Disclaimer: Don't own Love Hina
At the Crack of Dawn
Chapter 6: The Sword, the Flower, and the Loose Screw
Keitaro decided to tackle the hardest test on his agenda first. This was no doubt a tricky proposal for he had no idea what kind of mood Naru was going to be in, but judging from the way she had ripped into him during Granny Hina's little Q & A, he was guessing it was still rather testy at least where he was concerned. Nonetheless, he had to try. All the crap that had gone on in the past several days… Naru kissing Kentaro, Keitaro blowing up at Naru, not once but twice, and all the bitter emotions exchanged along the way. They were all but forgotten. All that seemed so pointless in the grand scheme of things, especially at a time like this.
Keitaro fought quite a while with deciding how he was going to approach his possibly last encounter with Naru. The obvious first idea that came to mind was to sneak her off to some secluded place late in the night and tell the girl he'd been in love with her almost from the very day they met. While this idea was appealing and rather obvious at first glance, the more Keitaro thought about it, the more the idea dulled on him eventually eroding to a point Keitaro scratched the idea entirely. There was no telling what might happen in a situation like that. Naru was so emotionally unstable at times, there was no real way to tell how she might react. She could completely freak out, laugh at him, feel tremendously uncomfortable, or who knows what. Heck, he supposed there was possibly a minute chance she could throw her arms around him, scream I love you too with all my heart and soul, and then the pair could make wild passionate love the rest of the night… Let's face facts for what they are though. Keitaro was more likely to survive his encounter with Motai, then swim across the Pacific all the way to the coast of Tijuana, take control over the Cuban Mafia, buy France, and retire away to small island near Okinawa with Sailor Venus and their pet pot-belly pig Scruffels the Wonder Ham, long before the thing with Naru ever came about.
No, Keitaro had a pretty good idea how the 'I Love You' scenario would play out. Naru would likely get panicky and tense, immediately wanting to get as far away from him as possible. There was also a chance a punch or two could be thrown in the process, but that's depending mostly on how much Keitaro bothers her afterward. Either way, that's not the way he wanted his night to end. Seeing as this might be the last time he ever sees Naru while he's alive, he wanted this occasion to be a positive one if at all possible. He would die a happy man if only he could end the night and see her wearing a smile rather than a scowl.
Keitaro reached up to knock upon her door, but some last second doubts forced him to pull back. Gathering his courage he made a second attempt, but again backed down. He now found himself locked in a stalemated stare-down with the entrance to Naru's room, and as if trying to read Egyptian hieroglyphs, sulked his head in failure.
"Just face the facts Keitaro, you don't have the guts to face her right now… I'll come by and ask Naru a littler later, and maybe I'll be feeling a littler braver…" Keitaro turned around slowly, coming face to face with…
"Ask me what?"
"Yipe!" Keitaro yelped, with a high pitched squeal that would've sounded more complementary to Shinobu than a grown man Keitaro's age. A frown formed over Naru's lips, annoyance now blending in with her initial curiosity.
"What the hell's you're problem? Does just the sight of me scare you now?"
"Depends on what mood you're in…" Keitaro mumbled, a bit louder than he would've liked. In other worlds, in high enough decimals that Naru could hear him.
"Don't start with me!" Naru growled, practically shoving Keitaro out the way as she headed into her room, seeing as Keitaro was standing in-between her and the door.
"Wait! Um… Naru…"
"What?" Naru asked roughly, but with less hostility, sensing the tension in Keitaro's voice. To her relief Grandma Hina had put a noose around all the rumors of deposing Keitaro as manager. After letting the girls sweat it out for about half an hour or so, the old schemer assured the girls that Keitaro would stay on for the time being, but ever malicious she left the girls with the looming possibility of his extradition in the future.
"Well, I uh… You know that things around here have been kind of tense the past few days, so we've been overlooking some things we really can't afford to neglect, like our studies I mean… I was wondering if maybe… You'd like to study some with me tonight, and get ourselves back on track…"
"Study?!" Naru repeated, almost sounding angry, wondering why in the hell Keitaro would even be thinking about studying at a time like this. Realization soon dawned on her, sensing what an ideal opportunity had been present to her. "Wait a minute Naru, think about this for a second! If he wants to study all of the sudden, then maybe that means this his way of saying he wants to put what happened the other day behind us and start off fresh. At least he seems willing to talk to you now, so just say yes! Don't be stupid!"
Naru looked back at Keitaro a firm almost apathetic look on her face. She hesitated momentarily before replying. "… Why should I have to study with you?" With that, Naru stomped into her room, only having taken one step inside before her eyes snapped open.
"Wait! What the hell?!… That wasn't… Why the hell did I tell him no?!"
Naru asked herself, and surprisingly enough got an answer, though it wasn't quite what she expected. "Oh no! Don't come crying to me with your stupid questions, I'm through! You're on your own now toots!" A door slams somewhere in Naru's subconscious and she suddenly finds herself alone.But Naru wasn't alone, at least not in the physical sense, and she still had one chance to make it right. She tensed up at the sudden feel of a hand on her shoulder. "Naru wait a minute! I know you're still mad at me, but please hear me out! I'm tired of this petty fighting, it all seems so pointless now… I know we're both sorry, I know we both did things we regret, I know we're still upset and wish things had never happened this way and that they would all just go away! I know all that already, so let's not even bother talking about it! I'm sick of it all anyway! I just want to put this entire mess behind us… I know you probably think I'm an idiot for asking you to study with me at a time like this, but you know how hopeless I am when I try to study on my own… Look, I'll make a deal with you. If you help me get back on track tonight, I promise I'll never bug you about studying together ever again. You have my word."
Already facing Keitaro, wonder welled in Naru's eyes. A part of it might've been dread too, wondering why Keitaro would be desperate enough to make a promise such as that one. Almost as if some unconscious part of her suspected that promise was one Keitaro basically had no choice but to keep. Perhaps it was better that she didn't know.
Naru bit down on her lower lip applying pressure to her tongue as if trying to punish it, or perhaps warn it not to speak on it's own accord again. Even as her lips began to move, she still feared what was going to come out of her own mouth. "Fine! But I swear if you annoy me, or try to feel me up even once I'll throw you out on your ass, ya got me!"
"Yes Ma'am! So, does tonight after dinner sound okay?"
"Fine whatever, now go and get out of my room! I need to get changed!" Naru swatted the boy's hand off her shoulder, sending him backing out of Naru's room just before the door slammed shut. Keitaro released a relieved sigh, and even managed a bit of a smile.
"Whew, that was a close one… It kind of surprised that she said yes… Sort of anyway. Who cares, I get to spend one last quiet evening alone with her… That's all I care about right now…"
Back inside the bedroom, a more exasperated Naru had her back pressed to her wall, whispering quietly to herself. "Damn it, what's wrong with me?! I almost screwed that up completely! Jeez, I swear, sometimes when what I want to say pops into my head, it doesn't come out of my mouth the way I want it to sound at all!"
Oh well, no point in beating herself up about it. She produced the right answer eventually, as rough as it came out aside. Now she had other concerns to attend to. Like what she was going to say to Keitaro once they got together later that night, avoiding saying or doing anything that might upset or annoy him. It was a golden opportunity to set things right, and she couldn't afford to waste it. Naru was reluctant to admit it even to herself, but she didn't like fighting with Keitaro, and she hated these situations where things were this tense between them. She didn't even really like being upset with him… What she hated even worse than this was when Keitaro was upset with her.
end
The morning air was crisp and serene. Little less than a silent gentle breeze corrupted the otherwise still and peaceful atmosphere. A single leaf floated along in that breeze, hovering along peacefully minding it's own business, that was until it was brutally obliterated into pieces from one unmerciful swipe of a Katana. The foliage's only crime was getting in the way of Motoko Aoyama's training regiment, a dangerous proposition for any living soul at the given time.
