Chapter 2: Chaos Begets
"Let go of me, Haruka! Damn it! I'm fucking serious here!" Urashima Keitaro screamed as the back of his collar was dragged with his hands and feet bounded by ropes and talismans
"No. You're the one that Granny Hina trusted, you take the responsibility." Haruka yelled aggravatingly as she saw her nephew somehow escaping from the collar hold bit the ground with his teeth trying to force his way in the opposite direction from the inn
"You're being a brat Keitaro. Normally, any man would willingly accept this opportunity." Haruka said grabbing Keitaro by his legs and started pulling the man
"But I don't even know how to handle an inn! Let alone a woman! Now granny wants me handle a girl's dormitory!? Come on! This is seriously fucked up!" Keitaro continued his ranting until Haruka gave him an elbow strike to his head knocking him unconscious.
After finally a gruelling thirty minute flight of stairs to Hinata, Haruka got out her cigarette pack and started lighting up one of her cancer sticks.
"Goddamn stubborn relative." Uttered the older woman as she puffed out the smoke from her lungs into the atmosphere. Entering the inn, she slumped the unconscious man on her shoulders like a sack of potatoes and went into the common room.
After displacing the load on her shoulders on the couch, the older (cough) relative (cough) called out all the boarders of the Hinata inn. Once all of them, had sat on the living room, the rowdy delinquent began to stir…
Keitaro's vision was still blurry, he couldn't properly place out the one with the antenna on the head and the one that had a tail sticking out of its butt, slowly coming back to reality, it hit him like a ton of bricks.
"ALIENS! I'M IN ANOTHER PLANET! SOMEBODY SAVE M—GACK!" A hit on the neck with a chop knocked him out again
"As I was saying when I was rudely interrupted." Haruka then motioned for her pocket and placed the glasses on Keitaro's eyes.
"With Granny Hina gone, the inn won't be taking any new boarders for a while, there'll be a lot sacrifices, especially rent privileges." Haruka then eyed Kitsune sharply with an uneasy laugh escaping from her lips and scratching her head.
"Well, that brings us to the question of what the hell is a man doing here!?" Naru pointed out to the knocked out bespectacled man who began to stir again
"Ow! What the hell hit me?" Screamed Keitaro
"And a cussing machine to boot!" Screamed Naru again pointing a finger to the man
"Oi… Don't point at me like that." Said Keitaro replying rather withdrawingly
"You shut the hell up pervert! You are in no position to talk." Said Naru pointing to him yet again
"Oi! Didn't I tell you to stop pointing at me like that!?" Screamed Keitaro
"Oh boy… Here we go…" Said Haruka hitting her forehead with her palm
"I'd point at anyone I want! Just like so!" Point, point, point
"I said quit pointing at me you damn gorilla!" Said Keitaro a vein popping from his forehead, indicating his irritation
"What'd you say!? I dare you say that again!"
"Gladly! Gorilla! Gorilla! Gorilla!"
" That's it! You're dead!" Naru was then about to punch the living daylights out of this miscreant when his older relative had intercepted the word battle
"(cough) As much I would like to watch one of you beat the face off of the other one, I'd enforce the rule of no fighting inside the inn." Said Haruka and Naru withdrew her attack, after seeing that little bout, she wouldn't want to mess with Haruka right now.
"Now as I was saying before I was interrupted again, with Granny Hina out, the management was pretty much left without much thought. Therefore, Granny Hina devised a plan in order to preserve both the inn and all of you girls in here." Haruka said as she placed a palm on her forehead again
"Ladies, I want you to meet your new Karinrin, heir to the Urashima line, Urashima Keitaro." Haruka then pointed to her bounded relative
"He's our…"
"… New Kanrinrin!?" Both Naru and Motoko raised their voices at the older woman before them
"You must be joking, Haruka-san! To think that we need a new manager, let alone a man in this house… This must be a joke!" Said Motoko until Keitarou interrupted him
"Nope, 'fraid so kendo girl." Keitaro smiled with that comment. Motoko had a vein popping on the back of her head
"What was that!? Take that back you wretched male!" Motoko was about to slash her when Haruka interrupted again
"Alright, can it, Keitarou, better keep quiet unless you want an open-mouth-insert-foot kind of reaction."
"Yay! A new playmate!" Su raised her hands and began running around, all the while Keitaro looked on with mild interest
"Now as the new manager, what would be your first order of business?" Asked Haruka grabbing another cancer stick and Keitaro inwardly smiled, ooh how he loved payback
"First of all as manager, I'm responsible for the health status of my clients and subordinates." He said matter of factly. Haruka nodding and remained oblivious to his nephew's plan
"Therefore, it is detrimental for a business group when one vital member gets incapacitated when a disease hits." He said, finally untying himself loose
"Ah, that felt good." Keitaro said to no one in particular as he cradled his wrists and flexed his neck side to side finally earning a small crack.
