Disclaimer: Love Hina is the property of the guys and girls of TV Tokyo, and the creation of Ken Akamatsu. This includes all characters that appear in Love Hina.
Cherish Hina is MY property. Takeshi Urashima, Hiroko Urashima, Yumiko Nakamura, Kasumi Mitsumaru and Mizuki Kanashiro are MY characters. Please e-mail me at one_man_cult@hotmail.com if you want to use them, or if you want to post this story on your site.
This is episode 2 of a 13 part series. I still need more beta-readers, editors and writers to help in the later chapters, so if you can provide ANY help whatsoever please reply at the above e-mail address. Reviews and constructive feedback are welcome. The more help and reviews I get, the faster I can finish an episode. No flames accepted. I mean, no-one's FORCING you to read this.
Warning: This piece of fanfiction contains heaps and heaps of original characters. To all those who hate original characters (I really hate self-inserts), go break your butt on my foot. This also contains quite a few indirect spoilers for the manga series.
Extra, EXTRA special thanks to:
-e2
-The Archimage
- Artful
Once again, all credit goes to them. These guys rock! Really! They even put up with my bad grammar and misuse of language.
Other pieces of fanfiction by either The Archimage or myself can be found on fanfiction.net.
*************************************
"Hey, kanrinin man! You've got to wake up!" Mizuki shook Takeshi to get her point across.
"Huh?"
"Something's happened to Yumiko! You have to get up there and see!"
Convinced by the desperation in Mizuki's voice, Takeshi opened up the trapdoor connecting their rooms. What he saw was Yumiko, standing there and getting changed. He felt a nosebleed coming on.
"KYAAAAH! PERVERT!"
"It's not my fau..."
*Bash* *Bounce* *Bounce* *Bounce*
Yumiko's double-fisted slam had hit him back down to the ground and sent him bouncing into the corridor. Kasumi, Kitsune and Mizuki were standing there, laughing their heads off.
"Hahahaha! See? I told you it would be fun."
"Yeah! Mizuki likes having fun!"
"That boy resembles his father so much."
All three were now rolling around on the floor, still laughing. Takeshi was still lying there, too sore to actually move.
CHERISH HINA
Episode 2: Manager's first day. WORK!
Since his parents already having left for work and the clean up after breakfast finished, Takeshi decided to start his workout. He would usually wake up early and start his routine before breakfast, but he had been too fatigued by the plane trip. Takeshi remembered that his aunt Motoko had once taught him that "every day of training missed takes three days to replace." With those words of wisdom in mind, and standing in the same spot his aunt had once trained, Takeshi started on the drills that would hone his technique.
A loud bang disrupted his concentration. The clothesline Mizuki was swinging on decided to give way, leaving the girl standing there holding on to a length of rope. She used it to skip down the stairs and back into the inn. Takeshi was about to begin practicing his punches again until he recalled that HE was now the kanrinin, and that repairing the clothesline was now his responsibility. Sighing, he went back inside to get the toolbox and to retrieve the rope from Mizuki.
************************************
"Brother, what are you doing?" asked Hiroko, looking over his shoulder. Kasumi was standing next to her.
"I'm making a new frame for the door Mizuki broke last night." He continued to hammer the pieces of wood that made up the screen door. A few beads of perspiration dripped off his face.
"That's the fourth time she's broken this door. By the way, you've put the nails in the wrong place."
"Oh."
"You keep fixing the door. I'm going to vacuum up this mess you've made."
"It's alright, Hiroko. This is my job. I'll clean it all up later. You shouldn't have to do any of this."
"Don't worry about it. I used to do this for dad all the time. Besides, you're my brother so it's my job to help you". Hiroko ran off to find the vacuum cleaner.
"What about me? I'm not that good with cleaning and stuff, but I can help too."
"It's okay, Kasumi. I'll manage." Takeshi wiped his face on his sleeve.
"Feeling a bit hot, Ta-kun? I had no idea I had that effect on men."
"Kasumi!" Takeshi playfully tapped her on the head with his hammer. Kasumi stood up.
"I'll go get you a towel," she yelled, still giggling as she ran down the hall.
**************************************
Takeshi stood back to admire his work. With the help of Kasumi and Hiroko, he had managed to repair the door, tighten the plumbing for the outdoor bath and restring the clothesline. `It was damn hard work,' Takeshi thought to himself. `Judging by the appearances of the other two, they would probably agree.'
"There's nothing quite as satisfying as seeing the results of your own hard work," commented Hiroko as she stretched her weary muscles.
"I agree," said Kasumi.
"Uh-huh."
The trio collapsed on the floor under the clothesline, enjoying the gentle breeze that was blowing on the roof.
"Ta-kun, what was it like over there, anyway?"
"Huh? It was, well, I can't exactly describe it. It's a bit like the United States, but the people there are nicer."
"I've never been over to America either. Were there lots of kangaroos and other animals?"
"I lived in a city, not a zoo. I stayed at the dorm most of the time, so I never really saw the countryside."
"Did you get to meet any of those pretty, blonde Australian girls?"
"Ww-what! No! I mean yes! Of course I did!" Takeshi saw the look his two companions were giving him. "But not in the way you mean!"
"Ara, really? Didn't you get up to anything with those curvaceous blonde babes? Something must have happened," said Kasumi, clearly amused with his reaction.
"NO!"
"Kasumi, you know what happens with my brother and girls," Hiroko said lazily. "He turns into my dad." She then stood up and did her impression of Keitaro by falling on top of Kasumi then pretending to get hit.
