Disclaimer: On chapter 1.

Love's Redemption: Chapter 7

Two weeks after the party, Jake continues avoiding Kitsune. Her unintended revelation, though seemingly ridiculous since Seta is married to Haruka, troubled the young man. He has not been caught alone with her for any extended length of time since that evening. He fails to realize however, that Kitsune has no recollection of muttering her old crush's name, although she did experience a vivid dream about him that night.

On a more positive note, Jake has since formed solid relationships with all of the other tenants, Motoko included. He managed to help Shinobu with her homework, go out for tea with the Toudai-seis, and has been a guinea pig for a number of Su's wacky inventions. Motoko has warmed up considerably, greeting Jake with courteous smiles and polite words.

With his tryouts just around the corner, Jake has been blind to how much things have changed in the short time since he arrived. Keitaro hardly ever gets Naru-punched or blasted by one of Motoko's chi attacks anymore since Jake took over as manager, as he no longer has the opportunity to stumble out into the hot spring to clean it while the girls are bathing, or slip into one of the bathrooms while they are occupied. Mutsumi no longer lavishes so much attention on Keitaro, giving his relationship with Naru room to blossom. Instead, she prefers to exert her flirtatious mannerisms onto Jake, much to his and a few of the others' chagrins.

The sun was shining with nary a cloud in the sky, birds were chirping, and the sakura were beginning to blossom all over. In front of Hinata Sou, Jake and Keitaro were playing long catch. Despite outward appearances, Keitaro was actually quite proficient at the activity.

"Only a week left, eh, Jake?" Keitaro asked, throwing the baseball back to Jake.

"Yup," Jake replied, backing up a step and moving to his left slightly to catch the ball.

"You nervous?" Keitaro asked.

Jake smiled and tossed the ball back to Keitaro, hitting his outstretched glove dead in the center. "Ask me again in a few days."

Keitaro reached back to throw the ball to Jake, but he paused when he heard the footsteps of someone running up the stairs to the inn. Shinobu's head appeared from the stairway, and she sprinted past both men, running into the inn without greeting either of them. She appeared visibly shaken, as if she had been crying.

Jake glanced at Keitaro with a concerned look on his face. "I guess we're done for now," Jake concluded. Keitaro nodded and they both followed after Shinobu.

Naru was relaxing on one of the sofas in the main hall reading a book when the front door suddenly slammed open. Naru reflexively flinched and watched in concern as Shinobu ran by her and up the stairs without saying a word, sobbing heavily. "Shinobu-chan, what's wrong?" Naru asked as the young teen ran by, to no avail.

Jake and Keitaro followed soon after. Naru, drawing conclusions as usual, leapt to her feet and waved a fist in Keitaro's direction. "Up to your old tricks again are you?" Naru growled.

Keitaro put his arms out in front of himself and shook his head fervidly. "N-n-Narusegawa, don't be ridiculous."

Jake slipped his sandals on and stepped into the common room, dropping his glove onto the table. "She ran right by us too. I wonder if something happened after school today?"

Naru dropped her fist and glanced over at the staircase with a concerned expression. "Let's go find out."

A minute later, the trio stood outside Shinobu's room, glancing at each other. Naru finally stepped forward and sighed, "Oh all right." She hesitated for a moment after she heard the muffled sound of Shinobu weeping into a pillow from beyond the door. Naru inhaled slowly, then rapped her hand on the door lightly and called out Shinobu's name.

Instantly the bawling stopped, replaced by the sound of ruffling sheets. "Just a moment, please," Shinobu called out from beyond the barrier. Her voice was shaky, as if she were trying to act like her normal, cheery self. But she failed miserably. Even a stranger could hear the pain in her voice.

Naru glanced back at the two men who were standing there, patiently looking on. After a moment, the sound of footsteps approaching Shinobu's door reached the trio's ears, and they fidgeted nervously. The paper doors slid open a foot, and Shinobu popped out from the opening. Her uniform was rumpled on her body and there was an obvious tearstain on her sweater, just below her chin. She had a trained, fake smile practically painted on her face. Unfortunately, her act could not belie her eyes, which were puffy and reddened.

"Yes?" she asked in her most bubbly voice, but with a stuffy nose, it sounded more like someone was pinching her nose closed as she spoke.

