Harmony of One
Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina, any of its characters, or any thing Love Hina-ish. Ken Akamatsu does. So thank him for creating this awesome manga series.
A/N: The story goes marching on to chapter 11! In case you didn't read it, I revised chapter 10 so if you read this and you are going "huh!" then you should re-read ten – it's updated and better than ever! So after that revision which hopefully improved the story, I also realized re-reading my stories is a good idea. I mean, I usually glance them over but I don't like to re-read them entirely, so I should more often. Oh well, but please R&R!
"…" Denotes speech
Italics Denotes thought
Bold Denotes sound effects
Certain Sounds:
GOOMPH! Means Fainting
DOOONG! Means Shock
:blah: Denotes time/time change
A scene/scene change is denoted by an extra line.
Chapter 11: Keitaro Comes Home to…Confess?
:March 5th, Friday:
It had been so long since Keitaro had seen the familiar stone steps he now climbed towards the Hinata-sou. The springtime pollen affected his sinuses, but he was happy, yes, happy that he was coming home! Everyone had been told he would come home tomorrow, but the doctor had unexpectedly let him return earlier.
"You have amazing recuperation ability! I've never seen it before!" the doctor had commented, amazed at Keitaro's report. Keitaro had kept silent about his invincibility, however.
"Oh really? Ha ha!" Keitaro had responded. But now he had hoped that he could surprise them. He stopped at the Tea House first.
"Haruka-san!" Keitaro called. No one responded. "Hmm, where could she have gone?" He tried again. "Haruka-san!" He walked through the building looking for something. No one was there.
"Awww, perhaps I should have called first," Keitaro said, his face turning into a pout. He walked behind the counter when suddenly something smacked into his head. BAAAM!
"Who are you?" Haruka asked, violently kicking the poor writhing Keitaro on the ground.
"Ouch!" Keitaro grunted. "It's (oof!) me! (OW!) Ke-keitaro! (YEOW!)"
"Oh," Haruka said, and stopping her vicious assault, she peered down at him. "Sorry, I thought you were a robber."
"No…problems," Keitaro replied, standing back up and stretching his back. He rubbed his side where Haruka had kicked him so painfully.
"So, how are you doing? Last time I visited, you were dying," Haruka said. She offered him a band-aid.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, Aunt Haruka," Keitaro said. SLAP! "Haruka-san!"
"Better," Haruka said. "At least you said the right name finally."
"I said the right name when I came in here!" Keitaro protested.
"That won't help you if you don't remember to say it in my presence," Haruka said. "Why did you come here, anyways?"
"Um…I thought you might have a cake," Keitaro said. "I was wondering if I could have it, you know, since as a surprise…"
"Cake? What is this, a pastry shop? Why don't you bake it yourself?" Haruka asked. "You make good cakes, I hear." Keitaro flinched.
"But…you know, a tea shop sometimes has cakes too," Keitaro said. Haruka threw him a glance that made him back away. "Fine, fine, I'll make one. Do you have any eggs?"
"Go get it yourself!" Haruka said, and she threw Keitaro onto the street.
"Rats," Keitaro muttered.
Hinata-sou
"There's nothing to do!" Kitsune sighed loudly, over the sound of the TV droning in the background.
"And the Stallion Plunger, takes the lead!" the TV announced. Kitsune turned it off angrily.
"Still losing?" Naru asked, coming in.
"Hey, enough of those comments!" Kitsune objected. "I didn't even bet, anyways."
"Woah! Kitsune didn't bet on a horse race! Wait…then why were you watching?" Naru asked. Kitsune shrugged her shoulders.
"Force of habit?" she conjectured. GOOMPH! Naru fainted.
"Force of habit! You make me sick, why don't you learn something constructive, like playing the violin or something? Or perhaps you could learn to draw or maybe get a job?" Naru shouted.
"Chill!" Kitsune said in defense. "It's just that there's nothing else to do with Keitaro gone."
"Don't worry, he's due back tomorrow," Naru said. Kitsune noticed something…odd in her voice; it seemed to contain a longing of some kind.
