Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ Family Affairs ❯ The Start of Something ( Chapter 3 )

Love Hina

 

Disclaimer: This episode of Love Hina is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Love Hina. “Love Hina” and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1999-2004 Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. Love Hina is a trademark of TOKYOPOP®. All rights reserved.

 

 

Family Affairs

Chapter 3:

The Start of Something

 

 

“Ah, so there you are,” Haruka calmly says, finally finding Keitaro in a local park after over an hour of searching for him. She frowns slightly at his disheveled appearance and faintly visible bruise on his face. “Boy, you sure are a mess.” The older Urashima reaches over to her beloved and extracts a few twigs and leaves from his hair. “What happened? Did you fall in a tree or something?”

 

Keitaro rubs the back of his head with a goofy smile. “Actually, yeah I did. I just got down from it a couple of minutes ago. Narusegawa lodged me in it pretty well.” He begins to feel nervous at the nearness between him and Haruka, having just realized how physically attracted he is to her not too long ago. He feels his heart lurch at the kind look in her eyes as she helps clean him up. `Damn it Keitaro,' he mentally chides himself, `she's your aunt! You can't think about her like that! She's trying her hardest to help me and make me happy and all I can think about is her beautiful face and her great body with those long smooth legs and nice bre…GOD DAMN IT!' he is nearly knocked back by the force of his internal shouting, managing to only stumble slightly. He turns away from his now concerned aunt, a pained expression on his face. `God, I really am a pervert. I'm even worse than Haitani and Shirai.' With that extremely depressing thought, he continues onwards back towards the Café Hina with Haruka right next to him.

 

The older woman watches her beloved beside her, her heart crying out for her to just wrap her arms around him and hold him until all of his problems are gone. Not wanting to do something so drastic and possibly frighten him off, she concedes to only place a hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Her eyebrows rise slightly a she feels the young man tense under her touch. “Hey, what's wrong?” she asks in a non-concerned voice, though she is feeling the complete opposite on the inside.

 

“N-Nothing! Nothing's wrong!” he quickly replies, waving his hands in front of him frantically. After noticing his foolish action, his arms droop at his sides as he sighs deeply. “Sorry, I…uh…I guess I'm still a little jumpy…yeah, jumpy. The last time you and I got close to each other…physically,” he pauses for a moment to blush heavily in thought, “I got kicked in the face…really hard.”

 

Haruka's face twists into a scowl in remembrance. `I let that damn girl get off way too easy for that,' she thinks to herself, `I even joked around and made her laugh afterwards! Goddamn nicotine cravings, getting me to act all off. I should've beaten the shit out of her!' She calms herself down and, deciding to have a little fun, adopts a sad expression. “Oh I see,” the café owner begins in a hurt sounding voice, “you're using that as an excuse to not go near you're ugly old aunt isn't it?” The reaction is, as predicted, instantaneous.

 

Keitaro jumps in front of her, frantically waving his arms in front of her again in a strange attempt to dismiss his aunt's harsh words about herself. “No-no-no! I'm not using anything as an excuse! I-I just don't want you to get hurt by accident if one of those girls attacks me again…I'd never forgive myself if you got hurt because of me. And you're not old…not at all! You're only a few years or so older than me and I-I've always thought that you were really beautiful so…” He stops and slaps his forehead, realizing just how far he has just shoved his foot into his mouth. `Damn, now she's gonna think I'm some weird pervert or something.'

 

The Urashima woman keeps her normal face of neutrality on the outside while she practically jumps for joy on the inside, his comments on her age and looks boosting her self-esteem up several notches. `I'm finally starting to break through to him. With a little more time, I'll be able to tell him everything without any fear of a negative response.' Focusing her attention back on her beloved in front of her, she lightly responds, “Well now, its nice to know that some people still think I've got it.” At the young man's confused look, she lightly raps him on the top of his head. “Come on you big goof, lets get going.” She wraps her arm around his shoulder and begins to walk back home, a smile tugging at her lips as he doesn't try to free himself from her grasp. “Before I forget,” she suddenly says, “I need to stop off at the pharmacy first. I'd like to get some of that nicotine gum,” while mentally adding, `I don't feel like not being able to control my emotions too well like that again.'

