Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ The Romantic Tales of Love Hina ❯ The Aftermath ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: This fanfiction is based off of characters from Love Hina by Ken Akamatsu. The original greatness is his, the new twist is mine.

 

Author's Note: So, finally the update is here. I do apologize; I got caught up in the Harry Potter craze. (Took me 5 days, pretty slow reader here. LOL). I started to lose motivation after reading such a great (well not my favorite of the series ;) work. I thought, `How can I write this garbage now that I read something from a pro…' I saw that people still have been reading my stuff, so that was nice. As long as I have one reader I will keep this up… This is one of my longer chapters; so I hope it turned out ok. And without further ado…

 

Chapter 6: The Aftermath

 

Everything moved quickly and seemed blurry. Naru fought off tears as her heart raced. She ran to her room and said quietly, `Sniff. He, had, some other girl's… lipstick.' She wiped her eyes and was breathing hard. As she arrived at her room, she opened her door and tried to take a deep breath. She said, “Sniff. OK, Naru. Time to get a grip here. He's not your boyfriend, we don't have a commitment. We're only - friends. But, we seemed to be moving closer to… well, something. Sniff.” She tried to calm her breathing and entered her room. She thought, `Oh well, who am I to judge or analyze relationships. The last important relationship - well crush, was on Seta. And he just left me to go overseas. Plus, he probably didn't ever think of me that way anyways… Sigh.' She shook her head and thought, `Enough of this moping around. This is pathetic… Maybe a quick in the hot springs will freshen up my spirits.' She quickly gathered her bathing supplies and went to the bath.

 

Elsewhere…

 

Keitaro pounded the floor with his fists. He hit a little too hard and yelled, `OUCH! That hurt!' His head throbbed and he thought, `Aww. I have a pretty bad headache too. I wonder why… oh yeah, I went up to have a drink with Kitsune… Did I drink too much? Did anything else happen?' He put his hand on his forehead and closed his eyes, `Think, Keitaro! Man, I can't remember a thing. I really shouldn't be drinking… I wonder why Naru was so upset and ran away all of a sudden. Oh well, maybe I should splash some water on my face or something. I think people say soda - wait, was it coffee that helps recover from drinking? Maybe I'll just try some aspirin.' He slowly tried to stand up and was wobbly. He thought, `Whoa! I'm pretty shaky right now. I must have drunk more than I thought.' He almost fell over and stuck his arms straight out to help him balance. He took several steps to his dresser and searched for aspirin. He took the whole bottle with him and walked to the temporary men's bath area… He walked over to the sink and took two aspirin. He looked in the mirror and was shocked. He thought, `Whoa, my vision is still kinda blurry and my eyes are pretty red right now… Huh? What are these pink smudges on my cheek?' He leaned closer to the mirror and thought, `Is this lipstick? Could this be from Kitsune? What the hell happened? Did we do something? No wonder Naru ran off all upset… I have to, apologize, but, I don't even know what I'm gonna say. I don't even know if anything happened or not - it's not like we're together or anything like that anyways…' He frowned and thought, `Now what do I do? Maybe I should go talk to Kitsune and at least try to find out what happened…' He took a wash cloth and wiped his face. He thought, `Well, maybe if I jump in a tub of cold water it will help clear my head of this fog.' He took a quick bath, while…

 

Kitsune took one long swig of Sake and finished the bottle. She wiped her mouth and thought, `Ahh. That was nice.' She grinned slightly and then quickly a look of anger swept over her. She threw the bottle down and said, “Damn that Keitaro! I was sure he was mine. Hmph! Naru. Well - she hasn't won yet. Now I'm even more determined to get him. Heh, heh, heh.' She flashed an evil grin and walked seductively to her mirror. She opened up her robe and said, “I am so damn hot! Keitaro is after all, only a man… and I've caught him appreciating my assets already… Ha ha.” She laughed and thought, `I better get cleaned up and wash off this perfume. I can't let my `best friend' know what I'm up to…' She grabbed her bathing products and headed for the open air bath.

 

The steam from the hot water created a dense fog in the bath. The surrounding air was cold and crisp. Naru soaked in the water and was lost in thought. She rested her arms on the rocks and laid her head down. She thought, `I think I really like him. Maybe that's why this whole thing is so upsetting to me. We have just been home tonight for a short time and he got - like that so quickly. I wonder what happened…Sigh.' She frowned.

