Disclaimer: I own no part of Love Hina, but Sean is me.
YAY! 100 reviews at last! (Should I be worried that I have a goth praying?)
Anyway, as a reward for getting through all those holiday chapters (both you and me), I've got a surpsie for you. Enjoy the show!
Intermission: Home Movies
Wednesday, 2/27 10: 12 AM
"I hate times like this," Sean muttered to himself as he walked in the front door. Alas, he was the only one there at that time. All the students were in class and Kitsune was at a meeting. This left him some time to himself, and he wasn't enjoying it. He had gotten so used to having at least SOMEONE to keep him company for most of the day, suddenly being completely alone was unsettling. Just now, he had gotten so desperate, he went to the tea shop to see if he could help out, but Haruka said that the "help" she was getting from Seta was enough. Therefore, Sean was pretty much back to square one as far as finding something to occupy his time was concerned.
After he flopped down on the couch, he calmed his mind and focused; he wasn't about to just sit around doing nothing for who knows how long. In his mind, he went through the whole house, looking for something, anything to do. Suddenly, it came to him, and he got up and rushed upstairs to Keitaro's room. "How could I have forgotten about it for this long?" he asked himself as he made his way to a closet, though it appeared to be more of a vault than anything else; there wasn't even a door handle or anything. To the common man, it was a strong defense for a person's valuables, but to Sean, it was a minor deterrent. He waved his hand in front of the door and it vanished before him. Inside, he saw rows upon rows of CD towers that seemed to go on forever, though only a small portion of them had any discs in them. Each tower that actually contained anything had thirty or so discs in them, and each of the discs were marked with a date. "Watching some of these should help pass the time. It could also be quite entertaining."
These DVDs were being created by a system Sean implemented months before. Each movie contained the highlights of each day since his arrival. (Though it took a bit more effort to put in what had already happened up to that point.) He couldn't remember why he had done it (hell, he even forgot about the whole thing not long after it was made), but he was grateful for it at that moment. He walked over to the first tower, picked out a couple videos and walked out of the extra-dimensional space. Turning around, he waved his hand, making the steel door reappear, then when he clenched his fist, the whole apparatus shrunk down to a two inch cube, then detached itself from the wall and floated into his hand. "I guess I'll need to move this into my new room."
When he got into said room, he found a good section of wall and sent the cube flying towards it, growing back to normal size upon impact. "I should have started watching these things sooner," he said, putting the first movie into his laptop. "That is why I did this in the first place, right?" He clicked play and saw the living room appear on the screen.
--- Sunday, 6/17/2007 3:32 PM
The front door opened and three girls entered, carrying bags full of groceries. "I can't believe we have to get everything ourselves," Kitsune said. "Why can't we get someone else to do this for us?"
"Well," Naru reasoned. "Since grandma Hina left on that worldwide tour a couple months ago, we'll just have to fend for ourselves until we get a new landlord."
"Haruka did say someone would be showing up pretty soon, right?" Shinobu asked.
"Yeah. Apparently, she found someone who's qualified and will be getting here one of these days."
"I wonder what he'll be like," Kitsune thought out loud.
"He?" Naru asked warily. "Are you hoping it's a guy?"
"I was using it as a generic term, but now that you brought it up, it would be fun to have a man around the house."
"A man living here is the worst idea you could ever come up with," Naru said. "The last thing we need is a pervert running around trying to catch a quick peek."
"Aw, come on. You must admit things have been getting a tad boring as of late. Even Suu's destructive tendencies have almost disappeared altogether. We need something to spice up life around here and a man might just be the ticket. Besides, not all men are perverts."
"Try telling Motoko that. She wouldn't agree to it if she had a gun to her head."
"What's your opinion, Shinobu?" Kitsune asked, startling the young girl, almost dropping her groceries.
"Um," She started blushing. "I guess I wouldn't mind…"
"That's the spirit! Hey, you're starting to get to that age, aren't you?" This caused Shinobu's face to grow even redder.
"Kitsune, stop pestering the poor girl," Naru said.
"Alright, alright." The three made it to the kitchen and dropped off the items.
"Thank you for helping me," Shinobu said timidly. "I can take care of it from here."
"No problem," Kitsune said.
"Well, I'm off to my room," Naru said.
"Studying again?" Kitsune said.
"Of course. Getting into Tokyo U isn't easy, you know."
"Yeah, yeah. So, when is the entrance exam go to be, anyway?" Kitsune said.
"In two months," Naru responded.
"Are you going to be studying the whole time?" Shinobu asked.
"Probably."
"Well, you can worry about study time later," Kitsune said. "Hey, who's up for a dip in the springs?"
"Yeah, sure," the other two said.
"I'll meet you there," Kitsune said, running in the wrong direction. "I haven't had a drink in a while, so I'm due."
"One of these days, she'll drink herself sick," Naru muttered. After leaving Shinobu in the kitchen to finish up with the groceries, she went into the changing room. When she stepped out into the hot springs after changing into a towel, she noticed someone had already gotten there. Due to the perpetual haze, combined with her not wearing her glasses (the only thing fogged up glasses are good for is being funny, trust me), she assumed it was Kitsune. "Dang," she thought. "That sure was fast." "Oh," she said out loud. "I thought I would be the first one here. Oh well, we can just sit and talk until the others get here." As she got closer, discarding the towel in the process, she noticed that not only had Kitsune not responded, she didn't even move an inch. The thing that piqued her curiosity the most was what she wore on her head. "Hey, what's with the blindfold? Did something happen to your eyes just now, or what?"
After she removed said item from "Kitsune's" head and she opened her eyes, Naru knew something was off. "Hey, wait a sec," she said, narrowing her eyes. "There's something different about you. Where are my glasses?" When she retrieved her specs, she quickly realized that this wasn't Kitsune she was looking at. Hell, she wasn't even a she. Time froze at that moment. There she was, a naked woman being looked at by a man she didn't know. You can guess what happens next. Emitting a blood-curdling scream, she charged the already frightened man and punched him square in the forehead. His body skipped along the water's surface a time of two before he hit his head on a rock, where he came to a rest.
"Of all the-- I can't believe--" she muttered. She was so angry, she couldn't form full sentences. She moved over to deliver the final blow when she heard something behind her.
"Naru, are you alright?" For Naru, anger quickly gave way to panic. She wasn't sure what would happen if she was caught in the hot spring with a man, much less a dead one, and she wasn't eager to find out. Quickly, she hid Sean behind a rock, making sure his head stayed above water before thinking of some reason for the scream. Her time ran out sooner than she thought when Kitsune and Shinobu rushed out to see what was the matter.
"Why were you screaming?" Shinobu asked.
Naru had to think of something on the spot and settled for a half-truth. "I thought I saw something out here."
"Where?" Kitsune asked.
"Over there," Naru said, deliberately pointing away from where Sean was hid. While Shinobu and Kitsune had their backs turned, she regained her composure and gathered her thoughts.
"There's nothing out here," Kitsune said. "I swear, you're studying way too hard. You're getting paranoid."
