Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ Great White Hunter: Keitaro ❯ GWH:K Fragile Dreams ( Chapter 7 )

GWH:K Chapter 7

Fragile Dreams

 

 

Two hours later, Naru, Su, and a drunk Kitsune staggered home to the Hinata Sou. Naru was still trying to explain things.

 

“Where's Keitaro!” demanded Kitsune. “I wanna give him a piece of my mind. Piece of my ass anyway,” she slurred, giggling. Mutsumi, sprawled on the couch in the lobby idly watching TV and eating watermelon slowly like it was the best tasting thing ever answered.

 

“We wore him out. He's asleep in his room. He won't be any good for what ails you until at least tomorrow, though,” teased the voluptuous Okinawan woman. Su's eyebrow twitched at that. Naru snorted in derision, taking the statement as a joke.

 

“Damn,” cursed Kitsune. “I was gonna give him a test drive on the Promise Girl highway. I think I'll just go be sick instead.” Kitsune ran towards the nearest wastebasket and hurled noisily. Naru looked disgusted. Su disappointed. A perfect opportunity to test her Vomit Catcher robot. Su sighed and headed for her room. Naru waited for her best friend in the world to finish vomiting expensive sake before steering her out to the onsen. They both needed it.

 

“So you saw him with Motoko this morning, just like that?” said Naru again. Kitsune had been drinking water and was slowly coming back to the land of the coherent.

 

“Just like I said,” she admitted.

 

“What was she thinking?” asked Naru.

 

“Probably,” said Motoko as she entered the bathing area, “That this might be my only chance with him, that I had so much competition for his affections I'd better take any opportunity that offered,” she stated clearly.

 

“What right did you have to him?” demanded Naru, jealousy fixing her face in an ugly mask.

 

“Four years, Naru. You've loved him only 4 days longer than I have. I met him on a bridge outside his cram school. Haitani and Shirai accosted me, asking for a date. I hurt him then, like I used to, because he was a man. A few hours later, I found him here, and hurt him again. In spite of this, the spark of love was lit and the fire grew while you two sparred back and forth over your feelings. Four years. The moment he was free, I was heart blazed forth. Can you honestly blame me, Naru?” asked Motoko.

 

“Hmph. When you put it that way, you make it sound like I wasted my time,” she said.

 

“No Naru. You wasted everyone's time. Your delays have only really benefited Kaolla and Shinobu, and fed your own insecurities. Any one of us would have happily given him what I did, years ago,” accused Motoko. She finished washing and settled into the water, wincing slightly when it reached her waist.

 

“Ha, so you say! Why waste your time with a loser like him?” laughed Naru.

 

“You did, for four years. If he was a loser, then who was after him all that time? And if he's not, you have a lot of regrets to savor with your humble pie.”

 

“Kitsune, you've known him longest of all, it seems. What do you remember of your childhood with him?” asked Motoko, turning her attention from the fuming girl.

 

“Ah remember the sandbox at the playground, and the stuffed doll Mutsumi and Naru were always dragging around. I remember Haruka baby-sitting us when our parents were busy. I remember Kei-Kei as a little boy, and the promise we made.”

 

“Why didn't you tell me?” asked Naru. “It was you all along.”

 

“And break your heart? Naru… you're fragile. You aren't as strong as me. I gave him up because I could see you wanted him for yourself. Just like I gave up Seta, and Kaichi, and Sakai, and all the other boys you had a crush on. Keitaro was good for you, at least when you weren't hitting him. When you studied together I could see you coming out of your shell. You're going to be a great teacher. The trouble is, every time you hit him, I felt sympathy for him, and doubt for my decision. I kept telling myself that you'd get over it, settle down, and make love to him. It would straighten out your head. Instead, you just kept hitting him. I can't even begin to describe how disappointed that made me, Naru. I'm your best friend in the world. I know that being focussed on yourself has to do with your poor self esteem and lack of real independence, but you really pushed your luck. Why did you chase Keitaro when he clearly didn't satisfy you?” she asked.

 

“You make it sound like I wanted him around,” sniffed Naru.

 

“Naru, this is NOT the time for lies of the heart,” snapped Motoko.

 

“Considering how fast you snatched him up, you're no one to talk,” Naru snapped right back.

 

Kitsune just sighed. “I always take second place. Or third, in this case.”

 

“He's really hurt, you know, because you ran,” Motoko admitted quietly. “He has feelings for you. Years of feelings.”

 

“Keitaro didn't know it was me. His feelings are based on memories and assumptions. I'm reality. If we were meant to be together, we'd be together,” said Kitsune fatalistically.

 

“Do you really think so? Why is he with me, then?” asked Motoko. Kitsune eyed her friend and rival, saying nothing.

 

“He's too honest and honorable for his own good,” Naru harrumphed, sitting low in the water.

 

“You don't mean you wish he'd run around on you do you?” asked Kitsune. Motoko didn't answer.

 

“I worry that he'll hate me in the long run for not letting him experience more of life. I don't want to be the only woman he's ever slept with. Is that odd?” she asked. Naru looked perturbed and Kitsune speculative.

 

“My, you're more independent than I thought,” said Kitsune after some thought on the subject.

 

“Have you already tested your hypothesis?” she asked, recalling some earlier comment. Motoko sternly examined the far wall before nodding once.

