(Enter opening theme)
Yane no ue de sora o aogu, hizashi wa uraraka
miageru sora, karadajuu genki ga minagitteku
THAT'S SO WONDERFUL! ikiterunda!
yamerarenai, akirameru da nante
Tohou ni kureta kinou ni sayonara
futsufutsu to wakiagaru kono kimochi
nando demo yomigaeru, hana o sakaseyou
omoi dewa itsumo amai nige basho
dakedo tachi kire, asu o ikiru tame
shukufuku no toki wa kuru, te o nobashite
Uruwashi no yawaraka na hada, imada te wa todokazu
me o tojireba fukuramu IMEEJI, miwaku no kajitsu
THAT'S SO WONDERFUL! ikiterunda!
yamerarenai, sono saki o mitai
Dotou no hibi wa tsuzuku, doko made mo
tengoku to jigoku, yukitsumodoritsu
nando demo yomigaeru, hana o sakaseyou
hashire hashire, ai o te nisuru made
sore de kurushimunara nozomu tokoro
shukufuku no toki ga kuru, te o nobashite
Tohou ni kureta kinou ni sayonara
futsufutsu to wakiagaru kono kimochi
nando demo yomigaeru, hana o sakaseyou
omoi dewa itsumo amai nige basho
dakedo tachi kire, asu o ikiru tame
shukufuku no toki wa kuru, te o nobashite
Te o nobashite, ryoute agete
(End opening theme)
Episode 15: What a girl wants
Day 28
Three girls sat around a single table in the cafeteria of Hinata High. Three giggly chatting girls who were considered to be the snobbiest and of course, hottest girls in school. And it seemed that the center of attention was one beautiful brown-haired girl, and the picture that she had shown to her friends.
And a simple glance at it showed that it was a picture of her. More of a drawing actually. And each of the girls was oh so happy. The first of them, Fujiko Mine, handed the drawing back to Miko who accepted it graciously. "It's quite good, looks a lot like you. It's really sweet that he'd do that."
The second one, Mihoni Mayu, scoffed at that. "Knowing Miko you shouldn't believe everything at face value. You said something to interest him and get him to do it. Well, do tell?"
Miko smiled a sly smile that was fairly reminiscent of Hinatasou's resident drunkard and fox girl. "Maybe a little, it didn't take much, just a few smiles and a suggestion of using someone, or something, in the class as a portrait."
The three girls giggled again. Mine laid 500 yen on the table to catch everyone's attention. "I'm betting ten days."
Mayu considered this proposal and then set another 500 yen down. "I'll go with two weeks."
Miko brought her hands up to her chest and gasped in mock shock. "So little faith in me? You should know me better then that by now."
(Later)
"You climb, or you get a zero on today's grade." Taisuke rolled his eyes as the burly gym teacher paced back and forth looking over the guys in the gym like they were in boot camp. But Taisuke had done far worse then boot camp, and this was nothing.
"We'll be counting the speed of the climbs, and I'll put them up on The Board, so everyone knows just how well, or bad you did." There were grumbles and even some nervous jitters, but several of the students felt very confident about themselves. Taisuke waited, and waited, and waited, until at least it came to him. So far the fastest time was nine seconds and fifty-four milliseconds. A very impressive climb, but Taisuke wasn't even worried.
The coach eyed him up and down and scoffed. Taisuke knew that while his body was muscularly well-defined, he wasn't that large in general, so it wasn't obvious. The coach didn't think he could manage it, but he wasn't the first person the coach had looked down upon. "Go ahead and try Shutairo, but don't embarrass yourself. Go ahead and use your feet."
Taisuke eyed the rope up and down and then glanced at the coach. "Are you ready with that stop watch?"
"Of course."
"Then I won't even use my hands." With one leap Taisuke was at the top of the rope and ringing the bell. The coach had barely had time to click the button. His time came out as 49 milliseconds.
The rest of gym class went by without anything major happening, but when Taisuke was finished getting back into his school uniform and ready to be dismissed to his next class . . . the coach approached him. "Shutairo."
"Yes?"
"You into any sports?"
(Sixth Period)
"Today we will continue work on our individual projects, which of course will be due at the end of the period. Don't forget."
Taisuke had already finished his portrait so was left with the rest of the period to do whatever he wanted. But he really wasn't sure what to do. With boredom encroaching he glanced to his right to see what Miko was up to.
She wasn't working on her project either, and he could see a piece of paper with something on it in the upper corner of her desk. She was done, but she seemed to be working on something. And she seemed really annoyed by it. For a while he managed to resist the temptation, but finally he gave in and asked her. "What are you up to?"
Miko sighed and pushed the book and paper away and set her pencil down. She slumped back against her chair and brushed her hair away from her eyes. "I'm trying to figure this all out, but it's just so stupid. I can't do it."
"What are you trying to do?"