In a word, Motoko was feeling edgy, and it was reflected in her practice as her Kata's were erratic and uneven. She'd been feeling this way for several days now, ever since the night of the infamous 'incident' with Naru and Kentaro. Her issues with Narusegawa in themselves, weren't what was troubling her however. A dark shadowy aurora had descended over Hinata House in recent days, and Motoko just couldn't determine why she was feeling this way. Something was just off… Something ominous in the air, like the calm before the storm even as you sit and watch the storm clouds gather in the distance. Motoko found herself faced with the sickening feeling that something bad was going to go down at Hinata House, and relatively soon.
Disturbingly enough, these dark shadows seemed to follow one person around in particular, and that person was Urashima Keitaro. Let's not get the wrong impression now, it wasn't that Motoko believed Keitaro was giving off the unsettling aurora. It was that the dark aurora seemed to be focusing in, or more or less targeting him. This premonition worried Motoko just enough that she'd been keeping her eye on Keitaro over the past couple of days. Motoko never imagined she'd see the day where she'd been feeling protective over Urashima, but that day had come. This was even part of the reason Motoko had been so defensive of Keitaro in regards to Narusegawa in recent days. Defensive for Motoko anyway, and it was all almost exclusively on pure instinct. She hadn't shared her concerns with any of the other girls as of yet for several reasons. One, she wasn't completely sure anything was actually wrong just yet, and two she didn't want to worry Naru and the others, especially if her premonitions really did turn out to be nothing. Third, and most importantly, there was no possible way Motoko could allow it to look like she might have a soft spot for her dorm manager. Whether that soft spot was there or not was a moot point, as long as nobody else knew about it.
Keitaro knew he was skating on thin ice in regards to intruding on one of Motoko's training sessions, but this was the prefect time to get to her while she was alone. It didn't hurt matters that it was still early in the morning, and fit perfectly into his busy schedule.
Keitaro stood back and admired Motoko's work as she went about her business. He looked on for several good minutes surprised that Motoko didn't seem to notice him, and normally she would have but what Keitaro didn't know was that Motoko wasn't quite all there. When she finally did notice she was being watched through the corner of her eye, she did a double take that nearly sent her teetering right off the roof.
"Urashima! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"Hey calm down, I come in peace!" Keitaro said cheerfully, putting his hands out in front of him defensively as he stood up and walked towards her. "I didn't mean to scare you… I was just checking out a few of your training methods that's all…"
"Why?" Motoko's brow cocked in suspicion. "You never have before, why the sudden interest now?"
"Hard to say really… What I can say honestly is that I've always respected you're skill with the sword… Not even the swordsmanship to tell you the truth, but rather the determination and heart you put in to perfecting the craft… Kind of reminds me of the way I was while trying to get into Tokyo U for all those years."
"Now you insult me by comparing yourself to I?"
"No, no, no! Don't be like that!" Keitaro laughed. "You mean to say that my commitment to get into Tokyo U wasn't the least bit admirable?"
For reasons known only to Love Hina fans, Motoko refused to answer that. She opted instead, to place her sword upright, supported by pressing it against her leg, before reaching up to adjust her hair which she had pulled back into a ponytail. "I'll admit I'm not overly fond of being secretly observed while practicing, so if you don't mind could you please leave me to my training?"
"Sure, if you want, but there is one more thing I wanted to ask you first…" Keitaro continued on nervously. "If it's not too much trouble, would you mind showing me the basics of sword-work?"
Motoko immediately stopped primping, and gave Keitaro a disbelieving eye. "You can't be serious."
"No, actually I'm dead serious. Just call it something I've always had some sort of odd interest in…"
Motoko considered his request momentarily, unsure of it's sincerity, all this before turning her back to him. "Why should I bother? It's not logical for someone representing the Aoyama art to waste time teaching the ways of our craft to some loaf with only a passing fancy with the sword, particularly one that won't ever amount to anything."
Keitaro grinned sheepishly, equipped with sweat drop hanging above head. "Yeah, I thought you might say something like that, but look at it this way. If you're going to take over the family school one day, then sooner or later you're going to have to learn how to teach your students to use a sword properly. Think of this as practice, and besides... If gives you a perfect excuse to wave your sword at me. Figured you jump at any opportunity for that…"
Motoko looked back at Keitaro, and lucky for her that he was a rather oblivious human being. A more observant person might've picked up how Motoko seemed a little too eager to say yes, though she managed to resist coming right out and saying it, even despite having failed in other areas. For instance, despite how hard she fought it, she couldn't fight back the grin forming at her lips.
"Sweet mother of!" Keitaro cried, as wood smashed into wood, a downward strike from Motoko nearly sending Keitaro's own wooden bokken into his face. He struggled to keep it there, as Motoko attempted to do just that, a near sadistic smile on her lips. Finally, Motoko relented only to begin swinging wildly at her moving target, Keitaro miraculously managing to block every last one of her attacks. "Take it easy will you, I'm only a beginner!"
"Beginner my butt!" Motoko nearly laughed, not giving her landlord an inch. "You stand there and block every last one of my attacks, and yet you still have the nerve to call yourself a novice! Are you sure you haven't had any sort of prior training!"
"None, I swear!" Keitaro felt his hands ring with pain, as Motoko's sword connected with his viciously. "You're just holding back on me that's all!"
"True, but not nearly as much as I should be!" Motoko grinned wildly, and delivered another strike.
"Yikes! Just please don't kill me!"
"I promise nothing!"
Within seconds the one-sided defensive display was over. Keitaro stumbled over a loose tile and fell to his back, dropping his bokken to his side in the process. Motoko made as if she was going to strike him while he was down, but pulled back, smiling way too contently for someone who'd just beaten up on a total novice. The grin wasn't so much as giddiness over her victory, than over the person who'd shown interest in something she so loved. In truth, Keitaro wasn't really all that good with the sword from the skill he'd shown, nowhere near Motoko in any case, but for someone who'd supposedly never gripped a blade before he was down right spectacular. Motoko couldn't figure out where that seemingly natural skill came from. She was aware that the Urashima family dabbled in some form of martial arts, but as far as she recalled Keitaro had not taken part in that. "Not bad Urashima…"
"Thanks, but I didn't really do anything…" Keitaro snickered, as he sat up, blushing lightly from the compliment.
"What you did was actually show some promise handling the sword," Motoko told him, as she sat down next to him. "Who would've thought, you of all people! Maybe we should try this again tomorrow morning. You might actually be able to make something out of this…"
"Um… We'll see. As long as nothing comes up between now and then, I'll be happy to work out with you again tomorrow…" If he was alive enough in the morning to keep that promise, Keitaro thought cynically to himself. He tried not to sound as disturbed by the question as he was. He might've succeeded, but his demeanor after the fact condemned him. He fell silent immediately after, becoming seemingly more distant, creating a deep lull in all the good feeling and sentiment the two had been swimming in moments before. This lull gave time for those shadows Motoko had been sensing around Keitaro to creep up behind him, filling Motoko with that now all too familiar sense of unease.