"Maybe," Naru said, suddenly fascinated by the water. She hated to lie to her best friend, but the truth would be harder to believe.
"C'mon, Shinobu," Kitsune said. "Let's leave Naru alone to settle her nerves."
"I hope you feel better," Shinobu said, bowing, then vacated the hot spring, leaving Naru alone with her thoughts.
"Well, that went rather smoothly," she thought, walking back to Sean. "Now, what should I do about him?" Suddenly, it came to her. She would let him wake up, explain the reasons for his misdeeds (as if she didn't know already) and deliver an appropriate punishment. The only thing left to decide was, where should he wake up?
---
Sean watched in awe as, somehow, Naru was able to carry his lifeless body from the hot spring up to her room without being spotted. "I thought that scream of hers was too loud not to be heard by someone," he said. As an afterthought, he added, "Was Shinobu really that shy back then? Man, she's certainly come a long way."
--- (7:50 PM)
Naru led a now awake and somewhat nervous Sean from the landlord's room to the dining room. All the way, she kept looking over the letter he had given her, verifying his new status as landlord. "This thing can't be real," she kept thinking. "It just can't be! A man being the landlord of a girls dorm?!" No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find anything artificial about it, including Haruka's signature. If it was a forgery, it was a damn good one.
When they neared the dining room, Naru stopped Sean short. "Stay out of sight for now," she whispered. Seeing him nod in understanding, she made her presence known to the others, who were waiting for her.
"About time you got here," Kitsune said. "You have been acting strange all day long. What's the deal?"
"Well, you know we've been waiting for a new landlord, right?"
"Yeah, and?"
Naru crossed her arms and glanced in Sean's direction. "It seems we may have just gotten one, but I'm really struggling to believe it."
"Aw, come on, it can't be that bad."
"We'll see. Come on out."
Sean walked up next to her. "Uh, hey."
"WHAT?!" Motoko yelled. "You expect us to believe that this… MAN is our new landlord?!"
"Here," Naru said, tossing the paper to them. "See for yourself." As everyone read it, realizing the significance it held, they reacted in different ways, not the least of which being a certain samurai springing from her seat and in an instant, held her sword to Sean's neck.
"I don't know what kind of perverted stunt you're trying to pull, but if you don't leave right now, I'll cut you down where you stand!"
"Hey, is that really necessary?!" A terrified Sean asked.
"That document must be a fake! No one would ever realistically hire a man to be landlord of a girls dorm!"
"Hmm," Kitsune mused, examining the paper. "No doubt about it, this is the real deal. No one could ever forge Haruka's signature."
"Even so, I refuse to let this man live here!"
"I think we should give him a chance." Everyone turned in shock at Shinobu. Suddenly finding everyone's attention on her caused her to blush heavily. "Um, we do need a landlord, don't we?"
"She does have a point, as much as I hate to admit it," Naru said, moving to look at Sean face to face. "Maybe we can tolerate you being here for now, but if it turns out you aren't who you claim to be, we will be ruthless in our punishment. Do you understand?"
"Why do I have the feeling you might do that anyway?" Sean thought out loud, glancing at the weapon still poised against him.
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Good. Now, let's eat. I'm starving."
"Before we do, there's still one thing I want to ask you," Motoko said, removing her sword from Sean's neck. "What makes you qualified to be landlord?"
"Does a business degree work?"
"So, you've graduated from college huh?" Kitsune asked, stroking her chin.
"Just last month."
"I suppose if you have the discipline to get through college, I think you might do," Motoko pointed her sword at him. "but that doesn't mean I trust you, so if you do anything perverted, don't expect any mercy."
"Point taken," he said as he watched Motoko sheathe her sword and return to her seat. It was at this point that Shinobu noticed that something was wrong.
"I-I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't have anything prepared for you. If I had known--"
"You know what," Sean cut in, seeing the young girl start to panic. "don't worry about it. That little life or death moment kinda killed my appetite. I wouldn't mind just staying here, getting to know you all a little better."
Shinobu blushed a little. "I could get you something later on, maybe…"
"Sounds like a plan." Sean said, smiling. He watched, somewhat amused as Shinobu's face grew so red it might have been able to light up a room. After the introductions have been made, he took his leave and went back to his room to finish unpacking. With that done, he went out onto the balcony and gazed out at the darkening horizon. "Well, this sure is something," he thought out loud after a while.
"It certainly is," a voice said from disturbingly close behind him. He quickly turned around to see a soon-to-be familiar grin.
"Oh, it's you, Kitsune," he said. "What's up?"
"Oh, I was just checking to see if our new landlord has settled in yet." She stood next to him. "Nice view, huh?"
"Yeah." Sean couldn't help but wonder what she was referring to.
"Naru told us about what happened in the hot spring."
"That must have been good for a laugh. Let me guess; she said she found me in the hot spring, I saw her naked, and then she knocked me out in one shot. How accurate is that?"
"That's the gist of it."
Sean rolled his eyes. "Figures."
"Is there more to the story?"
"Well, let me tell you my side. I was in that hot spring for a good half hour before any of you showed up. When Naru got there, I couldn't see anything if I wanted to because I was wearing a blindfold. Yes, I admit, I did end up seeing her, but it wasn't me who took off that blindfold." Sean frowned a bit. "Some nerve that girl has calling me a pervert."
"Is that so?" Kitsune stroked her chin. "Well, after Naru told her tale, everyone--well, Naru and Motoko mainly--decided that you will be forbidden to use the hot springs from now on."
"Fat chance."
"What was that?" Kitsune asked.
"You heard me. I plan on being out there in the future. That place is very relaxing. Take today for example; my commute took a lot out of me (more than you realize), and that place felt like heaven until that girl brought me down to hell and back."
"What do you plan to do when the others catch you there?"
"I don't think I'll have to worry about that. I'm quite the early riser, and I doubt anyone will be awake, much less taking a bath a two, three in the morning."
"Wow," Kitsune thought. She had to admit, the guy had balls to defy Naru and Motoko like he was doing. "Let's just hope he gets to keep them." Suddenly, something caught her eye. "Hey what's that?"
"Hmm?" Sean asked, curious about what got her interest.
"That ring," she said, pointing at his hand. "Are you married?"
"Nah," he said. "Far from it."
"You mean you've never thought about getting hitched before?"
"Well sure, but I've never…" Sean's face turned pink.
"Never what?" It took a moment for her to catch on. "Have a girlfriend?" Sean hung his head. "Not even been out on a date?" He shook his head. "Why not?"
"Well, in case you can't tell by looking at me, I'm not exactly the pick of the litter."
"Looks aren't everything, you know."
"Yeah, I've been telling myself that for years. Also, I've never really been interested in it in the past for some reason."
"Aw, come on, you can't tell me the only reason you went to college was to get an education." Sean just looked at her. "Oh my God, you can."
"The way I see it, if a girl likes me, she'll come talk to me. There's no point in having me look like an idiot talking to some chick that, in the back of my mind, I know I have no hope of being with."
"Oh man," Kitsune thought. "this is perfect. I'm going to be set for life."
Sean noticed Kitsune scoot a bit closer to him. "What are you doing?"
