Different life, different viewpoints
Disclaimer: Again, I must say that characters in this story are not owned by me. Except those that were actually created by me...if there were any.
" p>" indicates a scene break, in case someone thinks it's some wild code
(I couldn't get other symbols to work, so I stuck with the first one that did)
Chapter 1#
Keitaro sighed as he walked down the road, heading home from cram school. It just hadn't been his day; the last few months had been hell now that he became the manager for an all-girls dorm, to any other guy it would seem that he was in heaven, but the truth is actually something quite opposite. Often he would walk-in on a girl, usually while she is changing, and end up on the floor with cuts all over his body, or sent flying quite painfully.
He sighed again thinking of more recent events, until he suddenly bumped into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking at where I was walking," he apologized.
"It's alright," the person replied.
He raised his head to see who he had bumped to. A beautiful red-haired girl looked at him curiously. She wore an elegant red kimono which went well with her hair, there was a long bundle of cloth in her arms but he paid it no much attention.
"Err….. are you alright?" asked the girl.
Keitaro realized that he was staring and quickly stuttered a response while blushing heavily. The girl giggled and left while saying goodbye.
He stood there, dazed, looking at the girl until she disappeared into the crowd.
Wow, she was beautiful………oh well, time to face today's work, he thought.
"Hey, look who's here?"
He turned around to face whoever's talking to him.
"Oh, it's you guys, what's up? Haitani, Shirai?"
"The prep exam result came today, right? Once again, our chances of getting into first choice university are….."
The trio each took a pose, and said:
"2!"
"30!"
"25!"
"Mommy, mommy what are those people doing?" asked a little girl, pointing at the three.
"Well, dear. It's just that some people have an over developed sense of drama."
The three sweat-dropped as they heard this, and left quickly while laughing nervously. Rain began to fall, and they had to run quickly for a nearby bridge since they didn't have time to get out their umbrellas.
Keitaro sweat dropped again as he looked at his exam score, behind him Haitani was moaning about the time they have left until the entrance exams.
"Well, no point in worrying about it," Haitani said suddenly. "How about we go meet some babes and forget about all this?"
"In fact, here comes three of them right now" he pointed at three girls.
"Guys, I don't think this is a good idea," Keitaro said, suddenly nervous, but Haitani already started walking towards the trio of girls so he had no choice but to follow him. Suddenly, he was blown back suddenly as a strong gale appeared. He sweated again as he notice his two friends were out cold behind him.
"Urashima Keitaro….!" Said a voice that send chills down his back.
He looked up and realized why he was nervous earlier; those three girls were actually Suu, Motoko, and Naru.
"You have failed two times already, yet you still have time to chase after girls!" Motoko said threateningly.
"Well… I …."
"Humph! Keitaro: You are a disgusting and perverted man. I'm telling you right here, right now." Motoko said, pointing her sword at him.
She turned around and walked away without saying another word.
p>
Sheesh, why does that girl seem to hate me so much? Keitaro thought, looking at the tallest of the three girls walking in front of him.
They were walking up the stairs towards Hinata-sou, the rain had stopped long ago but the ground was still wet, droplets of water occasionally fell from the trees above them.
He got in and noticed that the girls have stopped in front of him, Motoko seemed shocked about something while the other two just looked at her trying to figure it out; he looked curiously at the three before moving his gaze towards the living room.
The other tenants were gathered there, their attention was focused on a girl sitting in the middle of the couch, who he noticed just now.
Hey, isn't that the girl from earlier? He thought.
Right then, his aunt Haruka entered and said, "There you are Keitaro, I was looking for you."
She walked behind the girl and announced,
"Everyone, this is Ranko; she's the daughter of a friend of mine who asked me to let her stay here until she finishes her studies at Toudai,"
"Hello everyone, my name his Ranko Himura, hajimemashite" Ranko greeted. Her smile seemed to brighten up the room, the others couldn't help but smile back; all except for one, that is.
"You!" shouted Motoko, drawing everyone's attention.
"Motoko! Long time no see," Ranko said happily.
"Oh, you know each other?" Naru asked.
"She was the only one to beat my sister in ten years! And she's only three years older than I am!"
"What!"
"Yes, my sister was the best swordswoman in the family, and she beat her with only three strikes. Though I still don't get why they became friends after that," She said, anger and doubt were showed clearly on her visage.
They turned their gaze at Ranko, beginning to see her in a new light.
But they were interrupted by Haruka, who cleared her throat to get their attention.
"Well, if you are finished over there, I must be going now." She said, then pulled Keitaro in front of Ranko.
"This is my nephew, Keitaro. He's also the manager of the inn, so if you have any problems don't hesitate to ask him."
"Oh, you're that boy from earlier," Ranko said.
"Err… Hi," said Keitaro, not knowing what to say as he suddenly became the center of attention in the room.
