Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ Great White Hunter: Keitaro ❯ GWH:K Obligation Complication ( Chapter 13 )

GWH:K

Chapter 13

Obligation Complication

 

 

“Kaolla, what is going on? And why did I survive that hit?” asked Keitaro, finally back in his room, lips bruised from kissing all the girls. As normal, they healed before he thought about it much.

 

“I'm sorry that happened but I suspected you were fully recovered. With Naru there it was sort of inevitable,” she giggled. “I did hope it wouldn't be necessary, however.”

 

“Is that why we made love and didn't clean up afterwards?” he asked. Kaolla looked glum.

 

“Would being my Consort be so bad?” she asked, fretting.

 

“I thought you wanted to wait. Why are you rushing this?” he asked her.

 

“I don't want to pretend I'm not proud of you,” she said into her hands, then met his eyes in her fierce gaze. Kaolla was a very interesting girl, woman he corrected himself. She was all grown up.

 

“Why me, Kaolla? You could have anyone. Or you could wait. You're still so young,” he said.

 

“I'm pregnant, Keitaro,” she said, dropping that bomb. Keitaro met her gaze. There were many things he could say but they would dishonor them both if he did.

 

“I do love you, Kaolla. Will you… will you have our child?” he asked fearfully uncertain of whether this is what he really wanted. He hadn't decided for himself yet, and this was not his choice. He did love her, but what he felt with her was out of control, though part of him felt reserved, waiting in the back of his mind. The part of him that wasn't satisfied.

 

“Yes. I will. Whether you want me to or not. This is sooner than I thought I'd be doing this, but it is not unwelcome and I have a lot of help to raise it, if you're involved or not. Do you want to be my husband?” she asked, reading him. “Too soon, isn't it? I'm sorry to rush this. I don't have the same restrictions as a traditional Japanese woman like Shinobu. I'm not going to suffer if you say no. At least, not that way.” Kaolla looked sad. Keitaro slowly approached her and held her in his arms.

 

“I'll help you, as best as I can. I don't know that I'm the right man to be a king, or even a backup king. I've never been a father before. Until a few months ago, I thought I'd be doing this with Naru. And I still have all these feelings for the other girls to work through. Will you allow me time to figure things out with them?” he begged the young woman. She looked up at him.

 

“Yeah, I can do that. Call it Royal Discretion. Can I count on you to be my lover when I call for you? I hear pregnancy makes you horny,” she grinned, eyes tearing.

 

 

 

The next day most of the population of Molmol and quite a lot of foreign press were gathered outside a stage.

 

“Are they getting married?” asked a highly disturbed Naru, chained to Motoko and Kitsune to keep her under control.

 

“No! I told you before. This is not a wedding. It's a particular royal ceremony for public acknowledgement that they're allowed to date,” explained Kitsune for the fourth time. Her attempts to calm her longtime friend were frustrating her, as even she wasn't that clear on the legal implications and the jaw clenching Motoko wasn't helping as she stared at their friends on the stage in front of them. Keitaro wore some ceremonial robes as did Kaolla. They joined hands and ate of the same piece of fruit. The high priest held up the fruit and the crowd behind them cheered as they could see there was a worm wriggling in it. Keitaro looked confused then green, Su looked happy and waved her free arm, which got the crowd louder. A commentator who sounded a lot like Kaolla's mother remarked in their language then repeated it in Japanese and English: “This union will be blessed with fertile fruit.”

 

“Maybe something is lost in the translation, but doesn't that mean…?” started Kitsune before realizing what she was saying and piped down before what she was thinking came out. She resisted the urge to stare at Naru directly. Motoko clearly understood and was shaking with rage.

 

“That little… hussy! Why couldn't it have been me?” the tall swordswoman hissed under her breath.

 

“I'm sure its just staged for the benefit of the crowd,” chided Kitsune, hoping against her better judgment that was correct. Motoko shook her head.

 

“Of course it is. But it implies a great deal: precisely what it means,” she snarled.

 

“Naru, are you okay?” asked Kitsune, seeing her friend's confusion and doubt. She fainted.

 

“Naru!” Shinobu yelped. She moved to help the girl, confusion reading clearly on her face. Shinobu wasn't a dumb girl. She knew what that meant. Wedding or not, this changed everything.

 

Kitsune turned from the scene at her feet to regard Keitaro, feeling a terrible ache in her guts as Kaolla painted a small red dot on his forehead. She kissed him before the crowd and they held up clasped hands. Lots of flashes went off. Kitsune bitterly raised her own camera and snapped a few as well. Tears rolled down her own cheeks, tears of disappointment she had never admitted before. Kitsune turned away from the celebrations and fled into the Palace, only briefly stopped by the guards before she was recognized. It was several minutes before the others noticed their friend was gone.

 

“I've never seen Kitsune cry before,” said a shocked Mutsumi. The others missed that in their own conflicted feelings. Only Mutsumi turned to follow at her own pace, trusting in herself and her strange luck to find their friend. A brief request to a steward for cups and a large bottle of sake was met immediately. The giggly beauty was already well known for her almost religious level of clumsy grace. She followed the sounds of crying into a courtyard garden where a fountain splashed cheerily. Mutsumi seated herself beside her childhood friend under a date palm.