"You really need to get some self-confidence. You never know, the right girl for you might be closer than you think."
Sean rolled his eyes. "And why do you think you're the one for me?"
"I'm not saying it's me." Internally, she hated the fact that she was found out so quickly. "It might be one of the others."
"Like Naru? As if."
The sound of the door opening made both of them turn around to see Shinobu enter. "Um, I brought you some food," she said nervously.
"Thank you," Sean said. He watched her place the plate on the table, then back away, but stopped when she reached the door. It took a couple moments for him to realize she was waiting for him to try the food she had prepared. He went over to the table and took a bite. "Mmm, this is really good. Did you make this all by yourself?"
Shinobu blushed heavily. "Yes, I did. I'm glad you like it, Mr. Roberts."
Being referred to in such a formal way was more or less foreign to Sean, and it amused him so much, he decided to respond in kind. "You really should be more proud of your talents, Miss… Maehara." He paused to make sure he pronounced her name right.
This caused the young girl's face to glow brighter. "You can call me Shinobu if you want to."
"Only if you call me Sean in return." Shinobu quickly nodded, then ran out of the room. "Has she always been that shy?" he asked Kitsune.
"As long as I've known her, but I think it's actually gotten worse since you showed up."
"I see," Sean said, taking another bite. "I guess you should go before rumors start going around."
"Good idea," Kitsune said. "Just so you know, my door is always open if you want to chat some more."
"I'll keep that in mind," Sean said as Kitsune left, closing the door behind her. "Why do I get the feeling that talking isn't exactly what she has in mind?" he thought. "What's with that look you gave her?"
"What?" Sean quickly looked back to find Naru there; and she didn't look all that happy, either. "How did--?" he asked before he remembered the hole in the ceiling. "That must be you're room, then."
"You haven't answered my question. I saw you looking at Shinobu, and I would like an explanation."
"Was I making a look?" Sean asked in all honesty. Apparently, he had made some facial expression he was unaware of; it wouldn't be the first time.
Naru took Sean's comment as sarcasm. "Don't play games with me. If I catch you making glances like that at her again, there will be hell to pay."
"I still don't know what looks I'm making."
"Well, you'd better figure it out," Naru said as she started to climb back up to her room.
Sean turned his back to her. "Maybe I should be looking at you instead," he muttered. Suddenly, one of his books hit him in the back of the head.
"I heard that!"
---
"I should have noticed Shinobu having a crush on me a lot sooner," Sean said as he removed the DVD from the laptop and replace it with another.
--- Saturday, 6/23/2007 1:12 PM
All the girls were in the living room watching television. If you were to observe each of them, you would notice a wide range of emotions, ranging from anger to boredom to concern, the owner of which speaking up after a while, breaking the relative silence. "I hope Sean's alright," Shinobu said. She couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for what had happened almost an hour before.
"Why are you so worried about him?" Naru asked. "Especially after what he could have done to you."
"But we were just talking."
"That may be the case," Motoko said. "But there's no telling what would have done if Naru and I hadn't intervened."
"He still didn't do anything…" Shinobu said, barely audible. Ever since Sean's arrival, Naru and Motoko had warned Shinobu time and again that Sean might take advantage of her if given the chance. She never believed any of it, but her optimism never stopped the two aforementioned girls from beating the crap out of him at the slightest hint of perversion; and sometimes less. Out of the corner of her eye, Shinobu saw the front door open and upon seeing Sean step through, breathed a small sigh of relief.
Sean had spent a good while (he had lost track of time after a while) trekking back home after his latest involuntary flight. All the while, various thoughts whirred through his head: Why had they done what they did? What did he do to provoke it? How long will it take to repair the ceiling and roof where his body crashed through it? His thoughts were interrupted after he returned and was greeted in the usual way by a certain hyperactive foreign girl.
"Heyas!" Suu yelled as she sprang off the couch, ran over to Sean and kicked him square in the forehead, sending him skidding along the floor, coming to a rest upside-down against a wall. Slowly, he got up and, biting his tongue to keep his mouth shut, made his way across the room.
"Are you alright?" Shinobu asked. Sean responded only by nodding.
"Where are you headed off to?" Kitsune asked.
"Clean the floors," he said as he left the room.
The girls looked at where Sean left with a bit of surprise. Now matter how badly he gets beaten, he always seems to bounce back and resume his duties as though nothing had happened. If it wasn't for the bruises his face would usually possess, nobody would even know he'd been hit.
"You think he's immortal?" Kitsune couldn't help but ask. As if to answer her question, they heard a strange sound come from the other room. Shinobu volunteered to check and see what it was. Seconds after she left the room, a scream could be heard, compelling everyone to rush over to see what was the matter.
"What happened?" Naru asked, seeing Shinobu at the base of the stairs, a terrified look on her face. Looking up, she saw what caused Shinobu's paralysis and couldn't help but gasp herself. Sprawled out halfway up the stairs was Sean's body, broom in hand, and completely motionless. Quick as a flash, Naru was at his side, making sure he was alive.
"Is he…?" Shinobu asked, slowly walking up the steps.
"He's just unconscious," Naru said. "Here, help me move him." With Shinobu's help, Naru carried Sean up to his room.
"I guess he's not invincible after all," Kitsune muttered as she, along with Motoko and Suu, followed close behind.
---
"How did I end up picking this one?" Sean muttered to himself.
---
"How did this happen?" Shinobu asked after she and Naru placed him on his futon. "Why did he pass out?"
"I can only think of one thing," Kitsune said. "Well, actually, two things."
"What are you saying, that Motoko and I caused this?" Naru asked.
"You have a better explanation?"
"Not really."
"We won't know what happened until he wakes up," Motoko said. "We'll just have to wait until then." After twenty minutes of silence, Sean body finally began to stir.
"Oh, what happened?" He said, raising a hand to his head.
"You passed out on the stairs," Motoko said. "Care to explain why?"
"Do I have to?"
"I was so worried about you!" Shinobu said. "Why didn't you tell me something was wrong?!"
"See how you're reacting?" Sean asked. "That's why." He started to get up, and seemed to strain in doing so.
"Here, let me help you," Shinobu said. As soon as she placed a hand to his back, his body tensed up. "Is something wrong?"
"No, it's--it's nothing," Sean struggled to say. He felt Shinobu start to lift his shirt. "Here we go," he thought.
A gasp rang out as Shinobu saw a bunch of small cuts and bruises, but what caught her attention was probably the biggest cut any of the girls have ever seen. It went from his right shoulder down his back, almost to his left hip. Even though she knew the answer already, she was compelled to ask. "Who did this to you?!"
"Take a guess." Expect for Sean's, every eye in the room turned to Motoko.
"When did this happen?" Shinobu asked.
"Yesterday. She… found me in the hot spring."
"And why were you there in the first place?" Naru asked.
"I was cleaning it! If Motoko had enough patience to wait two minutes, I would have been out of her hair and violence would have been avoided. Apparently, it wasn't good enough for her."
"I'll go get the first aid kit," Shinobu said, getting up and rushing out of the room, pausing only to glance at the swordswoman.