 

“Ah,” Keitaro mutters, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, “I see you're finally getting tired of smoking your cigarettes behind my back.” He chuckles mildly at the unfamiliar look of shock that has spread across her lovely face. “I know I'm not the smartest guy around, but I'm not stupid…especially when you're breath, hair and clothes smell like smoke almost every time you're in a different room from me for more than several minutes.” Haruka is embarrassed enough to actually blush very, very slightly. Before she can get out a reply, Keitaro chuckles a bit. “Don't worry, I'm not upset at you or anything. You are trying, and I can't get mad at you for that…not that I could ever be mad with you for anything in the first place.”

 

The slightly older Urashima shakes her head with a light smile, sliding her hand off of his shoulder and linking arms with him. `He knew about me still smoking and he didn't even get the slightest bit upset over it despite how much he disapproves of it…God I love this man!'

 

******

 

Back at the Hinata House, all the tenants go about their usual routine…though two of them are visibly troubled by recent events. Motoko has been on the top floor training vigorously ever since she woke up this morning, braking only for a short breakfast. “Damn it!” she shouts in between slashes of her samurai sword Shisui, “this is completely unfair!” She pauses as an uncomfortable shudder ripples through her entire body. “The thought that a m-male could come up here at any given moment angers me to no end! And the fact that I cannot do a single thing to prevent him from venturing inside infuriates me even more!” A single leaf floats down in front of her and in a swift motion of Shisui, the leaf is split perfectly in two.

 

With a loud sigh, Motoko slumps down onto the ground, her sword clattering down beside her. “I do not understand Haruka's actions yesterday. I have never seen her so enraged…and over a male of all things! He may be her nephew, but that still gives her no right to allow him free reign around the Hinata House. Doesn't she know that he will most definitely attempt to peep on all of us while we bathe in the hot spring?” Another shudder overcomes her. “Just the thought of that perverted male staring at our naked bodies makes me feel ill!”

 

Soft footsteps coming up the stairs from behind catches her attention. The younger Aoyama sister turns her head and sees Shinobu carefully making her way to the top of the steps, carrying a rather large basket of laundry with her. “Oh, hello Motoko,” she kindly greets. “I have to put up these wet clothes to dry. I'm sorry if I'm bothering you.”

 

“You aren't,” Motoko replies with a soft smile, standing up while grabbing Shisui. “I had just finished my morning training and was doing some thinking.”

 

The young girl smiles lightly and moves towards the clothesline, putting the laundry basket down beside her. “Sometimes I like to come up here and think too,” she says while looking up at the sky, the wind playing lightly with her hair. “Its so beautiful and peaceful up here…I can usually get a lot of thinking done.” She turns her head towards her fellow tenant. “So what were you thinking about Motoko?”

 

The swordswoman shifts in her spot slightly. “Well…I am…that is…I was thinking about…yesterday.”

 

“Oh? Were you thinking about when sempai came up?”

 

Motoko gives Shinobu a confused look, an eyebrow rising up a bit. “Sempai?”

 

The purple haired girl quickly looks down at the ground, a furious blush on her cheeks. “Y-Yes. That's what I've decided to call Keitaro. I don't know why, but I feel that calling him `sempai' suits him. Please don't ask why.” She grips the hem of her skirt tightly and fidgets uncomfortably.

 

With a light sigh, Motoko turns around. “Alright, I won't ask, but I do want you to be careful when he's around. Haruka's nephew or not, he is a male, and they are not to be trusted, especially in an all girls dormitory.” With that, she walks to the steps and downwards back into the Hinata House.

 

Shinobu's lower lips trembles slightly, muttering, “But I thought he was a really nice person,” while she returns to putting the laundry on the line, her mind wandering back to the handsome young man that came into her life yesterday. Her head snaps up and a furious blush graces her young cheeks. “H-Handsome? Why did I think he is handsome? I-I mean, he is kind of cute but…ah!” She pauses and slaps her hands over mouth, the redness on her face reaching near impossible levels. “Why am I thinking such strange things?”

 

******

 

Down on the first floor, Kitsune is lying down on the couch, watching her daily soaps while drinking her saké, having just developed a late afternoon buzz. The door to the kitchen suddenly opens and out walks Su, carrying a large bushel of bananas with a cheerful smile. “Hey Su,” the fox eyed girl begins, sitting up a bit, “I take it you found out where Shinobu keeps the bananas hidden?”

