AN: I wrote this chapter using the stuff that was mentioned in the reviews. This chapter marks the introduction of GTO into the story.
Chapter 2
Yamato tossed and turned in his sleep. The sound of Keitaro feverously writing and then squashing paper was keeping him up. Yamato looked over at the clock and saw that it was one in the morning.
"Are you okay?" Yamato asked waking up.
"I'm fine, just go back to sleep." Keitaro replied.
"You don't sound okay. Are you sure you're fine?" Yamato asked.
"I said I'm fine." Keitaro shot back.
"Typically responses from you, whenever someone from your family tries to help you treat them like garbage." Yamato scoffed.
"What exactly are you getting at?" Keitaro asked annoyed.
"I always thought it was the way you were, how you treated your parents and Kanako was just your attitude but then seeing how you act around the girls." Yamato answered.
"You don't know what you're talking about?" Keitaro sneered.
"I do know, I've only been here for a few hours but I can see it all too well. You're an ass to your family but a nice guy and total push over to those girls. You're a total hypocrite, giving me advice you would never use, I mean you're more a cashier than I am." Yamato got off his chest.
"I gave you some good advice that you should follow." Keitaro tried to ignore what Yamato said.
"That advice is worthless because you don't follow it whatsoever." Yamato responded.
"You've only been here for a short time, how can you say it like you know everything." Keitaro questioned.
"That's easy, because you've complaining about this place to me for a long time now and you haven't done anything about it. I used to look up to you growing up but…" Yamato retorted.
Tired and worn out Keitaro pulled his hair in frustration. "I am a selfish, pathetic, hypocritical bastard. All I do is complain with taking action. I've treated Kanako, my parents and now even you badly."
"For the record, I never said pathetic or selfish." Yamato clarified.
"I guess I should try changing now that I have someone looking up to me." Keitaro laughed.
"I used to." Yamato corrected.
"Thank you for saying what needed to be said." Keitaro got back to his books.
XXXXX
Yamato dragged sleepy body up the stairs to the terrace carrying a bucket and a mop. He forced himself to wake up early so he could get his chores done and make it to practice in time. Letting out a massive yawn he stumbled out onto the terrace. Rubbing the sleeping from his eyes he could barely make things out but he could see the girl from yesterday, Motoko, training with her bokken.
She had her eyes closed as closed as she concentrated and waited. A gust of wind blew some leaves into the air in front of her and she made her move. The kendo girl began swinging her bokken at the air and when she stopped the leaves fell to ground all torn to shreds.
"That was amazing!" Yamato exclaimed, alerting Motoko to his presence.
Before he could react she dashed towards him and pointed her bokken at him. The shock caused him to drop the bucket and mop.
"Did you come here to stalk me like a predator?" Motoko questioned with a menacing glare.
"No!" Yamato shuddered. "I came here to mop down the terrace. Keitaro told me to."
Motoko pulled back her bokken and walked back to where she was training.
"Aren't you going to apologize for that?" Yamato asked.
"Apologize for what?" Motoko replied ticked off.
"Apologize for coming at me with that weapon." Yamato explained.
Motoko tried to keep her face from showing her rage. "You were the one who startled me while I was training, for all I know you could have been looking at me perversely. You're lucky I was able to hold back my bokken."
"What is up with you and thinking that all men are perverts?" Yamato asked not really expecting an answer.
"All males are vile perverts, it's a fact." Motoko stated calmly.
"It's not really a fact; it's more like your opinion." Yamato corrected.
"Excuse me?" Motoko glared.
"Generally speaking, a fact is something that has actually happened or that is empirically true and can be supported by evidence. An opinion is a belief; it is normally subjective, meaning that it can vary based on a person's perspective." Yamato stated in know it all tone.
"Don't try and fool me with fancy words. I've seen enough of this world to know that all men want only one thing." Motoko clutched her bokken tighter.
"I don't seem to follow. What exactly is this one thing that all men want?" Yamato smirked.
Motoko began blushing but realized that Yamato was messing with her when she saw the smile on his face. The enraged kendo girl sprung at him. Yamato barely avoided Motoko's bokken swing.
"No way, how did you dodge?" Motoko asked slightly stunned.
