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: This chapter promises to be almost as hard as the last chapter. The problem lies not so much as in not knowing what to write but what to write so it doesn't sound ultra-sappy. But I will try no matter what! We march bravely forth, and take a plunge into the unknown folds and crevices where my brain likes to spill out FanFiction. Let's go, and don't forget to 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 15: Comrades Indeed
Naru kneeled at the table in her room, sipping tea while reading a book aptly titled A Hundred and One Classic Japanese, as it contained such. She was in the last third of the fat and extensive book, and you could see that she was reading with interest. She put the tea cup down, and put the book to the floor, sniffing as she did so. A tear might have rolled down her cheek had she not sworn a couple days earlier not to cry about this anymore. Now, of course, she had purposefully brought it back up, and chided herself as a fool who couldn't release anything. Knock knock knock!
"Yes?" Naru asked, irked that she was being interrupted from her moment of solitude. Though she had been left alone for virtually the entire day and days before, she still wanted to be like that and only came down to eat or give her mother laundry. "Who is it?" she asked curtly.
"N-Naru ne-chan," a small voice said. "Someone's here to see you." Naru's heart rose in her chest, but she held it down because she knew it would only cause disappointment.
"Who is it, Mei?" Naru asked.
"It's me, Narusegawa-sempai!" Naru heard through the door. It slid open and Shinobu revealed herself. Naru was surprised and annoyed – she didn't think that Shinobu of all people would come to visit her, but was irate that her sister had ignored her wishes to especially not let anyone from the Hinata-sou come in. However, it was cute little Shinobu as opposed to Kitsune (to whom she would have told "Go away" immediately), so she let her come in. Mei withdrew and closed the door noiselessly.
"N-naru-sempai! You have to come back!" Shinobu started. However untactful it might seem, Shinobu could only be honest with herself and with everyone around her. Shinobu never lied if she could help it; even when Keitaro had first come (even though they all thought he was a Todai student) she had revealed the truth about her sad state of academic progress.
"I can't, Shinobu," Naru replied at once in response to Shinobu's honest outburst. "It…won't be right." Naru grabbed the tea cup and started to drink.
"But Naru-sempai…Sempai hasn't given up on you yet!" Shinobu said. Naru ignored her and picked up the book. Shinobu looked on helpless as Naru put her tea cup down and spoke from behind the book.
"I…I have given up on him," Naru said, falteringly.
"Naru-sempai! You can't do that!" Shinobu cried. Naru hid her face behind her book, and felt a pang of loneliness in her heart. This was the exact reason why she didn't want anyone coming from the Hinata-sou to visit her. "If you do that…" Shinobu started, but then paused because it took a great effort to say what she had to. "I would have to give up too." Naru looked up from her book at Shinobu who was smiling yet she saw tears dripping from Shinobu's face. Naru waited for something to come to her so that she might escape this uncomfortable confrontation not with Shinobu, but with herself. Even though she had been sitting in her room for quite a while now since she had run home, she had somehow managed to avoid asking herself questions that seemed to burst forth from her mind, her surroundings, and her being. Just now, ironically, she had been reading the tale of Urashima Taro again, having come across it the first time when bored she had grabbed the book and read random tales.
No no no, I can't! Naru said to herself, though it was quite a mystery to Shinobu who was wiping away her tears why Naru suddenly started to smack herself with her book.
"Naru-sempai…don't you want…I mean I know you can…" Shinobu started to say, but stuttered nonsense instead. "If I can…I know, since you're so much smarter and prettier…"
"Shinobu-chan," Naru said, taking a deep breath as she did so. "Listen. I…yes, I did a-a-a…" she swallowed, "Admit my feelings for Keitaro…but he's got Motoko, and I can't bear to see them together nor apart! Don't you remember what happens when Motoko gets all sad like that?" Shinobu didn't say anything. "She goes crazy and decides things randomly!" There was a silence that followed that sentence while Shinobu sucked on her finger, which was a very bad habit she had sometimes. Suddenly, Shinobu took out the finger she had in her mouth out and spoke.
"But…don't you care about Sempai?" she asked. "Don't you want to be near him even if you can't be with him?" Naru opened her mouth to say no, but nothing came out, like the air had been snatched from her lungs by a vacuum. She opened and closed her mouth several times while swallowing, but still she couldn't say anything. "I know I would," Shinobu told her earnestly.
