Once In A Blue Moon
Chapter 2 - Reactions
Keitaro stared down at Su's sleeping form and shook his head in disbelief. The foreign girl, no, woman, Keitaro corrected himself, was curled up on the couch in the Hinata's living room, sleeping the sleep of the utterly exhausted. She was too heavy now to be easily carried up the stairs and no-one wanted to wake her. Keitaro had no idea how he'd managed to carry her all the way back to the Inn in her adult form, especially with his leg so recently healed. Su's expression was tranquil, her elegant, exotic features calm and her pale blonde hair fanned out over the blanket covering her. For a moment he simply stood there watching her, struck once again by the beauty Su showed in her older form. The back of Naru's hand broke him out of his reverie.
"Stop staring you pervert!" Naru exclaimed, but her admonishment had no energy in it. It seemed that not even Naru's paranoia was strong enough to survive the draining effects of the day they'd all had, Keitaro noticed absently.
"What the hell do we do now?" Kitsune wondered, asking the question that was on all their minds.
She got no answer.
"Let's all just go to bed," Keitaro suggested at last. "It'll be easier to think about this after we've had some sleep."
"It has been an extremely long day," Motoko agreed. With one last look at Su she turned and walked out of the room.
One by one the other followed her, each of them letting their gaze linger on the young woman asleep on the couch. Shinobu adjusted the blanket covering Su before she left and Kitsune's expression was thoughtful as she left the room. Keitaro and Naru left together and parted when they reached the top of the stairs.
"What do you think is going to happen?" she asked him, just before they parted. Keitaro shrugged.
"I don't know," he answered simply and turned away, walking down the hall to his room.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhh . . ." Su moaned, shifting uneasily on the couch as consciousness slowly returned to her. She sat up slowly, rubbing at her eyes as she pulled herself into a sitting position.
"So tired . . ." she murmured to herself, trying to remember what she might have been doing that had tired her so thoroughly. For a moment recollection eluded her, memories dancing just beyond her reach - before coming back in rush of information.
"Oh!" Su exclaimed softly, stiffening as she recalled exactly what her situation was. She glanced down at herself reflexively - and saw that her memories were accurate.
"I guess I'm all grown up," Su said softly, thinking out loud. "I suppose I'd better . . ." Su trailed off as she recalled - wincing mentally as she did - exactly how she'd behaved over the past week.
Well, you knew it wouldn't be easy, she told herself.
Sounds of conversation and food being served reached her through the doorway and she decided there was no point in putting off the inevitable confrontation. Su stood up and walked over the doorway that connected the living room to the dining room. Moving hesitantly, she pushed the door open and peered into the room.
All movement stopped as the others noticed her presence. Motoko was the first to recover.
"Hello Su-chan," she greeted Su with an impressive degree of calm, "would you like some lunch?"
"It's lunchtime?" Su blinked in surprise.
"Uh-huh," said Keitaro, "you-slept-right-through-the-morning-and-we-didn't-want-to-wake-you-so-we-just-let-you-sleep." His words ran together in a burst of nervous energy as he tried to fill the awkward silence that had overtaken the room, but the attempt fell flat. It had been an extremely stressful morning, punctuated by uneasy silences and stilted conversation. Naru shot him a glare as the continuing silence after his brief verbal excess only emphasised the tension of the moment.
"I suppose I should explain what's going on," Su said quietly, wondering as she did exactly how much she could tell them. Amara would know, but she wasn't here. Apart from their probable reactions to some of the reasons for what had happened to her it was an intensely private thing. Not all the people of Molmol matured in the usual way, especially among the royal family, but Su had no desire to share the details of this with the others. Well . . . except for Keitaro, maybe, but certainly not now. She sat down at the end of the low table, paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. Better to just get it out of the way, Su decided.
"In Molmol, sometimes, this is how we grow up. When we're old enough we just . . . grow."
"Do you mean to say that this is a permanent change?" asked Motoko, her calm fraying audibly at the edges. Su swallowed nervously before replying.
"Yes." Her simple statement was greeted with absolute silence as the others processed the revelation.
"Isn't puberty meant to last, oh, five or six years," Kitsune asked in a tone of wry disbelief, breaking the hush that had overtaken the room.
"Normally," Su replied, smiling faintly. "But sometimes we just . . . skip it. I read something once about our distant ancestors having to reproduce quickly after natural disasters, but I don't really know about that."
"Why?" Naru asked. "I mean, why now?"
Su shrugged, and told her first lie as a woman.
"I don't know. It just . . . happens."
Naru looked at Su sceptically, but decided not to press the issue.
I have no idea about this, Naru reflected. None of us do, really. Who knows how it happens. She opened her mouth to ask Su another question, only to be interrupted by the sound of someone knocking loudly on the front door.
"I'll get that!" Keitaro exclaimed, jumping up and rushing out of the room in an unsubtle attempt to escape the tense situation.
"We should probably go see who it is," Kitsune commented a moment after Keitaro had left the room.
"That's a good idea," Naru agreed as she stood up, relieved at any distraction from their current circumstances. Judging by the speed with which the others joined her they felt the same way. They filed out of the room, Su bringing up the rear.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," Keitaro called as he rushed down the hall towards the door. The knocking had resumed, even more loudly than before. Whoever was out there wasn't very patient, Keitaro thought.