"I guess there's no point in hiding my pain any longer," Sean muttered as he laid back down, flinching in the process.
"How much pain are you in, anyway?" Kitsune asked.
"A pretty good amount." He looked at Naru, then Motoko, then his watch. A disbelieving expression appeared on his face, and he lifted the watch to his ear to make sure it was working (which was weird, since it was a digital watch). "This can't be right."
"What are you talking about?" Naru asked.
"You, me and Motoko have been in the same room for more than a few seconds without me getting beaten. I'm way overdue."
"Overdue?"
"Well, sure. I must have done something to make you two mad at me by now, right?"
"I don't see how."
"I'm talking to you, aren't I? Me opening my mouth seems to be enough reason by your standards. After all, you double-teamed me just for talking to Shinobu earlier today."
"Well, we don't exactly know your intentions with her, do we?"
"Intentions? My only intention is to make friends, which is more than I can say for you." Shinobu returned, first aid kit in hand, and instructed Sean to roll over onto his stomach so she could administer proper care. "At least I know somebody here cares," he thought. Since he had his face more or less buried in his pillow, he wasn't able to see the… well, let's put it this way: If looks could kill, his name would have hit the obituaries ten times over.
About an hour later, Sean walked out of his room, flanked by Shinobu. She stayed by his side (despite Naru's and Motoko's protests) to make sure he was alright. He back still hurt, but his injury wasn't as bad as it looked. "Thanks again," Sean said. "I guess I should be more aware of my limits."
"I glad I could help. Naru and Motoko can be so mean sometimes."
"You're telling me. I swear, if they keep up that bitchy attitude of theirs, I don't see how they'd ever have many friends, much less be in a serious relationship."
"What did you just say?" Both Sean and Shniobu looked back to find Naru.
"What did you hear?" Sean asked before breaking out into a run, closely followed by the enraged redhead.
---
"Oh man," Sean said. "Open mouth, insert foot."
"You got that right."
"Kitsune??" He turned around to find the fox lady looking over his shoulder. "How long were you there?"
"Long enough. I didn't know you made home movies."
"Want to watch another one?"
"Sure. I'll let you pick it out, just show one that's funny."
"I think I know just the one." Sean walked over and went through the suddenly nonexistent vault door. "Let's see, which one was it?" He eventually picked one, put it into the laptop and pressed play. His eyes grew wide at what he saw.
"Oh, Sean, just like that--" was all that could be heard of Motoko's voice before Sean stopped the movie, a deep blush on his face.
"Oops, wrong one," he said, rushing back to the vault, but not before Kitsune saw that date that was marked and took note of it. "I really gotta label these things better," she could hear him say. "Ah, I think this is the one." He walked out, another disc in hand. "At least I hope so," he added as he inserted it into the computer.
--- Thursday, 12/27/2007 10:21 AM
"This such a beautiful sight," Naru said.
"Yes, it is," Motoko added. The whole group, save one, walked along a forest path, covered in almost knee-deep snow.
"I wish Sean could come out and see this," Shinobu said. "He would love it."
"You know him," Kitsune said. "Always finding something to do around the house. It's his loss. We don't get snow for that long and he may not get another chance like this until next year." She noticed Motoko look back. "You see something?"
Motoko shook her head. "I just thought I sensed something for a moment, that's all." She returned her gaze to the direction everyone was going, taking in the scenery.
"Whew, that was a close one," a lone figure thought from his hiding place among the trees. "Motoko almost caught me. I've got to be more careful." When he was sure that nobody was looking in his direction, he peeked out from behind a tree at the group walking away from him. "Determine target." In his mind, a crosshairs appeared, moving from one person to another until a suitable mark was decided upon. "Target sighted. Plotting trajectory… hehehe…" Slowly, silently, he dug a hand into the snow. "Trajectory set. Initiate countdown… 10… 9… 8…"
The group, completely oblivious of what was going on behind them, continued on their way. If they were to look back, they would have seen a snowball being tossed high into the air, reaching the apex slightly ahead of them.
"Oh man," Kitsune muttered. "Can it get any colder out here?" As if on cue, a strong gust of wind hit them right in the face, but that wasn't the only thing that hit the fox. "AH!!" she screamed as the snowball landed right in her cleavage (how the hell did she manage to get cleavage from a winter coat, anyway?). "I had to open my big mouth, didn't I?"
"Where did that come from?" Keitaro asked, looking up.
"Yes!" A voice whispered from behind them.
"Show yourself!" Motoko yelled, brandishing her sword.
Sean stepped out from behind the tree, grinning like an idiot. "Hey y'all."
"Sean!" Shinobu said, a similar smile appearing on her face. "You made it after all!"
"Of course. I haven't seen snow like this in years."
"Did you do this?!" Kitsune asked, pointing out the snow that was now melting and dripping down the inside of her coat.
"Sure did," he responded, following it up with a giggle.
"So it's a snowball fight you want, huh?" Kitsune said, scooping up some snow.
"Was it that obvious?"
"Well, you're going to get one!" Kitsune said, throwing her weapon of choice at him, but he dodged it easily.
"You'll have to do better than that," Sean said. "Like this." He raised his arms and about a dozen snowballs appeared out of nowhere. With a motion of his hand, a couple of them were sent flying, hitting Kitsune's head and leg.
"This doesn't look fair," Naru said, making a snowball of her own.
"You're right," Keitaro said, joining her.
In almost no time at all, the friendly snowball fight turned into an all-out war: all the Hinata-Sou tenants against Sean. The only one not involved was Motoko, who decided to just sit and watch from the sidelines. She found herself amazed that Sean was able to evade about 98% of the snowballs thrown at him, including those from the snow-bazooka that Suu wielded (where did she get that from?). "Wow," she thought. "If he could attack as well as he can dodge, he'd certainly be a formidable opponent even without his magic." Her thoughts, as well as the entire battle came to a screeching halt when an a stray snowball hit her in the face. The larger team started to back away from both Motoko and the one who threw it; Sean. "I wasn't going to get involved, but if it's going to be like that…" She gave an intimidating smile as she unsheathed her sword and started making her way to her adversary.
"Uh oh," Sean thought. Quickly, he sent a multitude of frozen projectiles flying at her, but she dodged every last one with skill and grace.
"Try and avoid this!" Motoko said as she swung her sword toward the ground. All of a sudden, a huge wave of snow appeared, heading straight for Sean.
"WHOA!" That was all Sean could say before he was buried in about fifteen feet of snow.
"I think I just won," Motoko said.
---
Kitsune laughed hysterically at what she saw. "It wasn't that funny," Sean said.
"Well, it serves you right, hitting me in the chest with that snowball."
"You mean like this?" Sean said, a snowball appearing in his hand, and sending it down Kitsune's shirt.
"HEY! That's cold!" She saw him get up and run out of the room, laughing all the while. "Get back here!" she yelled, following him. Meanwhile, the movie continued to play.
---
Sean clawed his way out of his frozen tomb to find that his friends had already left. "Uh, hello? Where'd everybody go?"
