Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina or any of its characters.
Special Note: Reading the Love Hina manga and watching the Love Hina anime is highly recommended to help you understand the events and characters that appear in this story. This fic is loosely based off of the manga and anime.
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Chapter 13: Knight In Rusting Armor
"Stop interrogating her," Keitaro said sharply. The absolute last thing Sarah needed right now was to be reminded of her dead mother. "I thought you wanted to study, not play twenty one questions."
Sarah scowled at Naru, letting out a low growl and clutching her fists menacingly, and Naru, sensing the wordless hostility, cautiously decided to drop the subject.
Directing his attention back to his workbook, Keitaro reread the problem he had been stuck on and struggling to figure out since the beginning of the session. No good came out of it, however, and the more he read it, the more confusing it became. There was only one option left, the grueling last resort—he would have to ask for help.
Easier said than done, Keitaro's pride pinched his tongue whenever he came close to asking Naru for assistance.
In what could simply be described as a mockery of a study session, no progress was made and there was no interaction whatsoever. Keitaro and Naru made eye contact three or four times, only to instantly turn away from each other. It was as if an invisible barrier ran through the middle of the table.
Sarah watched the charade carry on with increasing annoyance, finally grabbing both of their books from underneath them. "The two of you are acting like dorks! Why can't you settle your differences already and work together!"
"Calm down, Sarah!" Keitaro ordered.
He and Naru flinched and shielded their faces with their hands as Sarah held the books up in a threatening manner, then merely tossed the books back onto the table putting her hands on her hips, and looking at them as if they were stupid little children. "You guys are ridiculous."
Sarah may have been a nearly decade younger than them, but right now she was the one assuming the role of a mature adult (in her own childish way). Doing what kids do best, Sarah had bluntly brought everything out into the open, adding further to an already incredibly awkward situation. This did, however, force Keitaro and Naru to break their stubborn vow of silence.
"Look I--"
"Can you--"
They both spoke out in unison at the same time, each ending in mid-sentence to allow the other to finish.
"You can go first—"
"Go ahead--"
Again at the same time.
Keitaro made a stopping motion with his hand and gestured to himself. Naru, her cheeks a light hue of pink, caught on to his meaning and nodded.
Assured the right of way, Keitaro asked, "I don't understand how to do this question, any suggestions?" Twisting the book upside down in Naru's direction, he pushed it across to her, his finger on the question.
Naru leaned forward to get a better look, overestimating the distance and bumping her head straight into Keitaro's.
"Ouch…sorry about that."
"It's okay, just tell me if you know how to do this," Keitaro said rubbing his head irritably. He slid the book closer to her.
I've got to get a grip, take a deep breath and relax, Naru told herself, though she had no idea why she felt so unnaturally nervous. Part of her even considered the possibility of receiving a strike if she was unable to explain the question correctly to him.
Slowly and carefully, Naru read the question, feeling as if she was taking an exam.
"Oh yeah, I remember this one, the tricky part--" she suddenly paused, pretending to reanalyze the question.
The dilemma was not the question, she could answer that easily, but was she supposed to help him? Kitsune had inconveniently left out if she was supposed to carry out 'Operation Sabotage'.
Naru was far from being an accomplished liar and con artist like Kitsune. Even if she did she did try to mislead him, there was no way she would be able to pull it off. Keitaro would find out for sure and the whole plan would go to waste.
So for now she decided to help him, after all the mock exams were a couple of months away and the actual entrance exam a whole year away.
"Okay, first you would take this variable, substitute it back into the equation, therefore finding the length of the missing side and from their you can find the length of the other three missing sides using this theorem… and that's all there is to it."
"Why don't you sit next to her so she can explain it to you better?" asked Sarah. She did not understand what the big deal was or why her words elicited such a strange reaction. Naru's cheeks turned a deep shade of red and her eyes widened as the solution she was writing in her book suddenly went crooked and off the lines.
"There's no need for that, I can clearly understand her explanations from where I am," Keitaro said, giving Sarah a piercing look that told her although her first suggestion had proved to be useful, she could keep the rest of them to herself.
A library like silence blanketed the room with the occasional question from Keitaro followed by an explanation by Naru. This repetitious procedure became very monotonous to anyone not actively participating, meaning Sarah in this case.
Becoming more bored as each second crept by slower than the last, Sarah went up to Keitaro to tell him that she wanted to do something else, but changed her mind when she saw just how deeply immersed he was with his work.
Almost like Papa… but different, Sarah thought, recalling how Seta looked when he was busy in his office grading papers.
Instead she whispered to Keitaro, "I'm going to explore around this place, okay?"
Keitaro hummed lightly in response, but a few moments after Sarah had left, he suddenly whipped his neck and his eyes shot for the door. Sarah had left it halfway open.
"Is something wrong?" asked Naru, her gaze falling upon the door. "Do you want--"
"Leave it."
"Alright."
