Chapter Twelve - Taking the Twins to Tokyo
…
The following day started off with a bright sunshine filling the cloudless sky, a pleasant surprise for an early spring. Unfortunately, Keitaro's emotional state was not quite on par with the weather.
Amongst the fun and the frolics, Keitaro and Makie so far managed to get away with bending the truth from the love persuading Miwa Sasaki. Therefore, like yesterday, she had encouraged them to venture the hot springs together, only this time it would be first thing in the morning as well. Of course Keitaro would have to wear his blindfold once more, but he was used to the darkness by now.
There was roughly three or four hours left before Miwa and the twins would finally depart from Hinata-Sou. Keitaro couldn't remember exactly how long because after a few minutes he had already lost track of the time.
Neither of them said a word, although there was a lot of thoughts running through the manager's mind.
(…♥…)
"…it's about time I heard from my little nephew."
Keitaro grinned. Her kind voice with a hint of deadpan thrown in for good measure. It could only belong to his aunt Haruka. Throughout Christmas and the New Year, they had exchanged many emails and letters, but this was nothing compared to direct, vocal communication. It was… a sense of relief, and Keitaro instantly felt at ease.
After a warm greeting, Keitaro proceeded to catch up with some small memories before finally exposing his recent problems and wrongdoings. Haruka listened to every word, and after a short while she gave him a short, straightforward answer.
"Tell the truth..."
Keitaro stuttered for a reply but came up with nothing, allowing Haruka to continue.
"…it's the only way you'll be free of this mess."
(…♥…)
Of course she was right, and it was so obvious as well. To hide the truth from such a gentle woman was an act of selfishness. There was no other way around it.
"Sasaki-san…" Keitaro said softly.
"Senpai?" Makie asked, lazily staring at her watery reflection.
"I'm going to tell her."
This caused the girl to gasp out loud. "But why?"
Keitaro replied neutrally, keeping his feelings hidden away. "Because it's the right thing to do."
"No… w-w-wait…"
"I'm sorry, but I've made up my mind. Get dressed."
Makie gulped but reluctantly did as she was asked. She rose from the hot springs knowing full well she was going to end up in deeper water.
(…♥…)
Fully clothed, Makie and Keitaro looked at each other before both taking a deep breath. Not before long, they found themselves opening the main door and walking side by side into the living room. Both looked as though they showed confidence but inside was a deep seated fear. Makie's knees began to knock together, but a hand on her shoulder put her at ease.
Their hearts stopped the moment they saw Miwa, standing near the centre of the room. Her hair partially shadowed over her eyes. Her once joyous state of mind was now an aura of blistering cold. Leaning on the wall was Chisame, who kept her eyes on the floor whilst loosely folding her arms.
Chisame's eyes did not meet anyone even as she spoke.
"I… already told her."
Miwa took three strides forward and raised her left hand up high. For a moment, it looked as though a cowered Makie was her target, but in a split second she changed her sense of direction, and slapped Keitaro hard on his right cheek. The abrupt sound of flesh meeting flesh was not a pleasant one.
Chisame looked up with widened eyes. She knew the truth had to be said, but she never thought it would come to this.
"Okasan?!" Makie shouted in protest "What… what did you do that for?! It's my fault not his."
Miwa focused her sight on the manager, who was now tending his sore face. "Yes… yes Makie-chan you did lie to me, but you sir… you should know better then to tag along with her charade. Just how old are you?"
Keitaro gulped. "Tw-Twenty one."
"Twenty one. A young man that doesn't know how to take responsibility…" Miwa scolded.
Miwa was about to press on with her anger, but voices upstairs stopped her immediately. She made a groaning sigh as she walked upstairs to the spare room.
(…♥…)
In the spare bedroom next to Chisame's, the twins, Mana and Yue were playing a rather subtle game of doctors and nurses… if subtle meant agonising with an extra layer of insanity thrown in for good measure. Dressed in nurse outfits were of course Fuuka and Fumika. The patients were laid face up on the twin's bed, and were tied up with some really strong rope.
"Fuuka-san! Fumika-san!" Mana said strictly. "A game is a game, but this is a little too extreme for my tastes."
Mana turned to face Yue for backup, but the blunette was too preoccupied with the ceiling. "Wish I had picked this room. It's much bigger than the one I have."
The twins mischievously giggled to themselves as they prepared a selection of fizzy drinks, substitutes for medicine supposedly. However, their little antics came to an end when Miwa entered the room and promptly urged the twins to get ready for leaving. Miwa apologised when she untied the rope, though it was apparent to Yue and Mana that her voice came off as more frustrated than sincere.