End Intermission
What did you think? See you next time! Please R&R!
YAY! 100 reviews at last! (Should I be worried that I have a goth praying?)
Anyway, as a reward for getting through all those holiday chapters (both you and me), I've got a surpsie for you. Enjoy the show!
Intermission: Home Movies
Wednesday, 2/27 10: 12 AM
"I hate times like this," Sean muttered to himself as he walked in the front door. Alas, he was the only one there at that time. All the students were in class and Kitsune was at a meeting. This left him some time to himself, and he wasn't enjoying it. He had gotten so used to having at least SOMEONE to keep him company for most of the day, suddenly being completely alone was unsettling. Just now, he had gotten so desperate, he went to the tea shop to see if he could help out, but Haruka said that the "help" she was getting from Seta was enough. Therefore, Sean was pretty much back to square one as far as finding something to occupy his time was concerned.
After he flopped down on the couch, he calmed his mind and focused; he wasn't about to just sit around doing nothing for who knows how long. In his mind, he went through the whole house, looking for something, anything to do. Suddenly, it came to him, and he got up and rushed upstairs to Keitaro's room. "How could I have forgotten about it for this long?" he asked himself as he made his way to a closet, though it appeared to be more of a vault than anything else; there wasn't even a door handle or anything. To the common man, it was a strong defense for a person's valuables, but to Sean, it was a minor deterrent. He waved his hand in front of the door and it vanished before him. Inside, he saw rows upon rows of CD towers that seemed to go on forever, though only a small portion of them had any discs in them. Each tower that actually contained anything had thirty or so discs in them, and each of the discs were marked with a date. "Watching some of these should help pass the time. It could also be quite entertaining."
These DVDs were being created by a system Sean implemented months before. Each movie contained the highlights of each day since his arrival. (Though it took a bit more effort to put in what had already happened up to that point.) He couldn't remember why he had done it (hell, he even forgot about the whole thing not long after it was made), but he was grateful for it at that moment. He walked over to the first tower, picked out a couple videos and walked out of the extra-dimensional space. Turning around, he waved his hand, making the steel door reappear, then when he clenched his fist, the whole apparatus shrunk down to a two inch cube, then detached itself from the wall and floated into his hand. "I guess I'll need to move this into my new room."
When he got into said room, he found a good section of wall and sent the cube flying towards it, growing back to normal size upon impact. "I should have started watching these things sooner," he said, putting the first movie into his laptop. "That is why I did this in the first place, right?" He clicked play and saw the living room appear on the screen.
--- Sunday, 6/17/2007 3:32 PM
The front door opened and three girls entered, carrying bags full of groceries. "I can't believe we have to get everything ourselves," Kitsune said. "Why can't we get someone else to do this for us?"
"Well," Naru reasoned. "Since grandma Hina left on that worldwide tour a couple months ago, we'll just have to fend for ourselves until we get a new landlord."
"Haruka did say someone would be showing up pretty soon, right?" Shinobu asked.
"Yeah. Apparently, she found someone who's qualified and will be getting here one of these days."
"I wonder what he'll be like," Kitsune thought out loud.
"He?" Naru asked warily. "Are you hoping it's a guy?"
"I was using it as a generic term, but now that you brought it up, it would be fun to have a man around the house."
"A man living here is the worst idea you could ever come up with," Naru said. "The last thing we need is a pervert running around trying to catch a quick peek."
"Aw, come on. You must admit things have been getting a tad boring as of late. Even Suu's destructive tendencies have almost disappeared altogether. We need something to spice up life around here and a man might just be the ticket. Besides, not all men are perverts."
"Try telling Motoko that. She wouldn't agree to it if she had a gun to her head."
"What's your opinion, Shinobu?" Kitsune asked, startling the young girl, almost dropping her groceries.
"Um," She started blushing. "I guess I wouldn't mind…"
"That's the spirit! Hey, you're starting to get to that age, aren't you?" This caused Shinobu's face to grow even redder.
"Kitsune, stop pestering the poor girl," Naru said.
"Alright, alright." The three made it to the kitchen and dropped off the items.
"Thank you for helping me," Shinobu said timidly. "I can take care of it from here."
"No problem," Kitsune said.
"Well, I'm off to my room," Naru said.
"Studying again?" Kitsune said.
"Of course. Getting into Tokyo U isn't easy, you know."
"Yeah, yeah. So, when is the entrance exam go to be, anyway?" Kitsune said.
"In two months," Naru responded.
"Are you going to be studying the whole time?" Shinobu asked.
"Probably."
"Well, you can worry about study time later," Kitsune said. "Hey, who's up for a dip in the springs?"
"Yeah, sure," the other two said.
"I'll meet you there," Kitsune said, running in the wrong direction. "I haven't had a drink in a while, so I'm due."
"One of these days, she'll drink herself sick," Naru muttered. After leaving Shinobu in the kitchen to finish up with the groceries, she went into the changing room. When she stepped out into the hot springs after changing into a towel, she noticed someone had already gotten there. Due to the perpetual haze, combined with her not wearing her glasses (the only thing fogged up glasses are good for is being funny, trust me), she assumed it was Kitsune. "Dang," she thought. "That sure was fast." "Oh," she said out loud. "I thought I would be the first one here. Oh well, we can just sit and talk until the others get here." As she got closer, discarding the towel in the process, she noticed that not only had Kitsune not responded, she didn't even move an inch. The thing that piqued her curiosity the most was what she wore on her head. "Hey, what's with the blindfold? Did something happen to your eyes just now, or what?"
After she removed said item from "Kitsune's" head and she opened her eyes, Naru knew something was off. "Hey, wait a sec," she said, narrowing her eyes. "There's something different about you. Where are my glasses?" When she retrieved her specs, she quickly realized that this wasn't Kitsune she was looking at. Hell, she wasn't even a she. Time froze at that moment. There she was, a naked woman being looked at by a man she didn't know. You can guess what happens next. Emitting a blood-curdling scream, she charged the already frightened man and punched him square in the forehead. His body skipped along the water's surface a time of two before he hit his head on a rock, where he came to a rest.
"Of all the-- I can't believe--" she muttered. She was so angry, she couldn't form full sentences. She moved over to deliver the final blow when she heard something behind her.
"Naru, are you alright?" For Naru, anger quickly gave way to panic. She wasn't sure what would happen if she was caught in the hot spring with a man, much less a dead one, and she wasn't eager to find out. Quickly, she hid Sean behind a rock, making sure his head stayed above water before thinking of some reason for the scream. Her time ran out sooner than she thought when Kitsune and Shinobu rushed out to see what was the matter.
"Why were you screaming?" Shinobu asked.
Naru had to think of something on the spot and settled for a half-truth. "I thought I saw something out here."
"Where?" Kitsune asked.
"Over there," Naru said, deliberately pointing away from where Sean was hid. While Shinobu and Kitsune had their backs turned, she regained her composure and gathered her thoughts.
"There's nothing out here," Kitsune said. "I swear, you're studying way too hard. You're getting paranoid."
"Maybe," Naru said, suddenly fascinated by the water. She hated to lie to her best friend, but the truth would be harder to believe.
