Greetings! Well, this marks the last of my completed chapters (so far). So to celebrate this auspicious moment, your buddy Keitaro goes out with a bang. Or two. Yes, it's some 'M'-rated goodness time, so plug yourself with tissues before, not after, reading this chapter.

But before you all plummet into a purple-and-black spiral of depression at this being the last completed chapter, be of brave heart, for I have almost completed one more chapter as of now. Hopefully, by next week, it will be done, so check back anyway just to see. Unless you have far better things to do, of course, such as twiddling your thumbs, washing your hair, or going to the dentist.

I am determined to finish this story, one way or another. But I refuse to post rushed, sub-standard chapters. This story is now so complicated, with so many characters to juggle and get to correctly interact with each other, that it takes a lot of time to get right. So bear with me, let me know how I am doing, and all will (eventually) be revealed.

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LOVE HINA: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO

By Doctor-T

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Just before dinner time, Kanako, who was still feeling a little tired and weak from her near-death experience out in the mountains that afternoon, had been relieved from her front desk position by the part-time employee whom she had hired on only this morning, one Masao something-or–other. She was too weary to properly recall her new maid's family name at present. The girl had joined her staff just before 11:00 am, not long after 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith' and their team of rugby players had unexpectedly arrived and booked in.

At that time, with the surprise tour party of westerners having just taken up nearly all of the empty rooms in the annex, and with the spare rooms in the guest wing of the main building also mostly rented out as well, Kanako knew, with a sense of satisfaction, that the inn was now almost completely full of paid-up customers. However, having so many unexpected guests suddenly on the premises, and with one of her regular temps not available to work due to an out-of-town travel commitment, meant that she was a little short-handed, staff-wise. So when the new girl whom she had just hired, who in her own words, was 'broke' and 'bored already with sitting around doing nothing', had shown up, on her exasperated parent's orders, looking for a part-time position at the Inn for the next couple of weeks, Kanako decided to hear her out because she figured she would be temporarily needing the extra staff cover.

Whilst interviewing Masao for the temporary job, Kanako had found out that the new girl was an out-of-towner, a second-year high school girl from Saitama Prefecture, apparently. Masao was seventeen years old, very good-looking in a tomboyish sort of way, had tanned skin, rather messy smoky-brown hair with bangs, and unusual golden colored eyes. According to her story, she was only away from school and here in Hinata Hot Springs because her parents were visiting a sick relative for a fortnight, and they had dragged her along as well to, quote, 'keep her out of mischief'.

However, on the plus side, Masao had also told her that she had previous experience at serving counter, thanks to a part-time job she once had at a corner store.

Despite having reservations about the 'mischief' bit, and the fact that she looked to be a bit of a tomboy, Kanako had hired Masao on a short-term work contract for the length of time that the girl would be staying in town. However, with the sudden and mysterious disappearance of the sixteen-strong tour party of strange westerners that very afternoon – which selfsame group had been booked into the annex for the next two weeks, and were the prime reason for Masao's spur-of-the-moment employment - it now looked like the place wasn't going to be nearly as busy as she had thought it would be. This meant that, all of a sudden, the inn was now overstaffed by one.

Even though the work situation had suddenly changed, and despite what some certain individuals might think and say about her, Kanako wasn't completely cold and heartless. After a bit of fast thinking, she decided against sacking the obviously athletic - but rather loud-mouthed - new girl. Instead, the Gothic teen manager decided to keep Masao on in the meantime, to do all of the odd jobs around the place that Kanako, herself, wouldn't easily be able to find the time to do. Furthermore – having not yet having spoken to Aunt Haruka and found out from her the real reason for the sudden departure of 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith and party' - Kanako figured there was every chance that the missing westerners would return to the inn to stay for the remainder of their booking. This reasonable supposition was reinforced by the fact that she had discovered that they had left most of their possessions behind in their rooms. And if they did indeed show up again, she would need the newcomer in her original capacity as a maid, after all.

Masao would remain for one other extremely-important reason, as well. Having an extra person to cover reception for her would give her more time to spend with her newly-attentive Oniichan.

Now that she was free to eat – and, more importantly, track down her brother - Kanako had hurried up to the dining hall. Once there, she made a beeline for Keitaro, whom was talking to Su at the time. Unfortunately, their conversation ended before she could get close enough to them to overhear what they were talking about.

After contriving to sit next to Keitaro at the table, Kanako, to her satisfaction, managed to confirm a private meeting with her Oniichan at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. With that most-important task now achieved, she then proceeded to keep a wary eye on her numerous competitors for his affections for the entire course of the meal. And so effective had the Goth girl been in subtly warning off her rivals, that it was only after she had reluctantly left the room to resume her shift at reception that Kitsune had managed to successfully approach Keitaro with her query about her own upcoming visit to his room at eight o'clock that night.