They heard someone walking up the stairs but were too tired to respond. Mizuki sat on the floor beside them.
"Um, everyone?"
"What's up, Mizuki-chan?" asked Takeshi.
"Everyone was working so hard, so Mizuki felt guilty about breaking everything. Mizuki is sorry for breaking the clothesline and the door. And the bath as well" said Mizuki.
"How did you break the bath?" asked Takeshi.
"She tried to turn it into a potato boiler," answered Hiroko. "The pipes blew up and scared Tama-chan off. We haven't seen her for a week."
"Don't worry. Tama-chan is going to come back. She always does."
"I guess you're right, brother."
Takeshi stood up and brushed himself off.
"Well, that's enough rest. There's still a lot of cleaning to do".
"I'll help, brother," said Hiroko.
"I'll help as well," said Kasumi.
"Mizuki too! Mizuki too!" said Mizuki, happy for the chance to release some pent up energy, cartwheeled after them.
"Let's go then."
*************************************
Takeshi, Hiroko, Kasumi and Mizuki were all putting in the elbow grease needed to clean up the outdoor bath. Inside the now-drained bath, Takeshi and Mizuki were having a race to see who could clean their section the first. Kasumi was scrubbing the patio. Hiroko was dancing with her broom, cleaning the bath deck on her way. Yumiko walked in and looked around.
"What's everybody doing?" she asked Kasumi.
"They're cleaning the bath," she replied, confused as to why she had to state the obvious.
"But why? Isn't that the kanrinin's job?"
"Well, we live at this dorm, so it's our responsibility as tenants to help with some of the maintenance" replied Kasumi, still scrubbing. "Even if it wasn't, I'd help Takeshi out anyway."
"I still think it isn't our job. I'm going back to my room, Kasumi". With that, Yumiko walked back inside.
Takeshi and Mizuki had finished cleaning up the inside of the bath in record time, and it was now refilling with hot water from the spring. Kasumi was also finished and was putting away the bucket and the brush. Hiroko, still dancing around with her broom, was finishing up the stone floor of the bath.
"You dance well, Hiroko."
"Thank you, brother. I did take lessons, you know."
"Ah, still aiming to be an idol?"
"Of course. You know it's always been my dream to be one."
"Yeah. Since you were five. You're nearly finished with the floor, right?"
"Done," answered Hiroko, dusting off her hands. "Why?"
"Would you care to dance?"
Taking his sister's hands, he proceeded in leading her in a waltz around the bath. Kasumi and Mizuki joined in the fun, clapping in beat and following closely behind them.
"You're pretty good, Takeshi. Where did you learn to dance like that?"
"There was a final year's formal on at my old school, so I had to learn some."
"Ara, you took that pretty Australian blonde, didn't you?"
Takeshi tripped and fell on top of his sister, his hands in an awkward position. He quickly got up before Hiroko got annoyed and helped his sister stand back up.
"No I...yes I did. But we were just friends. Noth...nothing more."
Kasumi continued her line of questioning. "So you admit having slept with a pretty blonde girl, then?"
"WHAT! That's just crazy! I did no such thing!"
"But isn't that what you do after formals?"
"No! It's about dancing, not trying to get into bed with someone!"
"Ara, is that so?"
"YES!" the two siblings yelled.
"Then can I have the next dance?"
"Of course you can, Ka-chan."
"Mizuki's next!"
**************************************
Yumiko sat at her desk diligently working on one of the harder math problems in her textbook. Accidentally scattering a few notes and a couple of English novels she was studying, Yumiko turned to the back of her textbook to check her answer. `Wrong?!?!' She had attempted to solve several similar problems before, and they too had been incorrect. What she didn't understand is why she had gotten them wrong. The instructions in her book and her personal notes didn't help much either. Deciding that there wasn't anything more she could do for now Yumiko stood up to take a break from studying. Her aching neck and stiff joints reminded her of just how hard she had been working. After closing her books and trying to clean up her mess, Yumiko walked out of her room.
After taking a light stroll along the corridors of Hinata Sou, Yumiko could feel the tension she had built up leaving her body. She stopped by the window to get some fresh air. A gentle spring breeze blew through the window carrying with it peals of laughter from the residents below. Yumiko leaned out to get a better view. Outside, Takeshi was dancing with Hiroko while Kasumi and Mizuki clapped the rhythm. `This must have been what it was like' thought Yumiko. Naru-san often told stories about how it was at Hinata Sou before Kasumi and Takeshi were born. There was Shinobu-san, who now owned a restaurant chain in Tokyo, and Kaolla-san, who was a princess of some tiny country. Motoko-san, the martial arts master, had long since moved back to Kyoto to run her dojo. Kasumi's mother, Mutsumi-san finished her science degree and went home to farm watermelons and raise hot spring turtles. Under Mutsumi-san's tutelage, Ema-san, the youngest of the group, had scored high enough to
enter Todai and on completion, had moved to America. Of course, Kitsune-san was still here. Naru-san told of all the crazy adventures they had, criss-crossing the country on a wild goose chase, discovering lost civilisations and generally causing mayhem. How Yumiko wished she could do that.
Yumiko looked out the window again to find Takeshi was now dancing with Kasumi, followed by Hiroko and her broom. Mizuki was keeping beat using her bucket as a drum. Yumiko allowed herself a small smile at the scene. Kasumi, who was having too much fun to pay attention, slipped and fell on top of Takeshi, who blushed so hard even Yumiko could see it from her viewpoint. `If he tries anything, I'm going to make him regret it'. A small part of her briefly wondered where that came from, but she ignored it for the moment. The others were now laughing about it.
