Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ A Fragile Love ❯ Episode 12: Developments ( Chapter 12 )

A Fragile Love

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Episode 12: Developments

Legend:

Word denotes character thought

Word denotes setting, time

-Word- denotes sound effect

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Timeline: June 5, 2000 AD, 7:30 PM

Location: Hinata-Sou, Shinobu's room

"I… I… I love you."

 

Time seemed to stand still for the shy, timid girl who had finally confessed her feelings to the young man who was her biggest crush in her life. Fear and worry crept in her as she waited for him to respond. Her heart was slowly increasing its pace.

 

Keitaro let out a soft sigh while locking eyes with hers. He moved his hand that was laid on her shoulder to ruffle his hair in one motion. He closed his eyes in thought.

 

I don't blame her; she gathered a lot of courage to do this.

 

His eyes opened and he spoke.

 

"Shinobu, I… I'm sorry, but… oof!"

 

The said girl rushed up to him for a tight embrace, tears slowly flooding from her eyes. Keitaro felt his bare chest wet by them.

 

"Shinobu?"

 

"-Sniff- -Sniff- S-S-Sempai… I… can't hold back my feelings for you ever since we first met! I… love you! Is it wrong? -Sniff- -Sniff-"

 

The dorm manager enveloped his arms around her, looking up the ceiling. While coming up with a comfortable answer to alleviate the girl's hurt, he traveled his hands up and down on her back, calming her. He managed to move both himself and her to lie down on her futon.

 

For a few minutes, the only sounds heard in the room were her sniffles.

 

Seeing that he managed to calm her down a bit, Keitaro gently lifted her chin to lock eyes with hers. They were a little red from crying, and her lips curved downwards in sadness.

 

"Shinobu… you didn't let me finish what I said… I'll be honest with you; I really love you… more like brother and sister."

 

Shinobu could only grasp a faint, small hope in her heart as she took in his words to her mind. She cast her eyes downward and pressed her ear on the landlord/manager's bare chest.

 

Sempai… you're really telling the truth… I'm such a fool.

 

"I… understand sempai."

 

She tightened her hold on him, trying to savor a sad, but assured experience in her life. Keitaro sighed sadly, sensing that he had hurt her in a way. He moved his left hand gently, stroking her hair.

 

"My love for you is this because you bring life and joy to everyone here in Hinata-Sou. To me, you're a nice and sweet girl whom I enjoy to be with. It was your personality and nature that I care about you deeply."

 

He let out a soft sigh before continuing on.

 

"Shinobu… to be honest, I'm beginning to find it hard to keep up with all of you girls, I mean, in a sort of relationship. I just don't want to hurt my friendship with you and the others. It's kind of complicated to me. Do you understand?"

 

The said girl nodded understandingly, while rubbing away a last few tears coming out from her eyes.

 

"Sempai… I understand. Thank you for being honest with me."

 

"-Sigh- You'll understand some day why I'm like this… but, I'll always be here to support you. I heard from Aunt Haruka that your studies are great. Keep up the good work! And one more thing, try not to do most of the chores here, okay? You should give them to the others to work for a change."

 

"Thank you, sempai… I'll remember that."

 

Keitaro gave a thumbs-up sign to her with a small smile. Shinobu giggled with a cheery tone and embraced him again, snuggling against him to bask in his warmth.

 

"Sempai, at least, can we stay like this, please?"

 

"Sure."

 

The two remained in that position, embracing each other for a few moments of silence. The dorm manager's thoughts were now focused on the girl he was trying to comfort now.

 

Kanako… no, this is Shinobu I'm embracing. She kind of resembles her in a way.

 

Before he was about to break the silence, he found her sleeping peacefully. He carefully removed himself from her hold. Carrying her gently, he laid her on her futon, laying her head on a pillow. He tucked her in with a blanket.

 

"Zzz… sempai… don't leave me… I don't know what to do without you… zzz…" Shinobu mumbled in her sleep. Keitaro smirked at the remark. He bent down and kissed her forehead.

 

"Don't worry… I won't. Sweet dreams."

 

He stood up and walked out her slide door. Before closing it after him, he turned off the lights. As he turned around, Mutsumi appeared in front of him.