Once Masao had been relieved in turn, and had left the building to return to her relative's house, Kanako sat down on her high stool behind the lobby counter, to morosely stare off through the glazed-glass double doors in the direction that the new girl had departed. Whilst she had been at dinner, night had fallen outside, and the twin yellow glow from the gas lamps above the stone staircase at the edge of the plaza caught her attention and held it.

Now that Keitaro had told her that he loved her, and she was finally cured of her seemingly-fatal affliction, Kanako knew that she should be wildly happy at being miraculously given a second chance at experiencing a long and fulfilling married life with her Oniichan. And indeed she was happy at the way things were turning around for her. But, as yet, only up to a certain point. As to why this was so, in order to achieve complete peace-of-mind, the Goth girl knew that she still had one last pressing problem to deal with.

That being, her unresolved state of affairs with Naru Narusegawa.

Even after thinking about it for most of the time since I arrived back up here, I still have no idea just what am I going to do with regards to Naru, Kanako silently told herself, her unfocused hazel-red eyes fixed on the soothing yellow luminescence being cast by the nearer of the two gas lamps as she tried to make sense of the strange feelings in her heart. Oniichan has finally declared his love for me, at last! But I…find that for some fucked-up reason I like Naru now, too, as well as him. And, all things considering, I certainly do owe Naru a big face-to-face apology for my cruel actions towards her over the last year and a bit.

I still hate the fact that Naru beat Oniichan. However, now that I know that her mental illness is actually real, and that those damn tablets she was taking were poisoning her, and causing her to do it, I find that I have it within me to fully forgive her for her actions. But I will do that only if Naru carries through on her promise to me to seek the proper treatment for her affliction! And while she is getting herself cured, I also find myself wanting to be at her side to support her, and – and to—

Dammit! Why are my feelings so confused about Naru, now? And they have been like that ever since I slept with her, back in Kentaro's apartment. Curse that gorgeous, big-titted, curvy damn body of hers! She's damn-well succeeded in fucking up my mind, just like she did before when she got into Oniichan's head!

Ah, crap. I love Oniichan, but I want Naru, too, now, don't I? And I don't want her to be hurt anymore, either. Not by me, or anyone else. I actually caused her to be shot, so she's certainly suffered enough by now for what she's done…

So just what am I going to do? I don't want to be forced to choose between them, because I damn-well know that I can't have them both-!

"Hmm? Or could I? Maybe, just maybe, there is some way that I can have both Oniichan and Naru all to myself, at the same time?" Kanako abruptly mused out loud, her eyes widening slightly as that intriguing idea captured her full attention. "If I could somehow pull that off, I'll be able to marry Oniichan and still have Naru as my lover. And even – his lover, too! If he still even wants her in his life at all, that is?"

Kanako's slight frown deepened, and a thoughtful expression appeared on her face as she began to mentally explore the pros and cons of embarking on this most-tempting course of action.

I wonder how Oniichan would feel about that – having both me and Narusegawa as his girlfriends, together, at the same time. The burning question is, would he go for it – especially with regards to taking Naru back, considering what she did to him before? Oniichan told me that he is over Naru now, and that he's moved on with his life. But is that really true? Heh! After seeing the amount of effort that my brother was prepared to put into finding her this afternoon, I sincerely doubt that it is.

So Oniichan really hasn't got over Naru at all, has he, even if he doesn't consciously realize that just yet? Oniichan can be a little slow on the uptake at times! But this means that once I find her again; it shouldn't be too hard for me to hook them back up again, should it?

However, with regards to Naru and me, the real spanner in the works that I have to deal with is the fact that I tried to kill her out there by the waterfall! How in the hell am I going to convince Naru now that I have forgiven her again, and no longer want to cause her any further harm?!

...Damn. I have to somehow win Narusegawa's trust back, get her to be my girlfriend, and then get Oniichan interested in her again. And then have both of them remain in love with me, not just each other, after I've done it. Ah, crap! The twelve labors of Hercules would be easier for me to complete than this!

But – if I do somehow manage to pull it off, I'll finally be set. At long-last Oniichan and I will be managing the Hinata Inn and Apartments as a proper couple, and I'll have both him and Naru all to myself. Furthermore, I'll be able to keep an eye on Naru at the same time, to make sure that she keeps her promise to get herself cured. And with her help, there'll be two of us to keep the other girls here away from Oniichan. He'll belong to us, and only us. So, no matter how long and hard this is to achieve, it'll be worth it!

Kanako sat up straighter on her seat and sucked in a deep breath, her troubled mind at long-last made up as to her correct course of action.