"Its trig, and I can't do it. I just don't understand how it works. The teacher makes it all sound so easy, but I've never been too good at math and Mr. Akumba doesn't help at all."
"What about getting a tutor?"
She sighed and he noticed a bit of red flash across her cheeks. She turned away a bit, obviously somewhat uncomfortable, and then mumbled something.
"What? I couldn't hear you."
She sighed again and then turned back to him, her knees touching his. "I'm embarrassed. I don't want people to know that I have to be tutored and though they say it's a private matter, everyone always finds out anyway. I just wish there was some way of having a tutor and not having anyone know about it."
He felt terrible seeing her feeling so bad, he had to say or do something to make it better. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
She shook her head and looked downcast at the ground.
He snapped his fingers as he had a sudden revelation. He had the perfect solution! "I can help you. I'm pretty good at math."
Suddenly she seemed really happy, she took hold of his hands and was all smiles again. "Would you really do that for me?"
He grinned, happy that she was happy. "Absolutely." Then it dawned on him.
"There might be a problem though. I do live at Hinatasou, and there's a bunch of other people there. So I'm not sure how I could tutor you and not have anyone find out."
She started to look downcast again, which made him feel horrible. He had to figure out a way to make it work. There had to be some way to tutor her at Hinatasou and not have anyone find out about it.
At last a possible solution came to him. "I have the perfect idea to make it work. Hinatasou has this annex that nobody uses, we could go there and study. But we'd have to sneak in there without anyone noticing us. Think you could manage that? I'd meet you there to study."
She nodded, her hair bobbing prettily, and he felt himself start to blush. She was certainly beautiful. "I can do that. When should I get there?"
"Eight is fine. Everyone should be done eating by then."
"Eight it is. But where exactly is the annex, I know how to get to Hinatasou, but I'm not sure where the annex is."
So Taisuke proceeded to tell her where the annex was and how to get there. At 7:50 he would grab his books and sneak out through the window, he would then make his way to the annex and await her arrival. They would have finished dinner by 7:00 at the most and then he would study with Shinobu and Kaolla for the next thirty minutes, and then say he had to get some rest and head to his room. The rest would go from there.
(After school)
"That's brilliant! You truly are the master." Miko smiled and bowed to her two friends, first to one, and then to the other. She certainly was good.
Mayu sighed and pouted like a little child. "It looks like we're gonna end up paying you again Miko. We never should have made any bet with you."
Miko got that sly look on her face again and placed one hand on her him and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Of course, no man can resist me."
Together the three friends laughed as they walked away from school, two of them glumly and the other with quite a bit of self-assurance.
(At Hinatasou)
"Sorry, I'm just feeling a little bit sleepy. We can study more tomorrow." Taisuke picked up his books and got to his feet. He made sure to yawn as he exited the room and headed toward his. He would deposit the books, grab some math stuff, and vault up onto the roof. From there he could sneak unnoticed to the annex.
Kaolla and Shinobu had very similar thoughts as he left. They both wondered why he was tired now, when he had been so awake thirty minutes before. Perhaps it was one of those sudden things that catch you off guard, or maybe something else. The two girls glanced at each other, shrugged once, and returned to their studying.
While the two girls were busy with the books, Taisuke was busy on the roof. He moved stealthily across the roof of Hinatasou, taking each step carefully, so as not to create any noises for those in the rooms below his feet to hear. He had about five minutes before he was supposed to be at the annex, at his best running speed it would take less than a minute, but going as he was it'd probably take the full five minutes.
And it turned out that his estimate was right. It had taken him nearly the full five minutes to get to the annex being so slow and sneaky. Perhaps he could get ninja training one day. Hell, all he had to do was ask Sesaru and he'd get a few lessons about how to be sneaky.
The older boy was quite skilled at getting around without being seen, mostly because the earliest work he had ever done was pickpocketing. Of course Taisuke was well aware that Sesaru now used those skills to get peaks of girls when they were in . . . compromising situations.
Chuckling about his friend's perversity Taisuke slipped into the annex and was shocked to see Miko already there. Or rather he was shocked at what she was wearing. A blue skirt that didn't even reach mid-thigh and a low-necked top. "Ready to get busy Taisuke?" He could only nod.
(Hinatasou)
Sesaru closed his eyes and breathed deeply of the night's air. It was so fresh, especially compared to the smells he was used too in the city. He knew that Tokyo was comparable in size to the American city of New York, but he also knew that it was far cleaner. Even so the city didn't have the pure feeling that could be found at Hinatasou.
In one swift motion he snapped his eyes open, spun around, and slid into a fighting position as he heard and felt someone behind him. "Not only are you on edge, but you aren't where you belong either."
He relaxed when he recognized the woman who had approached him so carefully, without letting him notice her presence until she was close enough to strike. She had deliberately wanted to scare him, and he had given her the reaction she desired. "Hello Motoko, how are you today?"