"Urashima… Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Keitaro smiled for the young swordsmen. He didn't bother asking something so stupid as what she'd meant by her question. He knew he looked like shit. Lack of sleep, and constant stress had taken its toll on his outward appearance and likely his aurora to boot. "Just still a little winded I guess… That was quite a work out…"
"For you maybe. I barely even broke a sweat," Motoko lied with a grin. While her body wasn't about to fall apart or anything like that, her breathing wasn't quite so even, and she was actually sweating a fair deal.
Keitaro grinned, and silence overtook them again. Not wanting to receive anymore suspicious glares from Motoko, Keitaro searched for a way to keep the conversation rolling. "It's beautiful isn't it?…"
"What do you mean?"
"This place I mean… Not Hinata House or any one thing in particular…" Keitaro stared dreamily out into the horizon. "I mean this entire place around Hinata-Sou. The landscape is so beautiful, it almost takes your breath. It's so quiet and peaceful here. It's so different from going into the city with all the big buildings, cars, and hustle and bustle. It's weird because you can literally walk down those steps there, and take a right and find a small city, but if you take a left you can walk right into the woods and get lost. It's like we're literally right on the threshold of civilization and the middle of nowhere. I just love it here Motoko… There's just something about this place that makes me feel weird to even think about considering any other place home."
Motoko smiled serenely, nodding her head in agreement. Every soul that ever lived under that roof seems to develop some sort of sentimental attachment to that place for one reason or another. To most Hinata-Sou might've looked to be nothing more than a raggedy old building. There were even snickers from people in town that the old place should be condemned or torn down, but don't try and tell that to the few lucky people who called this place home.
"Hey Motoko…" Keitaro said hesitantly after another brief wave of silence. Motoko looked over at him, concerned etched into her face caused by the tone in his voice, and his rapidly dampening Ki. "This might be a stupid question, but I'd just feel better if you answered it for me… Just off the record, let's say something ever happened to me that forces me not to be around Hinata House anymore… I can count on you to be here to protect the girls if they were ever in trouble right?"
Motoko glared at him crossly. "Don't be absurd, of course you can. Hell, mostly I have to protect them from you! Why do you even ask this? Are you planning on going somewhere?"
"No, nowhere in particular… Let's just say I've been forced to face my own mortality as of late… I'm trying to set some things straight from a mental standpoint…"
"You're mortality?" Motoko scoffed. "Do you even have such a thing?"
"I assure you I do." Keitaro grinned, almost grimly. He shot Motoko a smile and pushed himself up to his feet. "Indestructible and immortal are two different things I'm afraid…"
Motoko held back a grin as she looked up at him, thinking to herself. "What's up with him all of the sudden?…Too bad he's not like this more often, or I could almost stand to be around him."
"Guess I'll be going… Thanks for the training session… I'll see you later on okay?"
"Oh yes… Of course your welcome." Motoko broke out of her trance, and stood up to her feet. To her surprise she saw Keitaro standing just a few feet in front of her completely still. What she couldn't see through the back of his head was his face lighting up like hot-red strobe light. "Urashima, is something wrong?"
"Ah, what the hell…" Keitaro decided. He was probably going to die come morning anyhow, so he didn't see much point in being shy now. The last thing he needed was to be sent to an early grave, earlier grave anyhow, but he didn't imagine Motoko would actually kill him. Maim him severely without a doubt, but most likely wouldn't kill him… At least he hoped not. Summoning up every last ounce of courage and grit in his skinny body, he somehow managed to banish that combination feeling of bashfulness and fear of bodily harm that normally averted him from making bold decisions in regards to the girls. He walked up to a half-stunned Motoko, and after hesitating momentarily, gave Motoko a quick but solid kiss on the cheek. Keitaro departed just as casually as he came leaving a now red-faced and outright shocked Motoko standing in his wake. "Thanks for everything Motoko-chan. Hope you have a nice day…"
"What?… Why did you?… Why did I?… Huh?!" Ten seconds of mindless babbling by the way side, Motoko abruptly remembered she probably should be enraged, but more or less wound up mostly embarrassed to the point of praying for death. The reason aside, her contradicting emotions left one thing for certain. Urashima must pay.
Keitaro was more than a bit surprised at how far he'd gotten without getting pounced on. He at the very least expected some sort of verbal impertinence. He would not stay disappointed for much longer.
"URASHIMA! Stop right there!"
"Crap!" Keitaro jerked, hearing the sounds of fast approaching footsteps clanking off tile. His first thought was of running like hell, but before he could put this quite sensible plan into action, it was derailed as something surprising happened from behind him. Motoko tripped after closing roughly half the gap between them, and slammed face first to the roof. Keitaro's fear for his life, shifted to concern for his friend. The normally graceful Motoko wasn't exactly prone to tripping over her own feet. That was more Keitaro's M.O.
"Motoko, are you alright?" Keitaro asked as he knelt down, Motoko already on the way up. Their eyes linked, and Keitaro's widened as Motoko sneered menacingly at him. "Crap, should've quit while I was ahead."
"Get your hands off of me!" Motoko howled, as her sword swung upward sending Keitaro launching into the air and into the stratosphere.
"But I never even touched you!" Keitaro cried before his image disappeared.
Motoko's face reflected with realization. "Oh… Right well... I'm sure you would have eventually…"
Seconds later, Motoko's face just gushed red, as she reached up and grabbed the side of her face. She staggered around momentarily disoriented by a strange warm and fuzzy feeling invading her warrior's soul. An unfamiliar feeling that scared her, but what frightened her even more was the unconceivable notion that she might've actually liked the feeling.
"What the hell did he do to me?! All he did was touch his lips to my face, why the hell does my head feel like it's floating! His lips must be poisoned, that's gotta be it! Damn you Urashima!"
Elsewhere on the roof area, at the laundry annex, Shinobu was content to dwindle that part of the day away by hanging up her latest load of laundry. Well, perhaps content was a stretch, for the young dorm resident was feeling anything but contentment. If anything, she yearned for a distraction, any form of distraction to divert her frame of mind off of this horrible morning she'd found herself forced to endure. Not only did Grandmother Hina show up and threaten to send Keitaro away, but it all came about because of her fellow dorm mates and the awful things they said about her Sempai. To make matters worse, she even sort of blew up at Naru, and as a result hadn't been able to bring herself to face any of her friends for the past several hours. She'd gone to great lengths and taken minor pains in avoiding the other residents, mostly due to embarrassment, knowing full well what topic was going to be on their lips when they tried to confront her.
Shinobu frowned at that one particular memory from that morning. A part of her was indeed embarrassed and ashamed over how she reacted, yet there was another slightly stronger voice lurking inside that innocent outward shell of hers, telling the other side to go to hell. Because Naru deserved it. While the way she got her message across could definitely be deemed out of character for Shinobu, what she had said couldn't have been more true. Naru never had a good thing to say about Sempai. It was always idiot this, or pervert that. Even though they seemed to be getting closer, Shinobu always held a deeply rooted concern that one day Naru might actually make good on her threats to have Keitaro kicked out of Hinata House. Her big mouth had nearly done just that mere hours before. It wasn't so much that Shinobu was angry with Naru per say, as she was just flat out upset and angry with a desperate need to lash out at something. Naru just happened to be the perfect target, someone who in Shinobu's eyes deserved most of the blame, so for once Shinobu told Naru exactly what she thought.