"C'mon, Shinobu," Kitsune said. "Let's leave Naru alone to settle her nerves."
"I hope you feel better," Shinobu said, bowing, then vacated the hot spring, leaving Naru alone with her thoughts.
"Well, that went rather smoothly," she thought, walking back to Sean. "Now, what should I do about him?" Suddenly, it came to her. She would let him wake up, explain the reasons for his misdeeds (as if she didn't know already) and deliver an appropriate punishment. The only thing left to decide was, where should he wake up?
---
Sean watched in awe as, somehow, Naru was able to carry his lifeless body from the hot spring up to her room without being spotted. "I thought that scream of hers was too loud not to be heard by someone," he said. As an afterthought, he added, "Was Shinobu really that shy back then? Man, she's certainly come a long way."
--- (7:50 PM)
Naru led a now awake and somewhat nervous Sean from the landlord's room to the dining room. All the way, she kept looking over the letter he had given her, verifying his new status as landlord. "This thing can't be real," she kept thinking. "It just can't be! A man being the landlord of a girls dorm?!" No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find anything artificial about it, including Haruka's signature. If it was a forgery, it was a damn good one.
When they neared the dining room, Naru stopped Sean short. "Stay out of sight for now," she whispered. Seeing him nod in understanding, she made her presence known to the others, who were waiting for her.
"About time you got here," Kitsune said. "You have been acting strange all day long. What's the deal?"
"Well, you know we've been waiting for a new landlord, right?"
"Yeah, and?"
Naru crossed her arms and glanced in Sean's direction. "It seems we may have just gotten one, but I'm really struggling to believe it."
"Aw, come on, it can't be that bad."
"We'll see. Come on out."
Sean walked up next to her. "Uh, hey."
"WHAT?!" Motoko yelled. "You expect us to believe that this… MAN is our new landlord?!"
"Here," Naru said, tossing the paper to them. "See for yourself." As everyone read it, realizing the significance it held, they reacted in different ways, not the least of which being a certain samurai springing from her seat and in an instant, held her sword to Sean's neck.
"I don't know what kind of perverted stunt you're trying to pull, but if you don't leave right now, I'll cut you down where you stand!"
"Hey, is that really necessary?!" A terrified Sean asked.
"That document must be a fake! No one would ever realistically hire a man to be landlord of a girls dorm!"
"Hmm," Kitsune mused, examining the paper. "No doubt about it, this is the real deal. No one could ever forge Haruka's signature."
"Even so, I refuse to let this man live here!"
"I think we should give him a chance." Everyone turned in shock at Shinobu. Suddenly finding everyone's attention on her caused her to blush heavily. "Um, we do need a landlord, don't we?"
"She does have a point, as much as I hate to admit it," Naru said, moving to look at Sean face to face. "Maybe we can tolerate you being here for now, but if it turns out you aren't who you claim to be, we will be ruthless in our punishment. Do you understand?"
"Why do I have the feeling you might do that anyway?" Sean thought out loud, glancing at the weapon still poised against him.
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Good. Now, let's eat. I'm starving."
"Before we do, there's still one thing I want to ask you," Motoko said, removing her sword from Sean's neck. "What makes you qualified to be landlord?"
"Does a business degree work?"
"So, you've graduated from college huh?" Kitsune asked, stroking her chin.
"Just last month."
"I suppose if you have the discipline to get through college, I think you might do," Motoko pointed her sword at him. "but that doesn't mean I trust you, so if you do anything perverted, don't expect any mercy."
"Point taken," he said as he watched Motoko sheathe her sword and return to her seat. It was at this point that Shinobu noticed that something was wrong.
"I-I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't have anything prepared for you. If I had known--"
"You know what," Sean cut in, seeing the young girl start to panic. "don't worry about it. That little life or death moment kinda killed my appetite. I wouldn't mind just staying here, getting to know you all a little better."
Shinobu blushed a little. "I could get you something later on, maybe…"
"Sounds like a plan." Sean said, smiling. He watched, somewhat amused as Shinobu's face grew so red it might have been able to light up a room. After the introductions have been made, he took his leave and went back to his room to finish unpacking. With that done, he went out onto the balcony and gazed out at the darkening horizon. "Well, this sure is something," he thought out loud after a while.
"It certainly is," a voice said from disturbingly close behind him. He quickly turned around to see a soon-to-be familiar grin.
"Oh, it's you, Kitsune," he said. "What's up?"
"Oh, I was just checking to see if our new landlord has settled in yet." She stood next to him. "Nice view, huh?"
"Yeah." Sean couldn't help but wonder what she was referring to.
"Naru told us about what happened in the hot spring."
"That must have been good for a laugh. Let me guess; she said she found me in the hot spring, I saw her naked, and then she knocked me out in one shot. How accurate is that?"
"That's the gist of it."
Sean rolled his eyes. "Figures."
"Is there more to the story?"
"Well, let me tell you my side. I was in that hot spring for a good half hour before any of you showed up. When Naru got there, I couldn't see anything if I wanted to because I was wearing a blindfold. Yes, I admit, I did end up seeing her, but it wasn't me who took off that blindfold." Sean frowned a bit. "Some nerve that girl has calling me a pervert."
"Is that so?" Kitsune stroked her chin. "Well, after Naru told her tale, everyone--well, Naru and Motoko mainly--decided that you will be forbidden to use the hot springs from now on."
"Fat chance."
"What was that?" Kitsune asked.
"You heard me. I plan on being out there in the future. That place is very relaxing. Take today for example; my commute took a lot out of me (more than you realize), and that place felt like heaven until that girl brought me down to hell and back."
"What do you plan to do when the others catch you there?"
"I don't think I'll have to worry about that. I'm quite the early riser, and I doubt anyone will be awake, much less taking a bath a two, three in the morning."
"Wow," Kitsune thought. She had to admit, the guy had balls to defy Naru and Motoko like he was doing. "Let's just hope he gets to keep them." Suddenly, something caught her eye. "Hey what's that?"
"Hmm?" Sean asked, curious about what got her interest.
"That ring," she said, pointing at his hand. "Are you married?"
"Nah," he said. "Far from it."
"You mean you've never thought about getting hitched before?"
"Well sure, but I've never…" Sean's face turned pink.
"Never what?" It took a moment for her to catch on. "Have a girlfriend?" Sean hung his head. "Not even been out on a date?" He shook his head. "Why not?"
"Well, in case you can't tell by looking at me, I'm not exactly the pick of the litter."
"Looks aren't everything, you know."
"Yeah, I've been telling myself that for years. Also, I've never really been interested in it in the past for some reason."
"Aw, come on, you can't tell me the only reason you went to college was to get an education." Sean just looked at her. "Oh my God, you can."
"The way I see it, if a girl likes me, she'll come talk to me. There's no point in having me look like an idiot talking to some chick that, in the back of my mind, I know I have no hope of being with."
"Oh man," Kitsune thought. "this is perfect. I'm going to be set for life."
Sean noticed Kitsune scoot a bit closer to him. "What are you doing?"