Motoko merely glared at him and pointedly settled her hand on the hilt of her sword. On a good day he could nearly match Motoko for a certain amount of time, but he still wasn't good enough to beat her. Worse yet, this wasn't exactly one of his good days, and should he do anything wrong or stupid he'd end up in orbit. "You want to know why I'm here? Well that's rather complicated. It would take a lot of time to explain so I don't think you want me to go into it. After all, it is getting late."
"Do not attempt to lie to me Sesaru. You have been coming here quite often, despite the fact that you are not a resident. This would not be too great an issue since your friend does live here. However you have been coming and trying to remain unnoticed. Explain yourself or suffer my wrath."
Sesaru smiled placatingly and slowly edged toward the nearest exit. If he could just get far enough away before she attacked then he'd have a good chance of escaping unharmed. "Well, you see . . . the fact is . . . I . . . uh . . . "
In an act of god, or because of sheer dumb luck, the one person who could answer that question without Sesaru bruising his own pride appeared. "Sesaru has nowhere else to go. He's a homeless bum, a worthless sac of flesh who can't even hold a job for more then a few hours. That is . . . if he can actually get a job."
Ah yes. He could always trust Kanako to bruise his pride for him. He loved that in a woman.
(Annex)
The night seemed to stretch on forever. Taisuke felt that he had helped Miko in her work, but it didn't seem like she actually had much trouble with the concepts, it seemed more like a mental block to him. Of course he had been hard pressed to focus on teaching her while she pressed against him, looking over his shoulder to watch how he solved the problems.
She was always very close to him, and whenever he looked at her she smiled at him. Over the course of the night he found himself becoming extremely uncomfortable, simply because he didn't know how to deal with her attention.
He had gotten used to Kaolla being close to him, but she was always so playful that it wasn't a big deal. This was different though, and he wasn't sure why it was. It just seemed that while she was being playful, it was a different sort of play then what Kaolla would do.
He couldn't pin his finger on exactly why it bothered him and every time he tried to put some thought into it, there she was. His other experiences with women in such close quarters were limited, and the only time he had felt even remotely this uncomfortable was back on the island when . . .
Taisuke shook his head, trying to rid himself of such thoughts. Whenever he thought about what happened on the island, he always got this odd feeling that he couldn't quite describe. Even worse was the dream that he sometimes had about the island and what might have happened had he not defeated Haka Akki.
Of course the dreams that he had about what might have happened had Haka Akki not arrived at that particular time also haunted him . . . in a good and bad way. Those dreams made him feel . . . well they made him feel almost like he had when on the island, and that was a feeling that had steadily been growing.
His idle thoughts were cut off in midstream when he noticed that he could now hear Miko breathing steadily over his shoulder. It was not the breathing pattern of someone who was awake, but of someone who had drifted off to sleep.
Turning his head a bit to the side he confirmed his thoughts, she was indeed asleep. She must have fallen asleep while he was busy thinking, first about the problem at hand, and then about all those other things.
It took him a moment to realize that it wasn't right to wake her from such a peaceful sleep and another moment after that to realize he now had a problem. If he didn't wake her then he had no way of knowing how to get her home. But he didn't want to wake her. So what to do?
A couple of minutes contemplation got him the answer that he needed. If he had to get advice on what to do in a situation such as this there were was one person he knew he could absolutely trust to be confidential and to give him advice on what to do. Urashima Keitaro.
It was on his way to the manager's room, carrying Miko in his arms, that he realized the flaw in his plan. He could trust Keitaro never to tell anyone that he was tutoring her and not to take his appearance with her out of context. But Keitaro wouldn't know what to do any more then he did. At least he didn't think so.
Now his dilemma had just increased. How to get her home without waking her, revealing to anyone that she was being tutored, and without the situation being taken out of context. Reluctantly he turned and headed toward a different room as he came to the conclusion that he would only get two out of the three.
The last choice was the one person who he was certain could tell him where just about everyone lived in this town. She did that much spying. Of course while she would take it out of context, it would probably be more to rattle him then anything else.
She was trustworthy if a little bit . . . well the only way to describe her was by the name everyone called her. She was, is, and always will be Kitsune. He wondered if anyone actually called her Konno Mitsune any more . . .
(Kitsune's Room)
Konno Mitsune, commonly known as Kitsune, was an odd creature. A species unto herself one might say. The normal human being has a fairly limited tolerance for the substance known as alcohol and once they have imbibed too greatly of it the become intoxicated.
However, Kitsune was capable of drinking what twenty others couldn't drink together without it having any sort of adverse effect. Whether this is because of a developed resistance or simply because she possesses the rare FX negative blood type is unknown.
In the United States you are considered legally drunk if your blood alcohol level is .08, the number is similar in Japan. Konno Mitsune is of average height and weighs roughly 120 pounds (though getting her too actual admit to any specific weight might be impossible.) For a female of this weight consuming 10 drinks in one hour (drinks being a general term) would give her a blood alcohol level of .42, 5.25 times higher then what is considered legally drunk.
