Disclaimer on Chapter 1
Love's Redemption: Chapter 11
"First things first," Jake said, displaying a devious grin. He reached out with blinding speed and clutched at Shinobu's arm, eliciting a yelp from the teenager. He trapped her in a headlock and rumpled her hair. "That's punishment for tricking me," he said as he released the girl, who was stricken with a fit of giggles.
"Shinobu-chan should be an actress," Keitaro said. "I could never get you to believe anything, Jake."
"That's only because you couldn't lie to save your life. You're terrible at it," Jake replied.
The man accompanying Kitsune broke through the group, which had formed into a small circle. Jake noticed the man was wearing a rather expensive-looking suit, and his hair was well groomed. He looked entirely out of place for such a casual get-together. "Excuse me," he said rather eloquently. "I don't believe we've had the honor," he said as he reached out with his hand, looking at Jake with a piercing stare.
Tension filled the air for a moment as Jake paused briefly before answering. "Oh, yeah, hello there," Jake said, taking the man's hand and giving it a firm shake. The man reciprocated with one equally as firm. "The name's Jake Robertson."
"Kentaro Sakata," the man replied glibly. "It's a pleasure to finally meet the man I've heard so much about."
Jake smiled. "Well, it can't all be true. You can't believe everything you hear from these crazy people."
"We're not that bad, Jake," Naru interjected with a twinge of annoyance.
"Quite the contrary," Kentaro smoothly said, "Kitsune has told me nothing but good things about you."
Jake stole a glance at Kitsune, who was engaged in some light-hearted conversation with Su, who seemed to be attempting to cajole the woman into something. "So you're her…?"
"Ah, yes. I'm courting the young lady at present," Kentaro said off-handedly, but Jake could tell intuitively that he seemed quite proud of that fact. "Speaking of which, if you'll excuse me," Kentaro added, bowing ever-so-slightly before returning to Kitsune's side.
Jake stared at Kentaro's back as he walked slowly to Kitsune's side and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She smiled up at him and the pair kissed. Jake was vaguely aware of his right hand balling into a fist.
"Hey Jake, you mind helping me in the kitchen for a minute?" Keitaro asked, noticing what was going on.
Jake snapped back to reality immediately. "Yeah, sure," he stated, slipping past Motoko's shoulder and through the door to the kitchen. Jake took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to calm himself. What was it about that guy that got him so worked up, he wondered.
Keitaro slipped into the room behind him. "I just need a hand with all these drinks," Keitaro said, noting the massive amount of beverages on the dining room table lacking homes in a mountain of empty paper cups.
"Was this much really necessary for so few people?" Jake asked, suddenly feeling quite tired after looking at the oversized stock of liquid refreshments.
"I don't really know," Keitaro admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. "Kitsune insisted on this much. She said," Keitaro paused and gave his best impression of Kitsune's voice as he could muster, "a dry party is no party at all."
Jake chuckled. "I guess she would. You open, I'll pour?"
Keitaro nodded, and the duo dove into the work of moving the beverages into cups for the guests.
Jake and Keitaro worked silently for a few fleeting minutes before Jake's curiosity got the better of him. "So what's the deal with that Kentaro guy, anyway?" he asked.
Keitaro smirked. "I was wondering how long it would take for you to ask that. He's not a bad guy, if that's what you're asking. He's a student just like the rest of us here."
"What's with his 'tude?" Jake asked, taking a moment's pause to adjust a few cups that were perched precariously on the edge of the table.
"Oh, that's just the way he is," Keitaro said with a shrug. "To be honest, though, it is kind of weird, now that I think about it."
"What's weird?"
"Well, he was chasing after Narusegawa for the longest time until he inexplicably gave up on her," Keitaro said thoughtfully.
"And this was while you were already in the picture?" Jake asked. Keitaro nodded in the affirmative. "Are you sure that's not because you were chasing after her and he decided not to get involved in a competition over some girl?"
"I don't think it's quite that simple," Keitaro said. "He had a game plan on how he was going to capture her heart and everything. It was something he obviously planned out, but it didn't really work the way he thought it would."
"So what you're saying is you think he turned his attention to Kitsune," Jake surmised.
"Yeah, but it doesn't really make too much sense. It's been a couple of years since that whole mess happened with Narusegawa. Why did they suddenly hook up out of the blue like that?"
Jake shook his head and shrugged. "You would know the answer to that question better than I would."
