Okay, it's time for the next chapter. The last chapter, almost inevitably, caused quite a bit of divided opinion - something I expected, especially given the nature of the story. I didn't expect the almost vitriolic outburst which one kind reader provided; I don't know why the person reacted so strongly and atypically, but I suppose you can't please everyone all the time. If it's one less reader, then I can live with that.
What I do want to address is the fact some have suggested the twist to be too 'sudden' or 'contrived'. Shinobu's condition was a challenge I was asked to include in a fic by one of my close friends who wanted me to write about someone with the condition, and was one of the main reasons I wrote this piece. After repercussions and the hard time I gave Shinobu I really wanted to give her the chance to shine, and simply thought 'what if….she wasn't as young as she looked' - and the two ideas came together, and additionally it was something I'd never seen happen in this genre. So if that seems contrived, I apologise. However, I did do my best to foreshadow events which were to come - looking back I've come up with about twenty points which gave hints. Here are a few of the more obvious ones:
Chapter 1 - Shinobu eyeing herself in the mirror, displeasure at her childish figure
- 'Aren't you meant to be (too young) too?' - Su to Shinobu
Chapter 2 - 'I'm a bigger girl than any of you realise' - Shinobu
- 'Ya never know, the girl might be becomin' a woman at last. It's takin' her a while, she's pretty much the same girl I first met here three years back, right down to her triple-A cups' - Mitsune
Chapter 3 – 'You're not even fifteen yet Shinobu-chan.....and I don't think it's the right for me either....' - Keitaro
'....Yes, you're right. Well, half-right.' - Shinobu
Chapter 5 – This meant her 'Sempai' would find out a few things about her as well....
- Drawing the figure of the woman on the mirror, and standing confined within it, never quite reaching the outline
Chapter 7 – Shinobu's reaction when Keitaro describes her as 'beautiful'
Chapter 8 – (Shinobu) wanted to sound a strident and implacable adult, but all her ears heard were the whines of a pouting child.....
'She's had a tough life.....' - Haruka
- The cloud which could blot out the sun
I guess it's hard to draw these things together initially, but I think it's more obvious on re-reading. I didn't just drop Turners syndrome in as a plot device to make the numbers fit, and I hope that's more clear now.
Anyhow, enough rabbiting, on with the fic.
Parallel Lives - Chapter 10
Motoko glanced down at the snoring form of Kaolla Su, who was presently wrapped very snugly around her legs in the midst of a deep slumber. As she watched the younger girl visibly fidgeted in her sleep, giving the legs in her grasp an all-the-more tight squeeze before relenting as her facial muscles relaxed a few seconds later.
No such dreams for the youngest Aoyama.
It was the first chance the girl had had to reflect since she'd blurted out the most foolish words ever to escape her lips. It said a lot about the fear her sister inspired in her that it was only now she was really coming to appreciate how it was, in truth, the worst possible thing she could have done. For one, it chained her to a man possibly for eternity, a man who she had never professed anything more to than a belief in his inadequacies. Now she'd been forced to admit a few things, it was fair to say Keitaro was in no way the fool she'd always thought him to be. In fact, Motoko wasn't disgusted with the idea as she'd imagined herself to be - even sharing her home with a man was a bitter pill that took many, many months to swallow, so the idea of having to share something approaching intimacy…..it spoke volumes that she didn't feel the urge to vomit at the thought which should have filled her with revulsion.
That wasn't to say she didn't feel any revulsion.
But the revulsion she did feel was levelled purely and simply at herself. A moment of childish cowardice, and the future of at least three people could be the price.
Keitaro, with his almost masochistic desire to help others at any personal cost, would probably be willing to go along with the whole charade if she were to approach him and explain the situation. Despite the fact he owed her nothing, and the fact his heart belonged to someone else, the fool would almost definitely drop anything to help a friend in need.
Even if it was a price he would pay forever.
To divorce or betray an Aoyama – it just wasn't done, not if the individual wanted to continue living with all of their limbs attached. The moment she made her foolish declaration it had inexorably tied him to her, unless he was willing to risk the wrath of a clan of sword-wielding honour-obsessed martial artists. But for all the will in her body, Motoko simply couldn't choose to take the honest path.
Needless to say, this would have further implications.
