Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Love Hina or any of its characters.

Friends

Chapter One

Introspect

Sunlight…

In a moment of silent reprieve, she wondered how come she never stopped to admire the sight sooner and ended up blaming it on the can of beer in her hand. Naturally, she was never one to waste any time when it came to getting a little buzzed to start off the day but…

How could she miss something that looked so amazing?

Kitsune closed the refrigerator and, for a moment, bathed in the gentle rays of light that seeped through the window blinds. They landed on nothing more deserving than the sketch done by the young man that managed the female dormitory she lived in.

Plain as the day outside, his sketchbook was opened for all to see and the sunlight hugged the drawing of her like it was about to leave. Setting aside her beer, the nosy woman quickly scanned her surroundings before venturing closer to the one thing Keitaro never let any of them to see.

Intrigued by seeing herself rendered in thin lines and penciled shading, Kitsune smiled as she noticed how modest he was in displaying her figure, but her expression softened after she noted the peaceful look on her face.

"I'll have to tease him later for catching me on my good side…"

That said, her grin took on a mischievous tint as she decided any time was as good as the present. Even though she knew that it was all for the sake of a good laugh, it'd be a good lesson for him as well. If he left his most treasured possession in the kitchen and another one of the tenants found it, then he'd have a lot more than teasing to put up with.

Luckily for him, she was the only one around and, she figured that returning his sketchbook would at least prompt a favor or two in return. With reason on her side and a smile on her face, Kitsune left the kitchen with hopes of finding her landlord.

"Wow," She looked down at another sketch as she walked and found the back of the gentle Shinobu. The young girl was in the room she just left, undoubtedly making dinner with the happy smile the drawing didn't show. "This must have been the one he was drawing yesterday…" She muttered, slowly realizing that the errant line that ran through the oven had much to do with Naru slapping him upside the head.

She turned a page.

Motoko glared at her with her sword held at the ready, the grimace on her face practically dripping with malice. It was kind of scary she supposed, more so if he actually had to gall to draw it when she looked at him like that. At any rate, it was another reason to respect him.

She licked a finger before turning the page.

It was Mutsumi. The absent-minded watermelon lover laid in the bushes with a smile only she could possess. She was surely unconscious. Anyone who really knew her would realize as much but, because of the way he drew it, it wouldn't be that hard to fool someone into believing she was just asleep. It was not a mistake, she guessed, that he made light of her condition. Keitaro always approached things from a different angle, and she wouldn't put it past him to underscore the significance of her being able to smile even at a time like that.

"…love you."

Kitsune froze, thoughts that concerned the intention of his art forced into the back of her mind as she heard something she knew she wasn't supposed to hear. She turned away from the drawing and in the direction the sound came from. The mumble came from a room claimed by none of the tenants, a room that she never went in before, but she was sure she heard something come out of it.

"I love you."

Immediately, she felt a chill go down her spine and it rattled every bone it touched. Could it be a ghost? She wasn't exactly the most spiritual person around, but it wouldn't be the first time she encountered something unbelievable. With a deep breath and a shaky hand, she quietly edged closer and carefully slid the door just enough to the side so she could see within.

She breathed a sigh of relief, the breath she was holding let out the moment she saw her humble landlord, but her reprieve was short-lived as the truth of the matter dawned on her.

He was confessing to someone and she was the only person around to witness it.

Kitsune looked on with wide eyes, little attention paid to the fact that she left her beer in the kitchen as the notion of teasing him left with the assumption the room was haunted. She didn't open the door wide enough to see everything and she wasn't stupid enough to press her luck so his potential girlfriend remained hidden, but she could still clearly see his face. The gray-haired woman swallowed hard, her pulse starting to quicken as she caught sight of the longing on his face. She could practically feel her heart beating against her ribs as his expression withered.

She unconsciously clutched his sketchbook just that much tighter as she watched the quiet rejection, the way his hope melted away making him look like a kicked puppy.

"I… love you…" He repeated, his heart obviously lost to the effort as a tear escaped down his face.

She, too, could feel the moisture building in her eyes but a hasty rub with the heel of her palms kept her from crying. Still, she didn't fault him for his tears when faced with deafening silence and less than mutual feelings.

She couldn't help but wonder how…

It wasn't hard for her to come to the conclusion that he was hurt. It wasn't just one of the punches bestowed upon him by the girl she suspected was inside. It wasn't the kind of thing that he'd shrug off and go back to being good, old Keitaro. He was hurt, the look on his face making it evident that the wound inflicted on him wouldn't be mended with just a simple apology or two.

