-Ten-faced Paladin
Love Hina Redux By Ten-Faced Paladin Chapter 10: Eve of Goodbye (Part 2)
Keitaro stood on the sidewalk, considering his next move. He wasn't quite sure what to do next.He had a few stops to make and he knew that they weren't going to wait for him. So he just went on his way. He went into several different places and came back out with bags filled with his purchases. After his wallet was considerably lighter, he was carrying a huge bag filled with the things he had gotten.
"Okay," he smiled. "That should about do it."
He placed the bag down and managed to fish out his exam results. He looked at them again just to be sure he hadn't gotten it wrong. When he first saw it he was afraid that he might have gotten the wrong results or something, but he was proven wrong when he managed to find his name on that piece of papaer.
"I'd never thought I'd get this mark," Keitaro laughed. "I mean, 62. Who would've thought that I could do that."
He put the paper away and managed to get a look at his watch. His eyes bugged out as he saw the time.
"Oh crap!" Keitaro gasped. "If I don't get home they're going to kill me!"
He quickly picked up the packages and began running down th street. He was probably going to be late for the party Kitsune had planned. No doubt she was going to make him pay for that.
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Back at Hinata House, the party was in full swing. Kitsune had set of the Christmans crackers and everyone was digging in to Shinobu's cooking. Su had actually managed to get the cork off a bottle of champagne, causing it to fizz everywhere. Even Motoko seemed a little into the celebrations. She at least smiled a bit.
Out by a tree, Keitaro was hiding in it's branches. He had all the things he bought wrapped in a large bag. He had bought the girls gifts, but he handn't gotten a chance to wrap any of them except for Naru's. That little chore was done because the store he got it from did it for him.
'Okay,' he sighed inwardly. 'I have to get these presents inside so I can wrap them. The only problem is that I can't let the girls see me or else they'll want them now. I guess I'll have to sneak in.'
As he made his way down the tree, he could actualy hear the girls talking about him.
"Where do you think Keitaro went?" he heard Kitsune ask. "I told him to come home early, but he hasn't shown up yet."
"Do you think he's okay?" Shinobu asked worriedly.
"I bet he failed," Naru remarked. "He's probably already heading home and was too ashamed to tell us."
'You're all heart Naru,' Keitaro sighed, feeling a littl hurt.
Keitaro crawled out to the branch that ledto the balcony near his room. He had some wrapping paper in there and he could actually make it there easily. He had the hood of his jacket over his head to help him blend into the darkness. He checked each side of the hall before slowly climbing to the edge of the branch, reaching for the balcony.
'Hey this went easier than I thought it would,' he smiled. 'I guess my luck held out tonight after all.'
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Back at the party, Su had just finished eating the last leg of chicken and Kitsune gulped the last drink.
"We're out of food Shinobu!" Su called.
"We're out of drinks too," Kitsune added.
Shinobu turned from where she was putting away some dishes.
"Don't worry," she smiled. "I'll go fetch something."
She walked up the the third floor where Kitsune had stashed some of the desserts that she had bought. It was proving to be a very nice Christmas Eve after all. She only wished that Keitaro could be there to enjoy it with them. She turned the corner to where Kitsune's room was and she suddenly stopped. There, climbing in through the balcony was a man in a black jacket with a hood hiding his face.
"Kyaaaa!" she screamed. "A thief!"
Keitaro turned and saw the screaming Shinobu. He instantly gulped.
"No! Wait!" he began, but Shinobu was already down the hall. "Oh I am so dead."
He reached to remove his hood when Motoko came from around the corner that Shinobu just retreated from.
"A thief on Christmas Eve?" she asked with a growl.
Keitaro tried to sputter something to let them know it was him, but she had already drawn her sword.
"You will pay for your crimes!" she cried with deep angeer in her voice.
She unleashed a slash at Keitaro, which destroyed a section of railing and a chunk of the floor in the process. Keitaro swiftly dodged and tried to put some distance between himself and Motoko. If he was going to have any chance of revealing who he was then he would need distance to go it.