Although the study session with Keitaro consisted of a tense and edgy environment, Naru was reminded of her own tutoring sessions with Seta except now she had taken on the role of the teacher—actually more like a tutor, she did not think she was at the level of being a teacher or even close to being qualified. Maybe one day though, she did find that she enjoyed explaining things, plus it was more effective to be studying with someone. Teaching helped reinforce the knowledge on the subjects.
Keitaro had, to some extent, taken a role of the student. He grasped the concepts fairly quickly, and his questions did make her think more. Occasionally he would catch a mistake she had made by asking how she had done a particular step.
Eventually, Naru tried to branch out on some affable conversation outside of studying. "Did you know there are secret passageways all throughout Hinata Sou?"
"Is that so?" Keitaro asked, blandly.
"Funny thing is, Mutsumi knew about them, but she didn't even remember knowing about them—if that makes sense… that's how she worded it."
"Did you find anything interesting?"
"We saw this mechanical doll, it was really creepy, almost like it was alive. It freaked us out so we ran away."
"A doll?"
"It talked and moved—I swear, you can ask Mutsumi."
"Relax, what you say sounds entirely plausible," Keitaro said with a smirk that suggested otherwise.
"You don't have to believe me, I saw what I saw," Naru lamely stated in her defense.
Keitaro, glancing to his side at the nailed down planks of wood, saw a stuffed yellow cat resting on top of them. He was positive this was the first time he had ever seen it…so why did it seem so familiar?
"You did a pretty good job of fixing the hole."
"Oh! Thanks… I guess," Naru replied, unsure of whether or not to take that as a compliment. "When Hina-san was the manager, I'd use the hole to come talk to her whenever I needed advice or help, it was sort of a connection I had with her."
"I'm not my grandmother," Keitaro stated callously. "And I'm sure you've noticed the glaring differences between us."
He spoke the truth, Naru still found it hard to believe that they were related. Then again, Haruka acted nothing like Granny Hina either. Perhaps personalities were not inherited; rather they were molded into their own unique shape depending on the environment that a person grew up in.
Keitaro regarded Naru curiously. There was something about her face had been bothering him since the first day of prep school… "Are those prescription glasses?"
"Why?" Naru asked automatically touching the frame of her glasses.
Keitaro could tell she was touchy about her bifocals, he had simply inquired about them and she was already getting defensive, still he inquired. "Did you actually choose that style or were they given to you?"
"I chose them."
You've got to be kidding me. Although, he did not say it out loud, Keitaro thought her spectacles were terribly distasteful. He figured that she must have had severe vision impairment because the lenses were so thick he could swear they magnified her eyes. How anyone in their right mind would willingly allow for such an abomination to be perched on their nose was beyond him.
"Isn't the coke bottle shape kind of old fashioned?"
"I don't care if they're centuries old, I like them," Naru stated huffily with her arms crossed.
"As long as you're happy, you did choose them after all."
"It wasn't my choice to get glasses if that's what you're saying. I got them was because I studied nonstop in high school, putting too much strain on my eyes. Even in the dimmest of light I would squint as hard as I could to make sure I didn't miss a single word."
"Was it worth it?" Keitaro asked.
Naru thought back on everything she had gone through since high school, the endless nights of studying. She had originally done it for Seta, but he was gone now, she had barely any friends, no social life—but she had scored higher than anybody on the practice test. That counted for something, right?
"I…I don't know…"
The next three hours comprised of intense studying. With his newly acquired knowledge on the mathematical concepts, Keitaro became so absorbed in his work he lost track of nearly everything - including Naru - though he did remember her when he encountered a difficult problem dealing with integrals.
"Hey, Narusegawa, can you help me on…" he trailed off.
Naru had fallen asleep at the table, her head was buried in her arms, and her breathing came out softly and rhythmically. Was she still wearing her glasses? He could not tell, but if she was…well all he could say was that she would be in for a rude awakening. Glasses tended to leave vicious marks on the bridge of the nose if too much pressure was applied onto them.
As Keitaro neared the door, his books in hand, he pondered about how frequently and how long Naru studied each and every day. She busted her ass, working incredibly hard while everyone else was out socializing, and it had paid off, she ranked higher number one in the nation. It was almost like and exchange. She sacrificed her time, her energy and in return she was rewarded for her efforts.
In order to be the best, you had to be extremely dedicated and put in a thousand times more effort than anyone else, constantly reviewing the material again and again until it was drilled into your brain. There were no shortcuts in life, unless perhaps you were a genius, but even they had to work hard to develop their talents.
Now that Keitaro thought about it, he realized why he had failed to get into Tokyo U for the past two years. He used to believe that he could not get accepted because he was stupid, but he was wrong. The potential was there, it had always been there, but he had no focus, no ambition…no future.
His fatal mistake that had cost him his last two years was the 'promised girl'. He had fooled himself into believing that he was studying because he sat in front of a desk with textbooks, but in reality he wasted away hours upon hours daydreaming about the 'promised girl'. He had spent his previous years in prep school fantasizing about their fated reunion at Tokyo U, the instant recognition that both of them would have when they saw each other…and eventually marriage.