However in the past hour Konno Mitsune has consumed 10 bottles of Sake, which would translate roughly into 200 drinks. The average human being would be passed out or dead after drinking that much alcohol in such a short amount of time. Konno Mitsune, as was previously stated, is a species unto her self, completely apart from Homo Sapiens . . . or the human race.
When Taisuke entered her room, Kitsune was still capable of walking in a straight line, however it must be noted that her vision was a bit fuzzy and her thinking slightly clouded. Only slightly though, not enough to truly hamper a person.
"Ahh, Taisuke. What do you have there? A pretty girl eh? Having some fun where we?" Taisuke rolled his eyes and entered. He had already accepted the fact that he would get a response like that one from the fox girl, but he wasn't expecting to see her standing with the number of empty sake bottles he saw around her.
"Kitsune . . . did you drink all of that yourself . . . tonight?"
She grinned and reached into her closet, pulling free another bottle. Casually she popped it open and gulped a little down and let out a sigh of satisfaction. "Not just tonight, it had to have been over the last hour."
Taisuke stared blankly at Kitsune for a moment, before shaking his head and moving on with his request. "I have a problem that I need some help with. You see, this girl here asked me to tutor her in Trigonometry but she didn't want anyone at school to know about it, so she and I snuck into the annex so I could tutor her secretly. But now she's asleep and I don't want to disturb her. So I was wondering if you could think of any way I could get her home without anybody finding out."
Kitsune rubbed her chin thoughtfully and inspected the girl closely. There was something familiar about her that she just couldn't place her finger on. Briefly she remembered talking to a girl who looked similar to this one, but less developed. Obviously she had been younger whenever Kitsune had met her. "She looks familiar, what's her name?"
"Her name is Torimoto Miko. She's in my Art class."
Kitsune nodded and made the connection. That was why the girl seemed too familiar. It was the girl she had tutored three years ago. At the time she had even been in Shinobu's class if she remembered correctly, the girl had mentioned something about being in the same room as Shinobu.
"It's easy. All you have to do is use the Student Directory you were given when you started classes. It'll have where she lives there, and all you have to do is take her to wherever the directory says."
Taisuke's eyes widened and he crushed the impulse to smack himself upside the head. It was so simple! How could have missed it when Kitsune was able to come up with it in five seconds after drinking ten bottles of sake? She truly was a different species.
"Thanks Kitsune. I'll go grab my directory and then deliver her. See you later." With that he slipped out the door, still carrying Miko and her books in his arms.
Kitsune watched him go and shook her head, taking another casual gulp out of the sake bottle. Taisuke had no idea what he was getting into. If her hunch was correct, and her hunches always were, then Miko was trying to get Taisuke into bed and then dump him right after. Even worse . . . she would seduce him using methods that Kitsune had kindly taught the girl for a hefty sum of money.
"Maybe I should tell him . . . Nah! That would ruin all the fun! Or at least it would ruin his fun, the guy has to get an education sometime, and it might as well be from someone who knows what she's doing."
Despite her words Kitsune felt somehow . . . guilty. Ignoring the feeling she began to down the bottle as fast as she could. It was times like these that she wished it were easier for her to get drunk.
(End theme two)
Atarashii asa da mata hajimaru Good Day
egao misete HAIHOO! aozora ni yoroshiku
ikirutte koto wa jikken to bouken
mada mada mada da yo hitahashiru mainichi
Amaku yasashiku tsuyoku hageshiku
saa motto suteki na asu o mezasou
Hontou no hajimari wa kore kara
waratte koronde Night & Day
Yonayona yume miru owari no nai Lovesick
atama no naka HAIHOO! eien no meiro da
Sagashite motomete kizutsuitemo saisei
kokoro wa habataku nando mo nando de mo
Nagashita namida muda dewanai sa
hora motto suteki na asu o egakou
Hontou no hajimari wa kore kara
waratte koronde Night & Day
Hontou no hajimari wa kore kara
waratte koronde Night & Day
ureshi tanoshi Everyday
waratte koronde I love you
_______________________________________________
Author's Notes: I return after the hugest bout of writers' block in my entire life! For some reason no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't do this chapter. However over this week I was able to get it done in pieces, it took me nearly the entire week to do it since I didn't sit down for more then an hour at a time. I hope my hard work payed off. Even more so I hope that I can continue to write more chapters and finish out this story. I hate leaving it hanging.
Also, I wanted to give a note about the three girls. I mentioned Miko having been in Shinobu's class three years previous because of the first appearance of Shinobu. In the anime (I'm not totally sure about the manga since I couldn't get a hold of it when I started this) there are three girls who are doing the Ikiko's make-up, the horrible make-up job.
Well those same girls later snub Shinobu's attempt at friendship, basically they appeared to be the snobby girls of the class. I took this into account and created the three most popular girls at the school, who were once those three. I leave it up to the reader to decide which one grows up to be Miko.