Naru placed her hand on Shinobu's shoulder, rubbing it slightly. "Are you okay, Shinobu-chan? You've been crying."

Shinobu shook her head briskly in denial. "No, I haven't."

Keitaro stepped forward. "We all saw you as you ran in, Shinobu-chan. Is there anything we can do?"

Her attempted bluff smooth-called, Shinobu drew inward, visibly embarrassed. Giving Keitaro one last glance out of the corner of her eye, Shinobu slammed her door shut, new tears pouring forth as her crying began again. The three could hear Shinobu run back to her bed and flop back down onto it.

Naru turned around and smiled at the two men. "You boys mind waiting downstairs? I'll find out what's bugging her. It's probably some girl thing anyway."

Nodding in agreement, the two men sulked away as Naru announced herself before letting herself into Shinobu's room.

Jake quipped up, "Is she normally this sensitive?"

Keitaro shrugged. "She is pretty sensitive. But I've only see her hurt like that once before."

Naru spent the first five minutes in Shinobu's room consoling her as she wailed mercilessly into her pillow. After Shinobu finally began to calm down, and becoming confident that she was capable of responding, Naru asked her, "Did something happen at school today?"

Shinobu slowly sat up. Naru offered a tissue, but Shinobu took the whole box from her hand. After wiping her tears from her eyes and blowing her nose, Shinobu took a deep breath and mustered a response. "It's just silly. I don't even know what I'm crying about. I'm just being stupid."

Naru chuckled at Shinobu and nodded her head knowingly. Shinobu, slightly annoyed, asked, "What's so funny Narusegawa-sempai?"

Naru knelt before Shinobu's bed, her eyes gleaming. "So what's his name?" she asked, her voice dripping with glee.

Shinobu went into her patented panic mode. "W-w-what are you t-talking about? What do you mean by that?"

Naru stood up and pointed a finger a Shinobu. "It's obvious. You are having boy trouble!"

Shinobu gasped, placing a hand over her mouth. "How did you know?"

Naru chuckled haughtily. "I went through the same type of thing with Seta-san. I guess you confessed to this guy and he shot you down, huh? You want me to kick his ass for you?"

Shinobu shook her head briskly at Naru, who was shadow boxing an imaginary opponent. "It is not quite like that! The thing is…" Shinobu's voice trailed off.

Naru lowered her hands, furrowing her brow. "What is it then? Are two guys fighting over you? Yeah, and the one you like more lost to the other guy, so now you have to date a sleazy grease ball of a man, because you made a promise to date whomever won!" Naru stared off into the distance with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Stop making up stories!" Shinobu shrieked. After a heavy sigh, she said, "Some boy confessed to me today."

Naru gasped. "Really? That's fantastic! Is he cute?"

"Yes."

"Is his family nice?"

"I guess so."

"Does he have money?"

"How would I know!?"

"When are you going out?"

"We're not…"

"Why not?"

"Because I like someone else!"

"Who is it? Some hunk a grade above you I bet!"

"URASHIMA-SEMPAI, OKAY?"

Shinobu realized immediately that she let the cat out of the bag. She slammed her hands over her mouth, her eyes gaping open, her whole body frozen in place. She stared in horror at Naru, deathly afraid of what she might do in response.

Naru stood frozen in place herself, momentarily surprised by Shinobu's sudden and emphatic confession. She knew, like everyone else, that Shinobu had an enormous crush on Keitaro. Well, everyone but Keitaro, since he was such a dunce. Fortunately, Naru was able to recompose herself. Speaking in an understanding tone, Naru said calmly, "I know, Shinobu-chan."

Shinobu's hands dropped from her mouth, which stood gaping wide. "You knew? How did you know?"

Naru giggled at the blur haired teenager and ran a hand through her short hair. "You couldn't make it any more obvious if you just came out and confessed to him in front of everyone."

Shinobu hung her head. "So, everyone knows then?"

Naru knelt before Shinobu, so their eyes met. "Everyone but your crush."

After a moment of silence, Naru asked the inevitable question, "Are you going to confess?" Shinobu closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Why not?" Naru pondered.

