Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ Walking the Edge ❯ Confusion ( Chapter 6 )

BIG FREAKING DISCLAIMER: I don't own Love Hina, only Kiera. But I wish I owned Love Hina… *sigh*

Anything in italics are thoughts. If I can get the italics to work… Or if they're like this: `thought' and mentioned as a thought. Most of the time.

Chapter 6 - Confusion

Kiera dried her hair with a towel while pacing inside her room. `That shower didn't work, maybe I should skip dinner.' Random thoughts buzzed through her mind. She sat down on her bed, clad in another pair of black jeans and black bra. Her shirt was lying next to her on the bed. She got up and began to pace around the room again. "Stupid, I am so stupid," She bonked herself on the head a few times for good measure.

"Hey Kiera, are you in there?" A familiar male voice asked.

She twisted around as her door opened. "Damn it Keitaro, don't come-"

"Dinner's-" He walked in and caught sight of her. "-ready." Immediately, he turned red and blood started to drip out of his nose. He stammered out something that sounded like an apology and rushed out, pinching his nose shut.

She sighed, pulled on a shirt, and hurried after him.

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Kiera walked into the dining room as everyone was beginning to eat. Utensils paused mid-air when everyone stopped to look at her. No extra place was set out for her and Shinobu looked apologetic.

Naru pointed at a cup of ramen noodles on the table. "Boil the water yourself." She turned back to her food and began eating again. Everyone save Kiera sweatdropped when they remembered what Naru did to Keitaro when he was first appointed manager.

The American simply shrugged and grabbed the cup of noodles. "Whatever." She left as quietly as she came, only changing course slightly to kick Naru's chair and brush past Motoko.

Out on the stairs, in front of Hinata Inn, Kiera sat on the top step, quietly eating her noodles. Halfway through, she chucked it into the nearby bushes and continued to sit there, listening to the night sounds of a small town. In the darkness, her keen night vision picked out a figure climbing the steps at a snail's pace. As it neared, she could tell it was a young woman, dressed in a pale green skirt and white blouse. Kiera silently got up and moved to sit under the shadows of surrounding trees. Just as the woman reached the top of the steps, she fainted and collapsed in an unruly heap on the ground.

Kiera blinked and rose to her feet. "Hey, you okay?" She walked over and knelt down. "Are you hurt or something?" She rolled the unconscious woman onto her back and checked for a pulse.

There was no pulse. `Holy shit! She's dead!' The American thought frantically.

While Kiera was trying to figure out what to do, the `dead' woman regained consciousness. "Oh my, did I pass out again?" She held a hand to her head. "Who are you?"

The young American's eyes widened. "What the hell?! I thought you were dead!"

"No, I just fainted."

"You had no pulse!"

The older one shrugged. "It happens sometimes. So, who are you?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Well, I'm Mutsumi Otohime." She said in an almost ditzy manner.

"Uh, Kiera Trinh." Kiera rose to her feet and dusted herself off.

"It's nice to meet you," Mutsumi got to her feet. "Well, I gotta go now." She turned and tripped over the hem of her skirt, landing on her face. She didn't move.

"Goddamn it." Kiera muttered as she knelt down to pick up the other girl's motionless body. With the woman in her arms, she used a foot to slide open the door blocking her entrance into the Hinata House. She shut the door the same way and dumped an unconscious Mutsumi on the couch

"Kyaaaah! What did you do to Mutsumi?!"

`Aw, shit. Not her.' Kiera grimaced as she looked up, making eye contact with Naru. "I didn't do anything. She fainted coming up the steps."

"Sure, how do we know that you didn't assault her like Motoko?"

Behind Naru, the others were drifting in from the dining room, attracted by the noise. "What the hell are you blabbering about? Motoko challenged me to a duel. I just used any means to win it. Now, if you'll excuse me." Kiera brushed past Naru, shouldering her in the process.

