buckle and nearly fold. At last when he stood up and began to walk towards her she called his name her voice ragged with a choked back sob. But he didn't stop, he simply walked out with one final plaintive glance back at her. It was that last look that finally caused her heart to shatter.
"Keitaro," Naru cried out the sound of her own voice waking herself from the dream.
"Keitaro, Keitaro, please come back," sobbing alone on her futon Naru pleaded with the darkness for the return of the one person who made her feel complete. Even now she could see that look in his eyes after she had hit him in the hotel room two nights ago, the image was burned into her soul. For two nights now she had relived the moment over and over again in her dreams until she awoke to find herself crying.
That she had no one to blame but herself made the pain that much worse. She would accept no consoling from her housemates, she knew she deserved to suffer for what she had done. Even the well meaning Mutsumi and the ever supportive Kitsune were rebuffed. Naru could hardly even face Mutsumi in light of what she had done to their mutual love interest. Deep down Naru was extremely jealous of Mutsumi and her relationship with Keitaro, the two were practically best friends and had so much in common Naru sometimes wondered what quirk of fate made Keitaro choose her. Maybe that was how things were supposed to be, Keitaro with the equally loveable Okinawan.
Of course Naru now also owed another apology to her best friend, as if hitting Keitaro weren't bad enough Naru had snapped had at Kitsune when her friend had come to talk about the incident. Of course Kitsune couldn't have known what had happened at the hotel so when the swaggering fox had entered room the morning after wanting to here all the juicy details Naru painted her a far different picture. Taking out my frustration on Kitsune wasn't such a good idea, Naru reflected now knowing how much trouble Kitsune could cause. And thus her problems continued to compound themselves and Naru was beginning to feel more and more hopeless.
Perhaps the truth simply was that Naru wasn't good enough to be loved like Keitaro loved her. It was a disheartening thought and one not easily dismissed. If they were meant to be together why was Naru still so afraid of expressing her love to the one man who held her above all else? Knowing the answers weren't coming to her in the dead of night Naru fell into a troubled sleep bathed in the light of a crimson moon.
Keitaro froze in shock as he felt a chin come to rest on his shoulders. He inhaled a sharp reflexive breath and his olfactory senses were filled with a strange mixture of tropical fruits and exotic smokes. Shock registered in his mind as he felt a slender form press itself against his back which was now rigid with tension. After years of living at Hinata Inn Keitaro was weary anytime a female form was in close proximity to him, to be otherwise usually invited swift and violent retribution from one of his various charges. Still Keitaro held his position knowing his inherent clumsiness could assert itself should he try to move in any way risking injury to not only himself but whoever it was that was currently embracing him.
Instinctively Keitaro knew it wasn't Naru, not only would she never be this forward after what had happened, and who ever was pressed against him was nowhere near as buxom as his well proportioned girlfriend. In fact of all the girls Keitaro watched over only Mutsumi or possible Kitsune had a larger bust line than Naru Narusegawa. Judging from the feel of the arms draped around his shoulders he ruled out the toned athlete Motoko who's grip was the match of any man thrice her size. The intoxicating scent of his companion let him check off a few more options in the realm of the sweet and shy Shinobu along with Sarah and his too affectionate sister. Even in her disguises Keitaro always knew Kanako by her distinctive scent which he had known since early childhood. Finally, thinking he was out of options his forward companion spoke while at the same time Kietaro finally noticed the full red moon smiling down on him.
"Say you'll never leave us," the soft voice of a Molmolian princess said brushing her lips against Keitaro's sensitive earlobe.
"I'm not leaving anyone," Keitaro said reflectively calming down now that he knew who it was, "I just needed some time to sort things out."
"And now you are back," came Suu's soft adult voice her lips still brushing his ear as she spoke, "We need you, all of us need you. Please don't leave again, it makes me afraid."
"You don't have to be afraid Suu," Keitaro responded still looking across the night time cityscape of Hinata, "I'm here for you and all the girls."
"Naru too," the question was unexpected and Keitaro was silent for a long time before he answered.
"I'm not sure if Naru wants my help," Keitaro answered at last, "She certainly doesn't need or want me, but I'll always be there for her if she ever wants me to be."
"Please don't say that Keitaro," the princess said sadly, "Naru loves you, we've all heard her cry out your name at night while you've been gone."
"Morning kicks to the face aside," Keitaro began, "Would you ever hit the man you loved like she hits me?"
"She's just afraid Keitaro," Su said stating the obvious.
"No," Keitaro said firmly taking her hands in his own to emphasize what he was going to say next, "Naru has nothing to fear from me, I love her more than life itself, but enough is enough. Either she loves me in return or she doesn't. I can't take any more of this, my body may be well nigh indestructible but my soul is not and I'm not sure it can withstand another blow."
"Then it's over," came a choked reply, Keitaro felt a tear run down her cheek which was currently pressed to his.
"It's not decided yet," Keitaro said rubbing his hands up and down her arms in reassurance, "We have to at least talk. I haven't come this far just to quit now."
