Kiyoshi's Tale

by Kiyoshi Urashima

Rating PG13 just to be safe. The story of Kiyoshi Urashima, Keitaro's nephew, and his arrival at Hinata. How will the orphan from America survive life in that hostile house?

Kiyoshi's Tale

A note from the author.

Hi, I'm Ket Moro. I'd like to thank you for reading my story, and I hope you'll enjoy. Please forgive me if I have spelled anything incorrectly, or if my story is out of order. It loosely (very loosely) follows the plot of the manga, but I don't own any copies for reference.

A Mysterious Arrival

A flock of birds took flight as Kiyoshi Urashima rang the doorbell at the Hinata House. "I guess nobody's home," he said to himself. As he turned to leave, he heard the door creak open.

"Hey there," said a woman. "Who might you be? What brings you here?

"Oh," he cleared his throat. "My name be- is Kiyoshi. I is a wanderer," he stuttered.

"You're American, aren't you," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "You're Japanese isn't great. So you're just wandering around? You look young, don't you have parent's to get back to?"

"No, ma'am. My parents died five years ago. I moved to Japan three months ago," he managed to say in his slow, stumbling Japanese. "I will work if you will let me stay here. I'm looking for Keitaro Urashima."

"He's the landlord," she replied. "He should be back in a few days. I'll tell you what. You can stay here and learn better Japanese in exchange for...doing the dishes and cleaning the outdoor bath."

"Thank you," he said. His stomach let out a loud growl. "I don't suppose you got food in there?"

She laughed. "Oh, I'm Haruka, Keitaro's aunt. How do you know him??"

"He's my uncle. I'm fifteen."

"Oh, I see," Haruka said. "I didn't know Keitaro had any other siblings."

"I'll explain later," Kiyoshi stuttered. "It gets complex." Kiyoshi and Haruka had lunch (Kiyoshi had to cook) and Haruka taught him how to speak Japanese much more efficiently. He was a quick enough study, and by the time he went to bed, he could speak conversational Japanese. Things were looking up for Kiyoshi for the first time in five years.

Kiyoshi's Dream

Kiyoshi was back in America. He knew it was a dream, but it was all so real. He was standing outside his parent's house in Clarksdale, California. He sensed something was wrong, but couldn't place it. He looked at his watch, and found that it was December 24, 1994. The evening of the Great Christmas Blaze. A great explosion rocked the world under his feet, and he whirled around. A gas station had exploded! Chunks of burning debris rained down all around him. He knew what was coming next. A large chunk smashed into his kitchen, rupturing a gas main and causing another explosion. He was lifted off the ground, and he floated towards his room on the second floor. A ten-year-old Kiyoshi Urashima, or Kiyoshi Adams as he was then, tried the door, only to find it too hot to open. He began coughing due to the smoke, and fell to the floor. Kiyoshi watched as his younger self passed out. Suddenly, his father busted the door down with his shoulder, wrapped the young Kiyoshi in a blanket and carried him outside. Kiyoshi awoke with a start to the sound of his alarm going off. It was six a.m.: time to clean the outdoor bath. His memory filled in the rest of the nightmare. His mother, ever the perfect housewife had been in the kitchen. She had died instantly. His father died moments after hauling Kiyoshi's unconscious body out of the house. The paramedics found Kiyoshi five minutes later; crying with his father's head in his lap, and shouting, "Wake up, Daddy! Wake up!" Life had been a haze of orphanages, possible parents, and brawls in the schoolyard. He was never in the shabby, run-down orphanages you see in movies. No, he was in the rough and tumble, street-smart orphanages where all the older kids carried knives. He had almost gotten killed on multiple occasions, and so he had taken up Kendo for self-defense. At age fifteen, he found out about an uncle of his in Japan. His name was Keitaro Urashima, his mother's half brother. He faked a passport and left America to seek Keitaro. An innkeeper in Kyoto had taken him in and taught him Japanese, as well as telling him when Naru and Keitaro arrived. He arrived only minutes too late, and they had already gone. That was when he found out about Hinata House and decided to wait there. Everything seemed to be slowly falling apart around him.

The Orphan's Tale

He cleaned the outdoor bath, and by ten he was just sitting around. Haruka walked into the living room and said, "Time to pull your weight. If you start now, you might be done cleaning the bath by lunch."

"I'm already done," Kiyoshi answered. Haruka regarded him with surprise. "I woke up at six so I could get it done early."

"If only Keitaro was that dedicated," Haruka said. "Well, nobody's back yet. What do you say you tell me how you and Keitaro are related?"

"I suppose. You know that Keitaro's father is in his mid-forties, right?" Haruka nodded. "Well, Keitaro's mother is his second wife. I assume you knew that too." Again, Haruka nodded. "He had a child with his first wife shortly before she died. He didn't have enough money to raise the child, so he put her up for adoption. She was adopted by an American couple and taken to California. She kept her original name, Urashima, until she married Jake Adams. She was twenty-three when they got married. She was twenty years older than Keitaro, and had me at age twenty-five. So Keitaro is only five years older than me. Anyways, my parents died in the Great Christmas Blaze, when I was ten, so I floated around from orphanage to orphanage until I could make it to Japan. When I got here, I took my mother's maiden name as my last and came to live with an innkeeper in Kyoto. She taught me some Japanese, and told me when Keitaro and Naru Narusegawa showed up. I got to their room too late, however, and I missed them. The innkeeper told me where Keitaro lived, and I used up the last of my funds getting here. That's my story," he concluded.

Haruka nodded. "I guess that makes sense. I'm going to have to talk to Keitaro's dad about this and see if he can confirm your story."

"Don't worry about me being a leech; I can pull my weight as I proved earlier. If rent is an issue, I can always get a part-time job until I can get into a school."

"No, it's not that. This will just be a pretty big shock for Keitaro unless I can give him some proof of your story. Well, I guess it will still be a shock. Oh well." She went to the phone and called Keitaro's father. She put her hand over the receiver and said, "This could take a bit. Why don't you hang out for a while." He shrugged, and went over to his beat-up, old backpack and began rummaging through it. He pulled out a ratty old notebook, opened it to one of the last pages, and began writing.

Several minutes later, Haruka came over to him. "Well," she said, "Keitaro's father said that he did have a daughter he couldn't support, and that that daughter was adopted and taken to America. He seems genuinely happy to find out that he's a grandfather, too. I guess you can stay in Keitaro's room. C'mon, I'll show you the way." He picked up his backpack and followed Haruka into Keitaro's room. "This is it. You can bring in a futon later. Just get settled and hang out. I'll come and get you at lunch time."

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

"Just call me Haruka, or Aunt Haruka if you insist on being formal," she said. She turned and started walking away.

"Wait!" said Kiyoshi, before Haruka made it out of the room. "What's with that hole in the ceiling?"

"I'll...let Keitaro fill you in on that little aspect of the room." With that, Haruka turned and walked out the door.

Who Are You?

"I guess I'll take a bath," said Kiyoshi to himself. He walked out into the hot spring and gasped. "This place is huge!" He slipped into the water and sat back, going over the day's events in his mind. He was so deep in thought, in fact, that he didn't hear the door creak open. He saw a figure approaching through the mist. "Who's there!" he said, wrapping his towel around his waist.

"Ur...Urashima! We've been back five minutes and you pull this! Die!" Motoko charged through the water, drew her sword and blasted Kiyoshi into the air.

"Wahhhhhhhhhh!" he screamed as he flew through the air and smashed through the roof. He raised his head and looked around. There was a girl undressing in there! Naru turned and saw him. "Um...hi?" he said.

"Keitaro, you pervert!" she roared as she punched him in the jaw. He flew through the air and landed on the stairs in front of the house. He sat up, fell forward, and tumbled his way down the stairs.

When he reached the bottom, he slowly got to his feet. "Keitaro!" Su hollered as she dropkicked Kiyoshi in the head.

"Mercy!!" he screamed as he was once again thrown into the air. With a crash, he landed on the couch in the living room. He jumped up, looked around frantically, and ran back to Keitaro's room.

"Holy crap!" said Keitaro when he saw Kiyoshi. "Who are you? What happened?"

"There's a bunch of psychos in this place!" Kiyoshi panted. "First some crazy girl with a sword tried to shish kebab me! Then, I crashed through the roof and got uppercut by some crazy chick. THEN, some maniac dropkicked me! There out to get me!" Kiyoshi was getting hysterical. "I'm telling you..." he dropped off, realizing that had been ranting. "Oh, right, how rude of me. I'm Kiyoshi Urashima. You must be Keitaro."

"Yeah," he said. "Um, I still don't know why you're here or anything."

"I'm your nephew," Kiyoshi said awkwardly. "I don't have anywhere else to turn. Ms...Aunt Haruka said I could stay here, at least for a little while."

"I...I have a nephew? Hey, I'm an uncle! Oh, right. Let's get a bandage on that." Keitaro cleaned up Kiyoshi's wounds and helped him bandage them up. While they did that, Kiyoshi told Keitaro his story. "So you got slashed by Motoko, punched by Naru, and kicked by Su? Man, you must be indestructible. I've got the weirdest feeling that it comes from my dad's side."

"Um...can I stay here, then? Please? I promise I won't be a burden. I'll pay rent, and I'll clean, cook, wash...I'll do whatever you tell me to do. Please, I need to stay here."

"Sure, you can stay. Are you in school?"

"Huh, no. Not yet, anyways. See...I'm what you'd call advanced. I'm fifteen... but I finished my senior year of high school." Keitaro looked at him with astonishment.

"You mean...you've graduated? I...but...how?"

"I tested out of my freshman and sophomore years of high school."

"That's great! So you're trying to get into college? Where are you hoping for?"