Shinobu looked Naru in the eyes, her vision blurred by fluid forming in her tear ducts. "Because I already know his answer."

Naru could only watch as Shinobu fell back onto her bed, crying new tears of longing. Naru understood Shinobu's predicament perfectly. Shinobu was in love with Keitaro, but her love was unrequited. Although it was painfully obvious, her crush was completely ignorant. It was a perfect reflection of her old crush on Seta. A twang of guilt pierced Naru's heart as she recalled she is currently dating the man Shinobu is so desperate for.

Naru sat next to Shinobu, gently rubbing her back. "I'm so sorry, Shinobu-chan." Naru began tearing up as well. She looked upwards to compose herself, wiping the quickly forming tears from her eyes with her free hand.

Shinobu squirmed over to Naru and hugged her around the waist. Between heavy sobs, she asked, "I'm so jealous of you, Narusegawa-sempai. And I hate myself for it. What should I do?"

Naru concluded immediately that just telling her to confess would be ineffectual. However, keeping such a secret to herself was obviously wearing on the teenager's heart. There was only one option.

"I think you should try going out with him," Naru told Shinobu, giving her several reaffirming squeezes.

Shinobu blanched. "W-w-with Urashima-sempai?"

Naru laughed and shook her head. "With 'him'. The guy who confessed."

The color returned to Shinobu's face. "But I don't really feel the same way about him that he feels about me."

Naru explained her reasoning, "Shinobu-chan, I understand your situation perfectly. I've been there. But I learned something a while back. There is no such thing as a perfect guy. There is only the perfect one for you. You are holding out for something that is not meant to be. And everyone deserves a chance at love. I'm sure you can understand. If you think about it, the guy that confessed to you is going through the same thing you are."

Shinobu had never heard that line of reasoning before, but it made perfect sense. A number of potential suitors had proclaimed their adoration for her in that promenade after school, but she had turned each one of them down. For the first time, she realized that she was inflicting the same kind of pain she was feeling herself.

The proverbial light clicked on over Shinobu's head. She could learn to love another man. If the man was already in love with her, the battle was already half over. She wouldn't have to worry about the way he feels about her. She decided to take Naru's advice.

"I understand you perfectly, Narusegawa-sempai. I'll ask him tomorrow," Shinobu said, positively beaming at Naru.

Naru returned Shinobu's smile. "I'm so glad to hear it, Shinobu-chan. Feel better now?"

Shinobu wiped the last of the tears from her eyes and nodded. "Thank you very much for helping me. I think I have the courage now."

Naru asked, "The courage for what?"

Shinobu's cheeks reddened as she spoke, "The courage to tell sempai how I feel. I already know his response, but I feel that I need to tell him how I feel before I let him go."

Naru smiled at the young girl, her eyes going misty one last time. "Thank you, Shinobu-chan."

The two young women stood and shared a warm hug before Shinobu excused herself to wash her face. Naru went back downstairs, noticing Jake, with his face smeared with banana, was chasing Su around while Keitaro observed, laughing. Naru approached Keitaro from behind and slipped her arm around his waist.

"Everything okay, Narusegawa?" Keitaro asked. Naru simply smiled and nodded.

Jake was fleeing from one of Su's mecha-tamas when Shinobu reappeared with her normal, cheery demeanor. She approached Keitaro and asked, "Sempai, can I speak with you for a few minutes?"

Keitaro glanced at Naru, who released her arm from him and nodded in approval. "Sure Shinobu-chan. Are you feeling better?" Naru scooted Jake and Su outside, letting herself out as well, leaving Shinobu to speak with Keitaro privately.

Shinobu stared into Keitaro's eyes for a moment. A concerned expression on his face, Keitaro asked, "What is it, Shinobu-chan?"

Shinobu closed her eyes for a moment, steeling her nerves. She refocused her eyes back onto Keitaro, and began her confession: "Sempai, I…"

Shinobu was correct in assuming Keitaro's reaction. He was highly flattered, but of course, he could not return her affection. This did not sadden Shinobu, at least in front of Keitaro. She simply told him what she needed to say and left it at that. Afterwards, in private, Shinobu wept her final tears for Keitaro.