Mostly surrounding Naru, especially after what she'd heard through the door she couldn't bring herself to knock. Her honey-haired friend was at least very very fond of Keitaro, but doing what she had had effectively ended any discussion before it could begin. If Keitaro were to agree to help, then he would be 'engaged' and any thoughts of seeing another woman would be seen as dishonourable – as a result he again would need to keep count of his limbs in case he should suddenly find one to be mislaid. After what Naru had said earlier that evening, taking Keitaro for her own means would affect her friend far more deeply and profoundly than the swordsmistress could have imagined before she'd become tangled up in the whole sordid affair.
Naru was right, she had sold her friends out. She had chosen her own freedom over the dreams of others.
And that was an ache which refused to diminish as the minutes ticked past.
Turning dulled olive eyes upon her sheathed blade which rested upon the table, Motoko found herself pondering exactly why she had reacted so strongly to the idea of returning to the home of her family, the home of her future. Surely, it should be the highest accolade a young swordsmistress could imagine, being made head of her school and champion of her art. Before arriving at the Hinata-sou, Motoko imagined she would've been both honoured and inspired by the decision that she should take up the mantle of leadership.
So what had changed? Had living in the Hinata-sou indeed, as her sister put it, made her 'soft'?
Reaching out a hand, the young woman let the tips of her fingers trace across the polished saya, almost mesmerised by the way the black lacquer gleamed beneath the milky moonlight which poured through the window and pooled around her most treasured possession.
The warrior, the blade.
One without the other was worth nothing.
The katana which was her raison d'etre, the centre of her existence. The most important thing in her life, something she had placed above all else almost from the moment she learned to walk. She could, if she so wished, split a falling blossom in two or take a single petal from a blooming flower with barely a thought. It was all she had, and all she knew until she moved to the Hinata-sou.
So why? Why the sudden reluctance to use the tool as it had always been intended?
Retracting the hand, Motoko almost jumped when a twitch of movement from her bed-mate reminded her where she was. Looking down at the top of a blonde-crowned head, the swordsmistress felt a smile ghost across her face as the Molmolian princess (who was presently using her legs as a substitute for a teddy-bear) muttered something in her sleep and shifted again, this time rolling onto her back and letting out a long snore towards the ceiling.
The hand which had traced across her katana with such tenderness reached down and gently scratched the top of Su's head with not an ounce less affection, eliciting a grumbling yawn in response. Regarding the younger girl in as she slept, Motoko silently wondered if she did indeed have something to do with the disappearance of Keitaro and Shinobu, and additionally the difficulties encountered since.
If she had, Motoko doubted she could possibly hold it against the little Molmolian for long.
It is often said that things look worse in the cold light of day.
Naru could wholeheartedly agree.
After she had calmed and regained some semblance of poise the night before, it had seemed to the young student that the worst was over. Yes, there was still a lot of looking to do, but at least they weren't searching through an entire country, right? And once they had found Keitaro, well, then she just had to be brave for once in her life. It wasn't that much of a task, was it?
It was only as the group of four, one lagging behind a touch with her normally focussed gaze conspicuously absent (and a foreign princess riding upon her back), strolled towards the apparent location of the mystery phone box that it began to dawn on her that things might not be so simple.
Sapporo was big. And there were more hotels, hostels and apartments than even the most avid stick-shaker could wave a branch at. It was almost a disappointment when the foursome happened across the telephone box – just a standard kiosk, something completely unremarkable and mundane.
After all the trouble they'd been through finding it, Naru thought there should have been a big banner reading 'GOAL' strewn across its door, at the very least. Even more disappointing was the absence of a hotel on its doorstep, one where a one-legged Kanrinin and his petite travelling companion might find shelter. No, it might not have been the actual place where they mystery couple were residing, but it would've been a start.
"Yep. This is it!" Su chirped, snapping a flashing device shut and silencing the increasingly insistent beeping which it had been emitting ever since the walk began.
"Finally. That thing was givin' me a headache." Poking her head inside the box, Mitsune glanced around. "Nah, nothin' interestin' in here. 'Cept.....what's this?" Leaning further in, the fox seemed to reach out for something. "A card for, hmmm, 'Mister Stretch'? Why's he called.....Ohhhhhhh, that's why."