"Oh? Do I hear some regret in that comment?" Kitsune asked playfully. "I thought you would want your…you know…"
"NO! He's is nothing like that!" Naru denied.
"Is he? How come then, you felt so depressed when you heard why he got stabbed? Is it because Motoko beat you to the punch?" Kitsune, playing the devil's advocate and psychologist all in one, asked.
"…no…well…maybe?" Naru said. Kitsune smiled inwardly and shifted to a more comfortable position on the couch.
"Maybe sounds like yes to me," she said. Naru flinched.
"No! It…really is nothing…" she said. Naru was in conflict with her own self because what Kitsune said was very true. Perhaps if I had more courage…but it's too late. Or is it? If I confessed to him when he got back…confess? Bah!
"Nothing is always something, and then it really means a lot," Kitsune told Naru.
"What?" Naru asked, confused by her statement.
"What I mean is when people say something is nothing they really mean that it is a lot of something," Kitsune said. "Anyways, so what are you going to do about it?"
"About what?" Naru asked, inflamed. "Nothing is nothing!" Kitsune waggled her finger in Naru's face.
"Uh uh uh, don't lie to me. I know when something's up! Just like with Seta-san!" Kitsune said. Naru turned red.
"Seta-san is completely different! He's cool, he's smart, and dreamy! Keitaro is…well Keitaro, dumb, perverted and clumsy!" Naru exclaimed. Kitsune had a look that told Naru Kitsune didn't believe her. "What?" Kitsune started to giggle. "What!" Naru had begun to get annoyed.
"Well it's funny that you describe him that way because that's the guy you want to…you know… do "that" with," Kitsune said. Naru blushed even more.
"Never!" she cried, and with an angry walk left the room.
"She'll do it," Kitsune murmured to herself. She turned on the TV.
"Great," she said after surfing the channels. "Now I'm bored again."
Tea Shop
"I'm done!" Keitaro exclaimed in triumph as he brought out a delicious looking chocolate cake. It was worthy of professionals. Keitaro took a tiny taste. "Yum! This is the best one yet!"
"Let me try," Haruka said. Keitaro took the cake away, however.
"No! This is not for you, it's for the girls when I walk up those stairs!" Keitaro said. Haruka glared at him.
"I let you use the kitchen and this is the thanks I get?" Haruka said. She punched Keitaro in the face and stole a piece of the cake. "This is really good." Keitaro, meanwhile in a smoking pile on the ground mumbled something. "You should make me a couple and I'll sell it in the Tea Shop."
"Ow…." Keitaro groaned. He stood back up, slowly and shakily. "Hey, you've ruined it!"
"No I haven't, now go!" Haruka said, and she kicked Keitaro out. BOOMP!
"Oh well, I guess I have to take it them like this…" Keitaro said, and he walked up the stairs to the Hinata-sou. The stone steps felt good beneath his feet and when he reached the door he felt like he was home. He opened the door.
"I'm back!" he cried. Kitsune, who was sleeping, only snored loudly and turned on the couch. Keitaro felt disappointed. Did no one care? Maybe he was only the manager, but shouldn't the tenants out of respect come greet him? He drooped his head in desperation.
"Sempai!" Keitaro heard Shinobu cry. "Oh, what are you doing back!" Shinobu rushed over.
"Yes, I'm back from the hospital a day earlier than expected," Keitaro said. "Though the doctor said to take it easy." Shinobu was ecstatic and grabbed Keitaro's hand.
"I'm so glad you're back, Sempai!" Keitaro laughed when Kitsune woke up.
"Who's so…hey, Keitaro's back!" she exclaimed when she saw him. She immediately got up and hit him. "You should have told me. Hey, everyone, Keitaro's back!"
"Keitaro?" Su asked, popping her head in. "Keitaro! Yay!♥" She rushed over and jumped kicked him in the face. BAM!
"Su! What are you doing to a recently recovered man!" Naru shouted, who had come down as well.
"Hey everyone!" Keitaro said, waving. He got up and rubbing the place where Su had kicked him, he offered the cake he had made. "I thought since I wasn't here for so long we could eat this cake or something like that…" He trailed off as he realized he hadn't made any good plan of what to do.