She…is so much stronger than me, Naru thought. She loves Keitaro but so purely that only his happiness is concerned, even if it is not with her. Truly she loves him more than I, only proving that I don't deserve him…
"While it may seem that I am strong," Shinobu started to say, tearing up again. "It is only because I am truly weak and selfish. Even if I can't have him…I have to be near him…if he is sad, I am sadder so I want him to be happy because I…I—" Shinobu's eyes suddenly became flooded and she grabbed a tissue to dam the flood.
"Shinobu…" Naru whispered to herself as she felt tears dropping treacherously as well.
"I just love Sempai so much!" Shinobu sobbed and Naru held her while they both cried for Keitaro.
Museum
SLICE-A-DICEY! A giant statue of a bear made of wood toppled down; the legs turned into wooden fragments, and the head was lopped off. Not to mention Tsuruko had somehow engraved her name on the stomach, and all in one stroke too. The audience cheered, clapped, whistled, and did just about anything else that indicated awe and appreciation.
"That was amazing!" the annoying announcer cried out. "We have no doubt been seeing one of the greatest sword shows on earth! Underneath that gentle demeanor lies a great sword-mistress! I wouldn't want to get into a fight with her!" The crowed laughed at his bad joke. "There is one more technique for which we would like a volunteer," the announcer said, and immediately several hands, that all belonged to males, shot up.
"Oh my, so many eager volunteers," Tsuruko said, chuckling with her free hand while the other held the sword behind her back resting on her shoulder. "But I think I shall choose…you!" Tsuruko said, and she pointed right at Keitaro.
"Me?" a guy asked who was standing right behind Keitaro and had his hand up.
"No, I'm sorry, the young man right in front of you…would you please come up?" Tsuruko asked. Keitaro looked around and saw he could be the only person, but he looked as Tsuruko and shook his head slightly.
"Now," she said, suddenly glaring at him and her eyes glowing like a demon. Ah! She'll kill me if I don't go up! Keitaro thought, and quickly went up as people around him clapped. The announcer walked up to him and put his arm around him like he was his good friend or possibly a son.
"What's your name, sir?" he asked, shoving the microphone in his face. Keitaro backed slightly away from the microphone.
"U-urashima Keitaro," he said.
"Urashima Keitaro!" the announcer cried amidst more clapping. Keitaro shifted on his feet nervous not because he was in front of a lot of people, but because he wasn't sure what Tsuruko had planned. "Well, Keitaro – can I call you that? – are you ready to help show an ultimate technique of the famous God's Cry School!"
"Uh…no," he said, but people were already clapping so loud so no one heard him.
"Ok Keitaro," the announcer said once it was quiet again. "If you would so kindly sit on this chair…" He led Keitaro to a chair and Keitaro sat down. The announcer blabbed on about something, but Keitaro took this opportunity to glance at Tsuruko. Physically, she seemed calm and composed and as beautiful as ever, but the way she stood and the way she smiled…it unnerved Keitaro. He shook his head violently when suddenly he felt his feet and arms being tied to the chair!
"Thank goodness we have a willing volunteer, but to more effectively show the technique we will tie him to the chair!" the announcer said. Keitaro relaxed slightly. He knew what technique that Tsuruko would be executing. It was obviously the Evil Cutting Sword: Second Form, the one that would probably render the chair below him and the rock he now saw behind him into dust while he would be safe and probably hurt his butt on the floor.
"And the technique is called 'Evil Cutting Sword: Form Two'!" the announcer cried once more. Suddenly Tsuruko spoke up.
"Actually I would like to demonstrate a different technique," she said. Keitaro's heart missed a beat. Um… he thought, not knowing what to think.
"And announce something," she continued. She walked to the announcer who was almost dumbstruck, because this obviously was not supposed to happen.
"Ah…of course!" the announcer said, trying to recover, and stood there while Tsuruko snatched up the microphone.
"I would like to announce something that is very important," she said. "First I would like my sister to come up here. Motoko-chan?" Tsuruko pointed with the microphone to Motoko who was trying to blend it at that point with the crowd, but the crowd shrank away from her like she had the plague and she was left conspicuous.
"Ah…" she said slowly, but everybody was clapping and a path was cleared so Motoko was forced to walk up to the stage.
"This here is my beautiful sister Motoko-chan," Tsuruko said, holding up Motoko's arm while people clapped and whistled, some of them wolf whistles.
"Now now, none of that," Tsuruko said. There was some laughter but the audience noise died down. "Because my dear little sister is getting married!"
"Wha—!" Keitaro cried.
"Wha—!" Motoko asked in horror.
"To this man strapped in the chair! Everyone clap for my dear little sister and her fiancé!" Tsuruko announced. Everyone did to the embarrassment of both on stage. Some people then even started to whistle.