"Well, I actually have my sights set ridiculously high. I'm aiming for...Tokyo University."

"That's awesome! I'm trying for Tokyo U. myself. So is Naru." He caught the questioning look Kiyoshi gave him. "Naru's the one that socked you in the jaw. Hey, I should introduce you to the rest of the girls."

"Um," said Kiyoshi, "I guess." Kiyoshi got dressed, and then got his button down shirt out of his pack and put it on, unbuttoned. With his black hair, glasses, scrawny physique, and casual dress, he looked exactly like Keitaro had five years before. They walked out of Keitaro's room and into the living room.

"Here," said Keitaro. "Sit on the couch, I'll go round up the girls." With that, he took off up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, he bumped into Shinobu. "Oh, hi Shinobu."

"Oh, hello sempai," she said. "What are you running around for?"

"We have a surprise guest in the living room, and I wanna introduce everybody. Say, will you help me gather everyone in the living room?"

"Of course," she responded. They walked up and down the hall telling people to meet in the living room. Naru's room was the last.

"Go on downstairs, Shinobu," said Keitaro. "I'll be right down with Naru." Shinobu nodded and walked down the stairs. Keitaro knocked on Naru's door. Nobody answered, so he opened the door and poked his head in. "Naru?" She was in the middle of changing her clothes, and saw Keitaro almost immediately.

"You damn, indestructible pervert! How many times do I have to hit you before you learn?" she screamed as she punched him.

"Come downstairs when you're done," he gasped from the hallway floor.

More Formal Introductions

Downstairs, Kiyoshi was felling as awkward as he had ever been. Motoko was staring him down. Su was climbing him like a piece of playground equipment. Shinobu and Kitsune were regarding him with open curiosity. Finally, Keitaro limped down the stairs with Naru close behind. "Hey," said Kitsune. "There's two Keitaros!"

"Isn't it a little early to start drinking?" muttered Motoko.

"Um, everyone," said Keitaro. "This is Kiyoshi Urashima. He's my nephew."

"Wha- nephew?" said Naru. "What do you mean?"

"It gets complicated, I'll explain later. Kiyoshi, this is Naru Narusegawa." Kiyoshi put his hands together and bowed.

"Solemn little guy, isn't he," Naru said, blushing.

"I think he's a little nervous about you. You did punch him in the face," Keitaro explained.

"You mean- I thought that was you! I'm sorry, are you hurt?" she asked.

"Um, I'm fine," said Kiyoshi. "I'm very sorry about that, by the way. I was kind of in freefall, so I couldn't pick my landing."

"You get used to it," said Keitaro. "Anyways, this is Motoko Aoyama."

"HUH? Aoyama! As in, the Aoyama's of the God's Cry School?"

"What? Um, yes, that's correct," Motoko responded, surprised.

"My sensei in America told me about you. Well, about your school, anyways. He said that to defeat them is to prove yourself as the ultimate swordsman."

"Um, excuse me," said Keitaro, "but I'm gonna need to start studying again soon. Can we just finish this?"

"Sorry," said Kiyoshi sarcastically.

"Good," said Keitaro, completely missing the sarcasm. "This is Mitsune Konno, or Kitsune." Kiyoshi nodded at her, and she raised a glass to him. "This is Kaolla Su."

"Hey, you're the one who kicked me earlier," said Kiyoshi.

"Don't feel special," said Su. "I greet Keitaro like that too."

"And finally," said Keitaro, "Shinobu Maehara." He nodded and smiled at her, and she began blushing furiously. "Anyone have any special comments?"

"If you ever come into my room while I'm changing again I'll kill you," said Naru.

"You mentioned your sensei," said Motoko. "What were you trained in?"

"Oh," said Kiyoshi, "this and that. Mostly kendo."

"Ohh, me next!" said Su. "Do banana's grow in America?"

"Um, I... think so," said Kiyoshi, thoroughly confused.

"Got any booze?" asked Kitsune.

"What? Um, no, I'm only fifteen."

"Is there anything special you want for dinner," asked Shinobu shyly.

"No, I'll eat whatever you cook. I'm like a garbage disposal. Put it in front of me and stand back, or you might lose a finger," Kiyoshi joked.

"You're pretty funny for a little guy," said Kitsune. "Kinda cute, too."

"Kitsune!" said Naru. "He's just a kid!"

"I'm just jokin'," said Kitsune.

"It was nice to meet you all," said Kiyoshi. "Thank you for making me feel welcome. Well, I've got dishes to do, so I guess I'll see you guys around." He walked into the kitchen and began filling the sink with hot water.

"He's pretty nice," said Naru. "How long is he going to be staying here? A week? A month?"

"Actually, he might be her for several years."

"WHAT?" said Naru. "This is a girl's dorm! No guy can come in off the street, even if he is your nephew!"

"It's not that easy," said Keitaro. "I'm his closest living relative. His parents died five years ago."

"Oh," said Naru. "I had no idea."

"Plus, he's trying to get into Tokyo U., just like us!"

"Him? He's just fifteen!"

"Yeah, but he skipped two years in high school. He's gonna be doing a bunch of work around the house along with paying rent. Give it some time, you'll all come around to like him."

Finding His Place

"Kiyoshi," called Haruka as she walked into Hinata house. "C'mon down to the café for lunch. I'll even give you an employee discount."

"Hi aunt Haruka," Keitaro called. "We're back!"

"Hey, welcome home. Have you met Kiyoshi yet?"

"Yeah, I introduced him already. Everyone seems to love him. He already did the dishes, and apparently he cleaned the bath this morning. He and Motoko are on the back lawn discussing their kendo experiences. I swear, it's like he's been here for months instead of, what, a day?" He came down the stairs. "I can't believe I had a sister I didn't know about. Well, half sister, anyways. It's weird thinking of him as my nephew; I'm only five years older than him."

"Yeah, it's strange," agreed Haruka. "But, get used to it. He says that he's gonna try to get into Tokyo U."

"I'm proud of him," said Keitaro. "Whoa, I'm thinking like he's my little brother or something." Just then, a loud crash reverberated from the back of the house. It was accompanied by screaming. "Oh crap!" shouted Keitaro. "Let's go!" They ran around to the back of the house and found Motoko and Kiyoshi standing about twenty feet apart with swords raised. Kiyoshi's was a battered wooden training sword.

"You're better than I expected," grunted Motoko.

"I try," Kiyoshi said, grinning. "Now let's see how you do against this! La Brea Doomed Dragon Technique: Final Flash Blade!" He jumped high into the air, and the sun dimmed as he passed in front of it. "Hyah!" He swung his sword down, and the blade seemed to glow. Motoko brought hers up to meet it, and a resounding crash echoed through the air. When the smoke cleared, Kiyoshi was laying on the ground at Motoko's feet. "D-damn. That hurt."

"It's the God's Cry School Eclipse Block. Your mastery of Ki is impressive. I would like to learn some of these attacks at some point," said Motoko.

"No problem," responded Kiyoshi. "I'll teach you...if you'll teach me the counter attacks you used today."

"Hmph. It's a deal." Kiyoshi stood, bowed, and walked away.

"Hey," he said. "Keitaro. And aunt Haruka. How are you?"

"I'm fine," said Keitaro. "What about you? Are you hurt?"

"Nah, just a little bruised. We promised we wouldn't actually try to hurt one another. Besides; us Urashima men are indestructible, remember?"

"Yeah, there's always that. Haruka says it's time for lunch."

"Oh, well, actually, I already ate. I helped Shinobu with some homework, and she was nice enough to make me lunch."

"Really? That was nice of you," said Haruka. "You seem to be a real lady's man. You studied with Shinobu, and then sparred with Motoko. What's next, are you gonna pick bananas with Su? Drink till you drop with Kitsune?"

"No! It's nothing like that," said Kiyoshi. "I'm just trying to get a feel for the way things work around here. By the way, Keitaro?"

"Yeah, what is it?" Keitaro responded.

"I was wondering, where do you keep your tools?"

"Huh? For what?"

"I noticed an irregularity in the water heater, and so I'm going to check it over. If you don't need me for anything else, I'm going do that, go take a bath, and then get a nap in before dinner."

"Uh, I can't think of anything else. Haruka?"

"Well, if you want to make some money on the side, we could use an extra set of hands at the café. How good are you with a spatula?"

"I think I can handle it. I'll come down after dinner you can test me out." He turned and walked towards the house. "Oh! Hey Keitaro! Where did you say those tools were?"

"Um, in the basement. Look, I can get it later!" he called.

"No way, I've got it!"

"He's sure stubborn, once he puts his mind to something," said Haruka, shaking her head.

Several hours later, Kiyoshi staggered out of the basement with grease streaking his face and sweat staining his clothes. "Done!" he cried cheerfully. "Time for that bath." He walked out onto the balcony outside of Keitaro's room. 'Keitaro's Bath' was written on a sign hanging on the side of it. 'Keitaro's' had been scratched out and replaced with 'Men's'. He climbed in and sat back.

"Kiyoshi, are you in there?" called Keitaro.

"Yeah, I'm in the bath," called Kiyoshi. "Whatcha need?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to thank you for fixing the water heater. That's amazing. It works better than it ever has. How'd you learn all this stuff?"

"Oh, you know," Kiyoshi said as he hoisted himself out of the bath. "It's all in the experience. At the orphanage in San Francisco, I befriended the janitor. He showed me some of his tricks, taught me basic maintenance skills, and snuck me extra food. In exchange, I defended him whenever the other kids made fun of him. See, he was blind in one eye, so those poachers pounced on him. I was always in a fight." He was dressing in his only other set of clothes; blue jeans, a white t-shirt with the ace of spades printed on the front and Risky printed on the back. He carefully pulled a pointed silver cross on a metal chain out of his bag and slipped it around his neck. "You should have seen some of the battles I was in. That's the whole reason master Shikota took me under his wing and taught me some swordplay and various martial arts."

