Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ Ships in the Night ❯ Shouldering ( Chapter 6 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: hawker_748 
Anime/Manga: Love Hina Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Hentai | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.17.2006 | Pages: 7 | Words: 8.8K | Visits: 2.9K | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Love Hina Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Hentai | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.17.2006 | Pages: 7 | Words: 8.8K | Visits: 2.9K | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: See Chapter One
C+C is welcome at hawker_748@hotmail.com.
This story idea was inspired by SimmyC, who graciously allowed me to pick up the ball and run with it.
Thanks Man!
“X” Spoken words
‘X’ Thoughts
Manga continuity, after the “Burn-Up Blade” story line
Love Hina:
Ships in the Night
Chapter Six: Shouldering
Later that evening, Keitaro was in the outdoor bath, staring up at the sky with a folded washcloth on his forehead. The sun hadn’t yet gone down, and the sky was brilliant shade of red near the horizon, although there were some ominous looking clouds moving in.
The picture perfect sky was the farthest thing from Keitaro’s thoughts however, as he was contemplating his own feelings. It was becoming awkward between him and Tsuruko; or perhaps it was simply becoming MORE awkward. Before he’d left Hinata House, Keitaro had usually thought of Tsuruko at least once a day. Now that he was living with her, he’d been thinking of her far more often, thoughts that both ashamed and intrigued him.
Keitaro did console himself with the fact that many of his thoughts on Tsuruko weren’t sexual; during the time since he’d arrived here, he’d noticed that she seemed to be reverting back to her old self. She smiled from time to time, engaged him in conversation when they were together, and today she’d even tried to start him on kendo, with less than spectacular results.
It relieved Keitaro to see that Tsuruko’s eyes occasionally exhibited the glint of humor that used to permanently reside there. If he’d been more confident, he might have felt responsible for her gradual ‘cheering up,’ but he figured it was simply a case of time healing all wounds.
But what bothered the former live-in landlord of Hinata House was the fact that some of his thoughts of Tsuruko were of a baser nature. Objectively, this didn’t surprise Keitaro; she’d been his first (and so far only) lover, even if it had only been a one night stand sparked by alcohol and similar feelings of loneliness. ‘But it shouldn’t have happened!’ he silently raged. ‘She was married, and I should’ve known better. I should be trying to forget it, not recalling it fondly…’
He let out a short breath. ‘So why did I accept her invitation to stay here?’ Keitaro wasn’t sure why he’d done that, as moving in with Tsuruko was a case of jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. But she’d been so insistent, and he’d already done so much to hurt her, he hadn’t had the heart to say no.
A flapping of wings and a soft splash interrupted his contemplation. Looking to his left, Keitaro discovered that he had some company in the bath. “Hello Shippu…”
“Ku-e!”
Keitaro chuckled lightly. He had as much ability to understand Tsuruko’s bird as he had Tama-chan, but like the flying hot springs turtle, the bird’s eyes shone with a greater than expected intelligence. “You the new lifeguard?”
“Ku-e! Ku-e!”
“What’s that? Timmy fell down the well again?”
“Ku-e!”
“Sorry Shippu, I couldn’t resist that…” Shaking his head at the (possibly) one-sided conversation, Keitaro leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “Now I’m talking to a bird…”
Neither party spoke again, and Keitaro continued his soak, feeling the last traces of pain from the mishap in the dojo drain from his body. It was remarkably peaceful in the bath, and it was an unusual thing for Keitaro to be able to relax without fear of being walked in on, or walking in on someone for that matter. ‘Not used to bathing without being interrupted,’ he realized. ‘I could get used-’
At that moment, the unwelcome (but depressingly familiar) sound of someone in the changing room reached his ears. ‘Shit! Did I forget to put up the sign?’ He quickly mentally rewound his actions, and he realized that he couldn’t remember if he had put it up. ‘What-what do I do?’ Keitaro figured he could try to hide or escape, or he could announce his presence. He ran through both options in less than half a second before choosing the latter. Hiding had never worked at Hinata House, and while calling out to Tsuruko would be embarrassing, it was better than having her walk in on him.
“Tsu-Tsuruko, I’m in the bath. I’m sorry, give me a minute and I’ll get out…” Keitaro began walking over to where he’d left his towel, a little uneasy that he hadn’t heard Tsuruko reply. “Talk to you later Shippu, I’ve gotta go,” he murmured. The sounds of movement in the changing area hadn’t died away, so Keitaro knew Tsuruko was still in there. “Let me know when you’re out of there and I’ll leave.”
Once again, there was no reply, and Keitaro took his towel back to where he’d been when he’d heard the sounds of company and waited. ‘She must have been almost undressed,’ he realized, coloring at the sudden mental image. ‘I’ll have to apologize to her for monopolizing the bath like this… I mean, this is HER bath, I shouldn’t just-’
Keitaro’s thoughts were interrupted by movement at the entrance to the bath. He looked up by reflex, and felt himself go ghostly pale. Tsuruko was standing in the doorway, smiling gently, and wearing a very short silk bathrobe that just reached her upper thighs. While it was tied together with a sash at the waist, from the way it was clinging to her, it was obvious that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath it.
For a couple of seconds, Keitaro was unable to do anything but stare at the vision of loveliness that had interrupted his bath, before his crashed higher functions completed their reboot. His eyes slammed shut and he lurched against the far side of the bath, thankful that he was in deep enough water to conceal his body’s instinctive reaction to the sight. With his back literally against the wall, Keitaro held up his hands to block his view when he cautiously opened his eyes.
With his hands blocking off the more private areas, Keitaro was still able to see Tsuruko’s face, and the soft smile she wore. She seemed completely calm and relaxed and she gestured for Shippu to come to her, which he did, taking flight and landing on her shoulder. Tsuruko stroked Shippu’s beak for a few seconds before she cast him off. Taking a step towards the bath, she slowly undid the sash at her waist, and let the robe glide noiselessly off of her shoulders.
Keitaro slowly lowered his arms in shock, unable to comprehend or reconcile what was happening. Mesmerized, like a rat being stalked by a cobra, Keitaro found himself incapable of movement as he watched Tsuruko slowly walking towards him, the water now concealing part of her body, but doing nothing to reduce her ethereal beauty. Keitaro’s heart rate had at least tripled, his mouth had gone as dry as late summer cotton, and he idly wondered why he hadn’t passed out from the diversion of blood from his brain. Despite his better judgment, his gaze was riveted to Tsuruko, every bit as gorgeous as he remembered.
When Tsuruko placed her fingers on his shoulders, Keitaro let out a shuddering gasp at her silken touch. The contact brought back all of the thoughts and desires he’d worked for months to suppress; his most shameful, but at the same time most treasured memories. His reasoning and restraint short-circuited, and he felt his own longing grow, just as it had that rainy night. Keitaro knew what he was feeling was wrong, but he found himself unable to resist his own hunger; at that moment, he wanted Tsuruko.
Tsuruko’s angelically soft lips pressed against his own, and Keitaro responded without hesitation, closing his eyes and opening his mouth, meeting her tongue with his own. His hands went to Tsuruko’s waist, his fingertips caressing her smooth skin, slowly stroking upwards towards her wonderfully full breasts. His fingers had just reached the lower edge of her breasts when he felt a sudden sharp pain on his lip.
“Ow!” Keitaro’s eyes snapped open, and he found Shippu only a few inches in front of him, looking at him as if he was trying to decide if Keitaro would make a tasty snack. “What the-?” Tsuruko was nowhere to be seen and there was a stinging pain on his lower lip and a coppery taste in his mouth. “A-a dream?”
Keitaro went pale at the realization. He’d fallen asleep in the bath, and he’d had yet another dream, one that had been far, far more realistic than any previous ones. ‘It even tasted like her,’ he remembered, unconsciously licking his lips. Apparently Shippu had bitten his lower lip while he‘d slept, snapping him awake. Keitaro wasn’t sure if he wanted to thank the bird, or wring its scrawny little neck.
‘This is dangerous. I need to get out of here,’ he thought in near panic. He stood up to leave and discovered that his body was still very much interested. Wrapping himself in a towel, embarrassed by the tent he was currently pitching, Keitaro stalked over to the shower and turned on the cold water full blast. “Gah!” The cold water cleared away the last vestiges of his feverish dream, and shocked him into thinking clearly.
Hurrying into the changing area, Keitaro dried off and dressed as fast as he could, desperate to get away from there for a while. His hair was still damp when he exited the changing area, savagely tearing down the sign warning of his presence in the bath. Driven by an almost single-minded purpose to escape, Keitaro almost ran over Tsuruko.
“Keitaro… Is something wrong?” Tsuruko noticed that her houseguest had an almost manic look in his eyes.
Keitaro took a quick look at Tsuruko, as if noticing her for the first time. The vivid and erotic thoughts running through his head were boosted by the sight of the woman of his fantasies in the flesh. He could still remember every inch of her body, including the cute little mole she had on the inside of her upper left leg. Viciously shaking his head to clear the not unpleasant thoughts, he said the first thing that popped it his mind. “No! I-I’m going for a walk…”
Tsuruko’s brow furrowed. “A walk?”
“Yeah, a walk,” Keitaro snapped. “I need to get outta here…”
“What’s wrong Keitaro?” asked Tsuruko, concerned by Keitaro’s frantic look.
“Nothing!” If Keitaro had been thinking clearly, he would have winced at his snarl, and at the way Tsuruko recoiled. “I’ll be back in a coupla hours,” he all but growled, stomping off towards the entrance. At the door he yanked on his shoes, almost tore his jacket pulling it of the hook, and disappeared into the falling night.
About a half hour later, Keitaro had managed to burn off some of his frustration and sexual arousal. ‘Dammit, where the hell did that come from?’ he wondered. ‘I’ve never had a dream that intense before. Was it because I got hit on the head?’ Keitaro had been surprised by its detail, and more than a little aroused. Even now he could feel lingering heat from the dream causing a blush on his cheeks.
When Keitaro felt a drop, he looked up and frowned at the clouds overhead. ‘Rain again… Does it follow me, waiting for me to take a walk?’ he pondered. Not in the mood to be rained on, Keitaro took shelter in an alcove, watching the rain begin in earnest. He zipped up his jacket a little tighter, the rain cooling the air and giving Keitaro a hint of the chills. ‘Just like last November.’
