'We Fell in Love'
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: We finally meet Kaolla and Motoko.
-Chapter 7-
-Three weeks before, a father and son talk about things-
As an afterthought, Kenichi knew when he and Kasumi had fixed up their son with Kitsune something special happened that night. Never has he seen the two of them happier as Kitsune has been just the perfect fit for his son. The other employees at the bakery also that Kitsune was even happier than she was, and that was saying something.
When Keitaro had approached him about spending a lot of money on a special gift for her, Kenichi thought it was for an engagement ring. Keitaro blushed at the suggestion and told his father that it was way too soon for him to propose.
"Well, son. What do you have in mind then?" asked Kenichi. He knew his son was not a frivolous spender of money.
"With all of the traveling that Kitsune has to do, Tou-san," said Keitaro who had given the subject a lot of thought, "I want to do something about that."
"Don't tell me that have plan on living together with Kitsune when you move to the Hinata? Have you two had a serious talk about this?" asked Kenichi who knew his son very well.
"That's the thing I respect the most about you, Tou-san," replied Keitaro who in a rapid manner and turned slightly red, "You always cut right through the crap. Yes, we plan on living together, but not in the same room. Yet." He felt slightly embarrassed, because he had not said anything to his parents about him and Kitsune upping their relationship. Yet that is…
"Hey, if you two believe that you would like to share a room together, I think you're both old enough to decide for yourselves. But what do you think your grandmother will say?" asked Kenichi who wanted to make sure that his son had thought everything through.
"Kitsune asked me the same thing when I asked her to live with me, Tou-san," replied Keitaro in a deliberate manner, "Remember, I filed all of the legal papers with Granny's Hanko on it. Those papers also had all of the solicitors' stamps on them too making the transfer of the Hinata to me legal. Since everything was given to me with all of the proper paperwork signed and stamped, I had it all filed with the Kanagawa Prefecture land office with Kana-chan's help. So, now the building, land it sits on and all of the properties mentioned in those documents are mine, free and clear. As much as I love Granny, she should have realized that her son did not raise a baka." He was proud that his father had taught him how to think clearly.
"That really does give the old girl nothing to stand on if she has any objections to what you want to do," said Kenichi. He was very proud that his son had thought everything through. Then he added, "well, Kei-kun. What do you want to get Kitsune-chan then?"
The look on Kenichi's face was priceless when Keitaro told him.
-Present time, the end of a great day-
Driving back to the Hinata in her car, Keitaro and the three passengers in back were very surprised at how well Kitsune drove on the highways. She drove only up to the speed limit, used all of the proper signals, did lane changes and turns without squealing the tires. Plus, she did not slam on the brakes once. Kitsune was happy that she had listened to Keitaro about getting her medium car driver's license last month, because he had out done himself in his gift giving. To her, only one thing could top this present, but it was way too soon for that.
Pulling up to the Hinata City limits, Kitsune asked Keitaro which road she should take and he pointed the way for her. They got a few gawks as the shiny new car drove by on the main road into town. Kitsune had a smug look on her face knowing that if she was careful, she would have the nicest car in Hinata City. They drove up to the building the residents used as a garage and pulled into it. She puts her hand on Keitaro's leg and rubs it while smiling her thanks at him. She moved her hand quickly when she felt something rigid, and got an "Eep!" from him.
"Gomen'nasai, Kei-kun," whispered Kitsune who was truly only half sorry. She felt lucky in another way, as she knew what her boyfriend was packing.
Turning off the headlights and then the motor, the electric locks unclicked. They opened the two doors and everyone stepped out.
"Wow, Kitsune-Senpai. You are a great driver," said Shinobu holding her new laptop which was in its box. She and Sarah had a lot of fun with Keitaro's gift at the Urashima's house.
"But you drive like an Obaa-san though, Kitsune-nee," said Kanako. Naru and Shinobu snickered. Keitaro did not dare, he did not want to get swatted again. The younger sisterenjoyed getting her digs in on Kitsune, and not that she disliked her brother's girlfriend. On the contrary, she liked the older woman because she sensed how happy he was with her. Plus, Kitsune has been very accepting of her being gay.
"When you own a car like this after you get your license, Kana-chan. You will drive like one too," said Kitsune who smiled as she hit the auto-lock button, which also activated the car alarm. It was her 'baby' and she would drive it like a tortoise if that was what it took.