"You could always get it straight from the horse's mouth," Keitaro said, glancing sideways at his American friend.
Jake snorted. "That's coming on a bit strong, don't you think?"
Keitaro turned the cap on another unopened bottle of soda, and it gave up its extraneous gas with a satisfying hiss. "If the situation were reversed, that's what you'd tell me to do, am I right?"
Jake laughed. "I'm not quite as forthcoming as you think I am. Besides, she seems happy. I don't want to meddle in things that aren't any of my business."
Keitaro frowned. Jake was obviously in denial, and he saw through his façade clearly. Obviously, it was going to take more than a few pokes and prods to help his friend find his true feelings.
Rather suddenly, Naru entered from the party area. "Alright boys, the party is out there, not in here. What's the hold-up?"
"Sorry about that," Jake apologized. "We were just taking care of a few things here."
Naru ogled the mountain of cola and other assorted beverages. "I think that's quite enough drinks for now, so why don't you just come out and mingle? This is your party after all."
"Sure," Jake said, excusing himself. "You coming?" he asked Keitaro.
"I'm right behind you," Keitaro said, staying put.
After Jake left the kitchen to raucous applause from the other partygoers, Naru asked her boyfriend, "So how did he take it, you think?"
Keitaro scratched the back of his head and shrugged. "It's hard to tell. He's a difficult one to read."
Naru exhaled mightily. "What is that girl thinking, anyway?"
"Beats me," Keitaro replied. "Should we go out there before people start wondering what happened to us?"
Naru turned red in the face. "What's that supposed to mean? You think people will think that you and I…?"
Keitaro held his hands out in front of him and shook his head. "That's not what I meant at all!"
"What did you mean, then?" Naru asked, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at Keitaro threateningly.
"Well, that is, you know," Keitaro stammered unable to find his words. Naru put the thought in his mind, and now he could not escape it.
Naru turned on her heels. "I knew it, you are a pervert after all," she huffed, storming out of the room.
"Damn it, Keitaro," Keitaro angrily grumbled, slapping his own forehead. He really needed to get his wayward thoughts under control if he was ever going to take the next step with Naru.
The party went off with only a relatively small number of hitches, one being the lover's quarrel between Keitaro and Naru. It took a few minutes of Kitsune consoling Naru in private to get her to calm down, and when the pair returned from Naru's room, Naru went immediately to Keitaro and apologized, giving him a hug and a kiss, drawing plenty of hoots and hollers from the party's other guests, much to her chagrin.
Jake was jovial around everyone except Kitsune, around whom he just could not be comfortable. It was impossible to relax while chatting away with her new boyfriend looming over them, so their conversation was shallow and aimless.
Several hours into the party, Kentaro announced rather grandiosely that he would be making his departure from the premises. Much to Jake's chagrin, Kitsune left with him, draining much of the life from the party.
After everyone did their very best to completely destroy their vocal chords with a few rounds of karaoke, the party wound down as each girl retired to her room one at a time, until Jake was left alone, lounging on the sofa. He glanced about the room, taking note of the abundance of trash littering the tables, chairs, and floor. "Tomorrow," he said aloud for no one to hear except himself. He closed his eyes, and within a matter of moments he drifted into slumber.
The sun barely cracked over the horizon when Jake awoke with a stiff neck courtesy of his makeshift bed. Sitting up with a groan, he decided that as much as he wanted to crawl upstairs and sleep for another few hours, if he left the room the way it was when his tenants woke would be a disgrace to him as a landlord.
An hour later, the room was at least presentable, though still imperfect. Waving his arms in a dismissive gesture, Jake shuffled tiredly up the stairs, letting out an impressive yawn. The room no longer was a disaster area, and he could always finish cleaning later. It was time to pick up the whole place anyway.
Jake heard the sounds of muffled voices coming from next door when he reached his room. His interest piqued, he approached slowly, quite certain it was Keitaro and Naru "playing around" again in Keitaro's room. An impish grin crossed his face as he got close enough to hear what was going on beyond the mostly closed doorway to Keitaro's room. Obviously, neither of them had heard Jake approach the door as the two continued about their business.
"Is it okay, Naru?"
"Y-yes, just be gentle."
"Here I go, then."
Jake furrowed his brow. They sounded like a couple straight out of a dating sim game. He had to suppress a laugh at the thought of the two bumbling fools trying to figure out what goes where.