Waiting in the shelter for the rain to let up, Keitaro had the chance to think back on how he‘d acted. ‘Aw hell, why’d I have to be like that? It wasn’t her fault I had that dream… She was worried about me and I bit her head off…’ As he recalled his words to Tsuruko, Keitaro felt a sense of shame come over him. ‘I’m an asshole. She didn’t deserve that… She took me in, and I thank her like that.’
As if agreeing with him, the rain increased its intensity, becoming a strong downpour that reduced the visibility to less than a hundred feet. Keitaro’s feeling of shame grew in intensity with the rain, making him feel sick, humiliated by his cruel treatment of Tsuruko. ‘She’s been through so much, put herself out to help me, and I pay her back by acting like a bastard.’ Keitaro leaned against the wall, sighing deeply. ‘I’ve gotta apologize to her…’
Attempting to gather his courage, Keitaro stepped out of his shelter and started the return trip to Tsuruko’s home. For once, the weather seemed to favor him, as the rain let up a little as he walked. He spent most of the time trying to figure out what exactly he would say. ‘I’ll find her, I’ll apologize and then beg for forgiveness.’ Keitaro nodded at his plan. ‘Then I’ll thank her for letting me stay with her, but that it’s time I moved out. It’s getting strange now, I should leave before it gets any worse.’
Keitaro wasn’t as enthusiastic about the last thought, but he knew it was the right thing to do. The half mile passed in a heartbeat, and Keitaro took a moment at the front door to recompose himself. ‘Walk in and apologize… simple as that.’ Stepping inside and hanging up his jacket, Keitaro put on an air of confidence that was only skin deep, and went to find Tsuruko. ‘Don’t want her to be upset with me, I’ve already done enough damage…’
Mentally rehearsing his speech, it wasn’t until he had almost reached the kitchen that Keitaro registered an alien sound. ‘What-what’s that noise?’ he wondered, continuing to approach the kitchen. ‘It almost sounds like…’ Keitaro’s blood ran cold when he realized why it sounded so familiar. ‘Oh no, please, not that…’ The sinking feeling that washed over him almost made him stop dead in his tracks, but some deeper feeling compelled him to continue.
Keitaro turned the corner, entered the kitchen, and was very nearly sick at the sight that awaited him. Tsuruko was sitting at the kitchen table, looking through a photo album, and crying. Keitaro’s most ardent hope, that he’d misinterpreted the sounds he’d heard coming down the hallway, was blown away as if by the wind. Tsuruko Aoyama, the most seemingly strong, invulnerable person he’d ever known, was sobbing audibly, tears streaming unabashedly down her cheeks.
Keitaro had often wondered how Tsuruko had dealt with all that occurred; he’d speculated on whether or not she’d ever shed tears over the incident, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to picture that, as it seemed completely out of character. But the sight of Tsuruko crying cut Keitaro to his very core, amplifying his inherent shame and self-loathing. ‘I did that to her…’
Tsuruko hadn’t apparently noticed him, and Keitaro was wondering if he should discretely slip away, when she looked up, and her red-rimmed eyes widened in surprise. For an agonizing moment, neither reacted; Tsuruko too surprised and Keitaro too ashamed. Then Tsuruko put her head down and savagely wiped at her eyes, gritting her teeth to stifle her sobs, but her shoulders still shook despite her efforts.
‘This is private, she wants to be left alone. Go away Keitaro. You can’t do anything, you caused this remember? Just let her be, that’s what she wants.’ These thoughts flooded into Keitaro’s mind, all saying the same thing. Every instinct and impulse he had was telling him to give Tsuruko her privacy, and pretend that he hadn’t seen anything. Keitaro was even dimly aware that his right foot was starting to ease itself off of the floor, preparing to take the first step back.
But through the cacophony of his thoughts, there was one solitary voice of dissention. ‘If you leave her like this, if you don’t try to help her, then you’re the biggest bastard on Earth…’ The majority of voices scoffed at that, saying he’d get over his regret, that he’d be able to look at himself in the mirror soon enough, and that he’d only make things worse by trying to help.
With all these thoughts going through his mind, Keitaro came to the only conclusion that was possible. His right foot lifted slowly off the floor…
…and took a small, tentative step towards Tsuruko.
Silencing all of his internal critics, Keitaro forced himself to hear Tsuruko’s repressed sobs, using them as a motivation for his actions, which were going against all of his better judgment. ‘What-what do I do when I get there?’ he desperately asked himself. ’What do I say? How do I start? I mean, she was sitting and looking at that album, and I… Is that her wedding album? God, what am I gonna do?’
Tsuruko appeared to be calming herself down, the tears seemed to have stopped flowing, and she had wiped away their tracks with the sleeve of her gi. It looked to Keitaro that she was trying to pretend that nothing had happened, and that she didn’t appear to notice his approach. By the time she took one last calming breath, Keitaro was standing beside her. She glanced up and looked to be surprised to see how close he was to her.
Silently wishing with all his heart that he was doing the right thing, Keitaro gently placed his left hand on Tsuruko’s right shoulder. After swallowing to try to moisten his suddenly dry mouth, he softly asked, “Are-are you alright?” He inwardly winced at the poorly phrased question, and hoped that he looked more worried than scared.
Tsuruko’s red eyes widened at his tentative question, and a look of profound surprise briefly came over her features. Then, to Keitaro’s horrified fascination, her lower lip began to quiver, her eyes once again began to water, and then she suddenly grabbed him around the waist in a vice-like grip, and buried her face in his chest, her shoulders wracked with powerful sobs.
For a second, Keitaro almost gave into the first instinct of trying to break free and run like hell, before he nervously allowed his arms to wrap around Tsuruko in return. Even as he placed his arms around her, Keitaro had to fight off urges to tear himself away and bolt. The same feelings that had welled up in him when Motoko had broken down and cried on his shoulder came back to him. The desire to help was countered by his concern about how intimate comforting her might feel.
Keitaro felt like a complete heel, ashamed that Tsuruko had been reduced to this state, crying uncontrollably into his chest. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, Keitaro tried his best to be comforting and consoling, holding her around the shoulders with his left arm, and slowly stroking her hair with his right. He also tried his hardest to not notice just how nice it felt to hold Tsuruko, despite the circumstances. The faint stirrings that he felt humiliated him, and he focused on the sounds of her crying to suppress them, but it was more difficult than he liked. ‘Where are those clothespins when I need ‘em?’ he thought miserably.
Tsuruko continued to cry unabashed for untold minutes, causing Keitaro to shed a few tears of his own. Not knowing what else he could do, he continued to hold her and stroke her hair, feeling her tears create a damp spot on his shirt. Finally Tsuruko began to calm down, much to Keitaro’s relief, and she let go of him. Keitaro eased his hands off of her and took a step back, watching as she went about composing herself, and wiping away her tears. Idly, Keitaro wiped away the tears that had slid down his own cheeks, feeling very unsure of what to do next. “Would you like some tea?” he asked nervously. To Keitaro, this seemed the safest thing he could say.
“Yes, thank you,” Tsuruko replied softly.
Relieved at having something to do, Keitaro put the kettle on and pulled the necessary sundries out of the cupboard. While waiting for the water to boil, Keitaro took a discrete look at Tsuruko. She had regained her composure for the most part, but the redness in her eyes served to remind him of her breakdown. Keitaro found himself more astonished by the finding Tsuruko crying than the fact that they’d slept together. ‘What do I do now?’ Keitaro wondered. ‘She’s stopped crying, but what am I gonna say?’ The boiling water interrupted his musings, and he turned off the stove, poured the water into the pot, let it steep for a minute, before he poured it into two mugs and brought them to the table.
“Thank you,” Tsuruko nodded gratefully when Keitaro handed her a mug.
Sitting down across the table from Tsuruko, Keitaro took a small sip of his tea, not at all sure what to do next. Apparently Tsuruko felt the same way, as she did nothing to break the silence that now abounded in the kitchen. For a few minutes the only sounds were the two of them sipping at their tea and soft breathing. Finally, Keitaro couldn’t take the quiet anymore, so he did what he’d originally planned when he’d returned. “I-I’m sorry…”
Tsuruko paused in her sip and regarded him curiously. “Sorry? For what?”
“For snapping at you in the hall.”
“I-I beg your pardon?”
“I was rude to you, you’ve been nothing but hospitable, and I was rude in return.” Keitaro was so wrapped up in making amends that he didn’t notice Tsuruko’s eyebrows arching up. “I was an asshole, acting like that. I can only hope you’ll forgive me for acting like that, and if you want me to leave I will…”
“Keitaro…”
“I’ve stayed too long anyway, and I should find somewhere else. I don’t do enough here, I don’t pay enough rent…”
“Keitaro,” Tsuruko repeated, a little louder this time.
“I’m just causing you trouble by staying here and reminding you of-”
“Keitaro!”
“What-what is it?” Keitaro looked up in surprise.
Tsuruko let out a breath and shook her head slowly. “This wasn’t your fault…”
“But, but you were crying…”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“Then, then was it,” Keitaro swallowed nervously before continuing. “Your wedding album?” he finished softly.
“Wedding album?”
“Isn’t that it?” Keitaro replied, pointing to the book on the table.
“No, it’s just a photo album,” Tsuruko corrected.
Keitaro felt a strange sense of relief at learning this. “I see… Then, then why…?” He couldn’t bring himself to finish the question.
“I was just looking at these photos; it brought back memories, some of them bad.” Tsuruko then focused her gaze on Keitaro and her eyes narrowed. “I didn’t expect you to be back so soon…”
‘I bet…’ Trying not to wilt under her scrutiny, Keitaro replied, “I-I felt bad about how I acted. I wanted to apologize. You’ve had so much to deal with, you didn’t need me acting like a jerk…”
“I didn’t think you acted that bad.”
“I did,” Keitaro instantly responded. “I’m sorry.”
Tsuruko accepted his apology with a rueful shake of her head. “I shouldn’t have broken down looking at a few photos,” she murmured.
“What kind of photos?” Keitaro asked before he could stop himself.
Tsuruko looked at him neutrally. “You really want to know?”
“If you don’t mind showing me,” Keitaro replied, bothered that he was letting his curiosity get the better of him.
Tsuruko smiled thinly. “Then come here,” she said, indicating the chair next to her with her eyes, “and I’ll show you.”
Slowly rising to his feet, Keitaro cautiously walked around the table and took the seat next to Tsuruko, making sure that he sat as far away as he politely could. He took a look at the photos, the scenery strangely familiar to him. “Is that Okinawa?”
“Yes. You’ve been there?”
“Got washed up there with Naru and Mutsumi.”