Heh, it was almost funny in a way. A year ago, Shinobu would've never dreamt of doing something like that. She would've huddle herself in a corner, and have kept her mouth shut, hoping to disappear while her dorm mates proceeded to rip apart their perverted landlord. It just goes to show how much she'd changed ever since Keitaro arrived at Hinata House. She'd experienced emotions she'd never felt before. He was her first crush, no more than that actually. He was her first real taste with love. Sure, it might've started off as puppy love, but the thing with crushes is that they're fleeting things without much real feeling behind them. They could tend to get intense and feel real for a while, but for the most part they're short term, and fizzle out once something better, or real more likely, comes along making one realize their old crush does not appear as wonderful as they used to seem to be in the crusher's eyes. Naru's affection for Seta was more or less a crush. She practically forgot about him at one point, particularly once Keitaro had shown up, and it took seeing Seta again after so much time to rekindle those old emotions that came back to the surface, and once they had they didn't seem nowhere near as strong as they had at one time.
Crushes don't last well into a year however. They don't get stronger and add more depth the more time goes by. No, somewhere along the road, Shinobu's cute little crush on an older man graduated into full-blown love. Contrary to what some might think, she wasn't too young to know what love was. She was, however, to young too fully understand the emotions she was feeling, nor would she be ready to express them if that love ever passed the stage of unrequited. The poor girl still believed her fellow house mates had no clue as to her monster affection towards the resident landlord, when in fact it was painfully but adorably obvious to all of her friends, with the exception of the ultra-oblivious Keitaro himself. When it came to things like this, Keitaro was indeed the idiot Naru and company alleged him to be.
Shinobu didn't realize it yet, but the changes she'd been going through were all for the better. She no longer hid in the background to hide from life. She'd always been shy and reclusive even around the other girls in Hinata-House, even recently before Keitaro moved in. While still shy and ridiculously innocent, she was more open now, and bolder. Hell, she was happy, truly honest to goodness happy, for the first time since her parent's martial problems began, and possibly her entire young life. Instead of hiding out in the background, she walked out of the shadows and became an active cheerful member of Hinata House, not just some smile-less ghost that floated around only appearing to prepare meals and do laundry from time to time. Through it all, she managed to maintain her sweet and innocent charm that endeared her to everyone, and for the most part she had Keitaro to thank for it all, along with help from the rest of her friends.
This is why it bothered her so when the other girls spoke so poorly of Keitaro. Shinobu couldn't understand why they didn't see her Sempai in the same light as she did. Sure, maybe he was a little clumsy, and possibly a little perverted, but it's not like he ever tried to hurt somebody. He'd done so much for all of them... So much for her, so why did it take Granny Hina threatening to send Keitaro away to get the others to admit it?
Again, the thought of Keitaro being forced to leave sent a chill down Shinobu's spine. She'd developed a steady image in her mind of what she needed to remain happy. She needed her home, Hinata-House… She needed her new family, and that included everyone down to the last detail. Sempai, Naru, Motoko, Su, Kitsune… Even Haruka. Take away one piece and you completely ruin the puzzle. If any one of the girls chose to leave Hinata-Sou it would be tough for Shinobu to take. If Keitaro was the one to leave… Well, then her entire world might as well begin crashing in around her.
Shinobu forced this unpleasant notion from her mind, and shifted her focus to hanging out the laundry. The feel of the shadows creeping in at her back from the sunset helped ease her mind, though this was only a brief sense of ease when she remembered the sun didn't usually set at eleven in the morning. Eyes wide, she looked up, and shirked before sidestepping a speeding body as it torpedoed down towards her. "GWAH!"
With his head now stuffed in the newly formed hole it made the roof, Keitaro reflected upon his decision to kiss Motoko. "You know what… All in all, I think it was worth it…"
"Sempai!…" Shinobu gritted her teeth as she hunched over him. "Oh Kami, are you hurt?"
"Shinobu?" Surprised to hear the young girls voice, Keitaro pulled his head out of the roof, and popped up to his feet like he'd landed on a stack of feathers. A bright smile formed over his face. "How convenient, I need to talk to you about something."
"Umm… About what?" Shinobu inquired, after all this time still amazed by her Sempai's seemingly indestructible nature.
"Well I…" Keitaro decided to come right out and say it, feeling unusually bold that morning. "Actually, it's getting kind of close to lunch time isn't it? What I wanted to know is if that you'd be interested in going into town and grabbing a bite to eat with me?"
"What?! You mean you… Are you asking me to go out with you?…"
Keitaro grinned sheepishly. "Arh, you can call it that if you want. You do so much around this place for everybody, I just figured I'd treat you for a change. Just you and me ya know? What do you say?"
"Well Sempai I…" Blushing to a degree that a simple cut to the cheek might result in death from blood loss, Shinobu hide her mouth behind her hands. "I don't know what to say… What about the others?"
"Ah, let them worry about themselves for a change! This is my treat to you. You can even call it a lunch date if you'd like, I don't care. Just don't say so in front of Naru or Motoko… I'd like to live through the day if at all possible! Ha, ha…"
"Sure, I'd love to!" Shinobu covered her mouth again, alarmed by how eager her reply sounded. Keitaro didn't seem to notice, though he did give her a slightly curious look. "What I mean is... Thank you so much, I'd love to go out to lunch with you!"
"Hey, that's great…" Keitaro scanned the area and noticed the clothes hanging off the line, along with another decent pile of laundry stacked nearby. "Why don't we go as soon as you're done with the laundry? Here, I'll even give you a hand."
Having practically forgotten she still had laundry left to do, Shinobu was quick to accept the offer. "Oh yes, thank you! I'd really appreciate it Sempai… The laundry I mean, offering to help with the laundry's what I appreciate! Not because you asked me out… Because you didn't ask me out! Not like that I mean… It's just I mean… PWAH! I don't know what I mean!"
Keitaro sweat dropped as Shinobu's arms began to flail about, as her eye sockets shorted out. "Whoa! I understand Shinobu calm down, before you fly off the roof or something!"
Shinobu spent most of her afternoon standing in complete awe of Keitaro. Not that their afternoon was anything particularly special, other than the fact that it was just Keitaro and her, making it special enough in Shinobu's heart. The words that left his mouth weren't nothing awe inspiring either, yet Shinobu hung off every one. Just basic stuff really, with Keitaro asking how she was handling her heavy workload at Hinata House, and how her school work was coming along. In Shinobu's eyes, or to her ears rather, he might as well have been discussing the creation of the universe or the meaning of life itself.
For lunch, Keitaro settled on a quaint little diner in town, not extravagant by any means, but it wasn't a dump either. Shinobu could've cared less if it was a beef bowl joint, she was on cloud nine and nobody was going to knock her off. She knew this little lunch get-together wasn't a real date or anything, but that wasn't the way it was going to play out when her fantasies rolled out that night. Yes there was indeed going to be fantasies, and probably an encore of dreams to boot, and neither was going to be featuring puppy dogs, teddy bears, and unicorns either.
"Shinobu?… Are you feeling okay, you seem kind of zoned out?…"
"No, I'm fine Sempai!" Shinobu chimed cheerfully, mixed with a hint of tension. Let's just say if Keitaro could read minds, and Shinobu knew about it, she would've been passed out on the ground by then. Some of the looming fantasies mentioned before decided to run some previews, most of them considerably above even an 'R' rating. "I'm just so happy to be here with you… You're always so nice to me, I just don't know what I can do to thank you…"
"Just be happy, and keep being yourself. That's all I can ask of you…" Keitaro smiled as he watched Shinobu blush and nod her head. As she took a sip of her soda, more or less for a distraction from the burning at her cheeks than anything else, Keitaro continued to stare at her smiling affectionately. Keitaro found it remarkable how sweet and innocent she could appear at times like this. Keitaro had no doubts in his mind she was going to grow up to be an absolutely gorgeous woman to go along with all that sugar and spice. She was going to make some lucky man a fine catch one day… And Keitaro just hoped whoever that was would make her happy. Shinobu deserved all the happiness in the world, and that's everything he wished for her. A part of him feared Shinobu might end up with some jerk who didn't know how to appreciate her. Girls like her often seemed to end up with total scum balls for whatever reason. Luckily, Keitaro could rest assured knowing Shinobu lived with a houseful of friends that wouldn't allow those type of men to get within fifty feet of her without risk of losing a limb or worse.