(…♥…)
With a bag in each hand, Miwa stormed out of the living room with the twins chasing behind her. The young girls were confused and restless, and begged their mother to stay in the dormitory a while longer. Miwa, at this stage was beyond upset. She didn't care if her two daughters were to scream all the way home. Makie was also trying to make up to her, but with no avail. Chisame, Mana and Yue had also voiced their reasons, but realised they had little to say in the matter.
"Wait!" Keitaro shouted, completely blocking Miwa from the main door. "I'm sorry! What I did was wrong, but I promise I can make it up to you!"
Miwa faced the manager, frowning. "Uh huh…"
"Let me… let me look after the twins!" Keitaro replied, disbelieving what he just said. "I-I can take them out and… and take care of them! Please! I beg of you! I just want to prove to you that I'm not a low life liar!"
"Forget it." Miwa said sternly, her body language demanding the manager to move aside.
Keitaro however refused. He closed his eyes tightly as he stood his ground. "If I don't fulfil this promise then… then I'll resign my position as the manager!"
The residents all gasped in shock, a sound which could give the whole room an unearthly chill.
Chisame was the first to react. She, naturally, exploded with anger.
"WHAT THE HELL?!? If you resign, then we all have to leave too!"
"Um… uh oh. Perhaps I should have thought this through..."Keitaro realised.
"Senpai! What are you thinking?!" Makie joined in, nearly as surprised as Chisame.
Yue stared at Keitaro, wondering what was going through his head. She chose neither to speak nor think, but kept a fixated look on him nonetheless. Mana was perhaps the less worried of the four. She studied Keitaro's body language carefully.
"What will you do now Urashima-san?"
Miwa had a neutral expression whilst the twins had a perplexed makeover. She concluded that it was a bold, if stupid idea… but the intensity shown in Keitaro's eyes intrigued her.
"Are you sure about this?" Miwa asked, raising an eyebrow. "You mess up, my daughter and your residents will be gone from here."
She waited expectantly for an answer. Keitaro grit his teeth and stared her straight in the eye.
"I said it was a promise, and I don't intend to back down on it." He replied confidently.
"Very well." Miwa said. "I'll give you three hours and if any harm comes to my babies, or if they don't enjoy themselves for whatever reason…"
"I know." Keitaro cut off.
"Am I the only one who thinks this is a ridiculous idea?!" Chisame fumed.
Makie gazed at the manager as he and the rather confused looking twins got themselves ready, pools of emotion drenched into her beautiful brown eyes.
(…♥…)
Wearing his usual outside clothes, Keitaro ventured into the great outside, his outer layer calm but inner self a nervous wreck. Not only were the twins his responsibility, but all of the residences hung high in the balance. By the time Fuuka and Fumika held their hands with his, Keitaro only then realised that he took such a careless gamble. He knew Chisame was right. He just blew out words way before thinking things through.
After passing down the many steps, the trio travelled for a while until they found themselves in the heart of Tokyo. Even for a Sunday, the city was filled with a variety of folk, though today fewer people were seen dressed for business. If every stranger expressed an opinion after watching Keitaro and the twins together, they would probably see them as a happy family.
Keitaro, Fuuka and Fumika walked through a narrow road when the lights signalled the traffic to stop. When there were at the other side, Keitaro decided to ask the girls what they wanted to do.
"So um… Fuuka-chan, Fumika-chan…"
"WE'RE STARVING!" The twins wailed, with their stomachs rumbling as proof that they were not lying.
Keitaro also heard his growling tummy. "Oh yeah. I forgot none of us had breakfast yet."
"Hey! This place looks cool!" Fuuka stated, pointing at an interesting looking building.
"Yeah! Let's go there!" Fumika added, equally excited.
There were many elegant and divine restaurants in Tokyo… but the one the twins wanted to attend wasn't one of them. It was called 'Bowling for Beef', and it used comedy style text with black and white colours for each letter. On the top right corner was its logo of a bowling ball knocking over a herd of cows. Bowling for Beef was a fast food restaurant with a twist. Half of the building consisted of a standard layout where people indulged in their food, whilst the other half was in fact a skittle alley, which itself was very popular among the locals.
Fuuka and Fumika wasted no time in finding a table for three, and as soon as Keitaro joined them, they were altogether greeted by two guys wearing cartoon looking cow costumes, which came complete with udders hooves and everything. The two cow waiters did a merry little jig before offering the menus and eagerly waiting with their writing boards and pens.
"Welcome to Bowling for Beef! If it ain't got beef in it…"
"…there's no point eating it!" They both sung, one after the after.
Suddenly… silence.
Keitaro recognised their voices and glasses easily. Haitani and Shirai, the latest recruits for Bowling for Beef, returned Keitaro's gaze with stares of their own. The twins paid no attention to anything other than the menus in front of them.
