Disclaimer: See Prologue

Love's Redemption: Chapter 5

Their pact of secrecy sealed with a handshake, Jake and Keitaro entered the dining area of the inn for breakfast. Shinobu had whipped up a fast but delicious meal, as usual. During the course of the meal, Jake noticed the table was significantly more quiet than normal. He glanced around the table, noting that everyone was trying to avoid his stare in some form or another.

Looking to his left and following a clockwise trail around the table, Jake looked at Kitsune, seated to his left, who had her eyes buried in her plate, munching away thoughtlessly. Next to her was Naru, who noticed Jake looking at her and returned his gaze with a weak smile, which Jake reciprocated. To her left was Keitaro, who was mindlessly poking at his food, eating it slowly. Su was seated to Keitaro's left. She was fidgeting around, trying to appear normal, which made her appear the most abnormal in the group. She usually was either inhaling her food down or playing with it. Motoko sat to Su's left, and she was the only one that appeared normal: she had her face buried in a textbook as per usual. Shinobu was next to the raven-haired ronin, and Jake noticed she was glancing around the table much like he was, as if expecting something to happen. Seated on Jake's right and Shinobu's left was Mutsumi, with her perennial smile painted on her face, quietly humming a nameless, indiscriminate tune between bites of rice.

Breaking the reverie, Mutsumi turned to Jake and asked, "Ara, when are your tryouts Jake-kun?"

Jake turned his attention away from the strangeness at the table to reply, "Three weeks from today, actually."

"Ah, I see," was Mutsumi's reply.

The pall of silence immediately returned over the dining area for another several minutes. Unable to bear the torture any longer, Jake finally spoke up, "Did someone die this morning? What's the matter with all of you?"

At once, the Hinata residents all replied, "What? Nothing! What do you mean?"

Except for Su, who asked, "Is 'die' tasty?"

And Motoko, who kept herself immersed in her textbook.

"You people are horrible actors," Jake murmured. "You guys are normally all rowdy and playful in the morning. But you are all acting weird, except for Motoko, who is normally frigid." This statement caused Motoko to lower her book slightly to glare over the top of it at Jake, who turned to her and grinned. Motoko scoffed and raised the book over her face once more. "So what's going on here?" Jake asked.

Everyone looked at each other for a moment before all eyes landed on Keitaro. "Um, I guess we can't keep any secrets from you, Jake," he said.

"You couldn't have made it any more obvious," Jake replied.

Keitaro rose and cleared his throat. "The thing is Jake, we want to throw a welcoming party for you tonight. We wanted to make it a surprise, but I guess we failed pretty miserably at that."

Jake's eyes widened in shock, his mind racing, "They would actually do something like that for me? Why? I don't plan on being here very long. There's no need for them to go through all that trouble. Besides, I'm not much for parties. Keitaro knows that."

"I appreciate the gesture, but you don't need to go through that much trouble for me. I'm not much for parties," Jake stammered nervously. Before he could speak another word, everyone around him simultaneously spoke in a cacophony of whining, wheedling and cajoling. Jake was immediately overwhelmed by 7 voices, 6 of which were female, complaining that he was no fun, or that they had spent the whole day yesterday planning the party, or whining that they spent an entire weeks' salary on sake, or plain calling him a bastard. "Geez, if I wanted to hear this, I'd just go home," Jake thought through the din. All he could do is put his hands in front of himself defensively and back his chair away from the table.

Keitaro, seeing that Jake was completely besieged, decided to be the voice of reason. He knew Jake best, after all. He waved his arms over the table, trying to get everyone's, in fact anyone's attention. "Hey, hey. HEYOy…oy, OY!" he finally screamed. The whining instantly stopped and all eyes fell on Keitaro. "He's telling the truth. He isn't really a party guy," Keitaro began. "In America we were invited to a lot of parties by friends and such, but Jake didn't really go to any of them. At least not after…never mind. Anyway, perhaps this was a bad idea."

Everyone looked at Jake again, and he hanged his head. The only thing he could say was, "Sorry, everyone."

Motoko stormed out without a word, and Kitsune simply threw up her arms and said, "Oh well, more sake for me, I guess," and followed Motoko out of the room.