 

"Mu-chan!" he blurted out her childhood name, startled. In an instant, a flashback of memory flashed before him.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

I decided to give a small twist in the childhood promise in this part. This is a "What if?" scenario: what if Mutsumi and Naru were both the girls Keitaro made the promise with?

 

I know a lot of you LH fans will protest against this, but this is how I'd like this story to go. I'll probably be referencing around 80 percent of content from the anime, (not from the manga), and 20 percent from my own ideas.

 

With this out of the way, please proceed on to your reading pleasure.

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Flashback - a playground in Hinata Park; 16 years ago

Legend

Word denotes character flashback speech/thought

-Word- denotes sound effect

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Three little children --- one boy and two girls --- were playing in a sandbox.

 

The first girl, having dark brown, long hair with thin side locks, spoke to the second girl, who was holding a stuffed animal toy while watching the boy make a castle.

 

"Ara… that's a nice doll, Na-chan! It's cute!"

 

The second girl was almost identical to the first, with the exception of her hair color having a lighter shade of brown and thick side locks. She smiled and held out to her the toy.

 

"This is Liddo-kun, Mu-chan. This was a gift from Kei-kun."

 

"Oh… I wish I had a stuffed toy like that! Ah, Na-chan! Are you okay?"

 

The girl named Mu-chan was concerned as she noticed her friend coughing. She held her in support.

 

"-Cough- -cough- I'll be okay, Mu-chan, just a cold."

 

Her friend, Na-chan, gave a small smile as she regained composure.

 

The boy noticed her coughing and quickly rushed to her, stopping his progress in making a castle. He softly patted her back to alleviate her from further coughing.

 

"Are you alright, Na-chan? Maybe I should call my parents for help?"

 

Na-chan waved off his concern by shaking her head.

 

 

"It's ok, Kei-kun. I'm sorry to worry both of you."

 

The boy, Kei-kun, breathed a sigh of relief. He noticed Liddo-kun held by the girls.

 

"I'm happy you liked the toy I gave you!"

 

"Thank you, Kei-kun. Why don't you finish your castle?"

 

"Sure."

 

Mu-chan suddenly came up with an idea as she watched Kei-kun resuming making his sandcastle. She felt sad knowing that they wouldn't see each other later. Her mother made plans to move to Okinawa to live with her brother, and the girl would be studying there as well.

 

Na-chan felt the same way as her while she also watched Kei-kun. She wanted always to play with him when she could. Unfortunately, because of her stepfather's job (her father had died due to an accident), her family needed to move out to another place where they could live a better life.

 

As if fate had predicted, that place turned out to be in Hinata district.

 

"Hey! Why don't we make a promise, Kei-kun?" the girls spoke together. They looked at each other surprised that they spoke the same thing on their minds.

 

"What promise?" the said boy asked, looking at them both.

 

"That we study in Toudai together and be together forever!" the girls replied again in unison. Na-chan was starting to get annoyed.

 

"Ah! No fair, Mu-chan! I was going to promise him first!"

 

"Ara! Me first, Na-chan!"

 

Kei-kun looked at them, confused.

 

"Toudai? You mean a school?"

 

His playmates stopped arguing in an instant and nodded to him with smiles.

 

"Sure! I want to be with you two when we can!"

 

The girls laid out their hands with their right pinkies out.

 

"So, it's a promise, Kei-kun!"

 

"Ara… it's a promise, Kei-kun!"

 

"Um! I won't forget, no matter what!"

 

Kei-kun wrapped his right pinky around both girls' theirs.

End Flashback

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This made Mutsumi's heart skip a few beats, and elicited a little rosy blush on her face. Keitaro paused, wondering why he always called her by her childhood name.

 

"Kei-kun, that was sweet of you to comfort her. You surprise me," Mutsumi replied, placing a hand on her heart.

 

The dorm manager was taken aback, mostly due to the instant flashback that happened now, instead of Mutsumi's sudden appearance. He shrugged off his shock and regained composure by laughing a little.

 

"You overheard, huh. Well, I didn't want to hurt her feelings in any way."

 

"Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help but listen when I passed nearby. You don't have to tell me about it."

 

"It's alright; it's not your fault."