However, there had been no thought whatsoever put into anything else. What did he want to major in? Had he decided on a career? What did he plan on doing with the rest of his life? Who knew? He certainly had no clue.
So then, how was it any surprise that he did not pass? During the central exam, instead of reading the questions, had been wondering what kind of dress the 'promised girl' would wear to their wedding. And then during the last five minutes he panicked and made random guesses.
As much as I hate to say it, Mom was right, Keitaro thought wryly. I had absolutely no focus.
Keitaro quietly slid the door closed, and made his way back to his room to prepare for his night study session. Sleep was a liability now; he knew he could easily function off of three hours a night. Time was precious, the more of it he devoted to studying, the more he would improve.
If I was you, Narusegawa, I would have said it was worth it…I just wish I had realized it earlier.
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How can a place be so big and have nothing fun to do in it? Sarah dismally thought rummaging through the fridge as if hoping that the food would jump out and play with her. She tried watching some television but nothing good was on, so she roamed about for a while, eventually coming into the open hot springs area.
"Oh wow! A swimming pool!"
No one was there so she stripped down and cannon balled into the springs, anticipating the cool refreshing water as she was about submerge, however, she met a burning surprise.
"Aah! Hot! Hot! Hot!" she screamed when she surfaced, gasping for breath. "What is this, a giant jacuzzi?"
Sarah then noticed that she was in the midst of dense steam as her body slowly got used to the heat of the water. She heard faint voices coming from behind the veil of white and suddenly a shadow jumped at her.
"Boo!"
"Aaaaahhhhh!"
An intense laughter followed. "You should have seen your face!" a tanned girl said mockingly imitating Sarah's expression. "And for future reference," she said striking a random pose. "The name's Su."
"Don't scare me like that!" Sarah growled.
"What's the matter half-pint? Are you angry?"
"I am not a half-pint!"
To her displeasure, Su started giggling again. "Okay, how about shorty instead?"
"I'm eleven years old!" she shouted.
"You're too small to be eleven."
Sarah lunged at Su and missed on account of Su jumping clear out of the way right before she could tackle her
Sarah relentlessly chased Su in the hot springs, realizing after the third roundabout of the perimeter that it was a lost cause. She caught her breath, leaning against one of the rocks. Remarkably, Su did not seem at all tired, beckoning Sarah to continue chasing her.
"Come on, you have to catch me, I'll never be it if you don't," she disappeared back into the mist.
She thinks this is a game! Sarah thought furiously. A…game. Suddenly, Sarah looked at it through a new perspective. The challenge of tagging Su did seem fun, but it would be a lot more entertaining if Su was the one that was it.
With as much speed as she could gather, she pounced upon a shadowy figure, which she assumed was Su.
"Auuu!" the figure cried out as Sarah landed on her, knocking her into the water.
"I got you!" Sarah shouted in victory.
"Who'd you get?"
"That sugar induced, dark skinned girl, Su…" she trailed off when she realized who she was talking to. "Su! But if you're here, then who's…?"
"Why'd you do that?" A teary eyed girl with short blue hair demanded. "I didn't do anything to you!"
Sarah should have known there were more people in the hot springs; she had heard the sounds of more than one voice earlier.
"Hey, Shinobu, come play tag with us! Sarah tagged you so now you have to catch us!" Su decreed.
It took some convincing, but at last Shinobu joined them after Sarah explained the misunderstanding, scowling at Su. An exhilarating game of 'Water Tag' (dubbed by Su) took place between the three of them. In this game splashing was used to prevent the person it from tagging you, diving was allowed as well for narrow escapes. Su and Sarah were much more aggressive in their method of tagging, tackling their victim and loudly declaring them to be it. Contrasting sharply was Shinobu's timid style of gently tapping, in which she would almost apologize for having tagged the person she caught, feeling as if she was placing a burden on to them.
They played until Kitsune yelled at them from the threshold of the changing room. "Will you get out of there! I'm going out tonight and I'm already running late!"
"Five more minutes!" Su yelled back.
Kitsune complained loudly as she walked back into the changing room and began stripping down.
"Hey, Kitsune--"
"You're too late, Naru, I was here first," Kitsune said, pulling her shirt over her head.
"Good to know, that's not the reason why I'm here."
"What happened to your nose? There's like two red marks--"
"Don't you think I already know that!" Naru said irritably as she rubbed her nose to soothe some of the pain. "I came here to talk to you about the study session."
"Oh yeah, how did it go?"
"I did find out a couple of things about Sarah: she's from California—it's a state in America," she clarified at Kitsune's confused expression. "I don't know why she's here though. When I asked about her mom, our landlord told me to leave her alone. I think I stirred up some of his old resentment towards Sarah's mother, but Sarah looked angry too. She didn't talk to me after that."
"More and more mystery…" Kitsune muttered. "So did you carry out the…" she cautiously glanced in both directions to make sure there were no eavesdroppers before whispering in her ear. "…Operation Sabotage?"
Naru had been expecting this question. "I couldn't do it; I mean what if he's trying to get into Tokyo U so he can get a decent paying job to help give Sarah a good life?"