"Right! Then that's what I'm going to do. But now I have to work out just how I'm going to do it!"

But first I'd better let the staff on the night-shift in the annex know that the party of westerners booked in there have departed to Kami-knows where and are still missing. So if they don't come back tonight, Chibiusa and Hotaru - unlike me - should be able to take it easy for once.

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Just after leaving the communal dining room, instead of being able to immediately return to his room and his books, Keitaro found himself pulled away from his studies yet again. He had been waylaid by one of the part-time maids, who had come looking for him with an urgent message to deliver. That being, there was a problem with the flow of hot water from the boiler room to the showers next to the onsen. Some of the guests had complained that they were now discharging only cold water through the shower-heads. So, as he was responsible for the routine maintenance around the Hinata Apartments complex, on top of all of his other multitudinous duties, the young manager found himself with no choice but to go and deal with the problem before he could recommence his seemingly forever-being-interrupted schoolwork.

As they were leaving the dining room, Kitsune and Mutsumi noticed Keitaro unexpectedly going downstairs with the maid. Quickly they took advantage of the opportunity his absence presented them with, and snuck up to his room. After testing his door and finding that it was, indeed, unlocked, the pair made a slight modification to their original plan, and then immediately began to put it into operation.

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Half-an-hour after finding out about the fault, the weary Keitaro finally made it back to his original destination. Luckily for him, the problem with the hot water hadn't been a blockage somewhere in the pipes, as he had feared at first that it might be. To the contrary, someone had either accidentally or deliberately turned off the tap on the hot water feeder pipe that led to the pool-side showers. A simple thing to correct, but one that had taken him quite a while to discover.

Now that he was back in his room, the annoyed ronin threw a glance at his clock, followed by a disappointed stare at the waiting pile of books on his desk.

"Darn it all! I haven't managed to get any more study done now, after all," he grumbled. "And it's eight o'clock already. Kitsune will be here at any second, and once she arrives, there goes the rest of tonight, as well." He grimaced and clutched at his hair with both hands in a gesture of frustration. "I've just got too much to do, and not enough time to do it all in! Waaah!"

Oh, well. The center exam at Hinata University that I absolutely have to pass is still three months away, in the middle of January, isn't it? He silently consoled himself, taking a deep breath and then letting the air out in a hissing sigh of resignation. And if I can ace that, I'll get my ticket to take the Tokyo University entrance exam in late February. 'Phew!' So that means I've still got enough time between now and then to buckle down and do this. But I just can't afford to goof off anymore-!

And then, in mid-thought, and right on cue -

Knock-Knock!

"Hey, Kei! You in there? Can Ah come in?"

Yep! Kitsune's here already, Keitaro matter-of-factly told himself, shelving his disappointment at his lack of scholastic progress for the moment as a surge of anticipation at what was more than likely going to happen between him and his attractive visitor kicked his heart-rate up a couple of notches.

Ah, well? On the bright side, at least I know that I'm almost certainly going to be getting lucky with her again tonight! Once again, pleasure before business, I guess...?

Keitaro licked his lips at that most-tantalizing thought, then called out, "Hi, Kitsune! Yes, come right on in!"

The door slid open and Kitsune stepped into his room. Badump! Went Keitaro's heart as she did so, and his glasses promptly fell off his face as his eyes bugged out at what he was seeing, to fall with a soft thud onto the tatami mat at his feet.

Whooo?! The suddenly very interested young man thought, instinctively leaning forward at the glorious, although now slightly-blurry sight before him. What's with the nurse outfit Kit's wearing?! Or should I say, 'she's semi-wearing?' If it was any shorter, that one-piece dress would be a top!

Stopping just inside the room, the erotically-costumed fox girl gave her dumbfounded audience-of-one a grin, and struck up a provocative pose.

"Ah hear that you're feeling down a bit with all of this here studying that you gotta do?" she purred, leaning forward with her hands on her knees to give him a good look down the front of her rather low-cut and open-at-the-front uniform. "Well, Ah'm here to nurse you-all back to health, Kei. And Ah got just the thing to put the lead back into your pencil again. See?"

That was an apt simile from her. For, as Kitsune did a playful twirl to display her white-stocking-clad legs and extremely-shapely butt to their full advantage, it was more than obvious to Keitaro, even without his glasses on, that full-sized panties weren't part of her ensemble! Nor was a bra, for that matter. And just what was that enticing fragrance wafting through the air from her to further tantalize his already aroused senses?

"Whoa! That's...some outfit!" the unsurprisingly drooling Keitaro finally breathed out, by now becoming acutely aware of the sudden tightening in the front of his pants and the blood pressure building up behind his nose. "It's so – um? Alluring."

