::: Keitaro, The Savant :::
by
- GlazedAndConfused -
"..." - denotes speech
"(...)" - denotes whispering
((...)) - denotes settings and time
Italics denote thoughts and Japanese dialogue.
Chapter Fourteen ::: Homecoming
((Beach, Eastern Shores))
((2.23 pm))
The outing that Naru, Motoko and Keitaro had gone on had come to an abrupt end, due to the interceding of Kitsune, Kanako and Su; the young gaijin far ahead of everyone else, skipping merrily and twirling like a ballerina. Kanako kept a considerable distance – respectable in her eyes – from Naru and Motoko, keeping them under close scrutiny; the latter being able to sense this using her ki. Keitaro was walking in the shallow water, fidgeting with his hands while mumbling to himself in a perpetual mantra. Apart from no more than a few couples, they were the only ones on the almost-deserted beach.
Lagging far behind the rest, unsurprisingly after what had come about only minutes earlier, was Kitsune. Her head was hung low, with her fringe hiding her reddened face. She couldn't bring herself to look anyone – not even Naru, and especially not Keitaro – in the eye without her face going redder than it already was, almost being bright enough to bring passing traffic to a halt, even with her head as low as it was.
Damn it... she thought, embarrassedly, ...I should have known better than to tell Su something like that. Well, at least Bazooka Brenda, Gothic Gina and Katana Kate over there haven't started bugging me about it... yet. The last thought of Naru as a bazooka that was prepped and ready to fire, Kanako as a Goth with pale skin and black, monochromatic clothing and Motoko as a sword amused her as a slight smirk formed on her fox-like features.
She slowly dragged her feet along the sand, as Su constantly shouted 'Kitsune loves Keitaro' through the megaphone, throwing her camou-audio invention up and down in the air joyously. A vein appeared on the fox's head as her left eyebrow started to twitch. After a few more seconds of listening on, Kitsune's normally calm demeanour switched to that of anger, as she ran up to the hyperactive gaijin and picked her up from under the arms and spun her around to face her.
"Su, will you put that damn thing down and stop shouting that in front of everyone?!" she shrieked, blowing the young girl's hair back like a gale force wind. Kitsune's attention suddenly shifted towards Su's contraption – the same as everyone else's did – as the Mr. Camou-Audio Mk. 3 started to glow an ominous hue of blue.
"What the..." Kanako asked. "...Su, is your invention meant to be glowing like that?"
Su wriggled her way out of Kitsune's grip and sheepishly put a hand behind her head.
"Ehehe... I did warn you; if Mr. Camou-Audio receives an intake of too much sound, the fuse will blow and burn."
A large sweatdrop appeared on everyone's head, except Keitaro – who was still in the shallow water.
"Oops..." was all Kitsune could whisper as the glow started to intensify, a small flame appearing where the batteries are. Motoko drew her katana from it's scabbard, knocked the invention from Su's hand with the flat side of the blade, then raised it above her head as she readied one of her dojo's powerful attacks.
"Shinmei School..."
She started to sweep the blade in a straight, downward arc as an aura of ki gathered around it.
"...HIKEN ZANKUSEN!"
The ki projectile was sent zooming towards the camou-audio, slicing through the contraption as if it were just butter. The fuse exploded with a bright flame, causing everyone to shield their eyes. Keitaro was still oblivious as to what was going on, starting to gather up some more seashells that he already had a large number of in a plastic bag. As the flame disappeared, leaving nothing but an area of grey smoke lingering in the air, everyone lowered their arms. Su placed a hand on the back of her head as she balanced tiptoed on one foot.
"Oh well! Looks like I'll need to make some minor adjustments to Mr. Camou-Audio Mk. 4!" she chirped, cheerfully as always.
"NO!" everyone shouted simultaneously, tears spraying out the corners of their eyes as a sweatdrop formed on the back of the young gaijin's head.
((Minutes later...))