Shinobu noticed her Sempai's eyes beaming down at her, and her cheeks burned all the more brightly. "Um Sempai… Is something on my face? Why are you staring…"
"I'm sorry, I just find it amazing how much of a little angel you look like sometimes," Keitaro commented with a slight chuckle. Shinobu's entire body practically went red. "You know that reminds me, I've gotta cousin who lives in Mancoa that's about your age. He used to be real shy and kind of melded himself into the background. He actually reminds me a lot of you, the way you were when I first came to Hinata House. You know what, I outta introduce you two sometime! Now that I think about it, you two would look kind of cute together!"
"Thanks, but I don't think that will be necessary…" Shinobu squeaked, feeling terribly embarrassed.
"Hey, why not? There's no reason to be afraid, he's a good kid. Actually, from what I understand he's actually a lot like me… Though I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not!"
"Like you…" A small smile formed over the young girls lips. Inwardly, Shinobu chuckled over the thought of having her own little Keitaro, but deep in her heart she more than understood that nobody could take the place of her Sempai. "Don't be silly Sempai… Your cousin would be doing well if he was even a little bit like you…"
Keitaro smiled, the compliant seeming to go over his head, this hinted at when he failed to blush or act embarrassed like you'd normally expect him to do. All he offered Shinobu was that smirk, and a nod of his head as if a way of saying thank you. The boy seemed to exude so much more confidence than Keitaro had been known to show in recent memory. Then again, if you look at things from where he was sitting right now, he really had no reason to fear embarrassing or making a fool out of himself, seeing as he didn't really expect to be around to live it down come tomorrow. Keeping his eyes locked on the younger girl, Shinobu became increasingly more heated under his affectionate gaze, in more ways than one. Finally, Keitaro spoke cutting through the tension his young ward was feeling. "Shinobu, I want you to promise me something…"
"Promise?" Shinobu peeped. Keitaro's history with promises was one without any need to nr reiterated. Knowing how strongly Keitaro felt about giving and keeping his word, Shinobu almost wanted to say yes before even hearing the request. "What kind of promise?…"
"All I want you to do for me is try your best to be happy Shinobu. You've grown up and changed so much since I first arrived at Hinata House. Despite the fact that you've been more open with all of us at Hinata House, I realize there's still so much about you none of us know. Like, I've never heard you discuss what your dreams are, or what you plan to do with your life after school and Hinata-Sou. Though I have heard a few rumors that you're thinking of applying for Tokyo U when the time rolls around a few years from now."
"How did you hear?!…" Shinobu started to panic, but managed to compose herself, despite how mutilated looking that composure appeared to be. "I mean, I might've thought about it once or twice… But my grades are so bad, it'll be a miracle if I even pass my High School entrance exams!"
"Hey, don't let that keep you down! Look at me, my grades were horrible all through school, and that didn't stop me from trying. Just give it your best and you'll do fine. Who knows, when the time rolls around about four years from now, you might've changed your mind by then. Whatever you decide to do with your life Shinobu, I just want you to promise me whatever you decide to do with it, you do your very best at it, and don't sacrifice your happiness chasing rainbows that fade before you ever reach the other end. I believe with all my heart that you have the potential to be great at anything you put your mind to, if only you start believing in yourself. I can't promise I'll always be there to support you, but I know you'll always have friends to fall back on, and Hinata-Sou too. Live your life to its fullest Shinobu, that's all I ask of you."
"Okay…" Shinobu's mouth hung partially open in awe of her Sempai. No sweeter more encouraging words had she ever heard being directed towards her. This was a promise with her Sempai after all, how could she turn him down. "I'll try my best…"
"That's all I wanted to hear…" Keitaro smiled warmly. "Say, you're not finished with your lunch there are you?"
"Wha?…" Shinobu snapped out of her trance and looked down at her empty dishes and glass, looking alarmed. It wasn't that she was still hungry or anything, she simply didn't wish for this wonderful afternoon out with her Sempai to end. Not this soon anyway. "I suppose so… You're ready to leave already?"
Keitaro sensed the disappointment in her voice but shook it off, a bright smile forming over his face. "Yeah, I think it's about that time. I've gotta busy day ahead of me, and I need to get back. There's one more place I need to take you before we head home, so we better get moving."
Shinobu's eyes lit up. "Oh really?!… Where is that exactly?…"
Keitaro refused to tell Shinobu exactly where they were headed, stating he wanted it to be a surprise. Whatever that surprise was, Shinobu was growing increasingly more worried due to the scenery surrounding them. Their trek had brought them out of Hinata City and into one of the more seedy areas of Kawanga, chalk full of love hotels, nightclubs, and adult entertainment stores on almost every street corner. Shinobu, for the life of her, couldn't phantom why her Sempai would bring her to a place like this.
"Um… Sempai… Where exactly are we going? I don't like it here…"
"Yeah, the neighborhood kind of makes me feel uncomfortable too…" Keitaro agreed, taking a look around the old cockroach farm. "But it's the only spot in town I can think of that has what I'm looking for…"
In a moment of pure plot convenient irony, Keitaro's eyes fell upon the very destination he'd been searching for. A smile forming over his lips, excited, he grabbed Shinobu by the arm and led her in that direction. "Here we are! Come on, let's get going Shinobu."
Shinobu's eyes focused in on a large building up ahead, the only object she could clearly see on the path Keitaro was dragging her along. The building had a big neon sign positioned above the door with three X's sprawled vertically in the center a silhouette of a naked woman off to the side. You could probably imagine the images forming in the young girl's head at the given moment, and Shinobu reacted accordingly. "Wha-what?! There?! Bu, but, Sempai I've never done this kind of thing before! I'm not sure I can handle it!"
"Hey, calm down, it's no big deal." Keitaro smiled at her reassuringly, yet produced none. "I used to come to these places all the time, it's nothing to get worked up over trust me."
"Come here all the time…" Shinobu squeaked in horror, wondering just who it was that Keitaro had been shacking up with at these sleazy love motels. Her brain nearing critical overload, her eye sockets blew their fuses first, as she flailed her free arm about wildly, trying desperately to free herself from her Sempai's grip. "Sempai please! I just can't do this! I'm not ready!"
Keitaro looked down at the girl, and cocked an eyebrow. "Gesh Shinobu, what's the big deal? It's just a print club booth. The camera won't steal your soul or anything if that's what you're worried about!!"
"Print club?" Shinobu asked while her eyes came back into focus. Sure enough, the pair just happened to be standing in front of a small photo booth. Shinobu turned as red as a sunbather who had fallen asleep on the beach in the middle of July. "Oh right! Print club…Ha, ha, ha… That's all you were talking about…"
"Well yeah, why else would I have brought us to his crap hole. Gesh, you were acting worse than Naru did when I brought her out here." Keitaro smiled warmly, and laughed. "From the look on your face, it almost makes me think you thought I was trying to sneak you up to one of those motel's or something!"
"Never crossed my mind…" Shinobu whimpered in total humiliation.