"Anything in there Kitsune-chan?" Naru watched in puzzlement as her friend dissolved into a bout of dubious snickering, pocketing something as she did so.
"Nah, nothin' that would interest you Naru-chan." Straightening up, the tall woman glanced around her casually. "So, what do we do? It's all restaurants 'round here, so we're gonna have to start wanderin'."
"I've got the town guide from the station, it's got a list of the better places in here. I can't see Shinobu agreeing to stay at a dump, so there's a good chance it'll be one of them." Naru suggested, pulling a booklet from the bag she carried on one shoulder.
"I can't see Keitaro askin' her to." Mitsune put in, throwing her friend a cautioning look.
"I believe we should limit our search to a two-mile radius, at least at first." The quiet and precise voice of Motoko almost surprised her housemates – those being the first words she had spoken in public for the entire morning.
"Why? If they came here to eat, why would they need to be staying close by?" It was clear by the tone Naru used, being perhaps a little more annoyed than was necessary, that she wasn't exactly on the best of terms with her housemate. In response Motoko bowed her head minutely, as if acknowledging the girl's ire.
"Shinobu used the telephone here on successive nights, which indicates it is unlikely to be too far from her current place of residence." Came the logical answer. "I may not be correct, but it at least gives us something to begin with.
"Fair enough." Strolling over to her good friend, Mitsune looked over Naru's shoulder. "So, where do we start?"
"I reckon the south!" Su crowed from her perch upon Motoko's back, green eyes gleaming. "It's where the cheapest hotels are, I checked on-line before we came!" Mitsune and Naru exchanged a glance, eyebrows raised at what was a very sensible suggestion from Kaolla Su, while Motoko cast a curious glance back at her passenger but stayed silent. In truth she wanted to do the very opposite of what Su indicated; her intuition was again telling her something was wrong, and if her suspicions were true Su would be leading them away from their target – she wouldn't even be surprised if the Princess was bankrolling the whole affair, and allowing her friends the isolation they obviously sought.
But now was not the time to start theorising aloud. Her stock was low enough as it was.
"Sounds like a plan." Mitsune eventually agreed. "So, the big question is how do we do this?"
"What do you mean Kitsune-chan?"
"I mean, do we tour Sapporo as a foursome, or do we split up?"
The question hung in the air like a storm cloud. Naru couldn't help but stare at Motoko, who felt the heat of her gaze even as she directed hers towards the paving stones. Then, to Naru's relief (and Motoko's annoyance) someone else made the decision for them.
"Foursomes have more fun!" Su cheered, grin cheesy as the cheesiest cheese. "'Least that's what my dad always used to say....."
Cue a silence in which more than one imagination ran amok, much to their owners' embarrassment.
"Foursome it is. Besides - " Naru waved her handbook in the air, silently wishing her face would stop glowing. "- We only have one guide between us. There's no point wandering around at random." Inwardly the honey-haired girl breathed a sigh of relief. If Motoko had got to Keitaro first, and talked him into supporting her story.....at the very least Naru wanted to be there when she did, just to remind him what he would be walking away from.
"Right. Naru-chan, which way to the nearest place?" Mitsune asked, a knowing grin on her face.
"Uhhhh, if we take the next left there's a place just a hundred yards down the road." Her friend replied, pointing at a side-street only a few yards down the road.
"Cool." Linking her fingers, the fox cracked her knuckles in a show of readiness. "Let's go break up that love nest!"
"Mitsune-san, that sort of comment is not going to help when we do find them." Motoko chided gently, taking up her position behind her friends while juggling Su into a more comfortable position.
"Ah, I'm only jokin'."
"Even so." As she followed her housemates towards their first destination, the Swordsmistress' fine hearing picked up the tiniest chuckle coming from the friend currently saddled on her back. Somehow, the simple action was enough to confirm Motoko's suspicions as regarded Su and her part in the whole piece.
The only question now was what to do about it.
Keitaro glanced down at yet another take-away box, this time one containing a pizza, and bit back a sigh. Such things were nice once in a while, but three meals in a row was a little too much. Given the choice, the Kanrinin would have much rather gone out to a decent restaurant, or picked up some food from a nearby convenience store.
The knowledge that the Hinata-sou's residents were in the area took the choice away.
