Chapter 2

The Aftershock

(The next day)

Shinobu wanders the hallways of the Hinata dorms, thinking about what had
happened the previous day.

'Did that really happen,' she thought to herself, 'or was it just a
dream?'

She wanders down the stairs to the living area and sits on the couch. Her
mind is still on previous events, and she doesn't notice that Naru has
walked into the room and has sat next to her.

"Hey Shinobu," she says.

"Oh…hey…" Shinobu says kind of startled.

"Um…Shinobu, can I ask you something?" Naru asks, "Have you noticed
anything strange about Keitaro here lately?"

Shinobu sits there silent for a moment as her mind wanders back to
yesterday's events.

'So it really did happen…' she thinks to herself.

"No I haven't," she replies after a moment fazing back into the
conversation.

Naru adjusts herself on the couch to where feet and legs are on the couch as
she sighs. Shinobu turns to face away from her, unable to tell her the truth.
Naru has always loved Keitaro. All of the residents of the dorms can see that.
She is just too stubborn to admit it thought.

"He just kinda seems a little distant from me since yesterday," Naru
says, "and you know how he usually is around me…that perv."

"Maybe he's just sick or doesn't feel good," Shinobu says,
pondering.

"Maybe…" Naru says as she gets up, "Well, anyways, thanks for
talking to me Shin, I really appreciate it."

Shinobu turns to her giving a fake smile, "You're welcome."

Naru walks out of the room as Shinobu turns back to her original position on
the couch.

'What have I done?' she asks herself, 'I do want to be with Keitaru
but I don't want to hurt Naru...'

She gets up and walks to her room, grabbing a towel. As she arrives to her
room she looks down at her doorstep only to find that Keitaro's notebook is
sitting there. She notices the note on it.

To: Shinobu

I drew some more pictures of you and I thought you might like them. Well, I
hope you like the gift.

Love, Keitaro

She stands there, staring at the one word that he had never said or even
mentioned when it came to her…love. She opens the book to find the pictures of her. As she flips through the

book, she finds the final page. Her eyes widen as a light blush comes over her
face. It was a picture of Keitaro holding her in a loving kind of way. His
arms were wrapped around her as if he would never let go.

'Keitaro…'