Shinobu kept her word and went on a date with her classmate who confessed to her. Naturally, when the tenants met the young man, they disdainfully warned him against trying anything…extracurricular, including a particularly colorful threat from Motoko involving the boy consuming his own testicles.

Shinobu's life turned a corner in a positive direction. She became increasingly extroverted, quickly acquiring new friends, who often came to visit Hinata Sou. No longer afraid to speak to others, she began to acquire a male following. Her grades also began to improve, the young woman finding it easier to study and take notes without being sidetracked with dreamy thoughts about her sempai.

It's been a week since the incident known as "The Confession". That day triggered a life change for Shinobu. Today will trigger a life change for the new manager. Today is the day of the tryouts for the Yomiuri Giants.

It was an early morning for Jake. Actually, it had been a long night that continued into the morning. He couldn't sleep. His eyes were closed, but his mind's eye remained opened, offering his drained consciousness little rest. A million scenarios played out in his mind. Most of them were negative, such as forgetting his glove or his cleats. However, some were sublime, giving him courage.

Weary eyed but confident, Jake took a seat at the breakfast table, smiling at his onlookers, who glanced at him through their peripheral vision. "Morning" he said in greeting, snatching himself a plate from the middle of the table.

The tenants responded to their manager with half-hearted replies. Jake looked at each of the residents, each of them seemingly trying to avoid making eye contact with him. "What's the matter, everyone?" he asked.

Keitaro, keeping his head down, replied, "We don't want to interfere with the zone."

Jake chuckled at their concern. "You guys are making me more nervous acting all weird like this. Please, just act normal."

Everyone's expressions softened, but they sat there in silence, at least until Shinobu entered, carrying this morning's breakfast, the usual raucous cheering accompanying her presence. "Good morning, Jake-san," Shinobu said, placing two large platters filled with assorted foods on the table. "Did you sleep well?"

"Not even a wink, Shinobu-chan," Jake told the young woman, his voice dripping with cheery sarcasm.

Shinobu adopted a quizzical look as she reached behind her back to remove her apron. When she saw the dark circles under Jake's eyes, she got the joke. "Ah, I'm sorry."

As Shinobu sat, chuckling at herself, Motoko asked, "Will you be all right, Jake? You look exhausted."

Jake nodded at the ronin, musing, "I'll be fine. I figure it like this: I'll either be so tired that I won't be able to think, which will help, or so tired that I won't be able to pitch."

Mutsumi leaned forward, tilting her head towards the American. "And what if you can't pitch, Ja-kun?"

Jake chuckled and shrugged. "Then I don't make the team, I guess. At least it would be because of fatigue and not because I can't pitch even when I am fully awake." Mutsumi could only nod and smile at the American's strange wisdom.

Kitsune, who had been busy filling a plate with food, turned to Jake and replaced his empty plate with the one she had been filling. The pair smiled at each other sheepishly. "Thanks," Jake said appreciatively. Kitsune nodded back at him.

Jake continued to watch Kitsune as she hummed a random tune, serving herself with Jake's formerly empty plate. "I wish I knew what you were thinking," Jake thought to himself.

After swallowing a bite of breakfast, Keitaro asked, "What time do you need to be there, Jake?"

Jake snapped from his thoughts and looked down at his wristwatch. It said 8:12. "Three-thirty," Jake replied.

Keitaro nodded and said, "We should get going pretty soon after breakfast then. It's quite the drive out there."

"Yeah," Jake replied, picking idly at his plate. He didn't feel very hungry.

Naru noticed this and produced a small bottle of pills from her purse. "Here, Jake," she said, tossing him the bottle.

Jake reacted just in time to catch the bottle before it smacked him in the forehead. Glancing at the labeling, but unable to decipher it, he asked, "What's this?"

Naru responded, "They'll help your appetite. You need to eat, you know."

Jake thanked Naru and swallowed three pills from the bottle with water. He then tried his best to eat as much as his stomach would allow.

Twenty minutes later, Jake finished the last of the food on his plate. Naru winked at him and said, "Told you so."

"We should get going, Jake," Keitaro said, getting to his feet.

Jake slapped his thighs and sighed deeply, nodding his approval, although apprehensively. "Here goes nothin'," he muttered.