Yes, Sapporo was a large place, and yes the chances of being spotted on any given day during a trip to the shop was small. But the chance was still there, and it was one neither he nor his companion wished to take.
The aforementioned companion was presently rooting through a plastic bag stuffed with boxes which she had pulled from the depths of her suitcase. Withdrawing one the girl opened it and withdrew a sheet of tablets, quickly popping a couple from their blisters and throwing them into her mouth. Dropping the box back into the nondescript bag she reached out her left hand and plucked a glass of water from the table, downing half of the glass before carefully replacing it with a contented sigh.
"Okay over there Shinobu-chan?" Keitaro queried, watching the girl stow her bagful of tablets back in her luggage.
"Yeah." Glancing out of the window the diminutive figure frowned thoughtfully. "You know, we almost ended up getting caught because of all those tablets - Naru caught me in the kitchen with them the day before we left. Luckily, she didn't notice."
"I guess there might have been a few questions asked." Her friend agreed, idly scratching the plaster as if in hope it would reach the itch trapped beneath it.
"Itching again?" Making her way over to her bed, Shinobu sat down as she eyed the brown-eyed ronin with obvious sympathy.
"Not too bad this time. But seriously, if this happens to my leg again I'm going to ask them to just cut it off." The man responded, flipping the lid of the box beside him on the bed up and eyeing the contents curiously. "Well this looks…..interesting." He commented, uncertainty clear in his tone.
"It tastes better than it looks." Shinobu reassured, picking a slice of pizza from her own box and gingerly removing an olive which had been placed on top for no apparent reason. Elevating it to eye level and studying it with her violet gaze, Shinobu contemplated the small black object between her fingers with obvious puzzlement.
"I always wondered why they do it." She eventually announced to no-one in particular, dropping the offending fruit back into the open box before her.
"Do what?"
"Put things on pizza you don't want." Eyeing the now olive-less slice she still held and finding it more to her liking the girl took a bite and commenced chewing with relish, waiting until the first mouthful was gone before speaking again. "They ask you what toppings you want, and then they go and put something else on as well. When people want curry for dinner I don't go sticking olives in just for the heck of it."
"I think they call it artistic license." Deciding to bite the bullet (and the pizza) Keitaro took a tentative nip from the narrow end of the slice, and chewed cautiously. Finding the taste to his liking he took a larger mouthful, relaxing as he did so.
"Do you like it Kei-kun?" Raising his eyes to his friend the ex-ronin nodded contentedly, not trusting his over-full mouth to speak legibly. Shinobu smiled in relief, taking another bite of her own slice as she did so. "Good. I had no idea you'd never had pizza before, but I was sure you'd like it."
"Speaking with your mouth full? I must be a bad influence on you Shinobu-chan." Watching the girl opposite blush gently Keitaro chuckled, leaning over to pat her gently on the arm as if to confirm the lack of reproach in his words.
"Why have you never had pizza before?" Shinobu eventually managed, making sure she had well and truly finished her latest mouthful before saying a word.
"It just worked out that way. At home dinner was always cooked by someone, and I lived there right up until I moved to the Hinata-sou. As for after I moved, well, there was a chef who lived at the Hinata-sou whose cooking was far too good for me to even think about ordering take-away." Making no mention of the way Shinobu's face flushed once again, Keitaro eyed the pepperoni-topped bread with an appraising look. "I suppose there might have been times when someone ordered some, but considering how often I was……away for one reason or another I never got the chance to try it."
"I suppose." Shinobu agreed, not needing to ask what 'away' meant.
"I have to say, I could get used to this." Swinging his plaster-clad leg up onto the bed, the bespectacled man tore another slice from the pizza. "Good food, good company. Makes a nice change. Not that I'm saying your food isn't nice or anything Shinobu-chan, it's fantastic….." A waving hand told Keitaro that Shinobu understood what he meant.
"Was the company really that bad?" Taking another bite of her dinner, Shinobu watched with a furrowed brow as her friend placed his latest slice back in the box and his hands behind his head, resting back until his shoulders rested against the wall at the top of his bed.
"Well……for me it was. I just could never relax, ever, not like this. I always had to be on my guard, watching everything I ever said or did. Imagine never being able to just speak because you feel like talking, or stroll because you feel like walking." Thinking over his words, Shinobu found herself nodding in silent agreement.