"Keitaro warned me that you prefer to solve things with your sword rather than words so I was prepared to move from the instant we started speaking." Yamato boasted.
"Let's see you dodge this." Motoko smirked.
This time Yamato was unprepared as he jumped away. Motoko managed to connect with a stiff bokken strike to his arm causing him to fall down clutching the area the bokken struck.
"Are you crazy?" Yamato screamed.
Motoko stared in shock at the red welt on Yamato's arm. She had held back and expected there to be nothing but then again this wasn't the incredibly durable Keitaro.
"I'm sorry that you deserve it." Motoko struggled to apologize.
"Why?" Yamato asked getting up.
"You see…" Motoko tried to think of an excuse.
"Because I'm a vile male." Yamato hissed.
"I suppose that's reason enough. I hate all men, they're all the same." Motoko replied.
"You know what then, I hate all women. They're all the same. They think they know everything and expect us to know what's going on in their minds and when we don't it's our fault." Yamato yelled.
"Just like a typical man to blame his problems on others." Motoko huffed.
"And you're just like a typical woman, to stubborn to see she's wrong." Yamato countered.
"A chauvinistic pig like you probably thinks women are not as strong as men." The kendo girl declared.
"You know what, that word isn't just for guys. You're a chauvinist as well." Yamato announced.
"How dare you?"
"I'm done with this. You're just like all the other girls I've met. You're never going to admit you were wrong." Yamato said walking away.
Motoko ignored his words and went back to her training but the words kept coming back to annoy her.
XXXXX
The breakfast table had a very tense atmosphere as Naru and Keitaro were both on edge after pulling an all night study session. The third member of their study group, Mutsumi Otohime, was as fresh as a daisy and this added to Naru and Keitaro's frustration.
"If you two don't watch it you're going to burn yourselves out." Kitsune warned.
"You should be careful sempai." Shinobu's face was plastered with worry.
"Oh my, you two look so tired." Mutsumi said as she sliced a watermelon.
"Where did she get that from?" Keitaro asked not remembering the absent minded girl having one a few seconds ago.
"Who knows? It's almost like she has an infinite supply. It's really creepy." Naru whispered.
"Naru, you don't mean that." Keitaro whispered back.
Naru dropped her head and rubbed her temples. "You're right; I'm just cranky from lack of sleep."
"So how do you do it?" Kitsune nudged Mutsumi.
"I don't know what you mean." Mutsumi tilted her head at the question.
"I think Mitsune is talking about how you manage to look so beautiful and refreshed after spending all night studying." Shinobu looked at the older woman with admiration.
"I'm not really sure. I guess it's natural." Mutsumi smiled.
"With a smile like that I'm surprised that you don't have a boyfriend." Kitsune began teasing.
"Well, there is someone I like but I haven't been able to get to them." Mutsumi blushed.
Naru was beginning to get slightly agitated by the relaxed nature of the situation. She felt that being examinees they had to be serious all the time. She never relaxed liked this and fooled around when she was studying in high school.
"Are you okay Naru? You seem upset." Keitaro pointed out.
The red head slowly turned her head towards the unsuspecting male, her eyes wide and daunting. "What makes you say that?"
Keitaro began sweating and shivering at the same time. "Nothing…" He squeaked.
Mutsumi who was busy trying to answer all of Kitsune's questions finally got to her objective for the day. "Kei-kun, I wanted to ask you something."
Mutsumi's question freed Keitaro from Naru's intense stare.
"Sure Mutsumi." Keitaro said relieved.
The anemic girl stared across the table at Keitaro with a dreamy look in her eyes. "Kei-kun, I know you're busy today but … will you take me out for a date?"
Everyone at the table erupted with shock. Kitsune had a smile from ear to ear while Shinobu looked like she could burst into tears. Naru's entire being trembled with astonishment like she received a kick in the teeth.
"You can't. Examinees don't have that kind of time to waste." Naru yelled even though she was unsure as to why she was so upset.
Mutsumi tilted her head at the statement from confusion but still managed to smile.
"Oh silly me, I guess it wouldn't be right to call it a date. Why don't we spend the day together buying textbooks?" Mutsumi asked.