Keitaro saw how tired Shinobu was, so he gave the petit chef a piggyback ride up the steps while Kitsune took his left arm. He also took the handle of the laptop box as the petit girl fell asleep almost right away.
'She is so light,' thought Keitaro as the girl hugged him gently around his neck and had laid her chin on his shoulder. Smiling, he listened to the young girl's soft breathing right by his ear.
Kitsune was very pleased with her boyfriend after having received such a present from him. So much so, that a little later on she was going to thank him in her own inimitable way that he would never forget. But that was not the only thing she was grateful for. You see, in talking to Keitaro, she had found in him someone very wonderful. He wanted her to maintain her own life, and that she should not give up her friends or job even though they were together now. Having also introduced him to her circle of friends and vice-versa, both were accepted by each. Plus, she did not want to give up her job. Kitsune could care less about that, because she had him and when the time was right, also wanted to be his wife. Though she knew it was way too early for that yet.
Arm-in-arm, Kanako and Naru were just a few steps behind the trio. They were just as lovey-dovey as when they had woken up that morning. Naru was very happy with her locket from Kanako and she would always treasure it. Naru also wanted to thank her girlfriend the same way that Kitsune wanted to thank Keitaro. Hopefully, not as loud as when she took control of her Kanako the other night.
Not too long afterwards, Haruka and Sarah pulled into the resident's garage.
"Hey, you two. Slow down back there. Haruka just pulled in," said Keitaro in a quieter tone, "If she sees you two going at it around Sarah-chan, she will go ballistic." He knew that his cousin took being a mother extremely seriously and would rip into the two love-birds if they got too carried away. He did not even kiss Kitsune around where the blonde girl might be to keep her mother from being upset.
"Okay, Onii-chan/Kei-kun," said the teen couple in tandem as they switched over to just holding hands.
Standing just inside the doorway to the Hinata, Keitaro kicked his shoes off. Kitsune took off a now soundly sleeping Shinobu's shoes. Naru and Kanako removed theirs as they put on house slippers. As they all stepped into the main house Haruka came in carrying a soundly sleeping Sarah cradled in her arms. The girl was totally exhausted from a long and very fun day.
"Kei-kun, let's get these two to bed. Kit, will you help him with her," said Haruka after kicking off her shoes. Naru came over and removed Sarah's shoes. Which got a whispered 'thanks' from her mother.
Upstairs, Haruka smiled as she got Sarah ready for bed. The girl had so much fun at their Oji-san's house and she loved all of her presents too. After slipping Sarah's nightie on, Haruka tucked her daughter into her bed. After that, she went downstairs for a soak in the onsen and to get a night cap. She was smiling more these days as motherhood was becoming second nature to her.
On her way downstairs, Haruka had been thinking about taking Sarah on a small trip before New Year's, and both dress in Yukatas to draw their luck for the coming year. She also wanted to take her somewhere fun so they could start making memories together. In the main hallway to the onsen, Haruka pulled out her smart phone to write herself a memo and saw that she had turned the device off. Remembering that she had turned it off before entering her Oji-san's house, Haruka had done so because there was no way she was going to let anything disturb her first holiday with Sarah. When she turned the device back on, Haruka was surprised to see that Junpei Nomura had called her.
'Now there's a name I haven't seen in a while,' thought Haruka who stripped and put on her bathing suit inside the women's changing area. She thought that Seta Noriyasu was a nice guy once, but having been with Junpei understood that he was something special. She believed that Keitaro must have given her old beau her cell number as it had changed just this past summer when she finally upgraded all of her electronic devices. But that was not it though. She wished in her heart that she had not asked Junpei to give her space when she had received the Tea Shoppe as her inheritance. Now, looking at the flashing symbol on her cell that he had left a message, she has the opportunity to rekindle their relationship. After finishing her perusal, and heading to the onsen, Haruka nervously hit the message replay button to hear what he had to say.
Message: "Hi, Haruka-chan. It's been way too long since I've called. Gomen, my life has been very busy and hectic with being a full-time architect and a part-time Kyōju at the art college. Now though, I'm taking time off from teaching and if possible, I'd like to see you again if you're willing. Call me at the number that you see on your screen. Oh, don't get mad at Keitaro for giving me your number, I asked him for it. Blame me. I hope to hear from you soon."