Without warning, Jake suddenly heard the following happen within the course of one second: Naru yelled "Baka," a thump of bone striking flesh, and a terrible crash of shattering glass as Keitaro likely was thrown through a window at near the speed of sound.
Jake acted on instinct when he fled the scene, trying to make as little noise as possible during his retreat. When he reached the stairs, he turned on his heels and ran back towards the scene of the crime, no longer bothering to keep quiet. Putting on his best "concerned voice", he rapped on the door a few times and called out, "Is everything okay in there?"
"Uh, j-just a moment, please," Naru called out from beyond the portal. Jake quickly stole a glance through the crack in the door. Naru was frantically trying to make herself presentable, smoothing out her skirt and shaking her other hand through her disheveled hair, apparently trying to make it appear less matted from lying down.
Naru moved towards the door and Jake immediately averted himself away from the crack in the door. He steeled his nerves, putting on his best face as Naru threw the door open and asked nonchalantly, "Hey, what's up?
Jake bit down hard on his tongue to keep a quickly approaching belly laugh in check. Naru's visage easily belied her casual greeting. Her hair remained a ragged mess; the remains of her lipstick were smeared all over her mouth, and her clothes here badly wrinkled. Topping it off, she was panting heavily and her face was flushed a deep shade of red. Keitaro must have been doing something right, after all, Jake thought.
"Is everything okay in here? I thought I heard you yell "baka" and then a window broke or something."
Naru tried to giggle away her nervousness. "Everything is fine, Jake. You must be hearing things."
Jake clenched his teeth, but he could feel his abdomen begin to shake. "Where is Keitaro? Didn't he come back with you?" He tried to glance past Naru into the room, but she pulled the door close to her body to block his view.
"Nope, I haven't seen him at all since class."
Jake nodded sagely. "Come with me," he said, and started down the hallway.
Naru protested immediately, but Jake snatched her by the hand and dragged her out of the room. Upon reaching the second floor bathroom, he flipped the light switch on and motioned towards the mirror before leaving the girl to her devices.
Naru did a double take at her reflection, her jaw hitting the floor. As Naru cried out in agony at the beautiful mess staring back at her in the mirror, Jake rightly began to laugh until his sides hurt.
Jake was sworn to secrecy, as Naru mercilessly threatened his naughty bits should word of that incident leak to the other tenants, especially to Kitsune. It was not as if he was going to tell anyone anyway. As far as he was concerned, it was hardly a big enough deal to get worked up about in the first place.
In the end, however, his promise to Naru was short-lived, as there was one person he desperately needed to consult about the issue, lest his bankroll suffer dearly for all the repairs required to the place whenever something went awry.
Jake cornered Keitaro after his return to the premises approximately thirty minutes after his launch through his own window. Jake followed his friend to his room to assess the damage to the window frame, a couple of cans of cola in hand for the two of them. After cracking open his can and taking a swig, Jake asked, almost rhetorically, "How are things going between you and Naru lately?"
The nervous reaction Keitaro expressed made it perfectly obvious to Jake that he was still thinking about their little tryst earlier in the morning. "Everything is fine, Jake. W-What do you mean?" Keitaro replied, putting on his best face.
Jake grimaced. Keitaro was an even worse liar than his girlfriend. "I saw, or rather, heard what happened earlier," Jake admitted, scratch idly at this cheek.
Keitaro's face turned red and he held his arms out in front of himself, trying to ward off any accusations. Jake laughed at Keitaro's extreme reaction. "Relax, Keitaro, I'm not Motoko, you know. I'm not going to toss you out another window here."
Keitaro's shoulders slumped. "I know, it's just," Keitaro stumbled over his words. Jake could tell he was both confused and frustrated.
"It's what?" Jake asked calmly.
"Embarrassing," Keitaro replied, hanging his head.
"Of course it is," Jake merrily said with a laugh, much to Keitaro's chagrin. "What the hell were you doing that made her react like that in the first place?"
Keitaro shrugged, keeping his eyes lowered to the floor. "I didn't do anything, really. Every time I, you know," Keitaro motioned with his hands for emphasis, "she just freaks out and tosses me off."
Jake snickered at Keitaro's interesting choice of words. With a long and loud sigh, he leaned back with a knowing smile. "Would you care for some advice?"
Keitaro turned his head to one side. "Well, it has been getting pretty frustrating if you know what I mean."
"I can imagine," Jake replied, nodding sagely.