"I'm glad then," the grown up Suu said, "All I want is for everyone to be happy and have fun together."
"Me too," Keitaro said somewhat wistfully looking up at the clear night sky dominated by a massive crimson moon.
They both shared the quiet night together for several peaceful minutes as the crickets chirped and the water of he out door bath sent it's ever present cloud of steam into the heavens. Keitaro was surprised he had been this open with Suu of all people but the more he thought about it the more he came to conclude she had been the perfect person to rescue him from himself tonight. Her innocent joy and simple love were refreshing. He was also glad he had been up here when they met, for some reason this place was blessed and Keitaro was freed from his earthly constraints and inherent clumsiness. This was also the only spot Suu ever took on her adult form even under the crimson moon. In fact her presence was so soothing he wasn't able to stop what came next.
Motoko woke at the sound of Naru's voice calling out in her sleep, a disturbing sound Motoko truly hoped wouldn't last much longer. Naru's ki was so deeply troubled it had affected Motoko's own and no amount of mediation had been able to correct the flow of her auras. Even though Naru had said nothing to anyone but Kitsune about what had occurred at the hotel in Tokyo there were no secrets at Hinata-sou . Right now Motoko was truly worried about two of her friends and the future prosperity of the Inn turned dormitory. Always filled with a pleasant energy the last couple of days had left the entire building feeling depressed, even the walls seemed to sag a little.
Although the others might not be as sensitive to it everyone was being affected by what was going on with Naru and Keitaro. Motoko still harbored some lingering issues and doubts of her own where Keitaro was concerned but seeing Naru in a state of such abject depression squashed all thoughts of playing up to the resident landlord. If anyone needed the former Ronin it was surely Naru. Of course the other girls needed Keitaro but that was on a more basic level. Everyone in their own way had come to rely on Keitaro, even Motoko herself, who had no use for any males whatsoever. It was odd to think that it took just one person to affect them all, one person to hold everything together. Keitaro truly was the glue that held them all together.
Sitting up on her futon Motoko closed her eyes and let out a small sigh, She felt the returning presence of the absent landlord and hopefully with his returned ki life might get a bit more back to normal. Glancing out the window absently before settling back to sleep Motoko noticed two things. One Suu was gone and two there was a huge full moon hanging low in sky smiling at her with it's cherry red face. Shaking her head Motoko got out of bed and pulled on a warm robe over her normal sleep wear to go find Suu before anything happened.
Motoko was used to this by now, three years of watching after the younger girl when she went through her odd change had prepared her for what to do next. Sliding open her door Motoko silently padded down the hallway heading for the roof. Suu would be up there by now playing haunting tunes on that strange string instrument she used. All it would take to change her back normal was a soft reminder of where she was and who was there for her. Motoko had done this several times before but it never ceased to amaze her how much of an impact the young foreigner had on her life. Even Motoko admitted it was an odd relationship.
Of course the whole thing had started after Motoko's arrival at Hinata. No one had the energy of patience to deal with Suu's hyperactive personality not to mention the sheer fortitude it took to sleep within six feet of her. With her calm demeanor and ability to remain virtually unfazed by any sort of physical challenge Motoko was the perfect counter point to Suu's endless energy. And so the odd friendship began and blossomed into an almost sisterly relationship. A true case of opposites attracting. Motoko smiled to herself, though she would never admit it, she was glad Suu was there to brighten up her life and add some levity to her usually serious demeanor. With this thought in Mind Motoko climbed the stairs towards the landing near the roof.
"Good evening Kanako," Motoko greeted seeing the younger Urashima standing on the landing looking towards the roof, "What brings you out here at this hour."
"What," Kanako blinked turning in surprise towards Motoko, "What were you saying."
"Nothing relevant," Motoko responded, "You haven't seen Suu by chance have you?"
In response to this Kanako merely lifted her arm and pointed towards the roof. Making up her mind that she would have to see and obviously dazed Kanako safely back to her room after retrieving Suu Motoko turned her eyes towards where Kanako was pointing. She gasped.
Sitting there on the roof of the old Inn were Suu and the missing manager of Hinata locked in an embrace Motoko only imagined when she was writing one her romance stories. Suu was pressed against Keitaro's back her arms wrapped around the Tokyo U students' upper torso kissing him in a way Motoko could only imagine two people deeply in love with each other could. Now she knew what had Kanako so flabbergasted. Motoko drew the Hina blade.
"Urashima!" was the last thing Keitaro heard before the impact of Ki swept him off the roof and upward to add his own spot of light to the night sky.
Author's Note
First off I'd like to thank all the reviewers from the first chapter, I'm so glad to see such a response to the first chapter. Anyways here is chapter 2 and I hope it's just as well received. I'm hoping to update more often but my time is limited (damn work EQ2). I know there's not much lemony material in this chapter but have no fear future chapters will more than make up for things. I hope I had adult Suu not too terribly OOC but I don't have much source material to work with when writing her up but I so wanted to use her for this chapter. Well, that's it for now hope you enjoy. Don't forget to review it makes my day, Keep 'em coming
Smack54