Naru sat there with an interested expression hiding her frustration. Kitsune was still smiling while Shinobu had run off.
"Hmm." Keitaro pondered about the idea. "That would be great. There are a few textbooks that I could use." The Urashima then turned and saw the scowl on Naru's face.
"Do you mind if I go out with Mutsumi?" Keitaro asked the red head.
"Off course she does." Kitsune tried to pour fuel onto the fire.
Naru shot her best friend a look warning her. "You don't need my permission." Naru sneered at Keitaro.
"That's great. I'll meet you at around three at our favorite fountain." Mutsumi got up and left.
"I'm so proud, Keitaro has grown into a man." Kitsune teased.
As Kitsune laughed they were joined by Motoko who wasn't in a very good mood. A few minutes later Yamato joined them.
"What happened to your arm?" Keitaro asked pointing to the bandages on Yamato's arm.
"She happened." Yamato glared at Motoko.
"It's your own fault." The kendo girl scoffed.
"How did it happen? You can't go around just attacking everyone." Keitaro scolded.
"Motoko wouldn't just attack without reason; he is the one at fault." Naru glared at Keitaro.
"I didn't do anything. I went to mop up the terrace and then she lost her cool." Yamato explained.
"You were the one who startled me." Motoko defended.
"I don't think that's fair Motoko." Keitaro stood up for his cousin.
"Shouldn't you be getting ready to go out with Mutsumi?" Naru said scornfully.
"Wait, Keitaro actually has a date with a real live girl, that isn't his promise girl." Yamato spoke up stunned.
"Don't say it like that. It's like you have no faith in me." Keitaro cried.
"How did you trick innocent Otohime into going out with a predator like you?" Motoko stared at Keitaro.
"She asked me to go buy textbooks with her." Keitaro explained.
"Buy text books." Yamato winked.
"So you manipulated the poor girl." Motoko grabbed her bokken.
"Honestly, I think our all night study session hurt her judgment." Naru said off handedly.
"Let's all try and be civilized for this week as long as Yamato's here." Keitaro tried calming the situation down.
"I don't think I'll be staying here for a week after all." Yamato rubbed his arm.
At this Motoko chuckled. "Just like a typical man, running away when things get difficult."
"You know Aoyama, you're right. I have run away from my problems before but just to stick it to you and prove that you can be wrong, I will stay here for the week. I will do all the chores I agreed to and keep up my training. It's Saturday today, I can't wait to see your face in seven days." Yamato declared standing up.
"I believe in you kid. I know you can do." Keitaro shouted.
"I'll believe that when I see it." Motoko laughed getting up from the table.
"I'm going to study a little bit." Naru left as well.
Yamato and Keitaro sat at the table with a small sense of victory flowing through them.
"So you're really planning on sticking it out through the week." Keitaro asked.
"I wanna see her smug face at the end of the week when he realizes she was wrong." Yamato smirked.
"That's good because you still have to clean the terrace before you leave for practice." Keitaro pointed out.
"Are you serious?" Yamato sighed as he walked away defeated.
XXXX
Miki Hashiba, Suzuka's best friend, and Yasunobu Hattori, the closest thing Yamato had to a best friend, were currently trying to calm Suzuka down. The high jump specialist was on the edge from the previous night.
"So he ran away and all he left was a note?" Miki asked trying to confirm what Suzuka had told her.
"I bet you girls did something to him and not a good something." Yasunobu accused.
"We were just talking and I guess we might have taken it a bit far." Suzuka admitted.
"Don't worry, the fool will turn up somewhere. Just keep an eye out in the papers for victim identification request." Yasunobu joked.
Miki smacked the back of the blondes head to knock some sense into him. "This is not the time for your lame jokes."
"I'm sorry; I thought I was lightening the mood." Yasunobu snickered.
As Yasunobu and Miki argued, Miho Fujikawa and Honoka Sakurai joined them. Miho was Yamato's younger cousin by two years and Honoka was his ex-girlfriend.
"Miho, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay back with Ayano." Suzuka exclaimed surprised to see the young girl who spent most of the night crying.
"I called her." Honoka explained. "Someone said they saw Yamato at the train station and that he was on his way to school."
