Urashima Keitaro balanced his old katana, and tried a few practice swings. His sister, Kanako and Motoko watched him with feint interest and growing excitement.
"You guys want to try a few practice rounds?"
The three were standing on the roof of Hinata House. Both of the women had already selected their weapons. Kanako was dressed in a loose black dress and a zip down sweater. Motoko wore a maroon and blue jeans with hair pulled back with a scrunchie. Keitaro wore loose work pants and a plain white half-buttoned shirt that revealed his muscular chest.
"Sure, let's see how much you've improved." Kanako and Motoko began to circle him slowly. Keitaro stood motionless, holding his sword at a slight angle, and closing eyes. Suddenly, the girls flew at him, and attacked him with a flurry blows. Metal sparks flew as Keitaro deflected the easily and whirred about in response to their attacks. Kanako flipped his katana into the roof, and Kietaro transferred the downward momentum into a powerful kick, sending Kanako skidding across the shingles. He whirled to face Motoko, whose blade rushed downward at him. He pushed it away with his opened palm as he extracted his own katana, which he then used to pin the girl's word to the ground.
Kanako was up again, and rushed at his exposed back. Keitaro, unpinning his sword, jumped and flipped backwards over Kanako and leaned the flat of his blade against his shoulder.
"Nice," congratulated Kanako with a smile.
"That... that's amazing..." added Motoko.
Kanako once again flew at him, but Keitaro was fully ready. He easily displaced the attack, sending Kanako's blade flying. Kanako continued forward as the blade flew from her hand, running up Keitaro and landing a solid kick a inch below his neck.
Motoko rushed forward as Keitaro stumbled backwards, but he tripped her with a feet sweep and shifted behind her, holding her blade in a downward pin with his. Motoko stood struggling for a moment, until she realized how close their bodies now were, she stopped struggling, and looked up into Kietaro smiling face. He planted a light kiss on her forehead and backed away.
"I think it's time for a break," said Kietaro cheerfully, "you two sure have been keeping up well."
"You're skills have improved greatly as well, Urashima," complimented Motoko.
"I'll go grab us some water," offered Kanako.
"Thanks, sister, said Kietaro, sitting down on the roof.
Motoko watched the other woman go, and a few moments after she disappeared, Motoko pounced on the young man, knocking him backwards. She pressed a violent kiss to his lips, taking advantage of his surprise.
Kietaro pushed firmly away, and stumbled backwards, "Motoko! What the hell are you doing???"
"I'm...I'm so sorry Kei-kun, I've got to make... I've got to make it up to you."
Keitaro was taken about, "What? What do you mean? What do you have to make up?"
"All those times I.. I was so mean to you, I made fun of you, and hurt you..."
Keitaro sat back down and embraced the girl in a firm side hug, she leaned her head against his chest as she cried, "I can't hold any of that against you, Motoko. I've forgiven you."
"Thank you, Kei-kun, but please..."
"What is it?"
"We only have a few moments, please, have me, have me for these few moments." Once again, she tried to kiss him, but he pressed his fingers to her lips.
"Please, Motoko, there's there's someone else that deserves this so much more than me."
"Someone else?"
Haitani Masayuki walked home to his apartment after a tough day of school. It was senior year for him, of course, and he was busily preparing himself for the entrance exams into the Tokyo Medical school where he hoped to study. As he boarded the bus and headed for the apartment he shared with his friend Shirai, he found his thoughts drift once again to the mysterious girl with black hair who lived at Hinata House. He had asked many for information about her at his swordsmanship club, but few remembered little except for the brutal beatings she had dealt out at competitions. As He arrived at the apartment complex and entered his tiny room, he slung down his backpack and flexed irritably. Slowly, he began to go through a simple martial arts routine, trying to focus. He had thought of the girl only occasionally, but his thoughts seemed to drift to her more often these days, as if his graduation seemed to hold some importance. He shrugged off the idea. Such hunches were only th misguided products of a tired mind. He laid down on his bed and took a nap.
Now this was an interesting development. Once again, Kentaro Sakata read the note;
Dear Kentaro,
I am writing to tell you that I have eloped with a man. He is a famous archeologist, and we have been seeing each other on and off for a very long time. I want you to know that I have greatly appreciated all of your hard work and companionship throughout your stay. Therefore, if you wish to stay on at the Tea Shop, I am prepared to give you a deal in which you receive seventy five of the shop's total profits. My new husband is quite wealthy, and able to support the both of us, so don't feel bad about the unfair split. After all you're hard work, it's the least I can do. Please e-mail me quickly with your response.
Sincerely,
Haruka
Author's Note
First, to address a few complaints. First of all, this piece is written in English not Japglish, so I took the liberty of replacing the typical "onii-san" with its English counterpart, "brother." It's just something that I feel makes the fan fic more accessible. Another thing is that Keitaro refers to the girls as his daughters and sisters for several reasons. The first being that in typical Asian fashion, female friends are usually referred to as "sister." Or, at least, I think so... The second reason is that in his position of Manager, Keitaro was indeed a father figure to the girls. The third is a purely literary reason, because I am trying to show in this line how Keitaro feels about his relationship with the girls. Kapeesh?