Everyone was within sight of the hotel, with Su still skipping along as if she had a sugar rush, Kanako still keeping Naru and Motoko under close scrutiny, making the former shudder as she directed a glare in her direction that gave her butterflies in her stomach. Kitsune was no longer dragging far behind everyone else; in fact, she was walking with Keitaro in the shallow water, holding her shoes and socks in one hand, and Keitaro's right hand in another. Also, she was nowhere near as embarrassed as she was after the little run-in with Naru and Motoko earlier.
"Whatcha got in the bag, sweetie?" she asked, noticing the plastic bag in his hand.
Keitaro gently released his hand from Kitsune's, and showed her the contents of the bag, which was nearly filled to the brim with seashells of various shapes and sizes.
"Seashells. Pretty seashells."
He took one out of the bag and held it to Kitsune's ear.
"You can hear the sea."
"Hai, you can." She replied kindly.
He took the bag in his left hand again while Kitsune took his right in hers again. She glanced sideways at him, staring wistfully.
As always, his naivety makes him seem so adorable; that's what so loveable about the guy, she thought, the smile on her face widening as he crouched down to pick up another one. I wonder if Naru and Motoko have noticed this side of him? It'd be pretty hard not to.
Before either of them had realised it, they had already reached the hotel by now, and the others were making their way towards Haruka, who was lying underneath a parasol on a towel, while Mutsumi, Shinobu and the resident turtle Tama-chan were playing in the water. This area of the beach was also near to seclusion, with a few more people scattered in random areas of the beach. Kitsune felt a tapping on her shoulder. Turning to see what was tapping her, she noticed Keitaro looking at her as he was withdrawing his finger. He had a slightly disappointed look on his face, which made Kitsune wonder what was wrong.
"What's the matter, sweetie?"
"No more seashells."
"No?"
"No."
They both walked over to Haruka, who raised her sunglasses to her forehead when she spotted a shadow beside her. She noticed Kitsune and Keitaro both standing beside her, and looked up at them with a friendly gaze.
"Well, ain't you two lovebirds a sight for sore eyes?" she asked playfully, a smirk of her own spreading across her face as Kitsune started to blush, while Keitaro seemed indifferent – almost as if he never heard what she said. She turned to look at Keitaro with a smile on her face, sitting up as she did so.
"Hey, Kei."
"Hello, Haruka-obasan."
"What's in the bag?" she asked, pointing at the bag of seashells Keitaro was still holding.
"Seashells," he replied, opening the bag up to show her, "got seashells from the water."
She peered into the bag.
"Pretty, aren't they?"
"Yeah."
He took out the same one he held to Kitsune's ear minutes earlier, and held it to Haruka's ear as she leant towards it.
"You can hear the sea."
"Yeah," she replied, nodding, "you can."
"Yeah."
He withdrew the shell from her ear a few seconds later and put it back in the bag. Mutsumi and Shinobu, soaking wet with water, walked over to the trio with Tama-chan perched comfortably on the violet-haired girl's head.
"Ara... hello Kei-kun, Kitsune-san," Mutsumi said, cheerfully. Shinobu just waved, and Tama-chan raised a flipper as if to greet them.
"Myuh!"
"Hey there, Mutsumi, Shinobu." Kitsune replied.
Haruka sat up some more.
"Well, are you all ready for going back to Hinata Sou tomorrow morning?"
Kitsune tilted her head to the side slightly, a surprised expression on her face.
"Wow..." she started, "three weeks sure have gone quick."
She turned to Keitaro.
"Haven't they, sweetie?"
"Yeah," he replied, staring at the sea.
Kitsune smiled, then turned back to Haruka.
"I think I'm gonna get back to the hotel. Do you want me to take Keitaro with me, or leave him here with you?"
"Whatever you want, I s'pose."
Her smile widened.
"I think I'll take him with me."
"Okay, fair enough."
Kitsune held Keitaro's hand again.
"Come on, sweetie. Let's go to the hotel."
"Yeah."