 

“Yeppers!” the young foreign girl happily replies, carrying her haul like it's a long lost treasure she just found. “Took me a bit, but I finally found `em. Shinobu's pretty good at hiding things from me, but not good enough! These babies should keep me happy for a while! Seeyas!” With a skip to her step, Su bounds up the steps to her room, intent on making her load considerably lighter.

 

With a shake of her head, Kitsune leans back down, focusing her attention back on her soaps, though her mind is elsewhere. `If Haruka's nephew…what's his name…Keitaro…if he's gonna be up here from time to time…things sure will get pretty interesting around here.' She taps her chin in thought. `From what I could tell before Naru and Motoko's little rampage, the kid seemed like a nice guy. He had some decent manners, which is a lot more than I can say for some of the guys I've met.' A light smile plays itself across her face for a brief moment. `It doesn't hurt that he's kinda cute, but he should ditch the dorky glasses.' She takes another sip while the money hungry part of her mind kicks in, `I gotta know his financial status before I try anything…though if he's Granny Hina's grandson, he's gotta have some serious inheritance coming his way, and he's gunnin for Tokyo U too, which means soon he could be swimming in dough!' With a gleeful smile and yen signs in her eyes, Kitsune puts her saké bottle to her lips, downing the rest of it with one large gulp.

 

******

 

Upstairs just outside her room, Naru leans against the railing of the courtyard entrance, staring up at the clear blue sky. “I don't know why,” she mutters out loud, “but I feel that I got off pretty lightly with just a punch in the gut.” The young woman gingerly rubs her stomach, wincing in pain at the light bruise that has formed. “With how pissed off Haruka looked, I thought for sure she was going to do a lot more to me.”

 

With a shake of her head, Naru walks back in her room, intent on getting some studying done for the upcoming preparatory school exams. She sits down at her kotatsu with a couple books, some paper and her pencil, then puts on her coke bottle glasses and ties her hair into identical braids on each side, thus reverting to her `study mode.' She slaps both of her cheeks a couple of times and shakes her head to clear her mind of any thoughts that are not studying related and opens the mathematics book.

 

After several minutes of staring blankly at the pages, Naru leans back and lies down on the floor with her arms spread out. `I just can't focus,' she thinks with a large sigh. `Each time I try to think of a problem I need to remember, I see Haruka's angry face staring down at me. I wonder why she's been getting so worked up…could it be because of Keitaro?' Naru takes off her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose. `I don't get it, but she's been acting strange ever since he got here, but why? What's going on between those two?'

 

The sudden thought of Keitaro and Haruka in a loving embrace and kissing passionately pops into her head, getting the Tokyo U aspirant to jump to her feet and shake her head furiously. “Holy crap!” she mutters out loud, “where the hell did that freaky picture come from?” She looks down at her books. “I think I'm studying too hard…its like frying my brain or something! Thinking disgusting thoughts like that, it's not right.” The image makes a sudden reappearance, only this time both Urashima are sans clothing and in a much more…intimate embrace. With a strangled cry, Naru falls to her knees and clutches her head. “Oh God! It's horrible! Get it out! Get it out!”

 

******

 

Haruka and Keitaro leave the local pharmacy, the young man carrying a rather large shopping bag filled with his aunt's purchases. “Ugh,” he groans, shifting the bag a bit to get more comfortable, “I thought you only needed some of that nicotine gum, what's with this other stuff?” his eyes dart inside the bag, which contains a lot of bathroom materials as well as some…feminine products.

 

“No,” she calmly corrects, “I said that I'd like to get some nicotine gum. I needed all that other stuff.”

 

Keitaro places the bag onto the ground and gives his aunt a very irritated look. “But why did I have to bring it all the counter and pay for it!?” His face burns in embarrassment as he recalls the amused look the cashier girl gave him back inside the pharmacy.

 

Haruka shrugs her shoulders lightly. “Well I was busy looking at some magazines, and someone had to pay for my stuff.”

 

The young man opens his mouth to retort, but promptly closes it, knowing full well that he can't win in this argument, especially against Haruka. “Alright,” he sighs, “Lets go home.” Keitaro picks the bag back up and begins to walk back home, but pauses for a moment. He takes a quick glance at his aunt and thinks, `What the hell…' before deciding to hold out his free arm for Haruka. `If she wants to get close, I'm not gonna stop her. Besides,' he adds with a small smile, `I do like the feel of her body against me.'