When the message ended: Haruka smiled as she settled in the onsen and relaxed in her favorite spot. 'Keitaro, I'm going to give you such a thank you for giving Junpei my number,' thought Haruka who saw the man in question step out of the men's wash area red-faced with Kitsune's in tow. Her bikini, which was extremely revealing, had a definite hint that Kitsune has really been listening to Mariko.
"Kit-chan, I can wash my own back. You're lucky none of the younger ones are out here right now," said a flustered Keitaro who was still getting used to having such a beautiful girlfriend.
"Kei-kun, if you think you're going to sleep very much tonight, think again," said Kitsune who was all over her boyfriend as she draped him like a blanket. What made it worse, the Fox kept making grabs for things that she would usually wait to take a hold of when they were alone. She pretty much had wanted to do him in his father's garage, because she was sick of always holding back. But, except for some fondling and a little petting, Kitsune knew that she was going to have to wait until got home to get what she wanted. So, with the bikini she had on, Kitsune was giving her boyfriend a tiny taste of what he could expect in bed.
"Oh, Haruka-nee. Gomen'nasai," said Keitaro sheepishly as Haruka laughed at Kitsune's antics.
"Hey, Kei-kun. You are the one who chose to live out here with her. So, get over it," said Haruka who watched as his girlfriend glommed all over him and acted lovey-dovey in the extreme. She then had a quick thought about Junpei, and it was of a time when she did as Kitsune was doing now.
"Ack, Kit-chan! Will you slow down!" squeaked Keitaro who squirmed. That was because Kitsune was trying to have sex with him here as she ignored the fact that Haruka was there.
"Kei-kun, if you can look at me for a moment. (A short pause as Keitaro attempted to do so.) I wanted to say thank you for giving Junpei my cell number. I think you've got a sleepless night ahead of you cousin, because she is too deep into the zone. To show you my appreciation for that, I'll give you the keys to the Tea Shoppe. I'm not opening up tomorrow morning and the bed upstairs is made," said Haruka who knew that Kitsune had nothing else on her mind right now except pleasuring her boyfriend. So, with a big smile on her face, Haruka got up and stepped out of the onsen as she watched her cousin's eyes start to roll into the back of head. Stepping over to the changing area, Haruka went inside and grabbed the shop keys. Stepping back outside for a moment, she jiggled them before placing them on a table.
After a good laugh at the couple's antics in the onsen, and changing into a night shirt, Haruka grabbed her basket and went upstairs to bed with her daughter.
-An unexpected but pleasant call-
Next morning in a very quiet Hinata, two couples at least were ready to get up along with a certain bluenette.
The couple in the Tea Shoppe's upstairs bedroom, had recently passed out from being totally midævel with each other after getting out of the onsen. It was a good thing that Haruka's king-sized bed was well made or she'd need a new one. The aftermath was, Keitaro discovered that he had been trapped with a Fox in heat last night and learned a few things along the way, like how insatiable she could be.
The sun came through the window in Haruka's room as she had decided to stay in. Sarah was snuggling into her which caused Haruka to smile. She allowed her daughter stay in bed this morning since there was little to do today. Normally, Haruka would take a drive into the countryside and visit small shops along her journey, but with a child to care for now, she knew that her days of going off alone were over. So, she would take Sarah with her on her trek today.
"Hey, sleepyhead. You want breakfast?" asked Haruka as she looked at Sarah. She could not help but smile at the blonde-haired cutie that had started to yawn.
"Ohayō, Okā-san. I'm hungry," said Sarah as her stomach growled. Both mother and daughter giggled before they sat up and stretched.
Sarah stood up and headed to the door after putting on her slippers, "I gotta pee." Then, the girl headed out the door and down the hall to the water closet.
Brrrr! Brrrr!
Haruka heard her cell phone go off. Not annoyed by that, she was usually up at this time and going full bore down at her place.
"Moshi, moshi. This is Haruka," said the woman as pleasantly as was humanly possible after just waking up.
"Hi, Haru-chan. Did I call at a bad time?" asked the caller.
"No, Jun-kun. It's been way too long. And, before you even ask me, the answer is yes," said Haruka who admired the man's persistence in chasing after her. Plus, she still loved him very much.
"Wow, I didn't even have to stumble through what I had been practicing on. I guess I want to say now is that I've missed you" said Junpei who seemed pleased.