"Hey!" Naru stumbled back a few steps and regained her balance. She grabbed Kiera's arm. "You'll stay right here until Mutsumi wakes up and tells us what happened."

The American didn't turn around. "Lemme go."

Mutsumi chose that moment to regain consciousness. "Oh my, what happened? Where am I?"

"Mutsumi, are you alright?" The redhead had let go of the other's arm. "Did she," she pointed at Kiera accusingly, "do anything to you?"

"No, I just fainted, that's all. Can I have some water?"

"Of course," she heading for the kitchen, shooting a parting glare at the younger girl. The other just gave her the finger.

Kiera took the opportunity to slip upstairs while everyone was partially distracted.

Motoko turned in time to catch sight of Kiera's backside as she crept upstairs. `Ooh, nice view.' A little voice inside her head commented. `No, it is not a nice view. She is a woman. I am straight, therefore not interested in women. End of story.' She thought, getting angry with herself. `Well, you were having fun earlier.' The voice hinted. `Shut up. I am not going to have an argument with myself over how straight I am.' She thought as she stalked up the stairs. Unnoticed in the background, Kitsune had also disappeared upstairs.

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Motoko slid open the door to her room quietly, an idle hand hitting the light switch as she passed. As the lights flickered to life in a bright flare, she recognized the unfamiliar, dark pile of cloth in her usual neat surroundings. Picking it up, she realized what it was, Kiera's trench coat. `She must have left it in here when she was. . .' her thought trailed off with a blush. `I'll just go return this to her.'

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Kiera drummed her pencil against her Calculus book. "I don't feel like doing anything." With a sigh, she opened the book and started working on her homework. Two problems in, she heard a light knock at her door. "Kiera, are you in there?" a voice asked from the other side.

Eager for the interruption, she dropped the pencil on the table. "Yeah. Come in."

Motoko opened the door and walked in, a faint blush still visible on her cheeks. "You left this in my room," she held the trench coat out to Kiera. Glancing around, she took in the features of the room. It hadn't been changed much since the room was cleaned up for the American to live in. There was a new partition, decorated with a large tiger and dragon, blocking off the view of an actual bed. A desk and other small furnishings made the otherwise empty room livable. Other than everything decorated in dark colors and white, it seemed pretty comfortable.

"Thanks." Kiera had gotten up to greet her visitor and leaned against her desk. "I was wondering where I put that. By the way, how's your injury?" A toothy smile touched her lips. She pushed off from the desk and approached the samurai.

Motoko blushed hotly. "Just fine, thank you for asking."

"Are you sure you don't want me to take a look?" Kiera circled around Motoko slowly, grinning mischievously. She tugged at the other's top a little, making the samurai jump. Plucking the trench coat from the older girl's arms, she threw it onto the chair she was sitting in.

"No, no. I am perfectly fine." Her blush returned but her voice was calm, amused almost. Her hands smoothed out the imaginary wrinkles left from Kiera's tugs. "I actually came here to discuss something with you."

"Oh yeah? Talk, I'm listening."

"I was wondering. . ." Motoko mumbled the rest of the sentence.

"What did you say? You're wondering what?" Kiera leaned in closer. Of course, her sharp hearing had caught the words the first time, but she wanted to make Motoko say it. Not to mention, taking advantage of getting as close as humanly possible to unnerve the other.

Motoko mumbled out something again.

"What?"

"I was wondering if you are willing to spar with me for practice!" Motoko's gaze shifted to the floor.

"Now, was that so hard?" Kiera smirked. "I'd love to spar with you. Once a week, same time, same day?"

"Of-of course." She was mildly surprised with the quick agreement. "But only if you agree to fight fair from now on."

"Fair? Aww, that's no fun." Kiera circled behind Motoko, her hands resting lightly on the taller girl's shoulders. "Can't you tell I like playing like that?"

It wasn't what she said that got under Motoko's skin, but how she said it. Tingles raced along her spine at the implications. `Gah, what is wrong with me?' She thought as she shied away from the contact.