That thought came to a crashing halt when he saw Naru standing at the other end of the hall. She looked just as mad as ever. He skidded to a halt in front of her and leaped off the balcony and onto the overhanging roof.
"Stop villan!" he heard Motoko shout.
Keitaro looked down and saw Motoko racing across the property to try and catch him.
"Will you jst hold on a sec?" Keitaro shouted to her. "It's me..."
He was cut off as he suddenly felt a complete lack of ground below him. He looked down and found that he was falling into the river behind Hintat House.
"Crap!" Keitaro managed to spit out before he slpashed into the river.
The girls all looked to here the apparent thief had escaped.
"He got away!" Kitsune growled.
"He's a good one," Motoko nodded.
"Why would a thief come to Hinata House?" Shinobu asked timidly.
Naru sighed and shook her head, "That was no thief. That dork was none other than Keitaro Urashima."
"What?" the others gasped.
"Why would Sempai have to sneak in?" asked Shinobu.
Naru looked out to where Keitaro had fallen into the river. The answer seemed pretty obvious.
"He probably failed his exam," Naru sighed. "Remember that bet he made wiht his parents? He was probably too ashamed to see us."
"Really?" Kitsune frowned. "Then I'm going to look for him."
"I will too," Shinobu nodded.
"Why bother?" Naru sighed. "His dream has been pretty much ruined now. Bringing him back would only make it worse. If we really care about him then we should at least help him give up."
Kitsune and Shinobu looked down while Motoko reluctantly nodded. Su just seemed to not understand the seriousness of the situation and just darted between everyone childishly. Just as they finished speaking, Haruka came walking around he corner. She had heard the whole conversation.
"I wouldn't do that just yet," she smiled. "I just got off the phone with Keitaro's folks."
"Oh yeah?" Kitsune frowned. "They feeling smug right now?"
"Actually no," Haruka continued to smile. "Keitaro called them earlier and told them his exam score. 62."
"What!" all the girls gasped.
"Yup," Haruka nodded. "You have to admit that his time here has helped out with his grades. I also can tell that if he left, you'd all be sad about it. So if we do care about him then why are we still here?"
"That's right!" Su giggled. "let's go!"
"Besides, if he froze to death in a ditch it would kinda be your fault for chasing him into the river in the first place." Haruka smirked
Shinobu and Su immediately headed for the front door with Motoko and Kitsune close behind. Naru was bringing up the rear when Haruka caught her shoulder.
"By the way," she said handing Naru a wrapped gift. "Keitaro must have dropped this. I found it in the hall. It's got your name on it."
Naru took the gift and looked at the tag. It had a small letter attatched to it. She quickly opened it and read it over.
'Dear Naru
I want to apologize about the mean things I said to you. It's just that I was really hurt that you didn't trust me enough to not do something like reading your diary even though you've known me for close to three months. It kind of hurt. I just want this argument to end and to be friends again.
-Keitaro'
Naru took a deep breath and tried to keep calm. The tears at the corners of her eyes kind of betrayed her emotions. Haruka took a look and smiled while patting Naru on the shoulder.
"Come on," she smiled. "Let's find that nephew of mine."
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Keitaro slogged his way dow the streets. He still had the bag of presents with him. He was feeling pretty down though. The one he got for Naru was missing. The others weren't damaged. Luckliy getting wet didn't ruin them.
"Not one of my best ideas," Keitaro sighed. "I shouldn't have disguised myself. They all really freaked."
Keitaro kept going along, even though there was snow on the gorud, he didn't feel terribly cold. He finally stopped and looked at his surroundings. His eyes widened as he found a very familiar building.
"Tokyo U?" he asked. "Just how did I end up here?"
He walked onto the grounds and just explored for a minute while thinking about the situation. He pondered about the promise he made so long ago and also on his current situation.
'Well, the front door doens't seem so bad anymore,' he thought. 'Might as well get going and see if I can get these presents in.'
He turned around and headed for the sidewalks again when he saw someone familiar walking toward him.