"Ya think? Why, that's nice of you to say that, Kei. Ah guess Ah'd better be nice back to you in turn, then, hadn't Ah?"

"Urm! That, ah, s-sounds good to me," Keitaro agreed through his rapidly-dehydrating mouth, belatedly remembering the lectures that Kitsune had previously given him on how to act 'cool', and so now trying hard to appear calm and composed to her scrutiny. However, because of the visual stimulation from the scantily-clad fox girl, he was perilously close to having to not only hold his nose to prevent any unseemly geysers, but also cover the front of his pants with his other hand, as well. Quickly he stooped to grab up his glasses from the wooden floor, and somewhat-clumsily donned them once again for an even clearer, in-focus look at his seductive visitor.

Heehee! So far, so good, Kit gleefully thought, as pleased as punch with the response her extremely-erotic appearance had elicited from the enthralled Keitaro. Namely, his now most-conspicuous trouser-bulge. Now to get Turtle-lady outta Kei's closet where Ah stashed her earlier, and into this here little game to seal the deal!

"Oh, by the way, you haven't seen mah lost lil' bunny rabbit anywhere hereabouts, have ya, Keitaro?" she innocently inquired. "Ah was sure that Ah saw her hoppin' around in the hallway, earlier on, but now Ah can't find her at all. So she can - come out now! - if she likes."

"Huh?" Keitaro's red-cheeked look of interest changed to one of bafflement at her strange query. "What bunny is that, Kitsune?"

"Heh! You'll see. Ahem! Ah said, I've lost mah bunny and Ah can't find her anywhere, you in the closet," Kitsune then repeated in a louder voice, directing an exasperated look at the item of furniture in question.

"Oh, me, oh, my? That's me, isn't it?" Mutsumi gasped, a startled look on her face as she finally poked her head out of Keitaro's wardrobe. "Sorry, I fell asleep for a minute there…"

At Kit's urgent, right-handed beckoning gesture behind the huge-eyed Keitaro's back, the also-costumed turtle girl immediately remembered her part to play in their carefully thought-out plan of seduction.

"Um, okay. Squeak! Squeak – I mean, meow! I'm a naughty little bunny and I'm all lost," Mutsumi cooed. She then dropped down onto her hands and knees, and crawled seductively across the polished floor towards the speechless Keitaro.

"Fu, fu, fu. Oh, please, kind sir, I'm in desperate need of help," she continued, her eager brown eyes wide and pleading. "Won't you please help Kitsune take care of me? If you do, my body and I will be ever so grateful!"

"Mu-Mutsumi…?! You're here, too! Wow!" the gawking object of her affection stammered, his wide eyes and raised eyebrows once again expanding nearly out of his face at what he was seeing. Furthermore, all pretense at being 'cool' was now gone - the young landlord was frantically clutching at his nose with the thumb and forefinger of his right hand to prevent it erupting twin streams of high-pressure blood, whilst simultaneously trying to hold down his expanding trouser protuberance with the other. Then his lower hand began to scrabble frantically in his left-side pants pocket for the packet of tissues contained within. Keitaro had thought that after his rather wild nights with Su and Motoko, he was becoming partially immune to having nosebleeds at the sight of seductive girls – but that was before the X-rated cosplay peep show he was witnessing right at this very minute.

Well, this is something new – and I think I like it!

"Ah, there you are, ya naughty little bunny," Kit chuckled, carrying on with her part after seeing that events were transpiring exactly as planned with her landlord, specifically the sudden increase in size of the bulge straining upwards at the front of his pants. Not that the grinning girl could entirely blame her landlord for his revealing reaction. Not when Mutsumi was wearing that low-cut, dark-red playboy bunny outfit, complete with fuzzy tail, bow tie, black fishnet stockings and bunny ears, the whole super-erotic ensemble looking as if it had been moulded onto her extremely curvy, big-breasted figure by a shrink-wrapping machine.

Leaning forward, she beckoned invitingly to Mutsumi. "Come here and Ah'll give ya a cuddle too, ya lil' rascal!"

"Mistress!" Mutsumi squealed in delight, remembering her line this time. Hopping forward on all fours, she eagerly pounced, as per her instructions, onto Kitsune, who had moved forward into Keitaro's room and was now 'coincidentally' standing right beside him and his already unfolded futon.

As Mutsumi tackled her, Kitsune's strapless nurse outfit 'accidentally' slipped down her upper body, over her hips and down her legs, leaving the fox girl's lower half clad only in skimpy white pantsu, frilly suspenders, and three-quarter length white fishnet stockings. Pretending to be thrown off balance by the impact, Kit toppled backwards onto her landlord's soft bed, contriving at the same time to pull the befuddled Keitaro down with her, even as he frantically shoved torn wads of tissues from his pants pocket up both of his nostrils. Mutsumi also slipped down on top of both of them, coming to rest between Kit's bare white thighs. As the two very attractive girls snuggled up tightly against each other and him, their lips opened and moved seductively down towards Keitaro's red, steamed-up face.

