While Keitaro was busying himself with everyday chores throughout the dorms, Kitsune decided she needed to have a little one-on-one with her dearest friend, someone she cared for like a little sister.  It was important enough that it needed to be addressed sooner or later, and while Kitsune was known for procrastination when it came to certain topics (usually paying her share of the rent and doing her share of house chores), this was important enough that she couldn't bring herself to sit on it any longer.

It was time to have a chat with Naru.

Making her way upstairs and down the hallway, she came upon Naru Narusegawa's bedroom door.  Taking a deep breath, Kitsune made a fist and gently knocked upon the door three times before pausing for a reaction.

"Who is it?" asked Naru from behind the door.

"It's me, Sugar," responded Kitsune in her country girl accent, "Do ya have a minute?"

A moment later, the door opened and before Kitsune stood Naru.  Dressed in her pajamas and wearing her large-framed circular glasses, Naru was rocking the typical "bookworm" look.  When she was at the dorms, she preferred to wear basic loungewear types of clothing, especially when she was busy in her studies and trying to get into Tokyo U like Keitaro was.

"What's up, Kitsune?  Is something wrong?" asked Naru with inherent curiosity.

"Hey Naru, if you're not busy, I need to talk to ya ‘bout something."  Kitsune was trying to be both direct and gentle at the same time.  This was important, but she didn't want to come off as too pushy with Naru on this subject.

"Umm...sure, I guess we can talk for a little bit if you need to.  Do you want me to get us something to drink or maybe a snack or something..." Naru was thrown off by the tone of Kitsune's voice.  It wasn't harsh or unpleasant, but she could tell it was a serious topic the older girl was planning on discussing.

"Nah, I'm good Naru.  If you wanna get something for ya'self, that's fine, but I'm good where I'm at.  I don't need anything, Sugar."  It was typical of Kitsune to give people she was close with cute little nicknames.  Such a thing was her way of showing that she cared in her own "countryfied" way of speaking.

"Uhh...okay then.  Let me just go downstairs and get a drink and some snacks real quick.  Just in case you change your mind." said Naru, curious as to what this conversation would entail.

"Alright then, Naru," said Kitsune with a distant, faraway smile on her face, "I'll be wait'n here for ya."

With that, Naru made her way downstairs and towards the kitchen, grabbing a glass from the cupboard and filling it from a pitcher of ice water.  She then proceeded to grab a wrapped package of puffed rice cakes and a box of cookies.  While Naru usually emphasized eating healthy foods (especially to Keitaro in an almost lecture-like way of speaking), she did indulge once in a while in her guilty pleasures, and she was no stranger to snack foods.  Tucking the snacks in one arm and holding the glass in the hand of her opposite arm, Naru made her way back upstairs and towards her bedroom.

Upon arriving back at her room, Naru placed the snacks by her bedside and held the glass in her hands.  She took a seat on her bed, taking a good, solid gulp of water in the process.  After clearing her throat, she proceeded with being cordial to her guest.

"Sure you don't want anything?" asked Naru, offering one of the snacks she brought up.

"I'm good, Naru.  If I change my mind, I'll ask ya for one, okay?" responded Kitsune.

"Don't even want to go grab the sake bottle?" joked Naru, "I know you usually have a drink in your hand whenever we have talks like these."

"Nah, Sugar, I want to be sober for what we're gonna talk about.  Maybe I'll have a drink later, possibly in the baths tonight if I'm up for a soak.  But right now I want to speak clearly and not be under the influence, that's all."  Kitsune was being very forward right now, which was somewhat out of character for anyone who knew the girl well enough.

The tension in the air was starting to concern Naru.  Whenever the two of them would have talks like this, it was usually Naru who would initiate them.  Normally, she would come to Kitsune's room and Kitsune would be the one to offer snacks or drinks to her fellow dorm neighbor.  After spending hours into the night, the older girl would offer whatever advice she could to help Naru out with her problems, whether it involved school, family life, her love life, or any other topic that ended up coming to mind.

However, this time around, it was Kitsune coming to Naru for something.  That sort of thing has never happened in all the time that Naru had known Kitsune, and what made it all the stranger was that Kitsune was being the serious one between the two of them.  The role reversal had Naru in a somewhat awkward state.  If the older girl was asking her friend for advice, then Naru felt she was going to be grabbing at straws for some answer or solution that would prove satisfactory and truly helpful to her fox-eyed friend.

"So then..."started Naru, trying to break the ice and the awkward silence, "what did you want to talk about, Kitsune?"