"I'm listening." Said Haruka and Keitaro continued as a smile appeared on his face
"I'm forbidding any use of nicotine substances in this house, starting toda-" Keitaro couldn't finish his declaration as he was punched in the face that sent him flying across the room
"Haruka-san, I thought you said no fighting!" Yelled Kitsune with Keitaro jumping from the rubble with a bloody forehead yet again
"Administration's incentives." Was her only reply finally lighting up her cigarette
"I told you to can it with the insults and pet names." Said Haruka and Keitaro merely grumbled
"It was only a joke…" Muttered Keitaro
"No really, the real first order of business is, I'd like to get to know my residents first." Was his reply to no one in particular putting his hands on the back of his head as he sat down on the rubble Indian style while staring outside
"You know, it's been a while since I experienced any kind of peace while my true self was still free. Being here like this… Is kinda nice." Said Keitaro as he stared into the fleeting sunset.
"Well if its introductions first, why don't you start?" Asked Haruka
"My name's Urashima Keitaro, nineteen years old, currently in Toudai, my likes are vehicles, my motorcycle and customizing. My only dislike is unnecessary violence." Said Keitaro loudly still not facing his tenants his gaze still on the beautiful sunset
"Nice to meet you Keitaro, I'm Konno Mitsune, nineteen years old, a freelance writer; my likes are booze, gambling, smoking, and money and dislikes boring old people, my vital statistics are…"
"Thank you, Kitsune, your information was helpful!" Naru mentioned blocking her friend's introduction to a male
"You can't possibly be serious about that are you?" Asked Keitaro, his attention turning back towards his tenants with a confused look until Haruka answered him
"Oh, ignore her for the moment, she just likes to tease people. Your turn Naru." Said Haruka, Keitaro looked at her with mild interest for a moment, listening to her statement
"I'm Narusegawa Naru, seventeen years old, currently attending cram school to get into Toudai, my likes are singing and studying my dislikes happen to be perverts." Said Naru glaring at Keitaro who merely shrugged muttering it was only an accident, and said to her
"Sorry for calling you an alien and a gorilla." The only male in the residence muttered. Naru's eyebrow twitched in annoyance but let it slide for now, at least he was apologetic
"I am Aoyama Motoko, fifteen years old, a junior high student, my likes are training and my older sister my dislikes are men." Said the one in the white kimono and red hakama, her hair tied in a ponytail
"No wonder I could recognize that sword style, you're from Shinmei Ryuu school, aren't you?" Asked Keitaro leaning closer to the fifteen year old
"H-How did you know?" Asked the kendo girl
"Simple, I once trained there and fought with their best disciple, her name's Tsuruko by the way." Keitaro said matter-of-factly
Motoko's eyes grew wide with shock, this man fought with his sister? Unbelievable!
"Who won?" Asked the kendo girl
"It was a tie." Was his first mention, clearly grinning at the said memory
"The battle lasted for three hours. It was because of her that I refined my disarming martial arts, she was the one who named it after all." Said Keitaro as he chuckled at the memory
Motoko calmly held shusui by the hilt, here was a true genius standing before her, able to match her sister fairly in combat.
"How old were you then?" Asked Motoko
"Hmm… By the same age as you were." Said Keitaro and Motoko felt herself on a downward spiral
"But… That was roughly four years ago… When big sister was at her finishing touches to become a master…" Uttered Motoko and Keitaro merely shrugged
"Ah, I couldn't care less of rank, developing a certain style back then was a hassle if you didn't know your ki type." Said the male brunette turning his head to the stuttering child
"M-My name is Maehara Shinobu, I am twelve years old, Junior High, my likes are cooking and peace, my only dislike is fighting." Said the girl, with the short dark blue hair
"… Do you know how to cook Yakisoba?" Asked Keitaro, Shibobu merely nodded
"Then you and I are going to get along so well! Nice to meet ya, Shinobu-chan!" Said Keitaro a grin plastered on his face, what? Yakisoba was his favourite food! Better than that tempura crap!
"Ooh! Ooh! Me next!' Said the tanned blonde, Keitaro turned his head towards the acrobatic girl that was doing cartwheels around the room
"I'm Kaolla Su! I'm thirteen and I like playing… And bananas!"
