Somehow, Keitaro managed to drag his way back to the comfort of Hinata Sou. Even in the safe premises of the apartments, Keitaro felt as miserable as ever. He wasn't even in the mood to study, which was something Keitaro needed to do. He remained in the living room, with only his television program keeping him company.
"The transformers will return after these messages", The tv blared.
Without the autobots being viewed ahead of him, Keitaro felt truly alone. He felt alone, and he didn't like it. No, this was nothing new to him, he had felt this before. Keitaro had been clamped in the deep pressure of loneliness since the day he left Hinata Sou. Despite all the interaction he's had with the people of these apartments, Keitaro found it hard to get close to anyone. There was something in the back of his mind that always kept him from getting too close to anyone.
Why was he like this? He trusted them enough...Or did he? He felt like he got closer to them, there was no doubt about that. However, Keitaro felt that things just weren't as they should be. He knew it was no one's fault but his own.
"Do I still not trust them", Keitaro thought.
Why didn't he let them back into his life? The girls obviously cared for him, especially Naru. She may have been the one to push him away, but she was also the one who tried the hardest to earn his friendship back. His thoughts returned to earlier's conversation with Angel.
"Even if I did go crawling back, I at least took a chance! You need to get your ass together, and give Naru the time of day! Masuka would have wanted you to move on with your life!"
Why didn't he move on yet? Maybe he was too attached Masuka, or maybe he was still mad at Naru about what happened between him and her. Why couldn't he just not show emotions like Kanako did? Keitaro's thoughts then reverted to Kanako. She was still on her date with Han. It was getting late, close to ten P.M. Normally he would be worrying as if the world was going to end, but Keitaro was just too depressed to think otherwise.
From the front of the building came the sound of an opening door. Speak of the devil, it was none other than Kanako and Han. Keitaro shut off the television before greeting them at the entrance.
"Brother, you're still awake", Kanako asked a little surprised.
"I...I couldn't sleep", Keitaro told her in a low voice.
There was silence between the three for a moment or two.
"So, how was it? Did you have fun", Keitaro questioned in his still low tone.
"Oh yes brother", Kanako said almost as cheerful as Su. "They were amazing up on stage! Han even got us front row seats! I couldn't have asked for a better day!"
Keitaro put on a face smile that no one noticed. It's not that he was upset or jealous, he was merely envious of the two's wonderful time. Kanako was younger than him, and she was already ahead of him in the dating game. What's more, is that both Han and Kanako took a chance to find someone special, unlike him. The two looked so happy together, and Keitaro didn't want to infection with his melancholiness.
"Han", Keitaro said as he patted his arm. "Thanks for watching over my sister, and thanks for showing her a good time."
"Hey no problem", Han said. "It was a pleasure spending time with Kanako."
Neither of them noticed as Kanako's face tinted to the color of pink bubblegum. With nothing more to discuss, Keitaro bid them both a good night before leaving to his room. Han waited until he heard the sound of Keitaro room door close.
"So Kanako, are we gonna tell Keitaro what really happened today?"
"Absolutely not", Kanako said in her now serious voice.
Kanako's mind was set to rewind as she reviewed what had happened only a few hours ago. Both her and Han stood in the front rows as the five British boys sang their song. Han couldn't completely understand the song, as they weren't speaking Japanese. He knew enough of the words to grab the concept of the song. Kanako also explained that the current chosen song was called "More Than This".
"And then I see you on the street, In his arms, I get weak, My body fails, I'm on my knees Prayin"
Kanako was mesmerized by everything about the boys on stage. From their voices, to their movement, to even their funky hair styles. Han couldn't help but feel a little jealous, but he was glad she was having a good time. It was only going to be more memorable for Kanako beyond that point.
"When he opens his arms and holds you close tonight, It just won't feel right"
The one with stripes held up his arms in two directions. One of them looked like he was stopping traffic, and the other looked like he was letting someone through. Any Directioner fan could tell you what this meant. Kanako could have sworn that this singer was looking at her. She looked to her left and to her right, but on both sides were only boys, one of them being Han. She pointed to herself and whispered the question, "Me?" Her dreams were answered as the boy nodded, "Yes".
"Cause I can love you more than this, yeah, When he lays you down, I might just die inside, It just don't feel right, 'Cause I can love you more than this"
This was perhaps one of the greatest moments of Kanako's life. One Direction actually wanted her to join them on stage. Just like in her fantasies and dreams, Kanako extended her arm out to reach for him. However, fantasies and dreams are sometimes broken by those who are jealous.