((Hotel, Car Park))
((9.31 am))
The previous evening and night had not been very eventful, with the harem only packing their suitcases and bags ready for the morning return to Hinata Sou, then stopping off at the local bar and having a few quiet drinks before retiring to their rooms.
Haruka, with the help of Kanako, Kitsune and Keitaro, had finished loading the van with the luggage, heat-seeking missiles, laser guns and any other contraptions of mass destruction that Su had either brought along with her in the first place, or had invented during the residents' time at the beach. They all got into the van, with Haruka in the drivers' seat yet again. Naru and Mutsumi were in the passengers' seats. Su, Shinobu and Motoko were in the third row of seating, with Kanako, Keitaro and Kitsune in the second row.
About halfway through the trip, there was an unusual silence in the van, excluding Su's teasing of Shinobu and Mutsumi exchanging light conversation with Naru.
"Haruka-san?" Kitsune asked in an attempt to start a conversation.
"Hai, Kitsune-san?" Haruka replied, her eyes not leaving the road."
"Well, I was just wondering. What was Keitaro's childhood li --"
"Son of a bitch!" Haruka suddenly exclaimed as she swerved out of the way of a careless driver, obviously joyriding. She took her cigarette out of her mouth and tossed it out of the window, taking deep breaths to calm down. "Sorry Kitsune-san; you were saying?" she continued.
"I'm just curious... what was Keitaro like as a child? I mean, how did he get on at nursery and school... y'know, that kind of thing?"
Haruka thought for a moment, her eyes still not leaving the road.
"To be honest, I can't remember that much. But I can tell you what I do remember - and what Granny Hina told me - if that's alright?"
"I don't mind either way," Kitsune replied.
"Okay then." Haruka took another breath before starting. "He was as sweet as can be, really. Like a lovely toy, you just wanted to hug him till your heart's content; 'tis a bit of a shame that he didn't like people getting too close to him though."
Kitsune listened intently.
"At school, he was what some might call a bit of a loner... children never really wanted to play with him because of his deficits. He couldn't catch a ball properly, nor did he ever understand the concept of everyday games like 'tag'. Stuff like that, really. Nursery was no different, either. But it was as if he couldn't care about being lonely, either. He seemed indifferent, like he was in his own world all the time, and didn't want to come out for anyone except those close to him – kinda like an alien, without meaning to sound offensive to him..."
((Flashback - 17 years ago...))
((Hinata Nursery, Playground))
((Time unknown))
The cheers and chattering of young children filled the spring air as they ran around the playground, playing games such as tag or throwing balls around. Others were sitting on the concrete ground, playing with some marbles or other toys, or picking up the sakura petals that had literally blanketed the playground.
Sitting alone in the sandpit, far away from everyone else, was a short boy that seemed to be a very young version of Keitaro, wearing glasses with straight, medium-length hair. Playing blocks were in front of him, placed in rows in accordance to their size – largest on the left, gradually going down to the shortest. His knees were up to his chin, and he was lazily drawing circles in the sand, rocking back and forth as he stared into the distance. He seemed to be at peace in his own inner world, everything being in peace and order.
He was soon jolted out of his reverie, when an older-looking, bigger child shoved him forward, making him land face first into the sand. He leaned forward; sneering as Keitaro dusted himself off and spat out some sand that was in his mouth.
"Hey, Urashima!" he grunted. "Move it; I wanna play here!"
Keitaro simply did as he was asked, standing up and walking away to another secluded, empty area of the playground. He sat with his back against a wall, in the shade. Picking up some sakura petals that lay in front of him, he closed his palm, raised his hand above his head and dropped the petals, watching as they fluttered in the calm breeze. He did this perpetually, until a figure was standing over him. Looking up, he saw a young woman in front of him, a tranquil, inviting smile on her face; most likely a member of staff. He looked at her face but avoided all eye contact with her. Giggling softly, she knelt down and took one of his hands in both of hers, stroking it soothingly.
"Urashima-kun," she spoke, her voice soft as silk and calming as the scent of lavender, "Come with me. Let's have you playing with the other children, ne?"
