'A Dragon's Disciple'
Disclaimer: Ken Akamatsu wrote 'Love Hina' and he owns the rights. This tale written for fun, and I seek no re-dress from it.
Writer's notes: A large time skip will occur as Keitaro will absorb new experiences.
The story become a bit more adult with more bad language and some yuri.
Arc One- The early years, Part 2.
-Chapter 2-
-A little history-
For over four thousand years, long before the reign of Jimmu-Tenno the first Emperor, the Urashima had ruled the central part of Japan through political manipulation and secrecy. Throughout the centuries, their clan has had a hand in everything in their territory without anyone else knowing about this.
Even after the Tokugawa Shogunate began in the early seventeenth-century they still maintained control over Kanagawa and the nearby city of Edo. This was still reflected in the financial and political power that the still clan wielded even to this present day.
The Urashima were pacifists and ruthlessly so since after the age of the gods in ancient times. At one time or another they have been monks, priests and priestesses, notaries, farmers, fishers and husbandman for many millennia.
To protect themselves they have developed forms of fighting so they can conquer their opponents before they have a chance to resist or mount any form of concerted attack on them.
They believe in peace through strength and guard themselves very zealously to keep it that way.
No Urashima fought during the disastrous world war, which they knew their nation could not win. Not even the dreaded Kenpeitai dared enter any territory under their control.
This is also true of the early Aoyama clan. A rival clan sought permission from the local warlord to take their lands from them. Though smaller in number, the Aoyama butchered that clan's taking their women and children into their ranks for fresh blood. The Aoyama needed it, because they were too inbred due to their clan's marriage strictures. This act alone strengthened them and made them a power to a deal with later into the next few centuries.
The Otohime moved to Okinawa and the Kerama Islands because they were not only a seafaring family but were also an extremely secretive clan too. They have been the Urashima and Aoyama's oldest and closest ally for over three millennia. With their specialized clandestine abilities, the Otohime utilized them to help the others conquer enemies to remain free through the dominant Tokugawa Era Shogunate until this present day.
Other families had secretly joined them too in all of the main Japanese islands as they all lived a shadow existence that escaped even the notice of the Shogun.
Nevertheless, the Aoyama Alliance as it was called in later years, has always been extremely loyal to his Imperial Majesty.
Many of the people who had governed in his name were hated by all of the Alliance members. Many of them paid the ultimate price for being their enemies with their lives or at the very least, their fortunes.
Until the Meiji Restoration, even the Shoguns and their retainers feared them.
Plus, the alliance stretched back in one form or another for most of the last four thousand years. And they are even more formidable now due to their financial and familial stability.
Now a little snippet into the life of the previous master.
In Kanagawa Prefecture around the beginning of the 17th century, an Urashima by the name of Taro personally killed five thousand Samurai with his bare hands after the Battle of Sekigahara. That was to keep the independence that his clan so craved. His Chi was so powerful that he killed a hundred men without touching them or using a weapon.
Up until the Meiji Era and onto the end of the isolationist Shogunate Eras the Urashima held the peace in their own lands.
Taro was just one of a long line of Urashima who has been blessed by the gods, Dragons and giant Turtles with meta-human abilities. The Motk Master is the name they are called by in an ancient Japanese language that is now long dead. One usually appears in the clan about every three to five hundred years. Most Urashima men and women display many of Taro's abilities now and again, but for some reason the Masters were always male.
-Now, the newest one has come-
Keitaro became the normal little boy like his mother had wanted for the most part. He was hungry at the normal time, crapped and pissed his diapers at the normal time and even teethed when he was supposed to. For the first year or so of his young life, Keitaro showed little of sign of the amazing abilities he would have later on.
He even learned to sit up, crawl and then walk at the proper time.
But one thing his parents did begin to see is his energy and he never seems to have a lack of it. As soon as his little legs are strong enough to stand on Keitaro runs everywhere.
Keiichiro and Narumi, although proud parents, were more exhausted at the end of the day than he is.
"I think he got this from your side of the family," teased Narumi as she picked up Keitaro when he ran up and hugged her leg.
"Good thing it's a Sunday or he'd be tearing through Kaa-san's office again," responded the smiling husband as he plopped down into his over-sized living room chair. He was the one designated to attempt putting him to bed at night, as that could be a chore in of itself. When little Keitaro slept, he slept quite soundly before tearing off after waking up the next morning.
It may be that the two were exhausted from chasing him around, but they still smiled nevertheless.
A few weeks later, Narumi asked Yoko if nine-year-old Haruka if she would be willing to watch Keitaro on weekends.
Both parents were too busy with work now, Keiichiro had started to oversee some of the other Urashima enterprises and Narumi was now assisting Mariko too. It seems Mariko's assistant had received a promotion and was overseeing an office building over on the other side of Akihabara.
Knowing how well the two got along, Yoko had no objections. She even picked him up and brought him over to her house.
As time went on, Haruka grew to love her little cousin. Like her, he was fascinated with just about everything. One of the first things that she had noticed about him was that he was afraid of nothing. Even though he is only two, Keitaro once tried to climb a tree because he saw a squirrel do it. He got about halfway up a small one before Haruka had to come over and pull an objecting Keitaro off it.
When Haruka told his father about what he did, Keiichiro laughed.
Not finding it funny, Narumi promptly swatted his arm for being silly and said, "I do not want our son learning any bad habits."
-Soon afterwards-
In Kyoto, a happy little boy was running around happily with his cousin and Tsuruko at the Aoyama compound.
Since Harumi insisted on sitting with her in the Council chamber, Haruka watched him since the discussion was about his progress. Much to her happy surprise, everyone was happy with how the boy has progressed. There are no sutras posted anywhere and people seemed comfortable seated here with Keitaro nearby. No irritation, no blanching or comments of feeling uncomfortable when her son was running around among them. Many of them told her that they were surprised by how normal he seems to be.
"Just like my grandson," said an elder close to Aoyama-sama.
As clear as a bell, everyone in the room then heard a little boy's laughter. The back doors slid open and a giggling Keitaro came running into the chamber. He made a beeline towards Narumi.
In the room, some murmuring and stifled laughter from the assembled gathering.
"I won't have it any other way," said Narumi to the group as she bent over and picked him up. Holding her son in her arms, she hugged him and kissed his cheek.
On his heels were two out-of-break red-faced young girls.
"Gomen'nasai, mina-san," said Haruka, "Kei-kun got away from us again." Narumi set him down, she then took the boy by the hand and led him back outside.
"Like I said, I won't have it any other way," re-iterated Narumi after she had received a few muted laughs from those in the chamber.
Next to her, Hina smiled as everything had proceeded according to the wishes of her daughter-in-law. That is to say, about having a 'mostly' normal son.
For now...
-Kawaii-
With the meeting concluded, three mothers went looking for their children.
Narumi noticed how quiet it was, and that did not seem natural to her.
The other two wondered where their daughters might be.
Over by an auxiliary dojo, Yoko saw her mother and aunt peeking inside as the latter took pictures.