 

Kitsune saw Naru soaking in the bath and realized she was deep in thought. Kitsune thought, `Aww. There's our poor, innocent little Naru. I wonder what's wrong with her now. She didn't even look up or notice me coming.' Kitsune smiled slightly and yelled, “Hey Naru! How's it goin?”

 

Naru jumped slightly and was surprised, “Wha-huh?” She looked and saw Kitsune and frowned. She said, “Oh, hey Kitsune…” and put her head down slowly.

 

Kitsune stopped smiling and said, “Wow. That's some way to greet a friend…”

 

Naru looked up and said, “Oh. Uh, sorry. It's not you… I mean, I was just thinking… about some stuff…”

 

Kitsune sat down to soak near Naru and said, “Eh, no biggie. You havin' boy trouble or something? I haven't seen you this upset since…” She paused, fought off the urge to smile and thought, `Seta took off and left you. Ha!'

 

Naru looked down again and felt a dull pain in her heart. She said softly, “Yeah. Since Seta left…” Tears began to form in her eyes. Naru tried to speak a little louder and stronger to put some strength in her voice. She said, “Well… this time, it's somebody new. At least I thought it might have been…” She wiped her eyes.

 

Kitsune grinned slightly and said, “I didn't know there was a new man in your life. Did something happen? You look so down…”

 

Naru looked up and didn't notice Kitsune's expression. Naru said, “Well, things seemed to be going just fine. We hang out pretty often and talk. I think I'm starting to like him. It's just…” she paused and fought off tears, “something, happened tonight… And now I'm not sure if he has another girl or if I can trust him…” Naru looked down at the water again and felt the urge to cry.

 

Kitsune smiled and said, “Well, I don't know your mystery man, but he sounds like a jerk. Trust me, I've been around enough of them to know how they act. It sounds like you are into this guy, but you said you don't trust him now - how can you trust him later? Plus, have you completely gotten over Seta yet? I know you were kinda holding a torch and staying hopeful that he would come back…” she smiled and thought, `Heh. Fat chance in that happening.'

 

Naru looked at Kitsune and said, “Yeah, I know that this new guy sounds bad, but I sense a goodness in him. Maybe there is some explanation…” Naru frowned, her eyes moistened and said, “Yeah, you're right about Seta. Deep down in my heart… I feel he is gonna return to sweep me off my feet.” The first tear trickled down her cheek and she turned away from Kitsune.

 

Kitsune tried not to laugh as she said, “Heh. Well, they say that fairy tale stuff only happens in the movies. Besides I never thought of Seta as the Prince Charming type anyways…” Kitsune thought, `At least not Your Prince Charming.'

 

Naru's heart ached and she thought, `Uh. This is just too much for me to deal with right now. I feel horrible…' The tears started flowing more and she tried her best to wipe them. She said, “Sniff. Oh… I, ah, better get, going. I think we're going, sniff, to eat soon… see ya later” She got up, quickly finished her bath and went to her room.

 

Kitsune smiled widely and thought, `Heh. Poor Naru can't take it anymore. That worked out pretty good. Sorry there, `best friend'. Heh, heh.' She finished her bath and went to get dressed.

 

Elsewhere…

 

Shinobu leaned against the wall and thought, `I'm so nervous right now. It's time to eat, so… it's another perfect opportunity to talk to sempai. Why am I so scared and anxious? Just go and tell him the food is ready. That shouldn't be too hard.' She looked down at her apron, shirt and jeans and thought, `I wonder if I look ok…' She peeked around the corner at Keitaro's door. She thought, `OK, Shinobu. You can do this. Be brave.' She slowly walked over to his door and rapped twice. She thought, `Maybe he's not here, I should, just go.'

 

Keitaro was just about to get his clothes from his drawer when he heard the knock at the door. He picked up his towel and wrapped it tightly around his waist. He thought, `I wonder who this is.' He said quietly, “Uh, yeah? Just a sec.” He walked quickly to the door and opened it up. He saw Shinobu, smiled and said, “Oh. Hey, Shinobu. What's up?”

 

Shinobu looked down at her feet. She was nervous and felt like she would start shaking soon. She said softly, “Uh, Sempai. I, uh, just finished cooking dinner and… we're, uhm, everone is ready… she looked up and realized he was only wearing a towel. She thought, `Oh, wow. He is… what was I saying? What am I here to tell him?' She looked briefly in his eyes and felt the warmth from her blushing cheeks. The feeling spread to her heart and radiated to other parts of her body. She smiled and said, “Oh. Uhm. Well, I, am… Sorry, Sempai!” She quickly turned around and ran away down the hall.