"You really need to get some self-confidence. You never know, the right girl for you might be closer than you think."
Sean rolled his eyes. "And why do you think you're the one for me?"
"I'm not saying it's me." Internally, she hated the fact that she was found out so quickly. "It might be one of the others."
"Like Naru? As if."
The sound of the door opening made both of them turn around to see Shinobu enter. "Um, I brought you some food," she said nervously.
"Thank you," Sean said. He watched her place the plate on the table, then back away, but stopped when she reached the door. It took a couple moments for him to realize she was waiting for him to try the food she had prepared. He went over to the table and took a bite. "Mmm, this is really good. Did you make this all by yourself?"
Shinobu blushed heavily. "Yes, I did. I'm glad you like it, Mr. Roberts."
Being referred to in such a formal way was more or less foreign to Sean, and it amused him so much, he decided to respond in kind. "You really should be more proud of your talents, Miss… Maehara." He paused to make sure he pronounced her name right.
This caused the young girl's face to glow brighter. "You can call me Shinobu if you want to."
"Only if you call me Sean in return." Shinobu quickly nodded, then ran out of the room. "Has she always been that shy?" he asked Kitsune.
"As long as I've known her, but I think it's actually gotten worse since you showed up."
"I see," Sean said, taking another bite. "I guess you should go before rumors start going around."
"Good idea," Kitsune said. "Just so you know, my door is always open if you want to chat some more."
"I'll keep that in mind," Sean said as Kitsune left, closing the door behind her. "Why do I get the feeling that talking isn't exactly what she has in mind?" he thought. "What's with that look you gave her?"
"What?" Sean quickly looked back to find Naru there; and she didn't look all that happy, either. "How did--?" he asked before he remembered the hole in the ceiling. "That must be you're room, then."
"You haven't answered my question. I saw you looking at Shinobu, and I would like an explanation."
"Was I making a look?" Sean asked in all honesty. Apparently, he had made some facial expression he was unaware of; it wouldn't be the first time.
Naru took Sean's comment as sarcasm. "Don't play games with me. If I catch you making glances like that at her again, there will be hell to pay."
"I still don't know what looks I'm making."
"Well, you'd better figure it out," Naru said as she started to climb back up to her room.
Sean turned his back to her. "Maybe I should be looking at you instead," he muttered. Suddenly, one of his books hit him in the back of the head.
"I heard that!"
---
"I should have noticed Shinobu having a crush on me a lot sooner," Sean said as he removed the DVD from the laptop and replace it with another.
--- Saturday, 6/23/2007 1:12 PM
All the girls were in the living room watching television. If you were to observe each of them, you would notice a wide range of emotions, ranging from anger to boredom to concern, the owner of which speaking up after a while, breaking the relative silence. "I hope Sean's alright," Shinobu said. She couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for what had happened almost an hour before.
"Why are you so worried about him?" Naru asked. "Especially after what he could have done to you."
"But we were just talking."
"That may be the case," Motoko said. "But there's no telling what would have done if Naru and I hadn't intervened."
"He still didn't do anything…" Shinobu said, barely audible. Ever since Sean's arrival, Naru and Motoko had warned Shinobu time and again that Sean might take advantage of her if given the chance. She never believed any of it, but her optimism never stopped the two aforementioned girls from beating the crap out of him at the slightest hint of perversion; and sometimes less. Out of the corner of her eye, Shinobu saw the front door open and upon seeing Sean step through, breathed a small sigh of relief.
Sean had spent a good while (he had lost track of time after a while) trekking back home after his latest involuntary flight. All the while, various thoughts whirred through his head: Why had they done what they did? What did he do to provoke it? How long will it take to repair the ceiling and roof where his body crashed through it? His thoughts were interrupted after he returned and was greeted in the usual way by a certain hyperactive foreign girl.
"Heyas!" Suu yelled as she sprang off the couch, ran over to Sean and kicked him square in the forehead, sending him skidding along the floor, coming to a rest upside-down against a wall. Slowly, he got up and, biting his tongue to keep his mouth shut, made his way across the room.
"Are you alright?" Shinobu asked. Sean responded only by nodding.
"Where are you headed off to?" Kitsune asked.
"Clean the floors," he said as he left the room.
The girls looked at where Sean left with a bit of surprise. Now matter how badly he gets beaten, he always seems to bounce back and resume his duties as though nothing had happened. If it wasn't for the bruises his face would usually possess, nobody would even know he'd been hit.
"You think he's immortal?" Kitsune couldn't help but ask. As if to answer her question, they heard a strange sound come from the other room. Shinobu volunteered to check and see what it was. Seconds after she left the room, a scream could be heard, compelling everyone to rush over to see what was the matter.
"What happened?" Naru asked, seeing Shinobu at the base of the stairs, a terrified look on her face. Looking up, she saw what caused Shinobu's paralysis and couldn't help but gasp herself. Sprawled out halfway up the stairs was Sean's body, broom in hand, and completely motionless. Quick as a flash, Naru was at his side, making sure he was alive.
"Is he…?" Shinobu asked, slowly walking up the steps.
"He's just unconscious," Naru said. "Here, help me move him." With Shinobu's help, Naru carried Sean up to his room.
"I guess he's not invincible after all," Kitsune muttered as she, along with Motoko and Suu, followed close behind.
---
"How did I end up picking this one?" Sean muttered to himself.
---
"How did this happen?" Shinobu asked after she and Naru placed him on his futon. "Why did he pass out?"
"I can only think of one thing," Kitsune said. "Well, actually, two things."
"What are you saying, that Motoko and I caused this?" Naru asked.
"You have a better explanation?"
"Not really."
"We won't know what happened until he wakes up," Motoko said. "We'll just have to wait until then." After twenty minutes of silence, Sean body finally began to stir.
"Oh, what happened?" He said, raising a hand to his head.
"You passed out on the stairs," Motoko said. "Care to explain why?"
"Do I have to?"
"I was so worried about you!" Shinobu said. "Why didn't you tell me something was wrong?!"
"See how you're reacting?" Sean asked. "That's why." He started to get up, and seemed to strain in doing so.
"Here, let me help you," Shinobu said. As soon as she placed a hand to his back, his body tensed up. "Is something wrong?"
"No, it's--it's nothing," Sean struggled to say. He felt Shinobu start to lift his shirt. "Here we go," he thought.
A gasp rang out as Shinobu saw a bunch of small cuts and bruises, but what caught her attention was probably the biggest cut any of the girls have ever seen. It went from his right shoulder down his back, almost to his left hip. Even though she knew the answer already, she was compelled to ask. "Who did this to you?!"
"Take a guess." Expect for Sean's, every eye in the room turned to Motoko.
"When did this happen?" Shinobu asked.
"Yesterday. She… found me in the hot spring."
"And why were you there in the first place?" Naru asked.
"I was cleaning it! If Motoko had enough patience to wait two minutes, I would have been out of her hair and violence would have been avoided. Apparently, it wasn't good enough for her."
"I'll go get the first aid kit," Shinobu said, getting up and rushing out of the room, pausing only to glance at the swordswoman.