"He's only two and already quite a womanizer, eh Nee-chan?" queried Mariko in a teasing as she took another photograph.
The three women wondered she was talking about when they approached the Urashima elders.
Snickering, the sisters stepped back as the maternal trio looked inside.
On a short stack of mats, they caught sight of something that was very endearing to all present.
Sandwiched in between two girls in Yukatas slept Keitaro. He was on his back with both Haruka and Tsuruko on their sides facing him.
"I want copies of everything, Oba-san," said Yoko who saw her sleeping daughter holding her nephew's hand.
"Me too," said Narumi as she smiled at the sight.
"Is it too early for an Omiai?" asked Tsubasa half-serious as she had her hand underneath her chin. She feigned a thoughtful look.
That was too much for the others as they had to step away so that they could laugh. Being the loudest, Mariko needed to cover her mouth.
"Marrying off my grandson this early?" quipped Hina after she had recovered.
"You never know," said Natsumi as she approached with Mutsumi, "but I would like to add my daughter if that were the case."
More laughter as little Mutsumi was clueless.
Everyone knew that none of their banter was serious because one of the Urashima traditions was elective marriages, but certain wheels turned nonetheless.
-Three years later-
For some reason, the air around the Hinata had a sense of anticipation as if two potentially powerful beings were about to meet. None of the adepts could sense anything abnormal, but whether it was inevitable just came down to sheer speculation.
Friends and old acquaintances gathered at the Hinata in mid-August for the annual O-bon festival. Each year, a clan held it at their estate, and so this year it was the turn of the Urashima.
Since the gathering was quite large this year, the old manse was spruced up for the gathering. It has been a while since anyone had lived there.
Uncle Koji and his eldest son still came to keep up with the maintenance. They cleared the brush away from ancient shrine out back where the ashes of their ancestors lie, and many ancient statues and idols the clan also placed in there for the upcoming three-day remembrance.
Summertime around the old place was a lot of fun if you wished to find it.
Yoko sat on the back stoop of the Hinata and watched the kids play out in the Hinata Hill while the others went food shopping in town.
A now thirteen-year-old Haruka was watching Keitaro, and six-year-old Otohime Mutsumi. These three, along with a now twelve-year-old Tsuruko, were having a lot of fun as they played outside together.
Running through the fields and woods up here, the kids had a lot of fun as they chased each other around but Keitaro's little adopted cousin, two-year old Narusegawa Naru, tired out quickly because she did not feel well. So, she sat with Yoko.
Frustrated at every turn when he and his friends played hide-and-seek, Keitaro was always the first one found. The reason, the girls which included little Mutsumi-chan, easily honed in on his Chi. It made Keitaro stand out like a beacon.
They found him inside an old wood box, a hollow log, up a tree and even behind the old dilapidated Annex.
When he entered the old shrine to hide this time, Keitaro had started to whine. Until he saw all the statuary, that is…
His mother and father have told him many times not to go into the ancient shrine without an adult present. There were too many ways that a small boy could be injured, even though he was immune to such things.
Having already gone inside, his caution disappeared because the ancient statuary just fascinated him. Within the shrine, he saw a myriad of Buddha's, a pantheon of Shinto gods and a beautifully sculpted white marble statue of a Dragon about half a meter tall by the side of the altar.
However, Keitaro remembered why he was here, so he crawled in behind the dais and hunkered down behind the main altar. This he hoped would finally be a place where the girls would not find him and finally allow to win this time.
As the tall grass rustled as Tsuruko ran by, Keitaro looked over at the fine Dragon statue. He thought it looks like the monster Gojira (Godzilla in the west) from the movies he had watched on TV with his father. A big smile crossed his face because he did not fear it even though it looks so real.
"Kei-kun, where are you?" asked an exasperated Haruka at the top of her voice. For once she could not detect Keitaro by his aura.
"Maybe he went over by the Hinata, Haru-chan," offered Tsuruko who was just as annoyed. More attuned to Keitaro than Haruka was, she still sensed nothing from him.
Believing they could catch closer if they were closer to the Hinata, the took Mutsumi's hands and headed back towards the manse.
The two older girls missed she looked back at the shrine and smiled.
The chance came that he had looked for and thought himself to be home free.
Keitaro readied his feet to sprint out and head over towards the old Annex.
Then, something happened that would change his life forever when he backed into the finely-sculpted Dragon jade statue and knocked it over.
It shattered and flashed brilliantly.
Never in his young life had Keitaro seen the likes of what was before him.
Out of the mythical days long gone, a large ethereal Dragon spirit filled the entire shrine with a bluish-white radiance
"Hello, my son," said the Spirit in a deep pleasant voice, then it asked, "Did you free me from the statue?"
As it is hovered above the floor and looked down at Keitaro, the Dragon spirit then thought, 'Only a Motk master could free a specter encased in a healing statue.'
He saw that boy showed no fear as the child looked up at his spectral presence with awe.
Smiling, it could feel the positive aura as it emanated from the little boy.
"Hai, Shūshi-ryu," answered Keitaro without hesitation. (Writer's note: Japanese- "Yes, Master-dragon")
'He is,' mused the Dragon joyfully.
The boy smiled as well.
"Thank you very much, my son," said the Dragon as he bowed his head in respect.
Keitaro bowed in return.
"You aren't afraid of me, are you?" asked the giant creature laughing. He sees Keitaro as an opportunity to teach again.
As his own smile broadened, Keitaro shook his head.
'Oh, the chance to teach again,' thought the specter, 'Just as I did his ancestor.' At that moment, the wonderful memories he had as a Sensei all at once flooded back into him memory. His happiness knew no bounds.
"May I travel with you and see what you see, my son?" asked the Dragon.
This time Keitaro nodded.
"By the way, my boy. What is your name?" the Dragon asked in a polite manner. He wanted to be sure.
"Keitaro," he said innocently, "My name is Urashima Keitaro."
Deliriously happy, the old Sensei remembered the great times he had when his ancestor was his pupil. His finest one.
"How are you going to go with me?" asked Keitaro as he broke the Dragon's train of thought.
"Watch this, my boy," answered Master Ryu with a jubilant laugh. Circling his 40-meter plus ghostly body around the shrine, Master Ryu gathered speed, shrunk himself down and flew right into the center of Keitaro chest. It only took him a moment to disappear with absolutely no effort.
While his new friend entered him, Keitaro happily clapped his hands together.
(For years to come, the symbiotic relationship between Keitaro and Master Ryu would be a long and productive one. The Dragon Sensei would teach him how to use and be responsible for all the abilities that come his way in the future. Keitaro would then be able to rid the world of the evil Fire Horses legacy.)
With the Master settled inside, Keitaro walked out of the shrine with an enigmatic smile on his face.
Later, Haruka saw a change in his visage, but did not ask him why. Other than that, everything seemed perfectly normal to her.
Back in the shrine, the shards of the shattered statue had glowed slightly and then disintegrated. No trace or ash was left behind, and no one could ever remember the ancient idol ever being there.