Keitaro pulled the van out to the front of the inn, where the tenants wished Jake good luck. Jake threw his bag into the back seat of the van, shut the door and turned to face the girls, wringing his hands. "Thanks for everything, everyone. Hopefully after today, you won't have to deal with me too much longer," Jake told them.

"Here we go!" Keitaro belted out after Jake stepped into the passenger seat. The girls cheered and waved goodbye as Keitaro put the van into gear and promptly drove down the stairs leading back to town, the hubcaps flying off the tires as if the van were a grenade that just detonated.

Motoko sweatdropped at Keitaro's unorthodox driving and asked, "Will they be all right?"

Naru chuckled and nodded. "He hasn't killed me with his driving, so Jake should be fine."

Keitaro pulled the now severely crippled van into the baseball field parking lot. It gave one last sputter and stalled. "Nice, Keitaro, remind me to call a cab for the ride back," Jake said, stretching and rubbing his neck.

Keitaro laughed and said, "I'll have it fixed up by the time we leave. Just go out there and show them what you can do."

Jake stepped out of the van, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. Closing his eyes, he slowly emptied his lungs. Opening his eyes again, he nodded at Keitaro and headed for the field.

The field appeared more like a Roman coliseum than a baseball field behind Jake's eyes. Large, muscular Japanese men loitered around the outfield grass, stretching their limbs like gladiators preparing for mortal combat. As Jake passed, some of the men glared at him as if he was their next opponent to slaughter to become champion of the games. If looks could kill, he would have been roasted on the spot.

Many of the men were much taller than Jake was, painting a completely opposite picture in his mind than what he was expecting. During his stay in Japan, almost all of the people he had met were shorter than he was. He was expecting the same at his tryouts, but it was not to be.

Keeping his head down to avoid any glares, Jake walked towards an empty spot on the field, sitting down to begin stretching. As he performed his leg stretches, his eyes scanned the field. There was a spattering of Americans also there to tryout. "At least I'm not alone," he thought. But he realized he was still deep in enemy territory.

It appeared the pitching tryouts had already begun, since there was several people watching a young Japanese right-hander throw pitches to the plate. Jake watched as the pitcher missed his location several times. A shorter, middle-aged man, obviously a scout, turned away and dismissed the pitcher angrily. Jake winced and shook his head at the young man's tough luck. "I'd better hit my spots," he thought, clenching his jaw.

Jake stood and shook his arms out, beginning his pre-toss warm ups. While stretching out his left shoulder, Jake noticed a Japanese man jogging in his direction. The man slowed as he approached Jake more closely. The man bowed slightly several times nervously and asked Jake in broken English, "You, uh, throw ball? Warm up?" With that, the young man produced a baseball and mocked throwing it at Jake.

Jake smiled at the man, who stood an inch shorter than he, with disheveled dark hair and a sincere smile. Jake bent over to get his glove and introduced himself in Japanese, "Sure. My name is Jake. It's a pleasure to meet you." Jake extended his right hand.

The man blinked in shock for a moment before recovering. "You speak Japanese. That's great!" Shaking Jake's hand, the young man introduced himself, "I'm Ichigo. It's nice to meet you." The awkward introduction aside, the two men began playing catch to warm up their throwing arms.

After about 10 minutes of throwing, a teenaged boy dashed over to Ichigo and muttered to him a few words that Jake couldn't hear. Ichigo threw the ball back to Jake and told him, "I guess I'm up! Thanks a lot!"

Jake caught the ball and called out, "Good luck," as he watched Ichigo dash to the infield. Jake sat and watched Ichigo take infield practice with several scouts watching him. He also took batting practice between pitching tryouts. Jake smiled as the scouts nodded in approval of Ichigo's hitting ability. It seemed like he might have a spot on the roster, or at the very least an invite to Spring training.

After Ichigo left the field, pumping his fist and greeting his family with hugs, Jake saw the same teenager that approached Ichigo headed in his direction. Jake quickly got to his feet and bowed at the young man. "Jake Robertson?" the teen asked, peering at Jake.

Jake nodded, "Yes."

The teen marked a sheet of paper with a pen. "They are ready for you now. Please hurry over." The young man bowed politely before rushing off to another player. Jake steeled his nerves and sauntered toward the mound.