"I'm here," he exclaimed as he opened the door, "what do you - Amara-san?"
"Hello Urashima-san," Su's older sister greeted him. Keitaro jerked slightly in surprise.
"Amara-san what are you - oh yeah, you said you were coming, didn't you? With everything that's been going on I completely forgot." Embarrassed, Keitaro avoided looking Amara in the eye and rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. Amara regarded him for a moment before speaking, her expression unreadable.
"I see . . ." she said slowly. "I take it Kaolla has already . . . changed." Keitaro gulped. Amara didn't sound angry exactly, but something about her tone suggested severe displeasure. Keitaro just wished he knew who the target of that displeasure was.
"Um . . . well . . . yeah." Keitaro paused for a moment, intensely uncomfortable, before blurting out the question he desperately wanted to ask.
"Amara-san, what's going on? None of this makes any sense! Why did Su grow up like this? Why now? How is it even possible?"
"You're not the only one who wants to know that," came Kitsune's voice from behind Keitaro. The former ronin spun around in shock.
"What are you doing . . ." Keitaro trailed off as he saw that all the girls of the Hinata Inn were gathered in the hallway behind him, including Su. Behind him, Amara sighed heavily.
"This is very complicated, but I suppose I, I mean we," she amended herself with a sharp look at Su, "owe you all an explanation. If I may come inside?" she asked Keitaro dryly.
Keitaro nearly tripped over himself standing aside to make room for her to come in. Amara slipped past him and made her way through the group filling the hallway, but stopped dead when she came face-to-face with Su. For a moment the two stood looking at each other and something seemed to pass between them that none of the others understood. Then Su spoke.
"Big sister I'm sor-"
CRACK!
The sound of Amara's palm against Su's cheek rang out like a gunshot. The others stared in disbelief, unmoving, not daring to interfere in something they didn't understand, as Su brought a hand up to her cheek.
"Perhaps we should talk privately first," Amara said carefully, her voice strained, after a few tension-laden seconds had passed.
Su just nodded.
"So," said Amara after she and Su had settled themselves in Su's room, following, though they did not know it, the same path that Keitaro and the other girls had taken the night before, "here we are. Kaolla Su, what on earth made you think this was a good idea?"
Su squirmed on the bench formed out of an overgrown tree root and gnawed on her lower lip as she tried to figure out how to explain herself to her older sister. Amara sat opposite Su on a low hanging branch, willing to wait while Su gathered her thoughts. As she did so Amara looked around herself with mild interest. Su had done a credible job of recreating the conditions of Molmol's more tropical areas, though a natural tropical rainforest didn't come with convenient seating and drink dispensers built into tree trunks. Amara preferred not to think about how Su had managed to fit such a large slice of home into a single room - it gave her a headache - but understood that it had something to do with matter compression.
But I shouldn't be distracting myself from the problem right in front of me, Amara admonished herself, focusing again on Su's downcast face, however much I might prefer to.
"Big sister, I'm sorry but-"
Amara gave her younger sister a look that conveyed deep frustration.
"You're sorry? Sorry!? The trouble with you, my sister, is that you never learned patience. If you'd just been willing to wait a couple of years-"
"It would have been too late!" was Su's impassioned response as she broke into Amara's escalating tirade. "If I'd waited she would have taken him! I couldn't risk it! Besides, once I realised how I felt I couldn't have stopped it if I'd wanted to, even if I decided I should! You know that. I can't help what I feel in my heart!"
With that Su slipped down to the mossy ground and wrapped her arms around herself like she child she had so recently been. With a sigh Amara got off her own perch and knelt down in front of her and leant forward to wrap her arms around her now sobbing sister.
"You love him that much," Amara said, her voice warmer than it had been. Her words were not a question.
Su didn't reply in words but Amara could feel Su's head moving up and down against her shoulder as she nodded. The two sisters simply sat there for several minutes in companionable silence before Su hesitantly began to speak, her voice shaky from crying.
"He's so special, big sister. He's kind and, and gentle and sweet and he never judges people. He just . . . accepts them. He likes me, too. Where else was I going to find someone like that? And she doesn't appreciate him! She doesn't! But I do! Even before, I, I thought he was really nice. And the first time I changed with the moon I understood . . . I understood what he meant to me, or at least what he could come to mean to me. I tried to give him hints because I knew I wouldn't remember afterwards. Wouldn't remember what it felt like. I mean, I like big brother and all, but not like that, and anyway all he's worried about really is the kingdom and . . ."
Su trailed off as she felt he sister stiffen and realisation kicked in.
"Oh sister, I didn't mean it like that. You know, he's just, well, a workaholic, I guess."
For a moment Amara said nothing and Su worried that she'd unintentionally wounded her sister before Amara looked at her with a wicked glint of humour in her eyes.
"Actually" Amara told her "I've been making some progress in that area."
"Sister?"
Amara snickered at Su's shocked look.
"Don't be so surprised. It took a while, but I got him to notice me eventually. You could say, little sister, that I know what you're going through. So if you want my advice you better not insult me!"
This last sentence was delivered in a voice that suggested considerable amusement on Amara's part.