 

Keitaro thought, `Uh oh. I hope I didn't offend her or anything. She is kinda young, it might have been upsetting for her. I have to remember to apologize later…' His stomach rumbled. He thought, `Wow, I must be hungry. Her food is always pretty good. I better get dressed and head over there.' He shut his door…

 

Shinobu arrived at the door to the kitchen and was almost out of breath. She smiled and thought, `Huh. I thought his face was handsome, but he has a pretty nice body too… Only if his towel… what am I thinking? I've never thought of any boy this way.' She blushed and felt the warmth fill her body again. She entered the kitchen and was shocked back to reality.

 

Su yelled, “Didja tell Keitaro we're ready to eat? I'm starving!” All of the girls were seated and suddenly all stared at Shinobu.

 

Shinobu said quietly, “Uh… yeah, I just told him. He, uh…” she grinned as she thought, `was almost naked' and said, “should be here any second now.” She walked over to the stove and started putting the food on the table.

 

As Keitaro walked slowly to the kitchen he thought, `This is gonna be weird. What am I going to say to Naru, Kitsune… or even Shinobu? Wow, what kinda mess have I gotten myself into?' He arrived at the dining room entrance and stood still. He put his hand on the back of his head and said, `Uhm. Hi everyone.”

 

Naru blushed slightly and continued to stare at the table. Kitsune smiled and winked at him. Motoko stared intensely at him, blushed and turned away once they made eye contact. Shinobu placed a dish down with a loud, “Crash!” and pretended to be busy arranging the table.

 

Su jumped out of her seat and ran quickly towards Keitaro. She tackled him and said, “Finally! It's about time. We're starvin. Let's eat!”

 

Keitaro pushed her off and said, “Uhm, alright. Sorry for making you all wait.” He stood up and walked slowly to his seat next to Naru. He said, “Uh, Naru… I wanted to…”

 

She cut him off and said softly, “Please, Keitaro. Not here. Not now. Let's just eat.” Kitsune smiled at the interaction.

 

Keitaro said, “Oh. Uh. Right, sorry…” and sat down. He took a deep breath and said, “Mmm. Wow, Shinobu! The food smells and looks delicious.”

 

Shinobu blushed, smiled and looked up at him. She said softly, “Th-Thank you very much Sempai.” She sat down and they began to eat. The uncomfortable tension in the room surrounded everyone like a thick fog. Everyone continued to eat silently.

 

Su broke up the silence and said, “Hey! Why is everyone so quiet? You are all actin' funny. Did someone die?”

 

Kitsune laughed and said, “Ha, Ha. I agree, everyone seems too quiet.” She took a bite of her food and said, “I for one agree with our hunky friend here, the food is excellent today.” She winked again at Keitaro.

 

Keitaro saw her signal, blushed and looked away. He thought, `Well, she is acting like she always does. Maybe nothing bad happened…' He said, “So, uhm, Aoyama-San, how has your training been going lately?”

 

Motoko almost choked on her food and blushed. She gasped, looked up at him and said, “Uhm… I have been waking up earlier now, because… well, I wanted to see…” she paused and thought, `You Again. What do I tell him? He has made it difficult for me to speak again.' She said, “if I could sharpen my skills…” she looked down and filled her mouth with food.

 

Keitaro smiled and said, “Oh. Well, that sounds like a great idea. You seem very dedicated to your art…” Motoko's heart warmed to the compliment, but she did not respond.

 

Kitsune frowned and stared at Motoko. She thought, `Hmm. Motoko sure is acting strange. She usually has no trouble speaking - and if I remember correctly, she used to be pretty hostile towards Keitaro. Could she be… Nah, she is so focused on fighting and swords. She would be the last girl to fall for him. Hah.' She smiled and continued to flirt with Keitaro.

 

Keitaro quickly finished his food and thought, `Kitsune keeps staring at me funny. Did something good actually happen?' He stood up and wiped his mouth. He said, “Well. I have to go study now. The food was great Shinobu, thanks for cooking. Bye everyone.” He walked quickly to the sink, dropped his dishes and almost ran out of the room.