"That's too bad," Mutsumi said in her usual lighthearted voice. "I thought things would get more exciting around here."

Su rose from her seat, stood right in front of Jake's face and said in plain English, "You suck!"

Naru gasped and exclaimed, "Su-chan!" Su simply giggled and ran from the room, Naru chasing her up the stairs.

Keitaro asked, "Mutsumi-san, would you mind leaving us for a minute?"

"Sure, Kei-kun," she replied. Before standing, she placed a delicate hand on Jake's shoulder and said, "I hope you change your mind. We could use some fun around here for a change." Jake simply looked at her hand resting on his shoulder, then her face. She just smiled at him and rose from her seat and left the dining room. Keitaro shut the door behind her and sighed heavily.

"What's wrong with me, Keitaro?" Jake asked. "A bunch of beautiful women, who for the most part are really nice to me, just asked me to essentially hang out with them, and I turned them down. What the hell is wrong with me?" Jake rested his elbows on the table and buried his head in his hands.

Keitaro walked over and sat across from him. "I think you already know the answer to that question, Jake."

Jake closed his eyes and exhaled deeply, running his hands through his hair. "Why is it always that?" Jake asked. "I'm getting sick and tired of it."

Keitaro nodded sagely and asked, "Have you seen anyone since?"

Jake shook his head and said, "It's hard."

"I wouldn't know," Keitaro said solemnly.

Jake continued, "What they planned for me is really nice, but I'm not planning on being here very long and I don't want to get attached. That's the last thing I need: another hard break."

"I wouldn't assume to understand your feelings Jake, but aren't you a little attached anyway?" Keitaro asked him. "They are starting to become attached to you. They don't throw parties like that unless they have accepted you as a part of their family here. Can you honestly tell me that you haven't developed feelings about this place?"

Jake's mind flashed back to the strange dream he had the first day at the inn, watching as Kitsune stood alone on the roof veiled in the dusk of early evening, Mutsumi saying she liked him on the roof, Shinobu's smiling face and excellent meals, Naru socking Keitaro in the face, Motoko glaring at him after she defeated Keitaro, and most recently, Su telling him that he sucked. He chuckled inwardly and admitted, "I guess you're right. I've already built relationships with everyone here, even though for the most part they are all wacky ones. I don't think I could forget anything I've experienced here."

A moment of silence befell the two men in the dining room. In the hallway, they could hear Naru say, "I've got you now!" followed by the sound of two falling bodies. Laughing followed by whooping and cheering emanated from the hall.

Both men looked at the door, and Keitaro glanced at Jake, who was grinning wide listening to the sounds emanating from the beyond the door. "I guess it is just a party," Jake said.

"Yeah," Keitaro responded.

"Ah, to hell with it. Let's do it!" Jake said with a grin.

"You sure?" Keitaro asked. Jake stood and replied,

"Yeah. I can't spend the rest of my life wallowing in my own grief. I'm sure she wouldn't want that. Besides, who am I to spoil a party when I'm the guest of honor?"

Keitaro nodded with a grin and stood up. "Shall we let them in on it?" Keitaro asked. With a curt nod, Jake walked toward the door with Keitaro in tow.

Before opening the door, Jake said, "Thanks, Keitaro."

"No problem, Jake. You were there for me, too," Keitaro replied.

With a grin, Jake threw the door open and said, "Hey, everyone." Before taking two steps into the hall both Jake and Keitaro saw a sight that stopped them dead in their tracks. Naru had Su pinned to the ground on her back. Naru was straddling her, trying to hold her arms down. Since both women were facing the doorway to the dining room, the two men had a healthy view down both girls' shirts.

Jake smirked, "Nice," with a cock-eyed grin on his face. Both women froze and slowly raised their heads to look at the two men now watching them in their compromising position. Su just smiled at them, but Naru, not quite as naïve, noticed Keitaro pinching his nose, blood dripping from his hand to the ground. She quickly glanced down and noticed she was showing quite a bit of cleavage and she looked back at the two men in unabashed anger, blood quickly rushing to her face. Jake and Keitaro surmised they were about to receive a beating and their expressions changed from one of delight to one of fear. "Sukebe!" Naru exclaimed, her face now burning red. Su just laughed in glee, as did the other residents overlooking the quickly deteriorating situation.