-Other bonds tighten-
For the previous three years, Keitaro and a now sixteen-year-old Haruka have been practically inseparable. The sight of them holding hands, either at his or her house, in public, at a demonstration tournament or even here at the Aoyama compound, these two were constantly together.
Throughout all of their time together, Haruka had developed an absolute love for Keitaro.
Instead of him having his own futon at his aunt's house, Haruka wanted him to sleep with her as she had a large bed in her room. At night, she loved to feel him snuggle into her after he had kissed her goodnight.
The next morning, she would help him get dressed so they could go out and have fun.
Even when they went to a convenience store together, their hands were always clasped. Haruka refused to let his hand go, since she also watched over him like a hawk. He was hers, and as long as they were with each other, nothing would happen to him.
Although he had all of the power in the world at his command, Keitaro was still the special young man that she loved. Master Ryu had taught him well so far…
Haruka also bathed with Keitaro and held him very close when they were in her tub. Before they soaked together, she washed his back and has done so since he was four. Although she had filled out into a gorgeous well-endowed young woman, it has not stopped her being nude around him. When she sat on the stool, Haruka giggled while watching him wash her large breasts. She knew he was too young to react to her yet, but she enjoyed it when he touched her body.
Keitaro heard her moans and did not know what to think.
Haruka was waiting until he became older so that he could appreciate what he could not now. That, amongst other things…
In the meantime, the two of them talked about everything under the sun, save Master Ryu. That was something Keitaro did not fully comprehend now as he had recently turned nine.
She told him that she would always be there for him.
In the spring, Keitaro loved to straddle her lap when the two were alone. After a walk on the Hinata Hill, they would sit together under a big maple tree which grew in abundance up here. Haruka enjoyed when he faced her, because she wanted to look at him in this position.
Having gathered some flowers along the way, he took one from the bunch and placed it in her hair.
She smiled at him.
"Haru-chan, you are so beautiful," he said to her right out-of-the-blue.
"Arigato, my Kei-kun. You are so kind to me" responded a smiling Haruka. She gently pulled him forward and kissed his forehead.
He blushes bright red when she released him.
The smile on her face was just brilliant.
Master Ryu enjoyed himself as he listened in on the interaction between his pupil and the woman here who obviously loved him.
A few days later, Keiichiro needed to see his mother on a business matter. He picked Keitaro up from school and brought him along.
Having stopped by his sister's office for a few minutes, Yoko said she would watch him while he went up to the penthouse.
Keiichiro had called his wife, but Narumi said she was very busy right then and it was a good idea leave him with her.
In Yoko's design studio, she saw how bored Keitaro was, so she gave him some paper and a pencil so he might keep himself occupied for a while.
'Please draw something, my son,' said his Sensei in his mind, 'you have the talent.'
'Yes, Master,' thought Keitaro who brightened and picked up the pencil.
It became unusually quiet over in his corner, so after drawing a few sketches, he asked, "What are you drawing, Oba-san?"
"Just a building that someone asked me to draw for them, Kei-kun" Yoko said as she looked back at him after lifting her head up from the blueprint on the mechanical drawing desk. Even though she owned Urashima and Partners Architects, Yoko kept her hand in the drawing aspect of the business, beside the contracting and sales end. At 39, others in her field considered Yoko fast-rising a star. Not only Japan, but also in South Korea, Taiwan and Philippines too.
She then added, "what do you have there? Bring it on over here."
"Whoa," she said surprised by his raw talent.
As he stood there by his aunt's desk, Keitaro listened as she showed him a few tricks to improve what he had already had down on paper.
Wide-eyed, he absorbed everything as she had instructed him to do, just like when he read or watched TV at home.
Astounded though, she knew what he would be when he was older, Yoko believed from just this one encounter that he was showing signs of having an eidetic memory. Keitaro proved her point when he had repeated everything that she taught him verbatim. He did so without missing a word or skipping a beat.
From what she had read of her family history, her nephew showed many of the same traits that their ancestor Taro had almost four hundred years in the past.
Later that day, Yoko informed her mother about her newest experience with Keitaro.
All Hina did was smile.
-Early July-
This year, the Urashima family had received an invitation personally from Aoyama Taichi to come down to his families' compound in Kyoto. He wanted to discuss the possibility of testing Keitaro's latest newfound abilities. In addition, the Council too wanted him to demonstrate a little of his prowess before them. They also wanted to check and see if he had mastery over his great power and to what extent it was.
This was when an event occurred that would be Keitaro's first exposure to the romantic side of the person closest to him.
On a walk with Haruka, Tsuruko and a now four-year-old Motoko through the gardens of the Aoyama compound, Keitaro had to stop and use the bathroom.
While the three waited for him, Motoko's nanny called for her to come into the main house and take a nap.
Reluctantly, she went. The little girl whined, as she had fun with the other three and enjoyed being around Keitaro.
When Keitaro quietly stepped out of the bathroom and was almost outside, he saw something that totally surprised him.
What did he see?
Around a corner, Haruka had her arms around the much taller Tsuruko's neck, and they were kissing. Not just touching lips mind you, it was an out-and-out full-blown French-kiss.
Red-faced and fascinated at the same time by this scene, Keitaro stepped back so as not to disturb them or be seen. He has seen his father and mother kiss like that, as well as his aunt and uncle, but never two girls before.
Silently, as Master Ryu chuckled inside him, he watched the two girls make out.
There was a strange moan that came from Haruka as Tsuruko placed her hands onto his beloved cousin's large breasts. At the same time, Tsuruko began to kiss her neck and nibble on her right ear.
"Tsu-chan, not now," Haruka hissed quietly, "Kei-kun will be back any moment."
The taller girl seemed to ignore her.
'Why is Tsu-nee lifting up the front of Haru-chan's skirt?' he thought as Tsuruko put her hand in Haruka's panties.
"Do this tonight after Kei-kun is asleep and we can sneak out," said Haruka on the verge of an orgasm.
All Tsuruko did was give her a toothy grin.
Oh well.
Mystified by this scene, he did not react to it. Keitaro still a few years away from puberty.
'Okay,' he thought as the idea came to him that he should go back and slam the door. This would give his Haru-chan and Tsu Nee-chan a chance to break out of their clinch and straighten themselves out. He had no wish to embarrass the two.
Slam!
"Shit," both teens squeaked. Haruka out of frustration, and Tsuruko because she was extremely horny.
What greeted Keitaro as he came around the corner was two flustered, red-faced teenagers.
Master Ryu was beside himself with laughter as his pupil lacked understanding
In the interim, Haruka and Tsuruko took his hands to continue their walk. Once he was old enough, Haruka would definitely explain to him why she and Tsuruko were kissing.
-Later that same evening-
"That was so mean what you did to me in the garden earlier, Tsu-chan," whispered Haruka in a snit as Tsuruko washed her.
"I missed you, Haru-chan," replied Tsuruko as she used a half snickering, half sooky voice.
Both teenage girls had left a soundly sleeping Keitaro back in Tsuruko's room, so they could have some alone time together. At least that is what they thought…
Following them out, somehow Keitaro was able to mask his aura from the two well-trained adepts.