 

By his side, the slightly older woman notices her beloved's open invitation. `Good,' her mind says, `another step at getting closer to him has been reached. Now he's the one who initiated close contact.' With a badly concealed grin, she takes Keitaro's arm and leans slightly into him, relishing in the simple, yet close moment being shared between them. “You know,” she suddenly says, “it's starting to get late and I'm getting a bit hungry…how about you?” His stomach rumbles loudly in response, followed by a large sweatdrop and an embarrassed chuckle. “I'll take that as a yes. How do you feel about a beef bowl?” Her grin widens at his enthusiastic nod, knowing that particular food is his favorite. “Okay then, let's get going.” She steers him in the direction of the closest beef bowl restaurant.

 

******

 

As the two Urashimas enter the restaurant, one of the waitresses walking by compliments, “My, don't you two make a very cute couple!?”

 

Keitaro pointedly looks away, his face burning in embarrassment. “Well…uh…you see…”

 

“We're not like that,” The older of the two explains, though she adds, `at least…not yet,' mentally.

 

“Oh! I'm sorry,” the young woman quickly apologizes, “it's just that I saw the way you were hanging on his arm and I thought you were, like, boyfriend and girlfriend or something.”

 

The Urashima male's face reddens to an even deeper shade. “Y-Yeah.” He separates his arm from Haruka's grasp, too flustered to notice the frown that has spread across her lovely face.

 

The waitress, however, does notice. With a knowing smile, she steers the two towards one of the smaller, cozier booths. They sit down and have soon ordered their drinks and food and are eating in relative silence, both too nervous to think of anything good to say, since to them, this feels a little like an actual date. Keitaro shifts a bit in his seat and his foot bumps into Haruka's. Blushing, he pulls his feet under his seat and looks away. The slightly older woman reaches over the table and takes her beloved's hands in her own. “Hey, what're you so nervous about Keitaro?”

 

“O-Oh…uh…n-nothing Haruka!” he quickly responds, suddenly finding his beef bowl very interesting. `I'm worried about all these things I'm thinking about you,' he mentally answers. `I know they're supposed to be very wrong…but they don't feel wrong…not at all…and that's got me really worried.' He tilts his head up and Haruka's beautiful face, which is filled with kindness and concern at the current moment. A wave of guilt passes through the young man. `Damn it, she's been nothing but completely wonderful to me and all I can do is think things about her that I shouldn't. I'm a terrible person.' He reaches into his pocket and pulls out several bills, tossing them onto the table while standing up. He mutters a quick, “I'm sorry,” before moving out of the booth, grabbing the bag of items from the pharmacy and quickly exiting the restaurant, leaving a confused and now slightly distressed Haruka behind.

 

The older woman stares at the spot where her beloved was just sitting, a mixture of thoughts and emotions swirling through her. “Sorry?” she mumbles under her breath, “what is he sorry for?” She is about to toss in a few bills in with Keitaro's, but she notices that he already left more than enough for both the food and tip. With a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes, Haruka stands and leaves the beef bowl, intent on catching up with Keitaro and finding out exactly what he meant, but unfortunately for her, he is nowhere to be found. `I left just a few seconds after him, she thinks. `Where did he disappear to so fast…unless…' a pang of deep sorrow fills her, `unless he was lying to me earlier…and he doesn't think I'm attractive or young at all and wanted to get far away from me.' Her hands rise up to her face as an unusual wetness suddenly forms in her eyes. `I-I'm…crying?' She furiously tries to wipe away her tears, but more keep on coming out. `I can't believe this. I haven't cried since…since I was a little girl…before Keitaro came into my life.'

 

******

 

Some distance away, Keitaro stops his running at the front door of the Café Hina. He puts his hands on his knees and gasps for air, the extra weight of the bag he's towing making the run a bit longer and more exhausting than he thought. `I feel bad about leaving Haruka like that, but I know she can handle herself. I-I just don't think I can face her right now…everything is just way too confusing for me.' He looks up at the darkening sky, a sad expression etched across his face. “Coming here was a mistake. I really care about Haruka…a lot more than I probably should, but I don't think I can stay here anymore.”