 

Later on that night…

 

Naru stared at her blank answer book. She thought, `I've been trying to study for hours now. I can't seem to concentrate. Keitaro is probably just having fun with… Maybe Kitsune was right, I really need to forget about him and move on.' She closed her answer book and thought, `I guess I should just go to sleep. I'll be over him tomorrow for sure.' She frowned and went to bed.

 

Shinobu finished washing the last dish. She dried her hands and thought, `Phew. That was a lot of stuff to clean. I do have to say that all that extra work on the food paid off because Keitaro seemed really to like it. Sigh. Sempai is so sweet, kind, and handsome.' Her eyes started to water and she smiled broadly. She thought, `I wonder if it is too late to ask for some study help. He seems very helpful and eager; Ronin or not I think he is pretty smart. Maybe I can ask him to help study at a park this weekend, or we could go eat somewhere… I don't know if I can summon the courage to ask him though. Sigh.' She frowned and walked somberly to her room.

 

Motoko was preparing to go to sleep. She removed the tape from her breasts. She put on a loose shirt and laid down on her futon to sleep. She thought, `It was nice talking to Urashima at dinner today. He seemed really interested in… my training. I am starting to think more and more of him each day. I will probably wake early at four tomorrow. Hopefully, he will be there and we can… speak in private…' She smiled with thoughts of Keitaro and drifted off to sleep.

 

The next day… Naru noticed that Keitaro did not attend prep school. She thought, `Hmm. That's odd. I wonder why he isn't here today. I know he wasn't sick yesterday. Oh, well. I better pay attention to what's going on here…'

 

Later on that afternoon…

 

Motoko walked nervously down the hallway. She looked at the floor and thought, `I am going to do it. Thoughts of him have filled my head too often lately. I have to - take action.' She walked a few more steps and stopped. She felt that she was starting to sweat slightly and then she realized that someone was approaching. She looked up and saw Shinobu clutching a book and some papers. She did not notice Motoko standing there.

 

Shinobu realized that she was not alone when she reached the door and looked up. She said, “Huh? Motoko? What are you doing here in front of Sempai's room?”

 

Motoko thought, `Oh no! She has seen me here. All of the girls will now know about my feelings. What do I tell her?' She said, “Uhm. I, was just walking by… and, I was not aware of my destination. I must now go Shinobu-chan.” She walked away quickly.

 

Shinobu thought, `Oh, Ok. That was weird. Well, now that I'm here… I don't know anymore, maybe I shouldn't bother him. I want to see him, but… OK. I just have to knock.' She rapped softly twice and didn't get an answer. She turned to walk away and was surprised when the door opened and she heard a familiar female voice.

Haruka said, “Oh. Shinobu-chan. Did you need something?”

 

Shinobu turned around and said, “Huh? Haruka-san? Uh. I was, uh, actually looking for Urashima-sempai…” She frowned and looked at the floor.

 

Haruka said, “Oh. Well, he isn't here. Actually, I need to talk to all of you right now. Get everyone together in the lobby…”

 

Silence and tension enveloped all of the girls in the room as Haruka prepared to speak. She took a drag of her cigarette and said, “First of all I want to apologize for the past few weeks. I had no idea my idiot nephew Keitaro would show up, nor that he would stay here this long. This is, after all, a girls dorm, so I know it must have been uncomfortable having a man, well if you want to call him that, live here with you. I didn't realize it would be a problem, but someone has brought it to my attention that he has not been behaving appropriately with you girls. Since I am still the house mother I have kicked him out and he will stay at the tea house.”

 

All of the girls except for Su yelled, “WHAT?!”

 

Haruka was surprised at the reaction and interruption. She continued, “I might just send him back home to his parents because I don't want to deal with him. That is all.” She walked casually to her room.

 

Naru was surprised that she felt her heart breaking. She frowned and thought, `Another man leaving me? Will I ever see him again?”

 

Motoko frowned and thought, `Hmm. This is not what I wished for, but maybe it is for the best…'

 

Kitsune had no expression and thought, `Well, that's a bummer. He would have been fun to play with. Heh. I'm a firm believer in the saying, If I can't have him…'

 

Su smiled and thought, “So the boy is gone? Oh well, looks like I have to bug Motoko more again.”

 

Shinobu looked devastated and her eyes started tearing. She thought, `NO! Sempai is gone? Why? What am I going to do…'

 

All the girls left the lobby in silence as they felt the epic loss of their visitor…