Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ A Different Man at Hinata ❯ Love and the Loveless ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina, but Sean is mine.

* * * Chapter IV: Love and the Loveless * * *

While Sean helped Naru through her troubles, Kitsune, still upset over what they did minutes before, set out to find the others and tell them what she heard. She eventually found Suu in the living room, watching television. Kitsune found her chance, but she couldn’t tell her right away. No, she had to be careful about how to divulge her information. It was clear this wasn’t the first time Kitsune had secrets to tell. “Hey, Suu. How are you doing?”
“Great. That class today actually helped me get some self-control.”
Come to think of it, Kitsune noticed that Suu hasn’t been hyper since class ended. “Oh, that’s nice.”
Suu raised an eyebrow. “Did you find me just to ask that?”
“Actually, no. I just wanted to tell someone something and you’re the first person I found.”
“And what would that be?”
“Oh, nothing. Just that there might be a relationship forming involving someone living here.”
“Really? Who are you going out with?”
“Um, as much as I’d hate to admit it, it’s not me.”
“Well, if it’s not you, then who is it?” As Kitsune whispered something into Suu’s ear, her eyes grew wide. “What? Are you sure?” Kitsune nodded. “We gotta tell everyone about this!”
“No, we can’t. We can’t let anyone else know. We’ll just… let the others find out on their own. It should be very entertaining.”
“You’re right. I won’t tell anyone.” Suu drew an X on her chest.
“Good. I just hope we don’t get found out before they do.”
“Alright, see ya later!” Suu bounded off toward her room giddily.
“So much for her self-control,” Kitsune said to herself. “Although it was sort of my fault.”
“What was your fault?” Shinobu said as she walked into the room.
“Nothing.” Kitsune immediately went to her room, leaving Shinobu with a confused look on her face.

* * *

Friday, 6/5

The next few days were strangely calm. No screams, no crashes, no ranting. Everyone liked the peaceful change of pace, but some started to think something was up. Kitsune and Suu knew what was going on; obviously, Sean and Naru knew, but Motoko and Shinobu were completely unaware of the situation, but were starting to wonder.
“Motoko, have you noticed that things have been a bit off lately?” Shinobu asked after breakfast.
“Now that you mention it, things have been a bit too quiet. Naru and Sean haven‘t had a fight in days. Maybe we should ask the others and see what they think.”
“Yeah. You ask Kitsune. I’ll go find Suu.” Shinobu said.
“Alright.” With that, Shinobu and Motoko left in search of their respective targets.
Motoko found her subject of interrogation in her room, listening to music. “Kitsune, did you see Sean and Naru after breakfast?”
“Yeah,” Kitsune answered, knowing the questioning would start eventually. “They went up to Naru’s room to study.”
“I feel there’s something different about them lately, do you think so?”
“Not really,” Kitsune said, trying to keep a straight face. “Aside from the lack of noise, I haven’t noticed anything different.”
“That lack of noise is what I’m referring to.” Motoko looked at Kitsune in a way that made her skin crawl. “I think you know something.”
She suddenly realized she said the wrong thing. “I don’t know what you‘re talking about.” She was starting to get nervous, but managed to keep it hidden.
Motoko started to unsheathe her sword. “I think you do.”
Scared of what Motoko might do, Kitsune decided to divulge the information she had kept secret for three days. “Alright, alright, you don’t have to resort to that, I’ll tell you what I know.”
“I knew you’d see it my way.”
“Well, the way I see it, I think Sean and Naru are starting to become very… close, if you catch my drift.”
Motoko was surprised at what she heard. “Do you think they…” Her face started to turn red. “…well, you know.”
“I don’t think so, but I know there are definitely feelings starting to develop between those two.”
“I see. Thank you for the information. You have been very helpful.”
“That you for not using that sword on me.” Motoko then left Kitsune to her music.
After thinking about what Kitsune told her for a moment, she found Shinobu, a similar expression on her face. “What did Suu tell you?”
Noting the similar expression, Shinobu replied, “Probably the same thing Kitsune did.” Shinobu had an easy time getting information from Suu; all she did was bribe her with a banana and she told her all she needed to know. “Sean and Naru being together.”
“Exactly. I think we need to find out from the source, though. After class today, we’ll talk to them.”
Lunch came and went, and class went off without a hitch. Everyone had made very good progress in the three previous days Sean held sessions, and this was no exception. Despite this, things did not get any easier for the students participating. First, there was intense mental training to attain focus, then there was maintaining that focus under stress. The fourth session had the class narrowing that focus to a single point. From there, actually casting spells would be just a stone’s throw away. All the while, Sean was writing notes, keeping track of everyone’s progress and recording down things that even he never knew.
