Confessions

Chapter 8

A/N: I don't own Love Hina or its characters. Ken Akamatsu is the lucky one on that.

(Side note) Far too long has it been in between chapters. Sorry for the delay my loyal readers. This will be my last chapter for this story.

It has been a fun ride. I hope you all enjoyed it as well. Please keep in mind that even though this story is over, my others will continue. So keep watch.

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It took a few hours, but practically the entire Inn was decorated. To Keitaro, it looked rather beautiful. He knew this would be a special party. And he was going to make sure of that.

He was currently standing in the living room, looking at the decorations.

One thing that he neglected to tell the others was that he wasn't completely keeping himself sheltered away the previous week. In fact, he had taken a part-time job at night to raise up enough money to do what he so desperately wanted to do.

That could wait for later though. For right now, he just wanted to enjoy this while he could.

"This...I could get used to" he really didn't mean to say it out loud, but he did and one person did happen to hear it.

"Get used to what per...ummm...Keitaro...?"

Naru. She almost slipped into her old routine, but valiantly held it back.

Keitaro turned slowly after being caught.

"What?" he asked stupidly.

Naru laughed a little at him. She had to admit, he did kind of look cute with that clueless expression on his face.

"You said you could get used to this....and I asked what it was. Got it now?" Keitaro would have taken that as an insult to his intelligence if it weren't for the wide grin on Naru's face.

"Oh yeah...sorry. I was a little distracted. So, to answer your question, I can't really explain what it is I feel now. All I know is that when I look around, I see....I guess you can call it…love! I can almost see it. Like it was a physical thing, 'know what I mean?

Naru was shocked. She could never remember him being so self assured. And he was able to get through the explanation without even stuttering once. In a way though...what he had said made a lot of sense.

All Naru could do was nod her head. She was still too shocked to speak. This was a whole new Keitaro.

And…she was liking it a whole hell of a lot.

Keitaro smiled at her. A true smile at that. It made her feel warm inside.

"I'm sorry Keitaro..." This took him completely by surprise.

Was Naru apologizing?

Now, he had a good idea on what for, but he wanted to be sure.

"Sorry for what, Narusegawa?" He gave her an expectant look.

The brunette didn't hesitate, closing her fist over her chest, looking at him directly in the eyes.

"Everything...and I mean…EVERYTHING" there was a lot of conviction in her voice. That left Keitaro with absolutely no doubt about her sincerity.

He closed his eyes for a moment, crossing his arms over his chest. After a moment of silence, he spoke.

"I believe you, Narusegawa" he didn't open his eyes as he continued, though. "You know very well…I should hate you for all the pain and suffering you've caused me" Naru winced. "But I can't do it" she gasped as her eyes widened.

Keitaro's eyes opened and he gave her a smile.

"I want you to know…that I'll always be there for you. Just like I'll be for them" he spread his arms wide, inviting her.

Naru stood silent for a few seconds, until she cried out "Keitaro!" and leapt into his arms, nearly knocking the air out of him, wrapping her arms around him.

There was nothing else to explain.

It was at this point, that Narusegawa had truly fallen in love with the ronin.

The two embraced for a silent moment, until Naru began whispering, just loud enough for Keitaro to listen…

"K-Keitaro…I…I know this maybe isn't the best time…but I…I can't help it. I think I finally…found out why all the others have given you their love…I…I was…I was SO blind before…but I finally see, now…Keitaro, please…I…I lo-love…I love you…so much. I think…I think I always did."

Keitaro closed his eyes and let out a content, understanding hum. He stroked Naru's hair softly.

The brunette took a step back and smiled, drying her reddish, moist eyes off with her sleeve.

"Oh, and by the way, Keitaro. Mutsumi-san is awake. She wants to see you" she informed him and then walked away, heading upstairs.

Keitaro watched her walk away, before making his way to the Okinawan's room.

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Once he was out of the room and out of earshot, a grinning Kitsune and a teary-eyed Shinobu stepped out another door leading into the living room.

"So, Naru-chan finally let it out.'Bout time, eh, kiddo?" she chuckled and ruffled Shinobu's hair. The bluenette merely sniffed and rubbed her eyes.

He knocked twice on Mutsumi's room door. He received a soft but cheerful "Come in!" and a "Myuh!". He sweat dropped as he opened the door.

Sitting on her futon was the Okinawan, and on top of her head was Tama-chan.

"Hey there, Mutsumi-chan. I see you've got some company" he chuckled as Tama-chan raised a flipper in salute.

