Magician's Note and Disclaimer: Wow. Only eight hours later and I'm sitting down, fully determined to write a second chapter. That's gotta be a record, considering my recent number of writing sprees. (Numbering a grand total of zero.) Anyhow, when we left off this afternoon, Keitaro had awoken from a sound sleep to find Hinata House deserted save for Shinobu, who had mysteriously transformed into a kitten. Where have the girls gone? Why has little Shinobu become a kitten? Hehe. I'll tell you later.
Two Down and Three to the Left, Part II
A Love Hina Story by MagicianXV
After the initial and very unpleasant shock of losing her human body had begun to pass, Shinobu Maehara was discovering some decided benefits of being a kitten. For one thing, she hadn't had to lift a frying pan or don an apron all morning, nor had she picked up a single piece of laundry. Her breakfast had comprised of a saucer of cream, which for some unexplained reason sounded more appetizing than anything else in the kitchen, and she had enjoyed it thoroughly. Reflecting on these items, however, made her realize that the feline lifestyle had yielded one single pro that rose far above the others.
"I'm still pretty confused," Keitaro was saying. Shinobu didn't twitch, as she was presently curled against his stomach and was far more comfortable than she could ever remember being. Being a cat was far from all bad. "Nobody else is here, so they couldn't have done this to you...unless they did it and then left? But that doesn't add up either, since I'm pretty sure none of them are witches. Except maybe Sara..."
"She left on Wednesday though, remember?" Shinobu pointed out, opening her eyes. She looked up and, had she still been able, would have grinned. Keitaro was quite huge now, but she was closer to him than she'd ever expected to get. "She and Seta went on another dig."
"Right, that Chinese tomb, or whatever it was. Huh...I haven't got a clue where to turn, Shinobu. We walked all around the house and the springs, and nobody's here. I really expected to find something when we went in Naru's room, though."
"You did? What?"
"Well...Naru, actually. I figured if I opened her door she'd be inside changing. She'd have knocked me through the wall, but at least we would have found her."
"Oh." Shinobu said nothing and wondered, with more than a little dismay, how many times Keitaro had walked in on Naru. "What do you think we should do, sempai?" Keitaro scratched his head and sighed.
"I don't know. We should be doing something, but the questions is what. I guess we could go see my aunt, she might have some advice." Shinobu almost objected, as the proposed course of action would require her to give up her seat, but she decided the other girls were more important.
"Okay," she agreed, getting slowly to her feet; it took time to adapt to having four of them. Keitaro waited until she had stepped off his lap, then scooped her gently up from the couch.
"Do you want to walk, or should I carry you?" he inquired, heading out the front door.
"Um...I don't know if I could keep up," Shinobu murmured. That was true, but she was very glad that he couldn't see the blush spreading under her fur as she added, "Maybe you should carry me."
"Okay. Tell me if I'm bouncing you around or anything, all right?"
"I will." Keitaro trotted down the steps and off toward his aunt's small shop. Shinobu looked around constantly as he walked; cats saw the world very differently than humans did, she realized. Her eyes were perfectly tuned for detecting every tiny movement; she could see each individual leaf on every tree they passed, and when she spotted a bird in the road, the urge to chase it was almost overpowering.
This went on for the whole of the short trip, and by the time Keitaro stepped into Haruka's restaurant, Shinobu fully appreciated why cats were so keen on playing with string. Thankfully, there was nothing moving in the room, and she let out a sigh of relief.
"Aunt Haruka?" Keitaro called. "Are you here?"
There was a muffled call of, "Just a minute," from someplace behind the counter. A few seconds later Haruka emerged, flicking at a lighter. "Good morning, Keitaro. New pet?" She touched the flame to her unlit cigarette, eyes slitting over Shinobu.
"Not exactly," Keitaro replied, dealing Shinobu a nervous glance. She swallowed, wondering how the news would be taken.
"What then? A stray you found?" Haruka put her lighter away and crossed the room, looking with interest at the kitten. "Cute little thing, isn't it? Looks like a runt, though. You might not want to get too attached; they don't live very long sometimes." Shinobu felt a pang at the word 'runt'. She wasn't that small...was she?
"It isn't a runt, Aunt Haruka, and it's not a stray either. I actually came to get your advice about it." Keitaro didn't think she was a runt? She couldn't help it—a soft, adoring vibration began to issue from somewhere in Shinobu's chest.
"Well, it seems to like you in any case, it's purring like crazy."
"She is?" Keitaro looked down in surprise, and then grinned. "Wonder what that's all about?" Shinobu was now doubly glad that he couldn't see her blush.
"What's the advice?"
"What? Oh, right. Um...okay, I'll just spit it out. But you have to promise you won't get weird, all right?" Haruka took a long, reflective drag on her cigarette.
"I'm not promising anything, but I'll do my best."
"Good enough. This isn't a kitten, it's Shinobu. I found her locked in her closet this morning, and all the other girls at the inn are missing."
There was a very, very long pause. Haruka's face remained completely expressionless, and she took the longest pull on her cigarette that Shinobu had ever seen anyone manage.
"Really."
"Really," Keitaro said earnestly. Haruka nodded slowly.
"Well then, it looks like you've got a day's work ahead of you, eh?"
"I...guess I do. You haven't seen any of the girls?"
"Not a one."
"They didn't say if they'd be going anywhere?"
"Nope."
"Can I borrow some money?"
"Not a chance."
"Okay. Thanks, Aunt Haruka."