"Lucky guy!" someone called out, to which Keitaro blushed and smiled oddly.
"Yeah…" he said while making a weird face. Motoko leaned over to Tsuruko
"Ne-chan!" Motoko hissed, while trying to hide her face from the crowd with her arm. She now wished she was wearing a gi so she could hide more of her face, but ignoring that she continued to scold her sister. "We haven't even talked about marriage! You can't go announcing things that we haven't even decided!" Tsuruko chuckled as she sat her sister, who had a distressed and offended face, down.
"Motoko-chan, you'll thank me for this later," she said. "Besides, what else would you guys do?" she chuckled. Ignoring Motoko sputtering, Tsuruko turned back to the crowd who was waiting anxiously; she put the microphone nearer to her mouth and spoke. "So who wants to see a new technique?"
"Me!" someone called from the crowd, and people started to clap annoyingly again.
"Ok!" Tsuruko cried, and grabbing her sword with two hands and dropping the microphone on to the floor she lifted her sword high into the air.
"Wait!" Keitaro cried. "What are you doing if it isn't the Evil Cutting Sword: Form Two!" Tsuruko, however, promptly ignored him and swung down.
"HIYA!" she cried, and Keitaro closed his eyes hoping it wouldn't hurt. WOOOSH! A wave of ki flew through Keitaro and he slumped over.
"Keitaro! Ne-chan! What did you do?" Motoko cried, getting up and immediately running to the limp form of Keitaro. Tsuruko came over as well and she took his wrist into her hand. The crowd was silent…had he died?
"Don't worry, people, he's perfectly fine! I feel a pulse!" Tsuruko said. "Now for a little explanation. Do you people know that the ki created from the body is in everyone?" There was a general murmur of agreement, and Tsuruko continued. "This ki that I manipulate I usually use as a cutting force, but, unofficially, I have just recently developed a technique to affect the ki stored within other people, thus while their outside appearance remains undamaged, their inside ki flow can be affected. What I did just know to this brave young man was use my ki to affect his and make it so he won't remember anything that has passed over the last year." The audience was wowed and suddenly Keitaro groaned and woke up.
"Where am I?" he asked. "And…why am I strapped to a chair? Tsuruko-ne-chan!" Keitaro cried, upon waking up. "And who are all these people?"
"Ho ho ho, manager, just a little crowd to see something unusual," Tsuruko said. "And while he can't remember anything, in a few hours at the most he will start to recollect what has happened, as the flow in the body will return to normal. However," Tsuruko grabbed her sword again. "I will undo this so he won't have to spend the next hours in constant agony of forgetfulness." Motoko stood by her fidgeting nervously. She watched her sister raise her arm to prepare for the stroke.
"By the way, Motoko, I'm actually modifying his memory so he will forget about Naru," Tsuruko whispered to Motoko with her arm raised for the swing..
"What!" Motoko cried. "No!" Tsuruko had begun her swing down when Motoko grabbed her arm.
"What the—?" Tsuruko said, fumbling and a wave of ki flew out and went through Keitaro again, and he slumped back over in his chair. "Motoko! You may have just sent him back till high school memory!"
"Ah…" Motoko said, realizing her mistake. Had she just sent Keitaro into the stupidity of his childhood, or the horror of his high school? The audience, however, was oblivious to all of this and watched the limp form of Keitaro. He slowly crept closer to him from his vantage point that was at one side of the stage.
"NO!" Keitaro suddenly yelled, startling the announcer. "Huh?" Keitaro asked, looking down at himself. "I'm whole!" The announcer grabbed the mike again and with a broad wave at Keitaro yelled,
"And there you have it! The great sword-mistress Aoyama Tsuruko!" The audience clapped once more. "Thank you for coming, and please visit again!" The audience dissipated and Keitaro was untied.
"Are you okay?" Motoko asked, checking Keitaro for any bruises or bumps.
"Yes yes Motoko-chan…no thanks to your sister," Keitaro said. He stood up.
"Ah, my technique was a success then?" Tsuruko asked. "I, even though retired, had stumbled across this and could not help but test it. At least you have not been permanently damaged."
"What? I'm your first test subject!" Keitaro yelled, his jaw dropping. "What are you, Su?" Tsuruko chuckled.
"Ho ho ho, manager, she creates far more useful things than I. Anyhow, you two should be getting along, eh? I bet some people are anxious…" Tsuruko said, winking, and she left.
"Ah..." Keitaro said. "Well…we should get along, Motoko." He checked his watch…it read about 12:00pm.
"My watch broke," Keitaro frowned. Motoko, who had been looking at her sister leaving, suddenly snapped back to attention.