`They seem to be having a lot of fun'. Yumiko tried to remember the last time that she had laughed like they did but realised that she couldn't recall it. Her parents were very well off, and she spent most of her childhood attending various social functions. There was never an opportunity to have fun. Even now, she didn't spend much time with her so-called `friends' and avoided socialising with them. Yumiko knew they only liked her because she was popular with the boys and that sometimes they said mean things behind her back. Most other girls seemed to be intimidated by her beauty. That made being friends with them difficult. Yumiko could hear the others mopping and scrubbing outside.
Yumiko returned to her room and looked inside. She had made quite a mess while studying in there. Yumiko sighed. She left her room, hoping to find something to occupy her for a while.
***************************************
Yumiko walked around the corridors rather randomly, not really caring where she ended up. Takeshi was hard at work mopping the corridor. Realising that she had nothing better to do, Yumiko decided to lend a hand.
"Um, Takeshi, would you like some help?"
"Oh, sure," he answered. "Er.... I think we got this level covered. You wouldn't mind doing the bedrooms downstairs, would you?"
"No. That's fine."
Takeshi looked more closely at her face.
"Are you...I mean...is everything okay?"
"Yes," she lied quickly. "The downstairs bedrooms, right?"
Takeshi nodded, and Yumiko moved off towards the staircase.
After passing by the kitchen to visit Kasumi who was also cleaning, Yumiko grabbed a mop and a bucket and proceeded to clean the floors of the rooms. Mizuki was already cleaning the hall at a breakneck pace, and Yumiko could hear her sliding and her random collisions with objects as she mopped. Yumiko decided to start on the room closest to her, which happened to be the Kanrinin's room. She went in and proceeded to mop the floor. The room was very sparsely furnished, and it wasn't long before she finished mopping. Yumiko was about to leave when a book fell from the shelf. Putting down the mop and bucket, she bent over to examine it. It was a sketchbook, and inside it were several illustrations of different places as well as pages of what appeared to be manga. She continued to look through it. After a couple more pages, Yumiko saw something that made her blood boil. Several pictures of a girl, all extremely well drawn and a few that were scantily clad, had been put into the
sketchbook. This immediately reinforced Yumiko's opinion of Takeshi. `He is a pervert,' she declared to herself. `Just like all the other boys.' Yumiko was torn between alerting the others to his perversion and admitting that she looked through his belongings, and letting the matter go. She decided to wait until she thought of a better plan. Replacing the sketchbook before retrieving the bucket and the mop, she left the room to continue cleaning.
****************************************
There was a collective sigh of relief as the girls entered the newly cleaned hot spring. It had been a while since it was actually usable, and they had all missed their daily baths. The hot water was even more relaxing than usual. The heat worked away at their bodies, washing away the tension as well as the sweat. The setting sun made a beautiful backdrop against the sparkling water.
"I'm so tired."
"I have to agree," commented Yumiko to Hiroko. "At least the dorm is back in a liveable condition now."
"Mizuki's not tired!"
"That's because you're never tired, Mizuki." Kasumi sighed and sank into the bath up to her chin. Mizuki just smiled. "Just like old times."
"What's like old times?" asked Yumiko.
"All this cleaning. When I was little I used to help Uncle Keitaro do the cleaning all the time. Takeshi helped out too. Afterwards Takeshi and I would take a bath together."
"So you too have known each other that long, huh? Wait a sec... YOU AND TAKESHI BATHED TOGETHER?!?!"
The door slid open and Takeshi's head poked through.
"Did someone call me? AH!!! I didn't realise! So sorry!"
"You pervert! Taking baths with girls, and peeking on them too! I bet that you're going to draw all of this in your sketchbook now, along with all your other hentai drawings!"
"It was an accident! Wait, you looked through my sketchbook?"
"...Maybe I did. But you're still a no-good pervert!"
"Hehehe. Takeshi's a BIG pervert," responded Mizuki.
"Brother, you know how much that kind of thing annoys me."
"Ara, it's been a long time since we've taken a bath together but aren't we a bit too old for this now?"
"OUT! NOW!" shouted the girls in unison.
Takeshi was forced out by various flying bath utensils, most of them launched by Yumiko. Several connected and hit him through the door and out into the corridor.
"Yumiko-sempai, what were you saying about my brother's sketchbook before?"
"He's got this sketchbook in his room, and it's filled up with all these perverted pictures."
"My brother really isn't that kind of guy."
"That's what you think."
"Hiroko-chan is right. Takeshi isn't like that. You've seen those pictures in my room, haven't you?"
Yumiko nodded.
"Takeshi gave them to me before he left. He draws really well."
" I guess he does," replied Yumiko, tightening her towel before leaving the bath. "But I still think he's a nerdy letch."
*************************************
"I'm home."
"Hi, mum. Dinner's all done. Just waiting for dad to come home" said Takeshi from the couch. Everybody else was watching the news on TV.
"Oh, ok." Naru looked around her home to see everything sparkling and clean. "Wow! This place looks great. Good job, Takeshi."
"It wasn't all me, mum. The girls did a lot of the work."
"Then, thank you everyone."
"You're welcome."
Naru looked at the clock and frowned. "What's taking Keitaro so long? He should be back by now."
Keitaro came bursting in the door, running with his briefcase in tow.
"Sorry I'm late everybody."
In his haste, he didn't notice the sparkling-clean floorboards. He tried to stop, but his forward momentum kept him moving. As a last ditch effort, he placed his hands in front of him to avoid a bone crunching collision. In theory it was a good plan. Unfortunately, his hands landed directly his wife's chest. She began to glow an angry red.