 

Mutsumi suddenly found it difficult to speak further as she remembered Keitaro's words mentioned before.

 

"Shinobu-chan… to be honest, I'm beginning to find it hard to keep up with all of you girls, I mean, in a sort of relationship. I just don't want to hurt my friendship with you and the others. It's kind of complicated to me. Do you understand?"

 

Kei-kun… I can't help but worry each time when you're with the others. I'm afraid to lose you…

 

Keitaro placed his hands on her shoulders and gazed deeply at her eyes, returning her back to reality.

 

"Kei-kun?"

 

"Mu-chan, please forgive me."

 

"!"

 

The dorm manager embraced his childhood friend from behind. She, on the other hand, had small tears running from her eyes as she embraced back and sadly smiled.

 

"It's not your fault…"

 

No words were further said as they remained in that position for quite a while.

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In her room, Naru finished readying her school stuff for the next day of class. Satisfied with her work, she went to her dresser and changed into her sleeping attire consisting of a yellow T-shirt and pajamas. She then walked to her futon and lied down, turning on her night-light. She took out Liddo-kun and hugged it close to her, while watching the ceiling.

 

School again, tomorrow. What's with Keitaro these days? It seems like everyone is being fond of him… a little much. Come to think of it, he wasn't the same clumsy, perverted guy I knew just a year ago.

 

Just another year and he suddenly comes back with these changes!

 

And I realized now that he could be caring and understanding to others. And how did he learn to fight like that? He could rival Motoko, now that I think about it.

 

But he sure protected me from that jerk Kentaro. He was like my knight in shining armor.

 

She imagined herself as a damsel-in-distress being swept off by the arms of Keitaro dressed as a dashing knight in shining armor. A faint blush crept up to her face.

 

"! Why am I thinking of him like that?"

 

She shook off the thought from her mind and watched the floor hatch leading to Keitaro's room below.

 

No… I don't want to interrupt him now. He's probably asleep there.

 

She sighed sadly and turned off her night-light, proceeding to sleep.

 

"Keitaro…" she mumbled as she closed her eyes.

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The female swordsman found herself unable to catch sleep in her room. Being held tightly by her usual sleeping partner Suu wasn't the reason. It was the recent events she experienced with Keitaro that were roaming through her mind.

 

I feel a small emptiness without Kei-kun around, she thought sadly.

 

She looked at Suu lying beside her in deep sleep. Slowly, she carefully disentangled herself from the said girl's hold and replaced her space with a pillow. The foreign girl unknowingly grabbed and embraced it, thinking it was she.

 

Satisfied with her action, Motoko went to her dresser and opened it, rummaging for a new set of sleeping clothes to change into. She slipped off her gi and hakama, wearing only white panties and her breast binds. Her eyes widened in surprise as she spotted an oversized shirt among her usual set of clothes.

 

"What's this shirt doing in my dresser? Why… that's Kei-kun's!" she exclaimed quietly to herself, not wanting to wake up Suu. She picked it up slowly and looked at it. Her nose picked up a husky, male scent from it.

 

"It definitely belongs to him; I wonder if this fits on me?"

 

 

She decided to slip it on and checked herself on her posted mirror.

 

"It's large indeed! Kei-kun has grown more of a man."

 

A picture of shirtless, muscled-toned Keitaro wearing jeans popped into her mind. She quickly shook off a blush gracing on her cheeks.

 

What am I thinking? This has become uncommon with me nowadays. I can't believe he could make me feel this way now.

 

She felt her heart ache as she thought more about him. She clenched her hands into fists as she struggled with mixed emotions.

 

I must do this, or I'll never get to be honest with myself any much longer.

 

Taking a deep breath, she calmed down. She took one last look at Suu. Then, she quietly walked out of her room and closed her slide door.

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The dorm manager's eyes opened for the umpteenth time, fixing themselves to the ceiling in his room. Keitaro let out a sigh as he decided to enter into thought.

 

Great… I just can't sleep.

 

Some vacation I'm taking; I thought that coming back here would be a relief from my hectic job, but now it seems that girl problems are coming to me.

 

Perhaps it was the new me I had sported that made the girls here see me differently. Funny… and I thought it'd be like old times.

 

Get a grip on yourself. Suddenly you're making them grow attached to you!