"You haven't had so many problems since we came here." She pointed out, reaching over to pat Keitaro's un-plastered leg.
"Maybe now that I don't spend all my concentration on watching my mouth, I can watch my feet at the same time. Or vice-versa." Glancing over at the girl sat on the other bed, her hand still on his leg, Keitaro smiled a heartfelt smile. "I've got you to thank for that, Shinobu-chan.
"Kei-kun….." Feeling a hint of worry still nagging at her, Shinobu took a deep breath and looked Keitaro in the eye. "Kei-kun, do you think you……like me just because I'm the only one who'll give you the time of day?"
"What?! Shinobu-chan - "
"Please, I want to know." Fighting the urge to hide her gaze, the diminutive figure forced onwards. "If it was anyone else and you, anyone who was willing to listen…..wouldn't you be feeling the same way?" She finished, voice dropping as she gripped the bedspread tightly between her fingers.
"Well, I suppose I would be thankful yeah. But that wouldn't make me love them." A tiny smile made its way onto Shinobu's mouth at Keitaro's honest response, one that passed off just as quickly as it came.
"Love…." Letting the blanket slip from between her fingers, the petite girl swallowed past a lump beginning to form in her throat. "I know you love me Kei-kun, and I'm glad we're giving ourselves a chance. But…..I need you to be sure. Really sure." Glancing down at herself, Shinobu took in the subtle swell of her chest, the pale complexion of her thin arms, the narrowness of her hips. "If you choose to be with me, it means living with this for the rest of your life. Never having a real woman to share intimate moments with, never being able to father a child, people thinking you're robbing the cradle when you kiss me in the street. I know you, Kei, and I know that you'd say almost anything to make me happy. But I need to know that you've thought about what you're giving away, and what you'll never have, before you commit yourself to me."
For what seemed like hours, not a word was spoken.
"Shinobu-chan." Looking up, the girl found Keitaro sat opposite her, brown eyes only inches away.
"Yes?"
"I promise I'll think about this, for as long as it takes." Reaching up the man swept a few stray strands of violet behind the girl's ear, voice dropping to barely a whisper. "But while you've been telling me what I might miss, you've forgotten about the most important thing of all."
"What's that, Kei?" Shinobu breathed back, face aglow.
"What I get is far better than anything I lose. I get you."
For what might have been a second or a lifetime, the pair gazed at one another, faces centimetres apart. Then, as if on some sort of silent command, both pairs of lips drifted towards one another, both pairs of eyes slipped closed.
At this point, if one of the more caustic forces in life were in control of the scene - such as Murphy with his often cursed law, or the will of an author with a passion for the comedic and unfortunate, something should happen. Like the phone ringing, someone knocking at the door, or a traditional piece of Keitaro-clumsiness resulting in either a comic clashing of skulls or a tumble into a compromising position.
Hence, it was almost a surprise to both participants when their lips met in a soft embrace.
Neither one felt fireworks exploding in their mind, or even thought about deepening the contact beyond a chaste meeting of mouths. No choir of chorusing angels descended, the world did not turn over, and the earth did not move. In truth, it was not a kiss which would make it into the all-time top one-hundred smooches, or even the top one-hundred thousand for that matter. But, within them both, something changed forever. Suddenly they understood something they weren't even aware they didn't know, felt a void they hadn't been able to identify fill with indescribable warmth.
It wasn't a moment which would define history.
It was simply a moment which would define the lives of two lonely people.
Eventually, as if my mutual agreement, the pair separated and straightened up. Slowly two pairs of eyes opened, both possessing a sparkle which was absent before, one invisible to the unaware but clear as day to one another.
"……Oh……" Shinobu breathed, finding words horribly inadequate to describe the delightful feelings washing through her mind and body.
"Mmmmmm." Keitaro, it seemed, had the exact same problem.
Reaching her left hand up to brush her lips Shinobu almost jumped as the telephone chose that moment to ring, thankfully a good twenty seconds too late for it to make any difference. Briefly glancing at the offending device, the pair returned their focus to one another to find they were both wearing matching grins.
Suddenly, the ringing of a phone wasn't the death knell it had been before.