"Same here, Jun-kun," said Haruka who bit her lip, "But I have a daughter now. Will that change things?" She also thought, 'It would be nice to have her own children with Junpei someday, as Sarah would make a great Onee-chan.'
"No, I know all about the custody fight you had with Seta-san. Congratulations, by the way. I'm glad things went your way. I hope she likes me," said Junpei with a little confidence. His nerves caused him to speak in a rapid manner, and the last bit he just blurted out.
"We're getting a little ahead of ourselves, aren't we?" said Haruka who teased him. She has absolutely no intention of allowing him slip through her fingers a second time.
"Oops, did I?" asked Junpei sheepishly. He understood from past experience how volatile Haruka could be, but that was something that had attracted him to her in the first place. She was always brutally honest.
"Gotcha," said Haruka whose voice was just smiling through her phone, "I think Sarah-chan will like you because you're so much like Kei-kun. She calls him Keitaro Onii-chan now and she might see you the same way." She could never be truly mean to Junpei because he really was such a wonderful man.
It was at that moment Haruka saw Sarah quietly walk back through the traditional door and come over to the end of the bed. She climbed up and knelt on the end waiting for her mother to finish.
"Got to go, Jun-kun. I'll bookmark your number and call you later today. Ja ne," said Haruka before hitting the disconnect icon. She looked down to the end of the bed at her daughter who was looking at her questioningly.
"Okā-san, did you find a boyfriend?" said Sarah who was smiling back at her mother, "if you did, I hope he's like Keitaro Onii-chan." Sarah saw that her mother was smiling broadly and had a certain gleam in her eye.
"How did I manage to get such a smart daughter?" asked Haruka rhetorically as the two readied themselves for the day ahead. It looked like today was going to be a good day for her.
-Keitaro and the genius-
Sunday afternoon, just a few days away from New Year's Day, Keitaro was trying to have a peaceful day after Kitsune had kissed him good bye when she drove to work. Sarah was with Haruka, as the Tea Shoppe was closed. Haruka royally busted Keitaro's chops about the mess that he and Kitsune had made to her old bed. And after a good laugh, she told him that she had expected them to do what they did.
It took Keitaro some time to recover from the sexual wrecking ball that was Kitsune. It was a good thing she had to work that day or he would have dropped from sheer exhaustion, because she has been extremely whenever they slept together. Never did he think that he could ever find a woman as gorgeous or as feisty as the Fox. He loved her with all of his heart, but sometimes she scared the living begeezus out of him. Nevertheless, he was thankful for all of her quirks and her energy because she recharged his batteries whenever he had had a long or exhausting day. In return, she was also a great lover.
While he waited for Kitsune to come home, Keitaro tinkered with some of the pipes that fed the hot water from the main source back by the old Annex. He was making sure that the water had not slowed down by the cold weather. He even walked back to the old place that was back a little higher on the Hill. Keitaro wanted to build a new building on the place and he was going to have Junpei do the architectural designs for the new place. Along with that, he also wanted to hire the company Kitsune's friend Ruka worked for to build the new Annex. He was not going to wait forever to get that done, as he overlooked the dilapidated state of the secondary Urashima clan lodge after the Hinata became his. Keitaro had done some preliminary sketches for one of his core classes from coming back here many times to get ideas. Now that this place was his, he wanted to carry thru with the work of re-building the Urashimas ancestral home. After a few more mental notes, he saw to it that the flow of hot water had not been unobstructed and so headed back.
A certain buzz of a motor back by the Hinata.
With that, Keitaro had seen a few strange things in his life, but nothing like he saw now. It was strange looking craft which hovered about a meter off the ground, and headed his way at a moderate clip.
"What the…" was all Keitaro got out of his mouth when he saw a darker skinned blonde haired gaijin whip by him laughing maniacally.
"Kaolla-chan! Don't hurt Keitaro Onii-chan," hollered Sarah from the back seat of the hovering vehicle that had just whizzed by.
'So, she's back. That must the genius girl who attends to Tokyo U which that Haruka-nee has told me about,' thought Keitaro. He watched with fascination as a flying turtle-shaped craft had buzzed by and was being driven by someone who knew how to have fun behind the stick. He had his motorcycle, but this hovering contraption was way beyond that.
After another minute of have some fun doing stunts in the back lot, the machine came to a halt next to Keitaro. The girl shut off the machine, undid her harness and jumped into Keitaro's arms before he knew what hit him. Keitaro found himself sprawled out on his back with a young girl on his chest who was almost as petit as Shinobu. She had such a sweet innocent smile on her face that he could not get upset with her. It was now going to be very interesting around the Hinata now.
