AN: There is a mention of Shao-zen later on in this chapter and I have no clue who that's supposed to be. I don't know if it's a cultural difference, if I'm just a shut in or if it's a made up name by the creators to symbolize a classmate they both know, so I chose the last option. Also, forgive me if I geek out a bit out martial arts at the end.

Chapter 4: Her Love

Working for Seta actually wasn't bad. Of course, Sarah was a brat, but after a week, Keitaro was learning to work around the little girl. In the short time he'd been working for the insane man, Keitaro had come to have a deeper respect for him. Seta even started to connect with him a bit, confessing that he too had failed the entrance exam three times. Keitaro had been stunned.

For all Seta's insanity and inability to drive, it was clear he was very smart, although he could be Keitaro's uncle for his streak of bad luck. Seta pointed out the reason he loved archeology was because the idea was just to dig in the hopes of finding something. Even if you never found what you were looking for, that was no reason not to enjoy the dig.

This inspired Keitaro to try again to get into Tokyo U. However, now things were different. He wasn't trying to get in for a promise he'd made as a kid, he was trying to get in for himself. As much as he hated to admit it, his promised girl was most likely gone. Assuming that she was also stupid enough to try and fill a promise from when she was five, there was a few other problems.

No one looked like they did when they were five, and he certainly didn't have a name to go alone with her five-year-old face. There was very little chance she'd actually remember what he had looked like then, and he was different now too. Not to mention, any girl who was actually that sweet and caring would certainly have a man in her life by the time she was twenty.

At first, it had hurt a lot, but he began to understand this was probably for the best. Keitaro had always believed in fate. Everything that happened was for a reason, even if it wasn't clear what the reason was. There was a reason he'd stressed getting into Tokyo U, and it had brought him here in life.

It was the reason he was the manager of the Hina Apartments for one. Had he gone to some other college, he'd never of had time to run the place and meet all his new friends. So, happy with the idea of moving into something for himself, Keitaro went to where the global pretests were taking place.

As he reached down to pick up an application, something intervened. Call it Kami or fate or his damn fool luck, his arm bumped up against Naru Narusegawa's.

This city ought to be way too crowded for me to keep running into her, he thought glumly.

This sparked something inside him: a realization. When he had stopped being happy to see Naru? Of course, he had felt fear when she was angry, but this was beyond even that. He wasn't afraid of her, he was just tired of her. He was tired of her leading him on and pulling him around by the nose only to punch him in the face later.

Now, when he saw Naru, it actually made him feel irritated… That was a real problem. Logically of course, Keitaro was deciding he really didn't want a romantic relationship with Naru, but emotions are harder to get over than just a bit of logic.

"Keitaro!"

"Oh, hey Naru!"

"What are you doing here?"

He decided he didn't want to hear it. Keitaro was in no mood to hear the accusatory smugness that was Naru. He wasn't prepared to handle her mocking tones and pointed comments to others, only to insult him later if he failed.

And of course he would fail. He hadn't been studying at all. Sighing, he turned around and left, not saying anything.

He felt Naru's foot collide with the side of his head, and he fell over clutching his ear.

"Thanks for that," he mumbled.

"Don't ignore me! I thought you'd decided to give up and go work part-time."

"I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I had a lot of options in front of me and decided it might be worth trying out again... Maybe see if it was worth it to me."

"Oh, alright then!"

Naru grabbed two admittance forms and began filling one out for him to, big smile on her face.

"I said might be worth trying out again."

"Your birthday is January 5th right? Don't worry, we can study together."

I don't want to study together!

"I haven't opened a book in a long time, so I'll be way behind."

"Don't worry about it," she said. "Your basic is alright, so I should be able to catch you up."

Yeah, right before you hit me and say I'm stupid.

He started mentally running through what he would and wouldn't have to know as Naru and he made the trip back to the Hina apartments together. Mathematics was, of course, his weakness. He had some sort of block about them, so that even the basics were hard to grasp.

Beyond the basics, math was really just remembering formulas and plugging in the right numbers. If he could do that, then maybe he'd stand a decent chance.