In the men's wash area, he slid the traditional door open and looked into the bath area. This was what he saw:
A naked Haruka sat next to a naked Tsuruko. The slightly older teen had had her head on the taller teen's shoulder. Quite a few times, the two exchanged kisses with some major tongue-twirling.
Though he saw everything before him, Keitaro did not react one bit to their obvious displays of sapphic affection towards one another.
Haruka then said, "Sit on the edge, please." It did not sound like a request and more of as a demand. There was no smile on her face.
Moving, Tsuruko replied with, "Did I stir you up earlier?" This tease came as her gorgeous ass planted itself on the edge.
Haruka came over, knelt in front of her as she laid back. Understanding her girlfriend's sarcasm, she leaned out of the bath and grabbed Tsuruko's long legs by the ankles and said, "Yes, but it's my turn now."
Keitaro jumped in surprise as his Haru-chan spread Tsuruko's legs and dove right into to her pussy.
Tsuruko at first, mewled before she began to cry out. Covering her mouth with her hands, she laid on her back as her girlfriend's tongue found all the most sensitive spots.
Watching Tsuruko start to buck and grab the back of Haruka's head, a fixated Keitaro saw her squirt.
"Did she just pee all over Haru-chan's face," he whispered. Although he might understand a lot about bodily functions, it seems at his age Keitaro knew nothing about an orgasm.
However, that was not the end of it. A puzzled look came over his face a few minutes later, when Haruka and Tsuruko crossed their groins and began to rub them against each other.
Moaning was soon followed by both girl screaming, which left Keitaro totally bewildered.
Master Ryu knew what was going on, but the wise old Sensei figured it would be best for his pupil to learn about sex on his own.
'I'm going back to bed,' said Keitaro who shood his head.
As he stepped back to close the door, he caught the shadow of someone with ashen hair peeking out from behind a pillar. Not thinking much of it, he closed the traditional portal and went back to bed.
Soon, Haruka and Tsuruko returned to the latter's room and softly placed a kiss on both his cheeks.
With everyone settled in, they all went to sleep.
This was something that Keitaro would never forget, he would wait until he was older to ask Haruka about what went on between her and Tsuruko.
At this point in his life, it was not important.
-Late July-
Shortly after they came home from Kyoto, Granny Hina took Keitaro and Haruka to a Martial Arts tournament that the Urashima clan sponsored each year in Tokyo. Having learned the family martial arts for the last three years, he wanted to what other martial artists could do in the arena.
So, as he entered the hall where the exhibition was being held, a fascinated Keitaro perused all of the trappings that were about the room.
However, one thing especially caught his eye:
By the center staging area, there was a display set out on a shorter platform that fascinated Keitaro. In front of the display, a sigh read: 'Only the finest warrior can break the bottom one without disturbing the others'. Even more fascinating to him was the yellow-painted Kanji symbolled brink on the bottom of the staggered stack. The symbol was 'shinjitsu', which meant, 'reality-truth'.
It was a challenge that no one had any success in doing yet. The stack was thirty bricks high and staggered in such a manner that someone could not concentrate on striking it in a line straight down. This has stymied many great champions who have tried it so far. Many of them considered the challenge impossible or unfair.
"Obaa-san, may I try that?" asked Keitaro innocently as he looked over at her. He enjoyed a challenge.
Smiling at her cousin, Haruka has seen his innate abilities since they have begun to appear. The first ones, such as increased strength and speed, had started to show up about six months ago. Knowledge of how to incapacitate someone instantly by popping out for an instant and then striking faster than the eye could see had come to him within the past week. So, his ancestors' gifts were showing up and increasing in number as he has started to mature.
In addition, Master Ryu also taught Keitaro how to concentrate and work through a matter by thinking clearly, especially when no one else was around. Mostly after he finished his homework and had called Haruka to say goodnight to her. That was when Master Ryu would appear to instruct him with some ancient Dragon wisdom.
"Sure, why not Kei-kun," responded Granny Hina with a smirk, "These tournaments can get a bit stodgy. So go on over there and shake things up a bit."
Before he was allowed to attend, Narumi told her that he was not allowed to participate in tournaments, even though she will allow him to learn the Urashima way. She believed that her son would do quite well to learn her husband's family arts. If only that he would have the physical and mental discipline to keep himself out of trouble.
So far, his mother has had very little to worry about as he was very well behaved.
Hina, as head of the Urashima, officially banned him competitions. This ban did not really bother Keitaro all that much, because he just enjoyed doing the forms and the exercise that went along with it. He abhorred violence.
By observation alone, Keitaro had picked up the Urashima Arts as they were codified. It was how his sharp mind worked
Haruka released his hand allowing him to walk over to the main judges table. Three men in Hakama and Gi that bore the crests of the Urashima clan sat there.
With a bow, Keitaro politely asked, "Tetsuo-Sensei, may I try the challenge?"
The center judge, who was Hina Obaa-san's oldest nephew, smiled at him and said, "sure Keitaro, go ahead if you want to." He too was a member of the Aoyama Council since he was Mariko's oldest son.
'I bet everyone will just shit their pants when they see him break that bottom brick,' thought Tetsuo with a smirk. At the same time, he was also one of Keitaro's main Art's instructors.
After another bow, he stepped over to the display. Some of the tournament participants looked on as they saw him look over the puzzle that has baffled everyone.
"You might want to tape your hand little boy if you want to try that," said a young man sarcastically as he prepared to mount the center platform for his next bout.
Granny Hina, Tetsuo, Haruka and any of the others in the auditorium who were sensitive to aural pressure sensed a sharp ramping up of Chi.
'Close your eyes and see the brick in your mind, my son' instructed Master Ryu inside of Keitaro's mind.
Through shut eyes, the boy sensed the brink clearly and nothing else.
The audience slowly quieted, as wave after wave of pressure pressed into them. No one in the place had ever experienced anything like it.
The young man who had mocked him stood there silent and watched.
Keitaro, at first touched the top of the pile of bricks with the flat of his right palm. He then summoned the aura he had exuded and slapped the top of the stack faster than anyone in the Basho could follow.
SMACK!
Without a sound from him, the yellow brick exploded into powder when the soft flesh of his hand struck the bricks.
Stark silence and disbelief from those in attendance.
"Oh shit," exclaimed the rude young man who nearly tumbled over backwards and shit his pants.
The ones who had witnessed this could not believe their eyes.
Those who were familiar with the boy and his emerging abilities smiled, as though it was just an ordinary everyday occurrence.
Nudging the person next to her, Haruka said, "that's my Kei-kun for you."
She gave him the thumbs up as Granny Hina mussed up his hair and shared a laugh with him.
When Keitaro meets the rude young man again, it would not be under the same circumstances.
-One year later, a special arrival-
A small five-year-old girl sat quietly in the main office at a well-maintained orphanage in Tokyo. The director of the place tells her that she is going to have a new home and family.