"You fool, we have a special party that we were going to set up later!" Kitsune chuckled, and she brought out a party ball. "Might as well start now!" POP! She pulled it open and confetti fell to the ground. Shinobu suddenly appeared with lots of food and Su brought out one her newest inventions.
"It's the party robot!" she said. "It can do everything from disco lights to smooth jazz, and it shoots out party streamers, see?" She pressed a button. BAMMMM! A huge rocket flew out of the robot and exploded, shedding confetti everywhere. WHOOSH! Without any warning, however, the robot suddenly began to shoot out multiple missiles.
"Ahhhhh!" everyone screamed, dodging as best as they could.
"Su! Turn it off, turn it off!" Keitaro cried.
"Myuuuuuhhhh!" Tama-chan shouted in fear.
"I'm trying!" Su said through the exploding missiles.
"EVIL CUTTING TECHNIQUE!" KABLAAMM! The Hinata-sou shook as the robot exploded into pieces and the dust settled. Keitaro stood up tentatively.
"Is everything okay?" he asked. BOOM! One last rocket blew up in his face, blackening his face and causing his hair to stand up on end.
"Idiot, you should have waited longer!" Naru scolded, and she slapped him on the head. Keitaro coughed out the dust and mumbled an apology.
"Sorry," he said. Everyone began to stand up, coughing. "Was that Motoko-chan just now?"
"It probably was, unless you know someone else who can do the evil cutting technique," Kitsune said. She picked a piece of confetti on her sleeve and threw it on the ground.
"Well where is she?" Keitaro asked. Everyone shrugged their shoulders.
"Oo, I know!" Su said, raising her hand.
"Yes, Su?"
"In her room! She told me that she wouldn't come to see you!" Su said.
"Why?" Keitaro asked.
"Be-because…ah what was it again?" Su said, putting her finger in her mouth. Keitaro fainted.
"I'm going to find her," he said, and walked up the stairs. Everyone watched him go plodding up the stairs.
"Don't worry, I'll be right back. I just need to tell her something," Keitaro said, and he disappeared to the second floor.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Kitsune said, breaking the silence of his departure and nudging Naru. "Go and see what he says!" Naru turned to look at her best friend.
"I would never do that!" she exclaimed. "Whatever it is, I'm sure we can trust what he's saying is supposed to be private and won't do anyone any harm." She walked over to the cake and cut herself a piece. "Anyone want some?" Su jumped over.
"I do!" she said, and Naru cut her a piece. Kitsune sighed, then walked over. Shinobu followed as well.
Motoko's Room
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Who is it?" Motoko asked. Keitaro answered timidly.
"Motoko-chan, can I come in?" he asked. Motoko, inside, sighed slowly and responded with a yes. Keitaro opened the door, and closed it.
"Ah…greetings, Motoko-chan," Keitaro said, bowing.
"What's so formal?" Motoko asked. "No need to bow." She was sitting on her mattress and motioned for him to sit on the floor. "Why are you here?" Sitting down, Keitaro swallowed and answered.
"Motoko-chan, we need a discussion about…well, about this," Keitaro said, and he motioned towards his own body in front of him. "This can't go on…I…I don't know, I feel odd in a way."
"Odd? That is a mere understatement to what I feel," Motoko said. "Yet we will have to deal with it as anything else that comes our way. Urashima…"
"No," Keitaro interjected. "It's not anything else, we've tried to rid our differences, and apparently this has sparked strong reactions…" he trailed off. Motoko, who had been trying to forget that she had confessed her love to the "man" sitting right in front of her, was now reminded painfully of this fact. Her face started to break but she willed herself to stay strong.
"Ke-Keitaro…I…"
"Don't worry, Motoko-chan, I'm not angry, but we should do something about our situation. It's not normal," Keitaro said. Motoko's façade broke down.