Kanako shrieked as a jealous fan girl grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to the ground. Before any more damage could be done, Han shoved her off of Kanako before kneeling down to Kanako's level.
Han asked in concern, "Kanako, are you okay?!"
Before she could respond, one of the jealous fan girl's friends shoved Han and got in his face. Since Han was much bigger and stronger, Han was able to easily push him aside.
"Here, let me help you up", Han said as he turned his attention back to Kanako.
Kanako blushed a little bit as Han help her back to her feet. However the butterflies in her stomach turned into a constrictor as she noticed a menacing person behind Han.
"Han, behind you", Kanako yelled.
The soldier had no time to react before the crazy girl's friend slammed a chair into his back. The chair broke against Han's back into splinters.
"Aaaaaawww, I Eat Those", Han yelled back to his enemy.
Han and Kanako looked behind to the crowd. Each and every one of them looked menacing, intimidating, and frightening. It wasn't an ERT experiment or a vicious fire fight that scared Han. No, the angry eyes of a british boy band were what scared Han. They were scary, but they weren't a very big problem for Han. Even Kanako could defend herself. However, Han was completely oblivious to Kanako's fighting abilities.
Reacting more to a protective nature, Han grabbed Kanako by the back of her blouse before telling her, "Okay Kanako, time to make your dream come true." Kanako's eyes flared as she was tossed over Han's head and onto the stage. She landed square on her rear with a strong thud.
She looked at the crowd where Han became over run with angry fans. One after another the soldier threw, punched, or slammed away each fan. Before she could run to assist Han, one of her favorite boys brought her baby he safety of the back stage.
Reality returned to both of them once again. Han reverted his gaze back to Kanako.
"Sorry for throwing you so hard onto the stage. How is your bum", Han asked, but immediately regretted it afterwards.
Kanako blushed a tint of pink, "It's fine, thank you for asking. How is your eye?"
Han looked into the mirror as he rubbed his left eye.
"Eh, I've had worse. Thanks for letting me borrow your make up."
Han was referring to the fact that he now had a black eye. The make up did a nice job of hiding it from Keitaro. The two stood in an awkward silence. Kanako played with the tips of her hair, and Han grinned the soul of his into the floor.
"Kanako, I'm sorry today didn't go so well", Han apologized.
"It's okay, I had a good time", Kanako answered. "Maybe next time there will be less violence."
Han suddenly perked up like a newly watered flower when Han heard this.
"Next time? So there'll be a next time."
Kanako gave Han a playful look, "I wanted a next time...Don't you want a next time?"
"Yes", Han blurted without hesitation. "I mean umm, yes, yeah, that, that'll be nice."
Kanako giggled from watching Han trip over his words. It was an unknown riddle as to why girls liked to watch a boy sweat and struggle for them. Whatever it was, Kanako was enjoying it.
"Very well. I'll see you tomorrow", Kanako said as she placed a gentle kiss at the bottom of Han's jaw.
Han froze in a confusing bliss by what Kanako did. She would have placed a kiss on his cheek if Han wasn't so tall. Still, Han was willing to take whatever he could get. Kanako giggled one more time as she looked back to see Han with the biggest goofy grin she ever saw. He watched her accent up the stairs. Han made his way back to the training room where he could sleep well, and dream about what the next day with Kanako could bring.
In the manager's room, Keitaro was still as sad and depressed as ever. His gaze was focused on two photos. One was of Keitaro and Masuka in the photo album, the other was of Keitaro and Naru when they were in the photo booth. They were both moments forever frozen in time, but their voices spoke to him as if they were right then and there. The Urashima remembered the time he first kissed Masuka in the snow, and some of the words she said to him.
"Is there really a chance that I can still find happiness?"
"Yes", Was still Masuka's answer.
Keitaro changed his view to the picture of him and Naru. It was then that he started hearing what she told him when he had one of Draconian's spines in his back.
"Okay, Keitaro, I'll let you off the hook on this one...but remember, you can't bottle your emotions in. It will eventually catch up to you. I know it's too early to say this, but I need you to trust me again. If you don't, we can't be friends again. I'll keep trying, and I'll give you time...but you're going to eventually have to trust again. If not me, then someone else."
He rubbed the part of his spine where a new scar had formed under his clothes. Naru very well may have saved him from being a paraplegic if she hadn't removed that spike. Even now, she could be saving him from failure in the Tokyo U entrance exams. This though of gratitude brought another memory of her and him together.