"So, yeah, I'd appreciate any advice you could give me," Keitaro said sincerely. "I know you have a little more," Keitaro tilted his hand side to side, as if struggling to come up with the right words, until a comfortable word came to him, "experience than I do."
Jake paused to take another long pull on his can of cola before beginning his monologue. "Okay, when it comes to being with a woman, there are two simple rules: first, having confidence is absolutely critical. Fumbling around like a junior high student is not only going to get you laughed at, it's a real turn off. Second, it is not just what you do, it's how you do it. Take your time with her. She isn't going anywhere, and you shouldn't make it seem like you are in a hurry to get to the goods." Jake, wondering why Keitaro was so remarkably silent, glanced over his direction, and saw he was quickly scribbling notes in a small note pad. Jake reached over and smacked the note pad out of his hand. "What the hell are you doing? It's not like I'm going to test you on this stuff later!"
Keitaro apologized, "Sorry, force of habit."
"Anyway, I have an idea," Jake concluded, motioning Keitaro closer so he could whisper to him. "Here's what you do…"
"Well, he is a guy, after all, Naru," Kitsune replied matter-of-factly, snatching up another freshly cleaned teacup and wiping it dry. Her best friend sat slumped over a nearby table, lightly banging her head against it in sheer frustration.
"I don't know what my problem is, Kitsune. It's just…" Naru threw her hands up in the air.
"You feel weird with someone like him being your first, right?" Kitsune asked, leaning against the wall as she continued her work.
Naru snapped to attention upon hearing Kitsune's question. "How did you?"
Kitsune chuckled knowingly. "I know how you feel, Naru. It was like that for me too." Letting out a sigh, Kitsune added, "It's like that for most people."
A nearby teakettle howled for attention, it's whistle drawing Kitsune away from her current task of drying dishes. Kitsune placed the trappings of two settings for tea on a platter and joined her friend. As she poured the finished product into two teacups, she asked, "So where are you supposed to be right now?"
Naru placed her cheek on her hand to rest her head and answered blandly, "Shopping."
Kitsune harrumphed. These happenstances were becoming more common as Naru and Keitaro's relationship grew. Something unfortunate would happen, and Naru would come crying to her for advice. It put her in a bit of a predicament as well, considering she had never been in a significant relationship such as theirs, and finding answers to Naru's questions was becoming more and more of a chore. However, physical relationships were something she had plenty of experience with.
The look on Naru's face told Kitsune what was wrong better than words ever could. "He's scared too, you know," Kitsune said, placing a reassuring hand on Naru's shoulder.
Naru smiled halfheartedly. "I know, but…"
"You love him, right?"
After a short pause, Naru replied with a nod.
"You want to be with him forever, right?"
"Yes." There was no apprehension in her voice.
"So, you really don't have anything to be afraid of, do you?"
Naru shrugged. "I guess not."
Kitsune's ole' light bulb illuminated. "I have an idea."
"What do you mean, Kitsune?" Naru asked, backing herself away from the table instinctively. Whenever her friend got that look on her face it was never a good sign for the people around her.
Kitsune snatched Naru by the hand, pulling her to her feet. "W-where are we going, Kitsune?" Naru asked.
Leading her up the stairs leading to her apartment above the teahouse, Kitsune replied, "Come on. I have something for you." Kitsune dragged her friend into her apartment and shut the door behind her.
When Kitsune threw the deadbolt, locking the pair in the room, Naru knew she was in big trouble.
Night fell over the Hinata apartments, bright moonbeams striking through the coalescing fog rolling through the town below. Jake swung open the front door to the building, and a rush of crisp spring air rushed through the portal, sending a chill down his spine. He noticed immediately that Keitaro, who had been pacing around the area outside the structure, still marched to-and-fro like a patrolling soldier.
Shinobu, fresh from cleaning the kitchen after dinner, leaned against the doorjamb opposite the foreigner. "What's wrong with Urashima-sempai?"
"You'll understand when you get there, Shinobu-chan," Jake answered, not bothering to look at the wistful-looking teen.
"He's going for it with Narusegawa-sempai, isn't he?"
Jake nodded immediately before doing a double take at Shinobu. Her witty, adult inquiry left Jake in awe. He never expected that kind of response from the seemingly innocent young woman. "Wait, what are you talking about?" he asked defensively.
"I'm fifteen-and-a-half, Jake. You don't have to treat me like some naïve child," Shinobu replied, turning away from the door.
Jake smirked at the teenager. He needed to give her more credit, quite obviously. She was finally growing up. However, he decided to keep to himself that adults generally refrain from adding halves to their ages.