After just having witnessed the super-erotic sight of 'bunny Mutsumi' stripping off Kitsune's clothes, Keitaro, his heart pounding in his ears like a bongo-drum, and now inescapably trapped between the two cosplaying young woman, gave up on trying to make sense of just what was going on. In this highly-stimulating situation, just going with the flow was obviously the correct course of action for him to take.

So, without further ado, he immediately and enthusiastically did just that. And afterwards, the now remarkably relaxed and blissfully satisfied young man couldn't remember the exact details of what had happened between the three of them during the last frenetic half-an-hour of lovemaking, other than he had definitely enjoyed every last second of it!

And so – judging by the contented expressions on both of their faces – had Kitsune and Mutsumi. Two beautiful girls, whom, only a month-or-two ago, he would never even have dreamed would be wanting him, of all people, so much that they would actually sleep with him to try to win his love.

At long-last, after twenty-one years of suffering, my life is actually worth living...!

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Unknown to all concerned, just as Kitsune and Mutsumi were tackling their now most-willing target down onto his bed, Tama-chan came swooping into the room through Keitaro's open outside window. Dodging assorted items of flying clothing arcing up into the air from the now actively-intertwined, already near-nude trio, the circling turtle remained only long enough to register what was about to happen. Then, unseen and unsuspected by the occupants, Tama-chan hurriedly departed again via the slightly-ajar hallway door for his next destination – a certain jungle room and it's impatiently waiting occupant.

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"Oh, darn it all," Su muttered to herself, once her flying stealth spy had settled down on her tousled head and delivered the bad news to her. "I knew that I shoulda sent you down for a look-see before Motoko Love-Love left to go get ready to visit Kei-Baby, Tama-chan, not after! Even though she's gonna be dressed for the occasion, there's no-way that poor Motoko's gonna be able to pry Keitaro away from Kitsune and Turtle Lady now."

"Crap! Bang goes our plan to stay the night in his room with him! Motoko was really looking forward to it, too. And now I won't be able to join them in bed later on tonight, either!"

Su let out a loud sigh of disappointment. And then, with a resigned look on her normally cheerful face, she quickly jumped to her feet.

"I'd best go tell Motoko the bad news right now, before she heads off and catches them all in the act. Oh, yeah? And I'll let Shinobu know, too. 'Cause if she does call in with tea and snacks to good old Kei-Baby's room at nine, like she said she would, and see's what's going on in there, she'll probably wind up having a heart attack!"

"Shoot! This is getting serious, Tama-chan! Fox lady and Turtle lady are some serious competition, especially now they're dressing up in sexy cosplay outfits and putting out! If we wanna keep Kei-Baby all to ourselves and marry him, Motoko and I are gonna have to up our game, too!"

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One floor down from Su's room, Keitaro lay back, panting, on his futon. His two companions, their very well-endowed chests heaving for air, likewise sprawled out on either side of him. All three exhausted participants were covered in sheens of sweat from their just-concluded physical exertions, and were now letting the autumn night air cool their bodies down to a respectable temperature once again.

And on Keitaro's well-used futon, the topic of his two visitor's outré attire was, coincidentally, just about to become their topic of conversation.

"Hey, Kitsune-san, I thought you were going to wear your 'French maid' uniform tonight," the totally-nude Mutsumi asked of her equally naked girlfriend. The turtle girl had finally noticed just what outfit her partner had been wearing, which was at variance with the plan they had both hatched earlier on. "Why the sudden change of costume, if I may ask?"

"Ah was gonna wear my maid outfit," Kitsune responded from Keitaro's opposing side, an annoyed look crossing her face as she thought back to the reason why. "But it's gone! 'Kendo Kook' musta broke into my room and stole it while Ah was covering for Goth girl down at reception after lunch! So Ah had to wear this nurse outfit instead. But it suits me just as well, don'tcha think?"

Mutsumi rolled over and sat up, her impressive bust bouncing as she did so, to smile and nod down with approval at the reclining fox girl. "Yes. Yes, it does, Kitsune. And you looked great in it, too!"

And you look even better out of it! Yummy! She added to herself. Kitsune is quite well-endowed, isn't she?

Kitsune grinned back, her half-closed eyes drinking in Mutsumi's ample charms. "Thanks, gal. Almost as good as you looked in that bunny outfit."

"Fu, fu! I'm glad that you and Kei-kun thought so. But it was rather tight on me, so I'm glad to be out of it again."