"KEITARO!!"
"EEEEKK! SORRY!"
"How many times do I have to tell you? NOT! IN! PUBLIC!!!"
Naru's wind-up punch sent Keitaro out the way he came in. He could be heard bouncing down the stairs. Naru calmed down after her anger had been released.
"Let's have dinner now. I'm starving."
Kitsune walked through the door, with a bottle of sake in her hand and grinning at the sight she just saw.
"Hey, I just saw Keitaro flying out the door. Guess it's time for dinner, then."
"Are you leeching off us again, Kitsune?"
"You wouldn't want your best friend to go hungry now, would you Naru?"
Naru let out an exasperated sigh.
***************************************
Yumiko was studying a history text when there was a knock on the door. Throwing her book onto the mess that was her table, she stood up to answer it. It was Kasumi, and she appeared to be holding a large pile of math textbooks.
"Yumiko, you're not busy now, are you?"
"Not really. Stuck on some math problems?"
"Quite a few, actually."
"Well come in before you drop everything."
Yumiko moved out of the way to allow Kasumi through the door. Unable to find any table space, Kasumi dropped her books on the floor and began flipping through their pages to find the questions she was stuck on.
"I'm not sure how to do these kind of problems."
Yumiko nodded as she read through them, then looked up at Kasumi and gave her a small smile.
"To be honest with you, I have no idea how to do them either. I was going to ask you tomorrow."
Kasumi thought for a moment, then jumped up and walked towards the back of the room.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm getting us some help." Kasumi kneeled next to the trapdoor and knocked on it three times. "Ta-kun, are you there?"
"Yeah."
Kasumi opened the trapdoor. "Can you come up here for a moment? Yumiko and I need some help on a math problem."
Yumiko looked away and held her chin up high. "I don't want help from that pervert." Takeshi, however, didn't hear her.
"Okay. What's the problem on?"
"Advanced anti-differentiation."
Takeshi grabbed a book from his shelf and climbed through the trapdoor. Kasumi helps him.
"Let's see the problem. Oh, I want to see all your workings too,"
Kasumi hands the textbook and her exercise book to Takeshi. Yumiko reluctantly follows suite.
"I really hate these problems. Why would I want to know the gradient of an anthill to two decimal places anyway?" Takeshi opened up his own textbook. "This example makes much more sense. You solve it the same way." He worked it out and then underlined the errors the other two had made. "You need to insert the values after the anti-differentiation, or otherwise your answer is totally screwed up."
"Ara, is that it?"
Yumiko wasn't exactly paying attention. Instead she was looking at a beautiful sketch of a sparrow on a blank area of Takeshi's textbook. Takeshi noticed where she was staring.
"Oh. That. I got bored during class." Yumiko looked at him with understanding.
Someone else was knocking on the door again. Yumiko went over to answer it.
"Oh Hiroko-chan, what's the matter?"
"Is my brother here?"
"What's the matter?" asked Takeshi from where he was sitting.
"I think there's someone sneaking around downstairs."
"It might be Tama-chan back from vacation. You girls don't need my help anymore, do you?" The girls shook their heads. Takeshi stood up and dropped his book back into his room. "I'll go take a look then."
Hiroko led him out of the room and down the corridor, towards the stairs.
***************************************
The siblings were walking slowly down the corridor when they heard someone else's footsteps. Takeshi signalled for Hiroko to stop walking, and to keep quiet. They heard someone talking.
"I'm sorry for hitting you so hard before, honey. Is it still sore?"
"A little bit."
"Let me make it better, then."
The sound of kissing could be heard. Takeshi and Hiroko let out sighs of relief. It was just their parents.
"You know Kei, the kids did a lot of cleaning today."
"I know, Naru. I did slip on the floor."
"They got the bath working too."
"Did they?"
"Uh-huh." More kissing sounds could be heard. "How about you and I go and test it together? Think of it as my way of apologising for hitting you."
"Mmmmm. I like the way you think." Keitaro carried Naru off towards the hot springs.
Their two children had fallen on the floor, looking extremely pale and trying to hold down their dinner. Takeshi was first to regain his speech.
"Mum and dad..."
"...Are taking a bath together."
"Ewww, that's so gross!" they said simultaneously.
"I'm going to be mentally scarred for the rest of my life." Takeshi winced as disgusting mental images popped up. "To think I have to clean that bath."
"Ha! What about me? I have to use it!"
"I feel so sorry for you, little sis."
"Let's get out of here. I don't want to hear anything else."
The two ran straight for their rooms, trying to fall asleep as quick as they could to avoid dwelling on the incident for too long.
************************************
Takeshi walked into the kitchen for breakfast, after taking a quick shower. As usual, he had woken up early for training. All the girls were sitting at the table, with the exception of Hiroko since it was her turn to cook.
"Where's mum and dad?" he asked his sister, who was cooking some eggs.
"I don't know, they haven't come out yet."
"That's strange. If they don't leave in two minutes they'll be late."
The door opened and two human-shaped blurs rushed through.
"It's all your fault we're late, Keitaro!"
"My fault?! You weren't complaining last night!"
"Don't be a letch. Just grab some toast and go, Keitaro, or we'll get stuck in the traffic."
"Alright, Naru, alright! I'm coming. Bye kids!"
"Bye!"
A few moments passed before Takeshi turned to speak with his sister.
"That was a bit too much information."
"I don't feel like eating breakfast anymore."
"Ara. Seems like auntie Naru and uncle Keitaro were in a love-love mood last night."
Yumiko shrugged.