"Hey Keitaro," said Naru, snapping him out of his world. "On our trip to Okinawa, you said you liked me… is that true?"

Keitaro knew the answer. If it had been true at one time, it wasn't anymore. Oh sure, he still cared about Naru, and did want to be her friend. But now, that's all he wanted. He didn't want to go through all the fighting and arguing that was always happening between them. Relationships were hard enough without the couple actually trying to destroy each other.

"I'm not being cocky," she said. "No one has said that to me before. So… is it true?"

"Um… about that… I mean…"

"Are you serious?" shouted Naru.

Goodbye moment.

"Wait, I don't…"

"Why can't man up!" she shouted. "I won't like you very much at all!"

"What the hell does that even mean?!"

Naru turned towards the apartments, leaving him collapsed on the steps, still trying to work out what the hell she'd been saying.

"Keitaro… I don't hate you."

"What are you even talking about? I am confused as all hell!"

"What do you think of Shao-zen?"

Shao-zen was a classmate of theirs. She was pretty, and popular, but she and Keitaro had never really got on well or talked much.

"I don't know," he said, scratching his head. "I mean, I guess she's pretty and all."

"Forget it!" Naru said, hitting him.

"Fine, I will!" Keitaro said, and started heading inside.

Right as he turned, the doom van made it's custom appearance, flipping over twice before landing at Keitaro's feet.

"What the hell?" Naru asked, diving out of the way of the van.

Seta walked out of the van only to be sucker-punched by Naru and called a pervert.

"That wasn't me," said Keitaro.

"Then, who is it?"

"Hey there Narusegawa," said Seta with his trademark head wound.

"S… Seta?"

"Oh, you two do know each other," said Keitaro, seeing Naru's eyes widen like dinner plates. "Oh that's funny! The sempai you admire so much is my boss!"

Keitaro actually started laughing softly. Naru suddenly stood and sprinted away, laughing hysterically. As much as Keitaro was irritated with her, he did care about her and knew this couldn't end well.

"Everyone!" he called to the other inhabitants. "Help me with her!"

"Leave it to me," said Motoko, drawing her blade.

How often have I been on the receiving end of that Motoko?

"Sacred Wind Blade!"

Naru feel down in a heap, holding her sides in pain.

"Now I know what it feels like to be Keitaro," she mumbled.

Keitaro hoped silently that might mean she would hit him less from now on, and then helped examine Naru's injuries. Motoko, of course, hadn't intentionally hurt Naru. She was used to attacking him and Keitaro was a little more nimble than the brunette was. He pulled her up and Seta joined them.

"Long time no see, Narusegawa."

"Y-Yeah. Long time," she mumbled.

"Let's go inside, get some tea." Keitaro offered.

He sat between Seta and Naru, watching Naru constantly shifting herself.

"So, Keitaro,' said Seta, smiling. "You have tea in your room right?"

"Yeah, Naru can you…"

"Of course," she said, in a way very un-like her.

Her voice was all high and different… and it didn't suit her at all. She began boiling the water for the tea before Seta spoke again.

"I had no idea you two knew each other. Are you going out?"

This question actually punished Keitaro by having Naru dump hot water all over him. He grumbled, trying to clean himself up as best as he could while Naru hopped up and down denying Seta's statement.

"We're not together," Keitaro said, replacing his glasses. "I'm just in the same school as her."

"Ah I see. I think re-doing the exam will be good for you. Both of you actually. Make sure you do your best."

"So sempai," said Naru. "What have you been doing for two years?"

"Oh I've been all over. I've been lost in the desert, attacked by snakes in the jungle, attacked by long-lost tribes and unfortunately that all has kept me too busy to keep in contact."

"No, don't worry about the tea," said Keitaro. "I'll remake it."

"Seta… I mean," Naru said, failing to actually say anything.

"What's wrong Naru?"

Keitaro decided to do something he was sure to regret, but wanted to get one over on Naru, for all the times she'd beat him.

"Naru likes you."

It earned him a punch to the back of the head, but he took the hit in stride setting down the tea in front of everyone.

"Naru? Is that true?"

She nodded softly.

"Well then," said Seta, standing and smoking a cigarette. "I should say, I like you too."