"Yeah."
She stood him up gently, and led him over to a group of children who were stood in a circle, throwing and catching a ball in an anti-clockwise kind of direction. The young woman, clearing her throat, captured their attention.
"Urashima-kun here is going to play with you," she said. "Now, be nice to him, alright?"
"Hai, Akasuragi-san!"
The woman named Akasuragi then walked off and left Keitaro with the group of children, a warm smile on her face. Keitaro was then positioned at some point in the circle, and the children continued to throw the ball in the anti-clockwise direction. When the ball was thrown at Keitaro, however, he didn't catch it; it hit him in the side of the face, where he suddenly snapped out of a daydream. The child who threw the ball picked it up, a frown on his face, whereas the others were giggling at Keitaro. The boy got ready to throw it again.
"Ready?"
He threw it again, only this time for it to hit Keitaro's shoulder; yet again, seemingly getting no reaction out of him at all, other than a jolt. The boy, now getting angry, walked up to Keitaro.
"You can't catch the ball, so you can't play with us!"
He readied the ball and threw it at Keitaro's head.
"Stupid! Stupid!"
The other children started chanting along with him, as he continued to throw the ball at Keitaro's head. Keitaro was, by now, beginning to get increasingly agitated. After a few moments more, he knocked the ball away from the boy's hand, and dropped to his knees, starting to rock back and forth in a mantra while screaming and making other sounds. He placed his hands on his ears, blocking out any sounds. This attracted the attention of Akasuragi and another member of staff, who both ran to the scene and tried to calm Keitaro down by removing his hands from his ears. This had the opposite effect as he dropped onto his back and started to roll in circles, kicking and thrashing at anyone who decided to take the chance of restraining him.
"Urashima-kun, please," Akasuragi said. "We only want to help you..."
((Ten minutes later...))
Keitaro was sat outside the headmaster's office inside the nursery on a chair, with Akasuragi by his side. He
"Moshi moshi, Urashima-san? Hai, this is the headmaster of the Hinata Nursery. I'm calling you about your son, Keitaro. You see, there was an incident that happened today, and looking back on incidents that have occurred in the past, we have reason to believe that there is something wrong with him..."
((End Flashback))
"Wow," Kitsune said, her eyes opened slightly in thought, "Sounds like that he hardly had that many friends as a child. He really must have been lonely."
"Nah, not really," Haruka replied. "Like I said, making friends has never really been first nature to him, so I don't think he was really bothered about being alone."
She paused for a moment as she reminisced.
"Though, when his parents came and collected him from the nursery, he was taken straight to the local surgery for a psychiatric analysis."
"And it was after many of those tests that he was finally diagnosed with autism?" Kanako asked.
"Hai. Back then, he was five. It wasn't until he was eight when he was finally diagnosed. Tests like these take time... and a hell of a lot of it, too."
Wow, Naru thought, he never had any friends as a child either...
She bowed her head in shame.
That makes me feel even more guilty for what I tried doing to him with Motoko. Kami, I was so cruel. I wish I could take back what I did, but I suppose I can't... not now.
((Hinata Sou, Stone Steps))
((10.43 am))
The remainder of the journey saw everyone remain in an uncomfortable silence – uncomfortable chiefly for Naru and Motoko, who had their heads bowed after listening to Haruka recall a period of time in Keitaro's childhood. Other than that, it was relatively uneventful. Upon arriving, they all took their luggage down from the roof and proceeded to take them up the stairs. Su's weapons were left, however, through fear of setting them off and causing a scene that would have made a passer-by think that World War III had started right there in Hinata.
((Fifteen minutes later...))
The entire luggage had been placed in their respective rooms. Everyone had started off by doing their regular daily routines; Shinobu hanging out the washing, Su... well, possibly creating more weapons, adding to an already large stockpile that would make the Japanese army jealous. Motoko was practicing her katas on the laundry deck; Naru was continuing her studies for Todai. Haruka was most likely the only one not carrying on her daily rituals, as she had kept her tea shop closed until the next day.