"Oops, I hope I didn't break him before we have even had a chance to play yet," said Kaolla who smiled as she looked down at Keitaro. He felt like an American football tackling dummy at the moment.
"Keitaro Onii-chan, are you alright?" asked a concerned Sarah as she undid her own harness and jumped out of the hovercraft. The young girl knelt on the ground putting Keitaro's head in her lap.
"Yeah, I'm fine Sarah-chan. I just didn't expect to catch a flying girl before I could set myself. By the way Kaolla-chan, could you get off my chest please?" asked Keitaro as he looked up at the smiling young teen. Even though she was light as a feather the ground was cold and it was radiating through his jacket.
"Sure, Onii-chan," said Kaolla. She then put a mittened hand on the ground, shifted her weigh and pushed her lithe body into a one-handed handstand before flipping back onto her feet. Both Keitaro and Sarah were in awe of this girl's flexibility and strength.
"Okay then," said Keitaro who stood on his feet with Sarah and Kaolla's help. He was thoroughly impressed with what he had seen so far.
"Hey, Kei-kun. I see you've met Kaolla Su. Sarah-chan, did you have fun?" asked Haruka who came up the path towards the trio.
"Yes. Okā-san. It was great," said a smiling Sarah who got up and stood over with her mother.
Wearing a big smile on her face, Haruka knew Kaolla well enough that the genius girl would not allow anything happen to her daughter. That was why Sarah was in the back seat having fun. Even Haruka has taken a couple of rides with the resident 'Einstein'. She did it because it was fun.
"Let's head back in so I can thaw out and make my formal introduction to Kaolla-chan," said Keitaro who was still brushing snow off himself as Kaolla climbed back into her contraption.
"Mecha-Tama Mk II away," hollered Kaolla as she headed back to the Hinata. Sarah decided to walk back with her mother and Keitaro.
In the common room, there sat Keitaro, Haruka, Sarah, Shinobu and Kaolla Su. Shinobu had made coffee, tea and cocoa for the quartet who had just come in from the hill. She decided to join the others, because all of her work was done.
The others were in the midst of small talk when Ringo, Kina and Mariko came in the door together. Kaolla smiled as she saw the older women remove their shoes when they came in. Keitaro told her that there was six new people living at the Hinata now and she liked that.
"New playmates," said Kaolla with a huge grin on her face. The three women then looked at each other before looking at the pretty blonde dark-skinned foreigner seated there on the couch next to Shinobu. When the three sat down, they eye-balled their new housemate. The girl had been there longer than them, but she was new to them nonetheless.
"Mina, this is Kaolla Su of MolMol," said Keitaro who formally introduced the blonde genius, "She is a Princess of the Royal line of that island nation. She's also a robotics and mechanical engineering student at Tokyo U."
"Wow, Tokyo U. You must be really smart then," said Kina who smiled at the young teen. The other two women were greatly impressed that such a young teen was a student at the nation's most prestigious institution for learning.
"I just like building things, Kina-nee," said Kaolla, "I surprised 'Onii-chan' with my Tama hovercraft a little while ago." Her statement surprised the three returning residents who looked from Kaolla to Keitaro. The place erupted into laughter and some looks of awe as they heard the girl describe some of the things she had worked on. Keitaro turned bright red when Kaolla told the group about how she had greeted her newest playmate.
-An interesting phone call-
The next day was quite boring for Keitaro. Everyone had taken off to either go to work or shop.
Keitaro decided to take care of some of the paperwork that Kanako had sorted and printed out for him. Sometimes, he did not know what he would do if his sister was not here. It was times like these that he did not mind having a younger 'sister' who thought the world of him. So, he opened his laptop and began to answer his many e-mails, but…
Bzzzz! Bzzzz!
It was Keitaro's cell phone.
"Moshi, moshi. Keitaro here," he said.
"Hello Urashima-sama, this is Tsuruko Urashima. I called to let you know that my younger sister is on her way back to the Hinata even as we speak," said the elder Aoyama sister and head of that clan. The words she used had an edge to them.