Her name was Kanako, and she had her new situation simply explained as she sat there. In her young mind, everything clicked as she knew it was good for her sake. The place there had been very good to her as there are many other little ones here for her to play with. She had always been running and laughing with them, but it was time for her to move on.
The piece of news which resonated with Kanako the most was when she found out about her new father and mother, as well as having an older brother of her own.
That made her very happy, especially the part of the older brother named Keitaro.
"Onii-chan," she whispered with a smile.
The other kids and staff had a farewell party and wish her the best with her new family.
What had started all of this was when Narumi found out from her OB/GYN that she was very lucky to have had Keitaro. She would have adopted a child sooner, but her present family, work and life consumed every moment until now. At the appropriate time, she talked to Keiichiro about adopting a little girl as a little sister for Keitaro.
Thinking it was a brilliant idea, he used the family contacts and solicitors to get the ball rolling.
They received a special packet which stated that a little girl, who was the age they wanted, was available for adoption right away. Since she had been married, Narumi had always wanted a daughter to spoil and teach her things that her mother taught her. Along with that, she knew that her son would be very happy not to be an only child anymore.
While the legal work was in progress, they picked out the perfect room in their large house for her. Then, Narumi ordered everything that a five-year-old girl would want or need.
The day came.
With some toys in hand, Keiichiro and Narumi went to sign the adoption papers. Being that they are Urashima, the process was very quickly and hassle free. It helped that his uncle was the head of prestigious law firm as the paperwork flew through the bureaucracy with lightning speed.
Now buckled in a rear booster seat of her father's car, the girl held a stuffed black cat toy and tells them that she now called Kuro-neko. (Writer's note: Kuro-neko in Japanese means black cat) She was ready for the ride to her new home. She was not afraid and had no fear when she held her new mother's hand when she walked outside of her old home for the last time. She smiles when the other kids' wave goodbye as Keiichiro pulls out into traffic.
As Keiichiro pulled out of the parking lot, Kanako waived goodbye to the staff and children.
On the way home, both of the adults in the front seat noticed how quiet she was.
Narumi turned and asked, "Are you okay sweetie? Do you need anything?"
Quietly, Kanako just shook her head and played with her stuffed friend some more.
Narumi nodded at her and smiled before she turned back around for the rest of their journey.
As the car pulled up to a gate, Keiichiro hit a remote on his sun visor and it opened.
The car pulled into the driveway and the parents saw that Keitaro was home. His new bicycle was in the rack between the house and the garage.
A few minutes later after Kanako had entered her new home for the first time.
Into a wall-mounted speaker, Keiichiro pushed a button and said, "Okaeri, Kei-kun. Would you come down here, son."
"Hai, Otō-san," answered the boy through the speaker.
After a minute, Keitaro came downstairs into the living room and saw a little girl standing there beside his mother.
He then said, "Tadaima, mina."
Keitaro smiled at Kanako as she stared back at him shyly and came from behind Narumi.
She did not seem to be afraid of him.
"Keitaro, this is your new Imouto-chan, Kanako," said Narumi, "You're going to be an Onii-chan from now on."
As soon as Kanako heard the word for 'dear brother', she hollered, "Onii-chan." Then the girl rushed over to hug him.
-Later that summer-
Today, Kanako would become aware that her older brother was someone quite special.
Since their first meeting a few months before, Kanako has come to trust Keitaro implicitly.
For his part, he had become extremely protective of her.
Just as Haruka had constantly done with him, he held her hand whenever they went anywhere together and with her in high school on the other side of the city, she could not always be around when he wanted, so it gave him and Kanako a chance to bond. Plus, she had come to love her older brother and even had a number of opportunities to see him use his developing powers.
Here was one example: on a beautiful summer day, Keitaro took Kanako to a nearby park to play.
Listening to his sister's laughter, Keitaro enjoyed pushing her on a swing.
Going back and forth, she enjoyed the time spent with her new brother.
After this, they went and played around the slide and the 'monkey bars'.
Like Keitaro, Kanako was a bit daring, and wanting to catch his eye came up with a plan to do so. With the set of bars in front of her, she decided to climb to the very top. Only two meters high, but for a five-year-old girl with an adventurous streak, it was like a mountain. Using her uncanny strength and agility, it only took her about ten minutes to get to the top. The space between the bars was not very wide, so when she grabbed onto them, the climb did not take much effort for her, but...
"Onii-chan, look at me," said Kanako as she laughed from high up on the bars.
"Be careful, Kana-chan," said Keitaro concerned for her, "You're up too high. Please come down now." He was playing with a small truck in a nearby sandbox.
"Okay, Onii-chan," responded a happy Kanako.
He kept an eye out just in case.
When she reached for a bar to start the way down, her hand slipped.
His aura rose very quickly when he saw that.
"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" she screamed as her momentum carried her through a gap in the bars and towards the ground.
However, she never reached it...
Without thinking, he moved faster than the human eye could follow and did not care at that moment if anyone saw him.
Underneath the spot where she had fallen through, he felt her tiny bodies' weight drop into his arms.
The screaming girl had come to a sudden stop.
It took her young mind just a few seconds to process the fact that she was safe and sound in her beloved brother's arms.
"I'm so sorry, Onii-chan," said Kanako in between sobs as she hugged him very tight. Still a bit stunned by this event, she recovered quickly.
"I told you to be careful, Kana-chan. But you're safe now," said Keitaro smiling at her in his arms, "let's not say anything to Okā-san about this."
Affectionately, he rubs his face against hers and it helped calm her the rest of the way. The smile was back on her face as she started to giggle.
"Okay, Onii-chan," said Kanako who knew that he had just saved her from a bad fall.
"That's better, Kana-chan," said her brother as they smiled at each other.
He set her back down on her feet.
After another minute, Kanako looked off to the left of him and pointed, she then asked, "Onii-chan, did you do that?"
He turned to look at what she had pointing and turned bright red in embarrassment.
"Whoa," Keitaro whispered as he never meant for her to see him do something like that.
What had happened was, he had damaged a lot of the bars during his successful rescue and some of them were badly mangled.
Smart enough to she would find out about his tremendous abilities one day, he stepped over to the other side followed by his sister, and said, "Watch this. Kana-chan."
Keitaro, making it look easy, began to straighten out the bent steel rods.
As she watched, Kanako's jaw dropped in awe at what her Onii-chan could do. Her love for him went up exponentially as did her overall reverence.
After Keitaro finished, it amazed her that the bars looked the same as they did just before her tore through them.
'Good job, my son,' mused the Dragon who admired the boy's handiwork.
"Kana-chan, you must promise me to never tell anyone what I just showed you," said Keitaro as he looked her square in the eye, "Pinky swear with me."
"Okay Onii-chan, I promise" she said. The two interlocked their right pinkies and shook them down while smiling at each other. This was something that Kanako would always remember for as long as she lives.
Inside of him, Master Ryu smiled his approval at how his pupil conducted himself towards his little sister and used his gifts wisely.
Straightening themselves out, Keitaro took her hand and decided that it was time to go home.