How could someone be so cruel to him?

"I…" He couldn't say it anymore. Her heart cried along with him as he bowed his head and wept.

Kitsune didn't care if it wasn't any of her business and privacy would just have to be damned. She couldn't let things continue like that and, enraged, she threw back the door as hard as she could. She was going to give whoever it was more than a piece of her mind as she made her way across the tatami mats all the while ignoring the strangled cry of surprised that escaped her caretaker's throat.

"Where is she?" His tenant whispered, her hands balled into fists as she looked around for sight of her best friend. Instead of Naru, she was only met with the red eyes of her landlord, but her confusion didn't last for long. It had to be Motoko. No one else would be able to get away so…

Her mind screeched to a stop, the scream of metal scrapping against metal seemingly filling her head as her train of thought derailed. Kitsune stared at the truth, the mirror in front of him calmly capturing her reflection the same way it caught his when he was talking to himself.

It was one of those stupid self-esteem exercises and, even then, she was only able to vaguely able to remember thanks in part to her making fun of the commercials that featured them. It was ridiculous to think she was ready to fight on his behalf, but the look on his face was proof that the self-help he was trying to administer failed horribly in every regard.

"Idiot," Kitsune said it and meant it, blinking away a tear as she insulted him. "I thought someone was…" She paused, looking away from the mirror and at him. "I thought someone was hurting you."

There was neither a flash of red crossing his features nor a shade of pink touching his cheeks. He was caught, unable to deny what had already happened. "I'm sorry…" He started, unable to look her in the eyes as he apologized for alarming her. "I thought everyone was gone."

What kind of excuse was that? What did everyone being gone have to do with that? She didn't understand. Why would he expect her of all people to be somewhere else?

It was just like any other weekday. Everyone in the dorms had their weekly obligations ranging from going to school to working at the teahouse, but, even though she was supposed to be Haruka's replacement, it wasn't like she actually bothered to do much aside from lounge around. He knew more than anyone else that she gave up on serving tea in his aunt's place, so the assumption that she wouldn't be around confused her enough to ask until he gave her the answer to the questions she never voiced.

"I thought…" He cleared his throat before lowering his eyes to the tatami. "I thought Su said everyone was going."

She forgot.

It was Saturday and, more importantly, she completely forgot that Seta was coming back even though all the girls made plans to go somewhere with him last night. The crazy thing was that she was planning to go as well but, ironically, the extra beer or two she had to celebrate gave her the hangover that kept her at home.

"Keitaro, don't tell me you're…"

"No!! I mean…" Keitaro looked around for an exit, a reason he could leave before she started to laugh at how pitiful he was. "No, I'm not lonely or anything." He found his excuse. His wandering eyes found the bucket of cleaning products he brought into the room with him. "I'm glad he came back. All the girls like him a lot and they're having fun. It's really peaceful around here when-"

He was promptly interrupted by the hand that took hold of his wrist.

"Mitsune…"

She wasn't amused. The promise of an empty joke just so they could share a hollow laugh and pretend it never happened was not one she was ready or willing to make. She wasn't going to walk away and she wasn't going to pretend that nothing happened. Her expression, the look in her eyes reflected her sentiment to the point he believed he offended her but her face brightened the moment she tightened her hand around his own.

"You…" He tensed because of the contact so she let go, but the question she thought to pose was already one she knew was the truth. "You're lonely because everyone left to be with Seta?"

Insight was a valuable thing. It was a luxury that often granted her the ability to crack a joke but, most of the time, it allowed her to see things that others only tended to notice in retrospect. Sometimes it alone was the reason why finding out what was wrong came just as naturally as righting it.

Keitaro opened his mouth to speak, but could only resign himself to confirming her suspicions with a nod. He wasn't anyone special. He didn't hold any of their affections so he shouldn't have expected them of them to know how he felt. He tried to be rational about it, but it still hurt that…

"…Everyone forgot about you, huh?" Kitsune echoed his thoughts with remarkable clarity, but that wasn't the end of her surprises. She stretched her arms out towards him, spreading them wide for someone that needed her. "Come here." She whispered, her smile just as gentle as it was sincere so he couldn't help but step into her embrace.

She hugged him, all the encompassing warmth he drew from the intimacy making him forget about his plummeting self-esteem. He relaxed, easing himself against her as the arms around his frame pulled him even closer.