 

He rushes inside and up the stairs and, knowing full well that Haruka will be back soon and wanting an explanation, takes a fast shower in her bathroom and goes into his room. He locks the door behind him and slowly stalks his was to his futon, the young Tokyo U aspirant's mind struggling to find a good way to break the news to his dear aunt. He plops down onto the futon, holding his head in his hands. `There's no easy way to do this,' he thinks in finality. Hot tears sting Keitaro's eyes. `Damn it, just thinking about what I'm gonna do…and how Haruka will probably react…it hurts.' A few tears sprinkle down onto the floor in front of him. `I know what I have to do…but I don't think I have the strength to do it.'

 

******

 

A short while later, Haruka enters her café/home, looking exhausted mentally and frail physically, her thoughts concerning Keitaro getting the better of her. She closes and locks the door for the night and walks up the stairs at the other side of her café, hoping to have a serious talk with her beloved. `I-I can't do this,' she thinks to herself. `I can't keep him in that dark about how I feel for him anymore. Having him around me all the time and not being able to get as close to him as I want…it's eating me up inside.' She stops in front of his room, nervous but confidant. She takes a deep breath before knocking on it a couple of times, calling out, “Keitaro? Are you in there?”

 

The Urashima woman waits a few moments for a response, but none comes. She knocks again and tries to open the door, but it is locked. Feeling fresh tears form in her eyes again, Haruka slides down to her knees, her forehead resting against the door. “Please,” she whispers, the slightest hint of desperation in her voice, “I just want…we need to talk.” She pauses for a moment, realizing how pathetic she sounds. Chuckling to herself, she gets to her feet and shakes her head, clearing up her thoughts. “Look Keitaro, I know things have been a bit…awkward around here, and I understand that you're probably confused. All I want to do is talk. I'm going to take a shower and when I get out, I expect this door to be unlocked.” She then decides to put the final nail in the coffin. “I've always been here for you so please, just this once, be here for me.”

 

She turns around and walks to the bathroom just as she opens the door, the café owner hears Keitaro's door unlocking. A brilliant smile appears on her face and she thinks to herself, `Damn, I'm good,' before closing the door behind her.

 

Unbeknownst to her, Keitaro was having the exact same thought.

 

******

 

Haruka walks out of the steamy bathroom, wearing her favorite small silk bathrobe. She chews on some of the nicotine gum she had Keitaro buy her earlier, the nicotine helping calm her down a great deal. `I can't believe how emotional I was,' she thinks. `I was so ready to confess my love for Keitaro, and to hell with the consequences.' She raps herself lightly on the head. `That could have been a foolish, and possibly costly mistake.' She makes her way to Keitaro's room and knocks once before entering. “Hey there.”

 

He nervously responds, “H-Hi Haruka.” Though his glasses are off, Keitaro can tell she's only wearing that tiny robe of hers, the one that shows off a tantalizing amount of her silky smooth skin. He shields his eyes as his aunt flips a switch on the wall and bright light fills his room. “So,” he grunts while sitting up from his futon, the top cover sliding down to reveal his shirtless upper torso, “what…exactly do you want to talk about?” The young man leans forward as his hands search the floor for his glasses. `Where did I put…' he pauses his thought as Haruka holds them out in front of him. He mutters a quick, “Thanks,” as he takes his glasses and puts them on.

 

“You know,” the slightly older woman begins thoughtfully, “you should get some new glasses. Those old things are too big and blocky. You should get a smaller pair, something that would accentuate your face more. I could take you over to the eye doctor tomorrow if you'd like.” She kneels down next to the young him and gives him a kind smile.

 

“I-I guess that would be nice,” he replies, looking away with a light blush. The robe is very loosely tied around her and right now, it is showing off a lot more of her body then should be. `Don't look,' he mentally commands, `don't look.' His eyes slowly move away from his covers over to the lovely vision in front of him. `Damn.' If he were speaking out loud, it would've been hard to tell which feeling were more prevalent in that thought, the disappointment at himself or the sheer awe he feels at his aunt's beauty.

 

Haruka moves a bit closer to her beloved and leans forward, allowing her robe to slide down her right shoulder slightly, exposing more of her silky smooth skin. “Look Keitaro,” she begins in her normal, emotionless voice, “I know things have been a little…out of the ordinary between us lately, and I'm sorry if I'm making you feel uncomfortable.” The young man is about to respond, but Haruka holds up a hand to silence him. “No Keitaro, please just let me finish. I know that there's something that's making you act…wary and a little secluded, and I'm pretty sure it's me.” She reaches over and places a comforting hand on top of his. “We used to be so close when we were younger, I miss those times. I'd like to know why, like earlier, you'd get close to me, then suddenly distance yourself.” After she finishes, she nods internally to herself. `Okay, not exactly what I wanted to talk to him about, but maybe this can answer some questions I've been wanting to ask.'