Neither knew who started first, but by the time Keitaro had made his one-legged way around the bed to picked the phone up the mutual laughter was flowing river-like from them both, the private joke they shared not needing to be voiced. Composing himself, the man cleared his throat and picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
Kaolla Su was known for many things. Her energy, her creativity, her irreverence. But, perhaps most of all, it was her perpetual cheer for which she was known best.
Hence, if anyone were to be a fly on the wall of her shared apartment room, they would undoubtedly be both confused and worried at the sight before them. They would also be in mortal peril later on - Su being one who viewed a moving target (such as a flying insect) as a challenge - but at that moment in time the little Molmolian was almost unaware of the world around her.
One of the most noticeable points was that Su was sat down on the edge of the bed, holding a phone to her ear. As in sat still, legs crossed, hunched slightly forwards as if sheltering from a chill breeze. Also unusual was the fact the girl was talking in a low tone - her voice soft, even holding the faintest hint of sadness within it. If one were to look closer, they might notice a solemn expression on her face. Now, for Su a telephone conversation normally consisted of a few shouted words down a phone held at arms length until she started bouncing on the bed and, as a result, accidentally pulled the phone cable from its socket.
Given the situation, anyone could guess who the Molmolian was talking to at that moment.
"I don't want to spoil things Shinobu-chan. You've got your chance now, the last thing you need is anyone getting in the way." Twirling the telephone cord between her fingers, the tan girl cocked her head to one side as she listened to her friend's reply. After a few seconds she let out a tiny sigh, the first hint of a smile breaking out on her face. "…..Well, if your sure….." She mused, tone absolutely begging Shinobu to say that yes, she was sure. Eventually, the smile became broad and the voice returned to its normal cheery self. "Okies, that sounds like a plan. Now, on the subject of delaying tactics. I've got everyone focussed on the south and west where the cheaper hotels are, on the basis that Keitaro's a bit cheap."
It wasn't quite an explosion which erupted down the phone following that comment, but the noise coming from the tinny speaker told anyone within earshot that Shinobu was less than impressed by it. Holding the speaker away from her ear a touch, Su grinned as she waited for her friend to stop.
"Yeah, I know Keitaro wouldn't take you to a hovel, he's way too nice for that." Chuckling under her breath the girl switched hands, putting the phone to her other ear and letting her left hand play with the cable for a change. "I don't know if I'm glad or sad the others can't see it - while it makes distraction easier it's a shame they can't see what he's really like." Pausing, the Molmolian heard the sound of soft footfalls in the passageway outside. "Hold on a second Shinobu-chan, someone's coming. It might be Motoko, she only popped out to go and get us something to eat." As the phone fell silent Su unconsciously held her breath as the sounds came closer, only to release it in a rush when they passed by the door without a pause. "Sorry, it wasn't her." She announced down the phone, relaxing once again. "She left when I was in the bath, it's been ten minutes now so I'd better hang up before she gets back. What? The plan? Uh, I'll draw them towards the west tomorrow, and then catch up with you in the evening. We'll work things out then." Pausing as her friend replied, the blonde nodded to herself. "Sure, I can do that Shinobu-chan. Now I'd better hang up before Motoko gets back, I don't know what she'd do if she knew what I was doing….."
"I imagine you may find out now, Su-chan." The measured voice from behind her froze the Molmolian more quickly than liquid nitrogen ever could. Slowly turning her head, the girl felt her heart sink as her wide green eyes met their narrowed olive counterparts.
"Motoko….." The high-pitched squeak which piped from the phone as she breathed the name told Su that Shinobu was surprised as she was.
"I think it would be best if you ended your call, so we can……discuss the situation." Motoko intoned, nodding towards the receiver the girl still held between numb fingers.
"Yeah….."Turning her attention back to the phone, Su spoke in hurried tones. "Yeah, we'll do what we were planning. No, she won't find out where you are. Don't worry Shinobu-chan, it'll work out. Speak to you tomorrow. Bye." Dropping the receiver back into its cradle, the little Princess took a deep breath before turning around to face judgement.
It turned out judgement wasn't quite as forthcoming as she'd anticipated. Motoko just stood still as a statue, and stared levelly back.
"Uh, when did you get back in?" Su questioned, searching her mercurial mind for some sort of distraction.
"I never left. Just because a door opens and closes, it does not mean someone has gone through it." Came the calm reply.