When class ended, Sean addressed the group. “Wonderful. I think tomorrow, we’ll start doing some minor spells, bits of telekinesis and so forth.”
“Um, Sempai?”
“Yes Shinobu? And you don’t have to call me that. It’s a bit too formal for my taste.”
“Well… lately, things have been a bit too peaceful around here. I was just wondering, is there something going on?” Naru’s face started to blush.
Sean answered in an amazingly calm tone. “Hmm… I don’t know how you would come to think that. Unless…” He started eyeing Kitsune, who was nervously backing out the open door. With a motion of his hand, he shut the door before she got there and a padlock appeared connecting the door and the wall; it wasn’t going to open.
“Mitsune, do you have something to say to us?” His tone that resembled a teacher catching a student passing notes in class and the lock on the door signified that it wasn’t a request.
“Um… well… I sort of told Suu and Motoko that you and Naru… might be…”
“I see. And how did you find this out, Shinobu?”
“Suu told me.” Kitsune shot an angry look at Suu, who just shrugged her shoulders.
“I appreciate your honesty. To answer your question, Naru and I have been close as of late, but we haven’t been, like, dating or anything. I’ve just been helping her with her studies is all. Plus, I’ve been making an extra effort to keep myself out of trouble.”
With questions answered, Sean and Naru soon became alone in his room. Sean seemed disappointed in himself. “I should have kept tabs on Kitsune. I should have known she would tell someone.”
“Don’t beat yourself up, Sean. We were bound to get found out eventually.”
“You’re right. Honestly, I’m surprised it lasted this long.”
“Um, what you said just now, you know, that part about us not dating and all?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, that got me thinking; what do you think about us starting to go out?”
“Um…“ Sean couldn’t say any more. He seemed very uncomfortable about that particular topic of discussion.
“We don’t have to if you don’t want to…”
“No, it’s not that, it’s just that I’ve never, actually…”
“Oh.” Naru saw this as her chance to be the psychologist. “Why not?”
“Well, I’ve always had this nagging feeling that if things don’t go well, I’ll start wondering why I ever tried. Besides, who would want to go out with a nerd like me, except a gold digger like Kitsune?”
“A nerd like me, that’s who.”
“You’re just trying to cheer me up.”
“Well, yeah. Is it working?”
Sean couldn’t help but crack a smile. “A little.”
“See? Things don’t always turn out as bad as you think. You can‘t just give up before you ever start. That’s what you told me when I was down and out.”
“Well, that was about school. I’m more used to talking about school than about dating. When I was in college, there was no shortage of beautiful girls, but I didn’t try to ask any of them out on a date because that’s not why I went to college. I went there solely to get a good education. Some guys can’t say that. Some guys go to college to party and hang out with college chicks, hoping to get some, but that’s not me.
“I’ve often wondered if I would ever find ‘the one.’ I’ve also wondered that if I did find her, I would just push her away because I would be afraid she would reject me.”
Naru tried to reassure him. “Don’t be silly. You’re a nice guy.”
“That’s exactly my point! You know the expression ‘nice guys finish last.’ Well, around here, that suddenly changed to ‘nice guys get trampled over.’ Don’t try to deny it. There are two types of guys in the world: bad boys and nice guys. The bad boys, the ones who have tattoos, wear sunglasses and ride motorcycles; those are the ones who get the girlfriends, if even for a little while. Nice guys, guys like me; well, we get the girls as friends.”
“That’s not true!” Naru was surprised by his logic.
“Oh, please. Nice guys are the ones that watch the chick flicks, the soap operas, and go shopping with you girls and become a walking, talking, shopping cart. We do all this without complaints, gripes, or objections and we barely get so much as a ‘thank you!’ You think we do this purely out of the kindness of our hearts, but there is more to it than that. The reason we do these things is that we like girls like you, but don’t have some supercharged car or a hot-shot attitude to get your attention, so we do these favors in the hopes that you will start feeling the same way about us as we do about you, but does that ever happen? No!”
“That’s it!” Kitsune slammed the door open in protest. The other girls were also with her. “I can’t let this go on any longer!”
“Damn it, Kitsune, what did I tell you just three days ago about eavesdropping on our conversations? Sorry for swearing, but can’t you just mind your own business?”
“Well, we could hear you from halfway across the building,” Motoko said in Kitsune’s defense. “We couldn’t help but hear what you were saying.”