There was a momentary silence between the two of them after the question was asked.  Kitsune was taking deep breaths, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to say.  While a part of her was telling her to break this off now before things got weird, or worse.  Still, a mix of both her head and her heart were telling her that this needed to be addressed.  While the reasoning behind it was emotionally based, it was also logical to bring forth this issue with one of the two people who were the central pillars of the whole topic which was about to be discussed.  After a good ten seconds of awkward silence and deep breathing, Kitsune did something she very rarely did:

She opened her eyes.

Granted, her eyes weren't wide open in shock or rage as one might expect.  Given that Kitsune usually had her eyes closed to the point where they looked like narrow slits (similar to that of a cartoon fox), it was rare to be able to see the color of her irises, which at that moment shined a lovely light brown as her eyelids parted open.  Focusing her gaze squarely on Naru, Kitsune asked her a question.

"Naru, how are things between you and Keitaro?"

At the utterance of this question, Naru was taken aback, blushing immediately and seizing up as if she was being accused of cheating on an exam or shoplifting at the mall.  This was a rather odd topic to be bringing up out of the blue.

‘Where is this coming from?' thought Naru before responding.

"Uh...things are...good between us.  We haven't had any ‘pervert episodes' or anything bad like them recently."  By this, Naru meant that Keitaro had not accidentally seen her or someone at Hinata House naked or in a state of semi-nudity, or had accidentally groped, caressed, disrobed, kissed, fondled, or engaged in any untoward physical contact that would warrant a high-powered physical response and send Keitaro through the roof (literally), usually by either Naru or Motoko.

"That ain't what I'm referring to," responded Kitsune, "but on that note, I don't want ya doin' that kind of stuff to him anymore, got me?"  Kitsune had a note of displeasure in her voice at that last part of that statement.

She regretted her part in not doing something to lessen the beatdowns that Keitaro got during his first year or so at Hinata House.  Even moreso, she was thinking back to all the times she blackmailed him into inadvertently groping her bosom of buttocks and threatening to tell Naru or Motoko what just occurred if he didn't give her a pass on rent payments.  The recollection of those memories made Kitsune loathe herself as much as she loathed Naru and Motoko for their overreactions to honest mistakes the poor guy had made in the past.

"Uhhh," said Naru, her mouth slightly ajar at Kitsune's rather blunt request, "o-okay, I mean I try not to hit the guy too much over things like that.  It's just that I don't want him taking advantage of us or any of the other girls who live here so..." Naru felt she had to give some justification for the times she would land a punch to Keitaro's face or a kick to his abdomen and send him either spiraling down the steps of the hill towards the teahouse or high into the sky.

"Take advantage?" interrupted Kitsune, "Keitaro ain't got a lecherous bone in his body!  The fella walks on eggshells ‘round here, especially when it concerns you and Motoko.  I get that he's occasionally seen you, me, or the others in a state of undress every once in a while.  But that ain't no reason to clobber the guy for gettin' a quick eyeful now and then."  Kitsune had apparently found some inner courage to say these things to her best friend, after all these years.

"W-what's gotten into you, Kitsune?" asked Naru with one of her eyebrows cocked in confusion.

"I...I'm sorry, Naru.  I didn't mean to snap at ya like that.  It's just somethin' that's been at the back of my mind now for a while and I felt like I had to get it off my chest."  Kitsune was looking down at her lap, taking a few more deep breaths to calm herself.

"Uhh...it's okay," said Naru, "I mean, like I said, I don't go clocking the guy as much as I used to when he first got here.  He's gotten better at being aware of his surroundings, so he doesn't accidentally walk in on us changing when we head into the baths, and he doesn't grope or caress as much as he used to.  I mean, wouldn't it bother you if you found Keitaro catching a peek of you in your undies or even stark naked?"  Surely Kitsune would agree with her on that sensible point.

"Not in the slightest," responded Kitsune without missing a beat, looking back into Naru's eyes.

"What!?" said Naru with alarm written on her face.

"You heard me," said Kitsune with renewed gusto in her followup, "I wouldn't mind Keitaro catchin' a glimpse of me from time ta time, ‘specially if it made him happy or excited."

"You're saying that the idea of a guy leering at you with a perverted look on his face, or undressing you with his eyes wouldn't bother you in the slightest?"  Naru was both bewildered and confused by Kitsune's declaration.

"I said I wouldn't mind KEITARO lookin' at me like that.  If the guy finds me attractive, I'd be downright flattered, to be honest."  Kitsune wasn't backing down from her declaration.

"Besides," continued Kitsune, "aren't you and Keitaro supposed to be hookin' up by this point?  I remember that you guys smooched after that whole thing with Kanako and the old annex buildin' that happened not so long ago."  Kitsune was referring to the love confession and the kiss that Naru initiated with Keitaro after resolving a love-related curse that Kanako helped spur to break up Keitaro and Naru, with the hopes of Kanako claiming Keitaro for herself.