"I guess there's no point in hiding my pain any longer," Sean muttered as he laid back down, flinching in the process.
"How much pain are you in, anyway?" Kitsune asked.
"A pretty good amount." He looked at Naru, then Motoko, then his watch. A disbelieving expression appeared on his face, and he lifted the watch to his ear to make sure it was working (which was weird, since it was a digital watch). "This can't be right."
"What are you talking about?" Naru asked.
"You, me and Motoko have been in the same room for more than a few seconds without me getting beaten. I'm way overdue."
"Overdue?"
"Well, sure. I must have done something to make you two mad at me by now, right?"
"I don't see how."
"I'm talking to you, aren't I? Me opening my mouth seems to be enough reason by your standards. After all, you double-teamed me just for talking to Shinobu earlier today."
"Well, we don't exactly know your intentions with her, do we?"
"Intentions? My only intention is to make friends, which is more than I can say for you." Shinobu returned, first aid kit in hand, and instructed Sean to roll over onto his stomach so she could administer proper care. "At least I know somebody here cares," he thought. Since he had his face more or less buried in his pillow, he wasn't able to see the… well, let's put it this way: If looks could kill, his name would have hit the obituaries ten times over.
About an hour later, Sean walked out of his room, flanked by Shinobu. She stayed by his side (despite Naru's and Motoko's protests) to make sure he was alright. He back still hurt, but his injury wasn't as bad as it looked. "Thanks again," Sean said. "I guess I should be more aware of my limits."
"I glad I could help. Naru and Motoko can be so mean sometimes."
"You're telling me. I swear, if they keep up that bitchy attitude of theirs, I don't see how they'd ever have many friends, much less be in a serious relationship."
"What did you just say?" Both Sean and Shniobu looked back to find Naru.
"What did you hear?" Sean asked before breaking out into a run, closely followed by the enraged redhead.
---
"Oh man," Sean said. "Open mouth, insert foot."
"You got that right."
"Kitsune??" He turned around to find the fox lady looking over his shoulder. "How long were you there?"
"Long enough. I didn't know you made home movies."
"Want to watch another one?"
"Sure. I'll let you pick it out, just show one that's funny."
"I think I know just the one." Sean walked over and went through the suddenly nonexistent vault door. "Let's see, which one was it?" He eventually picked one, put it into the laptop and pressed play. His eyes grew wide at what he saw.
"Oh, Sean, just like that--" was all that could be heard of Motoko's voice before Sean stopped the movie, a deep blush on his face.
"Oops, wrong one," he said, rushing back to the vault, but not before Kitsune saw that date that was marked and took note of it. "I really gotta label these things better," she could hear him say. "Ah, I think this is the one." He walked out, another disc in hand. "At least I hope so," he added as he inserted it into the computer.
--- Thursday, 12/27/2007 10:21 AM
"This such a beautiful sight," Naru said.
"Yes, it is," Motoko added. The whole group, save one, walked along a forest path, covered in almost knee-deep snow.
"I wish Sean could come out and see this," Shinobu said. "He would love it."
"You know him," Kitsune said. "Always finding something to do around the house. It's his loss. We don't get snow for that long and he may not get another chance like this until next year." She noticed Motoko look back. "You see something?"
Motoko shook her head. "I just thought I sensed something for a moment, that's all." She returned her gaze to the direction everyone was going, taking in the scenery.
"Whew, that was a close one," a lone figure thought from his hiding place among the trees. "Motoko almost caught me. I've got to be more careful." When he was sure that nobody was looking in his direction, he peeked out from behind a tree at the group walking away from him. "Determine target." In his mind, a crosshairs appeared, moving from one person to another until a suitable mark was decided upon. "Target sighted. Plotting trajectory… hehehe…" Slowly, silently, he dug a hand into the snow. "Trajectory set. Initiate countdown… 10… 9… 8…"
The group, completely oblivious of what was going on behind them, continued on their way. If they were to look back, they would have seen a snowball being tossed high into the air, reaching the apex slightly ahead of them.
"Oh man," Kitsune muttered. "Can it get any colder out here?" As if on cue, a strong gust of wind hit them right in the face, but that wasn't the only thing that hit the fox. "AH!!" she screamed as the snowball landed right in her cleavage (how the hell did she manage to get cleavage from a winter coat, anyway?). "I had to open my big mouth, didn't I?"
"Where did that come from?" Keitaro asked, looking up.
"Yes!" A voice whispered from behind them.
"Show yourself!" Motoko yelled, brandishing her sword.
Sean stepped out from behind the tree, grinning like an idiot. "Hey y'all."
"Sean!" Shinobu said, a similar smile appearing on her face. "You made it after all!"
"Of course. I haven't seen snow like this in years."
"Did you do this?!" Kitsune asked, pointing out the snow that was now melting and dripping down the inside of her coat.
"Sure did," he responded, following it up with a giggle.
"So it's a snowball fight you want, huh?" Kitsune said, scooping up some snow.
"Was it that obvious?"
"Well, you're going to get one!" Kitsune said, throwing her weapon of choice at him, but he dodged it easily.
"You'll have to do better than that," Sean said. "Like this." He raised his arms and about a dozen snowballs appeared out of nowhere. With a motion of his hand, a couple of them were sent flying, hitting Kitsune's head and leg.
"This doesn't look fair," Naru said, making a snowball of her own.
"You're right," Keitaro said, joining her.
In almost no time at all, the friendly snowball fight turned into an all-out war: all the Hinata-Sou tenants against Sean. The only one not involved was Motoko, who decided to just sit and watch from the sidelines. She found herself amazed that Sean was able to evade about 98% of the snowballs thrown at him, including those from the snow-bazooka that Suu wielded (where did she get that from?). "Wow," she thought. "If he could attack as well as he can dodge, he'd certainly be a formidable opponent even without his magic." Her thoughts, as well as the entire battle came to a screeching halt when an a stray snowball hit her in the face. The larger team started to back away from both Motoko and the one who threw it; Sean. "I wasn't going to get involved, but if it's going to be like that…" She gave an intimidating smile as she unsheathed her sword and started making her way to her adversary.
"Uh oh," Sean thought. Quickly, he sent a multitude of frozen projectiles flying at her, but she dodged every last one with skill and grace.
"Try and avoid this!" Motoko said as she swung her sword toward the ground. All of a sudden, a huge wave of snow appeared, heading straight for Sean.
"WHOA!" That was all Sean could say before he was buried in about fifteen feet of snow.
"I think I just won," Motoko said.
---
Kitsune laughed hysterically at what she saw. "It wasn't that funny," Sean said.
"Well, it serves you right, hitting me in the chest with that snowball."
"You mean like this?" Sean said, a snowball appearing in his hand, and sending it down Kitsune's shirt.
"HEY! That's cold!" She saw him get up and run out of the room, laughing all the while. "Get back here!" she yelled, following him. Meanwhile, the movie continued to play.
---
Sean clawed his way out of his frozen tomb to find that his friends had already left. "Uh, hello? Where'd everybody go?"
End Intermission
What did you think? See you next time! Please R&R!