"Well come on then." Keitaro grabbed the young woman's hand, and led her inside the booth.
"Whoa Sempai, they look wonderful!" Shinobu beamed at the picture sitting in the palm of her hand. A small pocket-sized photo with a slightly blushing Shinobu forcing a small shy smile. Sitting on her right was Keitaro with his arm around her shoulders, grinning like the lucky idiot he was.
"I'm glad you like them. They're yours to keep, so do whatever you'd like with them."
"Really!" Shinobu chimed happily. Her expression dipped somewhat as a thought occurred to her, causing her to look down at the dual photographs in her hand. "But… Aren't you going to keep one?"
"Nah. Like I said, those aren't for me, I had them taken especially for you and nobody else. I can always have a copy made later if I want one."
"Specially made for me?…" Shinobu repeated in a tone of giddy awe. Again, her mood was partially ruined by her own thoughts. "But… Why did you pick me to have your picture taken with… Wouldn't you have rather taken one with Naru or one of the other girls?"
"No, why would I? I already have a couple pictures of Naru, and I doubt any of the others would even want their picture taken with me," Keitaro laughed sheepishly. "Besides, I didn't have that picture taken for me, I did it for you because I thought you might like it. It's just a way of saying thank you Shinobu… Sometimes I feel you're the only person at Hinata-Sou that appreciates me…"
"Oh, but that's not true Sempai…" Shinobu stopped herself, and went into mini-panic upon realizing the flaw in her wording. "No, I mean I do appreciate you I do! What I meant to say was, I'm sure the other girls appreciate you too… They just don't like to let it show…"
Keitaro laughed inwardly. "Sounds like wishful thinking to me, but hey, a guy can hope can't he?"
"Umm Sempai…" Shinobu muttered nervously, that ever present blush spread across her adorable face. "I guess I just wanted to tell you that… I promise…"
Keitaro was momentarily confused. "Promise what?"
"You know… What you asked me during lunch… I didn't really give you a straight answer before, so all I'm saying is… I promise I'll try extra hard to make all my dreams come too just like you have!" Shinobu smiled, her blush shining beautifully. "I never really believed much in myself until I came to Hinata House… Though the future still scares me, ever since I met you, sometimes I feel like I can face anything now because I know you and the other's will always be there for me."
Keitaro chocked as for a second his heart forgot to beat. "I know you and the other's will always be there for me." Those words stung Keitaro deep. The poor girl had no idea that by as early as tomorrow morning he most likely wouldn't be around to support her any longer. As if it were some rabid animal moving in for the kill, a haunting image of what might become of Shinobu if he failed to destroy Motai, tried to worm it's way into a visual image. Keitaro grabbed at his forehead, and managed to ward off the mental picture his subconscious was trying to form. "No, damn you, no! I told you, she's off limits!"
Shinobu, seemingly now miles away in Keitaro's mind, continued on with her shy display of affection. "I guess what I'm trying to say Sempai is… Um, that you really inspire me… My life's been so much better since I met you, it almost seems like the least I could do is… Is…Umm…"
Shinobu fumbled with her words, and flat gave up now way too embarrassed to continue. Her nerve strengthened slightly once she looked up and noticed her Sempai holding his head, and grimacing in pain. "Sempai are you okay?"
"Uh?" Keitaro grunted, and nearly jumped having almost forgotten he was still with Shinobu. He smiled feebly and replied. "Oh, it's nothing Shinobu."
"Are you sure?… You're not sick are you? You didn't eat breakfast this morning, and you hardly even touched your meal at lunch…"
"Nah, I'm fine, just haven't been hungry." That was half true at least. He hadn't had much of an appetite in recent days. Didn't help matters much that he seemed to regurgitate anything he managed to force down his throat within a matter of moments. "Guess I'm just sick at my stomach or something."
"But… Why were you holding your head?"
Keitaro froze, having no clue how to respond to that. Eventually he settled on a grin, and a not so encouraging excuse. "Good question… Maybe it's just the stress getting to me. Really, don't worry about me Shinobu-chan, I'll be fine. Let's get going okay?"
"Uh sure…" Shinobu remained unconvinced the entire trip back to Hinata-House. She dwelled over the matter, and the only reason she could seem to find to explain the way Keitaro was acting, was because he was still upset over his fight with Naru the other night. Then again, maybe he was worried about Granny and her threats to remove him as landlord. Whatever the reason, Shinobu came to a conscious decision. She wasn't sure how she was going to do it, but the method be damned she was going to find a way to help cheer her Sempai up. Like a bolt out of the blue, it came to her. She'd play to her own strengths, and try to warm his heart with the very thing she did best. When dinner rolled around that night, she'd prepare a special meal made especially for him. That didn't necessarily mean making his favorite, but perhaps rather preparing something he liked but didn't get to eat all that often. Yes, whatever she decided, she had plenty of time to figure out the rest. Keitaro himself still had thousands of thoughts of his own to sort out.
His back pressed to the wall, Keitaro poked his head around the corner of the building to scout the area. He smirked in contentment as he mapped out what appeared to be a straight path to the main entrance of Hinata House from where he was standing. Things were not always as they seemed however. If Keitaro could slip into the dorm undetected and sneak up into his bedroom then this would all be over. The apartment manager had to remain alert however, for he knew she was out there somewhere stalking him. Hiding… Waiting to pounce on him the moment he let his guard down. Keitaro didn't dare to envision the consequences if she did get her hands on him.
"Well, the coast seems to be clear…" Keitaro made another quick survey of the territory. "Ah to hell with it! I'm making a break fort it… Hey, what's that?"
Keitaro looked up at what he originally thought was Tama, but on closer inspection realized the object flying overhead looked a lot like Tama expect that it was made of metal. Keitaro quickly but two and two together, therefore realizing he was screwed.
All at once, the Mecha-Tama's shell slid open as a blaring alarm began to go off, so loud it nearly blew the skin off of Keitaro's face. A giant foam hand with its finger protruding forward rose up from Mecha-Tama's shell, and pointed downward towards Keitaro.
"Oh crap…" Keitaro hunted for a place to run, but by the time he finally laid a course it proved to be too late. Feeling a shadow descending upon him at rapid speed, that momentary hesitation doomed him, as the falling object landed on his back. The back of his neck to be precise, and to be more precise yet, said object just happened to be Kaolla Su, who nearly knocked Keitaro to the ground upon impact. The boy somehow managed to keep himself upright and regain his balance while the hysterically laughing girl used her legs to form a death grip around Keitaro's neck.
"He-ha! I gotcha ya's! Su wins! He, ha, ha!"
Keitaro grinned sheepishly as he dropped to a knee. "Yeah, yeah, you win… Now can you loosen those legs? You're strangling me here!"
Su teased the boy a while longer, before she finally released him. The two then sat down on the grass in front of Hinata-House, Su laying down in an erratic snow-angel like position. "Yeh! That was so much fun! You wanna go one more round?"
Keitaro took a look at his watch, and shrugged his shoulders. "Ah… I guess I got time… But are you sure you're up for it? You look a little beat there Su…"
"Nah's I'm fine…" Su contradicted herself with a broad yawn, and looked all the more worse as that very yawn seemed to highlight her heavily drooping eyelids. "I can't remember having this much fun in a long time…"
Concerned over Su's unusually lethargic demeanor, Keitaro scooted towards her and asked gently. "Yeah sure Su, like you don't say that three times a day!… Are you sure you're feeling okay? You just haven't been your usual energetic self lately. Have you been having problems sleeping recently, or is all that hyper activeness finally catching up to you?"