"Ya land a big ole smooch on the fella, so I figure ya basically are committed to him.  Am I wrong?" inquired Kitsune, now having Naru on the defensive.

‘She's got a point there,' thought Naru in embarrassed self-reflection.  She DID smooch Keitaro after a confession where she was blushing like a fully ripened tomato.  They even briefly caressed one another in the process; Keitaro's hands on her back and hips while Naru combed her fingers through his hair and along his neck and upper back.  The moment certainly was a jump forward in their relationship, and by most standards of dating, that should have made it clear right there and then that Keitaro belonged to Naru.

However, given Naru's tsundere-like nature, while she did love Keitaro very, very much, she still had difficulty proclaiming her love, both to him and in the presence of others.  Beyond the occasional kiss, the two had hardly been intimate in any other way.  They would study together, watch movies together, go out on walks when the weather was nice or go out for dinner together when it was convenient, but aside from spending extra time bonding, the two of them had yet to get intimate when it came to matters of the bedroom and lovemaking.  Naru wasn't sure if Keitaro simply wasn't emotionally ready to take their relationship to the next level or if he was just shy, but it made Naru ponder why they haven't taken things to that next level by now.  Was she going to have to make the first move, just like that time she kissed him?  Was she brave enough to take that kind of initiative?

"Look, Kitsune," responded Naru, "Keitaro and I ARE a couple now.  It's just that...these kinds of things shouldn't be rushed, you know?"  Naru was trying to make her case while fighting that blush of embarrassment on her cheeks.  Despite having kissed a man, she was still very innocent when it came to matters of intimacy and lovemaking.

There was another pause from Kitsune, followed by a deep breath and another question:

"Naru...are you still in love with Keitaro?"  The tone in Kitsune's voice was dead serious now.

Staring wide-eyed at her best friend, Naru looked long and hard into the windows of the woman's soul.  Where was this line of questioning coming from?  What had spurred Kitsune to talk about something like this?  And why was she so interested in Naru's lovelife all of a sudden?  It was so out of the blue for the easygoing party girl that was Mitsune Konno.

"I...I do love him," said Naru trying to keep it together emotionally, "I'm smitten with that dummy.  I just wish he would be more...I don't know...assertive with me from time to time.  He's so cautious around me whenever I'm just trying to kiss him or snuggle with him in the bedroom or on the couch.  He acts like a frightened deer sometimes when he's around me, and I don't like that."

"And where do you think that kind of behavior came from, Naru?" inquired Kitsune, once more putting the younger girl against the wall with her questioning.  "Keitaro's a shy guy to begin with.  He ain't the type of fella who's gonna get fresh with a girl and try to get into her pants at the first opportunity, ya know.  That's one of the things I li-"  Kitsune briefly cut herself off before she divulged any more than need be said.

"One of the things you what?" asked Naru, confusion and curiosity in her voice and on her face as she caught Kitsune's potential verbal blunder.

"Nevermind," muttered Kitsune, "What I'm talkin' about is that whenever Keitaro would accidentally - and I do mean ACCIDENTALLY - snatch a quick peek at one of us wearin' little or nothin' or mistakenly cop a handful of someone's boob or tushy, then either you or Motoko would lay in on him and give him a whoopin' that most fellas wouldn't recover from as quickly.  I mean, if I were Keitaro, I'd probably be frightened that you'd send me to the moon with an uppercut if I said or did somethin' that would set ya off.  It's a small wonder he tries to stay in a relationship with ya, given how ya've treated the guy in the past."  It wasn't in Kitsune's nature to give a lecture, but as far as she was concerned, this needed saying.

Hearing all this from one of her closest friends caught Naru off guard.  While she was studying to get into a university, she wasn't expecting a lecture this evening.  It upset her as much as it did surprise and confuse her.  While Naru was tempted to lay into it with Kitsune and have a verbal back-and-forth with the older girl, something was nagging at the back of her mind:

What was Kitsune about to say before cutting herself off mid-sentence?

There was another momentary pause of awkward silence before Naru picked up the conversation once more:

"Kitsune?" she asked.

"Yes, Naru?" responded Kitsune.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you bringing this up with me now?"

"What do ya mean?"
"You know what I mean.  What made you feel the need to come to my room and have this conversation?  Why did you want to talk about Keitaro?  And lastly, what were about to say before you cut yourself short?"  At the end of this line of questioning, Naru takes off her glasses and stares Kitsune directly in the eye.

Kitsune figured that this moment was going to come out sooner or later.  Naru was always a very studious type, which is part of the reason she was trying to get into a university after all.  She wasn't looking forward to this happening, but the band-aid had to get ripped off sooner or later.  Taking another deep breath, Kitsune responded.

"I need sake." she said bluntly.