"RETREAT!!!" Keitaro exclaimed and he and Jake fell back into the dining area, slamming the door shut just before Naru's slipper crashed into it. They both braced the door shut with their bodies just as the door jerked partially open from Naru throwing her body into it. The commotion from the other side of the door was now even louder than when Naru first tackled Su.

BUMP "Are they cheering her on?" Jake asked.

BUMP Keitaro chuckled and said, "Sounds like it."

BUMP Jake laughed and said, "I guess we'll just tell them later."

"Sounds like a plan," Keitaro replied, returning Jake's laugh with one of his own.

After about 20 minutes of trying to break down the door to the dining room, Naru finally collapsed in defeat. Most of the other girls had long since given up cheering on Naru's attempted blood fest and were chatting amongst each other between loud bangs. After the bumping stopped for a few minutes, the dining room door swung open slightly, and a hand appeared, waving a white hand towel, piquing the interest of the girls seated on the sofas. They heard a muffled voice call out, "We surrender!" and Keitaro poked his head out and looked down, seeing Naru on her knees, panting heavily. From his vantage point, Keitaro could once again see straight down Naru's shirt, getting a clear view of the top of her breasts and the lining of her bra.

Naru glared back at Keitaro, not noticing her predicament this time. Keeping his composure, but still feeling extremely awkward, regardless of his relationship with her, Keitaro looked Naru in the face timidly, trying not to ogle her and, tugging at the collar of his shirt, he pointed down and said, "Er." Naru's eyes widened and she gasped before hastily covering herself up with her hands. She growled, lashing out before Keitaro could react, pulling him into the foyer by his hair. The door swung open widely and Jake watched in frightened amusement as Keitaro was thrown face first onto the hardwood floor. Naru pounced on Keitaro and began mercilessly slapping away at any part of his body not protected by his arms or the floor. The sound of raucous laughter echoed off the walls of the living area as everyone watched Keitaro get whipped by his girlfriend.

Naru roared, "If I didn't love you so much, I'd kill you, you sick pervert."

The residents seated on the sofas stopped laughing and "Aww"-ed at Naru's public display of affection. Naru froze, suddenly aware that they were being watched. Her face flushed with blood, she jumped off of Keitaro's back, giggling tensely.

Keitaro righted himself, fixed his hair and glasses and pulled Naru into a warm embrace. Jake watched as Shinobu turned her head away, Motoko looked down, and Kitsune fidgeted in her seat. "You really are a lucky bastard, Keitaro," he though to himself.

Su winced and stuck out her tongue. "Now that's not yummy." Mutsumi smiled and clapped her hands lightly, enjoying the sight of her friends together.

Jake sauntered into the hall and said, "Get a room you two."

The two lovebirds swiftly broke apart, and Keitaro pulled Naru over to the sofas, where they sat on the floor. Keitaro then said, "Go ahead, Jake."

Jake exhaled acutely and approached the others. "The thing is," he began, "about this party…"

Before he could continue, the others spoke over him: "Yeah, you wanna just gloat about being a ninny?"

"We get your point, you are just a reject."

"You owe me money for the sake."

"You SUCK!"

Jake and Keitaro waved their arms at them to stop and Jake said, "No, no, no, that's not it!" After a moment, their rumblings calmed. "The thing is, I didn't realize it was such a big deal to you all. If I had known that, I would have accepted your invitation in the first place."

Shinobu raised her hand shyly, requesting permission to speak. "Yes, Shinobu-chan?" Jake said as he motioned toward her.

"You mean you want the party now?" Shinobu asked, sounding as if she were excited, yet not quite willing to get her hopes up.

Jake grinned at her and replied, "Yeah."

A raucous cheer erupted from everyone except Keitaro, who, of course, had already known. Motoko asked, "But why didn't you accept our invitation when we first asked?"

Jake paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "I guess its because I don't really feel like I belong here right now. I'm only going to be here for about 3 weeks, so I don't want to impose on any of you or make you feel uncomfortable."