“Washed up?” Tsuruko replied, raising an eyebrow.
“Our raft got lost at sea,” Keitaro stated blandly.
“I see…” Tsuruko didn’t, but she decided not to dwell on that. “Toshio and I were there three years ago.”
“Enjoy yourselves?”
“We tried to.”
“Tried to?” Keitaro repeated, uneasy about the conversation taking a somber turn.
“We thought it might help.”
“With what?”
“Children.”
“Children?”
“We were trying to start a family; we both figured that a vacation would be less stressful for us.”
“I see…”
“It didn’t work, but it was a nice trip.”
Keitaro was uncomfortable with the question that sprang to his lips, so he tried his best to be somewhat diplomatic. “You-you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, it’s none of my business really, I don’t even know why I’m even saying this-”
“Why did we need to do that to have a child?” interrupted Tsuruko.
Blushing deeply, and finding the tabletop a fascinating subject for close examination, Keitaro simply replied, “Yes.”
“We’ve never been able to have children.”
“W-why?”
“We don’t know,” Tsuruko replied after a moment of silence. “We’ve tried; I’ve gone to different doctors, and they’ve found nothing wrong, but I’ve never been able to get pregnant.”
“Toshio told me something about that,” Keitaro recalled. He flipped a few pages of the album, mostly to keep himself from fidgeting, and also to satisfy his curiosity. “That’s a nice shot.” The photo had Tsuruko at Kiyomizu Temple if he wasn’t mistaken.
“That was about a year ago.”
Tsuruko was smiling pleasantly in the photo, but when Keitaro looked closer, he noticed that the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. ‘What was troubling you?’ he asked silently. “Was the difficulty having children what made Toshio…?” Keitaro asked delicately.
“No. It didn’t help, but it didn’t start there.”
“Then why…?” Keitaro was at a loss to understand how anyone could hurt Tsuruko, intentionally or not.
“Ask him. I don’t really know… He never saw it as a problem.” Tsuruko sighed at the unpleasant memories that were being dredged up. “Maybe he was like that before we were married, but I just didn’t notice. Living with someone is different than dating someone, you see everything.”
Keitaro found himself nodding at that. Living at Hinata House, he’d seen what all the residents were like, good and bad.
“Toshio would be a little distant at first, but as time passed it started to get worse. We’d talk about it, but he didn’t seem to think that it was important, he kind of brushed aside my concerns. I don’t think he meant to be hurtful, but it hurt just the same.”
The weary look Tsuruko was wearing nearly broke Keitaro’s heart. ‘How could he not know he was hurting her? Was he blind? Or maybe he just didn’t want to know,’ he thought, remembering the chat he’d had with Toshio. ‘He didn’t seem like a bad guy, really, maybe he just didn’t know… I’m not that perceptive either. Maybe he just hoped that things would get better on their own?’ “More tea?” he asked out loud when he noticed that Tsuruko’s mug was empty.
“No thank you,” Tsuruko replied. “I think I’m going to turn in early. Thank you for the tea, and thank you again.”
“For what?”
“Being there for me,” she answered with a faint smile. “For being understanding.”
“Uh, you’re welcome, I guess,” Keitaro stated uncomfortably, uneasy at the notion of being thanked for solving something for which he blamed himself.
“I’m serious Keitaro, I can’t recall Toshio trying that hard to be comforting in all the years we’ve been married.”
“You’re kidding,” Keitaro breathed, taken aback.
“I’m not.”
“Happy to help, I suppose,” he chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. Keitaro felt some sudden tension in the air, and it was making him uneasy.
“Good night Keitaro,” Tsuruko told him with a gentle smile as she walked out of the kitchen. “Pleasant dreams.”
“You too Tsuruko,” Keitaro responded with a similar expression on his face. Putting the empty mugs in the sink, Keitaro left the kitchen and walked through the light drizzle to his room. Once there, he decided that he was also tired from the emotional roller coaster he’d been riding for some time, and that sleep seemed to be a great idea at the moment.
Keitaro undressed and slipped under the covers of his futon, doused the light, and closed his eyes, letting the soft pitter-patter of the drizzle lull him to sleep. As he drifted off, he noticed that he could almost feel the warmth in his arms where he’d held Tsuruko, and when he finally acquiesced to the welcome oblivion of slumber, he once again dreamed of her. But on this night at least, the images weren’t erotic, merely warm and comfortable, and he wore an enigmatic smile while he slept.
XXX
“Sunny side up or over easy?”
“Sunny please.”
A couple of weeks had passed since Keitaro had discovered Tsuruko crying when he’d returned from a walk, and had attempted to comfort her. His own instincts had told him to not get involved, but he had ignored them, not being able to accept the idea of letting her be that distraught without attempting to help. Neither of them had mentioned the incident since, as it had been difficult for the both of them, but it had been the genesis of a subtle change in the mood of the Aoyama residence.
The day to day activities hadn’t changed; Keitaro still worked around the residence, and Tsuruko continued to work to improve her art, as well as teach some students. There weren’t that many students, but Tsuruko had told Keitaro that the school was selective of who it instructed, and that those who were accepted had to well compensate the school, so that many students weren’t required.
But the two of them were talking a little more, and a little more openly when they did. It was though the air of depression and guilt was gradually clearing away, allowing some good cheer to reach within the walls of the home.
Keitaro did his chores with a touch more pride, and the home seemed to sparkle as a result. He paid more attention to detail when he cooked, and the results even surprised him; while still inferior to Shinobu’s in his opinion, it was still a quantum leap from his previous efforts. For the first time since he’d arrived, Keitaro actually felt comfortable staying there, even going as far as to watch Tsuruko train in the morning a few times, although he still hadn’t tried to learn kendo since the one abortive attempt.
‘I guess I’m finally getting settled in,’ Keitaro told himself as he kept one eye on the eggs. ‘But I’m not supposed to be staying here indefinitely, am I? No, I-I need to leave here, I need to move…’ Objectively, Keitaro knew what he should do. But anytime he considered the issue, he would find that he just wasn’t able to bring himself to do it.
Setting these thoughts aside, Keitaro finished preparing breakfast, plated it, and brought it to the table, handing one plate to Tsuruko, who accepted it with a warm smile. ‘She’s smiling more now,’ he noted. ‘I think I am too.’ While he didn’t object to the way things were currently going, he did wonder when the other shoe was going to drop.
Eating in an uncustomary silence, the two of them finished their breakfast, seemingly both lost in thought. Keitaro picked up his empty plate and utensils, taking them to the sink when the quiet was broken. “Keitaro, how much of Kyoto have you seen?”
“I saw some of it from the air the last time I was here,” he replied off-handedly. “I’ve only been here once before that. Did a little sightseeing, but I spent a lot of time trying to hide.”
“Hide?”
Keitaro’s eyes took on a distant look as he recalled the first time he’d come to Kyoto. “It was over a year ago. Naru and I had both just failed the Tokyo University entrance exam, her first failure, my third.” He unconsciously grimaced at the memory. “We’d had a bit of a falling out, so I decided to go on a trip, and Kyoto seemed a good place to start. Well, Naru had the same idea, and we kept running into each other.”
“Just a coincidence?”
“No. We both followed the same guide book, and we ended up at the same attractions at the same time. We even ended up at the same inn, and the same mixed bath!” Keitaro added, exasperated.
Tsuruko felt herself smile, and a brief snicker escaped her lips. The look of indignation this caused Keitaro made her snicker even more, her laughter growing despite her efforts to suppress it, her shoulders shaking with barely controlled mirth.
Tsuruko’s laughter was contagious, and Keitaro found himself smiling in spite of himself. He started to chuckle, the more humorous aspects of the experience becoming clearer with time. Grinning now, Keitaro continued his tale. “It gets better. The hotel owner saw we had the same address and put us in the same room to save space.” He shook his head in amusement. “She even gave us a special newlyweds meal.” By now, even Keitaro was having difficulty keeping a straight face.
Tsuruko by now had quit trying to maintain her composure, and was laughing openly at Keitaro’s recollections. “It wasn’t that funny!” he protested, his smile giving lie to that statement. When her laughter only increased at his remark, he added, “Okay, maybe it was, but you don’t have to enjoy it that much.”
Resigning himself to be unable to talk to Tsuruko until her amusement passed, Keitaro took a moment to discretely observe her. ‘That’s the type of behavior I’d expect from Tsuruko,’ Keitaro decided. ‘She was always smiling at something. A face that lovely should be smiling, sadness doesn’t suit it at all… I think I’ve been smiling more myself, and I haven’t had a good laugh in some time either.’ The thought made Keitaro smile, even as he realized on some level that his current train of thought was probably unwise.
After a minute or so, Tsuruko finally calmed down enough to regain her composure, although the glint of humor in her eye was unmistakable. “So you haven’t seen much of Kyoto then?” she asked.
“Not really…”
“Well then, why don’t we do a little sightseeing today?”
“Sightseeing?” Keitaro repeated after a second or two of surprised silence.
“Yes, sightseeing. You’ve been here over two months, and you haven’t taken any time to really explore Kyoto,” Tsuruko reminded him.
‘She’s right, I haven’t really been anywhere,’ he admitted to himself, ‘but…’ “Why would you do that?”
“Call it payback for all the help you’ve given me here.”
Keitaro debated his decision for a minute. ‘Might be nice to see Kiyomizu Temple again, I was only there for a few minutes last time. But is this a good idea, going out with Tsuruko? But it isn’t a date… is it? No, it’s probably innocent. I’m a pervert, thinking about that right now.’ Feeling somewhat confident in his reasoning, Keitaro responded with, “Sure, let’s go.”
“Great. When will you be ready?”
“Give me a half hour to finish up here.”
“Then we’ll leave in thirty.”
Keitaro nodded at that and went back to cleaning up the kitchen, idly humming a tuneless melody as he worked. When he finished, he returned to his room to change his shirt, which he’d gotten wet with dishwater. Grabbing another relatively plain shirt, he put it on and walked to the house. ‘No point dressing up, after all, this ISN’T a date,’ he reminded himself.