Keitaro, Kitsune and Kanako were sitting out in the front on a bench that overlooked the small hot spring town. Keitaro was seemingly sketching the scenery that greeted their eyes, while the fox and Kanako were conversing lightly. After a few minutes, Keitaro placed his sketchbook down by his side, having finished his sketch. Kitsune picked it up to look.
"Very good, sweetie."
"Yeah."
Flipping one of the pages over, she noticed a page full of small but slightly messy, childlike handwriting.
Hmm? She thought. What's this?
Her curiosity aroused, she started to read to herself.
'Some people say that I live in my own world, within my body and mind. Rather than with my mind, I think using my eyes; like a projector. Within my world, memories and experiences are etched and engraved.
Ever since I was a child, I have always been different to the rest of society; the resident alien, you could say. I would always line up my toys in rows in my bedroom. The tallest would go at the back, and the smallest at the front. Toy bricks were arranged in order of colour, making them easier to find. Rather than 'drive' my toy cars, I would either spin them on their roofs until the paint had worn off, or I would spin the wheels for a while on end. In my own seclusion, I would do things that are seen to be unusual and odd to other people, like rocking back and forth, and humming to myself.
The daily ritual of 'playtime' at school was always difficult for me. I could never grasp the concept of games like 'tag' or 'catch'. Hopscotch was another game I did not like. I would always fall over whenever I would go to hop. Because of my inability to understand the point of these games, nobody wanted me to play with them. I would always get teased and humiliated by other children; all the more reason to hide myself away into the safe seashell that I call my inner world. The teachers would always try persuading me to play with other children, but I would retreat back to my safe refuge as soon as they had turned their backs.'
Kitsune's eyes widened at the quality of Keitaro's written piece as she continued to read.
'My name is Keitaro Urashima, and I am 19 years old. I am a man with a severe case of autism, and have the qualities of a savant in music, maths, memorisation, art and writing. I also developed my speech at a late age. I was told that at the age of seven, I stopped speaking altogether when the anxiety that accompanied the everyday activity of talking reached the point where it became unbearable.
'Because I am an autistic, my brain works in a completely different way to people who are not autistic. I have my own unique, surreal ways of thinking of things and trying to easily correlate my own definitions with words that I do not understand.'
"Catching up on a bit of 'light reading', Kitsune-san?" Kanako asked, making the fox-like woman almost jump out of her skin. She smirked at this.
"Agh! Kami... Kanako-san, please don't do that." Kitsune replied, sighing with relief.
"Gomen. That's another quality of Keitaro's that I forgot to tell you about... writing. If I hadn't seen that, I wouldn't have remembered that he used to be a good writer when he was younger. Or so that's what Hina-obaasan and Haruka-obasan told me."
"I see."
Their attention was turned to the soft pattering of slippers against the stony ground. It was Haruka, with the wireless phone in her hand, and a slightly disheartened look on her face. Kanako and Kitsune noticed this.
"Haruka-san, what's wrong?" Kitsune asked, concerned.
"Hai. What is it, obasan?"
Haruka took a deep breath before starting.
"That was the institution," she said, quietly, with Kanako and Kitsune tensing up significantly at the word 'institution. "They want us to come tomorrow afternoon..."
"Why?" Kanako asked, her eyes misting up increasingly.
"...It's a custody hearing. To determine whether Keitaro can stay with us, or go back to the institution."
The tears that had been threatening to fall for some time finally did so, as Kanako held her hands to her face and wept. Kitsune sat there, her brain going over those last words to make sense of what was going on.
No... so, that means... Kei-kun may be leaving?
She sat like that for a while, her silent tears rolling down her cheeks.
::: END CHAPTER FOURTEEN :::
::: AUTHOR'S NOTE :::
As you have probably noticed, I edited the ending of this chapter to suit the one I am currently writing. If you are disappointed, then I apologise, but over a month of writer's block has caused this.
- GaC -