"Not a problem. Good luck, Keitaro. You too, Shinobu."
"Thanks," Keitaro muttered, exiting the store. "I think we'll need it."
*****
"That didn't help much, did it?" Shinobu asked sadly. Keitaro carefully repositioned his arm so she wouldn't fall, and tried to ignore the surge of frustration that was welling up in his stomach.
"No, it didn't. I couldn't even tell if she believed me, could you?" The kitten shook its head.
"Not really. But she thought about it for a while before she said anything, so she must have believed you."
"Or she thinks I'm crackers," Keitaro added. "So now what do we do? There's no point in being the manager of a girls' dormitory if there are no girls in it. And I really doubt my aunt would keep paying me just to sit around and make sure the place doesn't fall down."
"We have to figure out where the others went," Shinobu said. "Maybe there are some clues we missed? Or...doesn't Seta have a cell phone? We could call him and see if he noticed anything strange when he dropped Kitsune off last night." Keitaro felt a surge of excitement overwhelm the frustration.
"Shinobu, you're a genius! That just might work! Come on, let's go see if we can find his number." Trying not to laugh as his passenger began purring again, Keitaro ran the rest of the way back to Hinata House and stopped in front of the telephone. "There's an address book here someplace, that should have Seta's number...here we go." Cradling the phone against his shoulder, Keitaro quickly punched a series of keys, then waited. Shinobu waited tensely on the table, sitting next to the address book.
"Hello?"
"Uh..." Keitaro stumbled; the voice on the phone was a female. "Mr. MacDougal? Seta?"
"No, this is Sara. Who's this?"
"Oh, Sara!" he exclaimed, not sure whether to feel relieved or worried. "This is Keitaro Urashima. Can I talk to your dad?"
"Get lost, you ronin bozo." The line went dead.
"She hung up on me!" Keitaro exclaimed furiously. "That rotten little brat!" He dialed the number a second time and waited as it rang.
"Hello?"
"Sara, let me talk to your dad! This is an emergency!"
"I told you, idiot, get lost! Go drown yourself in the hot spring or something, my dad is way too busy to talk to you!" Again, the line went dead. Keitaro forced himself to breathe deeply, counted to twenty in English, then dialed the number a third time. It rang...and rang...and rang. Finally, after nearly a full minute, Sara picked up again.
"How many times do I have to—"
"Put your dad on the phone or I'm going on the Internet and posting the following information on every message board I can find: your name, your telephone number, and exactly what is on your butt." There was a decided pause.
"You wouldn't dare."
"I'm in a lousy mood. Try me."
There was another pause.
"Hang on, I'll go get him." Keitaro smiled, then caught a distraught look from Shinobu.
"Don't worry," he said coolly. "I was just fooling. I'd never do anything like that."
"Um...that isn't it...not exactly, I mean. It's just that...sempai, when did you see Sara's...um..." Keitaro turned bright pink, and he was certain that his ears were going to catch fire.
"It isn't what it sounded like, Shinobu!" he said frantically, seeing the look in her brown eyes; the last thing he needed right now was an emotionally-unstable kitten. "It was just an accident. We were in the hot spring a while ago, and...uh...just ask Naru about it, she could tell you better than me. I promise, it was nothing I meant to do."
"Well...okay. If you say so."
"Cross my heart." He gave her what he hoped was a winning smile, then picked the phone up just as Seta's voice echoed over the line.
"Hello, Keitaro?"
"Seta! Boy, am I glad to hear your voice."
"Why, Keitaro, I didn't know you felt that way. It's almost enough to make me want to come home again."
"Er...that is..."
"Just kidding. What's the problem?"
"...Don't scare me like that. I was just wondering if you noticed anything strange when you dropped Kitsune off last night, Seta. There's been some strange stuff going on today, and Shinobu and I are trying to figure out what it is."
"Last night?" Seta's voice was surprised. "I was nowhere near Hinata House last night Keitaro, how could I be? Sara and I left for the dig we're on two days ago. Kitsune and I rescheduled our date." Keitaro felt like someone had just dumped ice water down his back. He lowered the phone from his ear, barely registering Seta's voice asking if he was still there. He set it on the table and looked down at Shinobu.
"You're sure Kitsune and Seta went out last night?'
"Yeah," Shinobu said, nodding with wide eyes. "Why? What did Seta—oh! Oh...but how—if he was already—"
"I have no idea," Keitaro said. He sank slowly down and leaned against the wall. "Just what the heck is going on around here? First you run into a cat, then everyone but us vanishes, and now there seems to be a faux-Seta running around, taking Kitsune on dates."
"Now that I think about it, she was surprised to see him," Shinobu said softly. "When he picked her up, I mean. And...there was one other thing..."
"What?" Keitaro urged, sitting up straighter. "What was it?"
"When Seta pulled up outside, he didn't crash into anything." Keitaro's face paled.
"Shinobu, I think this situation may be more serious than either of us realized."
Magician's Note: All right! I did it! Sorta...it's technically not today anymore, is it? Ah well, I'm still finished writing it. I'll post this in a little while, after I've gone and done something else and my mind is clear enough to proof read and polish. The plot is definitely thickening a little now though, eh? Who is this fake Seta? When did Keitaro get the balls to blackmail Sara? Will Shinobu ever become human? And has Haruka ever read the Surgeon General's Warning on a package of cigarettes? I doubt it, but everything will be answered before much longer!
...maybe. Mwahaha!