"Oh, it's only around 5:00pm," she said looking out a window.
"Huh? How do you know that?" Keitaro asked.
"The sun is around that time. It's just at the beginnings of setting," Motoko explained. Keitaro nodded.
"Ah. Of course, it's common knowledge. A Todai guy like me knew that!" Keitaro exclaimed. Motoko looked at him, and then slapped him on the head.
"Ow!" Keitaro cried, rubbing his head at the point where Motoko had slapped him.
"Don't lie," Motoko said. They started to walk towards the exit. "Plus," Motoko added. "I took the test."
"Aww…" Keitaro whined. "That's mean…" They exited the museum.
Narusegawa Household
"Do you think…?"
"Nah…"
"But it's about time…"
"Yeah but…"
"It couldn't' have happened…"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Mrs. Narusegawa shouted, standing tall over her husband and Mei.
"Uh…" Mr. Narusegawa stuttered, embarrassed that he was caught. "Admiring the wood grain on the floor?"
"Mei!" Mrs. Narusegawa asked threateningly. Luckily, Mei was better at this.
"He told me to come," she said, pointing at Mr. Narusegawa.
"You…" Mrs. Narusegawa growled. "OUT!" And she swung her foot punting Mr. Narusegawa away from the window. In a much more gentle tone, she said to Mei, "Don't always listen to your father. Sometimes he can be very dumb." Mei nodded. "Now run along now," Mrs. Narusegawa said sweetly. Mei did, grateful she had been saved a scolding. Mrs. Narusegawa glanced at the now empty spot in front of her, the spot that was in front of her eldest daughter's room. Obviously they had been spying on Naru, but had they heard anything good? Mrs. Narusegawa noticed a crack in the door and a traces of a conversation spilling out, asking, no, begging to be listened to.
"Please," they cried. "Listen to us!" But Mrs. Narusegawa had more resolve and squashed these voices abruptly by slamming the door shut.
"She shouldn't leave the door open," Mrs. Narusegawa mumbled, walking back down the stairs to start preparing for dinner. It took a lot to feed a family of four, and she was sure that cute little Shinobu-chan would be staying over for dinner as well. She had, of course, wanted to talk to her daughter about this horrible man Urashima Keitaro for a long time now, but she knew that the years her daughter had spent at the Hinata-sou had inevitably created an impenetrable barrier between them. However, Mrs. Narusegawa always wanted her home to be a refuge, and if more than it was wonderful, but in times like this if not…well, that was just as good too. At least I get to see my daughter, she thought as she began to cook.
"What's that smell?" Naru asked entering the kitchen. Shinobu was close behind, dabbing her eyes with a tissue.
"Dinner," Mrs. Narusegawa replied. Really, she couldn't complain. She didn't relish the memory of when he eldest left the house crying, but by now she had accepted it and since it was her fault that she left…but she didn't want to think about it.
"It smells good mom!" Naru complemented, coming over. Shinobu followed. They watched her cook for a while, preparing various herbs, vegetables, and prepping the meat by pouring oil into the wok so she could cook the already marinated meat.
"Ah…um…" Shinobu stuttered. She started to say something, but then she didn't.
"What is it?" Mrs. Narusegawa asked.
"Well…err…you, ah, didn't put enough oil to cook the meat in," Shinobu said quickly. Mrs. Narusegawa looked. It seemed that there would be enough… (A/N: I really don't know anything about cooking, so this could all be fake, but it sort of sounds real to the unknowing person that I am…accept it as a general piece of advice about cooking that most people don't know) "It's just that with that meat – see it is leaner? – there needs to be more oil because the fat doesn't help as a natural oil of sorts. And I know that meat doesn't have quite the necessary juices to give it flavor to cook it as well, which is why you used that marinade I assume."
"Well…you know a lot about cooking than any seventh grader I know does!" Mrs. Narusegawa exclaimed. "Is it a hobby?"
"Um…you could say that," Shinobu said, drawing back. Naru interjected.
"You should see Shinobu, mom, every day she cooks dinner and sometimes breakfast and lunch on the weekends! It's really good!" Naru cried. Shinobu blushed at the praise.
"Well…I'm amazed, Shinobu-chan!" Mrs. Narusegawa said. "You'll make a good wife someday." Shinobu smiled at the usual comment.
"Yes!" she replied heartily.
"Though today I am cooking, so go make yourselves comfortable. Naru-chan, could you set up the table?" Mrs. Narusegawa asked.
"Yes mom," she replied. She went to do so while Shinobu offered her assistance.
"No no…well…you could ask the other family members to come to dinner," Mrs. Narusegawa said eventually.