"But I feel fine," Su insisted, the hazy look in her eyes claiming otherwise. "Though now that you mention it I have felt kinda ickies, 'specially when I wake up. I know I sleep plenty at night, but for some reason whenever I wake up I still feel totally wiped out. I also can't seem ta remember my dreams though I can remember havin' 'em. Haven't really thought that much about it though."
"Well, that's understandable. From what I've heard we only recollect a small percentage of our dreams anyway..." Keitaro explained it matter 'o factly. "Though, that doesn't explain why you're so tired if you're getting as much sleep as you normally do..."
It was a good point, but Su had her mind on other things. There was something bothering Su, but the girl herself wasn't even aware she had a problem yet. Even as she was sitting there, hands on knees rolled into a ball, debating on whether or not to ask Keitaro a somewhat difficult question. Difficult for Su to ask at least. "Um... Keitaro. Can I ask you something?..."
"Sure, anything you want," Keitaro responded absently, then remembered to whom he was talking too. He then remembered to sit in fear as he waited for her inquiry.
"You're not gona leave us are you Keitaro?..."
If shock could get lodged into your throat, Keitaro would be needing the Heimlich at that moment. "Wh... Why do you ask that?!"
"Dunno, jus' wonderin' I guess..." Su looked damn near bashful, making circles in the grass with one of her fingers. "I remember last night that the other girls sad some bad things about yas, and den that old grandma lady said she might hafta make you leave..."
"She did, did she?..." Keitaro snickered miserably. He'd been present for most of his verbal neutering at the hands of his loving tenants, but he was still sketchy on the details regarding to what happened after he'd fled. He'd heard something or other about his grandma faking the girls out by telling them she was going to kick him out as manager, but other than that Keitaro was more or less in the dark.
Keitaro was perplexed at how to answer her. He couldn't tell her the exact truth, but he couldn't lie to her either. Su wasn't as impressionable as Shinobu, nor did she seem to take things personally. Heck, most of the time she didn't appear to have a care in the world besides when dinner was, and how she was going to get her hands on some spare parts or her next batch of banana's. Keitaro didn't see how anything he could say would upset her all that much, but in the end he opted to be himself and attempted to let Su down as gently and painlessly as possible. "No, I don't plan on leaving Hinata House any time soon Su, unless it's by force. Still, even if something happened and I had to leave, I'm sure you'd be just fine with me out of the picture wouldn't you?"
"No! Don't want Keitaro to leave!"
"I know that, but this is more of a 'what if' type question Su," Keitaro explained. "Forget about whether or not you want me to stay, and think about it this way. What if I had to leave? I know you'd be okay with that eventually wouldn't you?"
"Unt-uh!" Su snorted stubbornly, and stuck her nose up. "Won't let Keitaro leave! I'll find a way to make you stay!"
"Su, you're not listening to me?! This is a rhetorical question! What if something happened to me, or we ran into a situation where there was no possible way for you to make me stay at Hinata-House?!"
Su replied with a question of her own. "Why do ya keep askin'?"
Keitaro's faced quivered in surprise. "I dunno... Just for piece of mind I guess... In case it ever does happen…"
"But why do ya..." Su's face lit up in alarm, feeling she'd put two and two together. "No! You are gona leave me aren't you?! Why, is it because of what the old lady said?!"
"No, no, it has nothing to do with that that Su, you've got it all wrong! I'm not saying for sure that I'm going to leave Hinata-Sou…"
"Then you promise you're not gona go anywhere?"
Keitaro tried to reply, but got nothing but a hollow gagging sound to come squirting out of his throat. "I… I can't promise you that Su…. I can't say for sure that I won't have to leave Hinata House one day, but it's not like it's something I want to do!"
"Liar!" Tearing up slightly, Su turned her back to him only to have Keitaro reach out and grab her by the arm to stop her from fleeing.
"Su, wait a second! Gesh, what's gotten into you?! I don't think you understand what I'm trying to say…"
"Let me go!" Su shrieked, and tore her arm out of his grip. Though the reasons were still unknown even to her, she now had the idea stuck in her head that Keitaro was leaving, and there was apparently nothing that could be said to change that. It felt to her kind of like one of those brainteasers you struggle so hard to find the answer too, only to feel stupid when you realize how obvious said answer actually was. "I don't believe you! I hate you Keitaro! Just let me alone!"
"Su, wait!" Keitaro cried out only to be left standing with his arm extended outward, as he watched Su race off like a bullet towards Hinata House, rushing up the stairs and inside the dorm. Unsure what went wrong, all Keitaro had left to do was hang his head.
"What the hell was that about?! I've never seen Su that upset over anything… Did I say something wrong? I thought I chose my words carefully enough… This is all granny's fault! She probably still has Su convinced she's going to throw me out! Argh, damn it, why does everything around here have to be so damn complicated!"
Shinobu hummed happily to herself as she steadily set the table. It was a bit early in the day for dinner yet, but Shinobu just couldn't wait. After all, she hadn't seen Sempai eat in almost three days, so logic could only dictate that he must be hungry. Naru crept up behind the oblivious younger girl, surprised to see dinner being spread out across the table at that early hour. Not that there was anything wrong with this in particular, but she felt the need to ask none the less.
"Hey Shinobu what's up? Still kind of early for dinner isn't it?"
Startled, Shinobu's feet nearly left the ground, but she managed to compose herself quickly. "Oh Naru! Yes, I know it's early, but seeing as most of us missed lunch today I figured everyone was probably getting hungry…"
"I see…" Naru grinned, and took a peek into the pot Shinobu had just set down on the table. "Wow, it sure is a coincidence that this just happens to be one of Keitaro's favorite dishes. Been a while since we had this, what would be the occasion?"
"No special reason I swear!" the blue-headed girl yelped, unnerved that her innocent little gesture was that obvious. "I just… I… Sempai's really seemed kind of down lately, and combine that with what's been going on with Granny Hina and all, I just thought it would be nice to make something special for him…You know, hopefully to cheer him up. I just hate seeing Sempai so upset, and this was I could think of that I could do for him…"
Naru winced, memories from her actions of the other night, again brusquely slapping her across the face. It was bad enough having to think about what she'd done to Keitaro, not to mention put herself through, but once she was forced to add how her actions affected their other dorm-mates, it only served to add fuel to the fire. Shinobu herself was a particularly troubling prospect, as she was one person Naru would never dream of hurting intentionally.
"Well, isn't that sweet of you," Naru commented, managing to maintain a straight face. "I'm sure Keitaro will love it."
"I hope so…"
"Su, where are you?!" Keitaro called out to the girl, as he searched about the upper level of Hinata House. Several hours had passed since Su had acted somewhat negatively to the mere suggestions of Keitaro leaving Hinata House. By saying somewhat meaning she acted very negatively. Keitaro hadn't seen her about since, and by now had grown worried enough that he decided to check up on her. To do that though, he first had to find the hyper little nutcase. She wasn't hiding in her room, nor did he find her in Motoko's room, leaving Keitaro at a loss for where else to look for her. She could be playing around in one of the many secret passages throughout Hinata House, but if that was the case, Keitaro had less chance of finding her than he did now with the few other remaining options left open to him to look.