“So the only reason you’ve been studying with Naru is because you like her?” Shinobu asked.
“Yes! The same goes for those magic lessons I’ve been doing! The only reason I’ve been doing these things is because I like each and every one of you, some more than others, but the feeling’s still there!” Tears started to well up in Sean’s eyes. “In case you haven’t noticed already, I don’t exactly enjoy being kicked in the head, knocked halfway across town or being a pin cushion! Through all I have been through, I liked all of you, and I have been nice to each of you hoping that someday, the feeling might, even in some small way, become mutual. I just don’t know if that day has arrived yet; or if it ever will.”
The girls just stood there, speechless as Sean removed his glasses in one hand and covered his eyes with the other. “I think I need to be alone for a while.”
“Okay,” Naru said, “but if you ever need someone to talk to, you know where to find us.” Sean just nodded weakly as the door silently closed.
“Wow, just when you think you have someone figured out,” Naru said, “something like that happens.”
“ I know,” Shonobu agreed. “It’s as though sometimes he’s becomes a completely different person.”
“I just wonder what we’re going to do about him right now?” Naru asked.
“I have an idea.” Kitsune offered.
“No!” Everyone else said. They didn’t need another one of Kitsune’s ideas.
“Well, excuse me for trying to help.” She stormed into her room and shut the door.
“Naru is right, though,” Motoko said. “We need to figure out some way to cheer him up… again.”
“Maybe we should just leave him the way he is,” Shinobu proposed. “And just to be sure he doesn’t try something weird, Naru should keep watch from her room.”
“That’s actually a good idea,” Naru said. “You’re wise beyond your years, Shinobu.”
Shinobu started to blush. “Aww…”
“It’s settled then,” Suu said. “We’ll let him cheer himself up. At least until we get a better idea.” Everyone then returned to their own rooms.
Sean would end up spending the next hour and a half in a half-meditation, half-fetal position. He found himself unable to focus on anything. There were just too many things going through his mind, which started to feel like a hockey puck, or a tennis ball, or something like that; he couldn’t even focus that. On top of that, being in that position for that long started to wear away at his body. He finally got up with muscle spasms and an stiff neck. “I need to relax somewhere,” he thought. And he knew of only one place to find it. He just hoped he was right.
Naru observed Sean’s confinement with concern, and after an hour, a bit of boredom, but she snapped out of it when she saw him change into his swim trunks, grab his eyeglass case and blindfold and walk out of his room. She knew where he was going: the hot springs. This sparked an idea in Naru’s brain. She ran out of her room, hoping she would find the others before they found Sean.
Sean made his way to the hot spring, a place he hadn’t been to in days, since he’s been taking showers in that span, and replaced his glasses with his blindfold, which he also hadn’t used in a while. As soon as he got in the water, he started feeling better, forgetting why he had quit using the springs in the first place. As time went by, his body and his mind alike were almost good as new. A few minutes later, he suddenly remembered why his trips to the springs had ended…
“Haven’t seen you out here in a while.”
…and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
“Oh s***!” Sean thought, not bothering to wonder why his brain had censors. He then said out loud, “Just hit me now and get it over with.” He prepared himself for yet another flight on Naru Air.
“She won’t hurt you,” another voice said. “We’ll make sure of that.”
“Kitsune?! Who else is out there?”
“All of us,” Shinobu said.
“S***,” Sean thought, still unaware of his cerebral censors. He started to get up, but felt hands on his shoulders keep him in the water.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Suu said, trying to sound pleasant. It wasn’t working. Sean then felt something tug at his blindfold. Suu continued, “Let’s just get rid of these…” she removed the blindfold and replaced them with his glasses. “There, that’s better.”
Sean had his eyes shut tight the whole time, not wanting to provoke another beating. He hasn’t been hit for four days, and he wanted to keep it that way. He started mumbling something that resembled “I don’t wanna die, I don’t wanna die.”
“Calm down,” Kitsune said, “I said we weren’t going to hurt you.”
“Hurt is one thing. Killed is another.”
“Why won’t you open your eyes?” Shinobu asked.
“This is just another form of torture you decided to put me through. Don’t you think I’ve been through enough?”
“This isn’t torture, and you will open your eyes.” Motoko said in a semi-threatening tone. She never thought she would ever say that to him in this situation and it sickened her, but she had to follow the plan.
“No! I don’t want to!”
“You’re going to open your eyes,” Motoko replied, “or I’m going to pry them open for you!”