"We'll take the super triple beef burger with extra everything!" They both shouted whilst raising a hand in the air.
The fat and the skinny cow mechanically nodded, evil eyes still fixated on Keitaro as they scribbled down the order.
"A fine choice!" Haitani replied, making a frightening eye smile. "And what would you like Kei… I mean sir?"
The frosty stares penetrated Keitaro's conscious.
"Um, do you have anything that doesn't contain beef?" He asked.
Haitani and Shirai looked at each other before gazing back to Keitaro.
"Sir." Haitani said. "Would you mind as to step outside? The staff would like a word with you."
"Um… s-sure."
"Hey! Were are you going with our special Kei-kun?" The twins loudly said.
Keitaro's friends widened their eyes on that remark.
Shirai briefly turned to face the twins before walking the same route as Keitaro and Haitani.
"Um… we need… milking."
(…♥…)
Later on outside, away from Fuuka and Fumika…
"YOU PAEDOPHILE BASTARD!" Haitani roared, flattening poor Keitaro with his right hoof. "WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU DATING PRE-SCHOOLERS FOR?!?"
Whilst Shirai repeatedly jumped up and down on him. "Yeah! I mean I like them young, but not that young!"
Keitaro shielded his face, defending himself from the bovine onslaught.
"It's not like that at all!" He pleaded angrily. "I'm babysitting Makie's little sisters!"
At once the duo stopped their attack, which was just as well since some people passing by were just about to phone the police.
"Oh." They both said, somewhat dumbstruck.
As Keitaro explained a quick version of what happened yesterday and this morning, a large crash followed by a series of giggling were heard inside…
Haitani, Shirai and Keitaro dashed into the restaurant only to find that it had been trashed to bits. Bowling balls were flung about randomly and there were at least a dozen casualties. All their jaws fell to the ground at the same time.
"I don't get it Fumika-chan." Fuuka questioned. "These things are too heavy to throw." She demonstrated this fact by carelessly lobbing it on somebody's foot, causing him to howl in utmost pain.
"Dummy!" Fumika pouted. "You don't throw them! You roll them! Like this!" And she demonstrated this fact by rolling the ball at top speed into one of the tables, destroying it completely.
The manager of this place was a bald stocky person who was absolutely livid. Keitaro had to pay the man or else he'd be spending the next few months working off his salary. Only then did he realise just how hyper and manic the twins really were. How Makie's mother managed to control them was a task in itself.
(…♥…)
In the end, the trio decided to go to 'Cluck Clucky's Juicy Chicken', the restaurant next door which just so happened to be the rivals of Bowling for Beef. The minor differences were the lack of a bowling area, cow costumes being replaced by chicken ones and everything on the menu being pretty much chicken orientated.
Keitaro figured out the best way to keep control of the twins was to stay close to them, since Tokyo grew more populated as time passed by. Being a Sunday meant there was a variety of markets, most of them selling food whilst others had trinkets and small gifts for reduced prices. There wasn't really anything Keitaro needed, and the twins quickly grew bored… that is until Fuuka found an ice cream stand. A child's haven.
Keitaro, digging deep into his pockets bought himself and the twins a double scoop cone (Fuuka and Fumika spent practically half the day choosing a flavour). Over time, the twins learned that Keitaro was a generally kind person. Proof of this was when Fumika looked miserable after her ice cream fell off her cone and onto the pavement. Keitaro simply grinned and prodded one of his scoops on top of Fumika's own. The twin looked up at the manager and showed him the brightest heartfelt smile she could make.
Sanity was shattered again when the twins found the biggest toy shop they could feast their eyes upon. Robots, action figures and an array of mega expensive board games were all displayed in a way that seductively whispered 'buy me'. At this rate it wouldn't matter if Keitaro did fail his promise, since all his wages were being blown away by spending it all on a single day. However, seeing the twins overjoyed when they bought a selection of entertainment was well worth the smouldering hole in the wallet.
As they continued their outing together, neither of the three were unaware that the time had flown by. The morning delved into late afternoon.
To round off the day, the three watched the latest premier on cinema. For three tickets, Keitaro once again found his finance disintegrating.
(…♥…)
"One plus one equals two!"
"Add another for a few!"
"An extra one will give you four!"
"ANGELIC POWER KNIGHTS WILL ROCK THE DANCE FLOOR!"
"ANGELIC POWER KNIGHTS ROCK THE DANCE FLOOR!" Every single child screamed the opening theme song of the ever so popular anime kid's show 'Angelic Power Knights'. Keitaro and every parent… and just about everyone else above ten years of age stood there… frozen. They had absolutely no clue what was going on. It was about four feminine knights with angel wings who fight for justice. It made little sense whatsoever.