"Keitaro, I can't do it anymore!" she cried. She wanted to have died that time, she didn't want this thing that people called love…it was worse than any sickness she had had, it was more painful than any of the training she had done. She wanted to end it all, happiness seemed not to be in her destiny. "I can't, I can't!" she sobbed, grabbing Keitaro's shirt and sobbing into it.
"I…I know," Keitaro only responded, and he stopped saying anything more. There was only the sound of Motoko crying, the sobbing wrenching Keitaro's heart. Keitaro could barely review what he wanted to do now, what he had planned, which caused a feeling of uncertainty to surge and he almost broke away from Motoko and ran out the door. I can't be so cruel… he thought slowly. He had planned to come here and respond to Motoko with "I love you too" even if he didn't mean it entirely. After much deliberation while he was lying on the hospital bed, he had decided that he had to take care of Motoko who was such a frail creature.
But wouldn't it be worse if I lied to her? Keitaro thought now. Am I so base as to play with people's emotions, their feelings? He wanted to really love Motoko 100 but every time he tried…Narusegawa popped into his brain. Her smile, her person, and even her punches. But then often as he was forced to move "his" long hair out of his eyes, he was reminded of Motoko. What was she to him? Not merely a tenant; in fact nobody at the Hinata-sou was like that, but she was something…more. He had begun to become comfortable with the thought that he might be stuck…no that wasn't the right word. Gifted is probably more appropriate, he thought. Motoko-chan doesn't deserve someone like me, I should just say no…but then I'll be stuck like this forever! Could he and Motoko every achieve that "Harmony of One" if he rejected her now? She would hate him forever!
"Keitaro, I…I love you," Motoko said, stopping briefly from her tears to tell him this, and she grabbed him with both arms. Decision decision, what should I say now? I hate myself! Keitaro thought miserably. Resolve, resolve, I need resolve. He knew what he should do…no what he was telling himself what he should do. Whether it was right or not, he guessed he would find out later. He decided to confess. This was what he came back for, after all.
"Motoko…" Keitaro started. She looked into his eyes, and he flinched, almost drained of his resolve because he saw himself. Of course his eyes were tear-stained among other things, but it was his body.
"I'm sorry I put this on you," Keitaro continued, using pure will to go on. "I…I haven't responded yet, which is really cruel, so I'll say it now." Motoko's eyes searched into his own and he felt like he was exposed. Should I? I…
"Motoko, I-I love you too," Keitaro said. These words had the greatest effect on Motoko as words have never had. She stopped crying and released him.
"R-really?" she asked. She couldn't believe it. What about Narusegawa? "You're lying, what about Naru?" she asked. She didn't want to ask it, but it slipped out. If he said that he loved her as well…
"I…don't feel anything for her anymore…" Keitaro said, though with a hint of resignation that Motoko did not catch. He felt almost as bad as when he first lied to Shinobu that he was a Todai student. "I don't feel anything anymore…"
"Oh Keitaro!" Motoko cried and she embraced him once more.
Hallway outside of Motoko's room
Naru was feeling sick. Not just from the incredible richness of the cake she had just ate, though she had told Kitsune that was the reason. Not from the feeling of guilt that she had just peeped in to a very private conversation. No, she felt sick because she had heard Keitaro say he didn't feel anything for her. It was a vague term, but she knew what it meant. She had been too late. Too late to…no, it was over, and there was no more use in her saying anything. She wanted to punch something, but she felt that she would throw up before she could. She was the only one standing outside to Motoko's room still, everyone else had left to go…somewhere. Yes, that was it…she needed to go…home. Home sounds very good to me, she thought, and slowly plodded her way to her room.
Secret meeting place of the Hinata-sou
"Kitsune, what should we do!" Shinobu cried. Kitsune slammed her fist down on the floor.
"Darn it! Curse that insensitive jerk, saying things like that!" Kitsune said, angry at Keitaro for once in her life.
"But Kitsune, Sempai didn't know that we were outside listening to his, ah, conversation," Shinobu said.
"Yah, he's real dumb about those things," Su said. Kitsune, Su, and Shinobu were the only ones left to fix up this whole mess.