So am I, Kitsune silently agreed. Damn, you're stacked in all the right places, aren't ya? A gal like you could almost make me give up on guys - almost that is! Hehe!

Fu, fu! And now that I am out of my clothes, what shall I do to get Kitsune and Kei-kun in the mood again? Mutsumi then thought. Hmmm? Oh, I know! Doing this will turn them both on...!

From his position between the two big-breasted girls, the well-satisfied Keitaro's ears had perked up at Kitsune's prior mention of Motoko.

What was that Kitsune just said? Motoko in a maid's outfit? He silently repeated, dropping off into a momentary daydream at that delicious thought, his half-open mouth involuntarily drooling at the corresponding visual that had popped into his mind. Mmmmm! I'd love some 'full service' from Kendo girl, dressed like that – especially with her feather duster tickling my-!

Keitaro abruptly twitched and his eyes snapped back open as a sudden tingling sensation of rapidly-building pleasure from between his legs snapped his thoughts back into the real world.

Uhh! What-?

Oh! Mutsumi's taken me in her mouth! She's giving me another – ahh! Yeahhh... That's it, Mutsumi - don't stop what you're doing! Geez, that feels so good-!

Keitaro flopped his head back down onto his pillow, and an involuntary grimace of pleasure appeared on his pink-tinged, still-sweaty face as the turtle girl's lips and tongue continued to massage the most sensitive part of his anatomy with increasing vigor. The young ronin now knew for sure that Mutsumi was on a par with Su with her skill and enthusiasm at carrying out her current self-appointed task, which was saying something. For, during his last tryst with the seductive Molmol teen, Kaolla hadn't just kept him up nearly all night; she had kept him up nearly all night.

Before long, Keitaro's curiosity at Mutsumi's inexplicable erotic expertise got the better of him, and he resolved to find out for himself just how this could have come about. After she had finished blowing him off, of course!

I'm not in that much of a hurry to find it out – uhh! Oh, god, this feels too good! I can't hold it in for much longer. I'm sorry Mutsumi, I'm gonna shoot-!

Once this had happened, and he had recovered his breath from his latest mind-numbingly pleasurable experience, Keitaro wiped the multiplicity of newly-returned sweat-drops from his forehead and spoke up.

"Um, Mutsumi, I've got a rather personal question to ask you. How exactly did you become so good at – urm! At…well…this?"

"He means 'at sex'," Kitsune supplied for the turtle girl's benefit, her pearly whites showing in a grin as she noticed Mutsumi pause in mid-suck, a confused expression appearing on her face. "And Ah'd like to know that, too, actually. You sure seem to know what you're doin' in the sack, don'tcha?"

Mutsumi looked surprised at the compliment paid to her. She finished swallowing, then her lips released the tip of Keitaro's manhood and she raised her head up to ask, "Who, me? Am I really that good, you guys?"

"Yes." They chorused back. "You really are! So, spill!"

"Oh? Well, thank you both so much for saying so! I had no idea – I always thought that I was pretty poor in bed."

"What in the heck makes you think that?" Keitaro squawked, finding the energy to lean forward in his surprise. "You're whack in the sack!"

"What he said," Kitsune laughed, amused at the expressions on both of her companion's faces. "So, out with it, gal! Ah've a feeling that there's one hell of a story behind this!"

Mutsumi looked undecided for a couple of seconds, then nodded. "Well, I could tell you, I suppose. You see, I do have a confession to make. I have had a bit of previous training with regards to what to do in bed with a man."

After hearing that admission, this time it wasn't just Keitaro who leaned forward with an astonished look on his face.

"You have? When?" Kitsune and Keitaro simultaneously gasped out. Both were harboring sincere doubts that they had heard their friend's just-concluded statement correctly.

"Um? Some time ago, now," Mutsumi answered. "It happened not long after I met you and Narusegawa-san in when you and she were taking your break after failing your Tokyo U exams last year, Kei-kun."

"Not long after you and I had parted our ways the first time we met up, I had another fainting spell. But before I could hit the pavement, a nice man, who just happened to be passing by at the time, caught me in his arms. After asking me if I was alright, he then invited me back to his apartment to rest until I was feeling a little better. I was still feeling a little faint at the time, so of course I went along."

"Carry on," Keitaro demanded, an alarmed expression quickly replacing his previous incredulous one. "What happened then?"

"Once we were inside his apartment, and he had locked his door for privacy, he took off my clothes. 'To check me for bruises,' he said. I must have looked terrible, because while he was examining me, his face was all sweaty, he was shivering, and he kept licking his lips for some strange reason."

I'll bet you he was, Keitaro thought. But not for the reason that you just gave me, Mutsumi!