With his sadness swept away, he was left with a solitary thought, a single notion that he never entertained before. It was an intriguing one, something that made him open the eyes he closed to look at the girl that held him.

Was she always so gentle?

"Everyone likes you, Keitaro…" Kitsune chimed, her soothing admission flowing across his cheek and into his ear like a breeze. She pulled her head back just enough to look him in the eyes. "Don't go around doing things like that, okay? I'll always be around for you if you want to talk."

"I won't." He promised, his eyes damp as he wrapped his arms around her.

Long minutes passed as they stood in place. Neither made an attempt to move, the idea that they would eventually have to let go of each other one that wasn't entertained in the comfort they both indulged in.

He wanted to say thank you. He wanted to show her that he was beyond grateful, but it took everything he had just to keep his composure. Their moment together was over the second she withdrew her arms and took a small step back. Kitsune smiled at him, lacing her fingers behind her neck before tilting her head. "Now that we feel better… I want to ask you something."

The fact that he didn't get his chance to offer a word of thanks subtly slipped to the back of his mind as general curiosity came to the forefront. "What is it?"

"I know my dear Keikei loves to draw and I couldn't help but wonder why he didn't…" She paused, pretending to look up in thought before she finished. "Hmm, accentuate my lovely figure."

"Y-You saw that…?"

"Uh huh," She nodded as he blushed, the atmosphere lightened thanks to the change of subject. "I thought you were…" She couldn't help herself, "familiar with my body."

"Oh," He started as he turned to hide the burning red on his cheeks. "I wanted the focus to be on your smile."

"What?"

"I'm not any good for real, but I like how it came out." He buried his hands in his pocket as he bowed his head. "I can draw it again if you want me to."

"No," She said softly, the fact that he drew a side of her most never saw something that already touched her. "I… I like it the way it is."

They made eye contact, brown meeting brown as he smiled. He wasn't sad anymore, his day and his mood brightened by the woman that he least expected to cheer him up. "You're blushing." He pointed out with no small amount of amusement.

She was going to kiss him.

It wasn't a prediction or a premonition. It was just something that was going to happen, something that she knew she was going to do. The idea of him quietly catching glimpses of her just to draw something she'd never see meant so much more than he thought it did.

Kitsune tried to reel back her feelings before she did something she couldn't take back and was failing to do so until she donated a thought to someone who wanted to kiss him more than she did.

Naru was her friend.

"Thank you, Misune." Somehow, his smile became larger as he offered her something that warmed her heart more than the drawing. He bowed at the waist and her blush deepened. "Really… thanks."

Keitaro rose to his full height and, after a slight nod to the woman who made him feel much better than before, made his way towards the bucket of supplies he left near the door.

Until she grabbed him.

Her hand gripped his shoulder, fingers digging into his shirt as she sought to pull him back, but her conscience wouldn't allow it. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to let him know how she felt. She wanted him, way more than she ever did before, but she couldn't do it.

Naru was her best friend.

"Y-You're welcome…" She forced a smile as her hand slipped off his shoulder. "How a-about easing up on the rent next week?"

"I can do that." He decided before leaving, smiling as he noticed and picked up the sketchbook she left in her haste.

Kitsune watched him go and, alone, she released the breath she was holding before slumping to the ground. She did it. She resisted the temptation, but she knew she was still blushing. She felt like sprawling out on the floor, just laying there until the feeling passed, so she did.

She couldn't just walk out behind him like nothing happened. Leaving wouldn't do her any good. If she saw him before she was ready then there was no doubt she'd give in to her feelings, but she couldn't allow that to happen.

Keitaro was… important. Just knocking back some drinks and then having a fling with him was something out of her nightmares. It would definitely feel good, but that's not what she wanted. If they ever had something together, she'd want it to be serious and it was unlikely he would ever come to know about her feelings in the first place.

She sighed.

Naru…

How could someone so smart be so fickle? It was easy to see that she liked him. Everyone knew that much but, instead of being honest with herself, she was more likely to send him into orbit. Even crazier was that he always went crawling back to her with the kind of smiles that could warm any heart.

There was no doubt about whom his affections rested with, but how could he know everyone in the dorms was fond of him when no one said as much? How was he supposed to feel when he didn't know how they felt about him?

As she looked up at the ceiling, Kitsune wondered if it wasn't the first time he resigned himself to being alone even though they were around. She wondered if there were times when he stood in front of the mirror and said things to himself that he deserved to hear from others.