Sure enough, when Tsuruko came down the stairs, she was wearing the same outfit, causing Keitaro to idly wonder if she even owned any other clothes. ‘Even in that photo album, that’s all she ever wore…’
The two of them walked through the main gate and made their way to a trolley stop in silence. After a few minutes a trolley pulled up and Keitaro and Tsuruko boarded, Tsuruko taking a window seat while Keitaro elected to stand. The trip itself was uneventful, although from his vantage point Keitaro couldn’t help but noticing the appraising looks Tsuruko was receiving. ‘No surprise there,’ he figured. ‘She IS gorgeous…’
Upon finally reaching the stop for Kiyomizu Temple, the two of them went with the crowd, leaving the trolley and walking up the slight incline towards the temple. ‘I remember that restaurant,’ Keitaro noted, ‘and that photo booth, I took pictures there.’ He found it funny just how much he recalled from his first trip to Kyoto, as the two of them made their way to the temple, blending into the crowd.
“Kiyomizu stage,” Tsuruko spoke up suddenly. “The famous jumping off point.”
Keitaro walked up to the edge and looked over the railing. “No way I’m jumping off this thing,” he replied. ‘I might survive it though, I have gone over a cliff once or twice before…’
“Quite a drop isn’t it?” remarked Tsuruko.
“Yeah…”
Tsuruko smiled and then gestured to Kiyomizu Temple behind her. “Well, what do you think?”
Before Keitaro could answer, a soft breeze came along, stirring up all loose objects. It also caused Tsuruko’s hair to billow out behind her. The look this created was the kind of image that film directors could spend an entire career attempting to capture, but almost never succeed. With her wind swept hair, and in front of Kiyomizu Temple, Tsuruko looked almost unearthly, and Keitaro was sure he felt a blush rising to his cheeks and his heart rate rising. When he finally regained his voice after a few moments, only one word came to mind. “Magnificent,” he breathed softly, unsure if he meant the temple or his guide.
The word worked just as well for either…
Apparently unaware of just how beautiful she looked at the moment, Tsuruko gestured for Keitaro to follow her. Shaking his head to clear away any inappropriate thoughts, he slowly followed after her as she walked. “Where-where to now?” Keitaro asked hesitantly.
“Jiji Shrine,” replied Tsuruko.
“Jiji Shrine… I don’t think I saw that the last time…”
“Oh? Why not?”
“Ran into Naru,” Keitaro answered truthfully. “What’s at Jiji Shrine?”
“Otowa Waterfall. Depending what you drink from, you’ll gain health, wisdom, or true love,” Tsuruko explained.
“Does it work?” asked Keitaro.
“Depends who you ask,” Tsuruko answered, as she lead Keitaro down the stone path.
Keitaro nodded at that as the two of them walked. ‘It’s a nice day for this,’ he thought idly. The sun was shining bright in the sky and there wasn’t a cloud in sight, not even any wispy cirrus clouds. It was as nice a day as Keitaro could remember in a long time, and he decided that he wasn’t going to let it go to waste. “Is that it?”
Tsuruko nodded in reply. “So Keitaro, what will you wish for?” she inquired.
“Which is what?”
Tsuruko chuckled. “Why not try all three?”
“Why push my luck?”
“From the left,” she pointed up from near the collecting pool. “Health, wisdom, and true love.”
“Health, wisdom, love,” Keitaro repeated to himself as he walked up the steps to collect a cup. ‘Which one? Health? Nah, I’m in pretty good shape,’ he reasoned. ‘True love?’ He glanced back at Tsuruko, who was coming up the steps as well. ‘Bad idea… Wisdom then… Maybe it’ll help me figure out how to deal with this…’ With a sigh, Keitaro held his cup under the middle stream, filled it, and drank it down. “Don’t feel any smarter,” he remarked.
“And I don’t feel any healthier,” Tsuruko replied, finishing her cup from the first stream. “But it’s not supposed to work instantly.”
“I know. Be nice if it did though…”
“That’s true…”
“You hungry? I mean, you’re showing me around, I should at least buy lunch…”
“You don’t have to…”
“Please, I insist.”
“Very well. But you choose the place.”
“What’s good around here?”
“Any small shop will do.”
“Lead on then,” Keitaro stated, and followed Tsuruko to a small outdoor café.
They took a seat and Tsuruko ordered sakura-mochi with green tea. Keitaro asked for the same, and the two of them sat back and watched other people walking by. There were quite a few school groups touring the shrine that day, and the sight of the young children made Keitaro feel sentimental. He smiled wistfully at the sight of a group of school girls tearing around the grounds excitedly, while their frazzled looking teacher tried to restore order.
“What are you thinking Keitaro?”
“Just remembering my younger days…”
“If you’re old, what does that make me?” Tsuruko asked neutrally.
For once, Keitaro was able to detect the danger beforehand, and took steps to disarm it. “You’re not old, not at all.” Noticing that Tsuruko’s expression hadn’t changed, Keitaro tried to go on the offensive. “But how could you remember being in junior high?” Keitaro asked. “That must have been five or six years ago…”
For a second or two, Tsuruko stared at Keitaro in abject disbelief, before she laughed out loud, his quip striking her as hilarious. She continued to laugh unrestrained for a few seconds, before she tried to rein herself in, Keitaro silently relieved that the tension had been disrupted. ‘She’s kinda cute when she laughs…’ he found himself noticing, before he stomped on that thought.
‘I shouldn’t be thinking like this,’ Keitaro admonished himself. ‘I shouldn’t be wondering about holding her again. She’s still married, even if Toshio hasn’t come back.’ As much as Keitaro wished it wasn’t so, his attraction to Tsuruko had grown stronger. ‘Living with her wasn’t the best way to get over her,’ he acknowledged. ‘Am I falling for her?’ he asked himself. He found that he honestly wasn’t sure. ‘What does she think of me?’
His face not betraying any of the turmoil he was feeling, Keitaro took a sip of his tea, trying to keep his focus. ‘I’m going to have to deal with this,’ he reasoned. ‘But not now. Not today. I’ll enjoy the moment, and deal with this later,’ he decided.
The two of them finished their light lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon looking around Kiyomizu temple. ‘Magnificent,’ Keitaro realized, was greatly understating things. The sheer size and scope of the temple, along with its age, and the fact that it had been built without the benefit of modern machinery, were almost beyond his ability to comprehend. The photos he’d seen when he was younger and his earlier brief visit hadn’t allowed him to truly grasp the majesty and splendor of Kiyomizu Temple.
The afternoon passed surprisingly fast as Tsuruko showed Keitaro all that there was to see, and the sun was in the last quarter of its trip across the sky. Back at Kiyomizu Stage, Keitaro took another look at the main temple in the early evening light; the long shadows the low sun created a striking image that made Keitaro wish he’d thought to bring a camera. “Thank you, this was nice today,” Keitaro said after a comfortable silence while observing the temple.
“It was nothing,” Tsuruko replied dismissively. “After all you’ve done, it was the least I could do.”
“You’re being generous,” responded Keitaro.
“If you say so. Should we go home?”
“I just wanna look over the stage one more time, okay?”
“No problem, the view is nice this time of day.”
Keitaro walked over to the edge, placing his hands on the railing and studied the spreading vista before him. ‘Wow,’ he thought. ‘She’s right, this is some view.’ He noticed Tsuruko come up along side him. “It’s breathtaking…” Keitaro saw her nod in agreement and then turn to take in the view as well.
However, all thoughts of the spectacular scenery were driven from his mind when Tsuruko placed her hands on the railing, and whether by chance or by design, the little finger of her right hand came into contact with the little finger of his left. Keitaro’s breath caught in is throat; the contact, while minor, was electric. He wasn’t sure if Tsuruko noticed the contact, but he figured he noticed it enough for the both of them.
Keitaro felt no urge to yank his hand away, and he figured it would be rude to do so, so he waited for Tsuruko to realize what she was doing and pull away herself. After a couple of seconds, Keitaro realized that either Tsuruko didn’t notice, or if she did, she didn’t care. He felt his heart rate rising again as he considered this possibility. ‘This is inappropriate, I REALLY shouldn’t be touching her like this, I should move…’
He didn’t move.
After nearly a minute, of which Keitaro would be able to recall nothing other than the sensation of Tsuruko’s finger gently touching his own, Tsuruko let go of the railing and stepped back, breaking the contact and allowing his thoughts regain some coherency. “I think it’s time we left, it’s going to be dark soon,” she commented.
“Yeah,” Keitaro answered softly, trying to work some moisture back into his dry mouth.
“Is there any other place you need to go?” Tsuruko appeared to be completely unaffected by the contact, or she was simply able to conceal it well.
“Groceries,” Keitaro nearly rasped.
“Groceries?”
“I-I need some ingredients for tonight’s dinner,” Keitaro clarified, his mental processes returning to normal.
Tsuruko smiled at him. “Then we’ll pick them up on the way home.”
Keitaro nodded stiffly at that, and his confused mind was able to convince his body to fall into step with Tsuruko. The two of them made their way back to the trolley car stop and boarded one heading back in the direction of Tsuruko’s home. The number of people on the car meant they both had to stand, and neither spoke during the journey, Tsuruko apparently comfortable with the silence, while Keitaro tried vainly to sort out the confusing swirl of emotions going through his head.
Tsuruko and Keitaro got off the trolley a couple of stops early so Keitaro would be able to pick up the groceries that he’d said he needed. In the store, the two of them talked about the day they’d just had, while Keitaro tried to remind himself to not let himself get in any deeper than he already was. When he’d picked up what he wanted, he paid for the groceries and he and Tsuruko walked the remaining distance home, continuing with the small talk.
When they finally walked through the main gate, Tsuruko turned to Keitaro and said, “I’ve got to check on something in the dojo, will you be able to handle those groceries by yourself?”
“Sure, no problem,” Keitaro reassured her. “Give me a few minutes to put things away, and I’ll start on dinner.”
“Would you like me to help?”
“Thanks, but no, I can handle it.”
“Very well. See you later Keitaro.” Tsuruko took her leave, flashing him a smile before she left.
“Later,” Keitaro replied softly, before picking up Tsuruko’s grocery bags and hefting them into the house. ‘That was fun today,’ he mused silently, as he carried the bags down the hall towards the kitchen. ‘But are we getting TOO comfortable with each other? I mean, I nearly had a stroke when our fingers touched, but she seemed fine with it. She had to notice, didn’t she?’ Keitaro let out another sigh. ‘We need to talk, before things get out of hand.’ With this thought, Keitaro entered the kitchen, idly placing the bags on the counter, unpacking them when he happened to glance up…
…and felt his heart turn to ice in mid-beat, and a sudden powerful urge to void his bladder gripped him, which he very nearly gave in to.
Sitting at the kitchen table, calmly sipping tea, was Toshio.
To Be Concluded.