"She shouldn't have a problem being here, though I run the Hinata now and not Granny Hina. There are other new residents here for her to get to know and learn from," said Keitaro cryptically as he knew how Tsuruko played things close to her chest. Even though the two clans were now related by blood, it still did not stop the games sometimes.
"So, you know what's expected of you Urashima-sama," said Tsuruko trying to convey a hidden meaning to her words.
"Let's cut through the crap, Tsuruko-nee. Your Imouto still has a bad attitude because of your marriage to Shigeru-san. I make no promises that she won't have her attitude challenged by me or by Kanako-chan, especially her. Motoko-chan is still angry that she was humiliated by my Imouto-chan, and that sticks in her craw. So, I hope you warned her that I will not coddle her like Granny did," said Keitaro whose words to Tsuruko were flat out blatant.
"Good, Keitaro. My apologies for being harsh, it's about time someone showed some steel and was willing to stand up to my Imouto-han. And yes, she was warned though she's still very angry about you coming there," said Tsuruko who sounded like she had just exhaled after holding a long breath.
"If she challenges me, I will answer her. And if she draws a Katana or Bokken at me, there will be trouble. Kanako-chan is getting more difficult for me to control and she could cripple Motoko with little effort unlike before," said Keitaro who made sure the older sister understood that he was serious. It was one thing for him to act shyly sometimes around Kitsune, but if a capable martial artist like Motoko runs amuck through the Hinata, there would be 'hell to pay'.
"I just pray that you do not lose your temper with her. Haruka-san has told me that would be dire for Motoko-han if you blacked out" said Tsuruko with a lot of concern in her voice.
"Sorry if I sound so stern, Tsuruko-nee. But Granny Hina really tried to pull one over on me by manipulating the way I got the Hinata. So far, everything has gone okay here since I moved here. Right now, the last thing I need is an expert with a Katana and the Shinmeiryu way on the loose around here. But that is not even the thing I'm really dreading. I'm still trying to get a handle on everything, so Motoko-chan with a bad attitude is something that I don't need right now," said Keitaro who was attempting to be apologetic. He liked Tsuruko personally, but he was going to have to deal with something that she should have taken care of before sending her here.
"Keitaro," said Tsuruko changing tack and trying to be more conciliatory to the owner of the Urashima ancestral lands, "Please, do anything you think that will help my sister. I love her more than anything in this world, save only my husband, because she is the only direct family I have left. If you need to discipline her, do so. But do not allow her to fight with your sister. I know that she will become the greatest Samurai that has ever been conceived of by the Aoyama, if she can only just grow up and get by her anger."
"I agree, Tsuruko-nee. I'll take care of her as I would any of my tenants or friends. I promise to also e-mail you with how she is doing. For now, let's just bide our time and pray that our Karma is good for the upcoming year," said Keitaro sounding more like the honorable man that he was.
"That's all I can ask. Shigeru says hi. And say hello to Haruka and little Sarah-chan to. I hope we both draw good luck this coming week and can pray for good results," said Tsuruko who was feeling much better after this call.
"I will, and hope you draw the best luck as well," said Keitaro before closing his cell phone.
'This is going to get very dodgy over the few weeks and Motoko isn't even my biggest headache here,' thought Keitaro putting the charging cord into his cell phone. 'I guess it's just one mess at a time,' he added after closing out his laptop and standing up from his desk. Heading down to the Tea Shoppe, Keitaro shared with Haruka about the possibility of some turbulent times ahead.
"I'll get her," was the only thing that Haruka said who was very understanding of why her cousin might be in such a dour mood. Coming into the back door of the shop, he wanted to avoid Sarah, because he never wanted to look upset around her. So as soon as he relayed the news to Haruka, he just as quietly snuck out the back door again.
-Who would have guessed? -
Pacing around in the common room, Keitaro waited for everyone to return home. He hoped that having a full house would defuse any volatile situations that might occur with a skilled teenager like Motoko. Well, he got his wish as everyone more or less came in together. He pulled Naru, Kaolla and Shinobu aside for a second to tell them that Motoko was on her way back here from Kyoto.
"Kei-kun, she's a lot more difficult than me. I had Kana-chan to let me know about how really nice you were, but she can be very unpredictable," said Naru who had received unanimity from the other two.
"Okay, I think I can handle this but don't try and help. I've got the equivalent to a high-level Dan belt in my families' arts as well as Kana-chan and Haruka. So let us handle this if she gets out of hand with me running things around here now," said Keitaro to the three who knew her.