"Sounds like a pretty rough-and-tumble life. Did you ever get hurt too badly?"

"Nah," Kiyoshi said, opening the door and coming into the room. "I mean, I got my nose broken once, my right hand once, and my big toe on my left foot twice. Each fight preceded two things: a trip to the nurse's office and relocation to a different orphanage. That's why I took off as soon as I could."

"Didn't you have any friends to help you out in a fight?" questioned Keitaro. He looked like a kid asking his grandfather about his war stories.

Kiyoshi grinned and said, "No, I was pretty anti-social. I didn't like making friends and leaving them behind, so I just stopped making friends."

"So you never had a girlfriend, either?"

"Well, there was a girl named Elli at the last orphanage. She made me promise to stop fighting so I wouldn't get sent away. We decided to try the long distance relationship thing, but she broke up with me about two weeks ago."

"That's a bummer. Well, good luck finding someone new."

"Thanks. What about you? Who's your girlfriend? Lemme guess- Kitsune?"

"Wha-!" said Keitaro with a look of shock on his face. "Uh, no! I don't have a girlfriend. At least I don't think so. I mean, I'm trying. You see, it's like this. I, uh...I'm babbling, aren't I?"

"Like a lunatic," agreed Kiyoshi with a somber nod. They looked at each other. Kiyoshi's lip twitched, and they both burst into laughter. They laughed till they collapsed and sat there talking until Shinobu called them for dinner.

A Great Meal and a Job

"This...is...excellent!" said Kiyoshi as he dug into his third plate of Shinobu Style Spaghetti. "Oh man, my mom didn't even cook like this!" Everyone else was finished and watching him with a kind of morbid curiosity. Shinobu seemed happy to see he liked her cooking, and Kitsune idly wondered where he was putting it all. He finished his plate, chugged a glass of milk, and let out a big sigh. "I have never...in all my years...had a meal of that caliber, with the possible exception of today's lunch. Do you always cook like this Shinobu?"

"Um, not always this good," she said.

"You're just being modest," Kitsune interjected. "Everything she cooks is this good or better."

"I am going to love living here. I'm gonna be fat in no time, though. Thank you so much. Is everyone done?" They responded with a chorus of affirmatives, so he began gathering the dishes and running some water. "Lemme just do these, and then I've gotta go down to the café. I've got a job interview."

"Please, Kiyoshi," said Shinobu. "I'll take care of the dishes."

"You sure? All right, thanks. I'm not sure when I'll be back, but if it's a reasonable time, would anyone like to play some cards?"

"Sure," said Kitsune. "Let's play poker."

"Ooh, I want to play!" said Su. "What's poke her?"

"I'm in," said Keitaro.

"I've got to study," said Naru.

"No I'm not going to get better playing cards," grumbled Motoko.

"Uh, I don't know how," said Shinobu, "but I'd be more than happy to learn."

"All right," said Kiyoshi. "It's a party, then. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Kiyoshi dashed down the stairs and into the dusk. He went over the day in his mind. 'I can't believe I've made so many friends,' he thought. 'Keitaro and Haruka like me, but they're family. Shinobu's really nice, and Su seems to like everybody. Kitsune and Motoko are hard to read, but they seem to like me. It's only Naru that I don't get. Man, she's complex.' He arrived at the café a minute later. "Aunt Haruka?" he called hesitantly from the back door.

"Oh, Kiyoshi, in here," she responded from a walk-in freezer.

"Hello, how are you?" he asked politely.

"You sure are polite," Haruka said with a laugh. "I'm gonna give you a little more advice some other time. C'mon into the manager's office, it's right this way." They walked down the hallway and into a small but well furnished office. "Take a seat," Haruka said as she sat down behind the desk. "Let's get started. Have you had any experience?"

"Well, I cooked sometimes at the last orphanage I was in. We all took turns with cooking, cleaning, and the like so I know how to do that stuff."

"Good," she said, and made a mark on sheet of paper. "Are you good with money?"

"Um, I guess. I mean, math isn't my strongest suit, but simple stuff like counting money and doing inventory should be fine.

"Ok. Are you good with people?"

"Well, I was back home, but I'm not sure if my Japanese is good enough to work in the front."

"Alright, that's it."

"Really? That's all?"

"Oh, I need you to say your name, age, level of education, and if you're a minor, who you live with."

"Kiyoshi Urashima, age fifteen. High School graduate from the United States. I currently live with my uncle, Keitaro Urashima."

"Very professional. Ok. We just got an application for the same job, but I'll look you both over and see who has more qualification. That's all for tonight, I'll talk to you tomorrow about the job."

"All right. Bye, Aunt Haruka!" He walked out the back door and started towards Hinata house. 'My first job interview!' he thought with excitement. 'I hope I get the job; I really need the money. I can't keep washing the same clothes every day.' He arrived back at the house at around eight thirty. The house seemed much larger at night. He walked to the door, almost rang the bell, caught himself, and went in.

A Night Of Cards and Advice

"Kiyoshi!" yelled Su, as she seemed to drop from nowhere and boot him in the head.

"Ow," he said as he got back onto his feet. "Hi."

"Keitaro! Kitsune! Shinobu! Kiyoshi's back!"

"Hey Kiyoshi," Keitaro called from upstairs. "I'll be down in a minute."

Kitsune came bounding down the stairs. "Hey there! We are betting money tonight, right?" she said.

"Uh, no, sorry. I'm broke, and I bet Keitaro is too." Kitsune looked slightly disappointed, but a thump and the sound of cracking wood from upstairs distracted her. "Speaking of broke, that sounded like a wooden bucket."

"Keitaro came rolling down the stairs, stood up, and shook his head. "She's gonna kill me one of these days. I...um...happened to glance over the edge of the balcony as Naru was getting into the bath. She flew off the handle and threw a bucket at my head!" They sat down at the table, and Shinobu joined them a moment later.

"So what's the game?" asked Kitsune. "Three card draw, five card stud, Texas hold 'em?"

"I think three card draw would be easiest to for Shinobu and Su to learn," said Kiyoshi. "Okay. First, we deal five cards to each person. You want to have pairs, three of a kind, or four of a kind. Those are simple. Other things are a full house, that's a pair of one card and three of one other. Then there's a straight, which is five cards in a row. You know, like 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or something. Then there's a flush, which is a hand of one suit. Now, choose up to three of the cards in your hand you want to trade for cards from the top of the deck." Everyone complied. "Now, we show each other our hands, and whoever has the highest combo wins." They laid out the cards. "Okay. That's...a pair of nines for Keitaro, a pair of fours for me, and a two pair for Kitsune, a three of a kind for Su, and... an ace high for Shinobu. That means that Su wins." The game carried on for about an hour, until Shinobu decided to call it a night. Keitaro had to study and Kitsune looked pretty drunk, so they all decided to quit for the night. As he went up to Keitaro's room, he had a thought. 'If Keitaro's studying, that means Naru's gonna be in there two. I guess I'll hang out in the living room.' As he walked past Shinobu's room, he heard her crying.

"Oh, what's wrong with-sniff-me? My grades are slipping; I'm not talking to my friends as much. Maybe I should ask Sempai." She gave a dreamy sigh. "He always knows what to do."

"Sounds like you hold this 'Sempai' in great regard. Who is he?" said Kiyoshi as casually as he could, leaning on the doorjamb.

"It's Keit- Ahh! Oh no! What did you hear!?"

"Easy, easy. I heard you crying, so I came in to see how you were doing. It sounds like you need someone to talk to."

"Um, no, I'm okay. Really! Ha ha." She grinned at him, but he could see tears forming in her eyes.

"You're sure there's nothing you want to talk about. You'll feel better if you do."

"Actually, there is something." She shook her head. "I can't believe I'm gonna tell you this."

"Shinobu, a secret is like a weight. The more people there are bearing it, the lighter it becomes."

"Okay. Thanks, that makes sense. I-I'm in lo- I like someone. We both know him."

"Ohhh! You're in love with someone. You should tell them how you feel."

"It's not that easy. See, he's older than I am. A lot older, actually. He probably thinks I'm just some silly little kid."

"Let me guess. Is it...Uncle Keitaro?"

"Eeep! Yes, I mean no! Don't tell anyone! Promise you won't tell!"

"Shinobu, you have my word. I won't tell a soul, under pain of death. I really think that you should tell Uncle Keitaro, though." He ruffled her hair. "As for your grades, I can help you if you want. Just ask." She nodded and smiled. "There you go," he said. "You know, you're pretty when you smile. Make sure you smile when you tell Uncle Keitaro you love him." She nodded again. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she said back. He walked to the couch, thinking about how good it felt to help someone. He lay down on the couch and was asleep before he knew it.

Interesting Sale

The next few weeks passed as a blur in front of Kiyoshi's eyes. He did work around the dorm; he played a lot of solitaire while the others were busy. He did end up getting the job at the café, so he began working there for up to ten hours per day. It was easy work, and it paid. It wasn't much, but it was more than Kiyoshi was used to. He went out and bought a couple more pairs of jeans, a few t-shirts, boxers, and socks. As he walked through town one day, he stumbled over an antiquities shop, and decided to go in. He was drawn towards the back of the shop, and since the proprietor was nowhere to be seen, he went back. There were various weapons and pieces of samurai armor on the walls, all of which was seemed inexpensive. He found one sword that seemed to fit into his hand as if it was made for it. The tag said 'The Cursed Dragon Sword: 5,000 yen'. He took it off the shelf and brought it out to the front of the store. No one was around, so he went to the register, took a slip of receipt paper and wrote 'I purchased the Cursed Dragon Sword. The five thousand yen are in a brown paper bag back where the sword was.' With his new sword on his belt, he walked out onto the street. A storm had gathered while he was in the store, but he didn't mind.