"Yes ma'am!" Shinobu cried, and she left to find them.
"My my, what a spirit-full little girl," Mrs. Narusegawa commented.
(A/N: Why isn't "spiritful" a word?)
Downtown Hinata-sou
SLAP! A palm-across-the-face sound reverberated throughout the park.
"Go away you monster! I hate you Hisaki!" A girl sprinted away.
"No wait! Come back!" Hisaki, a stocky yet handsome high school boy cried, but the girl who had almost been attacked except for her boldness was gone. "Crazy females! I didn't like her anyways." He sulked, putting his hands into his pocket. Yes, this Hisaki is the very same one from Motoko's class, the one who would like to be known as "irresistible," as he had been in junior high. But when he entered High School, Motoko and Komachi didn't fall to his manly wiles and he had made it his goal to get them so he could do what he wanted with them. Motoko, since she was the leader, was his first target, but up until now he had no chance. Heck, he hadn't even gotten close to Sakura, their bubbly boy-struck friend, even though he saw that she clearly liked him.
"Stupid females," he muttered again. Today, he had wanted some fun, but apparently he was not going to be allowed any. He spotted a couple and snickered. Well if I can't enjoy my day, I'm not going to let anybody else enjoy it either! He thought, and started to sneak behind the couple. He listened in to their conversation.
"Keitaro, I don't really feel like eating dinner. I think we've, ah, done enough."
"Nonsense Motoko-chan! What kind of date would end right if we didn't go for dinner?" And the couple walked swiftly by Hisaki, who was frozen to his spot in shock. Was that…had that been…Motoko? Aoyama Motoko, the girl who had so resolutely refused his charms, or anyone else's? And she was with…what looked like a COLLEGE STUDENT? Hisaki recovered in time to see them turn the corner and he followed them. Ah…a true voyeur in the making, but a very bad stalker. He tripped over a trash can and quickly looked away when Keitaro and Motoko turned around to see what the loud noise had been. When Hisaki turned back around, he saw they had moved along and he crept along the edge of the park where they were walking.
"What are you doing?" Startled, Hisaki jumped to see a decently pretty green-eyed brown haired girl.
"Ah…walking along the park?" Hisaki answered. "It's perfectly legal to do so!" Why was he defending himself against a girl?
"You sure you weren't stalking someone?" the girl asked.
"What! Of course not!" Hisaki replied, but not with enough resolve.
"Liar," the girl accused. "I saw you watching Keitaro-sama and that horrid horrid girl he is with."
"Keitaro?" Hisaki asked in wonder. So that's his name, he mused to himself.
"What! You don't even know of the sacred and beautiful Urashima Keitaro?" the girl asked in surprise and anger.
"Should I?" Hisaki asked. SLAP! For the second time that day, Hisaki was slapped across the face. "What the—?" he started to shout in anger but suddenly he saw a giantess looming over him, her eyes glowing with some evil force.
"If you EVER," Morita Noriko shouted, "Treat MY Keitaro-sama with such flippant disregard again…YOU SHALL BE PUNISHED!" Hisaki, great man that he was, whimpered.
"Ye-yes!" he squeaked. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and Hisaki was finding that out quickly.
"LET'S GO FOLLOW THEM!" she demanded, and Hisaki followed. He hated this girl who somehow had commanded him around. Who was she? With all his experience, you would think he would know women had a secret evil side like this to them. So why did he follow anyways? SLAP! Oh yeah, that's why, Hisaki thought as he rubbed his sore cheek.
Fancy Restaurant
"Well you chose a nice place," Motoko commented, entering the waiting area of Watanabe's. Keitaro looked around to see if a lot of people were waiting for a seat. Sometimes, he knew there would be a 30 min waiting period or sometimes a 2 hour waiting period. He did not want to wait for 2 hours. I should have made a reservation, he thought, but he hadn't known the date was going to run this long.
"Yes…" Keitaro replied, realizing with a deepening feeling in his gut it was going to be at least 45 minutes until a table freed up. Keitaro told Motoko to wait while he walked up to the hostess anyways.
"Hello and welcome to Watanabe's! Are you looking for a table for two?" she asked enthusiastically. Keitaro nodded his affirmation while he fingered his wallet. Did he have enough cash? "Ok…let's see…the wait will be about…ah…one hour and fifteen minutes. Here is your number." Keitaro was handed a slip of paper with the number 258 scrawled on it. An hour and fifteen minutes? What am I going to do for that time? He thought. "Would you like a menu while you wait or shall you be returning in that time?" The hostess' eyes perked up as Keitaro thought.