Naru glared at him.
"Keitaro! What did you do to her earlier?"
"N-n-nothing! I just bumped into her that's all….!" He stuttered nervously while trying to explain to Naru.
"Ahem," every one turned to look at Haruka.
"Well, I'll be leaving Keitaro. I'm putting things in your hand, take her to room 303 and show her around the place, I'll be in the cafe if you need me." Haruka said to Keitaro.
"Sure Aunt...I mean Haruka..."
He laughed nervously until his Haruka left and started to introduce the other tenants to Ranko, after that everyone left to do their own things except Naru who insisted to accompany Keitaro on showing Ranko her room and around the complex.
p>
The next morning they awoke to the sounds of metal clashing and battle cries. They dressed hurriedly and went outside, what they saw amazed them...
Motoko and Ranko were fighting with moves that seemed impossible to a normal person, what amazed them more was that Motoko was the one who looked winded while Ranko still looked as energetic as ever.
Mitsune walked out, still looking sleepy.
"Yawn, why do they have to do that in the mornings, there are still people sleeping you know."
"Wow, look at them go!" Suu said excitedly.
Motoko has never been this badly pressed before, except for when she was practicing against her sister. She tried attacking but her attacks were either blocked or evaded. The two swords clashed, and she jumped away to get some breathing space. Her feet felt like cement and she doubted that she could take this much longer, sweat was pouring down her brow and her breathing was heavy.
Is she even human? All this moving around and she isn't even winded, She thought.
They stood there, looking at each other. A breeze blew by, carrying off some leaves. Ranko nodded then sheathed her sword and bowed respectfully at her opponent. Motoko bowed back in response.
As soon as she left, Motoko crashed into the ground in exhaustion.
The girls ran to her side to see if she was alright.
"Wow, that was amazing. I guess you weren't joking when you said she was good," commented Mitsune.
"S-she's really strong," said Motoko, panting. She was half-kneeling on the ground, using her sword as support.
"Let's get you inside, you're probably tired," said Naru, holding out her hand. Motoko took it and stood up with her help. As she entered the building with Naru and the others, a stray thought entered her mind.
Were those fangs that I saw?
p>
Ranko hummed happily as she headed for the bath, reflecting over the sparring she just did with Motoko. The girl had potential, she had to admit, but the restrictions she placed on herself hampered her training. She always compared herself with her sister, if she remembered right. As long as she kept thinking of herself as inferior to her elder sister, then she will never surpass her own self-placed limits and reach her true potential.
She sighed, there was nothing she could do for now. On the other hand, the tenants here were nice, and the interaction between the manager and Miss Naru was just plain fun to watch, even if she felt a bit sorry for the boy.
Suddenly, her sense flared as she felt something coming behind and she dodged, just in time to see a blue blur go past and crash in front of her.
"Oh my, are you alright?" she asked, looking at the blonde haired girl who is just getting up from the ground.
"Owie, yeah, I'm ok, he he he," Suu replied, laughing awkwardly then left running. "Bye now,"
"What an energetic little girl," Ranko commented before continuing on her way.
p>
Keitaro walked around the compounds, hoping that the walk would help clear his thoughts. With all that has happened lately, he has had trouble trying to concentrate his thoughts on studying. He sighed; then there was that problem with the Kendo-girl, Motoko, who has threatened him many times already.
He was broken out of his reverie when he heard the sounds of someone practicing; it was coming from the laundry hanging area so he decided to take a look.
Oh, it's just Motoko. Didn't she spar this morning with Ranko? he thought,
what the...she's cutting airborne leaves?
Suddenly, he was startled by a small throwing knife that barely missed him, lodging itself on the rail in front of his face from where he watched on the stairs.
"Keitaro Urashima, first you're chasing girls and now you're peeping?" she said angrily, "I am not like Naru. I won't hesitate to get you out, by force if I need to."
She emphasized her point by starting to draw her sword. She turned around to continue her practice. However, she was startled by Suu, who suddenly appeared out of a branch in front of her, and was caught by Keitaro when she fell backwards.
"Are you ok?" he asked.
"Let go of me, I can take care of myself!" Motoko shouted in his face, blushing.
Why am I blushing like this? she started thinking.
p>
Dinner wasn't exactly a quiet affair, Keitaro was finally allowed at the table but a few comments had earned him a glare from Naru. Motoko's behavior was strange and left everyone confused, her face was all red and acted awkwardly around Keitaro. She left the table early after finishing her meal fast, but not without bumping into a nearby pole then stumbling on a bucket next to it.
"Motoko's acting really weird," said Suu.
"Did you do something to Motoko too?" Naru said, looking at Keitaro.
"What are you talking about?" he replied, dumbfounded.
Ranko frownedas she remembered something she sensed in her aura when they were sparring in the morning.