"But why did he have to go confess right then when he got home? Why not wait?" Kitsune said. "Darn it darn it DARN IT!" Kitsune was ready to kill someone.
"Sempai…" Shinobu said softly, sad at her own situation but remembering Naru's reaction, she was sticking to the topic. "Kitsune, how can we protect Naru?" Kitsune thought for a while.
"Well…I don't know if that idiot was lying or not. I can't believe he would give up so easily…unless he really has fallen for Motoko. Then we can't do anything about that," Kitsune said.
"But…but…Sempai wouldn't lie!" Shinobu cried.
"What about when he first came here?" Kitsune said, snorting. She was ready to lay out all of Keitaro's faults. "He lied and proved how much of a pervert he was, darn him!" She smacked the floor again. "If only Motoko wasn't so pretty…" Su hopped up and down.
"Oo, like this?" she said, holding up an ugly drawing with a hastily scribbled name Motoko next to it.
"Not now, Su!" Shinobu cried. Everybody was at a lost at what to do.
"Hmm…" Kitsune mused. "The way I see it, the only reason he said that was to placate Motoko. I'm going to guess those two, with the way they are, will want to keep it under wraps, so we have to pretend like we didn't hear anything. But what will do is make Keitaro own up to saying it, and then (away from Motoko, of course) make him confess that he only said he didn't like Naru because he was trying to be nice, which is probably why he did say it."
"That could work!" Shinobu said.
"We can't tell, Naru, however," Kitsune said. "Because then she'll probably get fussy and angry, so let's go back down and act normal. Normal, okay?"
"Yup!" Su cried. Shinobu nodded. They left and went back to the living room.
Living Room
Keitaro came down the stairs, trying to wipe his shirt clear of any tear stains that Motoko had left. With every step he expected some sort of eternal punishment to smite him. He had promised (thankfully, Motoko suggested it) to not say anything to any of the other tenants. She wanted to tell them themselves. When he got to the bottom of the stairs, Kitsune, Su, and Shinobu were there.
"Where's Narusegawa?" he asked. Kitsune, who seemed preoccupied, answered hurriedly.
"I don't know, I think she may have gone somewhere. You should check her room while we continue to check down here," she said. Everyone was indeed looking for her. Motoko came down.
"What's happening?" she asked. Keitaro answered.
"Narusegawa left, but no one knows where!" Keitaro answered. "I'm going to go and look in her room to see if she's there."
"Don't bother, she's gone," Haruka said, entering through the doors. "Before she left, she stopped by and told me to give you this." She handed a stained note to Keitaro. "And I don't think you should read it out loud." Keitaro took it, and stood there with it in his hands.
"Haruka-san, where did she go?" Kitsune asked, but Haruka shrugged her shoulders.
"Beats me," she said. Kitsune swore.
"Darn it!" she cursed. "Shinobu, Su, come with me!" With that, the trio left. Keitaro glanced at Motoko who went back up the stairs and Keitaro unfolded the note.
Dear Keitaro,
I'm sorry that I was so latent in telling you things, and that I've always hit you. I'm writing this because I wish to have your forgiveness. Please forgive me, Keitaro. I want to thank you for studying with me all the time and spending your time with me. I'm also writing to tell you that it's all my fault for all of this, so don't blame yourself. I heard you confess to Motoko and I wish you well. I'm sorry, I'm sorry Keitaro. Please forgive me. I wanted to say I love you too for such a long time now…but it's all in the past. Goodbye, Keitaro.
Narusegawa Naru.
As Keitaro read, tears dripped from his eyes and he clutched the note to his chest.
"Narusegawa…" he sobbed.
Bullet Train Station
"Where does Naru live?" Shinobu asked as they glanced at the map. Kitsune found the one she was looking for.
"Near the Mejiro station. That's on the Yamate line," she said as they left for the Yamate line.
"The doors are closing…the doors are closing…" Kitsune started to run.
"Hurry!" she called, and Shinobu and Su ran as well. SLAM! The doors closed just as they got to the platform.
"No!" Kitsune shouted in dismay. Su, however, not to be stopped by something so small as this, brought out a bazooka.