The incident came to the notice of some unsavory characters across the street from the park seated in a parked van. Under orders, they have had the two children under surveillance and that was their mission. Stunned by the boy's strength and speed, they recorded his actions for those who sent them, nothing more.
-August 1st-
Never had a now six-year-old Kanako seen such a large birthday cake or been spoiled with so many presents.
Keiichiro, Narumi and especially Keitaro went all-out to spoil the newest member of their family.
Present was one young girl, she was eight-years-old and had long brunette hair with what looked like twin bent antennae in front. It was Narumi's best friend Kasumi's daughter, now niece, and her name was Naru.
Recently, the girl had begun to smile again after her mother had re-married. The reason, her father had abandoned the family which nearly devastated a six-year-old Naru.
However, Kasumi worked for Urashima Hinata, who used her formidable assets to track the man down to make him pay for that. Narumi had told Hina everything about the desertion.
Soon after a bill of divorcement went through, Narumi introduced Kasumi recently widowed younger brother Tetsuo who had a young daughter of his own. The two hit it off instantly and married shortly afterwards. It helped that Naru liked him and especially his daughter Mei, which went a long way to help her psyche.
During the party, Narumi introduced Naru to her daughter and the two girls hit it off instantly. For the rest of the day, they were never more than a meter away from each other.
Both mothers were quite happy that their daughters got along so well.
-A year later-
A couple of fun examples of what Kanako came to learn about her brother:
On a beautiful late spring afternoon, Keiichiro and Narumi brought Keitaro and Kanako over to the Hinata. The Sakura in that part of Japan were past peak
Some of the clan elders wanted to see for themselves how Keitaro had been progressing with his abilities and to what extent his abilities had manifested themselves.
Now eleven, Keitaro enjoyed and had fun with Martial Arts, especially the Urashima ones.
Master Ryu had stepped up with training his pupil on how to focus and be mentally prepared for any situation.
Sometimes, he would get into trouble with Haruka or his father for going overboard somewhat, but Keiichiro never punished him because he was very proud of his son.
At the same time, Kanako stood right next to her Onii-chan and worked on copying the basics of what he had worked on. If she had a question, he would always answer it to the best of his ability. When he had accomplished a move or Kata that no one else could ever hope to duplicate, she was in awe just like Haruka and everyone else in their clan.
Having taken a great interest in her grandson's training, Hina has noticed how much effort he puts forth in all his moves. There was no wasted motion or lack of concentration, which endeared him to the other elders in his family. When everyone else broke boards, Keitaro turned trees into logs and firewood.
The same thing happened when his other cousins were breaking bricks.
At a giant boulder by the rear of the Hinata Hill where his ancestors would meditate on, Keitaro lined up on it.
"Come on, Keitaro-kun," said his cousin Tomo, "you can't break that." The boy was a little jealous of what Keitaro could do, but they got along rather well and often worked out together.
Since the moment that he had become cognizant of things, Keitaro was never fond of hearing that there was something that he could not do. Not when it came to misbehaving mind you, but in martial arts, physical challenges and mental exercises.
'Have fun, my son,' said the ancient Dragon-Sensei in his mind, 'and concentrate.'
So, he ramped up his Chi, focused in on a single spot and quickly struck it.
There was no warning, as it even startled his mother who was on the other side of the ancient manse preparing dinner.
"That son of mine," she whispered which caused Yoko to laugh.
Only when they felt the sudden rise in his aura did anyone have a clue of what was about to happen.
For the first time, even Kanako became aware of her brother's tremendous store of astral energy. She would ask him about it later.
He scared the living daylights out of Hina and the other elders there when his aura had ramped up before the rock loudly exploded into a huge cloud of dust.
"That's one eyesore gone," said the proud grandmother as four other huge boulders still mostly blocked what could be a gorgeous view into the valley behind them.
The other elders were just incredulous until Mariko had said, "So, the little shit is showing off again." The others just stood there and looked at her in disbelief, but when they saw the smile on her face, they all started to laugh. Then she added, "how many of you almost shit your pants when Kei-kun destroyed that fucking rock, eh?" She was very proud of the boy and mildly jealous that her older sister was his grandmother. It did not let bother her however.
"Well said but a little crude, Mariko," said Hina as she laughed very hard at her choice of words.
Although the two are polar opposites except for their temperament, you will never find two people who were closer or more loyal to each other than them. Justly crude as stated, Mariko loved and respected her older sister very much as she ran the family empire with an iron fist.
Nonetheless, it was Hina who provided the velvet glove when she needed to.
"Come on, Hina," stated Marika as she got ahold of her mirth, "You know that I love that boy like he was my own and maybe more so. Aoyama-sama isn't going to go easy on him next summer and you know that. The bastard is probably going to devise some complicated test for him at his trial then. You know how that's going to set Narumi off as well as Haruka-chan and Kanako-chan."
She said this only when her sister was in earshot.
Even though she knew how powerful Keitaro was, Mariko still worried about him. She saw girls with him while they held his hands.
"We will see, Mari-chan. We will see," replied Hina enigmatically.
-A week later-
At a Basho that the Urashima sponsored, Granny Hina and Keiichiro took Keitaro, Haruka and Kanako to see some championship contests.
Another reason for Keitaro's attendance, he was asked to do a demonstration of the much-heralded Urashima Fighting Arts and some moves of his own design. Resplendent a Hakama and Gi which bore the clan's crests, he was ready to go. He knew his cousin Tomo and some of his other relatives were there as well.
"You look very handsome, Kei-kun," Haruka said as she kissed his cheek and caused him to blush.
Red-faced, Keitaro smiled at her compliment.
Off to get treats with her father, Kanako did not hear or see what had transpired between the two, she would be very jealous.
Now a student at Tokyo University, Haruka found that her time with Keitaro had become less and less. Now, any time she spent with him was most precious and had even made plans for them to spend a couple of weeks together after the summer break began. For the moment, she wanted to see her beloved's performance.
Around the very tight Martial Arts circles in central and southern Japan, Keitaro had garnered a reputation for his use of some very complicated Katas. The memory of what he did at last year's Basho was still on the minds of many fighters here.
Even so, Hina Obaa-san would not allow him to fight with anyone.
He did not wish to anyway.
The first few contests of the evening were prelims between some younger fighters.
Seated between Haruka and Kanako, Keitaro had enjoyed the opening bouts with them. Holding hands with Haruka, he was not nervous about his performance just before the main championship bout. He had heard some buzz that a few of the older champions would like a crack at him, but no one was willing to argue with any of the Urashima elders present. None of them had the strength to defy her ban on the boy's involvement here.
Hina knew Keitaro was here to have some fun, therefore she wanted to make sure that that would happen. Plus, Keiichiro wanted to enjoy his son performance as he demonstrated his prowess, because he was a very proud father.
The demonstration began.
'You are in control,' chimed in the ancient master.
Backstage in the main dressing room, a young man by the name of Kamamachi Kenichi had finished taping his hands for his bout. This was the same young man who was rude to Keitaro last year. Time had not improved his arrogant disposition one iota and had it in mind that he would challenge the Urashima boy, ban or no ban.