Author’s Notes: Random1377 pre-read again. Somehow, between going to university, working, pre-reading my crap, and riding shotgun on other works, he finds the time to post stories that consistently own.
How does he do it?
C+C is welcome at hawker_748@hotmail.com.
This story idea was inspired by SimmyC, who graciously allowed me to pick up the ball and run with it.
Thanks Man!
“X” Spoken words
‘X’ Thoughts
Manga continuity, after the “Burn-Up Blade” story line
Love Hina:
Ships in the Night
Chapter Six: Shouldering
Later that evening, Keitaro was in the outdoor bath, staring up at the sky with a folded washcloth on his forehead. The sun hadn’t yet gone down, and the sky was brilliant shade of red near the horizon, although there were some ominous looking clouds moving in.
The picture perfect sky was the farthest thing from Keitaro’s thoughts however, as he was contemplating his own feelings. It was becoming awkward between him and Tsuruko; or perhaps it was simply becoming MORE awkward. Before he’d left Hinata House, Keitaro had usually thought of Tsuruko at least once a day. Now that he was living with her, he’d been thinking of her far more often, thoughts that both ashamed and intrigued him.
Keitaro did console himself with the fact that many of his thoughts on Tsuruko weren’t sexual; during the time since he’d arrived here, he’d noticed that she seemed to be reverting back to her old self. She smiled from time to time, engaged him in conversation when they were together, and today she’d even tried to start him on kendo, with less than spectacular results.
It relieved Keitaro to see that Tsuruko’s eyes occasionally exhibited the glint of humor that used to permanently reside there. If he’d been more confident, he might have felt responsible for her gradual ‘cheering up,’ but he figured it was simply a case of time healing all wounds.
But what bothered the former live-in landlord of Hinata House was the fact that some of his thoughts of Tsuruko were of a baser nature. Objectively, this didn’t surprise Keitaro; she’d been his first (and so far only) lover, even if it had only been a one night stand sparked by alcohol and similar feelings of loneliness. ‘But it shouldn’t have happened!’ he silently raged. ‘She was married, and I should’ve known better. I should be trying to forget it, not recalling it fondly…’
He let out a short breath. ‘So why did I accept her invitation to stay here?’ Keitaro wasn’t sure why he’d done that, as moving in with Tsuruko was a case of jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. But she’d been so insistent, and he’d already done so much to hurt her, he hadn’t had the heart to say no.
A flapping of wings and a soft splash interrupted his contemplation. Looking to his left, Keitaro discovered that he had some company in the bath. “Hello Shippu…”
“Ku-e!”
Keitaro chuckled lightly. He had as much ability to understand Tsuruko’s bird as he had Tama-chan, but like the flying hot springs turtle, the bird’s eyes shone with a greater than expected intelligence. “You the new lifeguard?”
“Ku-e! Ku-e!”
“What’s that? Timmy fell down the well again?”
“Ku-e!”
“Sorry Shippu, I couldn’t resist that…” Shaking his head at the (possibly) one-sided conversation, Keitaro leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “Now I’m talking to a bird…”
Neither party spoke again, and Keitaro continued his soak, feeling the last traces of pain from the mishap in the dojo drain from his body. It was remarkably peaceful in the bath, and it was an unusual thing for Keitaro to be able to relax without fear of being walked in on, or walking in on someone for that matter. ‘Not used to bathing without being interrupted,’ he realized. ‘I could get used-’
At that moment, the unwelcome (but depressingly familiar) sound of someone in the changing room reached his ears. ‘Shit! Did I forget to put up the sign?’ He quickly mentally rewound his actions, and he realized that he couldn’t remember if he had put it up. ‘What-what do I do?’ Keitaro figured he could try to hide or escape, or he could announce his presence. He ran through both options in less than half a second before choosing the latter. Hiding had never worked at Hinata House, and while calling out to Tsuruko would be embarrassing, it was better than having her walk in on him.
“Tsu-Tsuruko, I’m in the bath. I’m sorry, give me a minute and I’ll get out…” Keitaro began walking over to where he’d left his towel, a little uneasy that he hadn’t heard Tsuruko reply. “Talk to you later Shippu, I’ve gotta go,” he murmured. The sounds of movement in the changing area hadn’t died away, so Keitaro knew Tsuruko was still in there. “Let me know when you’re out of there and I’ll leave.”
Once again, there was no reply, and Keitaro took his towel back to where he’d been when he’d heard the sounds of company and waited. ‘She must have been almost undressed,’ he realized, coloring at the sudden mental image. ‘I’ll have to apologize to her for monopolizing the bath like this… I mean, this is HER bath, I shouldn’t just-’
Keitaro’s thoughts were interrupted by movement at the entrance to the bath. He looked up by reflex, and felt himself go ghostly pale. Tsuruko was standing in the doorway, smiling gently, and wearing a very short silk bathrobe that just reached her upper thighs. While it was tied together with a sash at the waist, from the way it was clinging to her, it was obvious that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath it.
For a couple of seconds, Keitaro was unable to do anything but stare at the vision of loveliness that had interrupted his bath, before his crashed higher functions completed their reboot. His eyes slammed shut and he lurched against the far side of the bath, thankful that he was in deep enough water to conceal his body’s instinctive reaction to the sight. With his back literally against the wall, Keitaro held up his hands to block his view when he cautiously opened his eyes.
With his hands blocking off the more private areas, Keitaro was still able to see Tsuruko’s face, and the soft smile she wore. She seemed completely calm and relaxed and she gestured for Shippu to come to her, which he did, taking flight and landing on her shoulder. Tsuruko stroked Shippu’s beak for a few seconds before she cast him off. Taking a step towards the bath, she slowly undid the sash at her waist, and let the robe glide noiselessly off of her shoulders.
Keitaro slowly lowered his arms in shock, unable to comprehend or reconcile what was happening. Mesmerized, like a rat being stalked by a cobra, Keitaro found himself incapable of movement as he watched Tsuruko slowly walking towards him, the water now concealing part of her body, but doing nothing to reduce her ethereal beauty. Keitaro’s heart rate had at least tripled, his mouth had gone as dry as late summer cotton, and he idly wondered why he hadn’t passed out from the diversion of blood from his brain. Despite his better judgment, his gaze was riveted to Tsuruko, every bit as gorgeous as he remembered.
When Tsuruko placed her fingers on his shoulders, Keitaro let out a shuddering gasp at her silken touch. The contact brought back all of the thoughts and desires he’d worked for months to suppress; his most shameful, but at the same time most treasured memories. His reasoning and restraint short-circuited, and he felt his own longing grow, just as it had that rainy night. Keitaro knew what he was feeling was wrong, but he found himself unable to resist his own hunger; at that moment, he wanted Tsuruko.
Tsuruko’s angelically soft lips pressed against his own, and Keitaro responded without hesitation, closing his eyes and opening his mouth, meeting her tongue with his own. His hands went to Tsuruko’s waist, his fingertips caressing her smooth skin, slowly stroking upwards towards her wonderfully full breasts. His fingers had just reached the lower edge of her breasts when he felt a sudden sharp pain on his lip.
“Ow!” Keitaro’s eyes snapped open, and he found Shippu only a few inches in front of him, looking at him as if he was trying to decide if Keitaro would make a tasty snack. “What the-?” Tsuruko was nowhere to be seen and there was a stinging pain on his lower lip and a coppery taste in his mouth. “A-a dream?”
Keitaro went pale at the realization. He’d fallen asleep in the bath, and he’d had yet another dream, one that had been far, far more realistic than any previous ones. ‘It even tasted like her,’ he remembered, unconsciously licking his lips. Apparently Shippu had bitten his lower lip while he‘d slept, snapping him awake. Keitaro wasn’t sure if he wanted to thank the bird, or wring its scrawny little neck.
‘This is dangerous. I need to get out of here,’ he thought in near panic. He stood up to leave and discovered that his body was still very much interested. Wrapping himself in a towel, embarrassed by the tent he was currently pitching, Keitaro stalked over to the shower and turned on the cold water full blast. “Gah!” The cold water cleared away the last vestiges of his feverish dream, and shocked him into thinking clearly.
Hurrying into the changing area, Keitaro dried off and dressed as fast as he could, desperate to get away from there for a while. His hair was still damp when he exited the changing area, savagely tearing down the sign warning of his presence in the bath. Driven by an almost single-minded purpose to escape, Keitaro almost ran over Tsuruko.
“Keitaro… Is something wrong?” Tsuruko noticed that her houseguest had an almost manic look in his eyes.
Keitaro took a quick look at Tsuruko, as if noticing her for the first time. The vivid and erotic thoughts running through his head were boosted by the sight of the woman of his fantasies in the flesh. He could still remember every inch of her body, including the cute little mole she had on the inside of her upper left leg. Viciously shaking his head to clear the not unpleasant thoughts, he said the first thing that popped it his mind. “No! I-I’m going for a walk…”
Tsuruko’s brow furrowed. “A walk?”
“Yeah, a walk,” Keitaro snapped. “I need to get outta here…”
“What’s wrong Keitaro?” asked Tsuruko, concerned by Keitaro’s frantic look.
“Nothing!” If Keitaro had been thinking clearly, he would have winced at his snarl, and at the way Tsuruko recoiled. “I’ll be back in a coupla hours,” he all but growled, stomping off towards the entrance. At the door he yanked on his shoes, almost tore his jacket pulling it of the hook, and disappeared into the falling night.
About a half hour later, Keitaro had managed to burn off some of his frustration and sexual arousal. ‘Dammit, where the hell did that come from?’ he wondered. ‘I’ve never had a dream that intense before. Was it because I got hit on the head?’ Keitaro had been surprised by its detail, and more than a little aroused. Even now he could feel lingering heat from the dream causing a blush on his cheeks.
When Keitaro felt a drop, he looked up and frowned at the clouds overhead. ‘Rain again… Does it follow me, waiting for me to take a walk?’ he pondered. Not in the mood to be rained on, Keitaro took shelter in an alcove, watching the rain begin in earnest. He zipped up his jacket a little tighter, the rain cooling the air and giving Keitaro a hint of the chills. ‘Just like last November.’
Waiting in the shelter for the rain to let up, Keitaro had the chance to think back on how he‘d acted. ‘Aw hell, why’d I have to be like that? It wasn’t her fault I had that dream… She was worried about me and I bit her head off…’ As he recalled his words to Tsuruko, Keitaro felt a sense of shame come over him. ‘I’m an asshole. She didn’t deserve that… She took me in, and I thank her like that.’
