With a New Heart: False Start
By
triviatrap1982
I do not own Love Hina, or Katawa Shoujo. Love Hina is owned by Ken Akamatsu. Katawa Shoujo is owned by Four Leaf Studios.
Makoto was waiting for the call to be patched through. She really frowned. She knew she would have to deal with Hina. She did not want to deal with her this soon. Still, she kept her composure. She got the call patched through. Hina introduced herself, and Makoto introduced herself. Hina had to keep it quiet behind her. Su was being a bit too noisy. She got bored quickly, and made her own entertainment. After Naru came and got Su, Hina was about to get down to business. This was concerning Keitaro. Makoto already knew this. This was about Keitaro being a teaching assistant. She already knew this too. Mutou has given Keitaro more responsibility just this week. He allowed him to take attendance. He also allowed Keitaro to hop around during group work. That is he needed to make sure the students were doing what they were supposed to do. She also noted that Keitaro took time from his busy day to help other staff and students. Makoto made the opening move rather quickly.
"How may I help you?" Makoto asked bluntly.
"Well...this is about Keitaro," Hina stated.
"Do you have any business with him?"
"Actually...I don't think he'd be a good fit for Yamaku."
'You overplayed your hand,' Makoto thought.
"You see...I think he'd be better off as manager at my property," Hina continued.
"So...you want me to fire him?" Makoto asked.
"Yes," she said brutally honest, "I don't think he'll do a good job there."
"Tell me...why exactly do you think that?" Makoto asked.
Makoto knew she had Hina on the ropes. There was no way she was going to fire Keitaro. There also was no way the board was going to fire Keitaro either. If anything...what Hina was asking was illegal. There also was one other thing. Even if Keitaro slipped up, he still would have corrected his mistake quickly. She knew what Hina was after. She wanted him to give up his own dreams, to be miserable. That was something she really took quite seriously. Makoto went in for the kill.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't do that," Makoto said.
"Why not, you have the power don't you?" Hina asked surprised.
"First of all...it is quite illegal," she said. "I cannot fire anybody for no reason."
"What about his happiness?" Hina asked. Her voice had a bit of venom to it.
"He's plenty happy," Makoto started. "Secondly...you're trying to influence myself and the board as well."
"I...well...the director of the academy will hear about this!"
"I am the director of the academy," Makoto said. "That guy retired about five years ago."
"Wait...you're...not..." Hina struggled.
"I am," she said. "In fact...I would appreciate if you had actual business the next time you call."
Hina was stunned. She had no idea that she ran into a buzz saw. Defeated...for now...Hina ended the call. Makoto ended the call as well. She knew she was going to have a talk with Keitaro about Hina. She knew she'd have to get more in depth of why she wanted him to give up everything. She grabbed her cane to go fetch Keitaro. The nurse came in with his reports he needed to turn in from his staff. He had them in Braille so that Makoto can read and respond to them. She sighed when she heard the paper hit the desk. She did get an idea. She was going to make Keitaro come to her. This was very serious.
"Would you do me a favor?" Makoto asked.
"Do you need me to fetch somebody?" the nurse asked.
"Yes...go fetch Keitaro for me," she said.
"I think that there's a review period for Mutou," he started. "I'll go get him right away.
"Thank you, you're a big help."
"It's not a problem."
She went on with her paperwork. It did keep her busy for a couple of minutes. Keitaro knocked on the door, and she perked up. Keitaro let himself in. She had him sit down. There were a lot of things about Hina she wanted to know about. She already knew he rejected her offer to become the property manager. She wanted exactly to know why she wanted him to become property manager. She also wanted to know exactly what else about Hina that she should know about. She already knew that Kitsune admitted to being a resident there, she admitted as much when she came to visit last week. Keitaro spoke up quickly. He had an idea on what this was about.
"Is this about my grandmother?" Keitaro asked straight away.
"Yes it is," she said.
"Did she call to try to get me fired?" he asked.
"Yes...she did," Makoto answered bluntly.
"What do you want to know?" Keitaro asked.
"Be honest with me," she said. "Why is your grandmother hell-bent on you becoming that property manager?"
"Actually...this all started when I was about five," Keitaro started. "You see...I made a childish promise."
"You were a kid then...those kinds of promises are invalid," Makoto said.
"Yes...I made a promise to a girl I'd get into Tokyo University at that age," Keitaro admitted.
"I see..." she said. "She's trying to hold you to a promise that means nothing."
"Yes...that's what actually upset my parents when I failed the entrance exams three times," Keitaro admitted.
"I see," Makoto said.
"Did I do something wrong?" Keitaro asked.
"You haven't," she said. "I just wanted to get to the bottom of this."
"I do wonder...outside of that Kitsune...who else is there...?" Keitaro asked concerned.
