A week later, the blizzard is finally gone, having left a lot of snow in its wake, and a cloudless blue sky. The plows do a good job clearing the streets, allowing the citizens to continue going to work, going to school, running errands, all the mundane things in life. The Hinata Inn's residents are just starting to get used to the element that has changed. Keitaro and Naru are in their rooms, starting to get ready for school. The underwear, nylons and garters that Kitsune left on Keitaro's dresser have been folded and put away in the bottom-most drawer, never to be used. No NC-17 scenes, remember? Lol. Breakfast is being prepared in the kitchen, everyone is once more doing their usual thing on a school morning.
They all meet at the breakfast table still in their sleeping clothes (Or put on clothes in case they slept in the nude or something), and they all eat in silence, unsure of what the day will bring for Keitaro. Keitaro, having had the same strange dream every night for the past week and never remembering it, lives her changed life as normally as she can. Getting up in complete silence, Keitaro pads back up to her room to change into school clothes and finish packing her bag.
Everyone else, who has been silent as well, immediately start to discuss why Keitaro had fallen into silence over the past week.
Motoko is the first to speak, "There is something on his mind, and it has something to do with the fact that he's female."
Kitsune rolls her eyes and smirks, "Thank you for pointing out what we already know, o simple samurai."
Motoko narrows her eyes, gripping her sword, but after a moment lets go of it as she can see that Kitsune meant no harm in saying that. She says, "What I mean to say, is that there is a possibility that his personality has changed.
Naru, who is just starting to get up to go change into school clothes herself, nods her head a bit. "Yes, it has. He's letting his real feelings show through now. He said that is how he truly feels because of the beatings we give him."
Motoko looks at Naru, saying, "But he deserves every bit of what we dish out!"
Naru shrugs, and says, "He doesn't think so. He got really mad at me when I hit him on the day after he changed, when we found the underwear that you gave him, Kitsune. I had never seen him that angry before. It made me uneasy."
Kitsune raises her hands a bit, giggling, "Hey, she needs some flashy underwear, all the stuff she bought was very plain and boring!"
Naru bites her lip a bit, remembering how angry Keitaro was, and says nothing more as she leaves the kitchen and walks to her room.
The girls that remained continued to discuss Keitaro.
Meanwhile, in Keitaro's room, she has picked out that black turtleneck that Naru had waved at her, a white vest and a long flowing black skirt. Putting it all on and observing herself in the mirror, she thought to herself, "This looks like something Kanako would wear." She shrugs, putting on black nylons and a pair of black boots that she had bought a few days after getting the clothes. Shouldering her bag, she walks down the stairs to see everyone else crowded around the landing. Naru stands by the door, putting on her coat.
Kitsune whistles loudly at the sight of Keitaro, clapping her hands together and lacing her fingers together. "Nice outfit, it screams 'don't miss with me I'm dangerous'!"
Keitaro says nothing to this, striding to the door and opening it.
Naru catches her by the arm, "Shouldn't you put on your coat?"
Keitaro looks at Naru and giggles a bit, "Oh no, but thanks for caring. I'll be alright without a coat, this outfit is layered enough."
The two ronins walk out of Hinata Inn, the other tenants peeking out the door watching Keitaro curiously.
The walk to the nearest public bus stop is a silent one. Barely a word passes between the two girls, Naru watching Keitaro closely.
Over the course of the past week, Keitaro had been getting a headache that was getting worse with each passing day. She rubs her temple now, in irritation that it has gotten worse instead of getting better. "Probably the nightmares that have been waking me up over the past week," she thinks to herself. She lets her hand drop to her side as she walks, and looks at Naru.
Naru quickly looks away, but not in time. Keitaro notices, but says nothing.
As expected, Keitaro is stopped by the school security. She shows her ID, and then when she is taken to the office, she shows her birth certificate to show proof that she is supposed to be there for the mock test. After everything is in order, she begins making her way to the designated classroom. In the hall, Haitani and Shirai attempt to catch her interest, not knowing who she really is. She pauses for only a moment, before brushing past them, unable to speak.
"At least give us a name, pretty lass!" calls Haitani. Shirai doubles the cry, calling out, "Could you at the very least give us the time of day?"
Keitaro stops, and takes a deep breath, turning around and walking back to the two goofballs. On her way back to them, she contemplates telling them what happened to her, and decides on a strategy on how to do so.