As if agreeing with him, the rain increased its intensity, becoming a strong downpour that reduced the visibility to less than a hundred feet. Keitaro’s feeling of shame grew in intensity with the rain, making him feel sick, humiliated by his cruel treatment of Tsuruko. ‘She’s been through so much, put herself out to help me, and I pay her back by acting like a bastard.’ Keitaro leaned against the wall, sighing deeply. ‘I’ve gotta apologize to her…’
Attempting to gather his courage, Keitaro stepped out of his shelter and started the return trip to Tsuruko’s home. For once, the weather seemed to favor him, as the rain let up a little as he walked. He spent most of the time trying to figure out what exactly he would say. ‘I’ll find her, I’ll apologize and then beg for forgiveness.’ Keitaro nodded at his plan. ‘Then I’ll thank her for letting me stay with her, but that it’s time I moved out. It’s getting strange now, I should leave before it gets any worse.’
Keitaro wasn’t as enthusiastic about the last thought, but he knew it was the right thing to do. The half mile passed in a heartbeat, and Keitaro took a moment at the front door to recompose himself. ‘Walk in and apologize… simple as that.’ Stepping inside and hanging up his jacket, Keitaro put on an air of confidence that was only skin deep, and went to find Tsuruko. ‘Don’t want her to be upset with me, I’ve already done enough damage…’
Mentally rehearsing his speech, it wasn’t until he had almost reached the kitchen that Keitaro registered an alien sound. ‘What-what’s that noise?’ he wondered, continuing to approach the kitchen. ‘It almost sounds like…’ Keitaro’s blood ran cold when he realized why it sounded so familiar. ‘Oh no, please, not that…’ The sinking feeling that washed over him almost made him stop dead in his tracks, but some deeper feeling compelled him to continue.
Keitaro turned the corner, entered the kitchen, and was very nearly sick at the sight that awaited him. Tsuruko was sitting at the kitchen table, looking through a photo album, and crying. Keitaro’s most ardent hope, that he’d misinterpreted the sounds he’d heard coming down the hallway, was blown away as if by the wind. Tsuruko Aoyama, the most seemingly strong, invulnerable person he’d ever known, was sobbing audibly, tears streaming unabashedly down her cheeks.
Keitaro had often wondered how Tsuruko had dealt with all that occurred; he’d speculated on whether or not she’d ever shed tears over the incident, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to picture that, as it seemed completely out of character. But the sight of Tsuruko crying cut Keitaro to his very core, amplifying his inherent shame and self-loathing. ‘I did that to her…’
Tsuruko hadn’t apparently noticed him, and Keitaro was wondering if he should discretely slip away, when she looked up, and her red-rimmed eyes widened in surprise. For an agonizing moment, neither reacted; Tsuruko too surprised and Keitaro too ashamed. Then Tsuruko put her head down and savagely wiped at her eyes, gritting her teeth to stifle her sobs, but her shoulders still shook despite her efforts.
‘This is private, she wants to be left alone. Go away Keitaro. You can’t do anything, you caused this remember? Just let her be, that’s what she wants.’ These thoughts flooded into Keitaro’s mind, all saying the same thing. Every instinct and impulse he had was telling him to give Tsuruko her privacy, and pretend that he hadn’t seen anything. Keitaro was even dimly aware that his right foot was starting to ease itself off of the floor, preparing to take the first step back.
But through the cacophony of his thoughts, there was one solitary voice of dissention. ‘If you leave her like this, if you don’t try to help her, then you’re the biggest bastard on Earth…’ The majority of voices scoffed at that, saying he’d get over his regret, that he’d be able to look at himself in the mirror soon enough, and that he’d only make things worse by trying to help.
With all these thoughts going through his mind, Keitaro came to the only conclusion that was possible. His right foot lifted slowly off the floor…
…and took a small, tentative step towards Tsuruko.
Silencing all of his internal critics, Keitaro forced himself to hear Tsuruko’s repressed sobs, using them as a motivation for his actions, which were going against all of his better judgment. ‘What-what do I do when I get there?’ he desperately asked himself. ’What do I say? How do I start? I mean, she was sitting and looking at that album, and I… Is that her wedding album? God, what am I gonna do?’
Tsuruko appeared to be calming herself down, the tears seemed to have stopped flowing, and she had wiped away their tracks with the sleeve of her gi. It looked to Keitaro that she was trying to pretend that nothing had happened, and that she didn’t appear to notice his approach. By the time she took one last calming breath, Keitaro was standing beside her. She glanced up and looked to be surprised to see how close he was to her.
Silently wishing with all his heart that he was doing the right thing, Keitaro gently placed his left hand on Tsuruko’s right shoulder. After swallowing to try to moisten his suddenly dry mouth, he softly asked, “Are-are you alright?” He inwardly winced at the poorly phrased question, and hoped that he looked more worried than scared.
Tsuruko’s red eyes widened at his tentative question, and a look of profound surprise briefly came over her features. Then, to Keitaro’s horrified fascination, her lower lip began to quiver, her eyes once again began to water, and then she suddenly grabbed him around the waist in a vice-like grip, and buried her face in his chest, her shoulders wracked with powerful sobs.
For a second, Keitaro almost gave into the first instinct of trying to break free and run like hell, before he nervously allowed his arms to wrap around Tsuruko in return. Even as he placed his arms around her, Keitaro had to fight off urges to tear himself away and bolt. The same feelings that had welled up in him when Motoko had broken down and cried on his shoulder came back to him. The desire to help was countered by his concern about how intimate comforting her might feel.
Keitaro felt like a complete heel, ashamed that Tsuruko had been reduced to this state, crying uncontrollably into his chest. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, Keitaro tried his best to be comforting and consoling, holding her around the shoulders with his left arm, and slowly stroking her hair with his right. He also tried his hardest to not notice just how nice it felt to hold Tsuruko, despite the circumstances. The faint stirrings that he felt humiliated him, and he focused on the sounds of her crying to suppress them, but it was more difficult than he liked. ‘Where are those clothespins when I need ‘em?’ he thought miserably.
Tsuruko continued to cry unabashed for untold minutes, causing Keitaro to shed a few tears of his own. Not knowing what else he could do, he continued to hold her and stroke her hair, feeling her tears create a damp spot on his shirt. Finally Tsuruko began to calm down, much to Keitaro’s relief, and she let go of him. Keitaro eased his hands off of her and took a step back, watching as she went about composing herself, and wiping away her tears. Idly, Keitaro wiped away the tears that had slid down his own cheeks, feeling very unsure of what to do next. “Would you like some tea?” he asked nervously. To Keitaro, this seemed the safest thing he could say.
“Yes, thank you,” Tsuruko replied softly.
Relieved at having something to do, Keitaro put the kettle on and pulled the necessary sundries out of the cupboard. While waiting for the water to boil, Keitaro took a discrete look at Tsuruko. She had regained her composure for the most part, but the redness in her eyes served to remind him of her breakdown. Keitaro found himself more astonished by the finding Tsuruko crying than the fact that they’d slept together. ‘What do I do now?’ Keitaro wondered. ‘She’s stopped crying, but what am I gonna say?’ The boiling water interrupted his musings, and he turned off the stove, poured the water into the pot, let it steep for a minute, before he poured it into two mugs and brought them to the table.
“Thank you,” Tsuruko nodded gratefully when Keitaro handed her a mug.
Sitting down across the table from Tsuruko, Keitaro took a small sip of his tea, not at all sure what to do next. Apparently Tsuruko felt the same way, as she did nothing to break the silence that now abounded in the kitchen. For a few minutes the only sounds were the two of them sipping at their tea and soft breathing. Finally, Keitaro couldn’t take the quiet anymore, so he did what he’d originally planned when he’d returned. “I-I’m sorry…”
Tsuruko paused in her sip and regarded him curiously. “Sorry? For what?”
“For snapping at you in the hall.”
“I-I beg your pardon?”
“I was rude to you, you’ve been nothing but hospitable, and I was rude in return.” Keitaro was so wrapped up in making amends that he didn’t notice Tsuruko’s eyebrows arching up. “I was an asshole, acting like that. I can only hope you’ll forgive me for acting like that, and if you want me to leave I will…”
“Keitaro…”
“I’ve stayed too long anyway, and I should find somewhere else. I don’t do enough here, I don’t pay enough rent…”
“Keitaro,” Tsuruko repeated, a little louder this time.
“I’m just causing you trouble by staying here and reminding you of-”
“Keitaro!”
“What-what is it?” Keitaro looked up in surprise.
Tsuruko let out a breath and shook her head slowly. “This wasn’t your fault…”
“But, but you were crying…”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“Then, then was it,” Keitaro swallowed nervously before continuing. “Your wedding album?” he finished softly.
“Wedding album?”
“Isn’t that it?” Keitaro replied, pointing to the book on the table.
“No, it’s just a photo album,” Tsuruko corrected.
Keitaro felt a strange sense of relief at learning this. “I see… Then, then why…?” He couldn’t bring himself to finish the question.
“I was just looking at these photos; it brought back memories, some of them bad.” Tsuruko then focused her gaze on Keitaro and her eyes narrowed. “I didn’t expect you to be back so soon…”
‘I bet…’ Trying not to wilt under her scrutiny, Keitaro replied, “I-I felt bad about how I acted. I wanted to apologize. You’ve had so much to deal with, you didn’t need me acting like a jerk…”
“I didn’t think you acted that bad.”
“I did,” Keitaro instantly responded. “I’m sorry.”
Tsuruko accepted his apology with a rueful shake of her head. “I shouldn’t have broken down looking at a few photos,” she murmured.
“What kind of photos?” Keitaro asked before he could stop himself.
Tsuruko looked at him neutrally. “You really want to know?”
“If you don’t mind showing me,” Keitaro replied, bothered that he was letting his curiosity get the better of him.
Tsuruko smiled thinly. “Then come here,” she said, indicating the chair next to her with her eyes, “and I’ll show you.”
Slowly rising to his feet, Keitaro cautiously walked around the table and took the seat next to Tsuruko, making sure that he sat as far away as he politely could. He took a look at the photos, the scenery strangely familiar to him. “Is that Okinawa?”
“Yes. You’ve been there?”
“Got washed up there with Naru and Mutsumi.”
“Washed up?” Tsuruko replied, raising an eyebrow.
“Our raft got lost at sea,” Keitaro stated blandly.