Kitsune gave her a thoughtful look. "Hmm…you could be right…I think we should wait, at least until the mock exams are over and we know what his chances of being accepted are. Where do you think he stands right now?"
"He has about a fifty-fifty chance and I'm talking about just barely passing the test. To get into Tokyo U you've got to do a hell of a lot better than that. No one gets in with a low passing score."
"We'll just have to see when the time comes," Kitsune said. She then gave a perturbed glare at the open doorway entrance to the hot springs. "Hey, Naru, do me a favor and go drag those three out of there, before I break one of the 'rules' and go in there myself and end up getting a strike."
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Seta did not return the next day or the day after. Keitaro and Sarah combed through Tokyo U—checking his office (which was locked), the parking lot for his van, and tried reaching him on his cell phone only to hear the operator's prerecording say the phone had been disconnected. They asked around, receiving nothing but shrugs or the shaking of heads.
Keitaro suggested that they wait to see if Seta contacted them, but Sarah insisted they go back Tokyo U to check everyday.
Five days later, Seta finally returned apologizing profusely, and telling Sarah about all the gifts he had bought for her. At first Sarah kicked him and yelled curses at him, but her anger melted away when he embraced her, promising he would make it all up to her. Sarah buried her face into his jacket so no one could see her cry.
Keitaro turned his head away from the scene, staring at the main building until he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Part-timer…Keitaro, I can't thank you enough for taking care of Sarah for me while I was gone. I owe you an apology too. I'm really sorry for putting you and Sarah go through all that. It's my fault—I got so wrapped up in the prospect of discovering something huge and kept getting delayed…." he paused for a second, and laughed. "There I go again, I'm constantly getting sidetracked."
"Don't worry about it," Keitaro assured Seta.
"Before I forget…" Seta reached into his pocket and handed him an envelope overstuffed to the point of bursting. "Here's your pay: one hundred and twenty hours, plus time and a half overtime pay, plus a tip."
"Seta you don't have to give me…" Keitaro tried to offer the envelope back to him.
"Take it, you earned it," Seta insisted, pushing the envelope back into his hand. "I want you to come see me again next week. I'll work out a schedule for you," Seta said heading off with Sarah.
"I'll see you then."
Sarah was riding on Seta's back, her arms wrapped around his neck. "Papa, Keitaro's house is so cool, it's so huge—like a freaking mansion! There's like a thousand rooms, but it's not really a house, it's actually a dormitory for women, a bunch of psycho's if you ask me. Keitaro said that the name of the place is Hinata Sou…"
Seta stopped short for a second, taking an extra long drag of his cigarette. "Hinata Sou? Why does that sound so familiar?"
"Papa, are you even listening!"
"Oh yes of course, Sarah, go on," he gave Keitaro a farewell wave, disappearing within the main building.
Later on in the afternoon, Keitaro returned to Hinata City by train and as he was walking back from the train station, he saw a group of girls standing in a circle and talking loudly amongst themselves. He happened to spot Shinobu in the middle of the crowd, giving her a brief smile and a wave, continuing on his way.
Was it his imagination or did she look frightened? And the girls all had seemed to be directing their words at Shinobu, pointing at her and…laughing.
She was standing by herself in the middle of a circle, surrounded by a group of girls.
A mental image of Haitani and himself in a similar situation they faced in high school flashed through his mind, and Keitaro felt his pace slowing down to a stop as he realized what was happening to Shinobu only a couple of hundred feet behind him.
All of a sudden something round and furry buried itself into his back and two arms wrapped around him.
"Manager-san!" he heard a voice sob out.
"Ahh! Maehara-san, please don't do that!" Keitaro yelped, slightly overwhelmed by the sudden physical contact. "You have to let go of me."
"S-s—sorry," Shinobu immediately released her hold on him and backed away timidly.
"It's okay; I think I know what's going on. Maehara-san, are you being teased at school?"
Shinobu went frigid and looked absolutely shocked that he had figured it out so easily, though anyone with half a brain could not have missed it. She knew an explanation was in order. Clutching the edge of her skirt with both hands, she stared at the ground as she spoke.
"At first it wasn't that bad, but slowly it got worse and worse. I even started cutting my class so they wouldn't find me after school. They even have three high school girls with them now."
"You don't have any friends at school?"
"Su goes there, but she's in all the advanced classes so I hardly ever see her at all. I almost told Kitsune, but I stopped myself at the last second… I didn't want anyone to know."
Keitaro glanced back to where the group of girls had been standing less than a minute ago; it was deserted.
"Has the harassment gotten physical?"
"Not really, maybe a push here and there, but today I think… I think…" her voice grew softer and softer, fading out.
Keitaro saw how scared and depressed Shinobu looked. "Maehara-san, this isn't going to go away, it'll only continue to grow worse if you don't do something about it. You're going have to defend yourself; you can't have somebody else do it for you."
"How?"
"I believe there is somebody you can ask."