"Sorry big sister. I really didn't-"
"I know you didn't" Amara replied, cutting off Su's embarrassed apology before she could finish "so don't worry about it. But that doesn't change the situation here," she continued with a sigh.
"I know," Su replied in a small voice. "But if you and big brother are-"
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Kaolla Su," Amara reprimanded her. "You still have responsibilities as a princess of Molmol."
"I know that," Su replied. "But it's not the same as when big brother wanted to marry me, is it?"
"I didn't say that," Amara replied. "But the situation is still complex. Are you even sure he has feelings for you, let alone whether or not he'd be willing to live in Molmol?"
"Sister," Su exclaimed, squirming in embarrassment. "It's not like that."
"Well what is it like?" Amara asked wryly. Su went very still at her question, and Amara waited in silence for her younger sister's answer.
"I don't know," Su whispered at last. "I don't know if I have a chance, but I'm going to find out. I have to at least try."
"So what exactly is going on here?"
Haruka had seen Amara heading up to the Hinata Inn and had decided it might be a good idea to pay her nephew a visit. She'd come in to find everyone except Su - and Amara, who she assumed was there - sitting around in a state of shock. Her laconic question had the same impact as a grenade going off in a minefield.
"Aunt Haruka, Su's-"
"The weirdest thing-"
"Something most strange-"
"It's awful! Su chan's-"
"Hey, Hey HEY!" Haruka exclaimed. "One at a time!"
Keitaro and the girls subsided, though they looked distinctly unsettled.
"Okay. Could one of you tell me what's going on here?"
Silence.
Then, slowly, every eye in the room turned toward Keitaro. With a resigned sigh the Hinata Inn's manager began to tell the story of the previous day's events.
"And then I carried her home and we put her on the couch," said Keitaro, nearly an hour later. It had taken him that long, with interruptions and amendments from the girls, to tell Haruka all about recent events.
"And now Amara-san is here, but we have no idea why, and she slapped Su . . ." Haruka nodded as Keitaro trailed off in confusion.
"Huh," she muttered to herself, working her customary cigarette around in her mouth as she pondered the situation.
"Hello again," came Amara's voice as she entered the room, instantly drawing every eye to her. "Now that I've discussed . . . things . . . with Su, I suppose it's time to try and explain what has happened, as much as that is possible. But first," and Amara paused for a moment to fix them all with a penetrating stare, "I want your word that you will never discuss this with anyone else, or within the hearing of anyone not in this room. Well?"
Whether it was the severity of Amara's tone or their own instincts they all realised that the older princess was extremely serious about her request. One by one they nodded their agreement, sensing the importance of the promise they were making.
"Good. The change that my sister has gone through is, as far as we can determine, a leftover survival trait from our distant ancestors."
"So Su spoke truly," Motoko murmured to herself.
"I beg you pardon?" Amara asked, overhearing the comment.
"Um, you see, Su said that it happened because your people used to be, um, underpopulated and . . ." Keitaro trailed off, again, as Amara turned her inscrutable gaze on him. A small part of his mind reflected that he hadn't been finishing many of his sentences lately.
"That is essentially correct," Amara said coolly. "Our people were once able to accelerate their growth, though we do not really understand how. Molmol has always had a small population and the change is apparently a leftover evolutionary survival measure meant to counteract rapid depopulation."
"Okay," said Kitsune drawled, scepticism colouring her voice, "if that's the case, how does it happen?"
That, Amara thought, is extremely private and I do not think you understand how rude your question is. Nonetheless, I do not feel particularly guilty about lying to you.
"We are not really sure," Amara told her.
By magic, of course.
"I know from Keitaro that Su had the typical period of . . . call it hibernation . . . prior to her transformation. I expect you noticed some erratic behaviour on her part during that time. This is typical." Amara noticed with a trace of amusement that all the girls reacted to that piece of information with varying degrees of relief, scepticism and interest. "That allowed her to build up the necessary levels of stamina."
Have you noticed that I am not mentioning what she needed that stamina for? She needed it to endure the change, not to fuel it, though I don't intend to tell you that.
"So that's why she was eating and sleeping all the time!" Naru exclaimed.
"More or less," Amara agreed.
You may draw whatever conclusions you like, so long as they are the wrong ones.
"And you do not know why this still happens?" asked Motoko.
"Not beyond what I have already told you," Amara replied evenly. "So far as we can tell it happens at random."
I rather doubt that you will believe that for long, but so long as you do not press the issue it doesn't much matter. I do not think I will mention that the trigger, in the most basic terms, is the desire to mate. Never mind that the actual emotions which trigger the physical change are a good deal more complex than that - I doubt such a revelation would go over well.
"Right," said Kitsune, her voice the same dubious drawl it had been before. Of all the Hinata Inn's residents she considered herself the most cynical. And she wasn't buying Amara's explanation.
That girl's got one heck of a poker face, Kitsune observed mentally, and I should know! What are you hiding, AmaraSu?
Kitsune flicked a considering glance at Su and was not surprised when the other girl lowered her eyes. She doubted any of the others had realised exactly what Su's transformation meant, but she had her suspicions.
"I, hey, wait a minute!" Keitaro exclaimed suddenly, "why did you hit Su? Why did you do that?" Amara had already held the attention of everyone in the room, but at Keitaro's question their focus redoubled.