“I see…” Tsuruko didn’t, but she decided not to dwell on that. “Toshio and I were there three years ago.”
“Enjoy yourselves?”
“We tried to.”
“Tried to?” Keitaro repeated, uneasy about the conversation taking a somber turn.
“We thought it might help.”
“With what?”
“Children.”
“Children?”
“We were trying to start a family; we both figured that a vacation would be less stressful for us.”
“I see…”
“It didn’t work, but it was a nice trip.”
Keitaro was uncomfortable with the question that sprang to his lips, so he tried his best to be somewhat diplomatic. “You-you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to, it’s none of my business really, I don’t even know why I’m even saying this-”
“Why did we need to do that to have a child?” interrupted Tsuruko.
Blushing deeply, and finding the tabletop a fascinating subject for close examination, Keitaro simply replied, “Yes.”
“We’ve never been able to have children.”
“W-why?”
“We don’t know,” Tsuruko replied after a moment of silence. “We’ve tried; I’ve gone to different doctors, and they’ve found nothing wrong, but I’ve never been able to get pregnant.”
“Toshio told me something about that,” Keitaro recalled. He flipped a few pages of the album, mostly to keep himself from fidgeting, and also to satisfy his curiosity. “That’s a nice shot.” The photo had Tsuruko at Kiyomizu Temple if he wasn’t mistaken.
“That was about a year ago.”
Tsuruko was smiling pleasantly in the photo, but when Keitaro looked closer, he noticed that the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. ‘What was troubling you?’ he asked silently. “Was the difficulty having children what made Toshio…?” Keitaro asked delicately.
“No. It didn’t help, but it didn’t start there.”
“Then why…?” Keitaro was at a loss to understand how anyone could hurt Tsuruko, intentionally or not.
“Ask him. I don’t really know… He never saw it as a problem.” Tsuruko sighed at the unpleasant memories that were being dredged up. “Maybe he was like that before we were married, but I just didn’t notice. Living with someone is different than dating someone, you see everything.”
Keitaro found himself nodding at that. Living at Hinata House, he’d seen what all the residents were like, good and bad.
“Toshio would be a little distant at first, but as time passed it started to get worse. We’d talk about it, but he didn’t seem to think that it was important, he kind of brushed aside my concerns. I don’t think he meant to be hurtful, but it hurt just the same.”
The weary look Tsuruko was wearing nearly broke Keitaro’s heart. ‘How could he not know he was hurting her? Was he blind? Or maybe he just didn’t want to know,’ he thought, remembering the chat he’d had with Toshio. ‘He didn’t seem like a bad guy, really, maybe he just didn’t know… I’m not that perceptive either. Maybe he just hoped that things would get better on their own?’ “More tea?” he asked out loud when he noticed that Tsuruko’s mug was empty.
“No thank you,” Tsuruko replied. “I think I’m going to turn in early. Thank you for the tea, and thank you again.”
“For what?”
“Being there for me,” she answered with a faint smile. “For being understanding.”
“Uh, you’re welcome, I guess,” Keitaro stated uncomfortably, uneasy at the notion of being thanked for solving something for which he blamed himself.
“I’m serious Keitaro, I can’t recall Toshio trying that hard to be comforting in all the years we’ve been married.”
“You’re kidding,” Keitaro breathed, taken aback.
“I’m not.”
“Happy to help, I suppose,” he chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. Keitaro felt some sudden tension in the air, and it was making him uneasy.
“Good night Keitaro,” Tsuruko told him with a gentle smile as she walked out of the kitchen. “Pleasant dreams.”
“You too Tsuruko,” Keitaro responded with a similar expression on his face. Putting the empty mugs in the sink, Keitaro left the kitchen and walked through the light drizzle to his room. Once there, he decided that he was also tired from the emotional roller coaster he’d been riding for some time, and that sleep seemed to be a great idea at the moment.
Keitaro undressed and slipped under the covers of his futon, doused the light, and closed his eyes, letting the soft pitter-patter of the drizzle lull him to sleep. As he drifted off, he noticed that he could almost feel the warmth in his arms where he’d held Tsuruko, and when he finally acquiesced to the welcome oblivion of slumber, he once again dreamed of her. But on this night at least, the images weren’t erotic, merely warm and comfortable, and he wore an enigmatic smile while he slept.
XXX
“Sunny side up or over easy?”
“Sunny please.”
A couple of weeks had passed since Keitaro had discovered Tsuruko crying when he’d returned from a walk, and had attempted to comfort her. His own instincts had told him to not get involved, but he had ignored them, not being able to accept the idea of letting her be that distraught without attempting to help. Neither of them had mentioned the incident since, as it had been difficult for the both of them, but it had been the genesis of a subtle change in the mood of the Aoyama residence.
The day to day activities hadn’t changed; Keitaro still worked around the residence, and Tsuruko continued to work to improve her art, as well as teach some students. There weren’t that many students, but Tsuruko had told Keitaro that the school was selective of who it instructed, and that those who were accepted had to well compensate the school, so that many students weren’t required.
But the two of them were talking a little more, and a little more openly when they did. It was though the air of depression and guilt was gradually clearing away, allowing some good cheer to reach within the walls of the home.
Keitaro did his chores with a touch more pride, and the home seemed to sparkle as a result. He paid more attention to detail when he cooked, and the results even surprised him; while still inferior to Shinobu’s in his opinion, it was still a quantum leap from his previous efforts. For the first time since he’d arrived, Keitaro actually felt comfortable staying there, even going as far as to watch Tsuruko train in the morning a few times, although he still hadn’t tried to learn kendo since the one abortive attempt.
‘I guess I’m finally getting settled in,’ Keitaro told himself as he kept one eye on the eggs. ‘But I’m not supposed to be staying here indefinitely, am I? No, I-I need to leave here, I need to move…’ Objectively, Keitaro knew what he should do. But anytime he considered the issue, he would find that he just wasn’t able to bring himself to do it.
Setting these thoughts aside, Keitaro finished preparing breakfast, plated it, and brought it to the table, handing one plate to Tsuruko, who accepted it with a warm smile. ‘She’s smiling more now,’ he noted. ‘I think I am too.’ While he didn’t object to the way things were currently going, he did wonder when the other shoe was going to drop.
Eating in an uncustomary silence, the two of them finished their breakfast, seemingly both lost in thought. Keitaro picked up his empty plate and utensils, taking them to the sink when the quiet was broken. “Keitaro, how much of Kyoto have you seen?”
“I saw some of it from the air the last time I was here,” he replied off-handedly. “I’ve only been here once before that. Did a little sightseeing, but I spent a lot of time trying to hide.”
“Hide?”
Keitaro’s eyes took on a distant look as he recalled the first time he’d come to Kyoto. “It was over a year ago. Naru and I had both just failed the Tokyo University entrance exam, her first failure, my third.” He unconsciously grimaced at the memory. “We’d had a bit of a falling out, so I decided to go on a trip, and Kyoto seemed a good place to start. Well, Naru had the same idea, and we kept running into each other.”
“Just a coincidence?”
“No. We both followed the same guide book, and we ended up at the same attractions at the same time. We even ended up at the same inn, and the same mixed bath!” Keitaro added, exasperated.
Tsuruko felt herself smile, and a brief snicker escaped her lips. The look of indignation this caused Keitaro made her snicker even more, her laughter growing despite her efforts to suppress it, her shoulders shaking with barely controlled mirth.
Tsuruko’s laughter was contagious, and Keitaro found himself smiling in spite of himself. He started to chuckle, the more humorous aspects of the experience becoming clearer with time. Grinning now, Keitaro continued his tale. “It gets better. The hotel owner saw we had the same address and put us in the same room to save space.” He shook his head in amusement. “She even gave us a special newlyweds meal.” By now, even Keitaro was having difficulty keeping a straight face.
Tsuruko by now had quit trying to maintain her composure, and was laughing openly at Keitaro’s recollections. “It wasn’t that funny!” he protested, his smile giving lie to that statement. When her laughter only increased at his remark, he added, “Okay, maybe it was, but you don’t have to enjoy it that much.”
Resigning himself to be unable to talk to Tsuruko until her amusement passed, Keitaro took a moment to discretely observe her. ‘That’s the type of behavior I’d expect from Tsuruko,’ Keitaro decided. ‘She was always smiling at something. A face that lovely should be smiling, sadness doesn’t suit it at all… I think I’ve been smiling more myself, and I haven’t had a good laugh in some time either.’ The thought made Keitaro smile, even as he realized on some level that his current train of thought was probably unwise.
After a minute or so, Tsuruko finally calmed down enough to regain her composure, although the glint of humor in her eye was unmistakable. “So you haven’t seen much of Kyoto then?” she asked.
“Not really…”
“Well then, why don’t we do a little sightseeing today?”
“Sightseeing?” Keitaro repeated after a second or two of surprised silence.
“Yes, sightseeing. You’ve been here over two months, and you haven’t taken any time to really explore Kyoto,” Tsuruko reminded him.
‘She’s right, I haven’t really been anywhere,’ he admitted to himself, ‘but…’ “Why would you do that?”
“Call it payback for all the help you’ve given me here.”
Keitaro debated his decision for a minute. ‘Might be nice to see Kiyomizu Temple again, I was only there for a few minutes last time. But is this a good idea, going out with Tsuruko? But it isn’t a date… is it? No, it’s probably innocent. I’m a pervert, thinking about that right now.’ Feeling somewhat confident in his reasoning, Keitaro responded with, “Sure, let’s go.”
“Great. When will you be ready?”
“Give me a half hour to finish up here.”
“Then we’ll leave in thirty.”
Keitaro nodded at that and went back to cleaning up the kitchen, idly humming a tuneless melody as he worked. When he finished, he returned to his room to change his shirt, which he’d gotten wet with dishwater. Grabbing another relatively plain shirt, he put it on and walked to the house. ‘No point dressing up, after all, this ISN’T a date,’ he reminded himself.
Sure enough, when Tsuruko came down the stairs, she was wearing the same outfit, causing Keitaro to idly wonder if she even owned any other clothes. ‘Even in that photo album, that’s all she ever wore…’
The two of them walked through the main gate and made their way to a trolley stop in silence. After a few minutes a trolley pulled up and Keitaro and Tsuruko boarded, Tsuruko taking a window seat while Keitaro elected to stand. The trip itself was uneventful, although from his vantage point Keitaro couldn’t help but noticing the appraising looks Tsuruko was receiving. ‘No surprise there,’ he figured. ‘She IS gorgeous…’
Upon finally reaching the stop for Kiyomizu Temple, the two of them went with the crowd, leaving the trolley and walking up the slight incline towards the temple. ‘I remember that restaurant,’ Keitaro noted, ‘and that photo booth, I took pictures there.’ He found it funny just how much he recalled from his first trip to Kyoto, as the two of them made their way to the temple, blending into the crowd.