“Alright, alright, I’ll open them!” Sean nervously opened his eyes. Quickly, he shut his eyes again. “Oh, God.” He was the only one there wearing anything. “I knew it was torture! Whose bright idea was this anyway? Kitsune, was it you?!”
“Actually, it was my bright idea.”
“Naru?! It was you? I guess punching my lights out isn’t cutting it anymore. Now you have to find pleasure in harassing my poor mind. And after all I’ve done to help you, too.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“Why should I believe you?” He felt hands on his cheeks.
“Look at me.” Sean shook his head. “LOOK AT ME!” Sean slowly looked into Naru’s eyes. “I know you’ve been through a lot, probably more than I’m aware of, but we’re here to help for a change.”
“…” Sean became lost in Naru’s eyes. Lost beyond rational thought, or even irrational thought for that matter.
“I think you may have hypnotized him, Naru.” Suu said, giggling.
Ignoring her, Naru continued her gaze into Sean’s eyes, and vice-versa. “You can’t let every little thing get you down. You knew what went on in my mind, even though I wasn’t aware of it myself. With this knowledge, you brought those emotions to the surface and provided solutions to my problems. Please, allow me to do the same.”
As if on cue, Naru started to enter Sean’s mind. The highlights, not to mention the lowlights, of his life were shown to her. She saw the accomplishments--most of which involved school in some way--the embarrassments--most of which involved some public setting outside the classroom--and the downright painful--most of which involved herself, Motoko and Suu.
After seeing these images, Naru found herself in a building that looked like a temple of some sort. Situated on pedestals were portraits of various people, but one picture in particular demanded Naru’s attention. At the very back of the room was a group photo of the girls of Hinata-Sou.
“I don’t remember a picture like this ever being taken.” Naru said to herself.
“I don’t suppose you would…” Stunned, Naru turned around to find Sean walking toward her. “…considering a camera was not involved; at least not one you could ever buy in a store.”
“What kind of place is this?”
“This is the part of my mind where I remember my family, my friends, my… love interests.” Sean pointed to a picture next to the group photo Naru noticed earlier. She was surprised to find a portrait of herself the likes of which she has never seen.
“But, why is there a picture of just me here?”
“Ever since I first saw you, even through my horrible vision, I have had feelings for you, although I was unaware of it. Over time, the beatings you have given me only heightened my desire for you. In some small way, your violent manner only made you that much more beautiful to me. Do not ask me why, for even in my own mind I have know idea how this works. Perhaps my mind has gotten accustomed to the way you have acted, and adapted to it somehow.”
“Tell me, Sean,” Naru asked, “just how long have you been so… insightful?”
“At least a few years. Thoughts are always going through my head at rapid speed; it has frequently kept me up at night.”
“Oh.” Naru was going to ask another question, but all of a sudden, the temple, the pictures, and even Sean started to fade. “What’s going on?”
Sean’s voice seemed distant. “It appears you are being called to the surface.”
“What does that mean?!”
“The others must be trying to wake you up.”
“But there are still things I don’t know!”
“You will become more aware of things as time goes on. As for what you have seen here, it will seem like no more than a dream, except for what has gone on in here, our conversation and these pictures. Whether you choose to remember these moments or not is up to you, but for now you must reawaken. The other girls must be starting to get worried by now if they are trying to jar you back to consciousness.”
Tears started to appear in Naru’s eyes. “Thank you. Thank you for all you have shown me.”
“No. If there is anyone you must thank, it is yourself. If you did not have any underlying feelings toward me, you would have never been able to enter my mind at all.”
“Hmm…” Naru nodded as the last remnants of Sean’s mind faded from view.
“Naru, why won’t you wake up?” Suu said shaking Naru’s shoulders. She had been standing over Sean for a good fifteen minutes, seemingly entranced. “C’mon, wake up!” Getting frustrated, she set her mouth close to Naru’s ear. “Earth to Naru, come in Naru?”
Naru awoke with a start. “What are you trying to do, make my ears as bad as my eyes?” A sigh a relief came from everyone in attendance with the exception of Naru and Sean, who still had the same blank expression as before.
“Yay! Naru’s back!” Suu was jumping for joy, splashing everyone within range, which was, for lack of a better word, everyone.
Motoko still looked a bit concerned. “What went on just now?”
“I can answer that,” Sean said, suddenly snapping out of his stupor. “Naru has traveled through my mind, it appeared very insightful for her if I do say so myself.”
“Is this true?” Motoko asked.
“Yes,” Naru said, getting off Sean. “I don’t remember everything about my journey, but from what I do remember, he cares for all of us, especially me, very much, perhaps more than we will ever know.”