As if providence Yamato jogged onto the track field. Within a few minutes Yamato had Tsuyoshi Kusakabe in head lock while Tetsuhito Kinugasa had Yamato in a head lock. Yamato freed himself and stumbled across the field laughing after catching up with the former captain. The smile disappeared from his face when he came across Suzuka and everyone else.
Without a word or warning Suzuka unleashed a devastating slap across Yamato's face.
"How could you just leave like that without a word?" Suzuka cried.
Everyone else remained silent unsure of what to say or how to act.
"I left a note." Yamato answered softly.
"A note. A note!" Suzuka yelled. "We were so worried, we thought you, we thought you…" Suzuka couldn't finish what she wanted to say. "Ayano called the police."
"I'm sorry about that but I couldn't take living with people who only think of me as a failure." Yamato replied as he started walking away.
"Akitsuki, are you okay?" Honoka asked standing in Yamato's path.
"I'm actually fine, don't worry about it." Yamato smiled.
"You're not fine. People who are fine don't run away from home." Miki blurted out.
"Hey, let's cut the guy some slack." Yasunobu tried to help his friend but backed down under the intense stares of the girls gathered.
"What happened to your arm? Did you get hurt?" Miho yelled noticing the bandage on Yamato's arm.
"Oh, don't worry about that. Just the wrong place at the wrong time." Yamato chuckled to himself.
"Where did you spend the night?" Miho questioned.
"I got a place to stay with family." Yamato explained vaguely. "So you shouldn't worry."
"So you're just running away?" Suzuka asked.
"It's not running, it's moving on." Yamato retorted.
XXXX
Keitaro stood at the fountain Mutsumi told him about waiting for the girl to arrive. He paced around thinking about his current love life or more specifically lack of love life. Frustrating thoughts about Naru, his promise girl and Mutsumi possibly being his promise girl clouded his mind.
"Hope you didn't wait too long." Mutsumi smiled as she came running up to Keitaro.
"Mutsumi!" Keitaro squeaked surprised as he broke from his day dream.
As she ran closer the girl from Okinawa tripped and fell over landing face first on the pavement.
"Are you okay?" Keitaro screamed as he ran to pick Mutsumi up. To his surprise she was completely unscathed.
"I'm so clumsy." She laughed off the fall.
"Wait up." Keitaro called out as he gave chase to very fast anemic.
Unknown to Keitaro he was being followed by a jealous red head, who being tailed by her bored best friend.
After going through a few bookstores and buying the text books they came for they decided to stop and have lunch at a small restaurant. The restaurant was practically empty besides from a few other patrons which included a disguised Naru and Kitsune.
"I just love beef bowls." Mutsumi said as she began eating.
"I've never met a girl who liked beef bowls like me before." Keitaro remembered the time Naru scolded him for bringing her to a beef bowl stand.
At the next table Naru kept her identity hidden by holding up a newspaper to cover her face. At the table behind her Kitsune pulled the exact same move. The fox was trying to devise a plan to try and blow Naru's cover without blowing her own.
"Care to join us Naru?" Keitaro waved over to Naru's table.
In shock of having her cover blown Naru ripped the newspaper she was reading in two. The blushing red head staggered over to Keitaro's table and joined them.
"W…What is the o…odds we w…would run into each other h…here?" Naru stuttered embarrassed.
"Oh my, what a lovely surprise to see you Naru." Mutsumi gushed.
"Well, I thought after spending all day cooped up I could use the fresh air." Naru lied.
"That's strange Naru, my cousin texted me that Su is telling anyone and everyone who will listen that you set out to follow us on our date." Keitaro grinned part of him feeling ecstatic that Naru may be jealous.
"So it is a date?" Kitsune burst out from her covert position. Once everyone looked in her direction, the silver haired vixen made a mad dash out of the restaurant.
The mood around the table was slightly confused as they tried to figure out if that was indeed Kitsune.
"I'm going to have a talk with her when I get back." Naru mumbled.
The red head turned back to Keitaro and Mutsumi and found the turtle crazy girl staring intently at Keitaro. Mutsumi moved her head and hand closer to Keitaro causing his face to turn red while Naru began buckling under the couple's closeness. Mutsumi then wiped off a grain of rice of Keitaro's face before moving back to her place.