Keitaro had an eyebrow raised and turned his head back towards Haruka
"You want me to manage a bunch of eccentric women that could seriously injure, and or possibly kill me." Deadpanned the male brunette
"No, it was granny's. And don't give me that look of yours, I'm your superior here." Haruka replied
"Aha! So you are o-ompf!" Keitaro couldn't finish his sentence as Haruka punched him in the gut
"Last warning, Keitaro." Haruka warned her hand was smoking with her ki raised in shoulder level
"I think I just lost my lunch." Said Keitaro feeling himself hurling on the ground
"Is he going to be okay?" Asked Shinobu and Haruka merely replied
"He's more stubborn than an ox, a punch like that isn't enough to drag him down."
With that, Haruka left the inn, letting the new management establish itself on a bunch of women that seem too delineate from the norms of society.
A few hours later:
Keitaro had opened his new room, it was Granny Hina's room, everything was still pristine and as quiet as it was back then during his visit, the sunlight bended from the green curtains hanged by the window, a desk lamp perfectly placed at the table, with countless documents hidden at the boxes below, a wooden chair by the table, the book shelf stationed by the side of the table.
"Still the same as ever… Good thing I still haven't put my things inside, and- hello?" Keitaro immediately noticed the hole on the floor, peering inside, he saw a woman wearing thick pieces of eyewear reading a book
"Oi, how long was this hole placed here? And how did it happen?" Keitaro mentioned below
Naru looked up and saw that the man was looking at him with a questioning gaze, the girl merely snorted and continued reading, replying
"Granny Hina placed it there if there was a problem, I could have immediately talked to her."
Keitaro had to shake his head, grandmother and her sentimentalities
"This just won't do, I have to cover this hole up here, you know that this leaves both of us exposed, right?"
Naru had a twitch on the back of her head and simply replied annoyingly
"Whatever."
"Man, what got into your butt and stuck? I'm just trying to be a manager here by good standards." Said Keitaro as he journeyed back down and grabbed some nails, plywood and a hammer.
Before he could though, he needed to get his things at the coffee shop. He knows he has some things there he wants to set up before finally settling to fix the hole.
Going back down to the coffee shop, he grabbed his backpack full of clothes and his long shoulder bag that has his laptop, a tool he earned by working hard enough for two years, the laptop was an engineer's best friend when it came to drawing after all.
Finally reaching his room, he placed his laptop by the desk and his backpack on the floor, a few notebooks and pens by the side of the laptop and his hardware materials to fix the gaping hole on his floor.
"My new life starts with a swing of this hammer." Muttered Keitaro hitting the nail on the head burying it deep into the wooden floor.
The next day:
"AAAAHHHH!"
Keitaro was startled with a scream that came from below, running down towards one the room of one of his tenants, he quickly pounded on the door.
"Oi! What the hell happened!?" He screamed from the door a calm and collected Kitsune pops up from her room, and said
"Oh, that Naru, I told her many times to sleep early and relax for now, today's mock exams are going to be conducted near Toudai." Kitsune said putting a hand on her forehead.
"WHAT? THAT'S ALL!?" Asked Keitaro and then he looked at the clock
6:30 am
"SHIT! I'M GONNA BE LATE!" Said Keitaro jumping towards his room all the while Kitsune stared at him with a sly smile on her face
"Nice boxers Keitaro!" She teased, Keitaro merely blushed and screamed at the woman
"S-Shut up!"
It took Keitaro exactly thirty minutes to finish his own bath and got dressed with his new and wild feral look, he dashed down the stairs and quickly grabbed some toast that Shinobu prepared and went outside…
Only to be met by countless men in black suits and shades that extended from the base of the hill all the way to the front door.
All of them were bowing at him
"GOOD MORNING KEITARO-SAMA!"
Keitaro had a vein popping from the back of his head as his left eye twitch
"WHERE THE HELL DID YOU ALL COME FROM!?" Asked the boy
"K-Keitaro-sama! It's good to see you!" Said the one on his nearest left as he was the first to shed tears soon followed by the rest of the men
"Takezo!? What the hell!? Didn't I tell you guys that you were just needed in the company more!?" Asked the bewildered and confused Keitaro.
"B-But Keitaro-sama…"
"No, nevermind, and I'm not relieving all of you on your posts! Now get your asses back there and let me go to school!" Keitaro literally screamed as all of the man gave a half hearted, teary salute.
Keitaro then ran down the long flight of stairs, with his expertise in the martial arts, he flawlessly went down the stairs to the base of the hill and then had to look back.
'I feel a little bit guilty by leaving behind Narusegawa like that…' Thought Keitaro and an idea immediately popped into his mind
He grinned and dashed towards the teahouse's garage.