"Huh?" said Naru, caught off guard by the verbal pivot.

"Just wait right here, Naru.  I'll be right back.  Don't go nowhere," said Kitsune as she stood up and made her way out the room.  She darted quickly to her own bedroom and broke out a fresh bottle of sake and a whiskey glass.  Normally she would drink sake out of an ochoko or in a shot glass, but for this occasion, she needed a larger glass in this emotionally charged moment.  She was going to need a healthy dose of ‘liquid courage' for what she was about to do.

Making her way back into Naru's bedroom, Kitsune sat back down, placed the sake bottle at her side, and uncorked the bottle.  In one swift motion, she poured herself two shots' worth of sake into the glass, corked the bottle, grabbed the glass, and downed the liquid in two seconds flat.  After a very pronounced sigh of exhalation, Kitsune regained her composure and stared directly at Naru once more.

"Naru, do you feel...regret...for what you've done to Keitaro?" asked Kitsune with rosiness on her cheeks from fresh alcohol consumption.

Once again, Naru was taken back by the somewhat accusatory nature of Kitsune's questioning.

"For what I've done to him?"  she asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"For the punches, kicks, blows, slaps, body throws, wrestlin' moves, and other physical attacks you've thrown at him over the months?  I've seen the bruises that he's nursed from them.  I've seen the blood runnin' down his nose or outta his mouth from them attacks.  The black eyes, the casts on his arm or legs, the arm in the sling, the crutches he would use, the bandages wrapped around his head or torso...I've seen plenty.  And over time I...I...I just couldn't turn a blind eye to it no more.  I know that Keitaro can bounce back from pretty much anythin' you or Motoko would throw at time, but that ain't the point!  He...he deserves better than that!  He's a human bein' and he shouldn't hafta worry regularly over whether he's gonna get a whoopin' or not for things that ain't his fault!"  Kitsune found herself getting winded from all the grievance she had bottled up at this point.  It wasn't in Keitaro's nature to stand up for himself when it came to physical abuse, so Kitsune decided to do so on his behalf.  When the opportunity presented itself, she would have some words for Motoko as well.

From this outburst, Naru was certainly taken aback.  Though she felt that the verbal barrage felt a bit one-sided at this point and decided to return the favor.

"I've abused him?" countered Naru, "I know that you would swindle him out of money when the opportunity presented itself.  Either that or you would try to bribe and blackmail him into not collecting your share of the rent.  You think I don't know the tricks you'd pull on him when it comes to money?  All the times you'd ‘borrow' money from him for sake or gambling and never paying him back, even when you won?  All the moments you'd grab his hand and place it on your breast or ass and strongarm him into rent forgiveness or else you'd declare sexual harassment?  You think you're so innocent in all of this?  Maybe you don't raise a fist against him, but I know that you'd resort to conniving trickery to get something out of him!  So don't try to take the moral high road on me, Kitsune!"

By now, both women were panting after letting out their opinions on the other woman's faults regarding Keitaro.  While both were red in the face from ranting in each other's direction, there was a double meaning behind the redness in their faces.

In the obvious sense of the word, each woman felt that she was justified in pointing out the other one's character flaws.  Naru was violent at times; Kitsune was manipulative at times.  Naru hit Keitaro; Kitsune swindled him out of money.  Naru belittled Keitaro for his supposed perverted nature; Kitsune blackmailed him with false claims of sexual harassment.  Each woman had felt it only just to belittle the other in the heat of the moment.

But then the other meaning set in for each woman as well.  A sense of regret for how the two of them mistreated their dorm manager.  When the fires of passion began to die down after the ranting was through, a moment of self reflection had set it for the two of them.

‘She's right,' thought Naru, ‘I've been violent with him.  I've hit him several times ever since his arrival at Hinata House.  I've punched and kicked more times than I can count.  If it was anyone else who was on the receiving end, would they still be alive?  Would they still be as physically fit as Keitaro would turn out after healing from it all?  Why couldn't I just control myself and not hit him so much?  Why am I so quick to jump to conclusions and take it out on him?  Why am I so...so...messed up?'

‘She's gotta point,' thought Kitsune, ‘I've been a huckster with the poor guy.  I've weaseled him outta money plenty of times by now, sometimes just to scratch that gamblin' itch of mine.  If it were anyone else, would they have put up with that kinda behavior?  I'd probably be out on my ass after the second time tryin' ta bail outta rent payments and house chores.  And yet he never did anythin' like that.  He'd groan and whine about how I was bein' about it all, but he never took action against me.  He's too kind and gentle for his own good.'

At this point, both women were starting to tear up, feeling at their emotional lowest in a long time.  And it just so happened to be over the same man in the process.  At the end of their period of self-reflection, each woman came to the same personal conclusion:

‘He deserves better than me, and I'm going to make it up to him.'