"I was . . . angry," Amara admitted. "It was an overreaction, for which I am sorry."
"But why?" Shinobu asked, her voice quavering. She had been silent so far, seemingly too unsure to contribute to the conversation, but now she plucked up her nerve.
I want to know why you hit my friend - and I want to know what's happening to Su. What's really happening. I don't understand this! Such were Shinobu's thoughts as she asked her question again.
"Why were you angry?"
Amara sighed internally. This was why Su's determination to study overseas frustrated her so much. These were her family's ancient secrets and there was no reason at all why she should have to tell these people. Not that she had anything against them especially, but this was private. But now that Su had gone and changed
"Shock, I suppose," she replied, in a tone of voice that discouraged further discussion of the subject.
The conversation had petered out after that, Shinobu remembered, as everyone dispersed to ponder things for themselves. Su and Amara had gone back to her room, Motoko was training and Kitsune had gone out to pick up some sake.
Kitsune really does drink too much, Shinobu thought as she struggled with a recalcitrant sheet that kept slipping out of her fingers when she tried to peg it to the line. And she was hanging out the laundry. Shinobu sometimes thought that the only certainty at the Hinata Inn was that there would always be chores to be done.
I don't mind though. It's kind of peaceful, being by myself and something to do while I think. I wish I knew how Su was. I can't imagine how she feels right now. Is she alright? Amara didn't really explain why this happened - did Su want it to happen? It must be pretty scary. I know if something like this happened to me I'd have no idea how to deal with it. Still, maybe it's different for Su. After all, it's not like this hasn't happened before, even if that was a little different. Back then she wanted to . . . to . . . no.
That couldn't be it.
Could it?
"Hey, Keitaro?"
Keitaro looked up from the archaeology text he'd been studying to see Naru's head poking down through the hole that connected their rooms. He couldn't help but notice how cute she looked with her bangs hanging down in front of her eyes.
"Ah, Narusegawa," he exclaimed, a little surprised that she was looking in on him like this, "what is it?"
"I wanted to talk to you," she said brusquely as she pulled herself through the hole into his room, flipping over to land on the floor.
"What do you think - hey!" she exclaimed as she saw that Keitaro was desperately trying to block his nose with the bottom of his t-shirt and realised that her flip had briefly let him see up her skirt.
"Pervert!" WHAM! One punch from Naru laid him out on the floor, his head hitting the wall as he went down.
"I'm sorry Narusegawa!" Keitaro exclaimed a moment later as he pulled himself back up to a sitting position. "I swear I didn't see anything!"
"You better not have you creep!" Naru growled, waving a clenched fist under his nose before she sat down in front of him, suddenly calm again.
At least her temper doesn't last as long as it used to, Keitaro thought ruefully as he rubbed the bump already forming on his head.
"Ah, so, what did you want to talk about?" he asked Naru.
"Oh. Well . . ." Naru hesitated, unsure how to phrase what was on her mind, when Keitaro surprised her by finishing the sentence for her.
"It's about Su?" he asked her in a tone of voice that suggested he already knew the answer to the question.
"Yes," Naru admitted ruefully. Then she frowned as a thought struck her. "Hey, how did you know what I was going to ask?"
"Well, it was kind of obvious," Keitaro told her, rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke, "after all, what else would you want to talk about?"
"Oh yeah. I guess even you could figure that out. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about it."
"Okay."
"Well?" Naru asked, frustration leaking into her tone.
"What?" Keitaro asked in return, confused by the question.
"I want to know what's going on!" Naru shouted at him. "Why is this happening!?"
"How should I know?" Keitaro replied in honest confusion. "I don't know what's going on either."
"So why did Su grow up, huh?" Naru asked him sceptically.
"I don't know, Narusegawa. It's just . . . this is all so weird - and I'm really worried about Su."
"Oh you are, are you?"
"Yes," Keitaro replied, a little exasperated by Naru's repeated probing.
Naru looked closely at Keitaro and saw nothing but honest confusion and concern in his face.
You're being an idiot Naru, she told herself. Quit bugging him about it already.
"Okay," she said quietly. Then she got up and walked out of Keitaro's room.
What on earth was that about? Keitaro wondered as he turned back to his book. He tried to go back to reading it again, but try as he might he was unable to concentrate. With a muttered curse he tossed Identifying Pottery and Weapons of the Ancient Terrapin Orders of the South Pacific aside and threw himself backwards onto his futon with a sigh. He needed to think.
Why was Naru being so weird about Su's change? And what's all that about, anyway? Amara didn't really explain much. Is Su alright? Is her brother going to show up and try to force her to marry him again?
Keitaro lay staring up at the ceiling, worried thoughts going round and round in his head, as he tried to figure out if the Hinata Inn's most unusual resident was in trouble. He was the manager after all, and it was his job to help any way he could.
Motoko swung mechanically at the training dummy in front of her, striving to empty her head of conscious thought. She'd learnt long ago that burying herself in training was the ideal way to avoid dealing with things she couldn't . . . had trouble dealing with. Her period of greatest improvement had come not long after her sister's marriage. Training in the Shinmei Ryu had been a welcome distraction then, as now. Thinking about what had happened to Su was troubling for many reasons, not the least of them being that none of them had any idea what this meant for the girl. Motoko had always regarded Su with a somewhat maternal affection, coming to regard herself as a kind of surrogate older sister to the girl, especially when Su had gotten into the habit of sometimes sleeping in Motoko's room.