"No…no, I would not like a menu. We'll be back in an hour," Keitaro replied, and the hostess cheerfully nodded.
"Ok then," she affirmed, and Keitaro walked back to Motoko.
"She said it'll be an hour wait," Keitaro informed Motoko.
"An hour?" she asked. "Well…is it worth it?" Keitaro shrugged his shoulders.
"I like it but an hour is long…" he said. "We could do something else for an hour."
"Like what?" Motoko asked.
"Ah…" Keitaro stumbled. Motoko stood up briskly.
"We'll be back since you like it. We can just take a stroll in the park," Motoko said. Motoko seemed to have grabbed this idea from no where. A s-stroll in the park? On a Saturday night? Keitaro thought as Motoko led the way. Did Motoko want to…no…kiss? Isn't that what people do at a park at night? Keitaro thought, remembering several times where he had cut through the park at night and seen such. She walked out of the restaurant, with Keitaro following behind.
Keitaro reflected on how his date was going. For the second one in his life, it hadn't been that bad. Sure at one point Morita Noriko had busted in and they had run out, but that had been short lived. The date was, actually, a really smashing success. Right now, they felt comfortable (well…at least comfortable to talk to each other) and could converse freely, unlike the morning. It was almost like they had known each other since childhood and had grown up together, though this clearly wasn't the case, and Keitaro sighed in relief. Yes…the date was going very very smoothly.
Suddenly Keitaro realized they were at the park and Motoko put an arm over his shoulder. Ironic, because Motoko was 4 cm taller than Keitaro who was at a very respectable 176 cm, and because Keitaro had been thinking of doing the same thing only he realized that he was shorter than her. Suddenly he felt nauseated and stumbled on his own feet.
"Keitaro!" Motoko asked, taking her other hand to grab him. Keitaro didn't respond. "Keitaro!" Motoko felt his pulse, but it was still strong. So he had just fallen unconscious? Motoko listened for his breath and heard a steady noise. She breathed in relief, but why had he fainted?
"KEITARO-SAMA!" Motoko's heart sank at the shout. "DON'T DIE!" Motoko reluctantly turned around and saw Morita Noriko rushing at her, her hands waving frantically while…while Hisaki from her class followed! What the heck?
"Keitaro-sama!" Noriko shouted again. She stopped at a safe distance from Motoko; safe meaning ten feet. "Did you hurt him!" She was nearly frantic, and Motoko was incensed at the implication that she had hurt Keitaro. Wasn't she on a date with him?
Wasn't she indeed, Motoko thought as she reflected herself. For her first date ever, and considering her usual luck with all things feminine, this was going extremely well. Had she acted like a proper date partner? She didn't usually use the word girlfriend, but now…wasn't she? Girlfriends go on dates with their boyfriends, didn't they? And wasn't she on a date with Keitaro? Her heart fluttered slightly. A date… she thought. She had become so comfortable with Keitaro that she felt like she had known him for a very long time.
"Keitaro-sama! Wake up!" Motoko heard Noriko shout from her reflection. Yet I have as much claim on Keitaro as this girl does. In fact, she has probably admired him for longer, Motoko thought. But one thing remained true for Motoko that was not true for Noriko – Keitaro had chosen her. She was glad that a stalker like her did not get her way.
"No way! Motoko-chan, it IS you!" Hisaki shouted. "It…can't be!" he cried. "What about the anti-men attitude? And you were seduced by a college student! Nooooo!" Hisaki was clearly distraught, because he had wanted to be the first one to go out with Motoko. It was a great blow to his ego. He staggered.
"Keitaro-sama!" Noriko shrieked again. "Come back to life!" Motoko, who had Keitaro's head in her lap, was deciding whether she should say or do anything. She had just decided to keep quiet when she heard another shout, one she hadn't expected to hear. It was so unexpected that when she turned around to confirm what she had heard, she almost fainted.
"Keitaro! Keitaro!"
"Sempai!"
"Mo-chan!"
"Motoko-chan? Keitaro-Kun?"
:About half and hour before:
Somewhere Else Downtown
"Ah! Your mom can cook really well!" Sakura-chan said, licking her lips. She had just come from Komachi's house, where they had ate after giving up on the trail of Motoko and Keitaro, for who know how long Motoko could stay in there?
"I better think so, considering you ate ALL of the pot stickers," Komachi said, slightly irritated. Pot stickers were her favorite food that her mom cooked, and Sakura had eaten virtually all of it, leaving her only a couple dismal looking ones.