"But…..you weren't here. I would've seen you."
"I have ways of avoiding detection when I need to." In truth the swords mistress had hidden in the wardrobe, but putting it the way she did made it sound a lot more……dignified. "And before you ask I did indeed hear the entirety of the conversation."
"How did you know what I was doing?" Su racked her brain, trying to detect some slip she had made which could have blown her cover.
"A few things. The Su I know would never mix up video feeds, from the moment I worked out the footage from the teashop was falsified I had my suspicions. Then you seemed far too keen to direct our search, and insisted we stay as group which would slow us down. Finally, this evening I told you I was going for food….." For the first time, Motoko let a tiny smile pinch her mouth. "Kaolla Su never, ever turns down the chance to go for food, even if she is in the bath. In fact, the main difficulty is getting her to put some clothes on before stepping out of the door."
"Damn. I must be getting careless." Su chuckled, relaxing as she sensed Motoko wasn't about to start breathing fire.
"If it makes a difference, I believe I am the only one who has noticed." Pacing around the bed the swords mistress took a seat beside her friend, fixing her with an enquiring gaze. "So, I suppose I should ask the question which needs to be asked. Why are you doing this Su-chan?"
"'Cause Shinobu and Keitaro deserve each other." The Molmolian replied, almost surprising herself with the simplicity of her answer. Clearly Motoko was surprised, the way her eyebrows rose visibly was clue enough. "Shinobu loves Keitaro, loves him a whole lot. But back in the Hinata-sou she's got no chance - there's too many things in the way. I wanted to let her have the chance, it's what she deserves." Su continued, sea green eyes begging Motoko to understand.
She didn't.
"Well I can see your actions are based upon good intentions, but I don't see why you believe they deserve one another. Shinobu will grow into a fine young woman, surely she deserves better than him….." It was at that moment Motoko saw something she never believed she would ever see.
Kaolla Su was mad.
Scratch that, she was furious.
"That's the other thing! I helped them leave so Keitaro could get away from you! You, Naru, Kitsune…..why can't any of you see that he's a good man?! He'd do anything for any of us but none of you give him the respect he deserves, or even treat him like a human being! And even now, after you've made a decision which would change his life forever, you still talk like he's below your notice. You don't deserve him, Motoko." Su finished with a growl, deep breaths punctuating the quiet which followed.
Motoko stared at the floor, mind and voice mute with shock.
She'd been dressed down by Kaolla Su of all people. And every word was true.
"B-but even so, it is still improper for them to be in a relationship, simply due to Shinobu's young age." She eventually muttered, still trying to stop herself reeling at the brutal assault her view on the world had taken.
"…..That won't be a problem." Seeing the other girl's confusion, the Molmolian sighed. "I can't explain why, I've promised Shinobu. You'd have to ask her yourself."
"I see." It was clear Motoko didn't, but there was little more that could be said.
"So that's that. You can do what you like now you know, but I won't tell you where they are. I'll even scrap my plans if I have to, and just tell them to run." Su stated defiantly, arms folded. "Right now Shinobu is at the top of my importance list. Above me, above you. I'm sorry Motoko, but I'm not going stand and watch a lie ruin their chance at happiness together."
"Why are you so sure they will be happy together? After all, Keitaro still has strong feelings for Naru." Motoko hedged, frowning. In response Su seemed to roll a few thoughts around her head, before shrugging and deciding to stick to the truth.
"'Cause they already are. Shinobu told me that they were together, and I've never heard her sound so happy before."
"They are together?" Breathing the words softly, Motoko felt something within her shift. The thought of going against Naru was galling, but given the tempestuous nature of her relationship with Keitaro and the fact that at present the pair were well and truly not together…..the guilt would gnaw at her, but it was a pain she could tolerate. However the idea of taking the same man away from Shinobu, especially when she was both deeply in love and truly happy……the thought of destroying her cheerful smile just to perpetuate a selfish lie was a far, far more bitter pill to have to swallow. Additionally, if Keitaro was indeed more than she gave him credit for, and he too was happy with his new love……
"So, what are you gonna do Motoko?" Su probed, watching her friend carefully.