"Myuh!" the turtle replied. Mutsumi giggled. Keitaro walked over to her and sat down cross-legged next to her. He gave her a smile and brushed a few loose locks of chocolate brown hair away from her face, making her blush in the process.

"How're you feeling?" he asked. She returned his smile with one of her own.

"Ara ara, I'm just fine. That nap did me good" she replied. Keitaro chuckled.

"I see. Still, that was a little scare you gave us, passing out like that. Anyway, you wanted to see me? Do you need anything?" he asked curiously.

Still smiling, Mutsumi reached up and grabbed Tama-chan.

"Myuh myuh, myuh myuh myuh, myuh" she said to the hot springs turtle.

"Myuh!" was her reply and then took to the air from Mutsumi's hands, flying out the open door.

Keitaro watched the exchange with a massive sweat drop.

"Err…I don't think I want to know" he said nervously. Mutsumi chuckled.

"Everyone in my family can speak Turtleleese. It's very easy to understand" she explained with a raised index finger. Keitaro laughed heartily.

"So, what did you tell her?" he asked.

"I told her to go fetch Naru-chan." She said with a smile. A question mark appeared over Keitaro's head. Before he could ask why, the plank wood that covered the hole in the ceiling opened and Naru climbed down.

"Narusegawa" Keitaro greeted her with a smile. She blushed and uttered a "Hi". She then walked over to them and kneeled next to Mutsumi's bedding, opposite to the male ronin.

"So, did you need anything, Mutsumi-chan?" Naru asked. The other girl nodded with a smile.

"Ara ara, now that we're together, I want to finish what I was going to say before I fainted" she explained. She let it sink in before speaking again.

"You see…Kei-kun" she began, looking at the aforementioned ronin. "15 years ago…you made a promise to a girl that the 2 of you would meet again in Tokyo-U. Now…first of all, that girl…was me" she put a hand on her chest. Keitaro's and Naru's eyes widened at the blunt statement. However, she went on before they could speak.

"However! Na-chan" she looked at the other female ronin. "Kei-kun and I met you a couple of days after that and…you took an instant liking to Kei-kun" Mutsumi smiled at the sudden blush that ensued. "I took you to a side, and told you about the promise I made with him. You, being so young...broke down into tears saying how unfair it was. You said you wanted to be Kei-kun's bride when we grew up. Now you have to understand Na-chan that you really didn't know what you were saying.

"So…we played a game." she winked at her.

Naru's eyes widened and her mouth formed a perfect O.

"Paper-rock-scissors!" she said. Mutsumi nodded happily.

Keitaro just looked at the two girls like they had lost their minds.

"That's right. I see you have better memory than Kei-kun." She gave him a glance and saw him sweat drop. "Anyway…the winner would marry Kei-kun when we grew up. I…I knew you would draw paper. You always did. I was about to draw scissors…but I looked you in the eye…and I knew I couldn't do that to you. It would've crushed you to have lost to me. So…I draw rock."

"For a moment, I regretted my decision, but when I saw how happy you were after winning, I knew I had done the right thing. I gave you, Na-chan my Liddo-kun doll as a symbol of our friendship." She watched as realization hit Naru.

"Some time after that, we went our separate ways…And the rest is history" Mutsumi finished with a smile.

A short silence ensued, which was broken by Naru.

"And now…the puzzle is finally complete, isn't it?" she said. Keitaro and Mutsumi nodded.

"It's…well…" he began, scratching the back of his head. "Man, I don't know what to say" he sweat dropped.

"I believe you, Mutsumi-chan. What about you, Keitaro?" Naru said, looking at him. He closed his eyes and smiled.

"Yeah. That's right. I believe, too" and with that, he leaned in and took Mutsumi's and Naru's hands.

"The Promise is what binds us. This is Fate. I have no doubt" Keitaro said, squeezing both women's hands.

"Me neither, Kei-kun" Mutsumi agreed. They both looked at Naru. She looked down for a few seconds and then back up with a radiant smile.

"I believe, too" she said.

"Alright!" Mutsumi separated her hands from the other 2 ronins' and clapped happily. "Kei-kun, I thought I heard you say something about a party?" she asked cheerfully. He sweat-dropped but smiled anyway.

"Ah, yeah. That's right. We are waiting for you to join us, Mutsumi-chan" he informed her.

The busty Okinawan nodded and then Naru and Keitaro, each holding one of Mutsumi's hands, helped her stand up.

"Thank you Kei-kun. Na-chan" and with that, she leaned in and planted a soft kiss on Keitaro's lips and then Naru's. With a giggle at their stunned expressions, she dragged them with her by the hand.