"Hehe. Love-love. What a funny word. Love-love. Love-love!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
Cherish Hina is MY property. Takeshi Urashima, Hiroko Urashima, Yumiko Nakamura, Kasumi Mitsumaru and Mizuki Kanashiro are MY characters. Please e-mail me at one_man_cult@hotmail.com if you want to use them, or if you want to post this story on your site.
This is episode 2 of a 13 part series. I still need more beta-readers, editors and writers to help in the later chapters, so if you can provide ANY help whatsoever please reply at the above e-mail address. Reviews and constructive feedback are welcome. The more help and reviews I get, the faster I can finish an episode. No flames accepted. I mean, no-one's FORCING you to read this.
Warning: This piece of fanfiction contains heaps and heaps of original characters. To all those who hate original characters (I really hate self-inserts), go break your butt on my foot. This also contains quite a few indirect spoilers for the manga series.
Extra, EXTRA special thanks to:
-e2
-The Archimage
- Artful
Once again, all credit goes to them. These guys rock! Really! They even put up with my bad grammar and misuse of language.
Other pieces of fanfiction by either The Archimage or myself can be found on fanfiction.net.
*************************************
"Hey, kanrinin man! You've got to wake up!" Mizuki shook Takeshi to get her point across.
"Huh?"
"Something's happened to Yumiko! You have to get up there and see!"
Convinced by the desperation in Mizuki's voice, Takeshi opened up the trapdoor connecting their rooms. What he saw was Yumiko, standing there and getting changed. He felt a nosebleed coming on.
"KYAAAAH! PERVERT!"
"It's not my fau..."
*Bash* *Bounce* *Bounce* *Bounce*
Yumiko's double-fisted slam had hit him back down to the ground and sent him bouncing into the corridor. Kasumi, Kitsune and Mizuki were standing there, laughing their heads off.
"Hahahaha! See? I told you it would be fun."
"Yeah! Mizuki likes having fun!"
"That boy resembles his father so much."
All three were now rolling around on the floor, still laughing. Takeshi was still lying there, too sore to actually move.
CHERISH HINA
Episode 2: Manager's first day. WORK!
Since his parents already having left for work and the clean up after breakfast finished, Takeshi decided to start his workout. He would usually wake up early and start his routine before breakfast, but he had been too fatigued by the plane trip. Takeshi remembered that his aunt Motoko had once taught him that "every day of training missed takes three days to replace." With those words of wisdom in mind, and standing in the same spot his aunt had once trained, Takeshi started on the drills that would hone his technique.
A loud bang disrupted his concentration. The clothesline Mizuki was swinging on decided to give way, leaving the girl standing there holding on to a length of rope. She used it to skip down the stairs and back into the inn. Takeshi was about to begin practicing his punches again until he recalled that HE was now the kanrinin, and that repairing the clothesline was now his responsibility. Sighing, he went back inside to get the toolbox and to retrieve the rope from Mizuki.
************************************
"Brother, what are you doing?" asked Hiroko, looking over his shoulder. Kasumi was standing next to her.
"I'm making a new frame for the door Mizuki broke last night." He continued to hammer the pieces of wood that made up the screen door. A few beads of perspiration dripped off his face.
"That's the fourth time she's broken this door. By the way, you've put the nails in the wrong place."
"Oh."
"You keep fixing the door. I'm going to vacuum up this mess you've made."
"It's alright, Hiroko. This is my job. I'll clean it all up later. You shouldn't have to do any of this."
"Don't worry about it. I used to do this for dad all the time. Besides, you're my brother so it's my job to help you". Hiroko ran off to find the vacuum cleaner.
"What about me? I'm not that good with cleaning and stuff, but I can help too."
"It's okay, Kasumi. I'll manage." Takeshi wiped his face on his sleeve.
"Feeling a bit hot, Ta-kun? I had no idea I had that effect on men."
"Kasumi!" Takeshi playfully tapped her on the head with his hammer. Kasumi stood up.
"I'll go get you a towel," she yelled, still giggling as she ran down the hall.
**************************************
Takeshi stood back to admire his work. With the help of Kasumi and Hiroko, he had managed to repair the door, tighten the plumbing for the outdoor bath and restring the clothesline. `It was damn hard work,' Takeshi thought to himself. `Judging by the appearances of the other two, they would probably agree.'
"There's nothing quite as satisfying as seeing the results of your own hard work," commented Hiroko as she stretched her weary muscles.
"I agree," said Kasumi.
"Uh-huh."
The trio collapsed on the floor under the clothesline, enjoying the gentle breeze that was blowing on the roof.
"Ta-kun, what was it like over there, anyway?"
"Huh? It was, well, I can't exactly describe it. It's a bit like the United States, but the people there are nicer."
"I've never been over to America either. Were there lots of kangaroos and other animals?"
"I lived in a city, not a zoo. I stayed at the dorm most of the time, so I never really saw the countryside."
"Did you get to meet any of those pretty, blonde Australian girls?"
"Ww-what! No! I mean yes! Of course I did!" Takeshi saw the look his two companions were giving him. "But not in the way you mean!"
"Ara, really? Didn't you get up to anything with those curvaceous blonde babes? Something must have happened," said Kasumi, clearly amused with his reaction.
"NO!"
"Kasumi, you know what happens with my brother and girls," Hiroko said lazily. "He turns into my dad." She then stood up and did her impression of Keitaro by falling on top of Kasumi then pretending to get hit.
They heard someone walking up the stairs but were too tired to respond. Mizuki sat on the floor beside them.
"Um, everyone?"