'It was just rice.' Naru sighed to herself relived.
'It was just rice.' Keitaro moaned to himself disappointed.
'I like watermelons.' Mutsumi thought.
"You two seem awfully close." Naru insinuated.
Keitaro was a bit shocked by the statement but Mutsumi missed the subtle undertone.
"Thank you Naru, Kei-kun is really sweet to me." Mutsumi smiled.
"Is that so?" Naru looked over to Keitaro.
Mutsumi then grabbed Keitaro's head and pulled it towards her. The Okinawan removed Keitaro's glasses and held his cheeks firmly as she moved closer.
"Mutsumi, w…w…what are you doing?" Naru tripped over her tongue.
"I just wanted to get a good look at your face; you're always wearing those glasses and I wondered what your eyes look like up close." Mutsumi smiled as she let go of his face.
"Is that all?" Keitaro asked thankful and dissatisfied at the same time. He could feel his cheeks burning.
"I just want to thank you and Naru." Mutsumi said. "You guys really helped me a lot and put up with me even though I'm clumsy and weak. You both kept me company and thanks to you I think all three of us will get into Todai this year."
"You don't have to say anything, that's what friends are for." Naru's eyes filled with tears.
"Keep smiling, keep shining, and knowing you can always count on me, for sure. That's what friends are for, for good times and bad times I'll be on your side forever more. That's what friends are for." Keitaro said almost breaking into songs.
"That's a song." Naru glared.
"Ah!" Keitaro yelled realizing he got caught.
"Well, I thought it was a lovely song." Mutsumi smiled.
XXX
It was supper time at the Hinata House and everyone was gathered at the dinner table. Su and Sarah were going on about all the tunnels they discovered. Kitsune was snickering at Naru but also trying to hide it. Motoko was uninterested in what everyone else was up to. Keitaro sat uncomfortably between Naru and Mutsumi. Shinobu was busy making sure everyone had enough to eat. Yamato sat at the table barely able to contain his exhaustion after training and house chores.
"Wow, Shinobu the food looks great." Keitaro complimented.
"Well since this is the first time your cousin is having dinner with us I thought I would make a good impression." Shinobu blushed.
"Thanks, this is really amazing." Yamato said holding back a yawn.
"You could sound more enthusiastic." Motoko scoffed.
There was a brief silence before Kitsune decided to strike.
"So how was the date today?" Kitsune asked.
"Date? I thought you went to buy textbooks sempai." Shinobu exclaimed.
"Wow, the dork actually had a date." Sarah marveled.
"What's a date? Is it tasty?" Su asked.
"Well actually dates are really tasty, not as tasty as watermelons though." Mutsumi answered.
"So he really did trick the poor girl." Motoko clutched her bokken.
"That's great Keitaro; no one back home believed you'd ever go on date." Yamato congratulated.
"That just makes me feel bad." Keitaro complained.
With everyone talking Naru was beginning to lose her cool and exploded. "IT WASN'T A DATE!"
The outburst silenced everyone. A slight fear permeated the air with no one daring to break the hushed peace. Finally Keitaro decided to try and bring back the light atmosphere.
"Of course it wasn't a date, you were there." Keitaro laughed.
Everyone else beside Mutsumi winced at the statement.
"So I was a third wheel?" Naru asked.
"You walked right into that minefield." Yamato said softly.
"It's not nice to whisper like that." Motoko spoke up.
"But you whisper to yourself all the time in your room when you write." Su remembered out loud.
"Su, I warned you about spying on people." Shinobu scolded.
"Ah man, you blew our cover." Sarah frowned.
"You guys are amateurs in the spy game." Kitsune boasted.
"This sounds like a fun game to play." Mutsumi smiled.
The conversation continued to change for the duration of dinner with Keitaro being the main instigator every time he saw the situation would lead to something that would inevitably cause him discomfort.
XXX
Keitaro sat at his desk in his room studying as Yamato staggered through the door tired after cleaning the onsen.
"You used to do that every day and study as well." Yamato moaned.
"Well, it used to put me behind on my studies but thanks to you I'm actually ahead." Keitaro said with his head in a book.