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After everyone had returned with the supplies Keitaro asked for, the party began, AND turned to full swing before you could say "Hoo-rrah!"

They were all sitting in the living room, surrounding a wooden table full with snacks and drinks.

But before taking the first swig of sake of the night, Keitaro rapped on his glass with a spoon to get everyone's attention.

"So! I know you all want to get down to it and party 'til the Devil's Hour, but! I have an announcement I would like to make"

He let a short silence ensue to put his thoughts in order.

"I can say with certainty that the last year and last few months have been…well, hectic, to say the least. That's because ever since Mitsune-chan here" he gave her a smile and she winked at him with a grin. "Decided to make her feelings known to me, I've been slowly seeing the beauty, not only in her, but all of you as well. That only intensified when all of you started to profess your love for me in your own ways.

Something I haven't told you for a while is that I took a part-time job." The girls gave him confused looks. "I had to, in order to do something special for you, like you've done for me" he clapped his hands together with a grin.

'Now or never…' he thought.

"Shinobu-chan, please" he nodded at her. She understood right away. She nodded and left the room. This confused everyone, of course. A moment later, Shinobu returned with a white cloth-covered tray.

The tray itself was very ornate, a pewter silver that was pretty elegant, to say the least.

The bluenette set the tray down on the table and grabbed the white cloth. She paused and looked up at Keitaro, who nodded.

With practiced ease, she pulled off the cloth and draped it over her right forearm.

On top of the tray there were 6 black boxes.

The girls all shared a series of mostly confused looks, whispering among themselves.

"K-Keitaro-sempai…what is this?" Motoko asked nervously.

She had seen a box like these only once before…Keitaro chuckled and waved her index finger.

"'Not telling, hehehe. Come on, everyone. Pick one up" he instructed.

The girls did exactly as he asked. They all reached in and plucked a box from the tray, all of them doing so with shaky hands.

'There's even one for me…? Even after…after everything…?' Naru thought, confused.

"So? Open them!" Keitaro said excitedly. The girls looked at each other, nodded and all at once, opened the tiny boxes.

Inside the 6 boxes were 6 silver-golden rings.

A collective gasp ensued, and then a series of different reactions.

Kitsune squealed in joy.

Motoko covered her open mouth in shock.

Mutsumi NEARLY passed out.

Naru was stunned silent, looking at the inside of the box with impossibly-wide eyes.

Shinobu went swirly-yed.

Kaolla began jumping up and down around the room, doing ferry wheels and back flips.

"Oh, and Shinobu-chan, Kaolla-chan, as you can see, yours have a different design" both girls looked at him and nodded. Keitaro smiled gently.

"That's because those are Promise Rings. They are for when you are older" he explained. The younger girls smiled at him.

Everyone could only stare at their new possessions. Naru and Motoko were the most surprised out of the bunch.

They never, in their wildest dreams, would have thought this could happen to them…

"Well? You guys like'em or what?" Keitaro asked sarcastically.

He knew full well that they did…If their expressions upon opening the boxes proved anything.

In a rush, the girls swarmed their landlord…and now fiancée.

The kisses and hugs that he received that night would be the stuff of legend in the old Hinata House.

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Another year has passed.....

The wedding that was held at the Hinata Inn was…a grand affair to say the least.

Some would say it would be a wedding for the ages.

Even though Koalla Su herself wasn't exactly getting married, her parents came and threw probably the biggest ball that anyone had ever seen in either Japan or probably anywhere else in the entire world.

The girls all looked absolutely beautiful in their own tailor-made wedding gowns, with the exception of Motoko, who wore the very same wedding dress her older sister Tsuruko had worn on her wedding.

The elder Aoyama sister herself attended, not only to act as the matron of honor, but also…as security, a suggestion she herself had made.

One could never be too careful with this size of a party.

As Keitaro stood at the alter watching his soon to be wives walk down the isle, he couldn't help but look back at how he had gotten to this stage.

His eyes glazed over and a pleasant smile graced his lips.

He truly was a happy man.

Once all the "I do's" had been said, the girls wasted no time in dragging the hapless man to an upstairs suite that had been renovated by the construction team from Mol-Mol.

Needless to say, Shinobu and Kaolla wanted to join…but of course, they were held back as they still had a good year or two before they would be old enough to...engage in such activities.

After that night, Keitaro would forever be known as…the Stud of Hinata.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

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A/N: Well this is the very last chapter. Yes I know it took forever to come out with it, but hey what can I say. Life always tends to get in the way. I hope you enjoyed the ride. My Beta Major Mike Powell III really has stuck with me throughout all this crap. I hope you all give him props on his stories and continue to read mine and his.