Review please!
Yane no ue de sora o aogu, hizashi wa uraraka
miageru sora, karadajuu genki ga minagitteku
THAT'S SO WONDERFUL! ikiterunda!
yamerarenai, akirameru da nante
Tohou ni kureta kinou ni sayonara
futsufutsu to wakiagaru kono kimochi
nando demo yomigaeru, hana o sakaseyou
omoi dewa itsumo amai nige basho
dakedo tachi kire, asu o ikiru tame
shukufuku no toki wa kuru, te o nobashite
Uruwashi no yawaraka na hada, imada te wa todokazu
me o tojireba fukuramu IMEEJI, miwaku no kajitsu
THAT'S SO WONDERFUL! ikiterunda!
yamerarenai, sono saki o mitai
Dotou no hibi wa tsuzuku, doko made mo
tengoku to jigoku, yukitsumodoritsu
nando demo yomigaeru, hana o sakaseyou
hashire hashire, ai o te nisuru made
sore de kurushimunara nozomu tokoro
shukufuku no toki ga kuru, te o nobashite
Tohou ni kureta kinou ni sayonara
futsufutsu to wakiagaru kono kimochi
nando demo yomigaeru, hana o sakaseyou
omoi dewa itsumo amai nige basho
dakedo tachi kire, asu o ikiru tame
shukufuku no toki wa kuru, te o nobashite
Te o nobashite, ryoute agete
(End opening theme)
Episode 15: What a girl wants
Day 28
Three girls sat around a single table in the cafeteria of Hinata High. Three giggly chatting girls who were considered to be the snobbiest and of course, hottest girls in school. And it seemed that the center of attention was one beautiful brown-haired girl, and the picture that she had shown to her friends.
And a simple glance at it showed that it was a picture of her. More of a drawing actually. And each of the girls was oh so happy. The first of them, Fujiko Mine, handed the drawing back to Miko who accepted it graciously. "It's quite good, looks a lot like you. It's really sweet that he'd do that."
The second one, Mihoni Mayu, scoffed at that. "Knowing Miko you shouldn't believe everything at face value. You said something to interest him and get him to do it. Well, do tell?"
Miko smiled a sly smile that was fairly reminiscent of Hinatasou's resident drunkard and fox girl. "Maybe a little, it didn't take much, just a few smiles and a suggestion of using someone, or something, in the class as a portrait."
The three girls giggled again. Mine laid 500 yen on the table to catch everyone's attention. "I'm betting ten days."
Mayu considered this proposal and then set another 500 yen down. "I'll go with two weeks."
Miko brought her hands up to her chest and gasped in mock shock. "So little faith in me? You should know me better then that by now."
(Later)
"You climb, or you get a zero on today's grade." Taisuke rolled his eyes as the burly gym teacher paced back and forth looking over the guys in the gym like they were in boot camp. But Taisuke had done far worse then boot camp, and this was nothing.
"We'll be counting the speed of the climbs, and I'll put them up on The Board, so everyone knows just how well, or bad you did." There were grumbles and even some nervous jitters, but several of the students felt very confident about themselves. Taisuke waited, and waited, and waited, until at least it came to him. So far the fastest time was nine seconds and fifty-four milliseconds. A very impressive climb, but Taisuke wasn't even worried.
The coach eyed him up and down and scoffed. Taisuke knew that while his body was muscularly well-defined, he wasn't that large in general, so it wasn't obvious. The coach didn't think he could manage it, but he wasn't the first person the coach had looked down upon. "Go ahead and try Shutairo, but don't embarrass yourself. Go ahead and use your feet."
Taisuke eyed the rope up and down and then glanced at the coach. "Are you ready with that stop watch?"
"Of course."
"Then I won't even use my hands." With one leap Taisuke was at the top of the rope and ringing the bell. The coach had barely had time to click the button. His time came out as 49 milliseconds.
The rest of gym class went by without anything major happening, but when Taisuke was finished getting back into his school uniform and ready to be dismissed to his next class . . . the coach approached him. "Shutairo."
"Yes?"
"You into any sports?"
(Sixth Period)
"Today we will continue work on our individual projects, which of course will be due at the end of the period. Don't forget."
Taisuke had already finished his portrait so was left with the rest of the period to do whatever he wanted. But he really wasn't sure what to do. With boredom encroaching he glanced to his right to see what Miko was up to.
She wasn't working on her project either, and he could see a piece of paper with something on it in the upper corner of her desk. She was done, but she seemed to be working on something. And she seemed really annoyed by it. For a while he managed to resist the temptation, but finally he gave in and asked her. "What are you up to?"
Miko sighed and pushed the book and paper away and set her pencil down. She slumped back against her chair and brushed her hair away from her eyes. "I'm trying to figure this all out, but it's just so stupid. I can't do it."
"What are you trying to do?"
"Its trig, and I can't do it. I just don't understand how it works. The teacher makes it all sound so easy, but I've never been too good at math and Mr. Akumba doesn't help at all."