"I'm surprised you did all that work and you're still so scrawny. You should be buff as wrestler with all that physical work." Yamato wondered.
"I guess it's my genetics." Keitaro answered.
As Yamato set out his futon there was a knock at the door.
"Urashima, my bedroom door is still ajar." The voice came from the other side of the door.
"It's the crazy sword girl." Yamato shivered.
"I fixed her door this morning. She keeps slamming it shut." Keitaro sighed as he got up.
When the manager opened the door he found an angry red head standing with Motoko.
"Naru, is your door also broken?" Keitaro asked.
"No, you promised to fix my window." Naru reminded.
Keitaro slapped himself for forgetting to fix the window that was jammed in Naru's room. Now he had fix Motoko's door and Naru's window.
"Yamato, aren't you good with doors. Didn't you fix a sauna door once?" Keitaro remembered.
Yamato walked up to his cousin and kept his voice at a hush. "Is it just me or is this place falling apart."
"Could you give us a minute, I'll be right there to sort out the stuff." Keitaro waved goodbye to the girls who left complaining.
The manager sighed as he took of his glasses. "The truth is this place isn't making that much money. The rent from the girls doesn't completely cover the costs. I'm making losses almost every month. I tried to cover up with my salary as manager and a research assistant but it's still not enough. The only thing keeping this place a float is a bank loan."
"I never knew that things are that bad." Yamato said uncomfortably realizing he added to Keitaro's burden.
"I don't really know what to do to make the situation better." Keitaro scratched his head.
"You could get more tenants. You have three rooms that aren't being used." Yamato pointed out.
"That is easier said than done. I placed ads but nothing. Only a couple of guys trying to get lucky with an all girls dorm." Keitaro lamented.
Yamato remained silent unsure of what to say.
"Get some rest; I'll take care of the door and window." Keitaro left the room.
"Do you mind if I fix that hole in your roof. I know you told me it's how you communicate with Narusegawa but that thing is really a potential disaster waiting to happen." Yamato pointed to the hole that Naru and Hina used to talk.
"What are you talking about?" Keitaro asked.
"It doesn't have to be anything major, just enough to prevent someone from falling through. While the girls were studying last night Otohime almost fell through four times." Yamato explained.
"I never noticed that." Keitaro tried to remember.
"That's because you kind of go into your own world while studying." Yamato laughed.
"I guess a few boards to patch up the hole while we study with Mutsumi won't be too bad." Keitaro agreed.
XXXX
In a small apartment in a building opposing the Holy Forest Academy, a young couple was involved in a heated argument.
"I can't believe this. Our savings… They're almost completely gone…" She yelled.
Her name was Urumi Kanzaki; she was once regarded as a prodigy, with an IQ over 200. The beautiful twenty year old blonde was also a heterochromatic, possessing different colored eyes, one brown and one blue.
"I'm sorry. I thought it was a legitimate business deal. They had all the documents, even an office." He tried to explain.
His name was Eikichi Onizuka; he was a former-teacher even though he was an ex-gangster with bleached blonde hair.
"You told me not to take that job because you would control your spending but now you go and do this" Urumi sighed.
"What are you saying?" Eikichi asked.
"I'm going to have to take that job, for a year at least to be able to pay of all our debts and start building up our savings." Urumi answered.
"I'm sorry, I saw the flashing lights of a get rich quick scheme and I thought I could make enough money to buy us our future." He apologized.
"Don't beat yourself up, it was a convincing scam. They got you to borrow money at an interest rate of 11% and invest that money with them and promised returns of 20%." She responded.
"I know. I'm sorry. They only paid out 4%, now we're on the hook for the 7% difference." He tried to hug her but she moved away.
"I understand you had good intentions but I'm still mad at you." She stated firmly. "You better start helping me look for a cheap place to stay in the near Kanagawa Prefecture."
"I know, try the Tohsaka Inn. It's really cheap." Eikichi exclaimed.
"That's not my style, how about somewhere that's a little different." Urumi replied remembering his stories about the Tohsaka Inn.
"Yes ma'am, I'm going to go through every newspaper until I find a place suitable for you!" He declared.
"Thank you darling, but I'm still mad at you." She smiled.