"Don't worry, I'll blast open the doors with this!" she cried, switching off the safety she had installed.
"SU! Don't be ridiculous!" Shinobu cried. The general populace had run away screaming.
"Stop the train or I'll blow open the doors!" Su shouted. SCREEEECH! The train stopped.
"See? I told you it would work," Su said.
"The doors are opening. Please take caution," the PA system rang. Kitsune and Shinobu hopped on after Su. The passengers inside immediately backed away from Su.
"Su!" Kitsune hissed. "Put that away!"
"Awwww…" Su groaned, and she put it away reluctantly. Meanwhile, Kitsune had on a fake bright smile.
"Don't worry everyone, she's perfectly safe…" she assured them. The passengers began to sit back down when Su brought it back out.
"What are you doing!" Shinobu cried. Su held the bazooka.
"I forgot to turn of the safety," she said. BUMP! The train lurched and suddenly a rocket flew out of the bazooka.
"AHHHHHHHHH!" There was mass panic as the rocket flew towards the front.
"Don't worry, it won't go through the wall. I haven't inserted that strong a piercing missile," Su said, smiling. BING! The missile ricocheted off the wall.
"Duck!" Kitsune cried. WHOOSH! The missile flew over their heads. Suddenly Shinobu opened a window and it flew out, hitting a random building and demolishing it completely.
"The doors are opening…please take caution," the PA system announced. Everyone got off in a big hurry.
"Oops," Su said as the doors closed and they continued in the car alone.
"Su…next time, NO HEAVY WEAPONRY!" Kitsune cried. Su saluted her.
"Yes, ma'am!" she cried. Kitsune collapsed into a chair.
"On the plus side, now we have the whole car to ourselves," Kitsune commented. Shinobu sat down next to her.
"Ah, K-Kitsune do you know what we're going to say?" Shinobu asked.
"No," Kitsune answered.
"Oh, ok," Shinobu said. The car rumbled on as Su bounced around the empty car.
"Now entering Mejiro…The doors are opening. Please take caution."
"Let's go," Kitsune said, and they got off.
Naru's house
(A/N: I know that Naru has a sister in the anime. And though I'm more inclined to follow the manga because I believe that it is better than the anime, I figured why not make her little sister the same one as in the anime? You don't meet her in the manga, though she is mentioned. So for all intents and purposes, you can assume she's Mei. If you haven't met her in the anime…all I can say is that Mei has red hair usually in buns or something like that and is very protective of her sister. Her parents, however, will remain anonymous and un-named.)
KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Yes?" a small girl asked, opening the door. She gasped. "Naru ne-chan!" With a squeal and a hug, Naru's little sister greeted her. Here we go again, Naru thought reflexively, even though she had been the one to decide to return home.
"Mama! Papa! Ne-chan has come home for a visit!" Naru's sister cried in joy. Her mom came down the stairs.
"Naru!" her mom cried. "Why didn't you tell us you were coming to visit?" She gave her daughter a hug as her dad came down.
"Naru…come here!" her dad said with open arms. Feeling her dad's strong embrace, Naru felt comfortable and loved. She started to cry slightly.
"Naru! What's the matter?" her mom asked when she saw the tears.
"Mei, please go make some tea," her dad ordered. Mei did, though not without a backwards glance at her sister.
"Mom…oh mom!" Naru cried, and sobbing she told her mom the entire thing. About the Hinata-sou, about Keitaro, about Motoko, about the switch, about her feelings, and everything else she could have forgotten. She told her feelings about the whole thing from the beginning to the end. When she finished all her mom could do was comfort her daughter and pat her on the back in a hug.
"I'm going to kill that two-timing backstabbing Keitaro!" her dad yelled in resolve. "Kill him and then burn his corpse! The nerve of him! Err…her?" Her dad sat down.
"Mei, you can come in now," the mom said. The was a little gasp behind the door, but it slid open and Mei came in.
"Ne-chan, I'll help you get revenge on that guy-girl!" she said with rapid determination, pounding her fist into her palm.