"You can't just hold everything inside of you, it's not healthy. You'll be dead before the entrance exams even get here", Naru took another breath to calm herself down. "You don't have to shoulder everything on your own. You have your team to help you on the battle field...You have all of us to help you around Hinata Sou...And...You have me...I'm not going anywhere Keitaro. I don't want to lose you again...I couldn't bear it if I lost you again."
That had happened only about a week and a half ago. The memory of her hitting him, her scolding him, and her talking to him were still fresh in his mind. The argument between him and Angel was also still fresh in Keitaro's mind.
"Keitaro, open your eyes", Angel tried to shout some sense into Keitaro. "You live with nine women who love and care about you! You're just to defensive to let them get close to you!"
"Even if I did go crawling back, I at least took a chance", Angel stood his ground. "You need to get your ass together, and give Naru the time of day! Masuka would have wanted you to move on with your life!"
Keitaro felt defeated. Defeated by guilt, fear, and simple memories. However, even in defeat, a small victory was still achievable. Yet even in small victories, there was a price to pay. Keitaro slowly lifted the side of the photo album. With one last glance of his younger self and Masuka, Keitaro closed the photo album of their memory together.
Naru was sleeping soundly within her room. All was peaceful and just until a strong knock came from her door. After a few good, clear knocks, Naru groggily rose from her slumber to answer the door. At first, Naru simply thought it was Kitsune gettia knack from another night's worth of drinking. The usually in-sober girl sometimes asked Naru for help getting back to either her room or the toilet. In her surprise, Naru found Keitaro waiting at the door.
"Keitaro", Naru asked as she rubbed her eye.
"Naru I know it's late", Keitaro started, "But I need you to come with me. Put some clothes on and meet me outside at the bottom of the stairs."
"What now", Naru asked.
"Yes now", Keitaro said with a dead serious face. "Hurry, we don't have much time."
Naru watched as Keitaro dashed back to his own room. She couldn't help but wonder what he was up to. That look in his eyes told Naru that he wasn't joking around. Keitaro didn't look scary or anything. In fact, he looked rather determined. Not wanting to waste a moment like this between her and Keitaro, Naru opened her closet to wear something other than her pj's.
Just beneath her room, Keitaro slipped on a jacket over his vest. In his haste, Keitaro noticed that he put on his weight vest over his blue shirt. It didn't really matter, unless the fashion police came after him or something. Keitaro gather the mischelania things he carried in his pocket. That included his wallet, his knife, his gun, bike keys and a handkerchief. In his juror, Keitaro noticed a single item out of place.
Keitaro picked up the item and opened it to once again see a silver ring. He should have received a prize for this, as it was exactly the one thousandth time Keitaro looked at it so contently. With much thought and hesitation, Keitaro pocketed the ring again. He put his glasses on and dashed for the front door.
"Ok, I can do this", Keitaro said to himself. "I just have to be strong and brave. Sting and brave, just like the captain."
Elsewhere in the city, there was a building with many stories and many lights. The lights stood out very much, since the dark sky overshadowed the entire building. The lighting became even brighter with the colors of green, yellow, and white. These mixtures of colors erupted in a great explosion that nearly took out the entire seventh floor.
On that same floor, the Shinmei-Ryu student, Tokui ran for his very life. A bolt of lightning narrowly missed his shoulder. However, a blast of neon energy struck him in the leg, knocking the soldier down. Tokui took cover behind a pillar before sending a shockwave of Ki from his sword. Wether it hit his targets or not, Tokui didn't know. For now, the only thing that mattered to him was trying to get some reinforcements.
Tokui yelled into his ear piece, "Nentou, come in! Nentou, come in, Nentou! Where are you Nentou!"
Long time no see everyone. It's been a while since I updated this, but I have some valid reasons. My sister just turned sixteen, and he had a little get together with her and her friends. My dad is a firefighter, and fire season just started. If you live in California, you'll know about all the big fires happening here. My dad was sent away to two of them. Out of the last twenty one days, my dad was home for only three of them. My friend just joined the Navy, and I won't see her for about a year. I had finals in college to take care of, and I just started vacation. Finally, I've been playin some "Injustice: Gods Amongst Us", "Transformers: Fall of Cybertron", and "Jurassic Park Builder". (Hey, I said I had SOME valid reasons) In this chapter, I explained what happened during Kanako and Han's date. Keitaro came to some kind of resolve. Finally, I had a prelude to what's approaching. Sadly, Tokui had to be caught in the crossfire. Again, sorry for the wait. I hope a few of you can put up a review or two, I like readin them. I'll try to update more frequently now that vacation has started. For now, I have to go shoot a few decepticons between the optic sensors!