The two scouts glared in Jake's direction, muttering something to each other under their breath, as he approached. Jake inwardly cringed. "Whatever that's about, it can't be good."

Without even a greeting, one of the scouts pointed toward the mound, gesturing for Jake to get up there straight away. Jake complied immediately, not wanting to get even further under the scouts' skins.

A catcher at the plate threw Jake a baseball. Jake caught it and rubbed his hands over the ball to warm it up to his body temperature. Stepping back onto the rubber, Jake raised his glove into a set position over his face. He glowered over the glove, his eyes staring into the back of the catcher's glove. Jake closed his eyes for a moment to focus. "Just hit your spots, and you'll be fine. You can do this. Just like you've done a million times." The tension melted from Jake's shoulders and his body relaxed as he reopened his eyes and focused them back onto his target.

"Let's go!" the scout barked. On queue, Jake put up one finger toward the catcher, indicating he was throwing his fastball.

Jake went into his windup: He looked down as he turned his body, watching as his left foot planted on the front edge of the rubber. Certain he had his footing, Jake looked back at his target, raising his right leg as high as he could. Pushing off the rubber with his left leg, Jake pulled the baseball from his glove, preparing for his delivery. His right foot hit the ground parallel to the catcher's glove, perfectly positioned. Jake twisted his hips, using the power stored from his lower body for his pitch.

As his upper body came toward the plate, Jake ripped his throwing arm forward and loosed the ball, watching as it sailed towards the plate…

Six Hours Later…

Su plopped her rump onto the floor in disgusted boredom. "Where are they?" she whined.

Motoko sat more gingerly onto a sofa. "They should be here any minute now. Relax."

Kitsune put her legs up on the table and sighed. "It's about time. I'm ready to get the party started."

Naru chuckled and nudged Kitsune playfully. "When are you not ready to party?"

Mutsumi, who had passed out only moments before, removed the damp cloth from her head and sat up from her lying position. "Did I miss anything?"

Shinobu assisted Mutsumi in sitting up and offered her a hot beverage. "No, Mutsumi-san. Here, drink this."

After several minutes of mindless chatter, the girls froze when they heard the sound of Keitaro's van pull into the parking lot. Su bounced to her feet. "They're back!"

"I'll get the liquor," Kitsune said, pulling herself to her feet and dashing to the kitchen.

Mutsumi watched in delight as the girls scattered around, preparing for the men's entrance.

The girls lined up in front of the door, grinning and nodding at each other.

After a few moments of tenuous silence, the front door slid open, revealing a somber Jake.

The girls recited their practiced line, "Welcome back, Mister Professional Baseball Player!"

Jake stood flabbergasted as Su released confetti over him, Mutsumi hung a lei on his neck, Naru forced a cigar in his mouth, and Kitsune pushed a glass of sake in his hand. Motoko, of course, looked on stoically, shaking her head and smirking at the meaningless festivities. Shinobu turned the stereo on, signaling for everyone to join her.

Keitaro entered and cringed when he saw the girls pushing Jake into the house. "This isn't good," he thought.

Jake objected as the girls forcibly pressed him into the room to dance. "Stop, guys, please," he said meekly. Modesty getting him nowhere, Jake belted out, "Stop!" At once, the girls froze in place, the only sound coming from the speakers blaring out some Japanese pop song.

Keitaro rushed over and turned the stereo off. Jake hung his head and said, "There's no need to do this."

Kitsune cocked her head in Jake's direction, "What do you mean? Why not?"

Jake sulked over to the table, put his glass of alcohol on the table, removed the lei from his neck and dropped it to the floor.

Naru peered over at Keitaro, who responded by shaking his head at her.

Jake flopped onto a sofa and buried his head in his hands.

Motoko stepped toward where Jake sat and asked, "Should you not be happy right now?"

Motoko was taken aback when Jake raised his head, seeing tears forming in the corners of his eyes. He stared Motoko dead in the face and said pitifully, "I didn't make it."

Author's Note: Whoa, it's been a while between updates. Better late than never, I suppose. Most of my time is still going towards Hajime no Keitaro, but as that story begins to reach its conclusion, I'll be spending more time developing this story. Please continue to review and let me know what you think.