Behind her, Kiera smiled. She slid her hands up Motoko's arms, gently brushing the cloth with her palms. She rested her hands on her shoulders, her thumbs barely touching the back of the other's neck. Motoko had stiffened under her touch, so Kiera guided her into the recently vacated seat. "How rude of me. Please, have a seat." She tossed her trench coat onto the desk.

"You know, you're pretty tense right now. How about a massage?" Kiera began squeezing and massaging Motoko's shoulders slowly. She wore an extremely broad and wicked grin.

Applying enough pressure, it was just this side of painful; just the way the swordswoman liked it. "Mmmm." She shifted her shoulders under the hands and froze. `Hold on, what am I doing?' Her body seemed to be ignoring her mind and leaned against that hands that were doing delightful things to stiff muscles.

"So, that feels good I take it?" A voice drifted by her ear, the breath warm on her neck.

"Mmm, very." Motoko responded automatically without thinking. Her eyes closed, as she wondered what she was still doing here. Slowly, she moved her hands up and touched Kiera's, making her stop.

She paused when Motoko touched her hands and let them drop away. The samurai rose to her feet, wearing a closed expression. Sparing one glance at Kiera, she ran out without another word.

"Shit. What did I do now?" Kiera blinked.

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Kitsune reclined on the couch in her room, a bowl of sake in her hands. She had snuck upstairs shortly after the pair of swordswomen had disappeared upstairs. She never got as drunk as everyone thought, otherwise how would she be able to act out her devious plans? At the moment though, her thoughts were concerned about one thing, the potential couple: Kiera and Motoko.

"Hmm, after what I saw, there's no doubt about them being attracted to each other." She took another sip of sake, her fox like eyes narrowing even more. "But our little Kendo Girl's `traditional' upbringing gets in the way. Consciously, she'd never accept liking another girl, it took her forever to come to terms about admitting of being fond of Keitaro." She mused. "I need them to do something that would set them off against each other, like a bet or something."

She stared into the bowl, hoping it would give her an idea. Her reflection stared back as one came to her. "I got it, maybe Motoko's older sister can help, what was her name again? Oh yeah, Tsuruko!"

She had gotten to her feet and started pacing back and forth, careful not to spill her drink. "Yeah, last time she tried to marry Keitaro and Motoko if they didn't beat her. A little overly serious, but open minded and fair from what I heard. After all, she did suggest Motoko find someone who she could relate to when she picked her up earlier this summer." Her pacing slowed as her mind toyed with an idea. "But is she open minded enough to deal with her sister liking another woman?" She took another sip of the sake. `What to do, what to do.' She thought to herself as she resumed her pacing and plotting.

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A/N: Yeah, not quite up to par, I know. And short, too. Finals week just clogged my juices. No, not like that! I meant my creative juices. :-) The whole ending is a little weak. Sorry about the delay too. Anyway, I promise not to make any more excuses. The next chapter will be way better, complete with another new character and Tama-chan! Think of this chapter as an interlude, a little in-depth explanation of what happened afterward. Oops, didn't I say no more excuses? *bonks self* Now I'm off to go cram, later!

UPDATE 6/27/03: I really wasn't happy with this chapter, it felt kinda incomplete. Not the good kinda incomplete either, the in-the-middle-of-a-sentence-and-you-lose-your-thread kind of incomplete. So I added a little Kitsune plotting on the end and I'm more satisfied. It's not the best chapter I've written, but it's got a better ending to it. I'm still busting my butt trying not to turn chapter 7 into a smutfest, but I'm beginning to get annoyed by how it keeps getting drawn back to that. Anyway, I'm being dragged off to visit family next week (Noooo! I don't wanna go!!) and that'll put off updates (again! Bad me!) so please, forgive me. Make threats and I'll go even slower! Now, I'm out.

-MindKore