"Just this one time." Said Keitaro knocking on the door.
Hinata inn:
Naru was in a pinch, she was about to be late for her mock exams! How stupid of her! If only she could've listened to the advice that Kitsune had given her, maybe she wouldn't be in this mess!
She then grabbed her backpack all with the essentials for the test, she had no time for breakfast now, all that hard work will go to waste!
She ran from her room, desperate to make it in time for her exams, she dashed past the kitchen and the dining room and past the front door.
But now comes the biggest obstacle, the long flight of stairs that made Hinata inn feel like a temple.
Just then she could hear a loud booming of an engine
BROOOM!
And then, A huge Motorcycle, a Harley in fact, jumped from the long flight of stairs, Naruto didn't know how it got there, but the skid that the said vehicle made on the ground was perfect, the person was a damn good driver.
Keitaro removed his helmet and made himself visible for Naru.
"Your exams are near Toudai right? Hop on and I'll take you there!" Said Keitaro tossing a spare helmet to Naru who caught it rather clumsily.
"Don't just stand there, Narusegawa! Hop on!" Said Keitaro touching and spinning the accelerator that made the engine of the motorbike roar in power.
Naru cautiously approached him and said
"Just this one time, pervert! You're lucky I'm in a rush as well, so you're lucky."
Keitaro had a sweat dropping at the back of his head
Keitaro then pumped more of the accelerator, the engine roaring yet again at the loud booming voice, he then said to Naru with a grin inside his helmet
"Better hold on tight!" Said Keitato letting go of the breaks and immediately let the motorcycle move down slope.
Naru felt like her skin turn cold…
Five minutes later:
Naru was grabbing on to Keitaro's waist for dear life as the said boy was running through the highway with his Motorcycle at top speed. The rowdy young man made a sharp turn to the left entering the city limits.
Even then, Keitaro didn't seem to slow down, as he went and overtook a Toyota Supra and a Honda Civic with his mad machine of death, turning right, Keitaro immediately stopped reaching the building that Naru was supposed to take the test
"Well here we are!" Said Keitaro, grinning from ear to ear as he then adjusted his jacket and removed his helmet, meanwhile, the pale Naru grasped on his shoulder for dear life, her heart seemed to stop for a moment gasping for air
"T-That was scary!" She screamed at the man and Keitaro gave a hearty laugh earning flushed cheeks and a pout from Naru
"What the hell is so funny!?" Asked Naru
"Just the fact that I rarely drive like a speed demon, if anything I love my ride too much, if it wasn't for your rush hour, and me almost being late then I might have driven more safely." Keitaro mentioned
"I didn't ask you to take me here!" She shouted
Keitaro had to calm down and pinch the bridge of his nose
"Hey, I know from experience just how difficult it is to be late for these kind of exams, just relax and don't let the pressure get to you." Keitaro smiled, startling the girl back, a blush appearing on his face
"Well, I better get going, my first class happens to be drawing. Ja! Oh, I'll pick you up. I only have two classes today and I don't have anything else to do! Better be grateful!" Keitaro then turned his bike and rode away
"Wait!" Naru said, as she outstretched her hand, a blush still present on her cheeks
"Thank you." Was all she could mutter little did she know, that this was the start of her infatuation for the wild young man that took her here.
Five hours passed and it was one in the afternoon, most of the people in Keitaro's class all stared at the said boy with an incredulous look, he had a change in appearance, he didn't wear those glasses like he used to, instead his eyes were exposed for the world to see, and his hair, it changed from common school boy look to wild and stylish. All of them couldn't believe what they were seeing
Questions kept permeating from his classmates to him with simple and understandable questions like "What happened to you Keitaro?" to annoying inquiries "Is that you, Urashima?"
All of his friends gasped at Keitaro's new look, sure this wasn't high school, but still, the new change happened to be well accepted by some of the women in his building. Keitaro showed an air of confidence companied with his equal show of wit and smarts.
As the class finished for the day, Keitaro sighed, holding his hand bag by his motorcycle.
"Well Naru's test should be over in another hour. Might as well make the most of it."
Grabbing aYakisoba Bread from the cafeteria for lunch he put his bag in the chair compartment and grabbed his helmet.