“So, he was telling the truth before about liking us.” Kitsune said.
“To say the least.” Sean added.
“I want to look through Sean’s mind, too!” Shinobu seemed eager to take the same trip Naru did.
“I’m not sure that’s possible,” Sean said, “at least not now. For you see, It was not me alone who sent Naru into my mind. The way I see it, the way we felt about each other became so strong, a sort a gateway appeared from her mind to mine. A sort of love connection if you will. I know that sounds corny, but I think that’s how it works. Everyone understand?”
Blank expressions lined every face there. “Um, could you run that by us again?” Kitsune asked.
“Probably not.” After a moment of silence, Sean suddenly remembered what he was seeing. His nervous expression easily read on his face. “Um… maybe I should go before…”
“No, stay,” Naru interjected, resting a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t mind.”
“Well, I do,” Motoko said, finally fed up about what he was seeing as well.
“Well, you don’t have to be here.” Naru shot back.
“Naru, I’m don’t think that’s…” Sean started to warn.
“Don’t bother,” Motoko said. “I’m going to my room to meditate.”
“Maybe I could join you in meditation later,” Sean offered.
“Don’t count on it,” Motoko left leaving the other five in the bath.
“I gotta find a way to get through that tough shell of hers,” Sean said. “Oh, well.”
“Tell us,” Suu said, “what was it like inside Sean’s mind?”
“It’s strange,” Naru said, “I can only remember one part of the trip. I guess you were right about that.” Sean just nodded.
“Well, what do you remember?”
“I found myself in this strange temple, with pictures of his family, his friends… and us.”
“We were enshrined in his mind?” Shinobu said.
“Yeah, but that wasn’t the most surprising thing,” Naru continued, her face beginning to turn pink. “There was another picture; one of just me.”
“Wait,” Kitsune said, “does that mean…”
“…that I’m in love with her?” Sean finished.
“Yeah. Well, are you?”
“From the first time I laid eyes on her. Sure, I got knocked out thirty seconds later, but I didn’t care.”
“Wow. Love at first sight does work.” Kitsune said.
Sean nodded, suddenly deep in thought.
“What’s going on?” Shinobu asked.
“I just remembered what you said earlier, about things being a bit too peaceful recently. I think it’s about time that stopped.”
“What?” Naru was surprised by what he said. “Why?”
“It’s not healthy to keep feelings bottled up inside. I found this out the hard way when I went temporarily insane. I believe that holds true for aggression as well. If aggression keeps accumulating without a suitable outlet to release the pressure, the person might explode, not literally, of course, but could very well cause serious injury or property damage. So, if anyone gets mad for any reason, don’t hesitate to take it out on me. Somebody should tell Motoko that. She should be overjoyed.”
“What?!” Everyone was stunned at this sudden turn of events.
“But what about your health?” Naru asked, very concerned.
“Don’t worry about me. I will use magic to protect myself from serious injury. Also, without the need to hide my talents, that will be my outlet, learning new spells and refining those I already know.”
“What if we don’t have any aggression contained?” Shinobu asked.
“Well, in your case, your cooking might be the way you release tension, so you should not have the need to take anything out on me.”
“What if we don’t want to hit you anymore?” Naru asked.
“Well, if that’s the case, then I’ll just have to provoke you every so often, then. Allow me to demonstrate.”
Sean then made a few subtle hand gestures and he began to faintly glow blue. The girls present started wondering what he was doing. To their surprise, they saw Sean’s hand start moving toward Naru’s breast, but stopped before making contact. “No, there’s a better way.” His gaze never left Naru, and she noticed an odd smile appear on his face. With a swift deliberate motion, his hand make contact with flesh, but it wasn’t Naru‘s. His hand had grabbed onto Kitsune’s breast instead much to the surprise of everyone, especially Kitsune, who started to blush, but it was nothing compared to the deep red on Naru’s face. Unlike Kitsune, though, Naru’s redness wasn’t because of embarrassment.
“WHY YOU…!” Naru yelled, as her fist made contact with Sean, sending him soaring high above Hinata.
Shielding her eyes from the sun, Shinobu said, “Well, it looks like things are getting back to normal.”
Kitsune added, “At least he’s wearing swim trunks.”
As the countryside zoomed out below him, Sean seemed not only unharmed, but also strangely content. “She gets prettier and prettier every day.” With that, he vanished amid a display of fireworks, to the delight of all who saw it.

* * * End of Chapter 4 * * *