"What's up, Mizuki-chan?" asked Takeshi.
"Everyone was working so hard, so Mizuki felt guilty about breaking everything. Mizuki is sorry for breaking the clothesline and the door. And the bath as well" said Mizuki.
"How did you break the bath?" asked Takeshi.
"She tried to turn it into a potato boiler," answered Hiroko. "The pipes blew up and scared Tama-chan off. We haven't seen her for a week."
"Don't worry. Tama-chan is going to come back. She always does."
"I guess you're right, brother."
Takeshi stood up and brushed himself off.
"Well, that's enough rest. There's still a lot of cleaning to do".
"I'll help, brother," said Hiroko.
"I'll help as well," said Kasumi.
"Mizuki too! Mizuki too!" said Mizuki, happy for the chance to release some pent up energy, cartwheeled after them.
"Let's go then."
*************************************
Takeshi, Hiroko, Kasumi and Mizuki were all putting in the elbow grease needed to clean up the outdoor bath. Inside the now-drained bath, Takeshi and Mizuki were having a race to see who could clean their section the first. Kasumi was scrubbing the patio. Hiroko was dancing with her broom, cleaning the bath deck on her way. Yumiko walked in and looked around.
"What's everybody doing?" she asked Kasumi.
"They're cleaning the bath," she replied, confused as to why she had to state the obvious.
"But why? Isn't that the kanrinin's job?"
"Well, we live at this dorm, so it's our responsibility as tenants to help with some of the maintenance" replied Kasumi, still scrubbing. "Even if it wasn't, I'd help Takeshi out anyway."
"I still think it isn't our job. I'm going back to my room, Kasumi". With that, Yumiko walked back inside.
Takeshi and Mizuki had finished cleaning up the inside of the bath in record time, and it was now refilling with hot water from the spring. Kasumi was also finished and was putting away the bucket and the brush. Hiroko, still dancing around with her broom, was finishing up the stone floor of the bath.
"You dance well, Hiroko."
"Thank you, brother. I did take lessons, you know."
"Ah, still aiming to be an idol?"
"Of course. You know it's always been my dream to be one."
"Yeah. Since you were five. You're nearly finished with the floor, right?"
"Done," answered Hiroko, dusting off her hands. "Why?"
"Would you care to dance?"
Taking his sister's hands, he proceeded in leading her in a waltz around the bath. Kasumi and Mizuki joined in the fun, clapping in beat and following closely behind them.
"You're pretty good, Takeshi. Where did you learn to dance like that?"
"There was a final year's formal on at my old school, so I had to learn some."
"Ara, you took that pretty Australian blonde, didn't you?"
Takeshi tripped and fell on top of his sister, his hands in an awkward position. He quickly got up before Hiroko got annoyed and helped his sister stand back up.
"No I...yes I did. But we were just friends. Noth...nothing more."
Kasumi continued her line of questioning. "So you admit having slept with a pretty blonde girl, then?"
"WHAT! That's just crazy! I did no such thing!"
"But isn't that what you do after formals?"
"No! It's about dancing, not trying to get into bed with someone!"
"Ara, is that so?"
"YES!" the two siblings yelled.
"Then can I have the next dance?"
"Of course you can, Ka-chan."
"Mizuki's next!"
**************************************
Yumiko sat at her desk diligently working on one of the harder math problems in her textbook. Accidentally scattering a few notes and a couple of English novels she was studying, Yumiko turned to the back of her textbook to check her answer. `Wrong?!?!' She had attempted to solve several similar problems before, and they too had been incorrect. What she didn't understand is why she had gotten them wrong. The instructions in her book and her personal notes didn't help much either. Deciding that there wasn't anything more she could do for now Yumiko stood up to take a break from studying. Her aching neck and stiff joints reminded her of just how hard she had been working. After closing her books and trying to clean up her mess, Yumiko walked out of her room.
After taking a light stroll along the corridors of Hinata Sou, Yumiko could feel the tension she had built up leaving her body. She stopped by the window to get some fresh air. A gentle spring breeze blew through the window carrying with it peals of laughter from the residents below. Yumiko leaned out to get a better view. Outside, Takeshi was dancing with Hiroko while Kasumi and Mizuki clapped the rhythm. `This must have been what it was like' thought Yumiko. Naru-san often told stories about how it was at Hinata Sou before Kasumi and Takeshi were born. There was Shinobu-san, who now owned a restaurant chain in Tokyo, and Kaolla-san, who was a princess of some tiny country. Motoko-san, the martial arts master, had long since moved back to Kyoto to run her dojo. Kasumi's mother, Mutsumi-san finished her science degree and went home to farm watermelons and raise hot spring turtles. Under Mutsumi-san's tutelage, Ema-san, the youngest of the group, had scored high enough to
enter Todai and on completion, had moved to America. Of course, Kitsune-san was still here. Naru-san told of all the crazy adventures they had, criss-crossing the country on a wild goose chase, discovering lost civilisations and generally causing mayhem. How Yumiko wished she could do that.
Yumiko looked out the window again to find Takeshi was now dancing with Kasumi, followed by Hiroko and her broom. Mizuki was keeping beat using her bucket as a drum. Yumiko allowed herself a small smile at the scene. Kasumi, who was having too much fun to pay attention, slipped and fell on top of Takeshi, who blushed so hard even Yumiko could see it from her viewpoint. `If he tries anything, I'm going to make him regret it'. A small part of her briefly wondered where that came from, but she ignored it for the moment. The others were now laughing about it.