"You are Haitani and Shirai, right?"
They both nod in response. "How did you know our names?" they both ask at the same time.
"Keitaro has a message for you, I'll tell you after the exam is over." Keitaro turns around, making a funny face at how ridiculous she sounded, walks into the room and takes a seat a few rows behind Naru.
Quietly working on the problems, barely finishing them before the break between sections, Keitaro leans back and stretches her spine over the back of her chair. Taking immediate self-conscious notice of how that may look, she straightens up and looks around. Sure enough, the two stooges were busy trying to look like they hadn't been goggling at her chest while she had been stretching her back on the chair.
The teacher raps his knuckles on the podium and announces, "Break time, be back in an hour and we'll start the second half of the test."
In barely a moment, Haitani and Shirai are standing next to Keitaro's desk, grinning like idiots. Keitaro sighs and rubs her still throbbing temples, trying to get the headache to go away. Sadly, it doesn't. "Let's go for a walk in the park," Keitaro says. The two guys give each other sly winks, that do not go unnoticed by Keitaro. She claps her hands on their shoulders, steering them outside. While walking, Keitaro steers them towards a lone bench away from the path. She points at the bench, and says, "Sit down."
Not knowing what she plans to do or say, they comply. Keitaro folds her arms, hugging them close to herself. She shuts her eyes, and begins talking, "There is no message, but there is something I have to say. Before I tell you, you have to promise that you will keep this a closely guarded secret, okay?"
Haitani and Shirai nod in unison. Keitaro leans back a bit, and sighs, putting her hands on her hips. She leans her head back a moment, then reaches into her backpack. She takes out a pair of glasses, ones that Haitani and Shirai both recognize as belonging to their friends Keitaro. She puts them on, and let her arms fall to her sides.
The two dumbfounded guys stare in amazement. "You look just like Keitaro!" says Shirai. Haitani narrows his eyes, "Those are Keitaro's glasses. Where'd you get them?"
Keitaro smiles slightly, looking from one to the other. She says, "I've always had them, because I'm Keitaro Urashima."
Shirai scoffs, "No way, Keitaro's a guy! You're obvious not."
Haitani leans forward a bit and says, "Wait, what if you are Keitaro, what happened to you?"
Keitaro sighs, hugging herself closely. "I wished on a shining star to understand women. My wish got granted, but not the way I wanted. My luck is very bad, I guess."
Shirai shakes his head. "I don't believe you."
Keitaro laughs and says, "So we're not the Four Eyes Threesome anymore?"
Shirai falls silent, in complete surprise while Haitani jumps up and extends a hand to Keitaro and says, "Sorry we ever doubted you, buddy."
Keitaro giggles, "It's okay, everyone who knew me is eventually going to have to find this out."
Shirai looks up at Keitaro, asking, "What about the babes at the Hinata Inn?"
Keitaro sighs, pressing a thumb and forefinger to the bridge of her nose, adjusting her glasses. She says, "They knew the day after it happened."
Haitani tilts his head and asks, "You still the RM of the Hinata Inn?"
"Yeah, that hasn't changed at all. Aunt Haruka said that I now fit the main requirement for living there, so there is no reason why I should leave."
Shirai chuckles, "Yeah, it's an all-girls dorm! Ha ha ha!"
"There you are!" Keitaro spins around, seeing Naru walking towards them. She smiles and waves Naru over.
Naru looks at the two men sitting on the bench, and back to Keitaro. Not sure if they know that the woman standing in front of them is Keitaro, she addresses Keitaro by his female moniker, "Kei, what's up?"
After a long silence, Naru, Keitaro and the guys all exchange looks, then all look towards Keitaro. She looks at them all, and shrugs. "What?"
Naru, grabs Keitaro to pull her away from Shirai and Haitani, but Keitaro resists, saying, "I already told them, no need to ask." Naru nods, and lets go.
Shirai raises a hand, and asks, "Did your sexual preference change?"
Keitaro raises an eyebrow, blushing. "Of course not!" she says, totally shocked at such a question.
Haitani laughs, and checks his watch. Standing up, he says, "Well, time to finish that mock exam."
As a group they all begin walking back, discussing which problems on the exam were difficult and which problems were easy.
