Love Hina: Once Again
Chapter 37
"You're telling me the house was transported from the Tokyo suburbs to here via alien tractor beam?" Mutsumi summarized, looking over at her girlfriend in surprise.
"Yup," Tennyo Masaki agreed, the silver white haired woman looking amused as they drove up in her rental car.
"How did you explain...?" Mutsumi had to ask as they parked.
"We don't have any nearby neighbors so... we just said we built it here," Tennyo just shrugged cheerfully.
Almost as soon as they parked a black haired young man hurried out, "Big sister!" he called, hugging Tennyo warmly.
"Tenchi!" Tennyo hugged him.
Tenchi pulled back, "It's nice to have you home."
"Tenchi, meet my betrothed, Mutsumi Otohime," Tennyo introduced her.
"It's an honor, ma'am," Tenchi bowed slightly, "welcome to our home."
"Thank you," Mutsumi smiled at him warmly.
As they walked up to the house together Tennyo asked Tenchi mildly, "Uhm, who's in residence right now?"
"Father, grandfather and I," Tenchi said as he ticked off names on his fingers, "Washu, Mihoshi, Rea and Kiyone II."
"Ryoko, Ayeka, Minagi and Sasami are away?" Tennyo asked.
"They're in Tokyo, as I understand it. Which is still close enough for them to randomly turn up," Tenchi observed.
"Ha, point," Tennyo agreed.
"Welcome home!" Nobuyuki declared as they came in, hugging Tennyo.
"Nobuyuki," Tennyo smiled, "this is my fiance, Mutsumi."
"Nicely done, Tennyo! You've brought home a beauty!" Nobuyuki cried.
"Watch the hands," Mutsumi warned as he was about to grope her.
"Sharp, too," Nobuyuki noted.
"Let's go see Katsuhito," Tennyo said, calmly leading Mutsumi by him.
The man was visibly old, Mutsumi could tell, but there was also an odd feeling of vitality around him. She almost expected him to jump up and do laps, or something.
"Miss Mutsumi. It's nice to met you," the old man smiled.
"Mutsumi, this is Katsuhito Masaki. Also known as Yosho of Jurai," Tennyo introduced him.
"She knows about...?" Katsuhito looked curious.
"The Inn got attacked by forces sent by Jurai," Tennyo said, "I kind of HAD to explain."
"Ah," Katsuhito nodded, "well, welcome to our home, young lady."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Back at the Hinata Inn, the Hinata Cafe was doing OK business. There were several visitors having something to drink, and Shinobu and Ema were handling things well.
'You really notice when Mutsumi isn't here,' Kitsune mused ruefully.
Utena came in, her long pink hair flowing down her back. She looked tired, and kind of just fell into a chair.
"Are you all right, Utena?" Shinobu asked, concerned.
"I'm fine," Utena smiled faintly, "I could really use a coffee, though."
"Coming right up," Shinobu hurried off.
After Utena got her coffee, Kitsune decided to take a break and join her. Utena looked at her, smiling wryly, "Checking on me?"
"You do look somewhat more ragged than normal," Kitsune noted.
"Ha," Utena tiredly drank. "There was a magical girl in trouble, I sort of felt obligated to help. Turns out the monster was a life drainer... it zapped me a good one."
"You okay?" Kitsune had to ask.
"Just very tired," Utena admitted. She saw the slight fron Kitsune was concealing and added, "They were kids. It wouldn't have been a Phantom Quest Corp job anyway."
Kitsune winced, "Sorry. Reflex."
"Besides, even you wouldn't hit up school girls for our fees," Utena added.
In another part of the country, Tomoyo was reviewing her video camera footage. She had gotten some nice shots of Sakura, and that odd pink haired woman who helped out.
"I wonder if I should have told her who we were?" the heiress mused, then decided to concentrate on ordering materials for Sakura's next costume. It would be several thousand yen.. not enough to put a dent in her allowance.
Back at the Cafe Kitsune added, "Maybe get a meal from Shinobu and relax in the hot springs?"
"Probably a good idea," Utena agreed as she finished her drink. "Hopefully Mutsumi and Tennyo are having a quieter day."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"WHERE IS MUTSUMI?" Tennyo demanded.
"I think Washu grabbed her for something," Rea noted mildly.
"Oh for crying out loud," Tennyo ran for the door to the underground annex.
The huge chamber was a pocket dimension connected to the house. It was filled with mad science inventions, crackling electricity... and Mutsumi, sitting in a high tech chair.
"Fascinating!" Washu exclaimed.
"This tickles," Mutsumi wiggled.
"Damn it Washu! My girlfriend is NOT a test subject," Tennyo growled as she unstrapped Mutsumi.
"Don't tell me you never play Doctor?" Washu teased and Tennyo blushed.
"It wasn't THAT bad," Mutsumi added as she was gently helped down.
"You're all right?" Tennyo asked.
"Really, it just tickled a bit," Mutsumi reassured her.
"I swear, my family drives me nuts..," Tennyo sighed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Out on the lawn, Motoko was practicing her sword swings.
"Hmm," Kanako murmured as she watched from her office.
Motoko had stripped down to just a t-shirt and pants. She could see the muscles glisten, her hair flowing as she moved... she was both equally powerful and graceful.
Realizing she was ogling her, Kanako turned away and went back to her paperwork. They were getting a steady stream of temporary visitors from renting out the empty rooms. The hot springs were a good tourist draw...
The slim, dark haired university student descended the stairs, then stopped in the office to check out. "I enjoyed my visit," Mei Misaki said, an eyepatch covering her left eye.
Kanako didn't know what Mei's issues were, but apparently she had mild esp abilities. She had been here to consult with certain elder priests and, interestingly, Anthy. "Did everything work out well?" she asked.
"Reasonably," Mei said mildly, then picked up her luggage. She put an envelope on Kanako's desk, "I included a tip for Miss Shinobu. She took care of me very well."
"I'll pass that on," Kanako promised. "Please come again."
'Quiet girl,' Kanako thought as she went back to work. On the other hand, quiet was nice.
"Afternoon," Motoko greeted her as she strode in. She was still just in her t-shirt and pants...
Kanako FIRMLY made herself not look, and concentrated on her work. "Afternoon," she said briskly. "How are you today?"
Motoko smiled slightly, "I think I got the blood pumping. I'm going to change and head out to the hot springs."
"See you later, then," Kanako replied. She found herself sneaking a look as she went by. DAMN was she in good shape...
"A-hem," a amused voice said.
"Eeep," Kanako turned to see Kitsune looking at her, smirking.
"Did Utena make it in?" Kitsuna asked. "She was looking kind of raggedy earlier."
"Yes, she ate a snack, then went out to the springs," Kanako noted.
"Okay, I'm going to change and then go out and check on her," Kitsune said.
'She's not going to say anything,' Kanako thought, relieved.
As Kitsune walked off she added, "Naughty, naughty."
Kanako sighed.
To be continued...
Notes: Yes, Utena saved Cardcaptor Sakura from a Sailor Moon power draining critter. Basically.
And yes, that was Mei Misaki from the anime Another.