Both Naru and Kitsune faced each other once more, now with tears in their eyes.  The verbal throwdown had done its job and each woman felt like a real piece of crap in her moment of self-reflection.  Each girl silently swore to herself that she would start to do right by Keitaro and make his life less difficult as manager at Hinata House.

"Kitsune?" asked Naru, wiping the snot from her nose.

"Yeah, Naru?" responded Kitsune, wiping tears from the edge of her eyes.

"What are your feelings towards Keitaro?"

It was Kitsune's turn to be on the defensive.  After another momentary pause, she reached for the sake bottle, poured another shot's worth of liquor, downed it instantly, then put aside the bottle and took another deep breath before responding.

"Do you really wanna know, Naru?"

Naru's eyes widened at this response.  Could it really be what she was surmising?  After that little cutoff in Kitsune's conversation earlier, Naru had strong suspicions as to what this conversation was alluding to.

"Do you...I mean...are..." Naru clears her throat and downs the entire glass of water, her throat feeling particularly dry after this very emotionally testing round of Q and A with Kitsune.  After finishing the glass, Naru resumes with her question.

"Kitsune, are you in love with Keitaro?"

There was a moment's pause as Kitsune looked down into her lap, fresh tears forming in the corners of her eyes.  After another deep breath, the older girl decided it was ‘put up or shut up' time.

‘Now or never, I suppose,' thought the fox-eyed woman.

"I...I...I think I'm fallin' for him, yeah."

That statement made Naru's eyes - still red and puffy from her temporary bout of crying - renew themselves with fresh tears as they widened.  The admission from her best friend threw Naru's emotional state for a loop, as if it were riding a bucking bronco and had just been tossed a solid ten feet through the air in the process.

"Why?" asked Naru.

"I...I think it's a few reasons, Naru," responded Kitsune.

"What are they?"

"For one, I feel bad for how I've treated the guy.  I hate myself for usin' him to get ahead when it came ta money.  At the time, I didn't think too much about it.  But as I saw how he treated me despite it all, I...I dunno...I felt a crisis of conscience, I guess you could call it.  I felt regret for all the times I took advantage of him, knowin' I'd get away with it.  It made me feel...dirty.  Like a bad girl.  And I saw that in myself and I wanted to change it...to make it up to him an' let him know I'm sorry for what I did."  Kitsune was calm in her vocal delivery, but still the tears were gently strolling down her cheeks.

"And the other reason?" continued Naru.

"The other reason is simpler, to be honest," responded Kitsune, "Keitaro's a nice guy.  He ain't some macho, bullheaded type who tries to control a woman.  He also ain't some playboy type like that Kentaro fella who tried to hit on ya back in the day, rememba?"

At this recollection, Naru nodded her head in agreement.  Kentaro wasn't the most chauvinistic of men she had ever met, but he certainly tried to lay on the whole ‘Casanova' vibe about himself a little thick, usually resorting to using his money in the process.

"Keitaro is sweet, understandin', goofy, patient, reliable, and kind.  Sometimes, his kindness is too much for a girl to bear, ya know?"  Kitsune had loosened up somewhat after getting things off her chest and a little boost of courage from the sake.

"I know what you mean," chuckled Naru in agreement, "The poor guy just needs to have a little more confidence in himself.  I wish he'd stop apologizing so much and grow a little backbone from time to time.  Don't get me wrong, I love that goofy, helpful personality of his.  I just want him to be a little more firm in how he responds to things sometimes, you know?"

"I do, Sugar, I do," chuckled Kitsune in response before continuing, "Ya know, it's kinda funny, ain't it?"

"What is?" asked Naru.

"Fallin' for the same guy, again?"

At this point, Kitsune was referencing Noriyasu Seta - a man who Naru and Kitsune met during their highschool years and developed a strong schoolgirl crush for.  While Naru revealed to Kitsune that she had strong feelings for Seta, Kitsune decided to keep her feelings for the man hidden from everyone, Naru included.  She wanted the younger girl to have a chance to find romance, even if it was with a significantly older man.

After Seta gently turned down Naru, stating plainly but sincerely that he didn't see her in a romantic light, but more as a little sister or perhaps a daughter even.  To Seta, Naru was someone to protect and nurture into a fine young woman, but she would never be someone he would see as a lover.  By that point, he was going through his emotional roller coaster with Haruka and Julia, and had hit his emotional low during and after Julia's sickness episode.  It was after Seta turned down Naru that Kitsune admitted to Naru that she had strong feelings of romance for the man too.

After Keitaro's arrival as manager of Hinata House, both of the girls ended up finding a new target for their affections.  While Keitaro had some traits similar to Seta, he was still his own man, and each woman loved him - and fell IN love with him - for it.