 

“Sake, Kitsune-chan?” offered the Okinawan woman. Kitsune's reddened eyes rose, face tracked with tears drying in the desert air. The splashing fountain and the whisper of wind from the Pacific whistled among the turrets and walls of the palace. She nodded, pouring back the dish before remembering her manners. She poured one for her friend, and another was poured in return. They kept this up a few rounds before managing to talk a little.

 

“I don't know why I thought he'd choose me,” complained Kitsune. “You all have so much more to offer than I do. After he left Naru, I finally had something to hope for but now… he's always so honorable.”

 

“That he is. Its part of why I love him,” admitted Mutsumi. “I never expected him to choose me, not after he fell for Naru. I just wanted… something of his. Maybe that's why Su did what she did.” Mutsumi sighed and had another drink.

 

“She's just luckier than we are,” judged Kitsune bitterly. “I don't know what I thought I had to attract him. I teased him for years. Every time I flirted with him, I pretended it was just to get him and Naru to admit their feelings for each other. All that time I wanted it to be me he was crazy about.”

 

“At least you got to live with him,” said Mutsumi quietly. “I visited as much as I could get away with, but it was never enough.”

 

“I live with the regret of being his next door neighbor and never once seducing him in his bed,” Kitsune said flatly. “I watched you two together. You really are inspiring lovers. You really pleased him in bed. I thought for sure he'd choose you.”

 

“I suppose I see the world differently from the others. I don't hold back or have any regrets when I make love,” giggled Mutsumi, her large breasts jiggling. Her erect nipples showed she was thinking about their times together.

 

“My only time with him… it was good. Really good. My first time was in a tent, and Su helped me be with him. I guess that seems strange, but it felt right at the time. Part of me wanted to have his child right then, maybe as some kind of revenge, as a race against the rest of you. Did even one of us use protection? I doubt it. We knew what was at stake.”

 

“Were you drunk when you did it?” asked Mutsumi. Kitsune looked sharply at her friend, measuring the intent of that question. Seeing no cruelty implied she relaxed once more.

 

“No. We'd all had a little booze, but not very much. It was more my reaction to him. He was on fire, and so was Su. I suppose it was obvious that real life threatening danger brings out the Man in him. I responded to that. So did she. When I woke up to them doing it, I was sober but enflamed. What happened then was what is most natural. So I'm jealous she won him in the end.”

 

“But it's not the end,” announced Kaolla Su from the entrance of the courtyard quietly. The two women turned, Keitaro holding her from behind.

 

“After the feast I have a private announcement to make to you, to us,” he said, eyes serious. “My relationship with Kaolla Su has certain terms, however she has recognized my right to make my own choice.”

 

“What are you talking about, you hentai baka?!” objected Kitsune. Kaolla just smiled in a strange way.

 

“You'll see,” she giggled mysteriously.

 

 

 

 

“First, thank you for staying together and hearing me out tonight. I asked the palace guards to restrain you if you tried to run away. We've done that sort of thing enough times in the past,” stated Keitaro, still wearing the fancy Molmolian robes. He looked strange, halfway between a foreign prince and an otaku cosplayer. Kitsune chuckled at the thought.

 

Kaolla stepped away from a largish box that sparked and hissed. Somewhere inside the wall there was a yelp. “There, that takes care of any recording devices. You can explain now Keitaro-kun.”

 

“Thank you Kaolla. I think you should go first,” he said, stepping aside for his… wife?

 

“First of all, I apologize for not revealling this earlier but I'm not crazy, silly, or dumb. I am the second princess of my country. However, I have an even greater burden. I'm sure you've noticed my inventions destroying and then repairing the Hinata Sou from time to time? Those aren't created by teams of experts in my kingdom. Those are my hobby, and a part of my legacy to my people.”

 

“Are you some kind of genius playing dummy? Have you been making fun of us all this time?” asked Naru, the red plus sign of rage throbbing at her temple.

 

“Naru, why did you dress down when you went to prep school all those years?” asked Kaolla sweetly. “Was it to make fun of the students?”

 

“No, of course not. I didn't want to be distracted, or for all those men to hit on me when I was trying to study. I had a promise to keep to Seta,” she replied, not seeing the connection. The others did.

 

“BAKA!” A paper fan slammed onto her noggin from behind.

 

“OWW! That smarts!” yelped Naru. The others looked wide-eyed at their diminuative housekeeper holding the incriminating punishment device.

 

“Sorry. I've repressed that impulse far too long… Naru, THINK before you open your mouth!” scolded the tiny girl at the older woman. Keitaro looked deeply amused.

 

“Somehow I always knew you had that in you,” he muttered.

 

“So, you're saying you acted this way so we wouldn't misjudge you? So why act like a kid when you're really not one?” asked Kitsune, confused.

 

“Because I wanted to be a kid while I still looked like one. You can't imagine how lonely it is to be the smartest person in the room. At least this way I could have friends and be normal. I have these memories to sustain me through my life. That's something we've all gained by being together, and sharing Keitaro while he makes his choice.”