Naru's face went beat red, and she smiled the smile that only Seta got.

"Thank you sempai…"

"I also like Keitaro," Seta said placing a hand on Keitaro's shoulder.

"What?!"

"I like a lot of the people here. The Hina apartments are full of good people!"

Keitaro sighed, looking downward. Despite Seta's brilliance, he was truly hopeless. Maybe that was why he was an archeologist without any romantic ties. The rest of the tea was drank in a very awkward silence until Seta excused himself, and got back into his doom van.

"See you tomorrow boss," said Keitaro, waving.

"See you then, Keitaro. Remember, study hard for the exams."

Naru didn't wait two seconds after Seta left, but immediately went into her room, without a word. Keitaro glanced at the clock, and saw it was already nine at night. He wasn't particularly tired, but he did have a lot to do tomorrow, so getting an early night was probably a good idea.

He changed into his pajamas and lay down on his bed, trying to relax. However, his body wasn't in a cooperative mood. He was completely restless, as if he'd slept for days. After two hours of failing to even relax, Keitaro gave up on sleeping. Going over to his old textbooks, he cracked open one related to world history. It was one of the few subjects he could study on without help, even if he didn't do all that well in it.

Science and math required tricks and formulas, but history was just straight memorization, so he felt confident he could at least get that down. He just sat in the comfort of his room, drinking tea and reading up on the hundred years war and the Plantagenet family, who ruled England at the time.

Honestly it was fascinating. Even Japan's own history of samurai warriors was cool to read about. Something about the mastery of the sword and martial arts had always fascinated him, even when he was young. It seemed so much better than modern wars, which were all about who had the biggest bombs and the scariest guns.

It was at least three in the morning when he finally closed the textbook, satisfied with his progress, and yet he wasn't tired.

"At this rate, I'll have to just power through the whole day."

All-nighters were no stranger to him. Between college studies and the regular insanity of the apartments, he'd often had to skip sleep, and had become used to coping with it. He decided to go outside and practice the forms of Jujitsu. He hadn't actually been trained in the style since he was twelve, but he'd always found the forms would help him keep his mind trained and focused.

Most martial arts involved the ability to balance the spirit and the body, or yin and yang as tradition would have it. Keitaro had never mastered the balance of the art, and therefore never really progressed in his training. He did have the occasional moments of truly impressive defense, such as a perfect sword stop, but they were honestly by accident.

He continued going through the forms and even some basic attacks when he suddenly heard a voice behind him.

"Your footing is horrible."

"Huh?" he asked, turning around.

There sat Motoko, in her usual training gear, her sword laying across her lap. She did not look angry or even serious, she was just watching him with curiosity.

"I never would've pictured you as someone who practiced martial arts."

"Sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "I didn't know you were there. I haven't actually practiced for years. When I was younger, Haruka trained me in Jujitsu, but I never really got good at it."

"Not surprising."

"Gee thanks," he said sarcastically.

"I'm not insulting you," she said.

He looked her in the eyes and saw she wasn't actually trying to be mean. She was… like a teacher who examined a student.

"Sorry," he said again. "I've been on edge these past few days. Naru and I are… at odds, I guess."

"That's putting it lightly. You should give up Jujitsu. It doesn't suit you. It's all about fighting armored opponents and driving an offense. That's not you. Something like Taekwondo or Aikido would be better for you."

"I don't really know much about either."

"Taekwondo is about keeping the opponent back to provide a defense. Aikido keeps a perfect defense, exploiting the opponent's weakness and turning their energy against them. Those stances would be better for you."

"That'd be amazing. How do you know so much about martial arts?"

"I am not just a swordswoman. I practiced Tai Chi and Judo along with my swordsmanship. It is important to know defense if you are unarmed."

"Could you teach me more about Aikido? It sounds like something I'd like!"

"It takes years of study and work to master, but I can at least show you some basic footwork."

He bowed, formally.

"Thank you, Motoko."

"I have to train, and you should be getting ready for your job. I shall meet you here tomorrow… If you're serious about training. I won't waste time on a quitter."

"You know I'm not a quitter."

She smiled softly.

"See you later, Urashima."