"What about getting a tutor?"
She sighed and he noticed a bit of red flash across her cheeks. She turned away a bit, obviously somewhat uncomfortable, and then mumbled something.
"What? I couldn't hear you."
She sighed again and then turned back to him, her knees touching his. "I'm embarrassed. I don't want people to know that I have to be tutored and though they say it's a private matter, everyone always finds out anyway. I just wish there was some way of having a tutor and not having anyone know about it."
He felt terrible seeing her feeling so bad, he had to say or do something to make it better. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
She shook her head and looked downcast at the ground.
He snapped his fingers as he had a sudden revelation. He had the perfect solution! "I can help you. I'm pretty good at math."
Suddenly she seemed really happy, she took hold of his hands and was all smiles again. "Would you really do that for me?"
He grinned, happy that she was happy. "Absolutely." Then it dawned on him.
"There might be a problem though. I do live at Hinatasou, and there's a bunch of other people there. So I'm not sure how I could tutor you and not have anyone find out."
She started to look downcast again, which made him feel horrible. He had to figure out a way to make it work. There had to be some way to tutor her at Hinatasou and not have anyone find out about it.
At last a possible solution came to him. "I have the perfect idea to make it work. Hinatasou has this annex that nobody uses, we could go there and study. But we'd have to sneak in there without anyone noticing us. Think you could manage that? I'd meet you there to study."
She nodded, her hair bobbing prettily, and he felt himself start to blush. She was certainly beautiful. "I can do that. When should I get there?"
"Eight is fine. Everyone should be done eating by then."
"Eight it is. But where exactly is the annex, I know how to get to Hinatasou, but I'm not sure where the annex is."
So Taisuke proceeded to tell her where the annex was and how to get there. At 7:50 he would grab his books and sneak out through the window, he would then make his way to the annex and await her arrival. They would have finished dinner by 7:00 at the most and then he would study with Shinobu and Kaolla for the next thirty minutes, and then say he had to get some rest and head to his room. The rest would go from there.
(After school)
"That's brilliant! You truly are the master." Miko smiled and bowed to her two friends, first to one, and then to the other. She certainly was good.
Mayu sighed and pouted like a little child. "It looks like we're gonna end up paying you again Miko. We never should have made any bet with you."
Miko got that sly look on her face again and placed one hand on her him and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Of course, no man can resist me."
Together the three friends laughed as they walked away from school, two of them glumly and the other with quite a bit of self-assurance.
(At Hinatasou)
"Sorry, I'm just feeling a little bit sleepy. We can study more tomorrow." Taisuke picked up his books and got to his feet. He made sure to yawn as he exited the room and headed toward his. He would deposit the books, grab some math stuff, and vault up onto the roof. From there he could sneak unnoticed to the annex.
Kaolla and Shinobu had very similar thoughts as he left. They both wondered why he was tired now, when he had been so awake thirty minutes before. Perhaps it was one of those sudden things that catch you off guard, or maybe something else. The two girls glanced at each other, shrugged once, and returned to their studying.
While the two girls were busy with the books, Taisuke was busy on the roof. He moved stealthily across the roof of Hinatasou, taking each step carefully, so as not to create any noises for those in the rooms below his feet to hear. He had about five minutes before he was supposed to be at the annex, at his best running speed it would take less than a minute, but going as he was it'd probably take the full five minutes.
And it turned out that his estimate was right. It had taken him nearly the full five minutes to get to the annex being so slow and sneaky. Perhaps he could get ninja training one day. Hell, all he had to do was ask Sesaru and he'd get a few lessons about how to be sneaky.
The older boy was quite skilled at getting around without being seen, mostly because the earliest work he had ever done was pickpocketing. Of course Taisuke was well aware that Sesaru now used those skills to get peaks of girls when they were in . . . compromising situations.
Chuckling about his friend's perversity Taisuke slipped into the annex and was shocked to see Miko already there. Or rather he was shocked at what she was wearing. A blue skirt that didn't even reach mid-thigh and a low-necked top. "Ready to get busy Taisuke?" He could only nod.
(Hinatasou)
Sesaru closed his eyes and breathed deeply of the night's air. It was so fresh, especially compared to the smells he was used too in the city. He knew that Tokyo was comparable in size to the American city of New York, but he also knew that it was far cleaner. Even so the city didn't have the pure feeling that could be found at Hinatasou.
In one swift motion he snapped his eyes open, spun around, and slid into a fighting position as he heard and felt someone behind him. "Not only are you on edge, but you aren't where you belong either."
He relaxed when he recognized the woman who had approached him so carefully, without letting him notice her presence until she was close enough to strike. She had deliberately wanted to scare him, and he had given her the reaction she desired. "Hello Motoko, how are you today?"