As they walked back to Hinata Sou, Shinobu gazed (more like gawked) at him admiringly. He was her knight in shining armor, rescuing her from those horrible witches. In actuality, he had done nothing and simply happened to be passing through by sheer chance. But his presence had been enough to spur her into action and escape.
Naturally, Kitsune had informed Motoko, Su and Shinobu about how Sarah was in fact the love child of Keitaro and some blonde haired, blue eyed woman, pointing out that Sarah took after the mother of course. Upon hearing the news, Shinobu became so dizzy that her eyes resembled to large swirls and she nearly passed out. Despite her initial reaction, the prospect of Keitaro being a father made him more appealing to Shinobu than ever. He was 'experienced' and it made him seem even manlier in her eyes.
Keitaro gave her an odd look from the corner of his eyes. "Do you need something Maehara-san? You keep looking at me expectantly."
She had been caught staring again, and quickly averted her eyes. "Errr…no, I was just wondering—when do you plan to start teaching me self defense?"
"Me?" Keitaro asked incredulously. "I couldn't train you if my life depended on it. I've got the slowest reaction time out of anyone I know."
"Then who were you talking about when you said you knew someone who could help me?"
"I thought it was kind of obvious, Aoyama is an expert in such things, is she not?"
"Yeah…she is," Shinobu responded, slightly downtrodden, she had been hoping for him to be the one to teach her.
"Well then, you should ask her as soon as we get back."
"Can you come with me?"
"Huh?"
"Please?" Shinobu pleaded. "I don't know how I'm supposed to ask her, and I don't want to go by myself."
Keitaro sighed, adjusting his glasses. "If you truly feel like you require my assistance, I'll go with you," he conceded.
When they arrived in front of Motoko's room, Keitaro gave Shinobu an assuring nod and she knocked tentatively.
Nearly a minute passed and there was no reply.
"It's not surprising that she's isn't here. Motoko-sempai is hardly ever in her room these days," said Shinobu. "I usually see her training out in the forest area when I'm putting the laundry up on the roof to dry."
"Let's go check," Keitaro replied.
They then headed out to the backside of Hinata Sou, coming across a flowing stream whose current came from the gushing waterfall above. Keitaro could vaguely recall swimming in the stream as a child, and being dared by Haruka (much younger back then) to prove his indestructibility by jumping from the top of the waterfall. But right as he was about to attempt the jump, his father had grabbed him. Needless to say, Haruka had received a stern talking to from both his father and Granny Hina for being a bad influence on an impressionable Keitaro. The stream had seemed so much bigger back then, like an ocean.
"Watch out!" A voice shouted.
The warning came too late and Keitaro and Shinobu were hit by a huge wave of water, knocking them down and completely drenching them.
"What the hell was that!" Keitaro demanded as he got up, Shinobu uselessly tried to brush off the water from her clothes.
Once the wave had fully subsided, they saw Motoko leap across from the opposite side of the stream in a single bound and approach them.
"I did not mean to do that on purpose; I was practicing a new technique and messed up."
"Damn right you did," Keitaro muttered scornfully.
"What business do you have with me?"
Keitaro pulled on the collar of his shirt to keep it from clinging to his skin, ignoring Motoko's question. He beckoned to Shinobu. "Maehara-san, I really think you should be the on to tell it."
"Shinobu?" Motoko looked at Shinobu concernedly. "Are you alright? Did he do something to you?"
Keitaro silently glared at Motoko, refusing to take part in a worthless argument with her. He noticed that Motoko looked genuinely tired, breathing heavily, though she tried to hide it. She must have been training since daybreak, maybe even before sunrise.
"No, Motoko, he helped me...if it wasn't for him, I would have…" Shinobu paused, inhaling deeply to steady herself and despondently relayed what had been happening to her at school. Motoko listened on with a serious face.
"…they circled me today when I was walking back from school...I saw Manager-san walk by and I ran to him…" Shinobu finished.
"How many boys were there?"
"She goes to an all girls school, remember?" Keitaro interrupted. "Don't be so naïve, Aoyama. Why don't you wake up—this isn't the Stone Age. You don't think women are capable of such things? These girls are just as bad as the boys, if not worse. They'll bunch together in large groups; cornering someone when they're alone…in fact you probably know three of the ones that are after Maehara-san, seeing as how they attend your high school."
"Is this true, Shinobu?" Motoko asked.
Shinobu meekly nodded and as she described the appearance of the three high school girls, Motoko's eyes narrowed and her hand twitched millimeters away from the handle of her sword. "Oh, I'll take care of those three myself, Shinobu," she said, her voice dangerously low.
"That's great to know but are you willing to teach her some basic self defense techniques or not?" Keitaro asked impatiently, his wet clothes were becoming unbearable.
"Of course I will," Motoko stated indignantly. "We can begin as early as today."
"Good, that's all I needed to hear," Keitaro said and then turned to Shinobu. "Maehara-san, the rest is up to you," he added before leaving.