By the open door that looked out onto the main platform, Kenichi heard murmurs of those gathered there.
A lot of oohs and aahs.
In the zone, Keitaro stepped it up before the large audience.
Curious, the champion joined them as he wondered what had fascinated everyone as a twelve-year-old kid did his Katas.
Nothing prepared him for the spectacle that he saw. He still believed that the brick he broke last year was a trick after he watched the boy walk calmly away. This or I should say the stunts that he performed right then could not be a trick. There were too many people around for him to fool everyone twice. Before him, he witnessed someone do things that he never could ever hope to duplicate. It was a huge blow to his ego, and this in of itself was quite considerable. At the same time, his anger rose as he believed that some of the spotlight had been unjustly stolen from him.
Having spotted his manager over by the stands, Kenichi headed over towards him. Then spotting the Urashima family, Kenichi wanted him to arrange a match with Keitaro, he felt he needed to put the twelve-year-old in his place.
His manager looks at him like he's crazy, but does it any way before the sixteen-year-old champion starts beating on him instead.
As he pounded his fists together, Kenichi kept his eye on Keitaro. He wanted a piece of his ass, and he wanted it now.
The manager approached him with a sour look and stated, "Sorry Kenichi, the boy isn't allowed to fight. It seems that there was some kind of lifetime ban placed on him by his family. The Urashima say that he is much too dangerous or some such shit."
That piece of news did not sit too well with the volatile teen at all. So, in a fit of rage, he charged the apron of the center platform where Keitaro was performing.
"You fucking coward," hollered Kenichi as he approached Keitaro, "hiding behind your Obaa-san's Yukata. C'mon you bastard I'm going to kick your ass."
Many in the audience screamed as they thought that Kenichi would kill Keitaro or at least cripple him for life, if he survived.
However, everyone there at the Basho, except for Keitaro's family members, saw a surprising spectacle that ended up looking almost comical after a few minutes.
Staying steady on the platform, Keitaro sidestepped a charging Kenichi. For the next fifteen minutes, the twelve-year-old child gave a silent clinic on how to block punches and kicks. Not once did he throw a punch in return, even when he has an opening.
Master Ryu was beside himself in his mirth as tears formed in the old Sensei's eyes. Never in his existence had he laughed so hard.
Walking nonchalantly over to the platform, Granny Hina watched Keitaro with a huge smile on her face. Though technically he was not supposed to fight, she enjoyed inspecting his proper use of defensive techniques that had everyone else in the Basho mesmerized.
As he began to look bored, Keitaro changed his stance and blocked everything with one hand. With the other hand, he stifled a yawn.
"Showing off again, Kei-kun?" teased his grandmother as she laughed.
He smiled at her and looked away from his opponent.
"You asshole," screamed Kenichi when he realized that Keitaro no longer took this seriously.
"Hey, I didn't start this," said Keitaro who taunted the champion in return, "I can keep this up all night if you want, can you?" The interruption to his demonstration thorough annoyed to him and hopes that the older teen would soon come to his senses. He did not want to hurt him
"Oh, fuck this," said Kenichi who breathed heavily and was extremely exasperated. The teenaged bully had stopped fighting and looked out into the audience to see that people were actually laughing at him as he attempted to hit one young kid who was not moving very much. Kenichi jumped off the platform, burst into tears at his humiliation and ran past Granny Hina toward the relative obscurity of the locker room.
"I'm awfully proud of you, Kei-kun," said Granny Hina after she had hopped up onto the platform, "You defended yourself without fighting."
Both Haruka and Kanako had stars in their eyes.
Keiichiro was a very proud father at this moment.
-Keitaro shows his all-to-human side, way too human sometimes it seems-
A case in point is this particular incident:
After he began the second semester of his first year of middle school, Keitaro was riding his bike home.
On one particular sunny late afternoon, he took a detour by the railway overpass near an old closed down middle school. This structure was built just after the end of the Meiji period and had been closed for about twenty years. There were two groups fighting over what to do with the building: either to restore it into a museum because of the Prusso-Germanic style of architecture, or maybe just tear it down.
Today though, Keitaro decided to stop for a few minutes to feel the aura that came from the old place. However, it seems that the spirit of the old place was forever gone.
Putting the kickstand down on his bike, Keitaro walked past some orange cones and hopped over a Jersey barrier. He wanted to touch the place and feel any residual impressions from happier times here, if they still exist. Though not seeing any faces or images, he did hear some lingering laughter from those who were once students here. Smiling at the impressions they had left behind, Keitaro then touched a main support column to take in the life that was once present.
After a minute of this, he noticed that most of the back of the structure had collapsed. It saddened him to think that a once wonderful place had died. He hates it that this school was now just another abandoned building condemned to the ash heap of history.
A noise from nearby.
His reverie became broken by the tinkling of window glass being broken.
Coming around to the front of the building again, he saw three older boys throwing rocks and knocking out what few panes of glass had remained in the place. It did not sit too well with Keitaro and actually made him very angry.
'Don't do it my boy,' said the voice of Master Ryu from inside of him.
"Hey, stop that" said Keitaro in a loud voice to the boys.
'Please. Calm yourself as I have shown you,' pleaded the Master once more.
"Make us," one of them said back before he threw a rock at Keitaro. The thrown rock nearly hit him, which caused the boys to laugh at him. They then ignored him completely and started in on the glass again.
"I SAID STOP!" said Keitaro in an unearthly loud voice as he ramped his Chi up to a point where he just about glowed.
'NO!' came a last plea from inside him.
Then to put emphasis behind his words, Keitaro struck a main exterior support pillar that caused a loud explosion.
The rest of the building fell down into a heap of rubble.
Silence inside of Keitaro.
The boys literally shit their pants and ran away because of what Keitaro had just done.
"Oh no," Keitaro said after powering down "Baa-chan and Otō-san are going to kill me."
He knew then that he had also disappointed his Sensei.
Shocked beyond all credulity, two Tokyo police officers had witnessed the whole incident. They were about to chase the three miscreants away when the boy took out the building.
"Shit," hissed one of the officers.
They both saw Keitaro as he stood amongst the ruins all covered in dust while blinking in horror at what he had just done. The officers got out of their squad car and confronted him.
"What is your name, young man?" asked one of officers.
"Urashima Keitaro," answered Keitaro.
"Shit, he would have to be an Urashima," whispered the older of the two officers.
"Would you happen to be related to Urashima Hinata or Yoko, Keitaro?" asked the older officer. The two officers were a bit older in age, as it seemed that the older one went to both high school and university with Yoko.
The boy nodded.
"Fuck," hissed both men between their teeth.
When he said that he was an Urashima, the news startled them. It only made things worse when the boy acknowledged that he was the grandson of Urashima Hinata.
"Come on, son," said the elder officer as he had regained his wits first, "We'll take you home."
The two officers gathered Keitaro and his bike up, putting the latter in the trunk of the squad car, and took him home.
Out in the front of his house to get the post, Keiichiro saw a police car drive up and stop in front of him. He then saw a strange sight in the backseat.