"My savior then asked me if I had a boyfriend," the turtle girl continued. "I told him, no, that I hadn't. I then mentioned to him that there was a boy whom I really liked - you, Kei-kun - but that I didn't know what to do to get you to like me."

Uh, oh, Kitsune told herself, wiping at the large moisture bead that was rapidly expanding on her forehead. Ah can already see where this is going. Talk about leaving the guy an opening to exploit! Don't tell me you actually agreed to...?!

A moment later, her worst fears were confirmed.

"Well, when he heard my admission, the man offered to train me up in how to please you, Kei-kun. When I heard him say so, I couldn't believe my good fortune! I wasn't very experienced with boys at the time, not having had a boyfriend before, you see? So I was delighted to say 'yes' to his offer of instruction."

You did WHAT?! Keitaro and Kitsune mentally shouted at their incredibly naïve friend, cold sweat flying from both pale foreheads as they did so.

"But when it came to him testing me out in bed, I am sorry to say that I failed quite badly," Mutsumi then sadly admitted, her eyes downcast, before either one of her huge-eyed audience of two could say anything out loud to her. She sighed ruefully, a trace of disappointment at her poor first effort in her tone. "I must have been really bad at sex, alright, because as we were doing it, he suddenly cried out something incomprehensible and nearly passed out on top of me – with disappointment, no-doubt."

Not yet noticing the increasingly dumbfounded expressions that the shocked-speechless Keitaro and Kitsune were giving her, a forlorn look then appeared on Mutsumi's innocent-looking face. "I knew that I was right about my awful first attempt at being a lover when the man quickly asked me to stay right there in his apartment to practice sex some more with him. I really did have a lot to learn about how to properly satisfy a man in bed, didn't I?"

Keitaro's mouth was wide open, but somehow he couldn't quite find the right words to say to her at that moment in time.

"Well, it was one of my dreams to become really good at sex for if-or-when I finally got together with you as your girlfriend, Kei-kun. I also knew that for me to do so would require a lot of practice on my part, so of course I agreed to his suggestion. So for the next week I practiced what he was teaching me with him several times every day, usually first thing in the morning, at lunchtime, as soon as he got home from his job, and at least once just after bedtime. I really tried hard to improve my techniques, and I think that I was making good progress, too. But then something really strange happened that cut my lessons short."

"Wha – what was that, then, Mutsumi…?" the gob-smacked Keitaro finally managed to croak out, yet another huge bead of sweat forming on his forehead at the mind-boggling tale he was hearing.

"Well, one day, just after my instructor got home from work, there was a sudden, loud knocking at the apartment door. When he answered it, several policemen were waiting there, and they grabbed him. Then they took him away in handcuffs and I never saw him again."

A puzzled look appeared in Mutsumi's eyes, and she scratched at the back of her head. "I have absolutely no idea why. Maybe the police arrested him because he had a lot of unpaid parking tickets, or something?"

As the perplexed Mutsumi stopped speaking, Kitsune and Keitaro's wide eyes met in a knowing glance, their pale and sweaty faces radiating utter disbelief at the turtle girl's unworldly innocence.

What does she mean, 'absolutely no idea why'?! They simultaneously thought.

"Um…Sweetie?" Kit began, taking Mutsumi's hands in hers, her tone gentle and soothing as if she was talking to a child. "The cops hauled him in because he was – Ah, how shall Ah break this to ya gently? Lessee now – let's just say – he was a pervert taking advantage of you!"

"He was? But that can't be right," Mutsumi protested, the confused look on her face actually deepening. "Why, he was always the perfect gentleman with me. He was kind enough to let me stay in his apartment free of charge, and train me how to be a better lover for you, Kei-kun. Oh, and you too, now, Kitsune! And he even rewarded me for getting my oral sex with him correct by letting me swallow his-"

"Ah-hem! Yes, we get the picture," Kit hurriedly cut in, sweat flying from her forehead once more. "That's just a lil' too much information for us, Sugah."

"Oh? It was? Well, okay then, Kitsune." Then Mutsumi's usual smile returned, and she let out a merry laugh, an impish look now twinkling in her eyes. "But at least my not-so-good Samaritan had enough time to teach me enough to satisfy my lovers in bed, so he did what he promised me he would do, I guess," she remarked, reaching for a certain protruding part of Keitaro's lower anatomy with one hand, whilst guiding Kitsune's own hands towards her gently swaying right breast with the other. "Fu, fu, fu. So, on the subject of that, now that we've all recovered from our first course, who's for seconds?"

Once the trio's second bout of lovemaking had finally wound down, and all three blissfully satisfied participants had slumped back-first down onto the disheveled futon to relax and recuperate from their latest efforts, Keitaro brought up another subject that had been puzzling him for some time now.