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From that day forward, Shinobu became a 'partial' apprentice of Motoko, since all Shinobu required were the most basic hand to hand defense techniques. Motoko offered to teach her some skills with a bokken, but Shinobu kindly refused. She was not interested in fighting or any other form of violence. Shinobu simply wanted to be able to protect herself, should a hostile situation arise. Unfortunately—actually quite fortunate in Shinobu's opinion—no such situation arose, and she never had to use the techniques. For some unknown reason, none of the girls ever bothered her again; in fact it became quite the opposite, now they actively avoided her. Shinobu did not mind in the least, she preferred to be invisible, but she did wonder what had caused their sudden change of heart.
Since the first joint study session had proven to be a success in both of their opinions, Keitaro and Naru continued holding them, however, Keitaro steadfastly refused to allow Naru to even so much set foot in his room.
In time Mutsumi was invited to join as well, and the three of them got together often to study at either Naru's room or occasionally Mutsumi's apartment. Out of their entire class, they were the only ones applying for Tokyo U.
The material they were covering at prep school became increasingly difficult so Keitaro asked Hayate if it would be okay if he came after school on some days to receive extra tutoring from him. Hayate agreed, saying that he did not have much to do on the weekdays anyway.
Keitaro had to coordinate his work schedule with Seta and his after school study sessions with Hayate to ensure that one would not interfere with the other. He came very close to succeeding, slipping only twice, missing a few days of work. Seta did not seem angry though, instead he laughed about it, telling Keitaro stories about how he had missed his first day of school, his first day of work, his aunt's wedding, his uncle's funeral and many other important occasions he had forgotten to show up to. Keitaro considered himself fortunate to have such an easygoing employer.
Sarah stayed with Seta and made no more visits to Hinata Sou, and naturally the residents of Hinata Sou found the absence of Sarah to be odd, but since Keitaro did not exhibit any worry, they assumed that Sarah had gone back to live with her mother. This is why approximately a month later, when Kitsune heard Sarah's voice coming from outside the front door of Hinata Sou, she raced to answer it in great anticipation. She was going to finally see the mysterious mother of Sarah and the former lover of Keitaro. What she met with though, as she swung the door open, was a blast from her own past.
"Oh my God…Seta!"
"Kitsune, long time, no see," Seta ruffled her hair affectionately.
"But you…two year ago—you left…" she stumbled with her words, struggling to say something coherent. "What're you doing here?"
"Well Sarah told me so many things about this place I had to come see it for myself."
"Seta, good to see you again," Keitaro greeted him as he descended down the stairs.
"You know Seta? How?" Kitsune asked, looking back from Keitaro to Seta. The resemblance between them was really striking.
"Would you like something to drink?" Shinobu offered.
"No thanks, this is kind of urgent—can we talk somewhere private? I asked Haruka to come, she should be here soon."
"I'm here," Haruka said stepping out from behind him. "This had better be damned important Seta; I missing work."
"How come didn't tell me you've been here before, Papa?" Sarah asked.
"Excuse me, I have a question," Kitsune loudly declared, suddenly standing on top the coffee table in the center of the common room. "Why'd Sarah call Seta 'Papa'? She's your daughter," Kitsune added, pointing to Keitaro.
"You thought Sarah was Keitaro's daughter?" Haruka asked blandly, holding a poker face.
All the tenants that were present at the time –Motoko, Kitsune, Su and Shinobu – nodded in unison and Kitsune spoke for them. "Yeah…you mean she's not?"
Keitaro, Haruka and Seta looked at each other and burst out in laughter as the tenants looked on in astonishment at the scene, their mouths nearly hanging open. Did their eyes deceive them? They were witnessing the impossible—Haruka was laughing, and it was not merely chuckle, it was full blown, side splitting, laughter. None of them had even believed her capable of such mirth, what they were seeing was probably a once in a lifetime event.
"That's not even humanly possible," Keitaro managed to gasp out. When he saw that the four tenants still did not understand, he explained, "Sarah's eleven years old and I'm nineteen. Last time I checked, I didn't have sex with anyone at the age of eight," he could not hold it in anymore and started laughing again.
"What a bunch of idiots, I even told all of you when I first came here," Sarah said, crossing her arms in annoyance.
The undeniable logic prevailed, and the tenants could only bask in their stupefied silence until the laughter subsided.
"Oh boy, that was a hilarious joke, Kitsune," Seta said, wiping a tear away. "I've always loved your sense of humor." He failed to notice the fox woman's faint blush at his compliment, but Keitaro saw it, as did Motoko.
Seta turned to Keitaro, his expression grave. "Seriously though, I've got to talk to you about something important."
"We can go up in my room for privacy," Keitaro said, leading Seta and Haruka to stairway. Sarah followed them too, but Seta stopped her at the halfway up the stairs.
"You friends look real happy to see you, Sarah. You should go play and have fun with them."
Reluctantly, Sarah went back downstairs to Su, who was suggested they play hide and seek in her jungle of a room. They dragged Shinobu along as well.
"She's never really had any friends before," Seta commented with a smile.
One floor below them, the remaining two residents in the common room were still attempting to make sense of what had transpired.