A while later Motoko was bathing in the springs, trying to sort things out. She upended a bucket of cold water over her head, shivering at the cold.
What's wrong with me, when I looked at him I got all nervous and started blushing, she thought, hugging her legs. This was all unfamiliar to her, having dedicated her life to training. She never thought about it before, thinking that all guys were perverts.
My heart kept pounding and I kept blanking out; am I in love with him? This cannot be!
She got up and walked into the spring, sighing as she let the warmth of the springs take away the cold. She looked at the stars for a while before returning to her thoughts.
Now that I think about it, I've never really spoken to a guy before, and Keitaro was the first…. she thought, getting more and more agitated.
"…still! I will not admit that you are my first love, Keitaro Urashima!"
She did not realize that she had spoken the last part out loud, and that someone had heard her. Keitaro entered, hearing someone call his name. He started sweating at the sight before him. He walked in on a girl, again. But this time, he's afraid for his life as Motoko started trembling, visibly holding in her anger.
Keitaro was sweating visibly as he looked at the angry Motoko in front of him. He was covered with protective gear and held a bokken in his hands. They were in front of a fall on a clearing in the forest behind Hinata-sou.
p>
Motoko stared icily at him and said, "Keitaro Urashima, I challenge you. If you win I will forget about this whole business. If I win you will get out of Hinata-sou!"
"Whaat! I'll never beat you in kendo!"
"It's too late now!" she said, running towards him, bokken in hand.
Keitaro dodged to the side as her strike cleaved the boulder behind him in half. He started running around, while Motoko followed relentlessly with the intent to kill. The girls watched in the safety of the bank.
"Shouldn't someone stop them?" Naru said.
"Well, we could try, but I don't think any of us are capable of stopping Motoko, except for….." said Mitsune.
"Ranko!" said the two simultaneously.
The turned around to look for her, only to find her sitting on a blanket she laid out drinking tea.
How can she drink tea so calmly at a time like this thought the two.
"Hey! Look at that!" came an exclamation from Suu, and they turned their gaze back at the battle.
Keitaro was running for his life, for some unknown reason, Motoko's strikes missed, but there were those that came really close.
I can't keep this up forever, at this rate I'll end up dead! he thought desperately,Well, in that case….
Motoko growled in anger, looking for her target. He disappeared sometime during her pursuit and now she's looking around, trying to find him, a figure suddenly jumped out of the spring behind her and grabbed her.
"I can't die, not before I get into Toudai!" she could hear Keitaro whispering behind her.
"Let go of me, you fool!" she said angrily.
His breathing…..why do I feel so weak? she thought.
"Let go! Arrgh…..my clothes!" she said while trying to grab hold of the pants he was unknowingly pulled down when he stepped on the edge of it during the confusion.
My heart, it's beating so wildly…..I can't breath……am I really in love with him, With this weakling?
"Get off!" she pushed him off, sending his bokken flying. She raised her own bokken for the final strike, but she sneezed during the downswing, taking the power out of the strike, at the same time the other bokken decided to fall down, hitting her head as her strike hit her target.
"Wow, a double KO," said Suu.
"So it's a tie then?" said Mitsune.
The rest of the tenants sweat dropped at the sight while Ranko sipped her tea, smiling.
I knew she wouldn't last long, not with her fever... She thought.
p>
Ranko gently placed a cold rag on Motoko's forehead as she examined the girl. Her face was flushed and she was sweating a lot, occasionally she would mumble something about 'Keitaro' and 'first love'.
"She has a really bad cold," said Naru.
"She shouldn't have trained under the rain," Mitsune said.
"No wonder she was acting weird at dinner today."
"For now, there's nothing we can do, let's just let her rest." Ranko said.
She retrieved her futon from her room and rolled it out next to Motoko's. "I'll stay here for the night and make sure she's alright, so you don't have to worry."
"You sure? You don't really have to do that though," said Mitsune.
"Well, I'm heading back to bed, see you in the morning."
They excused themselves and left for their respective rooms. Soon, lights were out and everyone fell asleep.
p>
Somewhere in Hinata-sou, something long glowed ominously before flickering out. A certain red-haired girl frowned in her sleep.
Chapter End
A/N: Tell me what you think, after my long hiatus I am beginning to think that my writing skills have become worse than before.
Anyway I've decided that I'll put more effort into describing things, so my chapters will probably become longer, much longer. Also, some things were changed in the story. Those who actually liked the story will probably notice them.
Don't forget to review, comments and flames are welcome. After all, "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger."
I've been reevaluating my writings, so your comments/advices will probably affect how I write in the future, especially now that I've moved to a country where English isn't the first language.
That's it for now,
Btw, can someone tell me how to work the edit/preview thing in document manager? This document didn't come out like I wanted it to look like. There are parts that I wanted to separate ( as indicated by the " p>") but they dissapeared once I clicked 'save changes'.