Kiyoshi's Date

Lightning flashed thunder boomed just as Kiyoshi opened the door to Hinata house. He walked in out of the rain, shook off some of the water, and went up to Keitaro's room. "You'll never guess what I found toda-!" he called as he entered Keitaro's room. Keitaro and Naru were very close to one another, and looked about to kiss. "Go uncle," said Kiyoshi. "Hey, Kitsune, come quick!"

With her eye twitching Naru punched Keitaro out the window, then whirled on Kiyoshi. "You...die...now..." she growled as she paced towards him.

"Um, I was...just leaving," he stammered, but he was too slow. A punch to the jaw sent him bouncing and skittering down the hall. Kitsune stopped him in mid-slide with her foot.

"What were you calling for?" she said. "Hey, quit bleeding on my shoe!"

"Ugh, sorry," he said as he climbed to his feet. He took a roll of gauze out of his pocket and wrapped his head. "I caught Naru and Keitaro about to kiss, but when she saw me, Naru whooped him and turned on me."

"They were-," here eye twitched. "About to kiss?"

"Yeah, no doubt about it. She didn't look too mad about it, until she realized she was being watched. I guess I shouldn't have shouted."

"Well, now we know what to be on the lookout for. See if you can sit in on any of their study sessions and catch 'em in the act!" She got a devious look on her face.

"Yes commander!" he shouted, really getting into the act. "Um, I was wondering, are you busy tonight?"

"Do you mean...are you asking me on a date?" she said with a grin.

"Huh? No. I was just thinking as a celebration of my job. I'll pay, since you lost a lot of money on the horse races today."

"Kiyoshi, you are a true gentleman. That sounds great, and I know the perfect place. Meet me in the living room at seven."

"Sure thing. Not a moment later."

"All right, see you then."

"Yep. I should go seek more...professional medical treatment. My head feels funny."

"You do that," she laughed. They went their separate ways, Kitsune back to her room and Kiyoshi to his. He placed his new sword with his old, wooden training sword. Then he went and caught the next train to the hospital. 'I'm gonna be broke after today,' he thought half-glumly.

A Magical Train Ride

The doctor released him after hearing his story. He had wanted to keep Kiyoshi for a while to do experiments, and find out why Kiyoshi was invulnerable. Kiyoshi ended up sneaking out the window and making a break for it. He finally made it back to Hinata house at six thirty, and decided he had time for a bath. He bathed and changed, and came back down at ten to seven. He wore a new pair of faded blue jeans, a t-shirt with 'Otaku: Get Your Freak On!' printed on the front, and his old button-down shirt. He completed the look with a new pair of sandals. He sat back on the couch and flicked on the TV.

He had interrupted the reporter in the middle of a sentence. "- Lost Wonders antique shop to the ground. The mysterious blaze started, says the owner, because an ancient and supposedly cursed sword was removed from the shop. The person who took it left the asking price for the sword in cash, so the proprietor will not press charges. The true cause is still being investigated. I'm-." Kiyoshi turned off the TV. 'That's my sword he's talking about,' he thought. 'I wonder what happened? And what's this about a cursed sword? This is dangerous. I did notice a strange aura in the blade, but I'm sure they wouldn't have sold it if it was dangerous.' He heard someone coming down the stairs, so he turned to see whom it was.

"Hey," he said to Kitsune. He glanced at his watch. "Seven p.m. exactly. Good timing."

"Hey, I'm getting a free meal," she said. "You better believe I'm here on time. C'mon, the restaurant is in the Kanagawa Prefecture, so we gotta get going." Kiyoshi got up, and the two of them walked out of the house together. 'Man, this feels like a date,' Kiyoshi thought. 'I wonder how she feels?'

"Did you hear about the fire?" he said.

"No," she responded. "What happened? Is anyone hurt?"
"This antique shop burned down. I don't know if anyone got hurt. The weirdest thing is, it was the same antique shop I went to earlier today."

"Oh, so the little arsonist admits it!" Kitsune teased. "I'm gonna hafta put you under civilian arrest." She grabbed his hands and put them behind his back. "You have the right to remain silent," she began. Kiyoshi started laughing, and began playfully struggling.

"I'll never talk, copper!" he said. 'Oh, my god, I think she's flirting with me!' he thought in shock. 'Crap, how do I respond?' She laughed and let go of him. They continued walking to the train station and got on. They sat next to each other, and Kiyoshi felt more awkward than he had ever been. To try and keep Kitsune entertained, he pulled a deck of cards seemingly out of thin air. "Pick a card," he said, fanning the deck, "any card." Gamely, she reached forward, plucked a card out of the deck and looked at it. "Place it back in the deck," he said in his performance voice. He was getting into it. She did so, and he began shuffling through it. He pulled out the card he was certain was hers. "It this your card?" he said with a triumphant grin.

"Nope," she said with grin to match his.

"Huh?" he looked perplexed. "Is this it?"

"Nope." She reached behind his head, stuck her hand down the back of his shirt, and pulled out the queen of diamonds. "This is my card."

"Holy crap. How'd you do that?"

"What, the trick? It's easy."

"No, I mean turning my card trick into your own. That's astounding."

"Aww, I'm sure you tell all the girls that," she laughed.

Dinner and...Drinks?

"Kanagawa station," said the mechanical voice of the train. "This stop, Kanagawa station."

"That's us," Kitsune said. She grabbed his hand, and he allowed himself to be towed off of the train. "The place we're going to is right around the corner." They rounded the corner and she pointed to a large, brightly lit place with an outdoor patio on the second floor. "Ta-da! The Kanagawa Bar and Grille. Best namachu on this side of the country."

"A bar? Um, what's the legal drinking age in this country?" he said nervously.

"Look, just tell them that you're twenty. I'll back you up. I know the owner, and he lets me bring friends in, as long as they're twenty." They walked in, and the hostess led them to a booth in the back.

"Good to see you again, Kitsune," she said. "Looks like you got another one. Hmm, this one's cute. Tell me if things don't work out."

"Haven't you stolen enough of my dates?" Kitsune said with a laugh. "Bring us a couple of beers."

"How old's your new man?"

"Twenty," Kiyoshi said. The hostess looked at Kitsune, who nodded, and went to get their drinks. Kiyoshi picked up his menu and scanned it. "What do you recommend?" he asked Kitsune.

"Well, everything's decent. It depends on what you like," she said with a shrug. He turned back to the menu.

"This looks good," he said, pointing to an item. "'Nova Curry: Spiciest curry in Japan'."

"Wha- what? You're serious? Look, no offense, but I'm not sure you can handle it. I tried it once, and I barely have the guts to look at it now. When they say spiciest, they mean it."

"Well, that settles it," he said with a nod. "I'll try it." The waitress showed up with their drinks, and asked them what they wanted. Kitsune ordered her usual, and Kiyoshi got his curry. Kiyoshi took a cautious sip of his beer. "Hmm. Hey, that's not bad. With the way my dad talked about alcohol, I thought it would...I don't know, burn my lips off or something." He laughed.

"Tell me about America," Kitsune enquired. "What's it like?"

"Well, I know that my area of the country is nice. California was perfect. The sun was always shining, and the ocean was magnificent. It was always warm, but almost never hot."

"Sounds like a challenge. I guarantee that in a few months, you'll see that California's nothing compared to Japan," she teased.

"All right," he said, "it's a bet. If, three months from now, you change my mind, I'll be your slave for a week." 'Oh my God, what did I just say? Oh man, she's gonna think I'm a pervert!'

"It's a deal," she said, so they shook on it. They talked about their lives for a while, each asking the other questions, until the meals came.

"Which one of you is the psycho?" the waitress said.

Kiyoshi kind of put his hand up. "That's me," he said. She shook her head and put his plate in front of him. She gave Kitsune her meal, and then offered to bring them both another beer. They both nodded, so she walked away to get them their drinks. Kiyoshi looked at his curry. "Man, this even looks spicy." He took his chopsticks and hesitantly ate some. Kitsune watched in fascination, rather like a spectator at the fight of the century. "Not bad," he said with a nod. His eyes started tearing up, and he finally cracked. "Hot! Hot! Hot!" Just then, the waitress arrived with their beer. Kiyoshi grabbed his, chugged it down, and sat there panting. "God, that's hot. It's also delicious." With that he dug in like a starving man. "Ahh," he said. "Sweet satisfaction." He sat back and watched Kitsune eat. "So, what do you want from life?"

She paused eating, and said, "Well, I'd like to be rich and famous. What about you?"

"Nah, it's stupid," he said, and took another sip of this third beer. 'When did this show up?' he thought. 'Oh well, don't look a gift horse in the mouth.'

"Aw, c'mon, it can't be that bad. Just tell me," she coerced.

"Oh, all right. I want to become a teacher. I want to be more than just a teacher, though. I want to be a mentor for kids to keep them from getting messed up. I love helping. I See, I told you it was stupid." He looked down. "Feel free to make any jokes you want."

"Wanting to help isn't stupid at all, Kiyoshi. It's very sweet. I've been trying to help Naru and Keitaro for a while, now."

"Really? Then maybe you can help me. You see, this friend of mine has a crush on someone older than her, but she's really in love with this guy. I want to give Shino-," he turned the word into a cough, "give her some advice, but I can't really. All I could think of was 'tell him' and 'smile'."

"If you're talking about Shinobu, I already know she's in love with Keitaro. She has been practically since he arrived."