"I guess it is, in a way." responded Naru, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes before continuing, "So where does that leave us?"  She was referring to herself and Kitsune at this point.

"Friends," responded the older woman, "and rivals, I suppose."

"Rivals?" asked Naru, cocking an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Don't get me wrong, Naru," elaborated Kitsune, "I don't intend on playin' dirty or actin' mean to get what I want.  If Keitaro ends up stayin' with ya and want'n for ya two to be exclusive, then I'll respect that.  I want him to be happy, and I also want you to find happiness too.  But if things don't work out in the end between ya two, then I think I'll take a shot and bein' there for the guy.  I owe it to him to make up for all the times I've deceived him or taken advantage of his kindness and generosity.  I want to be there for him to pick him up when times are hard, ya know?  Help ease the burden and all that."

"Well," responded Naru, "I think I get your meaning behind it all.  That being said, I don't intend to give up without a fight.  I'm going to do better by him too.  I'm gonna stop jumping to conclusions and assume the wrong thing whenever one of his...you know...'accidents' occur from now on.  I'll help him around the dorms more often and try to get him to notice me more...as a woman...scratch that, as a woman in love.  I DO love him, I really, really do...and I want him to know how much I care about him.  I just need to ease him into things.  It's like you said, Keitaro's reluctant to take the first step and initiate the more...romantic parts of the relationship.  So it's probably gonna fall onto me to take things further."

So it was that these two women had reconciled their personal shortcomings when it came to the manager of the Hinata House.  Amazingly, they ended up staying close friends, even though they were now also love rivals as well.

"You know," said Kitsune, "we're not the only ones who've crushed pretty hard on the guy."

"Shinobu?" inquired Naru.

"Her...and Motoko, I'm pretty sure."

"Motoko?" asked Naru with some skepticism.

"She tries to hide it, but I've noticed that she's turned into soft butter around the fella over time.  Especially after that whole incident with her older sister.  She blushes and stutters pretty bad at times whenever she spends more than a few minutes with Keitaro.  It's kinda cute to see ‘Little Miss Stoic' get all girly and delicate whenever she's with him.  But jokin' aside, I'm pretty sure she's got love sickness for him as well."

"So that makes two other love rivals for us then." said Naru.

"Don't forget Mutsumi and Kanako either.  You personally know how bad Kanako has it for Keitaro.  And Mutsumi certainly acts like a wife around the guy half the time as it is."

Naru nodded deep in agreement at that little add-on to the conversation.  She had spent enough time with both Mutsumi and Kanako to know that each woman had the hots for Keitaro.  There were enough bedtime talks between Naru and Mutsumi alone to confirm Naru's suspicions about the airheaded Okinawan girl, especially over talks about Keitaro's ‘promise girl' from his early childhood days.  And as for Kanako, even though she was technically Keitaro's sister, that little tidbit of information seemed to do nothing to curb Kanako's outright admiration for Keitaro.  Upon learning that the two of them weren't blood relatives, that only spurred on Kanako to pursue Keitaro with even more passion and gusto than before.

"So that makes six of us then?  Great." said Naru with comical sarcasm on the last word.

"There's also a few other gals I've considered."  followed up Kitsune with more potential rivals.

"Really?" said Naru with incredulity, "Who else would be interested in Keitaro?"

"Well," began Kitsune once more, "I'm not sure if Kaolla has feelin's or not for Keitaro.  She certainly is friendly with him.  But after that whole ‘red moon' thing with her, I'm not so sure she just likes the guy.  She was gettin' really close with him at times.  Even tried to get a smooch outta him from what I heard."

"It could just be a phase," replied Naru, "Kaolla is still pretty young and discovering herself during her puberty years.  She could just be experiencing a schoolgirl crush which she could grow out of in a year or two."

"I wish I shared your optimism on that, Naru.  I get the feelin' that Kaolla just hides how she really feels about Keitaro behind that childish look she gives off.  And besides, she ain't that much younger than Keitaro.  By the time she's 18, Keitaro would be...what, 23 or 24 years old by then?  It wouldn't be too big an age gap if she was serious about pursuin' him."  Kitsune might have had a valid point, however odd it may have sounded at first.

"I guess we'll see in due time.  But I really hope you're wrong about Su.  I really don't like the idea of more love rivals.  But who else were you considering?"

"Su's sister." stated Kitsune plainly.

"Amalla?" asked Naru in disbelief.

"When she showed up here when Kaolla was goin' through that whole red moon stuff and that Lamba guy showin' up as well, Amalla seemed to take an interest in Keitaro for a while.  She even tried to elope with Keitaro at one point to keep Kaolla from nabbin' him up and doin' who knows what if they were alone."  Again, Kitsune was making at least somewhat valid points.