 

“Oh my,” said Naru and Kitsune together.

 

 

 

Keitaro woke cuddled against a warm body, smelling her hair on the back of her neck. LK was down for the count. He would never have expected THAT to happen in any but his wildest and most perverted fantasies. He would feel guilty about the experience if they hadn't been so aggressive in their demands, leaving him no room to object. She wriggled against him, cooing in her sleep. Opening his eyes in the late afternoon light he recognized the blue as Shinobu. Part of him felt very guilty. She was underage and he should have kept better control over himself, but the others had held him down and she'd begged, and threatened her way into achieving her longstanding desire. He's like to pretend it was his fault, but in the end, while Shinobu was young, she had been making adult decisions since deciding to move into the dorm. Her mental maturity was unquestioned. Keitaro sighed.

 

“Don't regret it, Sempai,” she stated. “I don't… and thank you.” She wriggled happily in his embrace. LK perked at the sensation of her cute ass against him. He scooted back a few inches and rolled her over so he could see her face. She wasn't crying. She looked happy. She didn't smell funky like he and… Motoko. He froze, then remembered her aggressive participation in the afternoon's activities.

 

“Please, Sempai. Will you kiss me?” she asked, eyes shining. How could he say no?

 

The kiss was good, tender, sweet and she suddenly wriggled him atop her and locked her legs around him. A moment of adjustment and LK was busy once more. Twenty minutes later, Shinobu excused herself to make dinner and Keitaro was left to think.

 

“I can't believe I did that,” he said, flabbergasted.

 

“I can't either,” said Kitsune through the wall. “Though I must admit, ahm rather impressed with your stayin power.”

 

Keitaro turned bright red and fell over unconscious.

 

“Damn, looks like I broke him again,” she sighed. When Keitaro awoke a moment later, Kitsune was sitting before him, eyeing his nudity and wrinkling her nose at the smell. He quickly wrapped the light blanket around himself and blushed some more.

 

“Not that again. Look Keitaro, can we talk?” she asked. The smell was getting a little weaker thanks to a light breeze from the sea but it served as a reminder of the life he now lived. Strangely, his scars looked a little less pink and his muscles were relaxed. Sex was a workout and relaxation too.

 

“I was hoping we could, though things are a little different than I thought they'd be,” he admitted.

 

“Keitaro, there are some things you should know about me. There are things to know about Motoko too, but I think she should explain them to you. I didn't expect someone so young to be so… smart about this,” she admitted, the perturbed look coming to her face.

 

Keitaro nodded agreement, the apparent sharing he was enduring, if that was the word, left him exhausted, confused, and turned many directions.

 

“I voluntarily gave up our childhood promise,” she began. Keitaro held his tongue, though the sex chemicals in his bloodstream made aggression a far distant and unlikely idea. This was an excellent time for their talk.

 

“I did it for a lot of reasons. But mainly because I'm not that little girl anymore. Until I came here and met you again, I could see no sense in such sacrifice. Watching you and Naru struggle for entrance into Todai confirmed my decision as the right one for me. I'm much happier doing odd jobs, writing articles, and being independent. And I drink, often more than I should.”

 

“Why do you drink?” asked Keitaro, trying to focus through the haze of happy drugs and post-coital bliss.

 

“Because I'm jealous of your happiness. I'm jealous of the attention you give Naru. I ran because I could see my jealousy over your choosing Motoko would wreck our household. And I didn't want to be responsible for that,” she said quietly.

 

“Thank you for coming back. So now what? Do you want your turn?” he asked, grinning.

 

“Don't be a whore, Keitaro. Always treat us, each and every one, with respect. If you act like a whore you'll find yourself alone and friendless faster than you can say “huh!?”. You understand me?” she snarled. “I DO want you, but not like this. I'll choose my time and place, if its meant to be. Motoko has allowed me that grace, and she has my respect, as young as she is.”

 

Keitaro nodded, too exhausted to do more.

 

“You realize, the magic of this place may bring us together anyway, Kitsune?” he pointed out.

 

“There's a good chance the reason I'm still here and not seeing the world is that magic is already working,” she admitted, staring back out the doorway. You could hear a few sounds from the town below, nothing too distinct.

 

“Would you consider coming to Todai, as a student?” he asked. She shook her head no.

 

“I could never pass the tests. I just don't care enough to study like you and Naru do.”

 

“So take the test without studying,” he offered. “Or work with Seta and I on our digs. I wouldn't mind having you along. We could probably use a photographer. Might get more funding.” It wasn't a half-bad idea. Of course, that meant being around Seta. She still had some feelings for him, but now things with Keitaro were more complicated.

 

“I like your company, you know,” he added. “You're easy going and fun and you always helped me relax after hours of studying. I think you're important to all of us that way. Hinata sou just wouldn't be the same without you.”

 

He leaned forward to hug her but she gently pushed him away. Keitaro looked hurt at the rejection.

 

“It's not that,” she corrected. “Its just… you smell like Shinobu and while we're good friends, we're not THOSE kinds of friends. You need a bath,” she teased, waving her hand across her nose before laughing her way out of his room. He looked down, smelling himself and silently agreeing. He sure seemed to spend a lot of time bathing these days.

 

Keitaro went to bathe, once more.

 

END PART 7