"Well…it was just SO good!" Sakura cried out. She clapped her hands together in enthusiasm and jumped up in joy because they had been just SOOOO good. BUMP! Sakura crashed into another person while jumping.
"Oh, I'm sorry…" Komachi said, excusing Sakura because she was such a clumsy person like that.
"It's okay, I…Komachi-chan?" Komachi looked up and examined the person who had been bumped into.
"S-shinobu? And Naru?" Komachi asked mouth agape. Indeed, they were right there in person. Komachi had heard rumors that Naru had left, but here they were! Yet indeed she had seen Keitaro-kun and Motoko-chan on a date! What the heck was going on?
"What the heck is going on!" Komachi asked. Naru and Shinobu helped Sakura up.
"We're just shopping downtown," Shinobu explained. "After eating."
"Just like us!" Sakura said. "Want to shop with us?" Komachi sighed. Obviously Sakura had no idea what they had just witnessed, even though they lost the pair in the museum. The pair, consisting of Motoko and Keitaro, they had spied on through a video camera, but died after only half an hour and it seems they spent long time in there as Komachi assumed they, or at least, Motoko, would. Sakura, it seemed, had no sense of what Naru and Shinobu were going through. Or at least Naru.
"Sure," Shinobu replied. They all stood together, silent for a moment. "Well, where should we go?"
"We could get something to eat!" Sakura said. GOOMPH! Komachi fainted.
"You JUST ate at MY house!" she cried in frustration. How did she stay so thin if she ate so much? How did she even manage to walk with so much food in her belly?
"Oh yeah! And it was good!" Sakura realized. The food must power her stupidity, Komachi concluded. There was another silence that permeated the atmosphere.
"So…" Sakura asked, "How's life at the Hinata-sou? How's Kei-kun doing?" Komachi could not believe what she had just heard. Sakura knew that Keitaro and Motoko were a couple, but now was blatantly asking Naru and Shinobu, who Komachi knew were the two who probably loved Keitaro the most along with Motoko, how he was? Komachi didn't know that Naru had run away, but definitely knew that if Motoko and Keitaro were now "boyfriend and girlfriend," something must have happened between Naru and Keitaro. I should have told Sakura that! Komachi said. But I would have thought she would be more insightful with things like that! What is going on with her today? Sakura was not a rude girl, yet she had forgotten in several minutes that she had just eaten?
"Um…" Shinobu stuttered, eyeing Naru from the corner of her eye. "He's…okay…and life is…fine." Shinobu decided to answer neutrally. She had a special camaraderie with Narusegawa at the moment, and did not feel like threatening it. Not that she would have said anything even if she had just met Naru on the street.
"Really now?" Sakura asked. Suddenly Komachi saw Sakura wink at her! What the—? Komachi thought. Is she planning something devious? Often in the past, Sakura had tried to set Komachi and especially Motoko up with boys she thought would past their inspection, but of course these encounters always ended up with someone getting hurt, and it usually wasn't Komachi or Motoko. But now…what could she be planning?
"Well," Naru said, clearly changing the subject. "We were just going to the mall and—"
"We were going there too!" Sakura exclaimed again. Lies! Komachi thought in horror. We were just going to the bookstore! "Let's go together!" Naru and Shinobu looked at each other, shrugged, then nodded.
"Sure," they both agreed, and Komachi fainted again. GOOMPH!
"Are you coming Komachi?" Sakura asked. She winked at her while Naru and Shinobu chatted with each other lightly. "C'mon," she whispered. "I have a good plan on how to get them to forget about Kei-kun!" She stood up and said loudly, "Alright then. Let's go!" and skipped in the direction towards the mall. Wait! Komachi thought in horror again. I'm sure they don't want to be reminded! But it was too late for Sakura had already grabbed Shinobu's and Naru's hands and swung them while she skipped in such an overjoyed manner that Shinobu and Naru nearly tripped. Komachi followed slowly after them. What is Sakura thinking? Komachi thought. Is she out to help them or ruin Motoko-chan and Keitaro-chan's date?
A park was on the right as they walked to the mall. Komachi glanced down the lane that led to it and wondered to herself if Keitaro and Motoko were down there this very minute. She shook her head violently. Of course it would be preposterous that they would be at the park just when I passed by, Komachi thought.
"What are you getting at the mall?" Sakura asked joyfully. Komachi knew that some sort of conversation had been going on, but she for some reason had been ignoring it. It was all trite and useless anyways.
"Oh. Well, we were actually going to, ah, get our hair cut," Shinobu said. "And maybe buy some pants. I need some," Shinobu added almost second-handedly.