“Kiyomizu stage,” Tsuruko spoke up suddenly. “The famous jumping off point.”
Keitaro walked up to the edge and looked over the railing. “No way I’m jumping off this thing,” he replied. ‘I might survive it though, I have gone over a cliff once or twice before…’
“Quite a drop isn’t it?” remarked Tsuruko.
“Yeah…”
Tsuruko smiled and then gestured to Kiyomizu Temple behind her. “Well, what do you think?”
Before Keitaro could answer, a soft breeze came along, stirring up all loose objects. It also caused Tsuruko’s hair to billow out behind her. The look this created was the kind of image that film directors could spend an entire career attempting to capture, but almost never succeed. With her wind swept hair, and in front of Kiyomizu Temple, Tsuruko looked almost unearthly, and Keitaro was sure he felt a blush rising to his cheeks and his heart rate rising. When he finally regained his voice after a few moments, only one word came to mind. “Magnificent,” he breathed softly, unsure if he meant the temple or his guide.
The word worked just as well for either…
Apparently unaware of just how beautiful she looked at the moment, Tsuruko gestured for Keitaro to follow her. Shaking his head to clear away any inappropriate thoughts, he slowly followed after her as she walked. “Where-where to now?” Keitaro asked hesitantly.
“Jiji Shrine,” replied Tsuruko.
“Jiji Shrine… I don’t think I saw that the last time…”
“Oh? Why not?”
“Ran into Naru,” Keitaro answered truthfully. “What’s at Jiji Shrine?”
“Otowa Waterfall. Depending what you drink from, you’ll gain health, wisdom, or true love,” Tsuruko explained.
“Does it work?” asked Keitaro.
“Depends who you ask,” Tsuruko answered, as she lead Keitaro down the stone path.
Keitaro nodded at that as the two of them walked. ‘It’s a nice day for this,’ he thought idly. The sun was shining bright in the sky and there wasn’t a cloud in sight, not even any wispy cirrus clouds. It was as nice a day as Keitaro could remember in a long time, and he decided that he wasn’t going to let it go to waste. “Is that it?”
Tsuruko nodded in reply. “So Keitaro, what will you wish for?” she inquired.
“Which is what?”
Tsuruko chuckled. “Why not try all three?”
“Why push my luck?”
“From the left,” she pointed up from near the collecting pool. “Health, wisdom, and true love.”
“Health, wisdom, love,” Keitaro repeated to himself as he walked up the steps to collect a cup. ‘Which one? Health? Nah, I’m in pretty good shape,’ he reasoned. ‘True love?’ He glanced back at Tsuruko, who was coming up the steps as well. ‘Bad idea… Wisdom then… Maybe it’ll help me figure out how to deal with this…’ With a sigh, Keitaro held his cup under the middle stream, filled it, and drank it down. “Don’t feel any smarter,” he remarked.
“And I don’t feel any healthier,” Tsuruko replied, finishing her cup from the first stream. “But it’s not supposed to work instantly.”
“I know. Be nice if it did though…”
“That’s true…”
“You hungry? I mean, you’re showing me around, I should at least buy lunch…”
“You don’t have to…”
“Please, I insist.”
“Very well. But you choose the place.”
“What’s good around here?”
“Any small shop will do.”
“Lead on then,” Keitaro stated, and followed Tsuruko to a small outdoor café.
They took a seat and Tsuruko ordered sakura-mochi with green tea. Keitaro asked for the same, and the two of them sat back and watched other people walking by. There were quite a few school groups touring the shrine that day, and the sight of the young children made Keitaro feel sentimental. He smiled wistfully at the sight of a group of school girls tearing around the grounds excitedly, while their frazzled looking teacher tried to restore order.
“What are you thinking Keitaro?”
“Just remembering my younger days…”
“If you’re old, what does that make me?” Tsuruko asked neutrally.
For once, Keitaro was able to detect the danger beforehand, and took steps to disarm it. “You’re not old, not at all.” Noticing that Tsuruko’s expression hadn’t changed, Keitaro tried to go on the offensive. “But how could you remember being in junior high?” Keitaro asked. “That must have been five or six years ago…”
For a second or two, Tsuruko stared at Keitaro in abject disbelief, before she laughed out loud, his quip striking her as hilarious. She continued to laugh unrestrained for a few seconds, before she tried to rein herself in, Keitaro silently relieved that the tension had been disrupted. ‘She’s kinda cute when she laughs…’ he found himself noticing, before he stomped on that thought.
‘I shouldn’t be thinking like this,’ Keitaro admonished himself. ‘I shouldn’t be wondering about holding her again. She’s still married, even if Toshio hasn’t come back.’ As much as Keitaro wished it wasn’t so, his attraction to Tsuruko had grown stronger. ‘Living with her wasn’t the best way to get over her,’ he acknowledged. ‘Am I falling for her?’ he asked himself. He found that he honestly wasn’t sure. ‘What does she think of me?’
His face not betraying any of the turmoil he was feeling, Keitaro took a sip of his tea, trying to keep his focus. ‘I’m going to have to deal with this,’ he reasoned. ‘But not now. Not today. I’ll enjoy the moment, and deal with this later,’ he decided.
The two of them finished their light lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon looking around Kiyomizu temple. ‘Magnificent,’ Keitaro realized, was greatly understating things. The sheer size and scope of the temple, along with its age, and the fact that it had been built without the benefit of modern machinery, were almost beyond his ability to comprehend. The photos he’d seen when he was younger and his earlier brief visit hadn’t allowed him to truly grasp the majesty and splendor of Kiyomizu Temple.
The afternoon passed surprisingly fast as Tsuruko showed Keitaro all that there was to see, and the sun was in the last quarter of its trip across the sky. Back at Kiyomizu Stage, Keitaro took another look at the main temple in the early evening light; the long shadows the low sun created a striking image that made Keitaro wish he’d thought to bring a camera. “Thank you, this was nice today,” Keitaro said after a comfortable silence while observing the temple.
“It was nothing,” Tsuruko replied dismissively. “After all you’ve done, it was the least I could do.”
“You’re being generous,” responded Keitaro.
“If you say so. Should we go home?”
“I just wanna look over the stage one more time, okay?”
“No problem, the view is nice this time of day.”
Keitaro walked over to the edge, placing his hands on the railing and studied the spreading vista before him. ‘Wow,’ he thought. ‘She’s right, this is some view.’ He noticed Tsuruko come up along side him. “It’s breathtaking…” Keitaro saw her nod in agreement and then turn to take in the view as well.
However, all thoughts of the spectacular scenery were driven from his mind when Tsuruko placed her hands on the railing, and whether by chance or by design, the little finger of her right hand came into contact with the little finger of his left. Keitaro’s breath caught in is throat; the contact, while minor, was electric. He wasn’t sure if Tsuruko noticed the contact, but he figured he noticed it enough for the both of them.
Keitaro felt no urge to yank his hand away, and he figured it would be rude to do so, so he waited for Tsuruko to realize what she was doing and pull away herself. After a couple of seconds, Keitaro realized that either Tsuruko didn’t notice, or if she did, she didn’t care. He felt his heart rate rising again as he considered this possibility. ‘This is inappropriate, I REALLY shouldn’t be touching her like this, I should move…’
He didn’t move.
After nearly a minute, of which Keitaro would be able to recall nothing other than the sensation of Tsuruko’s finger gently touching his own, Tsuruko let go of the railing and stepped back, breaking the contact and allowing his thoughts regain some coherency. “I think it’s time we left, it’s going to be dark soon,” she commented.
“Yeah,” Keitaro answered softly, trying to work some moisture back into his dry mouth.
“Is there any other place you need to go?” Tsuruko appeared to be completely unaffected by the contact, or she was simply able to conceal it well.
“Groceries,” Keitaro nearly rasped.
“Groceries?”
“I-I need some ingredients for tonight’s dinner,” Keitaro clarified, his mental processes returning to normal.
Tsuruko smiled at him. “Then we’ll pick them up on the way home.”
Keitaro nodded stiffly at that, and his confused mind was able to convince his body to fall into step with Tsuruko. The two of them made their way back to the trolley car stop and boarded one heading back in the direction of Tsuruko’s home. The number of people on the car meant they both had to stand, and neither spoke during the journey, Tsuruko apparently comfortable with the silence, while Keitaro tried vainly to sort out the confusing swirl of emotions going through his head.
Tsuruko and Keitaro got off the trolley a couple of stops early so Keitaro would be able to pick up the groceries that he’d said he needed. In the store, the two of them talked about the day they’d just had, while Keitaro tried to remind himself to not let himself get in any deeper than he already was. When he’d picked up what he wanted, he paid for the groceries and he and Tsuruko walked the remaining distance home, continuing with the small talk.
When they finally walked through the main gate, Tsuruko turned to Keitaro and said, “I’ve got to check on something in the dojo, will you be able to handle those groceries by yourself?”
“Sure, no problem,” Keitaro reassured her. “Give me a few minutes to put things away, and I’ll start on dinner.”
“Would you like me to help?”
“Thanks, but no, I can handle it.”
“Very well. See you later Keitaro.” Tsuruko took her leave, flashing him a smile before she left.
“Later,” Keitaro replied softly, before picking up Tsuruko’s grocery bags and hefting them into the house. ‘That was fun today,’ he mused silently, as he carried the bags down the hall towards the kitchen. ‘But are we getting TOO comfortable with each other? I mean, I nearly had a stroke when our fingers touched, but she seemed fine with it. She had to notice, didn’t she?’ Keitaro let out another sigh. ‘We need to talk, before things get out of hand.’ With this thought, Keitaro entered the kitchen, idly placing the bags on the counter, unpacking them when he happened to glance up…
…and felt his heart turn to ice in mid-beat, and a sudden powerful urge to void his bladder gripped him, which he very nearly gave in to.
Sitting at the kitchen table, calmly sipping tea, was Toshio.
To Be Concluded.
Author’s Notes: Random1377 pre-read again. Somehow, between going to university, working, pre-reading my crap, and riding shotgun on other works, he finds the time to post stories that consistently own.
How does he do it?