"I……do not know yet." the swords mistress answered honestly, gazing down at her intertwined fingers which rested in her lap. "I will need to think about this for a while longer. Acting without thought has already proven unwise, it is not an error I wish to repeat." Raising her head again, Motoko gave her friend a slow look. "One more thing - how long has this rather fearsome intellect of yours been hidden from view?"
"It hasn't." Sensing the denial before it came, Su simply smiled. "C'mon, you reckon someone who can invent cutting-edge technology and then attain one-hundred-and-seventy-four patents isn't smart? Just 'cause I like having a good time and the lighter side of life, everyone misses the obvious. Suits me fine, means I only do serious when I have to."
"……." Motoko had never even suspected that Kaolla Su might have patented her nefarious inventions, but in retrospect it was obvious that Su actually made a lot of sense when she wasn't simply joking.
"It's cool, you're not the only one I had fooled." The smile became more of a grin, signs of the Hinata-sou's Kaolla beginning to take over once again. "Anyways, isn't it time for food?"
"I suppose it is, yes." Motoko replied, a good natured smile upon her own face.
"Yippee!" Springing up off the bed, the tan girl bolted for the door. "Last one out is a rotten egg!"
"Su-chan, aren't you forgetting something?" Her friend cautioned, rising more sedately to her feet.
"What?"
"Your shoes."
"Oh yeah."
Naru stared out of the window, glaring at the passing pedestrians below as if each and every one was responsible for the utter failure to find any trace of either Keitaro and Shinobu over the entire day.
A long day it had been, as well.
After a full twelve hours of traipsing the various streets and lobbies of Sapporo, Mitsune had eventually done the sensible thing and called a halt to the search, citing the progressively darkening sky and exhaustion as the reasons. Naru didn't entirely agree at the time - but it was three against one, and the student didn't fancy wandering around a foreign city on her own in the dark reading a map.
That was the metaphorical equivalent of waving a giant flag bearing the word 'tourist', and wearing a sandwich board with 'please mug me' scrawled across it in black felt-tip pen.
In any case, once she'd got back to the room and popped her shoes from her complaining feet, the wise nature of Mitsune's choice was as obvious as the blisters she now sported on both sets of toes and heels. For some reason it hadn't occurred to the girl that the search might mean walking miles, and so the shoes chosen were tilted more towards style than comfort.
A particularly painful throb from her right big toe drew her frown away from the general public and towards her feet, which were currently immersed in a bowl of cool water. Another twinge drew an annoyed noise from the girl, resulting in a glare which the offending appendages would certainly have quailed beneath if they'd had the ability to.
"Still givin' you trouble Naru-chan?" Mitsune called, reclined comfortably on the bed, remote in hand.
"Like you wouldn't believe." Growling quietly as her other foot joined in the torture, Naru turned back to the window.
"They'll be better in the mornin'" Blinking tiredly, the fox smothered a yawn as she clicked the television off. "Shut the window Naru-chan, it's time to catch some rest."
"Nah, I'm going to stay here a little longer." The younger girl replied, scanning the faces passing below with tired determination.
"C'mon, there's no point sittin' there all night an' waitin' for a miracle. It's just an alleyway out there, doubt Keitaro an' Shinobu are gonna just appear down it at half-past-midnight."
"You never know." Naru replied stubbornly, eyes squinting through thick lenses to identify a couple who had just stepped under one of the street lights below.
"Look, ya'll be in no state at go lookin' tomorrow. We're more likely findin' them by searchin' than sittin' and waitin' for them to come to us." When her friend made no response, Mitsune sighed. "Suit yourself. I'm gonna get some sleep, so I'm killin' the lights. Hurry up an' join me over here when you're ready."
"Sure." Shaking her head at the short reply the fox, after yawning widely, reached over to her lamp and clicked it off. Settling back down onto her pillow, she gazed through sleepy eyes at the figure sat at the window, silhouetted bleakly against the weak moonlight. Inwardly shaking her head the girl let her tired lids drift closed, the last vision burned into her retinas the motionless figure still sat resolute at the window, matchstick-propped eyes still staring in desperate hope at the street below.
Well, that's all for now. In the next chapter Su's plans come to light, a confrontation occurs and things come to a head.
I guess it's up to you if you want to see what happens….if there's anyone left reading that is…..
If so, please let me know what you think.
'Til next time,
Nodoka Miyazawa.