"Oh." 'Crap,' he thought. "Well, do you have any advice?"

"Nothing but what you gave her," she shrugged. The waitress came and offered them each another beer. They accepted, and drank quietly for a little while.

"Y'know?" Kiyoshi said. His words were starting to slur. "This has been fun."

"Yeah, I guess it has," Kitsune replied.

"Maybe-hic-maybe we can do this again?" He looked up at her.

"Sorry, but it wouldn't work out between us. I've already set my sights on someone. Sorry," she said, genuinely sounding it.

"S'all right. I understand. Ahh, it'd be weird anyways." They both finished their drinks, and the waitress brought their bill. He pulled out his wallet and began rummaging through it. "Lessee, here's a thousand yen...two thousand...three thousand...four thousand...ah, here's 4649 yen for dinner," he slurred, handing the money to the waitress. She left, and he plopped 700 yen on the table as a tip.

The Picture Booth

They got up and left. The night was cold, and Kiyoshi numbly thought, 'I should have worn a jacket.' He noticed Kitsune shivering, and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Thanks," she said. "I guess I should have worn something with sleeves. By the way, who was she?"

"Who?" he asked, puzzled.

"The girl. I saw her picture in your wallet. You know, the blonde."

"Ohhh, right, her. That's Ellie. She was my girlfriend, but then I moved here and she broke up with me."

"But you still carry her picture everywhere with you? Sounds like you still have the hots for her."

"Nah, she's just a pen pal now. I always put pictures of my friends in my wallet."

"Then why don't you have very many pictures?"

"Don't have many friends." The cold air was helping him sober up. "Hey, do you want to get a space in my wallet?"

"Sure," she said, and they walked into a nearby arcade. Kiyoshi took his last few yen out of his wallet, careful not to let Kitsune see, and got them changed into tokens. They found a booth, and Kitsune got in.

The shutter clicked, and a mechanical voice said, "Two pictures left." Kitsune reached out, grabbed Kiyoshi, and hauled him in. They both made funny faces and started laughing. "One picture left," announced the booth. Kiyoshi smiled, and watched the countdown on the screen. 5...4...3...2...1...and Kitsune kissed him on the cheek just as the shutter clicked and the screen flashed. "Please step out of the booth and collect your pictures," said the booth. Kiyoshi looked at Kitsune with surprise, and she just smiled. They got out, got their pictures, and left.

"Thanks," said Kiyoshi. "I know it's weird, but this means a lot to me."

"Don't worry, it's not weird. Keitaro's got a whole book of pictures, and they're all of him. Well, and one of him and Naru," she conceded. "When we get home, I'll help you cut it out and everything."

"Sounds good," he agreed. They got on the train and rode back towards Hinata house. Kitsune's head dropped onto Kiyoshi's shoulder, and he looked at he watch. 'Wow, it's one in the morning!' he thought. 'Man, this'll look suspicious when we come walking in together. He put his arm around Kitsune's shoulders again, and closed his eyes.

A Goodnight Kiss

When the train stopped, Kiyoshi jolted awake, and saw they were at their station. He gently woke Kitsune, and they walked home together. "I had a good time," Kitsune said, as they stood on the porch.

"Me too," Kiyoshi said. "We can still hang out, right? Things won't get weird?"

"Kiyoshi, all things get weird in Hinata house, but we can try." She smiled, and then said, "Aren't you going to kiss me goodnight?"

"Oh, um, sure," he stuttered, in complete shock. He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. "First date, no tongue," he joked. They went inside, as quietly as they could. They weren't quiet enough. Keitaro flicked on the light.

"Do you know what time it is?" he said. "We were worried about you."

"Why? I can take care of myself," Kiyoshi said.

"Yeah, but the fact is, you were out until one thirty with Kitsune, and you didn't tell anyone where you were going."

Kiyoshi sighed. "All right, all right. Next time I'm going to leave the house, other than for work, I'll tell you. I guess it feels good to know that someone cares if I'm out past midnight." He turned to Kitsune. "Goodnight," he said clumsily.

"Goodnight to you too," she responded. "Goodnight Keitaro," she said.

"Huh? Goodnight," he said back, looking confused. He and Kiyoshi went up to their room and turned out the light. "Did you mean what you said?" Keitaro inquired.

"What do you mean?" Kiyoshi said back.

"You know, when you said that it felt good to know someone cared. Did you mean that?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, at the orphanage, you're just another mouth to feed, but here, it's like I have a family again. If I disappeared, I know you guys would look for me until you found me, and that makes me feel kind of warm. Sounds kind of sappy, I know."

"Yep," Keitaro agreed. "Totally." They both started laughing, and laughed until they fell asleep.

Yuletide Blues

Time passed, and Kiyoshi began studying with Naru and Keitaro. The air began to grow cold, and Kiyoshi's demeanor seemed to plunge with the temperature. He no longer greeted everyone with great energy. A simple 'hi' or 'morning' replaced his usual shouts of greeting. He rarely sparred with Motoko, and his studies were sinking. Shinobu began worrying about him, and the others soon followed. "It is distressing," said Motoko. "Why is he behaving differently?"

"Got me," Kitsune said. "Maybe we should try to find out." At that moment, Kiyoshi walked in. "Oh, hey Kiyoshi," she said brightly.

"Hi everyone," he said with a sigh. "Keitaro, can I talk to you?"

"Huh? Sure," he said. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to tell you that I moved into a different room. There's an empty room down the hall from yours, so I brought all my stuff into there and got set up. I'll pay more for rent now, of course. I just wanted to see if you had any objections."

"Umm, no, none I can think of. Why did you move out of the room?"

"Just for privacy, for both of us. It can't be fun having a kid in your room, so I moved there. Well, I'm going to go study...or something. Oh, I cleaned the bath. Later." He walked out of the room, into his new bedroom, and shut the door.

"There's definitely something wrong with him," Kitsune said. "Did you notice the way his eyes were pointed down the whole time?"

"Yeah," said Shinobu. "I wonder what the problem is?"

"Maybe he ate something bad," suggested Su.

"It's not a physical illness," said Motoko. "If it was, his Ki would have been odd. It just seemed like he had less spirit than usual."

"Haven't any of you looked at the calendar?" said Haruka from the table.

"Huh? Haruka, when did you show up?" asked Keitaro. "And what do you mean, what does the calendar have to do with this?"

"Duh, it should be obvious. It's December fifteen."

"Yeah, only ten days to Christmas. You'd think he'd be happy. Is it because he didn't get any presents at the...the orphanage! Of course! His parents died on Christmas Eve."

"Oh, so he's just depressed," said Kitsune. "We should throw him a kickin' Christmas party. Haruka, you bring the booze."

"We just need to find a way to cheer him up. Does anybody know anything that's really special to him?" said Shinobu.

"Hey, I've got it!" said Kitsune. "His pictures! He collects pictures of all his friends in his wallet. He's only got, like, two. I bet that if we all got a picture of ourselves for his wallet, he'd know how many friends he's got and he'd feel better." The others all nodded and gave their assent. "We should do it as a Christmas present."

"That's a great idea," said Keitaro. They all agreed, and so they all decided to put a picture of himself or herself in with Kiyoshi's present from that person. Eight days later, everything was finished. Kiyoshi was rarely seen outside of his room. He cleaned the bath late at night, when everyone was asleep. He stopped showing up for study sessions, and he barely ate. As evening approached, they managed to talk him out of his room to play some cards. He, Kitsune, and Shinobu played crazy eights, and he opened up a little bit. When the game was done, Shinobu asked him to help her with some work, so he went up to her room and sat across from her while she read to him from her English book.

"That was very good," he complimented. "Your English is almost good enough that you could live in America."

"Oh, thank you," she said, blushing. "Tell me, why have you been so depressed lately?"

"I guess I'm that transparent, huh? All right, I'll spill. I don't know if I told you, but my parents died on Christmas Eve. The thing is, my dad died because he hauled me out of the fire. So you see, if it weren't for me, he'd still be alive. I just can't shake the feeling that it's all my fault. I just... I sometimes wish I had died in that fire as well."

"Don't say that!" she scolded. "Never wish anything like that. If your dad died to save you, you should live your life for all it's worth. I mean, your dad didn't die so you could mope around all depressed."

"You know what, Shinobu? You always ask me for help on your homework and stuff, but at the end of the day, you're so much wiser than I could ever hope to be. Thanks." He smiled, and said, "You're right. I should go back out there and have a blast. My parents would have loved you guys." He gave her a tight hug. "I'll never forget this," he whispered to her, and he started towards the door. "Oh, do you need any more help?"

"Huh, no. I just wanted to know if my English was right. Thank you."

"No, thank you," he smiled. "Come back out with me, we can find some new games to play." They left her room, all smiles, and went back downstairs.

"Wow, what'd you guys do?" Kitsune said to Shinobu with a sly smile. "It must have been great, just look at him smile."

"All we did was talk!" Shinobu said indignantly, blushing furiously. Kiyoshi poured himself a cup of coffee and joined in the games, laughing for the first time in weeks.

Kiyoshi's First Valentine's Day

A couple months rolled by, and Kiyoshi realized that it was only a few days until Valentine's Day. Since he was unfamiliar with the Japanese traditions, he went to Keitaro. "Are you in there?" he said as he knocked on Keitaro's door. He heard papers shuffling about inside, and then Keitaro opened the door.

"Hey," Keitaro said. "Come on in." Kiyoshi walked in and sat down at Keitaro's table. "I'll get you some coffee."

"Black is fine," Kiyoshi said. He began looking through the papers that Keitaro had left out. "You're studying English in here?" he said, less of a question than a statement.