Kitsune lightly shoved Keitaro, who was seated on the floor beneath her and remarked, "He sounds a lot like you once did, Keitaro, except without all the peeping, groping and other perverted acts."

Everyone chuckled at Kitsune's joke and Keitaro said, "Yeah, that's what I told him!"

Su leaped to her feet and exclaimed, "I guess you don't suck after all, Jake!" Jake rolled his eyes and laughed.

Kitsune rose to her feet with a groan and said, "Well, someone needs to get him out of here while the place gets set up, and I would like to nominate myself. I need to get the tea shop opened."

Naru stood next and nodded, saying, "That sounds good, Kitsune. We need everyone else here to get it set up on time, anyway. Come on, everyone, let's get the decorations!"

"Hai!" everyone exclaimed in unison and they all stood and filed out of the great room.

Kitsune picked up her jacket and threw it on, quickly ran her fingers through her hair to throw it back and, with a smile, she looked at Jake and asked, "Shall we?"

Jake smiled weakly and nodded, not looking directly at her. He opened the door for her and motioned her to go first. As they walked down the stairs, Jake found himself glancing at her from the side. "Man, she's really good looking. And she's pretty close to my age…what am I thinking? I'm not here to pick up any of these girls. I'm here to get a tryout and, hopefully, a spot in some team's rotation. Besides, I'm not ready for anything like that yet." Jake shook his head in disgust at the demon sitting on his shoulder.

About halfway to the teahouse, Kitsune broke the silence, "They like you."

Jake, his attention broken from his thoughts, asked, "I'm sorry?"

Kitsune turned her head to look at Jake, "I said they like you. It's probably because you remind them of Keitaro when he first took over the manager position."

"What about you?" he thought to himself, but thought better of saying anything out loud. Instead, Jake remarked, "I remember him telling me you all hated his guts when he first came here."

Kitsune chuckled for a moment and responded, "Not really. We all understood…well, at least I understood, that he was just a victim of circumstance all those times."

Jake raised an eyebrow, "Then why the remark about him being perverted back there."

Kitsune flashed a toothy grin and said, "I just like to poke fun at him."

Jake stopped for a moment, watching Kitsune walk ahead of him. He looked her up and down and murmured in English, "You are really something."

Kitsune overheard Jake's remark, stopped and turned around? "Huh?" she asked, not able to understand what he said.

Jake realized he had spoken his mind again. "N-nothing. Let's get to the teahouse," he said, rushing to catch up.

At last, they arrived at the teahouse. After taking Jake's coat and offering him a seat at one of the tables, Kitsune opened the shop for business. Since the teahouse was usually slow in the morning, she prepared some tea and joined Jake, who was admiring the view outside of the teahouse, at the table. "Here," she said, putting a small cup filled with steaming hot tea in front of Jake.

"Oh, thanks!" Jake blew air into the cup, cooling the tea some before taking a sip. "That's some great tea, Kitsune. Thank you!"

She replied with a nod and initiated small talk, "So, what's your life story?"

Jake laughed at the surprisingly broad subject. "You don't waste any time, do you?" he asked.

Kitsune gazed around the teahouse before turning her eyes back to Jake and asked rhetorically, "Does it look like I have anything better to do right now?"

Jake grinned at her and replied, "I guess not." Kitsune leaned forward, resting her right elbow on the table, her head resting on her right hand.

Rasping his lips while exhaling, Jake began, "Well…" Over the course of the next several hours, a half dozen customers, 3 cups of tea and a handful of phone calls later, Jake told his story. He was born in New York. Not in the city, but in the northern suburbs. His early childhood was mostly normal, until his parents were divorced when he was six years old. Afterwards, he, his two sisters, Jill and Jane, and his mother moved to Phoenix, Arizona.

Times were tough being the only male in the household. He helped earn money by taking odd jobs until he was fifteen, when he could seek real employment. Working a full-time job eased the family's poverty, but his grades suffered. He wanted to quit school to help around the house, but his mother forced him to quit his job and she worked 2 full time jobs to support the family.