And now this happens. Apart from anything else, what will Keitaro do now? I saw how he looked at Su the last time she was in her adult form. I just know he'll do something perverted if Naru-sempai and I do not keep an eye on him. And Su may be older physically but she is still a child - she has to be protected from him!
Motoko was started out of the rhythm she'd attained with her weapon by the sound of someone scrambling over the railing that lined the Hinata Inn's rooftop terrace. She spun in place, but relaxed her guard when she saw who it was.
"Kitsune! What are you doing up here?" Motoko asked, her tone turning slightly accusing when she noticed the sake bottle clutched in Kitsune's left hand.
"Hey, I just came up to have a little drink," Kitsune replied as she clambered over the railing, waving the sake bottle she was holding in Motoko's direction. "It's nice and private up here - usually - and you know how our manager gets if he sees me making with the alcohol. Wanna join me?"
"I think not," Motoko returned stiffly.
"Your loss," Kitsune said with a shrug. "So what are you doing up here anyway?"
"Practicing, of course," Motoko said, gesturing to the training dummy behind her, "isn't it obvious?"
"That isn't what I meant," Kitsune replied as she sat down, her back propped against the railing, and took a swig from her bottle of sake. "You usually practice in the morning and it's almost dinner time - I guess I meant why are you up here?"
"I just wanted to get some extra practice in," Motoko told her, congratulating herself slightly on keeping her voice steady. Kitsune could be oddly perceptive sometimes, but Motoko didn't want to discuss her feelings with anyone right now.
"Sure you did," murmured Kitsune. "Sure you did. And it has nothing at all to do with the fact that all of a sudden Su's gone from a kid to a very good looking young woman either."
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Motoko snapped, turning back to the training dummy and readying herself to resume her exercises.
"Right, I forgot," came Kitsune's voice from behind her. "Everybody in this place is in a permanent state of denial." The self proclaimed fox girl sounded as though she didn't know whether to be amused or frustrated. "That's why I'm not talking to Naru right now. It's pointless talking to that girl when she doesn't want to admit something." With that as a parting line Kitsune stood up and walked away from Motoko, down the stairs and back into the Inn, leaving the swordswoman's thoughts whirling.
"Hey, big sister, can I ask you something?"
Amara and Su had returned to Su's room which, Amara admitted to herself, was a fairly pleasant place to be. Su was sitting on a swollen tree branch overhanging the river that flowed lazily through her private jungle, dangling her feet in the cool water. Amara was on the other side of the river, lying down on a patch of moss with her eyes closed and trying to think through all the ramifications of what Su had done. She gotten as far as god knows how mother will react before hitting a brick wall.
"What is it, Kaolla?"
"Do you think the old stories are true?" Amara opened her eyes and turned her head in Su's direction, wondering if this was about what she thought it was.
"What old stories?" she asked.
"You know - the ones about Alamara and Rennik."
"Ah. Those stories," Amara replied, her suspicions confirmed.
"Yeah. Do you think it's true?"
Amara sighed.
"I don't know. It's just a legend now, you know."
"Well yeah . . . but still."
Amara sighed again, this time accompanying the gesture with a roll of her eyes. Her younger sister - and Kaolla was still younger than her - was clearly going to be even worse post-puberty than she'd feared. But why not tell her what she wanted to hear? If nothing else, it was a good story.
"Many, many years ago, in the days before our people kept a written history, there lived a young girl named Alamara," Amara began in the slightly lecturing tone of one who is telling a very familiar story. "Alamara was the youngest daughter of a wealthy trader and his wife - her mother - was so busy worrying about her six older sisters that Alamara often went unnoticed. They were flighty, scatterbrained girls while Alamara was generous, helpful and level headed, never giving her mother a moments trouble as she grew up. And being the kind of person she was Alamara didn't mind too much that neither of her parents ever seemed to have any time for her. But there were times when she felt terribly lonely. Occasionally, late at night after everyone else had gone to sleep, she would sneak out of the house and go down to the river to skim stones across the water, wishing for someone who would love her best of all. Then one day her father arranged a marriage between his oldest daughter and a young man from a neighbouring village. He felt it was time she settled down and started a family of her own - and the young man had good prospects. The daughter, whose name was Damaris, was not particularly happy about this. She liked her freedom, liked being able to flirt with all the young men in the village, liked living at home where servants did most of the drudge work and her mother ran the house. She moaned and wailed about the arrangement but her father would not be moved. So Damaris decided she would destroy the intended wedding herself. When the young man, a scholar named Rennik, called on Damaris for the first time she was horrible to him. Damaris was rude, mean and behaved disgustingly. Despite this Rennik was polite, kind and attentive to Damaris. If he found her behaviour odd or offensive he certainly didn't show it. In fact he was a perfect gentleman to everyone in her family - including Alamara."
Amara paused for a moment to catch her breath and remember the rest of the story, noticing as she did so that Su was listening raptly. She smiled briefly before continuing.