"Even if Amalla did have interest in Keitaro, she's now a married woman.  She and Lamba hooked up last I heard, so she wouldn't have a reason to chase after Keitaro now, right?"  Naru was trying to convince herself as much as Kitsune with her counterpoints.  The last thing she wanted was to have to contend with two energetic and seductively exotic girls like the Su sisters, especially Amalla in particular.

There was another pause of reflection after the back and forth of wondering if any other girls had the hots for Keitaro.  It was then broken when Kitsune made a rather surprising proposition.

"Ya know," started Kitsune, "if we wanna keep things...civil...between us girls..."

"Yes?" responded Naru, "What are you thinking about, Kitsune?"  There was a hint of unease in Naru's voice, figuring that the older girl was planning some kind of scheme in the works.

"You know how I feel about the guy, and I know how you feel about him too.  If the other girls really like him...and don't mind sharin'..."

"You can't be serious," countered Naru, "You think that would really work out?  That everyone, myself included, would be okay with that?"

Kitsune merely looked at Naru with raised eyebrows, open eyes, and a slight grin.  Her expression on her face was a silent way of implying ‘yes.'  The act was something that threw Naru for a loop.  Here was her best friend suggesting a multi-partner relationship with the same man as if it were a viable option.  She found herself in a whirlwind of emotions from the very suggestion of such a ‘solution' to the love dilemma they found themselves in.

"You really think polygamy is the answer here?" asked Naru bluntly.

"Technically, polygamy involves marriage.  I'm not includin' marriage in this potential arrangement.  It would be more along the lines of polyamory, or maybe polyfidelity is a more accurate word in this case?"  Kitsune closed her eyes to the usual state she kept them in, still keeping that little fox-like smirk on her face.

"Aren't you splitting grammatical hairs?" asked Naru, "It still involves everyone involved getting...you know...intimate."  At this point, Naru has a blush on her cheeks imagining the idea of multiple people in the same bed, buck naked and embracing one another.  The idea of it made her tingle just a little bit between her legs as she dwelled on the notion.  Before she went down the sexual rabbit hole and entertained the possibility any further, she resumed her line of questioning.

"Wait...so who would be in this ‘solution' you're cooking up?" asked Naru.

"You and me, obviously," began Kitsune, who started uncurling her fingers one by one as she was counting off names, "There'd also be Motoko, Shinobu, Su, Mutsumi, and maybe that Nyamo girl who's stayin' with us right now.  Oh, and of course Kanako."

"Eight women!?" asked Naru with wide eyes and high eyebrows at the final count.

"Yeah," responded Kitsune, "I know that Nyamo's got a crush on Keitaro ever since that visit to them islands we all ended up goin' to.  She don't talk a whole lot, but I can tell by her movements.  She clings to the guy and hugs him like a lover would.  She's got it pretty bad for him.  And of course, if we were to pursue this, Kanako would almost definitely barrel in and make herself a part of it too.  She loves Keitaro bad enough that she would join in on the action whether we were okay with it or not."  Again, Kitsune was making points that had at least some degree of validity.

"Ughh..." groaned Naru, "Mind if I have a swig of that sake?"  The request made Kitsune raise an eyebrow in both surprise and delight.

"Well well well," said the fox-eyed girl with mischievous delight in her tone, "seems that Little Ole Naru has got a partygirl side to her as well."  She handed over the bottle to Naru, who took it and held it up to her lips, taking a good swig from it before setting the bottle back down.  In one motion, she made a distinctively loud gulp as she swallowed a shot's worth of sake, scrunching her eyes tight in the process and exhaling deeply in relief after finishing the shot.

"Thanks," said Naru, "I needed that."

"No problem, Sugar," responded Kitsune, "I think we both needed that."  In Kitsune's case, she was referring to both the sake and the broader talk the two girls just had over the past several minutes.  Both of them needed to address their own personal demons about their past treatment of Keitaro.  After the tears were shed, they both decided to reconcile with themselves and help move forward together as better people.  They would make it up to Keitaro, both out of a sense of redeeming themselves and as young women in love.

In a surprise moment, Naru walked towards Kitsune and embraced the older girl in a very firm hug, their bosoms pressing hard against one another.  The act caught Kitsune off guard, though she returned the act soon after, wrapping her arms firmly around Naru.  The two simply stood there in silence, enjoying the momentary peace of each other's company.

"I'm sorry about the things I said," muttered Kitsune into Naru's ear, "the things about you."

"Don't be," responded Naru, "You were right about me...what I did to him...how I acted...but I'm going to do right by him.  I'm going to be better.  I want him to be happy.  I want to...to...shower him in happiness and make him see me differently, as his...his..." Naru was blushing once more, still innocent on matters of love.
"Girlfriend?" inquired Kitsune with humor in her voice.