Motoko merely glared at him and pointedly settled her hand on the hilt of her sword. On a good day he could nearly match Motoko for a certain amount of time, but he still wasn't good enough to beat her. Worse yet, this wasn't exactly one of his good days, and should he do anything wrong or stupid he'd end up in orbit. "You want to know why I'm here? Well that's rather complicated. It would take a lot of time to explain so I don't think you want me to go into it. After all, it is getting late."
"Do not attempt to lie to me Sesaru. You have been coming here quite often, despite the fact that you are not a resident. This would not be too great an issue since your friend does live here. However you have been coming and trying to remain unnoticed. Explain yourself or suffer my wrath."
Sesaru smiled placatingly and slowly edged toward the nearest exit. If he could just get far enough away before she attacked then he'd have a good chance of escaping unharmed. "Well, you see . . . the fact is . . . I . . . uh . . . "
In an act of god, or because of sheer dumb luck, the one person who could answer that question without Sesaru bruising his own pride appeared. "Sesaru has nowhere else to go. He's a homeless bum, a worthless sac of flesh who can't even hold a job for more then a few hours. That is . . . if he can actually get a job."
Ah yes. He could always trust Kanako to bruise his pride for him. He loved that in a woman.
(Annex)
The night seemed to stretch on forever. Taisuke felt that he had helped Miko in her work, but it didn't seem like she actually had much trouble with the concepts, it seemed more like a mental block to him. Of course he had been hard pressed to focus on teaching her while she pressed against him, looking over his shoulder to watch how he solved the problems.
She was always very close to him, and whenever he looked at her she smiled at him. Over the course of the night he found himself becoming extremely uncomfortable, simply because he didn't know how to deal with her attention.
He had gotten used to Kaolla being close to him, but she was always so playful that it wasn't a big deal. This was different though, and he wasn't sure why it was. It just seemed that while she was being playful, it was a different sort of play then what Kaolla would do.
He couldn't pin his finger on exactly why it bothered him and every time he tried to put some thought into it, there she was. His other experiences with women in such close quarters were limited, and the only time he had felt even remotely this uncomfortable was back on the island when . . .
Taisuke shook his head, trying to rid himself of such thoughts. Whenever he thought about what happened on the island, he always got this odd feeling that he couldn't quite describe. Even worse was the dream that he sometimes had about the island and what might have happened had he not defeated Haka Akki.
Of course the dreams that he had about what might have happened had Haka Akki not arrived at that particular time also haunted him . . . in a good and bad way. Those dreams made him feel . . . well they made him feel almost like he had when on the island, and that was a feeling that had steadily been growing.
His idle thoughts were cut off in midstream when he noticed that he could now hear Miko breathing steadily over his shoulder. It was not the breathing pattern of someone who was awake, but of someone who had drifted off to sleep.
Turning his head a bit to the side he confirmed his thoughts, she was indeed asleep. She must have fallen asleep while he was busy thinking, first about the problem at hand, and then about all those other things.
It took him a moment to realize that it wasn't right to wake her from such a peaceful sleep and another moment after that to realize he now had a problem. If he didn't wake her then he had no way of knowing how to get her home. But he didn't want to wake her. So what to do?
A couple of minutes contemplation got him the answer that he needed. If he had to get advice on what to do in a situation such as this there were was one person he knew he could absolutely trust to be confidential and to give him advice on what to do. Urashima Keitaro.
It was on his way to the manager's room, carrying Miko in his arms, that he realized the flaw in his plan. He could trust Keitaro never to tell anyone that he was tutoring her and not to take his appearance with her out of context. But Keitaro wouldn't know what to do any more then he did. At least he didn't think so.
Now his dilemma had just increased. How to get her home without waking her, revealing to anyone that she was being tutored, and without the situation being taken out of context. Reluctantly he turned and headed toward a different room as he came to the conclusion that he would only get two out of the three.
The last choice was the one person who he was certain could tell him where just about everyone lived in this town. She did that much spying. Of course while she would take it out of context, it would probably be more to rattle him then anything else.
She was trustworthy if a little bit . . . well the only way to describe her was by the name everyone called her. She was, is, and always will be Kitsune. He wondered if anyone actually called her Konno Mitsune any more . . .
(Kitsune's Room)
Konno Mitsune, commonly known as Kitsune, was an odd creature. A species unto herself one might say. The normal human being has a fairly limited tolerance for the substance known as alcohol and once they have imbibed too greatly of it the become intoxicated.
However, Kitsune was capable of drinking what twenty others couldn't drink together without it having any sort of adverse effect. Whether this is because of a developed resistance or simply because she possesses the rare FX negative blood type is unknown.
In the United States you are considered legally drunk if your blood alcohol level is .08, the number is similar in Japan. Konno Mitsune is of average height and weighs roughly 120 pounds (though getting her too actual admit to any specific weight might be impossible.) For a female of this weight consuming 10 drinks in one hour (drinks being a general term) would give her a blood alcohol level of .42, 5.25 times higher then what is considered legally drunk.