 

This isn't what I wanted! Love to me is a risky treasure, and I can't take any risks to ruin what I had made here in Hinata-Sou.

 

"I'm starting to think crazy here… sleep is what I should be trying to get now," he said to himself.

 

His ears suddenly picked up the sound of his door slowly opened. Quiet footsteps approached him.

 

He got his body up and trained his eyes to catch a glimpse of the visitor who had walked in. He was able to make out Motoko's outline using his keen senses, despite the limited vision in the dark.

 

"Motoko-chan, what is it?" he asked, startling the female swordsman, who looked at him wide-eyed.

 

"How did you know it was me, Kei-kun? You couldn't have seen me well in the dark!"

 

Keitaro chuckled at her surprised tone.

 

"Simplicity remarks itself, Motoko-chan. Perhaps it was your body's outline or your… distinct smell, but either way I was able to figure out it was you. Well, what could I do for you… huh?"

 

Now it was his turn to be surprised.

 

His eyes widen a bit at the alluring sight in front of him. From what he could see, Motoko was only wearing an oversized shirt, giving off a tasty view of her long, slim legs. He struggled not to word out his shock as he assumed she was wearing only underwear beneath.

 

Keitaro gulped a little in his throat as he assessed the situation unfolding before him. His sleeping attire consisted of white boxer shorts and an undershirt. Particularly, he was starting to get aroused slowly.

 

"…Is there a problem, Motoko-chan? What brings you here?"

 

The female swordsman played with her hands behind her back, looking at him with a small blush on her face. Had moonlight illuminated her a bit, Keitaro would have spotted it.

 

"Well… I… I was having difficulty sleeping in my room with Suu, so I was thinking if I could… sleep here with you?"

 

Keitaro stammered a nod in reply. He scooted himself to allow Motoko lie down beside him. He could feel her body temperature rising very warm as she laid her head on his chest. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled his blanket to them. He inhaled a fresh flowery scent from her hair.

 

"-Sniff- -Sniff- You smell lovely."

 

"Thank you, Kei-kun."

 

"You don't have to sound formal with me; we're close friends, aren't we?"

 

"…"

 

Keitaro kicked himself mentally, thinking he spoke out the wrong words. Before he was about to correct himself, he felt Motoko tighten her hold on him.

 

"I'm sorry, Motoko-chan."

 

"No… you're right, I'm glad that we share this special bond we have with each other. If what you've told me before is true, then I fear that I have the others vying for you as me."

 

The female swordsman looked up to his face with almost-teary eyes. A sad frown added the look of hurt and worry she was experiencing now. She cupped both his cheeks.

 

"Motoko-chan… you know as much I do that I can't simply ignore it. One way or the other, I'll try to find the solution to this problem."

 

Keitaro wrapped his hand around her head and brought her lips to his for a soft kiss. Their lips slowly broke off from each other after a few seconds and left a lingering need in themselves.

 

Motoko sighed outwardly and rested her head back on his chest, while holding hands with his. She suddenly felt exhaustion creeping in.

 

Hearing her breaths at a slow pace, the dorm manager smiled at her now-sleeping form.

 

"Good night. Sweet dreams… I love you."

 

Motoko was able to register those words in her ears as her eyes slowly shut.

 

"I love you… too… Keitaro... zzz…"

 

With that said, quiet and peace loomed over Hinata-Sou as sleep naturally took hold the tenants until the next day.

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Timeline: June 6, 2000 AD, 12:00 AM

Location: Tokyo International Airport

"JAL Flight no. JA215 (San Francisco-Japan) now landing," the PA (Personnel Announcement) system sounded out from speakers all over the airport.

 

Few people arrived about in this unearthly hour, as they exited out of the arrival area with their hand-carry and luggage, looking for necessary transport services.

 

Among them was a particular girl having raven-black hair wearing dark clothes. In one hand she carried a portable animal cage that held her pet black cat, while the other hand carrying a medium travel bag, her only luggage.

 

"Meow," her cat spoke out, getting her attention.

 

"Don't worry, Kero, I'll let you out once we get there."

 

She took a deep breath and hailed a taxi.

 

"Brother… I'm here,” she remarked to herself.