"Yeah," responded Naru with her face red like a strawberry, "And I'm sorry for trying to turn things around and lay into you about-"

"Don't," interrupted Kitsune, "I know what I did and I despise myself for it.  But I intend to do right by him too.  I want to be there for him when things get tough.  I want to hold him in my arms and let him cry it out if he's gotta.  I want to be...to be...his woman."  At the very end of that statement, Kitsune found her cheeks warming up from embarrassment.  Even she could be surprised at how bold she could be in her declarations at times.

"So...what does that make us?" asked Naru, wondering where they go from here.

"Friends, rivals, and maybe...partners in crime?" responded Kitsune with a smirk on that last part.

"Partners?" inquired Naru.

"Like I said, dependin' on how things work out between him, us, and the other girls, then maybe we could come to an understandin' on how to make...everyone happy."  Kitsune kept that smirk of hers on her face the entire time.

"Please tell me you are joking about that," pleaded Naru, hoping Kitsune was merely pulling her leg on that suggestion.

This time, Kitsune was the one to surprise Naru.  While they were still embracing in their hug, the older girl tossed the both of them on Naru's bed, with Kitsune on top of Naru.  Pinned underneath her, Naru had a ‘deer in the headlights' look on her face and a raging blush at what had just occurred.  Kitsune hovered over her, her arms propping her up as she loomed over her.  Her whole body was a canopy over the younger woman, her beautiful facial features staring down at Naru's equally impressive ones.  Kitsune's bosom hung pendulosly over Naru, just a few inches from making contact against Naru's slightly smaller bustline.  Those mammaries certainly were quite lovely in their shape, boh firm and delicate as was the case of a woman who was in her early twenties.  Naru had to admit that Kitsune certainly was an outright killer in the looks department.  She could probably turn a straight girl over to play for the other team with a body as seductive as she had at her disposal, or at least make her bisexual.  It was a small wonder Keitaro would only end up with a minor nosebleed whenever Kitsune would force him to grab one of her breasts or her ass cheeks during her prankish moves to blackmail him or get money out of him somehow.

"Kitsune, what are you do-" said Naru, before she was cut off by none other than Kitsune's lips.

It was a mid-length kiss in terms of time.  Perhaps ten seconds or so had passed before Kitsune removed her lips from Naru's.  Both women simply laid there, Kitsune on top of Naru, staring down at her with a sort of enchanted look in her eyes, now open once more.

"Naru..." whispered Kitsune.

"Yeah?" responded Naru.

"You're a very cute girl, Naru-chan," teased the older woman, "If I had to share in order to be with Keitaro, I wouldn't mind if it was with you."  Both girls had blushes on their cheeks from this statement being made, though Naru's was far deeper than Kitsune's by a good amount.  The younger woman couldn't help but notice that even though she was taken back by the faux tacke onto her bed and the kiss that followed after, she didn't physically object to it.  She could have screamed or fought back in some way, but she didn't.  She simply laid back and let it happen.  In that moment, she couldn't help but think back to the line of a song by the musician Katy Perry:

‘I kissed a girl and I liked it.'

"Umm, Kitsune...could you please get off of me now?" requested Naru, still blushing and somewhat stammering over what had just happened.  The older girl relented and got up and off the bed.  Collecting her sake bottle and drinking glass, she turned towards Naru with a declaration.

"Ya know what we could use?  A nice, long soak in the hot springs!" said Kitsune with the usual cheer in her voice.

"I don't know," said Naru, "It's going to be getting late soon and we don't want to stay out for too long."

"Aww come on," interjected Kitsune, "It's a Friday night, so you can't hide behind school or studyin' to get out of this one.  Come on, we're gonna have ourselves a nice, long soak and let our troubles wash offa us.  Goodness knows we both need it after that little tiff we just had!"  Kitsune wasn't taking no for an answer.  She proceeded to gently tug Naru by the arm and bring her towards the door.

"Ahhh!  Alright then!  I give, I give!  Just let me put my things away and then we can get changed and sit out for a little bit, okay."  Naru was somewhat exasperated by Kitsune's insistence that they go out to the hot springs right away, but felt that there was no real harm in having a brief soak with her best friend for a little bit.  A temporary dip in the baths would do her mind some good along with her body.

"Alright then, Naru," said Kitsune with a big smile on her face, "I'm gonna head over to my room and get my things, then we're off to the springs, Sugar!  I'm gonna bring another bottle, just in case!"

"Please, let's keep the drinking to a minimum out there!" insisted Naru with a groan, hoping Kitsune would manage to keep her liquor intake to a moderate level tonight.

With that, the two women were soon enough heading off towards the hot springs for some more girl time.