Shinobu turned and walked away from the scene, muttering, "It's about time."
Jake watched the girl as she climbed to the second floor, before shaking his head quickly and turning back to Keitaro, who was still pacing around like a British royal guardsman. "Waiting around like this won't make her come back any faster, you know," Jake informed him.
Keitaro stopped suddenly, letting Jake's wisdom sink in before responding. Keitaro turned and walked past Jake into the building and dropped himself onto a sofa with a rather loud sigh. "She's been gone for almost four hours. This isn't like her at all."
"Did you try calling her cell phone?" Jake asked, taking a seat across from his counterpart.
"She's not answering. She either forgot it or isn't answering me."
They pondered for a few moments before the sound of two giggling girls coming from outside reached their ears. Keitaro rushed to the exit, looked outside and saw Naru picking herself up from the ground, while Kitsune was laughing so hard she had her hands on her knees to brace herself. Both women obviously had a good amount of alcohol in their systems.
"Where the hell have you been?" Keitaro asked like a disappointed father.
Kitsune squinted at Keitaro and responded, "Ah, Keitaro-kun. I, uh, borrowed your girlfriend for a bit." Naru giggled at Kitsune, who responded by putting a finger to her mouth, in plain sight of her onlookers. Whatever secret they were trying to hide was pointlessly exposed already.
Keitaro placed his hands on his hips. "I don't know what is going on here, but you had be worried sick, Narusegawa."
Naru wobbled over to Keitaro and leaned into him, lewdly pushing her breasts into his chest. She toyed with a lock of his hair and apologized, "Sorry, Kei-kun. We just had some things to talk about…over a few drinks of course."
This response elicited a sharp laugh from Kitsune, who was having trouble keeping her own balance as well. Jake, ignoring his actions the previous evening, rushed over to keep Kitsune from breaking her own neck. The fox braced herself before squinting at her rescuer. Her breath reeked of cheap liquor, causing Jake to turn his head and cough. "Man, you are totally wasted."
"I haven't had that much, Jake," Kitsune replied with a crazy giggle.
Meanwhile, Keitaro was trying to help Naru into the building, but she kept stumbling over her own feet. Keitaro resolved the situation by picking her up and carrying her into the building. Naru winked and gave a thumbs-up to Kitsune as the couple disappeared through the doorway, which Jake saw as plain as day. "Go for it!" Kitsune exclaimed, cheering Naru on.
"What did you do, Kitsune?" Jake asked accusingly. He already had a good idea, but he wanted to hear it from the horse's mouth.
Kitsune straightened herself up and shrugged her shoulders, letting herself into the apartment building. Jake followed close behind, as Kitsune dragged herself up the stairs to the second floor, asking his question again. Kitsune snapped at Jake to quiet him and, showing more dexterity for her condition than Jake would have ever given her credit for, tiptoed very quietly to his room and let herself in.
"What the hell?" Jake asked to nobody in general, his only choice of action to follow the shorthaired woman into his own room. When Jake entered, he noticed Kitsune pressing her ear against the far wall. She motioned for Jake to join her. He sighed deeply. What else could he do? He moved next to her and joined in on the eavesdropping. Jake trained his hearing onto the muffled voices beyond the wall.
"You did all this for me?" Naru asked.
"Yes."
"This is really romantic, Keitaro."
"Thanks. I would do anything for you."
A moment of silence caused Kitsune to snicker to herself. Jake cocked half a grin. The line was cheesy, but it seemed to be working. The voices continued after a minute.
"So you're saying you want to express your feelings for me physically, right?" Naru asked with her usual threatening tone. Jake frowned instinctively. If something went wrong in there, half the place was surely going to be burned to the ground.
There was a short pause, then Keitaro answered confidently, "Well, yeah."
Naru giggled. "Good answer. I do too."
Another protracted moment of silence later, Jake pulled away from the wall. He had heard enough, though it seemed Kitsune, on the other hand, was really getting into it. Jake was forced to peel her away, lest Keitaro be subject to another costly blackmail from the resident schemer.
One hundred lit candles of various shapes and sizes were scattered around Keitaro's room, bathing the room in a warm yet soft golden light. The entire floor was blanketed with a mixture of sakura blossoms and rose petals. Soft, romantic music played in the background from a boom box tucked away in a corner of the room. The two lovers lay in a futon, wrapped in each other's arms, nothing separating their bodies.