"Damaris was so busy thinking about how much she wanted to get rid of Rennik that she never took the time to notice all his good qualities. He was kind, decent, generous, understanding, friendly and optimistic. But while she might not have noticed these things, Alamara certainly had. Rennik was the first person she'd ever known who really noticed her, and it didn't take long for her to fall deeply in love with him. Yet Alamara knew it was hopeless, for even though Rennik showed her kindness he saw her as a child rather than a woman. Now when Alamara snuck out late at night it was Rennik and Rennik's love that she wished for.
And one night her wishes were answered."
"By a goddess, right!?" Su jumped in eagerly. "A goddess came and-"
"Who's telling this story, Kaolla?" Amara asked pointedly, interrupting her sister in turn. Su stopped speaking abruptly and Amara continued.
"One night, when Alamara was at the riverbank, a strange glow appeared in the water. She watched with amazement as a ball of light floated out of the river and into the air, forming into the shape of a beautiful woman as it did so. Alamara had no idea what this meant, but she knew she was in the presence of a great being and she bowed before it. And then the being spoke.
'Arise Alamara, daughter of Sammis and Mialla,' she said, 'for I have come to grant you a boon. I am the spirit of rivers and streams, oceans and seas, of all the water that runs through the land, and often have I heard you speak of that which you have told to no-one else.'
'You, you have?' Alamara said, blushing with embarrassment.
'Yes,' the river spirit replied with a smile, 'and because you have entrusted your secrets to me and no-one else I will provide you with the means to have that which you desire. But remember - you will still have to fight for what you want.'
'I don't understand.' The spirit smiled again before she responded.
'You will, Alamara. For now you need know only this: My gift will come whenever you visit this river in the moonlight and last till the sun shines again.'
And with that the spirit vanished, leaving Alamara gaping in astonishment. After a while she returned home and the next day she was not even sure if what had happened had been real or a dream. But she remembered the spirit's words. Rennik was due to pay another courting visit that day, and though Damaris' heart was still hardened against him her father's resolve to see her wed had not wavered. Rennik visited and he was as courteous and charming as ever. Alamara overhead his telling her father that he had taken up lodgings in the village inn for the time being because it was easier than travelling back and forth from his home.
That night Alamara snuck out of the house after everyone had gone to sleep and went down to the river. At first nothing seemed to happen but suddenly the moon came out from behind a cloud and Alamara found herself standing in the moonlight. Then she changed. She felt a tingling over her whole body and everything felt strangely different. For a moment Alamara didn't know what had changed until she caught sight of her reflection in the river and stared in disbelief. She was older. Where she expected to see the image of a young girl of twelve there was instead the reflection of an attractive young girl of eighteen. Alamara couldn't believe it, but after a few moments she started to understand the meaning of the river spirit's words and realised what she had meant. Alamara went home and huddled in her bed, for she could hardly walk about as she was in nothing but the shift she had gone to bed in, knowing that the change would be gone in the morning. Her head full of thoughts and ideas that she hardly slept at all. That day Alamara borrowed some of her other sisters' old clothes and after she had done all her chores she hid in the attic and went to work with sewing needle and thread. When she went down to the river that evening she carried with her clothes that would fit her older self. Just as before, when the moonlight struck Alamara the river spirit's magic made her older. She changed into the clothes she had brought with her and made her way towards the inn where Rennik was staying, her heart beating so hard she thought it would jump out of her chest. Alamara was just turning onto the street on which the inn was located when she ran straight into Rennik. She stumbled back but he caught her before she could fall. She thanked him and he asked the name of the young woman who wandered recklessly around the village at night. Alamara told him that her name was Ramaala and that she liked to go for walks at night to look at the night sky. Rennik thought her answer interesting and struck up a conversation with her. Ramaala did not say much about herself but they wandered around the village for some time talking about many different things. Rennik found himself becoming fasciated with this mysterious and beautiful young woman. Eventually Ramaala told him that it was time for her to return home, though Rennik made her promise to see him again later in the week before she left.
For months Alamara kept up the pretence of being Ramaala while Rennik's courtship of her eldest sister went nowhere. Damaris had actually begun to warm to Rennik near the end of that time but by then he had finally grown tired of her behaviour, especially as he'd grown closer to Ramaala. They had walked and talked under the starlit sky many times and Rennik knew that he was falling on love with her. One day he went to Alamara's father and told him that he could not honourably marry his daughter, for another had taken his heart. Sammis was dumbfounded and after he got over his shock he yelled at Rennik to get out of his house. In his heart of hearts Sammis knew that it was Damaris who had destroyed the marriage he had arranged for her. Pride had kept him from admitting it in Rennik's presence. Over the next few days Alamara's house was not a happy place. Both Sammis and Mialla were furious with their daughter over her behaviour and Damaris was miserable because Rennik had left just when she had finally begun to see the good in him. Struck by guilt at the pain she had caused Alamara resolved that she would never again make use of the gift given to her by the river spirit. However, only a few days passed before she saw Rennik when she was walking back from the market after buying some flour for her mother. In her guilt Alamara tried to avoid him but he saw her and asked her to give his deepest apologies to her sister and her parents. She agreed and was about to hurry away when it struck her how miserable Rennik looked. Alamara couldn't help but ask him what was wrong. For a moment it seemed as though he would not answer her. Then Rennik spoke.