She wondered why she never thought to let him know how she felt.

The woman turned towards the mirror and saw herself. It was a reflection different from the one she saw on paper. She looked troubled, a far cry from the smiling tenant that her landlord drew.

"I love you…" She whispered, ready to share her secret with person in the mirror. "I love you, Keitaro."

0

The rest of the day was as lively as any other once everyone returned. Stories were exchanged, dinner was made, laughs were shared, and the day was never quite complete unless Keitaro had at least one near death experience on account of his clumsiness.

It was standard fare, something that became commonplace because of the lone male that lived with them. It was because of that, because everyone was so used to the status quo that no one thought to dignify him with little more than a wave when they arrived and nothing more than hopes of good dreams when they left the dinner table.

"It was fun." Naru replied, the dreamy expression on her face backing up what she said. "I had a really good time, but it would have been better if Su didn't bring that…" She lost her smile in the process of trying to think of a way to describe what happened and ended up not even wanting to talk about it. "Yeah, it was pretty fun."

Kitsune stacked the dishes before handing them to her landlord who collected them to deposit in the sink. She caught the look he gave her friend. He was hoping she said something more, expanded on what she already said since he asked, but Naru was content with the silence that came with the departure of the other tenants.

"Oh…" He said it softly, his reply subdued as he started washing the dishes. "That's nice."

"So," Kitsune pulled her sight away from his back and faced the girl who sat opposite her. "What are you going to do tomorrow?"

Out the corner of her eye, she could see Keitaro virtually falling over himself to hear the answer to her question. It was cute seeing him try so hard. It was part of the reason she thought to ask her in the first place.

"Studying…" Naru sighed. The idea of going somewhere with Seta was always appealing, but she couldn't afford to be short-sighted. Even if she was confident that she deserved some time away from the books, it didn't specifically mean that she could abandon her daily study session again. "Now that I think about it…" She turned towards her study partner. "Hey, Keitaro?"

He jumped at the mention of his name, his back going rigid as he stood as straight as he possibly could. "Y-Yes?"

"Hmm." She ignored how strange he acted because she already knew he was weird. "Do you feel like going over some biology with me?"

It was an invitation that didn't go unappreciated.

Kitsune couldn't help but smile as he nodded in earnest. His streak of bad luck finally hit a wall and he started scrubbing the dishes as fast as he could in order to take the girl up on her offer. "Hold up," She called to him from where she sat. "I'll finish the dishes so you two can start your date."

As expected, both of them reacted the same way they normally did when someone even came close to mentioning their feelings towards each other. Keitaro fumbled his words in an attempt at denial and Naru quickly stood up, nearly knocking over a chair just to declare that it was anything but a date. With that, her friend wasted no time going over to her crush and half dragging him out of the kitchen.

Kitsune rose from her seat just in time to catch the loopy smile on his face. While it didn't come close to the smile he gave her earlier, it still invoked feelings in her that made it feel like she floated to the sink to finish what he started. She was glad he was happy because he deserved to be and, if he was happy, she was happy, too.

"Now to get down to business…"

She took a quick look around the kitchen before reaching behind the faucet and pressing a button. The bottom of the sink opened to reveal a hidden compartment and all the dishes and silverware fell inside. With another press of the button, the bottom flipped back up and the clatter of dishes being washed met her ears.

Kitsune smirked as she walked away without even having to wet her hands. While she did have to spend quite a bit bribing Su, all the banana treats she bought were a small price to pay for the single greatest contribution to her laziness since alcohol.

A pang of guilt tried to register in her conscience, but she wouldn't allow it. She'd tell everyone about it some day but, at least for another week, nothing was wrong with leading everyone to believe that she did at least one chore every now and then.

She set a pot of water on the stove and turned up the heat before tossing in a few tea bags. While cooking was still beyond her for the most part, she was capable enough to make tea for the study buddies and she felt quite proud of herself as she reached into the cabinets to grab the cups.

"Hmm," Kitsune pondered as the water boiled, taking time out to recall the conversation she shared with Keitaro over lunch. "I wonder if he'll ask her tonight."

When she calmed down enough to face him, he was already on his way to offer her some of the sandwiches he made for lunch. Touched, she welcomed the manager into her room and enjoyed the food he made for her. Lunch was good, but his company was better. It was fascinating how many things she learned about him. It was nice, she decided, to know more about the people she cared about, but she couldn't shake the feeling that he should have been speaking to the girl he not so secretly loved.