"Hai," said the three together.
Then, he and Naru told Kanako what to expect. It was then that the common room seemed to drop twenty degrees, even though the fireplace was going at full tilt. Keitaro knew from past experience, that if anyone threatened her precious older brother that Kanako could get very scary. She did not have an uncontrolled explosive temper that could get out of hand. No, Kanako would utilize her eidetic memory and concentrate on how to eliminate her target with strategies that she could come up with on the fly. Keitaro knew now that his sister's intellect rivaled that of Kaolla's, but in a different manner. Kanako was a master strategist and organizer who could either act very swiftly or draw things out making you wish you were dead.
"Kana-chan, you're beginning to scare me," said Naru hugging her girlfriend's arm with a tear in her eye.
"Sorry, Naru-chan," said Kanako coming back to herself and putting her hand gently on her lover's face, "Next to you, my Onii-chan means everything to me." She then gave Naru a reassuring hug, because she knew that the brunette fully understood what she was capable of.
"Kei-kun, it'll be okay. Won't it?" asked Kitsune who glommed on to her boyfriend. Like Naru, she also knew what the Urashima siblings were capable of. She remembered when Keitaro took out a much larger man who was literally trying to steal her away. She still has the image of the man screaming when Keitaro took out his knees before kicking his testicles in like a soccer ball.
In the meantime, Keitaro relayed the situation with Motoko to the other residents there including the phone call from the older sister. They all knew that Keitaro was very capable of handling this situation so they just stayed there in the background.
So, they all waited in the common room. Shinobu ferried in light snacks and hot tea to everyone. It would not be long until Haruka brought Motoko up from the tram station.
The front door slid open as two people quietly stepped in. With Haruka was a tall, very beautiful teenager with knee length jet-black hair. If it wasn't for the fact that she was clad a Hakama and Gi, she could easily pass for 'Yamato Nadeshiko' if she had worn a Kimono.
Motoko stood in the middle of the foyer with her back pack and rolling carrier. It had three small travel bags on it attached with bungee cords. She did not know what to expect, as she had done a lot of thinking on the train. Most of those thoughts were on how far short she had fallen in her ideals of what being what a Samurai should be, especially in this modern era. Her older sister had really lit into her about this, and it bothered her. All of her meditations were off when she realized that when she re-read the Five Rings and she was far from being the ideal warrior. She had also read Sun Tzu and her integrity was non-existent, so she would try a different way of thinking. At the opportune time, she would call her older sister and tell her these revelations, because she had a quite a few fences to mend. Plus, now that she was sixteen, her hormones were raging like crazy.
Coming into the common room, she bowed to Keitaro unarmed as both her Katana and practice Bokken were still bungee-tied to her luggage.
"I am Aoyama Motoko, Keitaro-sama," said the tall teen after she stood back up, "I place myself under your care while I am here. I beg to be dismissed so that I might take care of my luggage and rest before supper." Turning to Shinobu she said, "Onegai, Shinobu-chan. Call me when it is time to eat."
She spotted her old rival Kanako seated next to Naru and stepped over to where they were. Motoko bowed to Kanako, and said, "I wish to apologize for harsh words that I've said to you in the past. Please, let us start over with a blank slate." That was all she said before bowing again.
With that, the teen bowed to Keitaro again before spinning on her heals and departing the room with her luggage.
"That was a whole lot of nothing," said Kitsune quietly after Motoko had disappeared quietly from the common room. The three older residents agreed with her as they wondered who that girl was.
"I'm grateful for that. Because I've never seen anyone who could wield a Katana like her," said Haruka who was very familiar with the Aoyama. Tsuruko was her best friend now that Julia MacDougal was gone. Sarah just clung tight to her mother.
"I've known her for almost two years, and that's the first time I've ever seen her do that," said Naru. She was almost squeezing the stuffing out of Kanako's hand.
"She really surprised me after what Tsuruko had said earlier," said Keitaro scratching his head. He looked over at Kanako as her eyes met his.
"Yeah," said a mystified Kanako whose attitude towards Motoko had been side-swiped by her apology. She was definitely going to find out what had changed her attitude before it turned out to be an illusion.
Keitaro breathed a sigh of relief, and would just do the formal introductions with Motoko later.
'Four down and the toughest one was yet to come,' thought Keitaro as everyone went their separate ways until dinner.
-End of Chapter-