"So, our manager isn't Sarah's father, Seta is, but if Seta's her father then…" Kitsune let out a groan, rubbing her head in frustration. "Ugh, you know what, forget this…"
Motoko spoke calmly from her seat on the sofa. "At least we know that the landlord did not sire a child illegitimately."
"Yeah, but it would've made things interesting," said Kitsune. She suddenly took on a devious smile suited for a fox, and brought her face up close to Motoko's. "Why, Motoko, you almost seem relieved that Sarah's not his kid."
Motoko sat perfectly still and looked Kitsune straight in the eyes, holding her composure, nevertheless, her cheeks did grace a shade of pink as she voiced out a denial. "I couldn't care less; all I'm saying is that this shows he's not a totally immoral jackal."
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh," Kitsune said exaggeratedly. This was starting to get fun, and she was not going to let Motoko get away that easily. She brought her face even closer. "By the way, I'm really impressed with how you behaved when Seta was here, Motoko. You allowed another man to walk into the dormitory without even so much as a threat."
"Haruka-san was with him, and besides it's not like he's here to stay or anything, he's just visiting here to talk about something and then he'll leave."
"What if he's not 'just visiting'?" Kitsune questioned her teasingly, so close now that their noses were touching. "I bet he's in the manager's room right now trying to get a room for himself."
This time, Motoko turned the tables on her. "I know you're fantasizing about that possibility, maybe even hoping that he doesn't get a room so you can offer to share yours with him."
Kitsune's eyes opened wide and she instantly drew back as if she had been burnt.
"Now that we've finally gotten that out of your system," Motoko said rising to her feet. "I believe it best that we inform Naru-sempai about Sarah not being the daughter of the manager."
"Naru…" Kitsune whispered softly. She had forgotten about her.
This is really bad, if Naru finds out that Seta is here, it'll totally screw her over.
The sight of Naru's old crush would no doubt spark emotional turmoil within her, distracting her from her studies and ultimately ruining her chances of doing well on the exams. Naru was her best friend and Kitsune would not stand by and watch her lose everything she had worked so hard for. Although Kitsune may have had a crush on Seta as well, she could not forgive him for hurting Naru the way he had when he had left for overseas.
"Listen, Motoko, I want you to guard Naru's door, make sure she doesn't come out and if she does, you have to do whatever it takes to stop her from going downstairs…and most importantly, do not let her see this man Seta under any circumstances—understood?"
Motoko could sense the urgency in Kitsune's voice and decided to ask questions later. "Understood."
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"Care for a cigarette?" Seta offered. Haruka silently leaned against the wall, puffing out small smoke clouds.
Folding his legs underneath his desk, Keitaro sat down across from Seta. He accepted the cigarette and put it in his mouth as Seta lit it with a fancy metallic lighter embroidered with an intricate pattern.
Without wasting a moment, Seta went straight to the heart of the issue. "Since there's no longer a need for a full time archaeology professor at Tokyo U, I've been offered a position that involves going abroad and working as a full fledged archaeologist like I once was."
Keitaro tried to hide his disappointment. He had grown rather fond of his job and enjoyed all the tasks he was assigned, whether it was helping grade papers, dusting artifacts, grabbing Seta's lunch, or his personal favorite: taking Sarah off Seta's hands for the day and going wherever they wanted, all expenses paid.
"So I take it I'm going to be out of a job then?"
"With this new 'promotion' I'm going to be traveling constantly between countries, even some uncharted islands, as I work at each new site," Seta explained. "You'll still be working for me, just in a different manner, and you'll even get a raise in your paycheck. You see, I've decided to leave Sarah in your care here at Hinata Sou."
"That's fine with me," Keitaro replied. "What did Sarah say when you told her?"
"I didn't tell her."
"…Were you planning on telling her anytime soon?"
"It's better this way."
"Better for her, or better for you?" Keitaro pressed. "No offense Seta, but after you leave, I'm the one that's going to have to deal with an enraged eleven year old girl."
"Keitaro, you don't understand--"
"No, I understand exactly what's going on. You're afraid of what her reaction is going to be like."
Seta closed his eyes and took in a long drag of his cigarette, blowing out a steady stream of smoke. "You're absolutely right. I'm afraid of what her reaction might be—but I'm also afraid that if I see her, I'll lose my resolve. I won't be able to say no to her if---when she asks to come along with me."
"Be that as it may, do you have any idea how damaging it'll be to her if you just abandon her like that? You'd be doing the same thing her relatives did to her," Keitaro paused to collect himself. "Give her some credit, Seta. She deserves to receive the same respect as anyone else."
Haruka, who had been casually observing in the background, spoke for the first time. "Seta, be a man for once and face this instead of running away," she slid open the door. "Now I'm going to go get Sarah and when I bring her here, you will own up to your responsibility and tell her the truth. And if you so happen to get up and leave while I'm gone, I'll hunt you down myself and when I find you…let's just say you'll be driving with your tongue after I'm done with you. It might even be an improvement since your driving sucks anyway."
Seta smiled and gave and winked Keitaro. "This is exactly why I told her to come."