"Um, Mutsumi, I've been meaning to ask you something else. Aunt Haruka told me that you managed to get the second highest score in the whole country this year on your Tokyo University Entrance Exam. So – um? How exactly did you manage to do that? No offense, but out of all of the people that I know, I thought only Naru was capable of pulling off a stunt like that. And she failed that exam! So, what gives?"

"Oh? My test scores, you say." Mutsumi leaned her head forward to look at him and laughed merrily, making the bunny ears that she was still wearing and her hair-antennae bob up-and-down. "Well, do you remember my pencil technique, Kei-kun? I just refined my use of it, that's all. That's my secret."

"But you just write the numbers one-to-six on the flat sides of the pencil, and then roll it to get your multi-choice question answers!" Keitaro yelled out in sudden angst, the look of disbelief once more on his face. "That's no way to answer exam questions!"

"Oh, my? Is that what you think I was still doing? Fu, fu, fu. No, no, Kei-kun. Didn't Ms. Haruka tell you? This time I used my pencil to write my name at the top of my exam papers! I usually forget to do that, you see, and that's why I failed my previous exams, because without my name on them, my papers were invalid. By remembering to write my name on them is how I finally managed to pass."

Floomph!

A startled look appeared on the turtle girl's face as she watched Keitaro and Kit picking themselves up from the floor on their side of the futon, both sporting pained expressions and matching crosses of sticking plaster on their foreheads for the third time that evening.

"Oh my! You two are particularly clumsy tonight, aren't you?" she observed. "Goodness! Have you both been drinking-?"

"That wasn't the reason we fell over again!" Keitaro grumbled, composing himself with an effort. He forced a smile back onto his face. "Oh, never mind. Congratulations on getting into Tokyo U, Mutsumi, however you managed to do it."

So that's the real reason why Mutsumi failed her previous attempts to get into Toudai? And this time she managed to get the second-highest score in the whole country! Wow! If she did that, then Mutsumi must have answered nearly one-hundred percent of the questions correctly! She is obviously far smarter than we ever gave her credit for...!

"Yeah, ditto," Kit agreed, managing a surprised smile as well. "But, apart from Kei's point, there's also another thing about all this that's puzzling me. Since you had already passed the entrance exam last year, Mutsumi, then why in the heck are you wasting time by not going to Tokyo U at all this year?! Shouldn't ya be attending classes, right now, instead of hanging out here at the apartments with us?"

"Hey! Good point, Kit!" Keitaro exclaimed. "Just why aren't you attending Tokyo U this year, Mutsumi?"

"Well, as soon as I found out that I had passed the exams, I registered to confirm my place at Tokyo University before I went back to Okinawa for the break," she explained. "I also let them know that I was going to take this year off school, since there's no real hurry for me to attend, now, is there? I've decided to start at Tokyo University in April next year, so that I can go with you, Kei-kun, and hopefully, Naru, as well. That way we could all attend our classes together, instead of being in separate years."

"Okay, I get that," the nodding Keitaro replied, having wished many times for that very thing to happen, himself. "But that doesn't explain why you are studying so hard in our study sessions here with me at the Hinata Apartments, since you've already got in to Tokyo U and so don't need to pass the entrance exam anymore."

In fact, academically, you must be on a par with Naru. Let's face it; I'm the dense one here. You two are so far ahead of me; I don't even deserve to be in the same study room as you! Waah!

"I study with you because it's fun," the smiling turtle girl assured him. "And to give you encouragement to do your best, Kei-kun! Fu, fu!"

"I see. Thank you for that, Mutsumi. I really appreciate you being here with me, too. Oh! And you too, Kitsune. Yeah!"

"Heh! Good save, Kei," the fox girl smirked, noting with amusement his last-second inclusion of her name. "But we'd best get some sleep in right now," she then reluctantly declared, having just caught a glimpse of the time on Keitaro's bedside alarm clock. "We've all gotta get up in the morning. And you don't wanna be late for your classes tomorrow, especially since you missed out on a whole day of learning today. Keep doing that and you won't be going to Tokyo U with Mutsumi next year, either!"

Actually, I'll be skipping Sasaki Seminar tomorrow, too, Keitaro thought, after voicing his agreement to Kitsune. Aunt Haruka and Granny want me to stay home again, darn it. But I'd best not let Kitsune know that. As much as I enjoy doing this with her, I've got a whole heap of study that I need peace and quiet to do tomorrow. And I guarantee that if she finds out about me being here alone, I won't be likely to get it!

"Oh, and be sure to wake us up if you need anything during the night, Kei," Kitsune added with a wink, Mutsumi nodding eager agreement at her words. "Anything at all, y'hear?"

"Um? Er, yeah. Okay."

'Sigh.' Yep! Yet another sleepless night, here I come!