Makoto knew he made a good point. He was concerned that Hina might try to use the other residence to try to get him away from Yamaku. Keitaro was excused from the office. He frowned knowing that he would have to be on his guard at all times. He knew Kitsune didn't put Hina up to this. In fact he hasn't heard from her in a while. They did exchange numbers. He still thought about who was living there. From what he gathered, it was an all girls' dorm. He also gathered that some of the residents were school students...or studying for the college entrance exams. Keitaro did have some free time, after class. He saw Emi about five meters away, and she slowed down. She didn't want to get told off again for running in the hallways. She passed him, and he looked to her and smiled.
"Hello," Keitaro said. "I hope you're having a good day."
"I'm not," she said. "I got yelled at for forgetting my homework."
"Wow, that isn't good," Keitaro said.
"It's okay," she said. "He did warn me to not do it again."
"I'm sure that it was accidental."
"Still..." she started.
"Is there anything you need to talk about?" Keitaro asked.
"Yeah there is...in private?" Emi asked.
"Sure," Keitaro said. "You just have to tell me the time and the place."
Emi handed him a slip of paper. She knew that Rin would be at art club after school. This is the rare time where, Emi didn't feel like doing anything track related. Keitaro knew something was wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it. He decided it was his duty to go to talk to Emi. He also was aware that his advice would have to be solid. If he gave advice to the contrary...things may well go to hell at that point. After all classes where finished, he went to the dorms. Keitaro knocked on the door, and Emi answered. She invited Keitaro in. He sensed something was very wrong. He sat down at the desk chair. He decided to be as direct as possible.
"Okay," Keitaro started, "what's going on here?"
"Well...today's that day..." Emi said. "It's a very dark anniversary."
"Oh, I think it's something to do on why you don't have legs," Keitaro returned.
"It is," Emi said. "In fact this is the anniversary of that crash that changed my life."
"Take your time," Keitaro said.
"I'm sorry...it's just..." Emi started.
"I know...it's very hard," Keitaro answered compassionately.
"Yeah...before I lost my legs...my dad and I were very close," she continued.
"Damn..." Keitaro said figuring things out, "you lost your father did you?"
"I did..." Emi said sadly. "In fact the doctors at the hospital didn't want to tell me what happened."
"You were quite young at the time."
"That's true...though...I never gave up running...at all..." she started.
"You wish he were here to see you compete?" he asked.
"I do." Emi answered.
"I do have a question," he started. "How do you know he's not watching you compete right now?"
It seemed corny, but...to Emi...it actually fit. She's heard of supernatural things before. She's even heard of Americans being saved by some random person, who never was seen from again. This actually made sense to her. She grabbed a tissue to dry her tears. She had no idea that Keitaro would sit in and listen. He continued to listen to her circumstances. He had questions for her that she was able to answer. He knew not to ask any questions that would set her off. Still, it started to really sink into Keitaro's being that he had been selfish. This time, he ended up making sure that he would at least try to make right with his parents, and his sister. After the conversation, Emi felt a lot better.
"Thank you," Emi said with a smile, "you've helped me a lot."
"You're welcome," he said. "You go to track before your captain gives you hell."
"You're right!" Emi said.
"I'll leave you to get ready," Keitaro said.
He left Emi's room to give her privacy. He made sure the door was closed. He did have the papers he needed to grade. He went to his dorm to do so. Mutou trusted him to do this much. After Keitaro finished grading the papers, he picked up his cell phone. He decided that he had to make a call to his parents. They needed to talk. He also needed to talk to Kanako. He knew he was just as bad with her. He was nervous, but he knew this had to be done. After all, hearing Emi's story...made him feel like a heel. He also knew that if he didn't do anything about it now...all would be lost in a random freak accident. He did get their voicemail; he just simply said they needed to talk. He grabbed all of the papers, he graded, and he went to turn them in to Mutou. He looked at Keitaro, and noticed that he was growing even more.
"You look like a man on a mission," Mutou said. He noticed that Keitaro was standing taller.
"I am," Keitaro said. "I do have some personal business to take care of."
"I can arrange for you to go off campus for a day to take care of it," he said.
"Thank you," Keitaro said. "I think tomorrow should do it."
"That's great," Mutou said. "I'll see if that's alright with Makoto."
"I'll come with you," he said.
"There's no need," Mutou said. "I know you have to fight your own battles...but you will need a little push."
Keitaro understood exactly what Mutou was going on about. He would need about half a day to try to get things finished. He also knew that he wanted also to talk to Kanako. Mutou went to the administrative offices. A few minutes later...he got Keitaro the go-ahead to take the day off. Makoto decided that this was for the greater good. She has had a history of giving staff time off for personal reasons. She also figured out why exactly Keitaro decided he had to go back home for a day. This was going to set up the chance that Keitaro was looking for. He was going to not only make right...but this time make new friends. He didn't realize it, but he was starting to become friends with certain people. Keitaro decided he still needed to take that first important step. If he didn't, then he knew things would be for nothing.