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"Motoko? What're you doing here?"
The swordswoman's eyes jolted open and stood up straight from her resting place against the wall just outside Naru's room. This was not good; she had to get Naru back through those doors, and fast.
"Umm…" Motoko struggled to think of what to say. "I have been meaning to talk to you about something, why don't we go into your room?" In the subtlest manner, Motoko glided in front of Naru, blocking the way for the auburn haired woman to proceed anywhere else. "I did not want to interrupt your studies, so I waited."
"You're way too formal, Motoko. I'm taking a break anyway so why don't we go talk in the kitchen, I'm kind of hungry—"
"That's okay, I'll have Shinobu bring something up for you," Motoko insisted. "Tell me what it is you'd like to eat…dumplings, bean cakes, rice balls…? I must say, it truly depends on your mood, don't you agree? I believe this would be a most fascinating subject to discuss this in your room."
"Uhh…" Naru sweat dropped. "You're acting kind acting suspicious Motoko."
"Am I? How so? Can you explain it to me in your room?" Motoko asked, stepping forward, forcing Naru to step backwards.
"What is with this sudden fascination with my room?" Naru asked nervously and tried to step around Motoko. "I'm going to go downstairs, can you move out of the way?"
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Naru-sempai" Motoko plainly stated, advancing toward Naru.
"Motoko, what the hell are you doing? What's gotten into you?" Naru asked as Motoko cornered her. Realizing that she was in danger, Naru ducked and made a mad dash through the open space on the right, just underneath Motoko's left arm.
With the utmost precision and ease, Motoko executed a three hundred and sixty degree spin past Naru, grabbing Naru from behind and bringing her with blade onto Naru's throat—wait, where was her blade, where was Shisui! Her fist hung pointlessly over Naru's shoulder, grasping onto emptiness where the handle should have been.
Damn, I forgot… Motoko cursed mentally. I left Shisui at Haruka-san's tea shop.
"It's official—you've gone crazy," Naru said in a shrilled voice. Convinced that Motoko was out to kill her, she broke off into an adrenaline fueled sprint down the hall.
The swordswoman, with Kitsune's words echoing through her mind, hopped onto the wooden side railing, which was a mere two inches in width (if she fell to the right, there was a three story drop down to the common room). Using her superior balance acquired from years of training, she ran sped down the railing, passing Naru, and jumped back onto the hallway, effectively blocking the access to the stairs.
A petrified Naru stood agape, rooted to the ground by fear, knowing that escape was futile.
"Forgive me for this, Naru-sempai," Motoko said solemnly and karate chopped her on the neck.
"M-motoko…w-why?" Naru managed to whisper before losing consciousness and sprawling onto the floor.
Motoko gave an attentive glance in both directions of the hall to check if anyone had seen, and then hoisted Naru's body over her shoulder, carrying her back into the room.
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"There's smoke everywhere, I can't see a thing," Sarah complained, waving her hand to fend off the smoke. "What'd you want to see me for, Papa?"
Seta had been standing off in a corner gathering his thoughts and had not looked at Sarah until now. Hearing her voice, he turned around, prepared with what he was about to tell her with a sad smile. "Sarah…I'm going overseas again."
"Cool, what do you want me to pack?"
Seta shook his head, still keeping the smile. "No, Sarah, I'm going overseas, you're not coming with me."
"Oh yes I am, I'm going with you, Papa," Sarah said, latching Seta's leg.
"No, Sarah, you're not, you're staying here."
"I won't! You can't make me!"
"Sarah, please listen to me. What I'm doing isn't right. This is about what's best for your future. I've been a terrible guardian, I can barely keep track of you," Seta twisted Sarah's cap forward in a fatherly manner. "You're too young to be uprooted from a home and traveling all the time. You need to go to school, play with your friends, this is your childhood Sarah, and you'll regret having wasted it when you're older. I've messed up as your caretaker…please just let me do this one thing right."
Sarah pulled the hat over her face to hide her tears, at last saying, "Promise you'll come visit me?"
"I'll take every vacation day I get to come see you."
"…okay, as long as you promise…"
Seta turned to Keitaro, "We got a deal, part-timer?"
Keitaro smirked, tapping the ash off of his cigarette. "I'll tell you what, you throw in that lighter, and we'll get straight to the paperwork."
Haruka went and got the contract, and Sarah had to undergo the standard procedure of being interviewed by Keitaro before she was officially instated into Hinata Sou as the newest resident.
After Seta finished scribbling his signature on the last sheet of the contract, he tossed his prized lighter to Keitaro and abruptly departed, refusing the offer to stay for dinner. His flight was tomorrow and he had forgotten to pack. As he descended down the long stretch of steps, he saw Kitsune lazing around near the bottom of the stairs; she looked like she was waiting for someone.
"I'm heading out now, Kitsune; it was good to see you. I'll come by to visit again sometime."
Kitsune crossed her arms and gazed off into the empty street. "Actually Seta, in case our manager forgot to tell you, this is an all girls dormitory, I think it'd be best if you didn't come back here."
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