 

“But haven't you taken him away from us? You just married him in front of your whole country. And you're having his baby too,” admitted Shinobu.

 

“First, this is my choice, not his. Second, that ceremony is not a marriage. Those are a lot more elaborate for royalty. Third, what makes you think I'm pregnant?” she said ticking items off her fingers at her best friend.

 

“I'm young, not stupid,” glared Shinobu. “Your high priest, your mother, the news media are all rumoring that you're pregnant already. It's not being squashed, which is the same as encouraging the rumor… and besides, you don't smell the same anymore.” Keitaro's jaw dropped. Motoko paled at the silent look Shinobu gave her too. She wondered why she hadn't felt like drinking sake lately.

 

“What? You don't think I'm a master chef at 17 without having some natural advantages, did you?” snarked the girl. “Besides, I do all the laundry. And someone missed their period.”

 

She crossed her arms and sniffed in disdain.

 

“I've said it before, Shinobu. You're going to make someone one hell of a wife,” Keitaro stated.

 

“So what does this mean?” asked Naru.

 

“It means that I'm the father of Su's child, we're not getting married, and while she's chosen me, I haven't chosen my bride yet. She's agreed to abide by my decision. As the father of her child, and potentially children as Molmol's policies on this are well established in their history, I have chosen to be part of her life and to help raise these children as best I can. If you can't tolerate the thought of me being involved with our friend like this, I understand. However, our involvement is part of the deal. If you wish to withdraw from my choices, please see me afterwards as privacy allows,” he offered.

 

“There's something else you should know. There's an entire career worth of artifacts waiting for me here at the Turtle Civilization ruins. I'll be living at the field camp most of the time, which means I'll ask someone else to manage the Hinata Sou while I'm gone. Haruka and Seta are coming with me, and will manage the site when I'm not there. Seta is thrilled to finally have some good materials to work with. I'm looking forward to visiting the site in the next couple days. If all goes well, we can build a road to the site, or possibly a train if there's enough interest,” he said. Kaolla nodded agreement.

 

“This means that while many of you are busy with Todai, I won't be there with you,” he added unnecessarily.

 

“Keitaro, how does this make you less of a pervert? Su is having your baby, you're going to be living with her at least part of the time. This sounds a great deal like marriage. Any choice you make that isn't full dedication to her relegates your choice to a poor mistress. My family honor would not allow me to carry on openly that way,” stated Motoko with utmost diction and sincerity. Keitaro sighed, noting the agreement of the other women, some crying.

 

“Molmolian law allows a consort to marry another, as long as the Princess or queen approves. You are my friends and I respect each of you, so that's not going to be a problem. In addition, while Keitaro is away from the palace, he's basically on his own and free to be with any of you he chooses. If he were to stay Single, for instance, and spent time with each of you, I could live with that,” stated Kaolla, trying hard not to wince.

 

“I don't think that's in his nature,” said Mutsumi. “As much as I'd like to make love to Keitaro for the rest of my life, my own studies would prevent me staying here. Sadly, I must withdraw,” said Mutsumi and backed away from the inner circle facing him.

 

“Mutsumi,” repeated Keitaro sadly. “I never meant to hurt you. Thank you for our time together. If you can stand the memories, please visit and stay in touch.”

 

“Keitaro, I've loved you for the last 4 years, ever since we met,” said Shinobu. “I've cooked for you, I've cleaned for you. You've seen me naked more times than I can count. I wanted to have your babies, and send you to work like a good Salaryman. I can see my dream isn't going to happen anymore. I swore I wouldn't cry, but I've already broken my promise.” She ran from the chamber weeping.

 

“Shinobu-chan!” cried Keitaro, reaching for the young woman. Kaolla restrained him. Naru, Kitsune, and Motoko remained, downcast but defiant.

 

“Naru, you stayed?” asked a surprised Keitaro.

 

“What, don't you want me to?” asked the angry woman. “After all we've been through, you should know me better by now.” Motoko gripped her arm, cooling her growing rage.

 

“And Motoko, didn't you say your honor wouldn't allow us to be together in these circumstances?” he asked.

 

“Openly. That is the key word. Please let me know your decision soon, Sempai. I remain interested,” she admitted. She bowed, a hand on her lower stomach. Kaolla perked an eye at the implied message.

 

“Please excuse me. I have some writing to do,” she said. Motoko exited the chamber with quiet dignity.

 

“What a woman,” admitted Keitaro quietly, still in awe of his lover's composure. He turned to regard Kitsune, a pleased smile graced his lips.

 

“I'm glad you're still here, Kitsune,” said Keitaro.

 

“But why? Why am I still here?” Kitsune asked, breaking down into tears. He closed the distance between them and held her to him tightly. She seemed so fragile.

 

“I have dreams too,” she complained. Kaolla patted her head and stroked her hair shyly. Naru was shocked at the emotion of her friend and something in her awoke finally. Something that wasn't about her own needs and desires. Part of her wanted to crush it forever, but part of her couldn't deny this essential truth staring her in the face.

 

“Please excuse me, Kitsune,” said Naru, running from the room. Kaolla's eyes followed her longtime rival, a look of guilt and sadness mirrored there.