`They seem to be having a lot of fun'. Yumiko tried to remember the last time that she had laughed like they did but realised that she couldn't recall it. Her parents were very well off, and she spent most of her childhood attending various social functions. There was never an opportunity to have fun. Even now, she didn't spend much time with her so-called `friends' and avoided socialising with them. Yumiko knew they only liked her because she was popular with the boys and that sometimes they said mean things behind her back. Most other girls seemed to be intimidated by her beauty. That made being friends with them difficult. Yumiko could hear the others mopping and scrubbing outside.
Yumiko returned to her room and looked inside. She had made quite a mess while studying in there. Yumiko sighed. She left her room, hoping to find something to occupy her for a while.
***************************************
Yumiko walked around the corridors rather randomly, not really caring where she ended up. Takeshi was hard at work mopping the corridor. Realising that she had nothing better to do, Yumiko decided to lend a hand.
"Um, Takeshi, would you like some help?"
"Oh, sure," he answered. "Er.... I think we got this level covered. You wouldn't mind doing the bedrooms downstairs, would you?"
"No. That's fine."
Takeshi looked more closely at her face.
"Are you...I mean...is everything okay?"
"Yes," she lied quickly. "The downstairs bedrooms, right?"
Takeshi nodded, and Yumiko moved off towards the staircase.
After passing by the kitchen to visit Kasumi who was also cleaning, Yumiko grabbed a mop and a bucket and proceeded to clean the floors of the rooms. Mizuki was already cleaning the hall at a breakneck pace, and Yumiko could hear her sliding and her random collisions with objects as she mopped. Yumiko decided to start on the room closest to her, which happened to be the Kanrinin's room. She went in and proceeded to mop the floor. The room was very sparsely furnished, and it wasn't long before she finished mopping. Yumiko was about to leave when a book fell from the shelf. Putting down the mop and bucket, she bent over to examine it. It was a sketchbook, and inside it were several illustrations of different places as well as pages of what appeared to be manga. She continued to look through it. After a couple more pages, Yumiko saw something that made her blood boil. Several pictures of a girl, all extremely well drawn and a few that were scantily clad, had been put into the
sketchbook. This immediately reinforced Yumiko's opinion of Takeshi. `He is a pervert,' she declared to herself. `Just like all the other boys.' Yumiko was torn between alerting the others to his perversion and admitting that she looked through his belongings, and letting the matter go. She decided to wait until she thought of a better plan. Replacing the sketchbook before retrieving the bucket and the mop, she left the room to continue cleaning.
****************************************
There was a collective sigh of relief as the girls entered the newly cleaned hot spring. It had been a while since it was actually usable, and they had all missed their daily baths. The hot water was even more relaxing than usual. The heat worked away at their bodies, washing away the tension as well as the sweat. The setting sun made a beautiful backdrop against the sparkling water.
"I'm so tired."
"I have to agree," commented Yumiko to Hiroko. "At least the dorm is back in a liveable condition now."
"Mizuki's not tired!"
"That's because you're never tired, Mizuki." Kasumi sighed and sank into the bath up to her chin. Mizuki just smiled. "Just like old times."
"What's like old times?" asked Yumiko.
"All this cleaning. When I was little I used to help Uncle Keitaro do the cleaning all the time. Takeshi helped out too. Afterwards Takeshi and I would take a bath together."
"So you too have known each other that long, huh? Wait a sec... YOU AND TAKESHI BATHED TOGETHER?!?!"
The door slid open and Takeshi's head poked through.
"Did someone call me? AH!!! I didn't realise! So sorry!"
"You pervert! Taking baths with girls, and peeking on them too! I bet that you're going to draw all of this in your sketchbook now, along with all your other hentai drawings!"
"It was an accident! Wait, you looked through my sketchbook?"
"...Maybe I did. But you're still a no-good pervert!"
"Hehehe. Takeshi's a BIG pervert," responded Mizuki.
"Brother, you know how much that kind of thing annoys me."
"Ara, it's been a long time since we've taken a bath together but aren't we a bit too old for this now?"
"OUT! NOW!" shouted the girls in unison.
Takeshi was forced out by various flying bath utensils, most of them launched by Yumiko. Several connected and hit him through the door and out into the corridor.
"Yumiko-sempai, what were you saying about my brother's sketchbook before?"
"He's got this sketchbook in his room, and it's filled up with all these perverted pictures."
"My brother really isn't that kind of guy."
"That's what you think."
"Hiroko-chan is right. Takeshi isn't like that. You've seen those pictures in my room, haven't you?"
Yumiko nodded.
"Takeshi gave them to me before he left. He draws really well."
" I guess he does," replied Yumiko, tightening her towel before leaving the bath. "But I still think he's a nerdy letch."
*************************************
"I'm home."
"Hi, mum. Dinner's all done. Just waiting for dad to come home" said Takeshi from the couch. Everybody else was watching the news on TV.
"Oh, ok." Naru looked around her home to see everything sparkling and clean. "Wow! This place looks great. Good job, Takeshi."
"It wasn't all me, mum. The girls did a lot of the work."
"Then, thank you everyone."
"You're welcome."
Naru looked at the clock and frowned. "What's taking Keitaro so long? He should be back by now."
Keitaro came bursting in the door, running with his briefcase in tow.
"Sorry I'm late everybody."
In his haste, he didn't notice the sparkling-clean floorboards. He tried to stop, but his forward momentum kept him moving. As a last ditch effort, he placed his hands in front of him to avoid a bone crunching collision. In theory it was a good plan. Unfortunately, his hands landed directly his wife's chest. She began to glow an angry red.
"KEITARO!!"
