Chapter 3
"Ehh!" The news just hit them that the mystery man had no idea who he was, or practically anything about himself. There was only stunned silence. He looked at them in wide eye innocence, probably feigned, not seemingly understanding why the silence existed. It was only after a few minutes that the most unlikely person broke the silence.
Su was the one that spoke up, half asleep and probably muttering to herself than anyone else, "Aren't you Okugi-San?" A general groan from the others as they heard that unintentional pun. Mr. Mystery. However Okugi took to the name instantly.
"Okugi. It's a nice name. I guess Okugi it is. I wonder if it is actually my name. Oh well, no time to worry over that. Instead I think I need some supplies. You," He pointed to Motoko, "I believe you have some bandages lying around somewhere. Can you please bring some? Next you," This time pointing at Kitsune, "Can you please bring me some alcohol? Shinobu?" She was the only one whose name he knew, "can you please pass me a knife? And you," This was pointed at Keitaro, "I need a stick that can act as a cane. Can you bring me one?" No one liked the fact that he was ordering, even though he asked in an extremely respectful tone, them to retrieve him something, but not knowing anything about him, they all went and did what he asked. Keitaro, for the cane, brought an old mop handle. Kitsune, for her part, warned him not to waste all of her sake.
"Thank you. Now if any of you are disturbed by horrific scenes of blood and screaming, I suggest you leave." Half way through that sentence, Shinobu left, muttering something about getting some more supplies. Okugi took his pant legs and used the knife to cut it off. He sighed, almost in disappointment, when he saw what was there. An old wound that had neatly healed, even if it was ugly to look at. He spoke softly. "Never mind. I guess I won't need anything but the bandages and the stick."
He quickly wrapped the leg in a bandage, and tossed it back to Motoko. "Now, you sir," talking to Keitaro. "Help me up, if you don't mind. And again, if no one minds, can I have a room for the night. I mean, I don't have anywhere else to go." Keitaro obliged him on picking him up, and promised that he could stay in his room for the night. They all introduced themselves to Okugi, just so it would be easier to communicate with.
That was the state of affairs of that night, and as Keitaro and Okugi tried to sleep, Keitaro asked him a question. "I was just wondering, but how did you decide who to ask to bring you what supplies? You could have asked us all, instead of individual people. I mean, it seemed deliberate, and calculating. Does this help you discover who you are?" Keitaro was asking this question, because the quicker he found himself, the quicker that this man would leave. Keitaro was not fond of change.
"I think this was the first two things I discovered of myself. I notice a lot, and I like to be an unbearable ass about it. I have an insatiable desire to flaunt it. I asked Motoko to bring me bandages for she is a swordsman. I could tell that much by her movements. Also she bandaged her chest," Keitaro's nose started dripping with blood slightly at the thought, "which meant that she had tape somewhere. Kitsune was drunk, but none of you thought it was strange. Thus she must be drunk often, and heavy drinkers usually have a stash somewhere, just in case all the bars were closed. Shinobu, I could tell, is the cook, so it would be natural for her to know where the knives are kept. And you are the only male I saw. Probably means it is an all girl dorm, but you must be some sort of manager. So, you'd probably know where brooms and mops were kept, which was the most likely source of a cane. Did that answer your question?" He didn't wait for a reply, but fell asleep instead.
Or pretended to. Instead, he had actually found a slip of paper in his pocket. Written in a language that he could not necessarily recognize. So late into the night, he analyzed it, trying to decipher his meaning. However, he couldn't. He couldn't tell if it was some half insane ramblings on his part or not. He fell asleep reading it. In the morning, after being basically demanded to eat breakfast with the Hinata roomers, he left.
However, this was not the end of Okugi's involvement with Hinata. Instead, it was just the beginning. For a few days later, he was back. It was early morning, (which constituted at this moment being 3:00 in the morning) exactly five days after he had left for the first time. No one noticed him, as no one was awake for a few hours. He just sat on the top step outside the apartment reading a seemingly short novel. Written in fifteen century Kanji. He sighed when finished before placing it in his top coat pocket. The bookmark that he used
The first one to notice him was Motoko, doing an early morning exercise. Thinking him of a prowler, she apprehended him (he was sleeping. What else do you expect when one is up at 3 in the morning and has to wait several hours for something?) The one to correctly identify him, however, was Su, again identifying his name when sleepy. "Isn't that Okugi-San? Did he bring something edible?" Which unfortunately he did not, and as such his hat suffered a few bite marks for it. Which in all honesty was something that the hat had probably endured before. His cane was spared, however. He had apparently made, it was too crude for it to have been bought, a wooden cane for himself based off the mop handle that Keitaro had given him.
Of course this did not improve his standings with Motoko in the slightest. Instead, she suspected him even more, based off the fact that he returned. His defense to these accusations, which she was not exactly quiet about was, "So if you don't know me, I'm a pervert. If you do know me, I'm a prowler. Am I ever innocent, or will I face the sword? Judge I have been found innocent, which of course is the worst crime of all." Motoko was not amused. Which she had every right to be, as Okugi's pride would not allow him to tell Motoko directly why he had returned. Instead he decided that he would rather wait for everyone to filter in for breakfast before speaking. Even Haruka was summoned for this guy's return.
He bowed deeply. "I am sorry to disturb you this early in the morning. You can be certain when I state that I had no real intention on returning. However, mitigating circumstances created the necessity of doing so. As I have been able to not find out who I am, I am also not capable of finding a job which can sustain me. So I must ask with the deepest sincerity and apology, whether or not I can live just outside these premises, for the short term?"
And for the second time in a week, a question that he asked came with the response of "Ehh?"
Okugi- It's what we desire.