That was why she cut into their conversation with a request that he ask Naru out. It didn't have to be anything big, just somewhere away from Hinata House would be good enough she figured.

Kitsune held back a sigh as she poured the steaming tea into the cups. It took no small amount of talking to even get him to think about it but, with a little charm and a lot of sense, she found that she convinced him easily enough. He didn't say when, but he did promise to ask his crush out when he got the chance.

"This is probably the best chance he'll get for a while…" She thought out loud as she turned off the heat and set off with the drinks in hand.

It was Saturday night and, if Naru got her fill of studying, she'd be free tomorrow. It was an opportunity he definitely couldn't miss and the real reason she thought to get them something to drink was so she could help.

"Kitsune?" Naru looked up from the book she was reading as her best friend walked into the room with a much needed cup of whatever she was holding. "What happened to knock—Wait, I thought you were washing dishes."

"Already finished." The smiling girl replied before handing her friend the tea. "Mind if I sit in for a bit? I'm not ready to call it a day just yet."

"Sure." Naru took a sip of the drink, her nose wrinkling as she swallowed. It was definitely too bitter but, then again, it wasn't like she paid for it. "I'm just waiting for him to catch up."

Almost on cue, Keitaro turned another page in the book he reviewed, the implied fact that he was slow one that he didn't bother to deny because it was true. Naru, someone who spent the greater part of her life with her head buried in textbooks, never thought of him as her intellectual equal. There were times when she quite frankly did make him feel stupid, but it was in light of helping both of them pass the test.

Alone, she could cover a broader range of material but it wouldn't mean anything if he wasn't with her. The reason she did the study sessions was so they could go to school together. Even though she would never admit it, the only reason she pressed him so hard was so he could be a part of her dream. If all it took was a couple hours out of her day then she honestly didn't mind.

"Taxonomy…" Keitaro slid his hand down his face, his shoulder slumping as he placed the study guide down on the table. "It's going to take me a long time to remember all of this."

"Ha, don't worry too much about it." Kitsune flashed him her patented smile before sliding the second cup across the table to him. "I have faith in you."

He blinked before revealing a smile of his own. "Thanks, but I don't want to take-"

"It's for you." She brought her hands up to her chest, the promise of melodrama made as she pretended to be hurt. "Unless Keikei doesn't want anything from a woman such as I…"

Keitaro shook his head. "I appreciate it, but I can't just drink in front of you when you made this for us." Before she could tell him she was fine, he was already getting to his feet. "Oh yeah Naru, I wanted to ask you to come-"

He stepped on his slacking pants leg on the way up, his bad luck returning with a vengeance as he tripped. Kitsune sprung up like she was sitting in fire, lashing out a hand with every intention of stopping what was bound to happen as she reached for his collar. She missed. She tried again, her fingertips brushing across his shirttail as she put every fiber of her being into keeping him from being hurt but…

It was too late.

The room became unnaturally still, pregnant with silence as he fell haplessly on top of Naru and aborted the moment the woman beneath him got her bearings. "You…" She muttered dangerously, the fist she reeled back something that made Kitsune's heart skip two beats.

"Wait…" Kitsune whispered as her friend trembled in anger. "Wait!"

"Pervert!!"

"Don't do-" She trailed off, the definite impact of fist on face halting any argument she could have raised on his behalf.

He was sent airborne, his body twisting and tumbling through the air like an old leaf caught in the wind until he came into contact with the door. Her mouth dropped open in disbelief as he crashed through the wood and landed in what remained of the door that led to the room of the girl he loved.

How…

How did she ever find something like that funny?

The tea spilled thanks to his heel catching one of the cups but, unlike the girl that tried to save her textbooks and notes from the mess, Kitsune didn't care about what was being stained on the table.

"Why…" Kitsune looked at him lying in what she could only imagine to be a garden of splinters at best. "Why did you hit him?"

"He was being a pervert!" Naru exclaimed loud enough to wake anyone that heard. "Can you help me get this stuff off the-"

"God." She interrupted, shifting her eyes away from the prone figure of their landlord and to the girl that was trying her best to save her notes. "I think you knocked him out."

"Good." Her friend grumbled. "Now can you please grab that notebook over-"

"Forget about the fucking books, Naru!" Kitsune spun around to face the younger girl, the arm she extended pointing towards where Keitaro laid unconscious. "He was going to ask you out until you tried to knock his teeth down his throat!"