Keitaro, sandwiched between the twins, had enough to eat for one day, but still the girls found themselves devouring a giant sized plastic bucket filled with buttered popcorn, as well as the largest tub of ice cream anyone could ask for. As far as Fuuka and Fumika were concerned, their stomachs were two giant black holes.
As the movie progressed, swords were swung, shields clashed together and a multitude of colours were thrown about in every possible direction. Just another moment longer and it would all be over. Keitaro took a brief moment to examine the girls sitting next to him. Fuuka was still glued to the wide screen, mechanically munching the remains of her food. Fumika however, was fast asleep, finding a nice cosy spot on the manager's lap.
At last Keitaro managed to relax. Despite the flashing colours and hypersonic soundtracks, he finally found himself in a carefree position.
(…♥…)
An unsettling silence filled the dormitory. Everyone found comfort in their own room, all thinking about what happened in the morning. Three young women in particular.
Makie buried her face in her pillow. After the fourth track on her mp3 player, the trance music completely wiped out her thoughts. She also tried tossing and turning, and even forced herself to read a couple of school books just to escape herself from the events of today.
Chisame was updating her Chiu website again, only this time she didn't feel the presence of her nor her alter ego. Her right hand took a life of its own as it glided around the touch screen. She sighed through her nose. Telling the truth to Makie's mother sure felt like the right thing to do, but she winced when she recalled Miwa's hand cracking against the manager's cheek bone. A while after Keitaro had left, Chisame secretly knew her position as a resident was not in harms way. She knew Keitaro would return safe and sound with the twins happily skipping along by his side. Yet sometimes she felt the need to shout angrily at him, possibly just to extinguish her own stress more than anything else.
Chisame leaned back on her chair. It sure was quiet without Keitaro and the twins.
Inside the spare bedroom next to Chisame, Miwa sat down on her bed looking at a small collection of photographs. One in particular nearly brought her to tears.
Five people stared at Miwa with happy, love filled eyes. Makie was on the far left with a charming eye smile. Fuuka and Fumika stood in the middle, both of them making silly faces as they posed a victory sign. Miwa was behind them with a hand on each of their shoulders. It almost looked as though she was laughing…
…and finally to the right was a tall, thin handsome man. His facial features are what caused his ex-wife to shed her tears elegantly onto the photograph. If it wasn't for the blonde hair, his appearance mirrored a certain someone almost perfectly.
Miwa suddenly heard the distant sounds of footsteps.
At last they had returned.
(…♥…)
Each step took longer than the last. The mountainous struggle up the stairs was exhausting enough, but with two girls dead asleep on his back had reduced his speed to the slowest of turtles. He collapsed on his knees the moment he made it the top, and it was only then the twins sprung to life and rushed crazily to the sandpit, giggling until their hearts would burst. Keitaro groaned. They were faking their sleep the whole journey.
Keitaro looked at the girls with tired, but interested eyes. There was no bucket and spade around but that didn't stop them from using their hands, making any shape of building they thought ideal.
"Hey Kei-kun! Come over here!" Fuuka called out, beckoning the manager to play with them.
Keitaro walked over and knelt to their level. A simple sandpit and two children playing either side. He could not help but grin to himself. It didn't feel like long ago that he was doing something similar with a certain girl their age.
"Put your hand in the middle!" Fumika added softly, looking at him with a big smile.
Curious, Keitaro slowly pressed his hand in the centre of the sandpit, awaiting what kind of prank would be pulled on him. To his surprise, he found two other hands joined to his, one touching his little finger whilst the other brushed against his thumb. Together they formed quite an interesting pattern.
The twins giggled, but at the same time displayed some emotion as well.
"Now we will always be together!" Fuuka shouted, not caring who would hear.
"Thanks for being so nice to us." Fumika whispered.
Keitaro's eyes widened. At that moment, two pairs of lips gently touched both of his cheeks. He was completely lost for words.
A polite cough caused the three to raise their heads. Standing just by the entrance was Miwa and to her left and right were the residents, looking at Keitaro with a mixture of reactions. Keitaro was so preoccupied he didn't hear any of them. Just how long have they been standing there?
Instinctively, Keitaro checked his wrist watch, though the darkened sky should have been the obvious clue.
"OH MY GOD I'M FOUR HOURS LATE!" Keitaro screamed, clutching the sides of his head.
Fortunately, Makie's mother didn't seem to mind at all. The twins ran happily towards Miwa, and when they grabbed each of her legs, both of them raced to see who could tell her their story the quickest.
Miwa smiled and slowly looked up to face Keitaro. She spoke two words that were barely a whisper, but easily recognisable.
"Thank you."
…
…
Author: Thought I'd squeeze one more chapter before 2008 kicks off.
Happy new year!