"Yeah," he said, bringing the coffee over. "Does it look okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Um, I was wondering about Valentine's Day. What are the customs in Japan? I don't want to do anything wrong."

"Well," said Keitaro, taking a sip of his coffee. "On Valentine's Day, girls give guys chocolate. Giri-choco is friendship chocolate, and Honmei-choco is love chocolate. A month later, on March fourteen, the guys get presents for all the girls that gave them presents. That's called White Day."

"Okay, thanks," said Kiyoshi with a nod. He picked up his coffee, threw his head back, and chugged the whole cup. "I get it now. I'm going to go back to my room and study history. Thanks for the help and the coffee."

"Yeah, no problem," Keitaro said. Kiyoshi left, thinking about what he had learned. 'So the girls give chocolate to guys on Valentine's Day. I wonder if I'll get any? I might get some giri-choco from Shinobu for helping her with her homework.' Lost in thought, he walked back into his room, but walked past his desk. He stopped when he got to his deck and went outside. The air was cool, but it felt good. He leaned on the railing and sighed, looking out over the landscape. He picked up his training sword, and then set it back down. He went to pick up the Cursed Dragon Sword, but recoiled when he touched it. It had sent a shock up his arm, and he didn't think it was just static cling. He shook his head, went back in, and picked up his history book.

Several days passed, and when Kiyoshi woke up on Valentine's Day, he had no clue that it was indeed a holiday. He woke up at six, as usual, to get his housework done, and walked through the empty hallways. 'It's so peaceful at this time of the morning,' he thought, but then he noticed the sound of clattering pans and whispered curses. He snuck through the hallway and peeked into the kitchen. Inside, Naru was frantically trying to pack away pots as she tucked something into her pocket. "Need some help?" he said, walking into the room.

She screamed and dropped the pans. "Aw, dammit!" she said as the pots clattered to the floor. "You scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry. What are you doing up so early?"

"Early? Oh my God! It's quarter after six?! Oh, man!" She left the pots on the floor and dashed away towards her room.

"She is one weird woman," Kiyoshi said, shaking his head as he picked up the pans and put them away. He started doing dishes and began singing. "One light, one mind, flashing in the dark. Blinded by silence of a thousand broken hearts. 'For crying out loud,' she screamed unto me. A free for all, fu- hey Shinobu," he broke off in mid word. "This kitchen is pretty popular this morning. What do you need?"

"Um, well," she stuttered. "See, I was going to make some chocolate."

"Oh yeah? What for? Oh yeah, it's Valentine's Day. So, who's the lucky guy? No, don't tell me. If I knew I'd blab, and you seem to want it to be a surprise." He finished with the dishes and left the kitchen before Shinobu could say another word.

Kiyoshi finished cleaning the bath around nine thirty in the morning. He went back inside, grabbed his notebook, and dropped himself onto the couch. He began scribbling furiously in English, so no one else could understand all of what he wrote there. "Hey buddy," Keitaro said, entering the room. "What's up?"

"Ah! I wasn't writing anything, I swear!" Kiyoshi started. "Oh, Keitaro. Sorry about that."

"Um, that's okay," Keitaro said, confused. "I was actually wondering if you were going to study with Naru and me later on."

"Nah, I'll let you two alone for a while." He winked at Keitaro. "I don't want to disturb anything." Keitaro was saved from an embarrassing moment when Kitsune, Shinobu, Su, and Motoko entered the room.

"There you boys are!" cried Kitsune. "Don't you know what today is?" She took a couple of tiny packages out of her pocket. "A little Giri-choco for my favorite guys."

"Hey, thanks!" Kiyoshi said.

"You won't be saying that when she's done with her list of presents she wants for White Day," Keitaro whispered, earning a sour look from Kitsune. "Uh, I mean, thank you."

"Ooh, me next!" said Su. She jumped onto the couch between them and shoved a piece of chocolate into each of their mouths. "It's my special curry flavored chocolate. I made it spicier."

Keitaro fell over with tears streaming down his cheeks, but Kiyoshi just chewed thoughtfully. "Say, this stuff ain't bad!" Su looked mildly shocked that he was still sitting up. "Thanks a lot."

Keitaro managed to struggle his way back into his seat. "I got you something...I guess..." said Motoko, blushing the slightest bit. She tossed a slab of baking chocolate to Keitaro. "You guys can split that."

"Thanks," they said in unison. 'Maybe I shouldn't press my luck,' Kiyoshi thought.

"Um, I made you guys these!" Shinobu said, blushing furiously. She set a pair of chocolate statues on the table in front of them and ran back to her room.

"Huh?" Keitaro stammered. "Hey, look! This one is a tiny statue of me, and that one's you!"

"Wow! Man, Shinobu is a master of the candy-maker's art." Kiyoshi got up from the couch. "I'm going to go tell her thank you!" He walked down the hallway and knocked on Shinobu's door. "Shinobu? Are you in there?" There was no answer, so he took a sheet of paper out of his pocket and wrote 'Thanks a bunch!' on it. He considered it, and then drew a big smiley face on it, signed his name, and slipped it under her door. As he walked away, Shinobu picked up the letter, and read it. She smiled a little, and started working on homework.

White Day Preparations

When the first of March rolled around, Kiyoshi had a brainstorm. He had been thinking of how to give everyone a present for White Day without going broke. Finally, he purchased a guitar and took some crash-course training on it. By the tenth, he had mastered it, and he perfected his gift just before midnight on the thirteenth. He set the guitar down, sighed, and went to sleep.

The next morning, he awoke to the sound of a crash. "Keitaro must have seen somebody naked," he mumbled into his pillow and tried to roll over. He looked at his clock and realized that it was almost eleven in the morning. "HUH? Oh, no!" He hurriedly dressed and grabbed his guitar. "Good morning!" he called as he entered the living room. There was nobody there. He walked around and found a note on the table. "Dear Kiyoshi," he read out loud. "We have gone into town for a White Day celebration. Keitaro is studying with Shirai and Haitani. We'll see you when we get home. Love, Shinobu, Motoko, Su, Kitsune, and Naru." He set the note down and walked back into the living room. He sat down on a chair and sighed. "Well, I may as well play it, since I know it.

He started strumming it, and picked up a tune. "Take me by the hand, it's so cold out tonight. I'll put blankets on the bed, I won't turn out the light just...don't forget to think about me and I...won't forget you. 'I'll write you once a week,' she said. Why does it feel the same to fall in love or break it off and if young love is just a game then, I must have missed the kick-off. Don't depend on me to ever follow through on anything, but I'd go through hell for you. I haven't been this scared, in a long time, and I'm so unprepared, so here's your valentine. Bouquet of clumsy words, a simple melody. This world's an ugly place, but you're so beautiful to me." He stopped and played a little solo. "I'll think about the times, she kissed me after class and, she put up with my friends, I acted like an ass. I ditched my lecture, to watch the girls play soccer. Is my picture still hanging in her locker? I haven't been this scared, in a long time, and I'm so unprepared, so here's your valentine. Bouquet of clumsy words, a simple melody. This world's an ugly place, but you're so beautiful... I haven't been this scared, in a long time, and I'm so unprepared, so here's your valentine. Bouquet of clumsy words, a simple melody. This world's an ugly place, but you're so beautiful..." He let the word trail off into silence. From behind him, Kitsune, Su, and Naru broke into applause.

"That was awesome!" Kitsune shouted, throwing her arms around him.

"Was th-that for us?" Shinobu said, as tears formed in her eyes.

"Um, yeah, I was kinda planning a concert for you guys. Happy White Day. When did you guys get back?"

"About the time you promised you wouldn't turn out the light. That was beautiful, did you write it?" Naru said.

"Hah! I wish. No, that's a song called 'Going Away To College' by a band named Blink 182. It's one of my personal favorites."

"It was...touching," Motoko said. "You admitted that you didn't write those words, so tell me this: did you mean them?"

"Um, what do you mean?"

"When you said that the world was ugly, but we were beautiful?"

"Well, yeah. You guys are my family. Without you this life might not be worth living. Oh man, I've gone sappy! Quick, someone! Put in an action movie! Turn on some wrestling!" Kitsune laughed and tackled him. Su jumped onto the dog pile with an exclamation. "Oh, two against one, huh?" He got his feet under himself, and stood up, with Kitsune on his back. He staggered around the room, trying to maintain his balance. Kitsune fell off of him onto the couch.

"You sure are a weird fellow," Naru said, shaking her head. "If you're done with your little concert, I'll be going back to my room and studying. Entrance exams are really soon, and I'd like to make it."

"Yeah, that's all for now. I might play some more later, if you ask me nicely, but now I have to get to work." As Naru turned to walk away, Kiyoshi ran up behind her. "Oh, no. No one escapes without a hug!" He grabbed her in a hug and lifted her off the ground.

"Ack! Let go!" she said. He set her down and ran over to the other girls. He was about to hug Motoko, but caught the evil eye instead. He shook her hand, and slinked away. He gave Su a bear hug and mussed up her hair. Shinobu got a nice hug, with less of the brute force and more of the pride. Lastly was Kitsune. He helped her off the couch and enfolded her in an embrace.

To everyone's surprise (even her own), she kissed him on the cheek. "Stay sweet," she said, and slipped out of his arms. She went off to her room, as did the others, leaving Kiyoshi standing there, looking shocked out of his mind.

The Exam Of Doom

It was the day of entrance exams, and Kiyoshi was as panicked as he got. "Where's my pencil? Oh, it's not number two! I'll borrow one. Where's my calculator? Out of batteries?! Where are my pants? WHERE ARE MY FREAKIN' PANTS?!" Keitaro knocked on the door.

"Kiyoshi, are you ok?" he said, concerned.

