Chapter 17: Pain

A new day has started and the resident chef once again served breakfast. But unlike any other day, it was not Keitaro who was the main topic in the table instead it was now the couple. Naru and Keitaro have finally made it official when he got home yesterday. There were a lot of expected responses such as Shinobu's break down, Kitsune's drunken comments, and Suu's right foot. But while eating, they noticed that Motoko still hasn't say a word since yesterday.

"Hey Motoko," Kitsune finally shouted after calling the girl's name for some time now.

"Yes," Motoko replied. She seemed to have snapped out of some sort of trance when she heard her name.

"Are you okay," Kitsune asked out of concern. "You've been staring blankly into space for sometime now honey."

"Of course I am," she lied. She then quickly returned her attention to the scene in front of her. Besides the point that they were laughing, the two looked completely happy. Naru was teasing Keitaro about his manners and Keitaro was snapping back at her comments. Motoko couldn't stomach it, she could barely breath as she watched her love interested talking to none other than the girl she promised to surpass. Words started pilling up in her head, "he's smiling at her not me, he's complimenting her not me, he loves her not me, and he chose her not me." Her heart continued to skip beats as these words continued to echo in her head. She couldn't stand it. It was too much. But things turned from bad to worst as an invitation echoed in the room.

"Hey Motoko mind accompanying Keitaro and me to the supermarket later," Naru casually asked.

"What for sempai," Motoko replied half-heartedly.

"We we're planning on having a party here at the dorms and it looks like the supply we have won't last," Naru replied.

"But what about the budget Keitaro-sempai," Motoko inquired. "Didn't you spend most of it yesterday?"

"Well Naru wanted the party so bad that she said she'll pay for some of it," Keitaro explained.

"I see," Motoko said. "But what do you guys need me for?"

"Oh, we just wanted an extra pair of hands," Naru replied and smiled at the black haired girl. "But if you don't want to we can always ask Kitsune there."

"No it's okay sempai," Motoko replied, her heart stopped as she said these words; in reality her mind shouted something else. "No! I don't want to! I don't want to see you two happy…"

"That's great," Naru smiled. "Well then, why don't we leave after lunch?"

The other two nodded and breakfast returned to how it was in the beginning.

After hours of wait, the three were finally ready to leave. Motoko was the last one to join the two though. She came down the stairs and saw the two at the door holding hands. Her heart ached as she looked them, but she tried her best to hide this as she approached the other two.

"Let's go," Naru suggested, pulling Keitaro out of the door. Motoko followed and soon they were at the mall. Their first stop was the party store, where they bought the materials to make the goods. After buying the props, the three went towards the grocery store. There, they decided to split up to buy all the ingredients faster.

Motoko was assigned to buy the vegetables. At the section, she slowly but accurately bought the freshest vegetables from the ones available. And after a few minutes, she looked at the cart and realized that se might have bought too much. But remembering Suu, this might not even be sufficient. Smiling at the thought, she hurriedly went back to the others to finish up her part. But what awaited her was something she knew she would never get use to.

Keitaro slowly came from behind and gently hugged the brown hair girl at the waist. The girl flinched a bit but immediately recovered and placed her hands at the top of his. She looked up and noticed his sweet smile and her reply was her own.

"Where do you think you're touching," she asked, teasing him a bit. She didn't dislike how he touched her but she knew this was better than doing nothing. "And how about your part of the grocery?"

"Don't worry, I already finished it," he replied smiling, backing away from the girl. But instead of smiling, Naru gave a quick frown before smiling again. "Anyway, mind if I help you out?"

"Thank you, but I can handle this my self," she answered, looking at the spices she had in the bag. She was in charge of the spices they were going to use to flavor the food, they were going to cook. "You should finish paying those off for now. They seem…" But her words stopped coming out when she felt his lips touch hers. And even though it only lasted a few seconds, it felt like an eternity to her. She couldn't help but smile when they broke off and the only words that trailed out of her lips were, "idiot."

Motoko stood a few meters away from the two, not too close or too far. She was just at the right place at the right time when the two shared their passionate moments together. And the only thing she could do was stare. They were already doing things they didn't do before back at the apartment and now their kissing in public. But she wasn't mad at the act itself instead she was jealous, she was jealous of Naru. She always wanted to kiss him, not the kind she had when she was acting but something much more sincere.

Contemplating whether she should approach the two and give them her share or should she wait for the two to cool down from what they were doing. But before she could come to any decision, she heard her name coming from their direction. She reluctantly smiled and walked towards them.

"Here are the vegetables," Motoko started, forcing a smile on her face.

"That was fast," Naru replied, shifting her attention from Keitaro to the kendo girl. Her face was still a little flushed from the events from earlier but she tried hiding this from the girl, thinking she might have not seen them. "Anyway these look amazing. Let's finish the rest together so we don't waste any more time."

The two nodded and they headed to the supple center. After a few minutes, they finished up at the counter and headed home. They arrived much earlier than expected and decided to rest up a bit before preparing the things needed for the party.

Motoko separated from the other two at the stairway and went straight to her room. She was mad, not at Naru but at herself. She didn't know why but she was just mad. Was it the scene she saw back at the store or was it the feelings that were starting to develop in her heart? Either way neither had any positive effect on her and she knew this. But she didn't have any time to ponder over these things as she only had a few minutes before the party start.

She decided to head to the manager's room to ask Keitaro what she could help out with when she saw a glimpse of Naru in the room. She backed away from the door before resting her ear on the door. She didn't know why she did it but it felt like the best thing to do at the moment. Listening to the conversation, she realized it was Keitaro who asked her to come. But it felt like Naru already knew what they would talk about and wasn't surprise at all. Taking a peek, she saw Keitaro slowly moving besides Naru and his actions suggest he just rested his hands on Naru's.

The next few minutes grew more intense for Motoko, as the two got more and more intimate their face also grew closer and closer. And a little longer their lips met. It wasn't like the one they had earlier. This was more intimate and Motoko knew it. She felt lonely as the continued kissing, her heart felt like it was about to burst and there was nothing she could do. She started tearing up with our realizing it but she couldn't feel it, she became completely numb and it only grew worst by the minute.

She stood up from the spot she was and walked away. She entered her room and slowly went to her bed. She sat there for a few minutes, staring at nothing before the sorrow in her tears turned even more intense. Every tear she shed was accompanied with a soft whimper. She was suppressing her cries since it was the only thing she could do. She knew they were meant to be together and there was nothing she could do to change that. But why did it felt so wrong when she knew she was doing something right?

Hi guys, sorry for the long wait. I wanted to update earlier but every time I open this document ideas weren't just pouring in. So it took me a really long time. I hope you forgive me. I also don't quite understand this chapter besides the point it's really sad.

Please continue waiting for more updates. Since it finally summer vacation for me and if I can another barrage of chapters are just waiting at the corner.

Humility sighing off..

P.S.

I'm writing a new original story, It's set in a world were online games are the trend. The problem is there are a group of gamers called 'knights' who couldn't stomach the lack of excitement in those games since all of them felt the same and lack the real sense of ROLE PLAYING. So they decided to create a game where there the characters themselves and the playing field isn't some dungeon instead the entire world. And the game play is set in battle royal.

And for my readers, I give you the chance to create your own character in this real life MMO. Just follow the format below and send it to me. You can send more than one.

Name:

Personality:

Relationship to the hero (friend, foe): -you can indicate if you would like him/her to change side-

Weapon:

Bio: -please fill up. This is his/her background in the story. If there is no bio, I won't be accepting him/her-

Thank you… You can submit more than one.