"Kitsune?" he gasped.
"Hey stud," she smirked.
She walked over the keitaro and stared at him through her squinted eyes for a second. She then promptly flicked Keitaro right between the eyes.
"Ow," Keitaro grimaced. "What was that for?"
"That was for making me worry," Kitsune smiled. "And this is for being okay after all."
She then trapped Keitaro in a tight embrace. Keitaro was stunned for a moment, but he soon returned it. The two of them shared each other's warmth for a moment before they broke off the hug.
"Now, care to explain your little daredevil stunt?" Kitsune asked.
"Well," Keitaro smiled. "I was actually trying to sneak in some presents I got you girls so I could wrap them. Of course, Shinobu caught me and the rest is history."
Keitaro rubbed the back of his neck. He then reached into the bag he had been carrying and pulled out a bottle of sake that he had gotten her.
"I knew you liked sake and soap opera's but I didn't know what kind so I went for the premium stuff," Keitaro smiled. "I hope you like it."
Kitsune took the bottle and read the label. He eyes then widened as she gasped at her gift.
"Keitaro..." she began. "W-where'd you get this? This stuff is famous!"
"Haruka pointed me in the right direction," Keitaro shrugged. "I take it you like it?"
Kitsune smiled at Keitaro with her eyes open again, "I love it. I guess I should give you something in return."
"Well, you don't have to," Keitaro shrugged, a red tinge coming to his face.
"Of course I do," Kitsune smiled, her eyes squinting again. "Now just close you eyes."
"Uh..okay," Keitaro replied uncertainly as he obeyed.
He waited for a moment and nothing happened. He was about to open his eyes again when something cold smacked him in the face. He quickly wiped it away to see a giggling Kitsune and remnants of a snowball in her hands.
"Oh this means war," Keitaro laughed.
The two of them quickly engaged in a snowball war. They both ran all around the area, hurling snowballs at each other. Some of them were solid hits while others were way off. They were both soon out of breath and kneeling on the ground.
"Think we should head home?" Keitaro wheezed.
"I guess," Kitsune smiled. "All the food's there after all."
Keitaro stood up and helped Kitsune to her feet. As they left, Kitsune looped her arm around Keitaro's. The boy in question blushed at her actions. Kitsune had a similar tinge to her face.
"I-I'm just cold. No big deal," she replied.
"S-sure," Keitaro nodded.
They finally got back to Hinata House and everyone was waiting for them. Su jumped up and down in a frenzy with some special food she had made. Shinobu already re-heatedsoem leftovers. Motoko seemed somewhat happy to have them back, but she was sneezing from the cold. Naru solemnly walked over to Keitaro while wearing the watch the he had given her.
'That's where it went,' he thought to himself.
Naru looked to Keitaro and took a deep breath before talking again.
"I kind of read your note," she spoke. "I guess you're right. I should have trusted you a little more. I figured you wouldn't do that sort of thing. I'm sorry I overreacted."
Keitaro smiled, "Good to hear. Come on. Let's get something to eat."
Su imediately leaped into the fray, "Keitaro, Keitaro! Have some New Year's dishes. Special Indian flavour too!"
"Urashima," Motoko spoke from her seat. "Try not to repeat this behaviour would you? There is enough of Hinata House to fix from just the first time."
Keitaro laughed, "No problem Motoko. Won't happen again."
"It had better not," Motoko smiled. "You are our landlord after all. I wouldn't do for you to just leave. That would bve irresponsible."
Haruka watched the party from her position near the table. Her cigarrete was still in her mouth and a smile on her face.
"Some silent night," she smirked as she took another drag.
To Be Continued
A/N: Aha! There we go. The chapter is finished. I hope you guys weren't waiting too long for this update. I guess the Keitaro/Kitsune fans will really like this. The two of them get to have a special moment at long last. Notice how Keitaro was somewhat as clumsy as he was in the manga. I hope that someone appreciates it. I decided to give you guys this second update in one day. Hope you like it.