Kiyoshi came to the door wearing boxers and a backwards shirt. He had a pencil behind each ear, a calculator in his left hand and an eraser in his right. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask? Do I seem okay? I'm not sick, am I? Oh, God, I don't feel that good." He slapped Keitaro's hand to his forehead. "Do I have a fever?"

Keitaro shook his hand free. "Okay, first of all, switch to decaf. Second, just focus. You'll be fine. Deep breaths, deep breaths." Kiyoshi took a breath, held it, and let it out in a slow shudder.

"I think I'm better now. Thanks." He went back into his room, and started getting dressed. He put on his jeans, a new shirt with dice going around the hem and the king of hearts over his heart. He wore his lucky Ace of Spades t-shirt, and had his silver cross around his neck. He packed his bag, and kissed the cross. "Give me luck, 'cause I'm going to need it." He went outside, and went to the exam with Keitaro.

When Kiyoshi reached the exam center, he was stunned by its size. "This is it?" he said incredulously.

"Yep," said Keitaro. "It loses all its grandeur after you've been there a couple times." They walked in and were assigned to their classes. Keitaro and Naru were put in different classes, but Kiyoshi was put with Keitaro. As the test proceeded, Kiyoshi was sure he was bumbling everything.

"Time!" sang out the proctor, signaling them to put down their pencils and turn in their exams. Kiyoshi looked up, and saw Keitaro jump up, get to the front, and dash out the door. Kiyoshi turned in his and gave chase.

"Keitaro! Wait up!" he called, but Keitaro either didn't hear him or ignored him. He picked up speed and tackled Keitaro from behind. "Answer me!"

Keitaro rolled over, and Kiyoshi was shocked to see tears in his eyes. "I failed! I know it! I'm leaving; I'm going with Seta to an archeological dig on Parakalese Island. Don't come after me, and don't tell anyone where I am."

"I understand," Kiyoshi said. "I bet I failed too. Well, I guess this is goodbye. Keep safe."

"You too," Keitaro grinned, but sobered. "I'll come back some day, but I just can's stand letting everyone down."

Keitaro turned and dashed off. "Goodbye, sempai!" Kiyoshi called after him. Kiyoshi turned, and walked slowly back to the train station.

Home Alone

"What do you mean, Keitaro and Naru vanished?! We have to go after them," Kitsune cried. "We have to find them, does anybody know where they are?"

"No clue," Kiyoshi lied. "Hey, don't the exam results come out today?" He was desperate to change the subject.

"Hey, you're right!" said Shinobu. "I can't wait to see if sempai passed or failed."

"Well, what are we hanging around here for? Let's go see!" said Kitsune. They all got up and left, running out the door and down the stairs.

They got to the center just as the lists were put up. "Hey, there's Naru!" cried Kitsune. "Yeah, you go girl!"

"And sempai!" squealed Shinobu. "They made it, they got into Tokyo U., just like they said they would. "But... where's Kiyoshi?"

"He's not up there?" said Su.

"If a fool like Urashima could have made it, then surely Kiyoshi did," said Motoko.

"This is more than a mistake, it's an outrage!" ranted Kitsune. "With all the work he did... hey, Kiyoshi, defend yourself. They turned around to look at Kiyoshi, but he was gone. In his place was Tama-chan holding a note.

"Dear friends," Shinobu read. "As you have probably seen, I didn't make the cut. Keitaro is on Parakalese Island, and I'm betting Naru is, too. Go after them, and don't worry about me. I'd help, but I gave Keitaro my word that I wouldn't follow him. I'll look after the house while you're gone. With l-love, Kiyoshi." She started crying.

"Oh, man, that's a real buzz kill," Kitsune murmured. "Well, we have to find Keitaro and Naru, and get them back here! If they don't mail their entrance info in time, all their hard work will be wasted." She took out a piece of paper, scribbled note, and gave it to Tama-chan. "Give this to Kiyoshi."

"Myuh!" said Tama-chan, throwing Kitsune a salute. He took off, flying towards Hinata house as fast as his wings could carry him.

Kiyoshi got the note around dinnertime. He had just finished making a bowl of ramen, and almost dropped it when Tama-chan flew into his face. He took the note and read it out loud. "Dear Jerk. First of all, DON"T YOU EVER RUN OFF LIKE THAT AGAIN!!!!! Secondly, we're going after them. We'll try to stay in touch. Sincerely, the girls." Shinobu, Su, Kitsune, and Motoko had all signed it. Kiyoshi went to his room, ramen forgotten and steaming on the counter. He got out his notebook and started writing.

'Dear everyone,' his note began. 'I'm sorry to do this to you. I really am. I'm going on a journey of self-discovery. I need to know why I'm here, since college obviously isn't it. I might never see you again, so I'll take this opportunity to say my goodbyes.

To you, Shinobu, I say this: thank you. You're the wisest person I've ever talked to, and I owe you so much. I'm going to miss you. P.S. Good luck in school. Yours Truly, Kiyoshi.

To you, Motoko, I say this: I'm sorry. I know I have let you down, and that you probably think I'm a coward for leaving like this. I'll think of you every time I lift a blade. P.S. The secret to the Doomed Dragon Thunder Blade is all in the wrist. Yours in honor, Kiyoshi.

To you, Su, I say this: wow. That's the only word for you. You're an amazing young woman, and I'm sure you'll be successful in your every endeavor. P.S. I'll send bananas. Buh-bye, Kiyoshi.

Lastly, to you, Mitsune, I say this: I love you. I know, you have someone you're set on, and I don't want you to stop going for him. I just need to say it, and this is may be the last chance I get. P.S. This week's lotto numbers are 1-5-3-8-2. Love, Kiyoshi.

I'll miss you all, and I hope this letter doesn't sadden you. I didn't want to end it this way, but I feel that I must go now, or I'll miss something. This is my final goodbye, so I can't say "see you later". It's just, goodbye. I love you all.'

Kiyoshi Urashima

He pinned this note to the door and left.

The Great Ronin Hunt

Shortly after arriving home with Naru and Keitaro, they found his note. "You bastard!" Screamed Kitsune. "I can't believe he'd pull such a chicken stunt. It's an outrage! Keitaro! Pack your bags, we're going after him!"

"What?" Keitaro said. "But we don't know where to begin!"

"I do," said Su. "I put a tracker on him a little while ago. See? He's only a few miles from here." Kitsune grabbed the radar in one hand and Keitaro's shirt with the other.

"Let's go!" she said, dragging Keitaro out the door and down the steps. Motoko, Shinobu, Naru, and Su all came chasing after him. They searched for Kiyoshi, but they couldn't find him. They found a dog wearing Kiyoshi's tracker in the Kyoto region. After a while, they simply gave up and went home. Time passed, and Keitaro went off to America. Slowly, everyone stopped searching for Kiyoshi and went on with their lives.

Return Of The Wanderer

As the wind blew, Kiyoshi's shirt fluttered in the breeze. He stood outside of Hinata House and sighed as he looked up at it. His travels had changed him; he was a little taller, more powerfully built, and wore contact lenses instead of glasses. He walked slowly up the stairs, reminiscing about his arrival. "I remember when Naru punched me and I rolled down these." He laughed at the memory. "Man, did that hurt!" He creaked the door open and walked in. He looked around, but didn't see anyone. He went to his old room, and smiled. It was exactly the way he had left it. He picked up his guitar and strummed it. He ran a hand through his long, rakish hair. It was held back in a ponytail, a suggestion made by his stepmother. He undressed and got into the men's bath. "Oh, this feels so good," he sighed. He glanced subconsciously at the scar on his arm. He had gotten into more than a few fights during his travels, and was a little banged up. He heard the door to his room creak open and submerged himself up to his nose.

"That's odd," he heard Shinobu say. "I could have sworn there weren't any clothes lying on the floor." He moved slightly, and she heard the splashing water. "What? Who's there?" She picked up Kiyoshi's practice sword and walked slowly towards the bath.

'I am in so much trouble,' Kiyoshi thought. He sank under the water just as Shinobu came out onto the porch. She looked around, and went back inside. He waited until he was sure she was out of the room, then got out and dressed. He put on a pair of jeans and his old ace of spades t-shirt. "I suppose I should go tell someone that I'm back." He walked out into the living area and looked around. He checked his watch and saw that it was dinnertime. He peeked around the corner and saw everyone sitting at the table eating. "Guess who's home?" he shouted as he jumped around the corner. A knife flew through the air and pinned his shirtsleeve to the wall.

"Who the hell are you?" yelled Kitsune. "Talk fast, 'cause Motoko's impatient." Kiyoshi looked over at Motoko, who was holding another knife, and gulped.

"It's me, Kiyoshi. I guess I have changed a lot. Look, here's proof." He pulled out his wallet and opened it up. Inside was a picture of each girl, Keitaro, and a group portrait. "See? It's me."

"How do we know you didn't kill Kiyoshi and take his wallet?" grilled Kitsune.

"I can't believe you don't believe me! You and me went on a date, remember? The Kanagawa Bar and Grille. I had the Nova Curry, we took a picture on the way home, I did that card trick on the train." Kitsune still looked slightly skeptical. He put on a pair of glasses and put his hair the way he used to have it. "Recognize me now?"

"Oh my God, it is you!" She opened her arms and he went to hug her. A resounding smack echoed throughout the room. Kiyoshi staggered backwards with a hand on his face. "You bastard! How dare you pull a stunt like that! I should kill you." Kiyoshi noticed she had tears in the corners of her eyes.

"I'm sorry I did that. There just...wasn't anything else for me to do. I couldn't stand to face you again, knowing that I had failed. I couldn't stand the thought of all the nice things you guys would say, when I didn't deserve it." He drew her into a hug and kissed her on the forehead. "I truly am sorry."