"No…no, it's okay everyone. I just didn't want to live there anymore and now I feel a lot better. I'm going up to my room," Naru said, and she left with Mei following her.
"What should we do?" Naru's dad asked the mom.
"I really feel like pounding that guy. If he came here right now I might just…do something to him," she said. DING DONG!
"Who is it now?" the dad asked, and he went to the door. "Yes?" he asked.
"Hello Mr. Narusegawa," Kitsune said. "Is Naru here?"
"Kitsune! I haven't seen you for ages! Last time was…when was it? You were probably still wetting your diapers!" the dad cried.
"Please, we want to talk to Naru, Mr Narusegawa," Shinobu said.
"Yah yah! We came all this way!" Su said, bounding.
"Well…it just so happens that she is in an emotional crisis now and we would like to keep it family business," Naru's dad said. Kitsune sighed.
"It can't be family business when it involves all of us at the Hinata-sou," Kitsune said.
"All of us…wait, is one of you that blasted Keitaro?" the dad asked suspiciously.
"No," Kitsune said. "Here, this is Shinobu who happens to have a major crush on Keitaro." Shinobu started to sputter as she blushed red.
"Kitsune!" she cried.
"And this is our resident mad scientist who has an infinite amount of energy every day and every hour."
"Hiya!" she said.
"Now can we go and see Naru?" Kitsune asked.
"Honey, who is that?" Naru's mom called.
"Friends of Naru, dear. They say they want to visit her and help her in her distress," the dad replied. The mom came to the door.
"Naru's friends? I assume you know everything about this matter with Keitaro?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am, we know everything," Kitsune said.
"Well, she's in her room. It's up the stairs and to the left," the mom said.
"Thank you," Kitsune replied, and the little group left.
"Why'd you let them go in?" the dad asked after they had climbed the stairs.
"Well I don't think we know quite enough about this to say anything useful. And besides, we're just here to give our daughter a place to come back, a home fortress, eh?"
"Dad: the ultimate citadel!" the dad said, taking a muscle man pose.
"More like the ultimate scratching post," the mom said. "Come, we should probably make those kids something to drink. Did Mei actually finish making the tea?"
Naru's room
"Kitsune! Su! Shinobu!" Naru cried as they entered. "Um…"
"Naru, I followed you her because I…we need to talk with you," Kitsune said. "Everyone."
"Who's everyone?" Naru said sulkily.
"Why'd ja leave, Naru?" Su asked. "Without you beating Keitaro everyday things will get booring! And if those two start acting lovey dovey, then nothing exciting will ever happen again!"
"I…I can't live in that place if they are like that!" Naru exclaimed.
"Su!" Shinobu cried. "Don't be so insensitive!"
"Naru, if you leave then you won't ever get Keitaro back," Kitsune said.
"How could I anyways? Didn't you hear what he said?" Naru asked.
"Naru, do you really think he meant it? I would probably guess that he was just saying it to be nice to Motoko. You know he couldn't lose those feelings he had for you so easily!" Kitsune said. "It's not possible!"
"Well, if he's just being nice this way he won't be able to get caught if I'm not there," Naru said. She moved to her bed and sat down. Su and Shinobu sat besides her while Kitsune sat at the chair at her desk.
"Naru, I wasn't going to tell you this, but I truly believe Keitaro still has feelings for you. If we get him to say this to you, will you come back?" Kitsune asked.
"Keitaro doesn't! Didn't you hear? He's given me up for Motoko, and I wish them the best of luck. Go away!" Naru shouted in exasperation.
"Naru…don't you want to fight for him?" Kitsune asked one last time.
"No!" she cried, and started to sob into her pillow. As she did, Kitsune got up and lead Su and Shinobu away.
"Let's go back," she said, and left Naru alone.
A/N: Well, I finally got out another chapter under the inspiration of…nothing actually. And wow this chapter was filled with more drama and angst than the last one! What is up with that? I hope no one was too out of character, especially Kitsune near the end, but when her best friends hurting I assume she would act like this. Just a small reminder that I have no clue about future updates. It usually happens when inspiration hits and when I don't have too much work. Please R&R!