"Are you sure it's okay like this, Naru-chan?" Keitaro asked.
Naru nodded wordlessly, seducing her love with her smile.
"I love you, Naru."
"I love you, too, Keitaro."
Jake gently lifted the head of the schemer, Kitsune, who was now passed out on a sofa in the great room and slipped a pillow underneath it. He covered her with a blanket, and Kitsune responded by turning onto her side, wrapping herself tighter around the covers. Jake knelt beside and stared at her sleeping form for a few minutes, brushing the hair out of her face.
Almost unconsciously, Jake began to whisper out loud to Kitsune in his native tongue: "I'm sorry about last night. I don't really understand for myself why I tried to ignore you. The truth, I guess, is that I'm a little jealous of your boyfriend."
Kitsune shifted her body slightly, muttering some drunken, incomprehensible phrase. Jake smiled at her, leaning in closer to her for a moment before pulling back. He silently cursed his terrible luck. If only he had not needed to leave when he did. If only he had the strength to be completely honest with himself, things might have turned out differently. Perhaps he might not have needed to be jealous.
The feelings he had in that moment lifted his heart, but frightened him down to his bones. The last time he felt this way, it ended in such heartache. It was unbearable; a journey through a personal hell. He didn't know if he could live should it happen again. Not yet. He lacked the strength to face down that nightmare.
Jake pulled his shaking hands away from Kitsune, and took a few steadying breaths. So excited, yet frightened at the same time. He felt a familiar burning sensation in his eyes. It was something he associated with this bittersweet emotion. It had been a while since he felt so vulnerable. He laughed silently at his own foolishness, wiping away the tears forming on the corners of his eyes.
Jake stood up and approached the stairway, turning off the light. He looked back at Kitsune, whose sleeping form appeared only as a silhouette. He opened his mouth, wanting to share his feelings with her, even if she was asleep and unable to hear. However, before he could summon the courage to speak, a tiny voice interrupted him.
"Jake?" the voice asked. It was Kitsune. Her voice sounded weary, and hearing her call his name captivated Jake once more.
"Yeah," Jake responded into the darkness, silently urging his pounding heart to calm down, lest it overwhelm him. Had she heard what he said before? It was no matter, since there was no way she understood exactly what he said, but the mere thought of her knowing his honest thoughts nearly sent him into a panic.
"Thanks," Kitsune said, summing her thoughts into one word.
Jake let out an imperceptible sigh of relief. Had she said something ridiculous like "wait" or "stay", he had no idea what he would have done. "You're welcome," he replied, trying to keep his voice as even as possible as his welling emotions threatened to overtake him. He retreated up the stairs as quickly as possible, somehow reaching his room before slumping to his knees, at last allowing his tears to fall.
Kitsune pulled her body into a ball, staring into the darkness. How desperately she had wanted to tell Jake to stay with her until she fell asleep. His touch warmed her soul like a blanket, and it grieved her to be separated from it. But she lacked the courage to ask him for such favor. She had no idea where it could lead, and she was afraid she wouldn't be able to control herself.
She found herself navigating in uncharted waters for the first time since she could recall. She had no problem seducing other men she desired them. Most men treated her as an object, and she reciprocated by treating men in the same manner. But something about Jake struck her as different from the others. She valued the time spent with him, even if it were a pointless, fleeting moment where nothing but a greeting and parting word were shared between them. She was unwilling to sacrifice that relationship for only one night of physical pleasure.
She silently cursed her rotten luck. Why did he have to leave when he did? Why wasn't she able to tell him how she felt when she had the chance? Why does she always settle for second-best, even when what her heart truly desires lay right before her?
The answer to all of her questions was simple. She felt unworthy. Happiness was reserved for only those truly worthy to receive it. She had done terrible things, and had terrible things done to her. There was no possible means of redemption for her. Her only solace was in helping others find the happiness she herself would never obtain. She honestly believed that was enough to give her life meaning.
But that night, like many before, she still cries herself to sleep.
A/N: And another chapter is in the books. This chapter ended a lot differently than it was written the first time, but I think I like this version a lot better. It sets the tone for a budding relationship between Jake and Kitsune a lot better, and introduces elements I intend to flesh out in future chapters much more smoothly. Hey, maybe now the title for this fanfic will make a little sense to you now! Anyway, thanks for reading, and drop me a line with your thoughts via review if you so desire!
P.S. - Thanks Mike, for sort-of beta reading for me. ;-)