"Well, as long as you're here," said Shinobu from the table, "why don't you eat with us?"

"Thank you," he said. "With the crap I've been eating, some of your cooking should really make me feel better." He sat down and heaped a plate full of food, and began telling them the stories of his travels. After dinner, he did the dishes, and said goodnight. "I'll talk to you guys more in the morning," he said, and went to bed.

A Few Years Of Time

Things returned to normal, or as close to normal as possible. Kiyoshi took the Tokyo U. entrance exam the next year and passed it with the highest score. He majored in Rock History, with a minor in Communication. He managed to avoid the Kanako incident, and joined the God's Cry School, under Motoko. He got better, but was never any challenge for Motoko or her sister. He graduated from college a short while before Naru and Keitaro's wedding. He arrived at Hinata House a few days early. He tossed open the door chanting his usual greeting, "Hey, hey, the party's here, hide the ladies, hide the beer. Watch your fingers and please stand back, 'cause like it or not, Kiyoshi's back!"

"Kiyoshi!" Shinobu cried as she ran to the door. "Hey, we missed you."

He hugged her and kissed her on the forehead. "I missed you guys, too."

"Kiyoshi's home!" Shinobu hollered as she went to find everyone.

"Hello," called Motoko.

"Oh, hey sensei. How are you?" said Kiyoshi.

"Now, now, don't be so formal. You can call me Motoko until after the wedding. Actually, since you're done learning, you don't have to call me sensei at all."

"I'll keep that in mind. By the way, when are we gonna see a sequel to Ronin's Blade?"

"What? You mean you actually read my book?"

"Yeah. The ladies love a guy who reads romance novels. Besides, you're my friend."

"Thanks, because it didn't really sell all that hot. Still, it helps pay for tuition."

"You got that right. My band's CD barely sold ten thousand copies. Still, that was enough to pay for expenses. Oh, we've got a gig on Saturday, if you're interested."

"Wait- you have a band? What are you guys called?"

"We're called Ace High. It was my idea, but the other guys backed me up really quickly. If you liked my performance on White Day, imagine how much better I am with a drummer and a kicking bass line."

"I'm sure you guys are great. I'll see if I can make it. I'll catch up with you at dinner, okay?"

"Well, I might not be there. We'll see. I'll talk to you later." He bowed, and they went their separate ways. Kiyoshi sat down on the bed in his old room. 'It's been far too long,' he thought. 'I remember when I first arrived, showing up on their doorstep with fragmented Japanese and a single set of clothes.' He heard the front door open and close, so he got up and walked out there. He snuck around the corner and peered into the Kitchen. He saw Kitsune set a large bag of groceries on the counter. "Hey, Kitsune," he said, entering the room

"Oh, hey Keitaro. When did you get back? Ah, never mind, help me with this stuff," she said over her shoulder.

"Sure," he said. He walked over and began getting things out of the bag.

"Hey, you're not Keitaro!" She looked at him for a second, and then jolted. "Oh my God, Kiyoshi! Hey, it's great to see you!"

"You too," he smiled. "It's been a while. Did you miss me?"

"Yeah, but not as much as Shinobu did. You sure you two never...?"

"Yes," he said, his face burning with embarrassment. "She just looks up to me, kind of like she looks up to Keitaro. Without the whole, you know, undying love, thing. Man, I can't believe he's getting married!"

"Yeah, it shocked me, too. I guess this means I have to stop chasing him."

"Oh, really? Hey, do you want to go out tonight? You know, catch up? Get something to eat? Maybe go see a movie?"

She half-smiled. "You still haven't given up, huh? All right, I'll go out with you tonight."

"Great! Listen, I gotta go catch up with everyone. I'll see you later, though, and we can talk."

"Okay, bye," she said, putting the last box of cereal on the shelf. He walked outside, and looked up at the cherry blossoms.

"YA-HOO!" he screamed in joy. "Oh yeah, go Kiyoshi. It's your birthday, you know it!" With that he set off to find Shinobu.

All Dressed Up

When five thirty rolled around, Kiyoshi went to find Kitsune. "Hey, Kitsune! Where'd you go?" He looked around, but couldn't find a trace of her. He knocked on Keitaro's door, but he still wasn't home. Finally, he saw Shinobu walking down the hallway. "Hey, Shinobu, do you know where Kitsune is?"

"Huh? No, I haven't seen her. Why are you looking for her?" She looked at his clothes. "Oh, the two of you have a date, huh?"

"Well, sort of. I mean, she said she'd go out with me but I didn't give her any information and now I can't find her and she probably doesn't want to go out with me anymore and I'm...babbling, aren't I?"

Shinobu laughed, and said, "Yep. If I find her I'll tell her you're looking for her."

"Shinobu, you're my hero!" he said. He bowed, and then turned and dashed off in the other direction. He hit the stairs, tripped, and tumbled down them. "Ow," he groaned, sitting up. "Huh?" Standing in front of him was Kitsune. Her hair was smoothed back, and she was wearing a beautiful black dress. She looked like a different person. "Whoa..."

"You okay?" she said.

"Ha! No mere staircase can defeat a man of the house of Urashima!" He stood up, cracked his neck, and smiled. "Wow. You look...wow."

She blushed. "I was going for that. So, where are you taking me?"

"Oh, I know a little place," he said cryptically. "Come on out to my car and we can head out."

"Ooh, a mystery." She laughed. "All right, let's go." They walked down the stairs and into Kiyoshi's car. He threw on a goofy chauffer hat and opened her door. "After you, milady," he said, with a grin on his face. She laughed and got in. He closed the door after her, walked around to the other side, and got in. "I'm betting you'll get a kick outta this." He started the car, cranked up the radio, and they peeled out of the driveway.

"Hey," she said. "Who's this band? The voices sound familiar..." she trailed off.

"I bet this'll give it away." He changed the track to number nine.

From the CD, she heard, "Is this thing on? Hey, you guys, shut up. Dude, I'm being serious here. Oh, God, dude, that's wrong. Hey, edit this out, huh? Okay. Ahem. Hi, this is Spade, and I'd like to thank you for buying Ace High's album. This is a song that I originally performed on White Day. It's a Japanese translation of an American song called 'Going Away To College.' I'd like to dedicate this song to Mitsune Konno, or Kitsune. I love you." The drummer counted off, and they launched into song.

Kitsune looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I didn't know you had a band. Aww, that was so sweet of you."

"Thanks, I was hoping you'd like it. I mean, that was the first song I ever performed, and it was for you and the rest of the girls. You're my muse. Whenever I run out of ideas, I just think of you, and I crank out songs like 'Silverfish' and 'Nova'. You remember Silverfish, don't you?"

"Yeah, you won five grand on him and bought me a bunch of stuff." The car pulled to a stop. "Hey, we're there?"

"Yep. Do you recognize the area?'

"Kind of..."

He leaned his head out of the window. "Hey, Kin, throw the switch!" The sign flickered once...twice...and the large neon sign for The Kanagawa Bar and Grille lit up the night.

"Oh...my...God! Didn't this place go out of business a few years ago?"

"Yeah, but me and the band decided to buy it a start it back up. It's gonna be The Ace Hole in a few weeks, but I decided to keep it this way for our date." He got out, went around and opened the door, and helped her out. They walked in and he led her to a table. "Garcon?" he said.

Ace High's drummer, Kin, walked out wearing a dark red suit. "Yes, sir?" he said, with his best French accent.

"Would you please bring us a bottle of the best drink on the house?"

"Very good, sir. May I bring either of you a glass of water or an appetizer?"

"Water for me," Kiyoshi said, and looked questioningly at Kitsune.

"I guess I'll have a glass too," she said, smiling. "It's nice to meet you, by the way. I'm Kitsune."

"Wow, the woman who holds Little K's leash? It's truly an honor. I'm Kin, the drummer for our band. You might meet Roake later on. He's the bassist/chef. I'll be right back with your drinks." He bowed and left.

"I can't believe you did all this for me," Kitsune said, looking around. It looks just like it did when we came here way back when. Hey, we made a bet back then. So what do you like better, Japan or California?"

"Well, I like the climate of California, but I hate the people there. Here, on the other hand. I like the climate and I love the people. I guess I'll have to say Japan."

"So, you're my slave for a week, now," she said with a wicked grin. Kin chose that moment to come out with their wine.

"This wine," he said, getting ready to launch into his speech, "is from the finest vineyard in Clarksdale, California. Circa...1950." He made a kissing sound. "An excellent year." He poured them each a glass and bowed his way out of the room.

"You have some eccentric friends," Kitsune said, shaking her head.

"That's nothing," Kiyoshi said with a laugh. "You should see him drunk." Kitsune laughed, and they began talking, discussing what they had done the past few years.

Little K's Big Question

"Oh, I am stuffed!" Kitsune said, sitting back. "I haven't eaten like that in months."

"Yeah?" said Kiyoshi. "So, you enjoyed the food?"

"Oh, man, it was awesome. You'd think Shinobu was back there."

"And the company?" he hinted.

"The company was exquisite." She looked at him and smiled. "Honestly, you almost seem like an adult. You still have that little bit of free spirit that makes you seem like the funny little fifteen year old who showed up on the doorstep, though."

"So, I, uh...I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Yeah? What?"

"Mitsune Konno, will you marry me?"

The Author Strikes Back

So, what'd you think? Good? Bad? I bet you're all mad at me for ending it on that cliffhanger, but don't worry. I'll have a sequel out. It might not be until January or February, though. Thank you for reading my little foray into the world of fan-fiction.

Yours Truly,

Ket Moro AKA Kiyoshi Urashima