'The woman I love has vanished,' he told her, 'and never did I have even the chance to tell her how I feel. My heart tells me that she felt the same as I, yet now she is gone. I would have given anything to be with her.' Rennik looked at Alamara with a sad smile before continuing. 'Surely it is no sin to be happy?' he asked her, before turning to walk away. Giving in to a sudden impulse, Alamara called out after him.
'If you go down to the river tonight and wait for the moon to shine down on you, you will see your Ramaala again,' she told him, before running back home, leaving a flabbergasted Rennik staring after her.
Alamara snuck out of the house that night, as she had so many times before, and went down to the riverside. Hiding in the bushes, she waited until Rennik appeared before she showed herself. He gasped in astonishment, but before he could say anything the moonlight struck Alamara and the transformation overtook her. Rennik could hardly believe what he was seeing.
'Ramaala?' he asked in astonishment. Alamara smiled at him.
'No,' she said softly, 'I'm Alamara.' Then she told Rennik everything that had happened. How she had fallen in love with him, the gift the river spirit had given her, the way she'd pretended to be Ramaala to win his heart and the guilt she felt for what she'd done.
'But why do you feel guilty?' Rennik asked her after she had finished speaking. By then he was sure that this was the same woman he had fallen in love with.
'Because I deceived you,' said Alamara, avoiding his gaze. 'Because I came between you and my older sister. And because my parents are miserable that the match they arranged will not happen. How can we be together now?'
'I love you,' Rennik told her. 'That's all that really matters. We'll deal with the rest somehow.' Then he placed the fingers of one hand under her chin and turned her face towards his to kiss her sweetly under the night sky.
'I see you have used my gift well, Alamara' a rippling voice chuckled suddenly, startling the lovers out of their embrace. Alamara and Rennik were both shocked to see the river spirit which Alamara had told Rennik of floating over the river in front of them.
'Now that you have found that which you sought, it is time to decide what you will do to keep it,' the spirit told Alamara.
'I don't understand,' Alamara replied after she had gathered her wits.
'It is simple enough,' the spirit replied. 'If you wish it, I can make the change permanent and you can be with Rennik forever.' The river spirit paused for a moment before continuing. 'Do you wish it?' she asked.
Alamara nodded.
In the morning Alamara returned home, Rennik at her side. When she knocked at the door it was opened by a worried looking Mialla.
'I'm sorry but I really can't . . .' Alamara's mother began, then trailed off as she took a good look at who was at the door. Her youngest daughter had gone missing during the night yet here was a woman who could have been Alamara - if Alamara had been more than half a decade older.
'Oh my . . .'
'May we come in mother?' Alamara asked with the trace of a smile. Moving dazedly Mialla let them both in. The conversation that followed was long and complicated and filled with many shouts and exclamations of disbelief, but it did not take too long for Alamara to persuade her family of her identity. After she had explained everything Alamara told her father of her and Rennik's intent to marry. To say that the poor man was surprised would be the greatest of understatements. Nonetheless, he soon came to see the possibilities of such an arrangement and there was no denying the strength of the love Alamara and Rennik felt for one another.
And so, in time, the two were wed."
"And they lived happily ever after!" Su carolled gleefully the moment Amara had finished speaking.
"I suppose," Amara conceded wearily, a little tired from telling the story, "but this isn't some foreign fairy tale. It's a legend of our people, Kaolla, and you shouldn't forget that."
"I won't," Su replied contritely. "And I know what the lesson is too!"
Here we go, Amara thought wearily.
"There is no wrong in fighting with all your heart for that which you desire," Su said softly, her voice revealing quiet determination and resolve.
Naru tossed and turned on her futon trying futilely to get to sleep. Dinner had been a strained affair. The Hinata Inn's tenants were an adaptable bunch - they had to be to avoid going insane, considering some of the things that went on in their lives - but Su's transformation exceeded the usual weirdness level by a significant amount.
It's never been permanent before, Naru reflected as she gazed up at her ceiling. Normally, things get weird for a bit and then they settle down again. If anything changes, it always changes back again. But . . . not this time.
Naru shivered at the thought. The thing was . . . well . . . she was a little scared of Su. It sounded silly, she knew. Su, no matter what age she was, was hardly the kind of person to inspire fear - although Keitaro might disagree when he was being chased by one of her mecha-tamas. But late at night, alone in her room, Naru was capable of admitting to herself that she hated change. Hated it. And this was change with a capital C. Not only would nothing ever be the same, but there was no way of knowing how things would change. Thoughts still churning, Naru eventually fell into unconsciousness.
And dreamed.
Little Naru was playing with Mu-chan in the sandbox at the playground near the big house. Mu-chan was her best friend, well, along with Kei-kun anyway. Today Kei-kun had gone somewhere with his mummy so it was just the two of them. Mu-chan was helping her pat the sand into place on the side of the tower they were making when she saw something wonderful!
"Wow!" Naru exclaimed, "is that a liddo-kun doll!?"
"Uh-huh," Mu-chan agreed with a smile, "my mummy got him for me. Do you wanna see?"