However in the past hour Konno Mitsune has consumed 10 bottles of Sake, which would translate roughly into 200 drinks. The average human being would be passed out or dead after drinking that much alcohol in such a short amount of time. Konno Mitsune, as was previously stated, is a species unto her self, completely apart from Homo Sapiens . . . or the human race.
When Taisuke entered her room, Kitsune was still capable of walking in a straight line, however it must be noted that her vision was a bit fuzzy and her thinking slightly clouded. Only slightly though, not enough to truly hamper a person.
"Ahh, Taisuke. What do you have there? A pretty girl eh? Having some fun where we?" Taisuke rolled his eyes and entered. He had already accepted the fact that he would get a response like that one from the fox girl, but he wasn't expecting to see her standing with the number of empty sake bottles he saw around her.
"Kitsune . . . did you drink all of that yourself . . . tonight?"
She grinned and reached into her closet, pulling free another bottle. Casually she popped it open and gulped a little down and let out a sigh of satisfaction. "Not just tonight, it had to have been over the last hour."
Taisuke stared blankly at Kitsune for a moment, before shaking his head and moving on with his request. "I have a problem that I need some help with. You see, this girl here asked me to tutor her in Trigonometry but she didn't want anyone at school to know about it, so she and I snuck into the annex so I could tutor her secretly. But now she's asleep and I don't want to disturb her. So I was wondering if you could think of any way I could get her home without anybody finding out."
Kitsune rubbed her chin thoughtfully and inspected the girl closely. There was something familiar about her that she just couldn't place her finger on. Briefly she remembered talking to a girl who looked similar to this one, but less developed. Obviously she had been younger whenever Kitsune had met her. "She looks familiar, what's her name?"
"Her name is Torimoto Miko. She's in my Art class."
Kitsune nodded and made the connection. That was why the girl seemed too familiar. It was the girl she had tutored three years ago. At the time she had even been in Shinobu's class if she remembered correctly, the girl had mentioned something about being in the same room as Shinobu.
"It's easy. All you have to do is use the Student Directory you were given when you started classes. It'll have where she lives there, and all you have to do is take her to wherever the directory says."
Taisuke's eyes widened and he crushed the impulse to smack himself upside the head. It was so simple! How could have missed it when Kitsune was able to come up with it in five seconds after drinking ten bottles of sake? She truly was a different species.
"Thanks Kitsune. I'll go grab my directory and then deliver her. See you later." With that he slipped out the door, still carrying Miko and her books in his arms.
Kitsune watched him go and shook her head, taking another casual gulp out of the sake bottle. Taisuke had no idea what he was getting into. If her hunch was correct, and her hunches always were, then Miko was trying to get Taisuke into bed and then dump him right after. Even worse . . . she would seduce him using methods that Kitsune had kindly taught the girl for a hefty sum of money.
"Maybe I should tell him . . . Nah! That would ruin all the fun! Or at least it would ruin his fun, the guy has to get an education sometime, and it might as well be from someone who knows what she's doing."
Despite her words Kitsune felt somehow . . . guilty. Ignoring the feeling she began to down the bottle as fast as she could. It was times like these that she wished it were easier for her to get drunk.
(End theme two)
Atarashii asa da mata hajimaru Good Day
egao misete HAIHOO! aozora ni yoroshiku
ikirutte koto wa jikken to bouken
mada mada mada da yo hitahashiru mainichi
Amaku yasashiku tsuyoku hageshiku
saa motto suteki na asu o mezasou
Hontou no hajimari wa kore kara
waratte koronde Night & Day
Yonayona yume miru owari no nai Lovesick
atama no naka HAIHOO! eien no meiro da
Sagashite motomete kizutsuitemo saisei
kokoro wa habataku nando mo nando de mo
Nagashita namida muda dewanai sa
hora motto suteki na asu o egakou
Hontou no hajimari wa kore kara
waratte koronde Night & Day
Hontou no hajimari wa kore kara
waratte koronde Night & Day
ureshi tanoshi Everyday
waratte koronde I love you
_______________________________________________
Author's Notes: I return after the hugest bout of writers' block in my entire life! For some reason no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't do this chapter. However over this week I was able to get it done in pieces, it took me nearly the entire week to do it since I didn't sit down for more then an hour at a time. I hope my hard work payed off. Even more so I hope that I can continue to write more chapters and finish out this story. I hate leaving it hanging.
Also, I wanted to give a note about the three girls. I mentioned Miko having been in Shinobu's class three years previous because of the first appearance of Shinobu. In the anime (I'm not totally sure about the manga since I couldn't get a hold of it when I started this) there are three girls who are doing the Ikiko's make-up, the horrible make-up job.
Well those same girls later snub Shinobu's attempt at friendship, basically they appeared to be the snobby girls of the class. I took this into account and created the three most popular girls at the school, who were once those three. I leave it up to the reader to decide which one grows up to be Miko.
Review please!