Keitaro could only hope that she'd had enough time to calm down since then. He couldn't gauge how long he thought Su could stay angry, because quite frankly he'd never really seen her upset quite like that before. He couldn't understand for the life of him why she reacted the way she had. Su was by no means stupid, weird yes, but not stupid. Hell, she was a technologically genius. Yet, like quite a few others with a tad too much book-smarts, all that excess brainpower suffocated her common sense to a point it was rendered practically useless. Still, even if that was the case, she had to realize his question was strictly hypothetically. He never once told Su he was going to leave Hinata-House, only that he might have to, and yet Su still reacted as if he'd been holding his bags in his hands all while threatening to take her banana stash along with him.
"Gesh, it wasn't like that girl was hard enough to figure out already…" Keitaro mumbled to himself, at the same time deciding to poke his head into Naru's room to see if maybe she was hiding in there. As he suspected, she wasn't.
"What the hell are you doing?" An agitated voice asked from his backside. Keitaro jumped, then quickly backed out of Naru's room, before staring down that very girl warily."Gah, Naru!…"
"What are you doing poking you're nose in my room? Trying to get a free peep on me again?!"
"No, don't be ridiculous! The door was wide open, and I just wanted to see if maybe Su was in there…"
Naru's brow furrowed. "And why would Su be in my bedroom?"
"I dunno, can't find her anywhere else. You haven't seen her around have you?"
"No, not since this morning…"
Keitaro frowned in disappointed. "Oh okay… Excuse me, but I have to go find her…"
"Don't worry about her for now…" Naru told him, as she grabbed him by the arm as he tried to walk off. "Shinobu's putting dinner on the table as we speak. She'll turn up when she gets hungry enough, trust me."
"Dinner? It's still kind of early for dinner isn't it?"
"Yeah, but most of us haven't eaten much since breakfast…" Naru grunted, recalling Granny Hina's mind games from earlier in the morning. "So, she decided to fix dinner a little earlier… Speaking of which, you need to come down and join us."
"Nah, I think I'll pass… I'm not all that hungry, and I really need to find Su anyway…"
"No, you're coming to join us at the table," Naru commanded, and back this up by proceeding to drag him along after her. "Now come on, you're not skipping out on us this time!"
"But Naru! I'm really not in the mood for food right now… I haven't been feeling well and I don't think…"
"Stop it with the excuses! Shinobu made this meal especially for you, and you're not going to break her little heart by turning her down! Now, are you going to come along quietly, or am I going to have to drag you there by your ear!"
"Okay I'm coming! I'm coming!" Keitaro submitted, deciding so at the very moment she mentioned Shinobu. He couldn't disappoint the girl, despite how bad off his digestive tract was at the time. He'd already upset one girl that day, he didn't need to get off on the wrong foot with two of them. He'd just have to find a way to force some food down, and hope it stayed there.
Keitaro slugged his way over to his seat at the table like a man being lead to the gallows. The only real difference in this case was, rather than being hanged from his neck, he'd instead suffer death by soup. He looked on helplessly as the remainder of the residency, minus Su who was still MIA, gathered around him. As if conspiring against him, Keitaro noticed neurotically that not a one of his fellow residents bothered to dive into their meal, all four of them instead opting to watch Keitaro as he blankly stared from his bowl to his table mates. A stale mate ensued in which Keitaro never once made a play to take a taste of his dinner, leading to some degree of irritation from the girls.
"Well, what are you waitin' for Keitaro?" Kitsune asked, sensing Naru readying to bark at him. "Go ahead and try it, it's pretty good. Shinobu made it especially for you ya know…"
Keitaro grinned sheepishly. "So I've been told… Though I appreciate it, I'm not all that hungry at the moment…"
At watching Shinobu wince, Naru began to snap. "It's not going to kill you to try it! Just do it for Shinobu okay!"
Keitaro looked over at Shinobu, who held a helpless gleam in his eyes. Shinobu smiled weakly, a crimson shade flooding her cheeks. "That's okay… You don't have to eat it if you don't want to…"
Like the condemned man he was, Keitaro looked down at his bowl and decided to hell with it. If it would make Shinobu happy then he'd try and stomach some of it. Hesitantly, he dipped his spoon into the bowl, and slower yet brought the contents to his mouth. His stomach objected adamantly up to the point Keitaro stuck the spoon into his mouth. While not unpleasant to the taste buds in the least, his throat had a different opinion as it sided with his digestive track, and for a moment refused to give his mouths contents access to his trachea. After quite a bit of struggle, Keitaro finally won out and managed to swallow. He managed a weak smile towards Shinobu, and as she and the others watched on, Keitaro proceeded to take another spoonful. As the spoon hit his mouth, this time his stomach was determined not to be ignored. Keitaro heaved violently, and promptly regurgitated what little he'd eaten over the side of the table and onto the floor. Both Kitsune and Motoko jumped from the table as much on instinct as out of fear of being vomited on.
Keitaro recovered quickly, and the first thing he did was look over at Shinobu. His heart filled with concern as he saw her eyes begin to water. "I'm sorry Sempai… I didn't realize it tasted that horrible… I'm so sorry, I can't do anything right!"
"Shinobu wait!" Keitaro called after her as she sped away from the table. A sharp pain in his gut prevented him from giving chase. "Urgh… Darn it…"
Keitaro went pale as he heard a low growling sound at his back. "YOU JERK!"
Keitaro turned just in time to catch a right jab to his jaw, sending him back into the wall, only to bounce off it and hit the floor. Naru stalked his way and despite hovering over him, Keitaro this time didn't lay back and cower beneath her. In an unprecedented moment of defiance, after rubbing at this face, Keitaro sprung to his feet.
"What was that for?!" Keitaro demanded, clearly irritated.
Naru backed up a step, surprised by his reaction. "Why do you think?! You made Shinobu cry!"
"And whose fault is that?! I told you I wasn't feeling well, but you had to drag me down here anyway! Kami, why do you always make it sound like I plan these things out?! It's not like I wanted to make her cry! I tried to make her happy, it just didn't work out the way I wanted it too… And just for the record, you're not exactly helping!"
Again, Naru was driven back on her heels by Keitaro's uncharacteristic defensive behavior. Keitaro didn't bother waiting for a response either, as Naru remained taken aback long enough for Keitaro to walk off visibly rubbing his face and grumbling to himself up until the moment he exited the area. Naru, in her own right, decided not to press the issue, and instead folded her arms and stormed off in the opposite direction Keitaro had went, she too grumbling the entire way. Kitsune and Motoko gawked at each other, awed by the sight they'd just seen.
"That was different…" Motoko commented. After years of seeing their landlord cower into a corner before subsequently getting pummeled, watching him actually stand up to Naru was a far from standard experience.
"Yeah… It kinda makes you wonder if Keitaro found a sack of balls laying around somewhere."
"I'd wager he's most likely frustrated. Naru's behavior has been less than appropriate as of late. I suppose even Keitaro has limits to how much he can take."
"Urashima you mean?" Kitsune smirked.
A rebellious blush foiled Motoko's indifferent response. "You know what I mean."
A hearty laugh from Kitsune later, and Motoko's will gave in to a full-blown face fault.
end.
Preview of Chapter Seven: Keitaro's final day before his impending date with destiny has already had its shares of up and down's, but it's nowhere near over. With Shinobu and Su now upset with him, and Naru seemingly eternally pissed off at him, he now turns his attention to saying his goodbyes to the remaining girls. What he learns just might lead him to question everything about his decision to face Motai to begin with. Another kiss; a real one this time, a suicidal study date, and an innocent trip to a bar that somehow leads to a hotel room without the aid of alcohol. All this and more in the mildly anticipated seventh installment of At the Crack of Dawn Chapter 7: 'The Ditz, the Hothead, and the Fox'.