'Now what,' thought Keiichiro as both officers and his son along with a bike exit the vehicle.
Both men bowed to him out of respect to his station as an Urashima.
Keiichiro bowed in return as he waited to hear their explanation.
"Urashima-sama," said the senior of the two officers nervously, "we don't want to know how your son can do what he did, so we will let you handle this." said the senior of the two officers nervously. He knew Keiichiro though Yoko.
The officer then took a few minutes to explain what he saw as his partner stood by quietly.
Keiichiro eyeballed his son and knew that Keitaro was quite capable of taking down a building with one punch.
"Thanks for bringing him home, and please keeping this quiet," said Keiichiro as he bowed to the officers.
"No worries there, Urashima-sama," said the officers as both men bowed.
Then, Keiichiro watched the officers as they left as fast as was legally possible.
"You saw nothing and neither did I," said the senior officer as the junior nodded. Neither would fill out or attempt to file a report on this case. They wanted to forget what they saw a short while ago.
To say that Keitaro is in a lot of trouble was quite an understatement.
Because it would not affect him, Granny Hina and the rest of the family never once considered any kind of corporal punishment, so they opted for something even better. At the behest of his parents and Great-aunt Mariko Ōoba-san, Keitaro had all of his summer break plans rescinded. His punishment consisted of: He had to re-learn all of the basic Urashima Katas, work the whole summer in his father's bakery and could not be with Haruka at all for the two weeks that they had planned for their summer holiday together.
Everyone was extremely disappointed in him for his actions, as even Kanako called him a baka (idiot). She had never done that before.
To really lay it on, Haruka told him not to call her until after his punishment was over.
That news was a big shock to the boy, as he felt a bit crushed when the person closest to him did not want to talk to him. To re-iterate that she meant what she said, Haruka pulled out her cell phone and in front of him put his number on call block.
Even with all of that, a spark of hope resided inside him so he would not feel sorry for himself. He would do whatever it took to get back into every ones' good graces.
As had become his habit lately, Keitaro sat at the desk in his room and planned everything out on how he was going to accomplish it. He absolutely refused to mope around his room and worked at night on all of the Urashima Katas perfecting them in just the first few days alone.
Then, he does whatever Keiichiro needed him to do in the bakery. Keitaro handled the huge mixers and their bowls as if they were nothing, even though usually it took three full grown adults to handle them.
Not whining once, he actually enjoyed himself while working for his father.
Under the circumstances, Keiichiro enjoyed having the world's strongest son sling bakery equipment and heavy mixing bowls around as if they were a pile of toys. Father and son bonded like they never had before as they worked together.
On the other hand, Narumi told her husband not to have Keitaro show-off or spoil him, because he was under restriction. Knowing that her husband had a bad habit of indulging him, and usually she did not mind as her was usually a good boy, but now was neither the time nor the place for that.
As always, he cut his son a lot of slack. Keiichiro did so because he saw the honest determination in Keitaro to get through this. Just because the boy did something stupid, did not mean that he held it against him.
On the other side of town, Haruka was very lonely because of her beloved's punishment.
"But he brought it on himself," she whispered as a reminder. Haruka would just have to wait until summer was over to see him again.
In the intervening time, she was at her parents' house helping her mother, as she was not at all well. It is the first time that Yoko had been ill since shortly after Haruka was born.
Otohime Natsumi even made a visit for a couple of weeks.
So, through the whole month of July and almost all the way through August, Keitaro continued his punishment without complaint.
Not even to celebrate Kanako's birthday was he given a break.
And as for the re-learning of his basics: Granny Hina, Great-aunt Mariko and his father all agreed that Keitaro could not do any better with his Urashima Arts demonstration if he had tried. The two elders decided to cut him some slack as they understood that Keitaro had learned his lesson.
In addition, Hina chuckled when her son related to her about some of Keitaro antics along with the hard work that he has doing in the bakery.
"Hey, Kei-kun," said Mariko as she gave her grandnephew a swat upside the head before hugging him, "Don't be such a shithead next time."
"Yes Ōoba-san," Keitaro said in response. He smiled when she hugged him as he liked making her happy.
Mariko might be an extremely tough woman, but around her Onee-san's three grandkids, she was almost a pussycat.
Kanako too was happy that her Onii-chan was almost through with his punishment. Even she now had Naru, she had missed playing with him in the nearby park this past summer.
During her beloved brother's punishment, Kanako has had the opportunity to learn quite a lot about Haruka's relationship with Keitaro. When she was at her apartment, she came across all of the pictures that Haruka had taken with her beloved older brother over the years. It caused her to have a much higher opinion of her closest rival. Kanako received a nice surprise when she and Haruka went out on a sunny day to an amusement park. The two of them stepped into a photo booth and took some funny pictures of their own.
For the now eight-year-old girl, her innate intelligence and curiosity came out as she asked a lot of questions. She wanted to know everything.
The gist of why Kanako was doing it struck Haruka who had expected that of her. Answering what she could, Haruka took her inquiries in stride and smiles because Kanako reminds her so much of Keitaro.
Albeit, though their relationship was cool at first, it quickly became warmer as Kanako did more than just tolerate her as a rival now.
In the future, their association would take a few interesting turns.
Meanwhile, on the last day of his punishment, Keitaro was washing out the big mixing bowls in the back sink area.
It still amazed Keiichiro how much weight the boy could lift with no effort and without straining himself. A 100-kilo bowl sat next to two 50-kilo ones that he used to mixing large amounts of batter and candy base.
Be that as it may, Keitaro leaned inside of a bowl as he was bound and determined to get it clean. Sopping wet from head to toe with hot water and soap flying everywhere, he continued to scrub it out.
"Kei-kun," said Keiichiro with a tray of fresh pastries in hand, "after that bowl is clean just empty the sinks back there and run the last few utensils through the dishwasher. After you mop the floor, you're done. Punishment's over." said Keiichiro taking a fresh tray of pastries out of the oven.
Happy to hear that, Keitaro he showed off for his father and did a one arm handstand on the edge of the sink.
At the same time, Narumi and Kanako came in the backdoor.
While Kanako cheered for her beloved brother, Narumi could only laugh at the bedraggled sight before her.
"Next time, Keitaro," said his mother, "think." She smiled and then gave him a small kiss on the forehead.
"Hey, now that you're through, go get cleaned up because I have a treat for you and Kana-chan," said Keiichiro flashing pastries at them.
"Hai, Tou-san," said Keitaro after he put the mop bucket in the utility closet. Then, he ran off toward the locker room.
When Keitaro returned, he said, "Kana-chan, after we have our treat and get home, I'll take you to the park and push you on the swing."
"Yay, Onii-chan," said Kanako who happily clapped her hands together.
The last part of knowing that all was well now were two items: one, when Master Ryu said to Keitaro 'you have done well my son. You have taken the high road and didn't complain once, I'm very proud of you'.
Keitaro smiles that his master is pleased with him again. He makes a promise to Master Ryu to think next time.
Two, Haruka called him later that night.
-End of Chapter-