"EEEEKK! SORRY!"
"How many times do I have to tell you? NOT! IN! PUBLIC!!!"
Naru's wind-up punch sent Keitaro out the way he came in. He could be heard bouncing down the stairs. Naru calmed down after her anger had been released.
"Let's have dinner now. I'm starving."
Kitsune walked through the door, with a bottle of sake in her hand and grinning at the sight she just saw.
"Hey, I just saw Keitaro flying out the door. Guess it's time for dinner, then."
"Are you leeching off us again, Kitsune?"
"You wouldn't want your best friend to go hungry now, would you Naru?"
Naru let out an exasperated sigh.
***************************************
Yumiko was studying a history text when there was a knock on the door. Throwing her book onto the mess that was her table, she stood up to answer it. It was Kasumi, and she appeared to be holding a large pile of math textbooks.
"Yumiko, you're not busy now, are you?"
"Not really. Stuck on some math problems?"
"Quite a few, actually."
"Well come in before you drop everything."
Yumiko moved out of the way to allow Kasumi through the door. Unable to find any table space, Kasumi dropped her books on the floor and began flipping through their pages to find the questions she was stuck on.
"I'm not sure how to do these kind of problems."
Yumiko nodded as she read through them, then looked up at Kasumi and gave her a small smile.
"To be honest with you, I have no idea how to do them either. I was going to ask you tomorrow."
Kasumi thought for a moment, then jumped up and walked towards the back of the room.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm getting us some help." Kasumi kneeled next to the trapdoor and knocked on it three times. "Ta-kun, are you there?"
"Yeah."
Kasumi opened the trapdoor. "Can you come up here for a moment? Yumiko and I need some help on a math problem."
Yumiko looked away and held her chin up high. "I don't want help from that pervert." Takeshi, however, didn't hear her.
"Okay. What's the problem on?"
"Advanced anti-differentiation."
Takeshi grabbed a book from his shelf and climbed through the trapdoor. Kasumi helps him.
"Let's see the problem. Oh, I want to see all your workings too,"
Kasumi hands the textbook and her exercise book to Takeshi. Yumiko reluctantly follows suite.
"I really hate these problems. Why would I want to know the gradient of an anthill to two decimal places anyway?" Takeshi opened up his own textbook. "This example makes much more sense. You solve it the same way." He worked it out and then underlined the errors the other two had made. "You need to insert the values after the anti-differentiation, or otherwise your answer is totally screwed up."
"Ara, is that it?"
Yumiko wasn't exactly paying attention. Instead she was looking at a beautiful sketch of a sparrow on a blank area of Takeshi's textbook. Takeshi noticed where she was staring.
"Oh. That. I got bored during class." Yumiko looked at him with understanding.
Someone else was knocking on the door again. Yumiko went over to answer it.
"Oh Hiroko-chan, what's the matter?"
"Is my brother here?"
"What's the matter?" asked Takeshi from where he was sitting.
"I think there's someone sneaking around downstairs."
"It might be Tama-chan back from vacation. You girls don't need my help anymore, do you?" The girls shook their heads. Takeshi stood up and dropped his book back into his room. "I'll go take a look then."
Hiroko led him out of the room and down the corridor, towards the stairs.
***************************************
The siblings were walking slowly down the corridor when they heard someone else's footsteps. Takeshi signalled for Hiroko to stop walking, and to keep quiet. They heard someone talking.
"I'm sorry for hitting you so hard before, honey. Is it still sore?"
"A little bit."
"Let me make it better, then."
The sound of kissing could be heard. Takeshi and Hiroko let out sighs of relief. It was just their parents.
"You know Kei, the kids did a lot of cleaning today."
"I know, Naru. I did slip on the floor."
"They got the bath working too."
"Did they?"
"Uh-huh." More kissing sounds could be heard. "How about you and I go and test it together? Think of it as my way of apologising for hitting you."
"Mmmmm. I like the way you think." Keitaro carried Naru off towards the hot springs.
Their two children had fallen on the floor, looking extremely pale and trying to hold down their dinner. Takeshi was first to regain his speech.
"Mum and dad..."
"...Are taking a bath together."
"Ewww, that's so gross!" they said simultaneously.
"I'm going to be mentally scarred for the rest of my life." Takeshi winced as disgusting mental images popped up. "To think I have to clean that bath."
"Ha! What about me? I have to use it!"
"I feel so sorry for you, little sis."
"Let's get out of here. I don't want to hear anything else."
The two ran straight for their rooms, trying to fall asleep as quick as they could to avoid dwelling on the incident for too long.
************************************
Takeshi walked into the kitchen for breakfast, after taking a quick shower. As usual, he had woken up early for training. All the girls were sitting at the table, with the exception of Hiroko since it was her turn to cook.
"Where's mum and dad?" he asked his sister, who was cooking some eggs.
"I don't know, they haven't come out yet."
"That's strange. If they don't leave in two minutes they'll be late."
The door opened and two human-shaped blurs rushed through.
"It's all your fault we're late, Keitaro!"
"My fault?! You weren't complaining last night!"
"Don't be a letch. Just grab some toast and go, Keitaro, or we'll get stuck in the traffic."
"Alright, Naru, alright! I'm coming. Bye kids!"
"Bye!"
A few moments passed before Takeshi turned to speak with his sister.
"That was a bit too much information."
"I don't feel like eating breakfast anymore."
"Ara. Seems like auntie Naru and uncle Keitaro were in a love-love mood last night."
Yumiko shrugged.
"Hehe. Love-love. What a funny word. Love-love. Love-love!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