 

“I…w-well…you see,” Keitaro rambles, unable to get a clear thought out. He stops and scratches the back of his head with an embarrassed smile, a silly habit that Haruka's always loved since it displays how adorably innocent he can be at times. `Can I tell her the truth?' he thinks. `If I do…it could change everything between us.' The young man looks up at her eyes, which show patience and kindness in them at the current moment, and feels himself becoming more confident about how he should respond. `I should tell her the truth. It would be wrong to lie to her about something like this.' He clears his through before answering, “W-Well…” he pauses to take a deep breath, “after out little…incident earlier up at the Hinata House I…well…IrealizedthatI'mreallyattractedtoyou…physically!&# 8221; He bows his head down, expecting his aunt to berate him.

 

The elder Urashima is completely stunned at her beloved's words. `It makes sense now. He wants to get close, but is worried what I'd think and…well pretty much everything I've ever worried about since I realized that I was in love with him. I'm one step closer to making Keitaro mine.' Now feeling a great weight lift off of her shoulders, Haruka decides to have a little fun. She reaches over and gently lifts up Keitaro's head while leaning forward even more. “So,” she slowly begins in a husky voice, getting the hairs on the back of her beloved's neck to stand on end, “does that mean you…want me?”

 

“W-w-w-w-w-w-w-what!?” he squeaks, his body going rigid. The young man's eyes slowly widen as his aunt closes the distance between them, a strange look in her eyes. “Ha-Haruka…what are you doing?”

 

“What do you think?” she breathes, her lips just inches from his. She waits for him to hesitantly close his eyes in hesitation before she backs away and playfully tweaks him on the nose. When he opens his eyes with a confused expression, she chuckles happily at him. “Man, you really need to learn to loosen up a bit, you're too easy to tease.” She stands up and places a hand on her hip which, added with her small robe that is barely clinging to her slim frame, makes her look incredibly sexy. “But on a plus side, you do earn some brownie points for being able to admit your attraction to me, that was very brave of you to do.”

 

She turns around and starts to walk away when Keitaro says, “Um…you…uh you're not…mad at me…or freaked out…or anything?”

 

Haruka pauses just inside her nephew's room, turning her head slightly and revealing a small smile on her lovely face. “No, I'm not mad or worried or anything. Besides,” she puts her hand back on her hip, mirroring the pose she was in just a few moments ago, “with a body as hot as this, any man would want me.” The older Urashima chuckles again at her beloved's frustrated groan. “Goodnight Keitaro.” She turns off his light, exits the room and slides the door shut while placing a hand over her rapidly beating heart. `I was soooo close,' she mentally whines, feeling a bit upset at herself. `I should have kissed him. I could tell…no…I knew that he wouldn't have pushed me away if I did.' The café owner sighs and shakes her head, mumbling, “Next time…next time I won't stop. The next time we get close like that again, I will express my love for him, emotionally and physically.” With a pleasant shiver of excitement running down her spine, Haruka walks to her room for the night.

 

Back in his room, Keitaro lies down on his futon, his hands resting on his chest while a sigh of relief escapes him. `I'm so glad she didn't freak out or anything bad,' he thinks, `though her reaction was…something else.' A light blush appears on his cheeks. `Man, I thought she was really going to kiss me! If-if she did…I'm pretty sure I would've kissed her back.' He shifts to his side and looks out the window, the sky quickly filling with some menacing looking clouds. “I think I will stay here after all,” he mutters with a happy smile.

 

To be continued…

 

******

Author's notes: Well things are slowly heating up for the two Urashimas now, and they're going to get hotter very soon. In the next chapter, nature will play its part in strengthening their bond with each other. See how this happens soon.

Oh yeah, I'm also piecing together a good plan for the direction of the next chapter of `Uncontrolled Passions.' It will be hot and heavy! I will have an edited version posted on this site while the full, unedited version will be posted on two other sites - lighthawkdemon

Questions or comments? E-mail me at: lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com