"Hair cut eh?" Sakura asked, smiling. Shinobu nodded, but not without looking at Naru quickly. Komachi caught that glance, and to her it seemed that Shinobu was being especially careful to not offend Naru. Hmm…Hair-cutting usually signifies a broken relationship! Does this mean they are both over Keitaro? Komachi thought. (A/N: I will make a confession here. I have no idea if this is true. I read it in a manga, Marmalade Boy, which by itself is a crazy story, and have decided to incorporate my new found maybe fake knowledge here. By the way I don't own any rights to Marmalade Boy)
"Stop trying to escape and follow me now!" Komachi heard someone shout.
"But…" SLAPPITY! They all didn't miss the distinct palm that someone's face had just received. With a whimper, the second voice meekly replied, "Ok." They all looked over at a boy and girl who had just done this exchange, and it seemed quite humorously enough that the boy had been the one trying to escape and the girl who had slapped him was in charge.
"Haha," Sakura gleefully laughed. "That boy looks like Hisaki." Komachi looked closer at the boy. With a sickening and curious sensation at the same time, she suddenly realized that indeed it was Hisaki. And was that Morita Noriko…?
"Hey," Naru exclaimed before Komachi could make her exciting revelation. "Isn't that Morita Noriko?"
"Yeah! She's the girl who always followed Sempai around!" Shinobu said.
"You mean stalked him," Naru snorted in disgust. "As if any girl should be stalking Keitaro…"
"What is she doing here? Is she going out with that boy?" Shinobu asked. "Did she give up on Sempai?" Komachi spoke up for the first time in a while since they had bumped into Naru and Shinobu.
"No. Girls like that never give up," she said. "Plus that boy is from my class and a real jerk. He likes to prey on innocent females. From what I've seen Morita Noriko isn't one to take it easy, and retaliated."
"But where are they going?" Shinobu asked. "And why are they together?" There was no one to answer her, and Komachi was about to shrug it off and not bother when Sakura smiled slyly and said,
"There's only one way to find out!"
:Back to the present:
The Park
Keitaro felt odd. For some reason his head was pounding like it never had before, even though he was resting on something soft. What was the reason for the pain? He didn't open his eyes yet, because he felt that if he did the pounding just might increase. In the far distance, he thought he heard several voices calling his name. No… he thought groggily. Let me stay here for a bit more. The voices grew louder. He could almost make out what they were saying, but the pounding in his head was louder than the voices. Please let me rest until the pounding stops! He thought again. Maybe if he shut his ears then he would not hear them anymore. How do I shut them without moving my hands? He thought. Any slight movement was another thing that might increase the pounding. Huh, he thought. Maybe I was just born to suffer. Suddenly the pounding stopped and he heard voices calling his name crystal clear.
"Sempaaiii!"
"Keitaro-chan!"
"Kei-kun!"
"Keitaro-sama!"
"Keitaro!"
Five different ways of calling his name, yet none struck him more than the last one. Narusegawa! He thought and instantly opened his eyes and sat up straight. The scene he woke up to made him instantly regretting he did so. He saw clearly from her surprised face that he had been laying on Motoko's lap, and for some reason Morita Noriko was there as well as another boy. Narusegawa and Shinobu were running towards him with Sakura and Komachi close behind. And they were all yelling his name!
"Keitaro-sama! You're awake!" Morita Noriko cried.
"Sempai! Thank goodness!" Shinobu cried as well, still rushing over.
"Ha! I knew Kei-kun couldn't actually faint!" Sakura shouted.
"Keitaro-chan! That was close," Komachi said, slowing down from running.
"KEITARO YOU IDIOT!" And although he had heard this shout many times before, although he had received many punches in his life time, and although he knew he was one of the unluckiest guys in the world, especially when it comes to love, when he saw Narusegawa running towards him with her fist ready to smack him for all he was worth, the love he had for her seemed to wink out of existence and as he felt a connection from her fist to his face even the suggestion of love for this violently mad girl who always jumped to conclusions sputtered and died. All the months, weeks, he had spent madly in love with her, crazy for her, willingness to travel to the ends of the earth for her, evaporated in a single punch that sent him flying away from Motoko's side and into the distance where the love streamed out of him in tears.
Everyone stood in shock at Narusegawa who had just smashed into oblivion a man who had just woken from consciousness. Her eyes shone with tears.
A/N: How's that for an angsty ending eh? Eh? Well, I figured it was necessary because somehow I found I needed to make Keitaro fall out of love with Narusegawa (that crazy girl! By the way, I'm NOT a Naur-basher) and I figured why not let this chapter be the one? So one more chapter towards the end, one giant leap for me! Please R&R!