He went ahead of the others, going east to go for a friendly visit. As he rode towards his destination, he couldn't help but feel melancholic as he recalled some of the painful memories of his high school days
Flashback three years ago:
"Hey, Keitaro, pretty banged up I see!" Said the person that stood before the younger looking Keitaro who had a bloody lip and an equally bloody forehead. Lying by the alley and sitting near a trash can, Keitaro felt exhausted, almost to the brink of fainting. He looked up at the starry lit sky and saw one of his friends back in his school
"It's alright man… You don't have to do this for me anymore." Said the boy that looked to be of Keitaro's height, bleached white hair that was spiked up and a pair of emerald green eyes. The boy had the same uniform as Keitaro
"S-Seta… What are you…"Keitaro muttered as Seta lifted him up on his shoulders
"I'm talking about Aya and my promise… I finally got over her, you didn't have to pay back Mori from Shinsen for what they did to me… Really… But thanks anyway, because of you, I think I've finally understood how foolish I was to even think of a stupid childhood promise. And you beating him up made me feel better about myself" Said Seta as another familiar face appeared before them
"Hey Tatsu! Give me a hand here! Keitaro's pretty heavy." Seta yelled
The said boy approached, his kempt brown hair was his feature along with his beady eyes.
"Good thing your okay, man, we were worried you'd get stabbed before you could even touch Mori. God, you were freakin' amazing!" Told Tatsu
Keitaro weakly laughed as he was dragged by his friends away, about to be carried to the hospital
"Hehe… Good thing you don't bend the other way Tatsu, or else that comment of yours would have me shivering to my shoes."
"Hey, you're the one who could barely walk, is that a way to talk to the friend that's carrying you to the hospital?" Tatsu remarked and Seta laughed heartily for the first time in weeks
"You guys are the best people to have as friends." Said Seta, with both Tatsu and Keitaro smiling at him.
The next day, Seta was shot dead. It turns out that Mori wanted vengeance against Keitaro, so he targeted his friend. As he Seta was about to be placed for his final resting place, He couldn't help but hear the laugh and the mockery of both Mori and Aya as they ridiculed Seta's coffin from afar.
Mori was relieved off the case, one of his gang members took the fall for him, and was convicted of murder. It turned out that Mori had connections in the Yakuza and the police, so he got off easy.
After that, Keitaro swore upon Seta's grave that he would bring his death to justice, and that he would not fall for the deceptions of childhood promises as his friend had… All of it were just dreams, a mockery of youth
"Seta…" Keitaro uttered his teeth clenched in anger as his eyes were hidden from view, the falling rain mixing with the tears falling from his eyes.
Flashback ended
Keitaro turned a sharp curb to the left and headed towards the cemetery.
'Its been three years since your death Seta, and I brought the ones responsible for your death to justice, I forced them to admit their sins and disbanded his group of miscreants, I hope you can rest easy.' Keitaro thought as he stopped by the cemetery and bought the finest Sake near the wine shop
As he approached the tomb, a serene smile escaped Keitaro's lips and crouched down on to the tombstone that read
'Toujiro Seta'
Keitaro then poured his bottle of Sake on the tombstone…
"Hey, Seta… I'm back… I hope you weren't angry at me for the last two years since I visited you."
Unknown Location:
A single plum of smoke permeated in the air, as it scattered about in the atmosphere
The person that released the smoke was a bald man, he stood about the height of a professional basketball player, a six footer, he had a moustache that was spread from chin to the sideburns of his face, countless rings were wrapped on his ears and fingernails, he wore a hooded jacket with hand warmers at the front, blue denim pants and a pair of high cut shoes. He sat on a pink couch, holding a woman of what looked like a Ganguro.
A person then entered the room, a typical thug with the rings and the tattoos on his arms, he looked at the bald man at the back and then said
"Kouta-san, I have news for you." Said the subordinate
"What?" The man replied, as he began to move his hands and fondle at the girl's curves
"We found him…"
Kouta smiled wickedly and said to his subordinate.
"Good."
To be continued!
Ha! That about wraps it up!
Chapter Preview:
"Yo, I see that the Asura still lingers here in these parts, nice to meet you again." Said Kouta as he looked at Keitaro with a wicked grin
"The hell are you?" Asked Keitaro rather annoyedly as he stared at Kouta with a confused look scratching the back of his head
"YOU DON'T REMEMBER!? IT WAS YOU WHO DID THIS TO ME, PUNK!" Said Kouta, as he lifted his jacket and showed a horrendous scar by his chest
"Wha-?" Was all Keitaro could ask before the man began to spat at him again
"Heh, fine, as compensation of doing this to me and humiliating me all those years ago, I'm taking your luscious little girlfriend over there." Said Kouta pointing at Naru who stood behind Keitaro
Keitaro narrowed his eyes in contempt of the man and then said to him
"Your problem is with me, horse face, don't get her involved in this."
Keitaro then prepared for his stance, extending his arms and enveloping his area and Naru's with his own ki.
"I'll beat you up so bad that even you won't be recognizable after I'm done with you."