"Yeah!" said Naru enthusiastically.
"Here you go," said Mu-chan as she handed the doll over. Naru immediately took the stuffed toy in her arms and squeezed it tight against her.
"You must really like liddo-kun!" Mu-chan giggled as she watched her friend hugging the liddo-kun as hard as she could.
"Uh-huh," Naru agreed, "it's my most favourite show!" Mutsumi looked on with pleasure as Na-chan continued to hug her liddo-kun with a huge smile on her face. She loved to see her friends happy. Then she had a great idea.
"Do you want to have him, Na-chan?" she asked. For a moment Naru couldn't believe what she was hearing. Then her smile got even bigger, if that was possible.
"Do you mean that Mu-chan!?" she asked excitedly.
"Yup," said Mu-chan. "He's yours now! Take good care of him!"
"I will," Naru promised fervently, holding the liddo-kun even tighter. Then she frowned. All of a sudden the liddo-kun doll felt strange. She looked down and . . .
"Keitaro!" Naru exclaimed in amazement. But it wasn't Keitaro at all - it was a life size Keitaro doll!
He looks so real, Naru thought within her dream. But he can't be . . . he's got a tag sticking out of his neck!
Naru reached out to take a look at the tag and blinked in surprise when she read the words printed on it: Property of Otohime Mutsumi.
Huh? But this isn't the lidd-kun it's - Naru's train of thought was derailed as the Keitaro doll was plucked out of her lap! She looked up in astonishment to see a big girl with dark skin and pale blonde hair holding Keitaro up, much higher than she could reach.
"Hey!" Naru cried, "that's mine! Give it back you meanie!"
"No it isn't," the girl replied in an oddly melodious voice. Then she looked at the tag sprouting from Keitaro's neck, just as Naru had a moment ago. "Hmmph," she snorted, "looks like he was only on loan to you anyway. Well, that's easily fixed!" With that the girl pulled out a huge pair of silver scissors from somewhere and snipped off the tag. "That fixes that!" she declared, her voice rich with satisfaction. Then she turned and walked away. Naru tried to run after her but her legs were too short to keep up and the strange girl soon vanished from her sight, Keitaro slung over her shoulder.
"No!" Naru called out plaintively. "Bring him back! He's mine!" she cried out before she collapsed to the ground, sobbing miserably.
Naru did not remember the dream when she awoke.
Author's Notes
Su's Characterisation
This was tricky, because it's hard to say exactly what Su would act like as a full grown adult. My conception of Su as an adult is that she'd have basically the same interests and life philosophy, but with a more mature understanding of relationships and a certain amount of restraint in some of the areas where she is usually fairly unrestrained. If she seems particularly subdued in this chapter it's because she's adapting to being an adult and dealing with the others' reactions - including Amara. Consequently, she's a little cautious.
Remember that I mentioned a couple of stories by other authors in the notes for chapter one? Well, this is the chapter that particularly shows the influence of their respective works. If you've read the stories I mentioned I'm sure you can see where it is.
Kitsune's Characterisation
I always figured Kitsune was a lot more perceptive than she let on. Her ability to manipulate and instigate, as well as her insight into the characters of some of the other girls are suggestive of a certain amount of insight. Additionally there are various clues in the manga that there's more to Kitsune than meets the eye. Other than that, she's often more of an observer to than a participant in events at the Hinata Inn, which makes her the ideal character to show a little bit of foresight regarding what's happening.
Su's Change
The nature of the story sort of compels me to offer some kind of practical explanation for Su's change, for two reasons. First, it's unbelievable that the other inhabitants of the Hinata Inn wouldn't demand some kind of explanation. Second, basing this story on Su's age-shifting compels me to flesh out that part of Su's heritage. This was a problem for me, because trying to underpin fantasy with logic is a sure fire way to bog a story down in silly, contrived details (the made up technobabble that people criticise Star Trek for is a good example). In both the manga and the anime no explanation is ever offered for how Su's change happens, or what the underlying reason for it is. And that works, because explaining it isn't the point. So I came up with a supposed practical reason for Su's changing to exist - and then made that a cover story that Amara uses to cover up a legend. I rather like the legend, actually.
Reader Responses
First, this was an unusually quick update for me. Writing this chapter, there were several days where I wrote more than a thousand words - quite a bit faster than I usually write. This story is my main focus for the time being but I warn you - don't expect future updates quite so quickly.
I like alternate pairings. To me, the great thing about fanfiction is that you get to explore all the 'what ifs' that crop up in any story. Why write a Keitaro/Naru story when you can just read the manga? (unless you've got a particular idea you want to explore).
And to the person who asked for a 'serious' Keitaro/Haruka story . . . well. I was going to say that such a thing was flat out impossible, because - putting aside the whole incest issue for a moment - there's no basis at all to write such a story, not a scrap of evidence that Keitaro and Haruka are anything other than nephew and aunt. But I like a challenge and I have an imagination that just doesn't know when to leave things alone. So I got to thinking. The upshot of all that thinking is that I'm now working on a very unusual little oneshot, for which I hope not to get flamed to death. And I'm actually kinda pissed at that reviewer for giving me the idea in the first place. But I figure that if people can write Kanako/Shinobu stories, I'll probably get away with it.