"Don't you mean before he fell on me?" Naru narrowed her eyes at her best friend as she placed the last of her notes on the floor beside her. "What's wrong with you? You know him just as well as I do." She continued as she turned to look at her study partner. "When he wakes up, he'll just come back in and say he's sorry like he always-"

The predictable outcome of her punishment was something that died on her lips as they both realized that the man who rested in the pile of broken wood had seemingly vanished into thin air, but there was no magic about the simple truth.

He left.

Without a word or a sound, he got up and left.

Armed with his quiet departure and the chance encounter earlier in the day, Kitsune didn't need her insight to predict that her landlord wouldn't be coming back to Naru's room for a long time to come.

0

"Man…" Kitsune smiled a little, content with the warmth welling in her stomach. "That hits the spot." She popped the tab off another beer and raised it to her lips. In seconds, she guzzled it down and was ready for the next one until she realized that it wouldn't be a next one. "Ah…" She already drunk the two she brought with her. The thought of another one was appealing, but going all the way back to the kitchen to get one was not. "Should have just got the whole case. I'm the only one that drinks the stuff now that I think-"

"Who's there?"

"Keitaro?" The vixen opened her eyes before calling out and spotting the lone man in the darkness. He was sitting on the roof, his glasses catching the moonlight as he spied her over his shoulder.

"Kitsune…" He laid back down upon confirming the presence, and the starry sky above came back into view as he rested his head on the tiles. "Did you need me for something?"

"Nope, not this time anyway." She, too, looked up at the night sky as she neared him with empty cans hanging off her fingers. "I was just coming up here to clear my mind. I never expect to bump into anyone this late."

"Yeah…"

That was all he said, the fact that he came up to the roof for the same reason she did one that he didn't even need to state. Neither said anything more. He watched the clouds sail by from where he rested and she continued to stand as she looked at the moon. It was quiet, too quiet for her, so she had to do something.

"Are you…" Kitsune bit on her lip, the question she thought to ask one that she already knew was stupid. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Keitaro was caught off guard, obviously unprepared as a range of emotions flickered across his face until one finally won. He sat up again, his smile in place as he looked up at the girl beside him. "I'm…" He started before pushing his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose. "I'm alright."

He lied.

She watched him lower the shaky hand he used to reposition his glasses, but she was quick to turn away when she caught sight of a smile so hollow it dared to split her heart in half.

He was hurt.

She touched him. He blinked as the sound of the beer cans hitting the tiles reached his ears, but it was the feel of her hand, the caress of her fingertips trailing down the side of his face, that made his eyes get just as big as hers. She did it purely on reflex, not bothering to think about it as she kneeled to get closer to him. She knew it wasn't a mistake. In the depths of his eyes, the feelings he tried so hard to hide were easier to see than the stars above.

"I thought I told you not to go around being sad…" She managed a smile as the clouds moved just enough to allow the moon to cast its radiance on her much the same way the sun shined on his drawing. "Do you want to talk about-"

"Kitsune…" He was struck speechless as he covered the hand on his face with his own and took in its warmth. "I… Why…?"

Why?

She always knew why.

It was because she loved him.

It was because she loved him that she never wanted him to be sad, but there was only one surefire way she knew how to make him feel better, but she didn't want something as shallow as one night stand to cloud what little of a relationship they had with each other. It was because she loved him that only contact she thought to offer was just a touch to let him know that she was there for him.

Any more and it would be unfair to him and…

It would be unfair to Naru.

"I just want you to be happy." A simple question received a simple response. "I'm happy… when you're happy."

She surprised him, the same woman that he usually handed him nothing other than jokes was giving him unconditional affection rooted in nothing but empathy. He was awed by her all over again and, with just that much, the front he maintained around the others slipped away.

Kitsune withdrew her hand as she took a seat beside him, the insecurities she always held deep inside rising to the forefront as they both dropped their masks. It was like lunch except better and, as noted when her stomach growled, without food.

Laughing, Keitaro rose to his feet and offered her a hand. She already knew he was going to offer to make her some sandwiches and she knew she couldn't refuse after how good they tasted earlier.

"Kitsune?"

She looked up, the smile on his face one that reflected how he honestly felt. It wasn't hollow. It was not a smile he put on for her sake. It wasn't goofy. It wasn't the smile he had when he apologized to the girls for messing something up. The snack was his intention of thanking her for cheering him up, but that smile was all she needed.

"I'm… happy."

Continued…

Next chapter:

Daybreak

"You… You want to know more about me?"