Thankfully, Jake found a talent that would net him a full scholarship to a university: baseball. He could throw. Hard. His high school baseball coach discovered his latent talent and gave him a starting position at the school's varsity team, where he excelled as a pitcher. The summer after graduation, he began his studies at Arizona State.

College life was no picnic either. He had to work part time, since he still needed money to live, despite the full-ride scholarship. He ended up working five different jobs and changing his major twice over his first three years in college. In his senior year, Jake needed an elective course and a basic anthropology course caught his eye. It was the first day in this class that he met Keitaro and Seta through his anthropology professor.

Jake was the only one in his class that knew Japanese so, instead of having them live out of a van, Jake offered to take Seta and Keitaro into his dorm while they stayed in Arizona for the next several months. His professor offered to give Jake an 'A' if he agreed to follow Keitaro and Seta around, translating for them and helping them during their digs. It would be a superb chance for Jake to study ancient cultures. Jake gladly accepted.

Jake and Keitaro, despite their differences, both physically and socially, instantly became best friends. Jake would take Keitaro out on the town during weekends. Keitaro would play catch with Jake or they would train in kendo together. Keitaro told him everything about everyone at Hinata and wished Jake could visit sometime. Jake even helped Keitaro pick out the ring he gave to Naru, as well as the presents he brought back for everyone, which earned him a smack on the arm from Kitsune when he told her. "We had all had more than a few drinks by that time," Jake explained, rubbing his sore arm.

After Keitaro and Seta left, Jake was in his last semester of college. He would graduate that fall, try out for a major league team, and live happily ever after. However, he found that "the majors" was a lot more difficult to achieve than he first thought. This is when he also discovered his fatal flaw. While he could throw in the mid to upper nineties, he had almost no control over his location. He set a school record for strikeouts, but also set records for walks and hit batsmen. This was not a good sign for recruiters, so they all wrote him off. He graduated with honors from ASU, but he was never selected in that year's draft. He went to an open tryout and was laughed off the mound.

All seemed lost until Keitaro called him several weeks ago. Jake lamented to him about his problems, and it was then that Keitaro mentioned to Jake about needing someone to come work for him at the inn. When Jake discovered Japan's open tryouts were in a month, he offered to take the job for Keitaro. Using the last of his college savings, Jake bought a one-way ticket to Japan. "…So here I am," he said with finality.

Kitsune nodded and asked, "What about your love life? You never mentioned any women in your story. Have you ever been in love?"

Jake smiled weakly before looking down into his now cold, half-empty cup of tea. He breathed deeply before returning Kitsune's gaze with a misty stare of his own. "That's another story, far too long to get into now."

Kitsune backed off, "Oh, sorry."

Jake shook his head vigorously, "No, it's alright. I just don't feel like talking about it right now."

An uncomfortable silence befell them before Jake perked up and asked, "What about you? I've been blabbering on about my boring life the past couple hours. Now it's your turn to embarrass yourself."

Before Kitsune could begin, a large group of people entered the teashop. "Looks like it's going to have to wait. It's going to get busy here," Kitsune informed Jake before rising to her feet.

Jake scoffed, "Figures…well, is there anything I can do to help?"

Kitsune pondered for a moment. "Yes, there is! Come on!" Kitsune tugged Jake by his arm out of his seat. For the remainder of the day, Jake helped Kitsune serve customers at the teashop.

Jake smiled as he held open the door for the last few customers as they filed out of the teahouse. After the final customer left, he flipped the sign on the door from "OPEN" to "CLOSED", shut it and locked it. He sighed, "Finally…I thought they'd never leave."

Kitsune chuckled at Jake. "Thanks for your help today. Business was much better than normal with you here. I might have to keep you around."

Jake backpedaled, "Oh no you don't. This is so not my gig."

Kitsune laughed at his defensive statement as she removed her apron, placed it one of the tables and ruffled her hands through her short hair.

"Ugh, I need a shower. Do you need a shower, Jake?" Kitsune asked in a sultry voice.

Jake raised an eyebrow in the direction of the shorthaired fox. Kitsune giggled. Jake realized she was playing a perverted joke on him. He snatched a rag from the counter and tossed it, hitting her in the arm as she raised it to protect herself. "Honestly, I have a shower upstairs. Would you like to use it?" Kitsune asked.

"Really?" Jake asked. Kitsune nodded.

"Sure, but you first," he offered.

"All right, give me 15 minutes," she replied before hiking up the stairs to her apartment.

Jake poured himself a glass of plain water and sat at a table. Moments later, he heard the shower upstairs turn on. As he waited, he watched as the sky changed from cerulean to an increasingly ruddy hue. He reflected upon the past few days of his life, wondering where fate would take him. What if he made it onto a team? For that matter, what if he failed again? What about the party tonight? Would other people show up? Jake had yet to meet any friends of the tenants. Would they like him?

Sooner than he thought possible, Jake heard the shower cut off. He took his time finishing his glass of water and rose. He stepped up the stairs leading to Kitsune's apartment cautiously and lightly rapped his fist on the door. "Kitsune?" he called out, "Are you decent?"

After a moment of silence, Jake tried the doorknob. It turned without resistance, and the door swung inward several inches. He opened the door slowly, peeked his head through it and asked, "Hello?" After more silence, he opened the door fully and stepped into Kitsune's bedroom, closing the door behind him. He glanced around the room, which looked like a typhoon had passed through it. Clothing and magazines littered the worn carpeting. The sheets on the bed were tossed about, half on the bed, half on the floor. Next to the door on his immediate left was a shelf lined from top to bottom with various brands and sizes of bottles of sake. Most were empty, but some still had their contents intact. "She's a lush," he thought to himself as he chuckled. Posters of various musical artists from Japan and abroad covered most of the walls. "Is she really 22? She lives like a teenager."

Jake's instincts took over as he began picking up Kitsune's floor, stacking her magazines in a neat pile near her bed and placing her clothes in her hamper, which was, of course, empty. As he leaned over to pick up one of her bras, the door to the bathroom behind him swung open, a blast of moist, warm air hitting him in the back. Kitsune stepped out of the mist, clad in only a towel, noticed Jake cleaning her room and gasped. Jake froze in place.

"What are you doing," Kitsune asked.

Jake shot upright without turning around to face her, "Oh, sorry! Force of habit."

Kitsune leaned against the doorjamb and said, "I meant to clean up the place a little after I got out, but it looks like you beat me to it."

Jake was still in a state of shock, expecting to get clobbered, "Y-you mean you aren't mad?"

Kitsune chuckled, "No, silly. In fact, could you hand me that bra?"

Jake glanced down, "You mean that one?"

Kitsune padded across the room to her dresser and said, "Yeah, that's the only one I've got right now that's not too dirty to wear. I need to get laundry done sometime this year."

Jake was careful not to peek at Kitsune since if she wasn't wearing a bra she was obviously topless. He bent down and retrieved the bra in question, shuffled over to where Kitsune was and held it out for her. She took it from Jake with thanks and said, "There's another towel in there. Go ahead and get in the shower. I've got everything I need in here."

"Thanks," Jake said. He turned around, and for a split-second, his eyes met Kitsune's. Her hair was damp, ruffled and matted from being dried with a towel. Water dripped from loose strands of her hair onto her bare shoulders. The fading light from her window silhouetted her soft, rounded facial features, but he could still see her smiling face clearly.

"Is something the matter?" Kitsune asked, tilting her head to one side.

Jake lowered his head. "No, it's nothing," he stammered, making a beeline towards the bathroom. He stepped inside and shut the door. He froze there for a moment, becoming aware of his rapid breath rate and pounding heart. His mind's eye flashed back to that instant. Her sparkling eyes, the light playing off of her hair, her smile. "That was the most beautiful thing my eyes have ever seen."

Kitsune sat on her bed, preparing to pull up a fresh pair of trousers. She paused for a moment and glanced back toward the bathroom door. "What was I thinking? Its like I was inviting him to look at me." She placed a hand over her chest, feeling her heart pounding. "What is this?" she asked herself aloud. "Could it be?"

Author's Note: A lot of people had assumptions about this story from the Epilogue. How do you feel about those assumptions now? ;-)

Sorry, had to re-upload due to typo extermination.