Book One: The Straw That Broke The Pervert's Back
Chapter Six: Announcement Part II
By: Sci-Fi Raptor
Disclaimer: See Chapter One
(-O-)
"Promise?" the little girl said in wonder. She looked up at the older boy with a beaming smile. "You... promise?"
The boy nodded with a bigger smile and let go of her pinky. The little girl's small, timid grin grew to a wholehearted smile as her heart lit up at the thought of what the older boy said.
"When we grow up, let's meet up again at Todai, no matter what..." the boy said, smiling back. This caused the little girl to giggle with delight and run up to the boy to give him a big bear hug.
"Not so tight!" the boy protested. The girl's embrace completely loosened and she stood quiet. The two stood there for quiet a while until the boy said, "Hey..."
The girl stood as still as a mountain.
"Hey?" he said and moved her a little back. To his horror, she started crumpling to the ground, a glazed expression on her face. "Hey! What's wrong!" the boy said, bolting down to catch her before she injured her head. She still had that dead look on her face.
"No..." the boy said in horror. "This can't be happening. They fixed that problem! Why is it still happening!" the little boy cried, sobbing into her chest. By now, all the adults had noticed the commotion and were running to see what happened. Through his sobbing, he could hear a faint noise escaping the girl's lips. He slowly moved towards her face and put his ear next to her mouth so he could hear what she was saying.
"...promise. We promised we would meet... again.... at Todai...." With that, her eyes closed as she seemingly went to another world.
"NO!!!" the boy screamed. The sky suddenly started to rain, as if all of nature were weeping with him.
(O)
Keitaro had told all of the tenants to meet him outside Hinata-Sou's entrance (the area where the steps lead to) for an important message and quickly left. The tenants whispered among themselves what this could mean. Within minutes everyone (including Sarah, Su and Mutsumi) gathered at the appointed meeting place and waited for Keitaro to speak. After collecting his thoughts, Keitaro opened his mouth to speak.
Here it comes… Kitsune thought dreadfully.
It has been an honor to know all of you… Motoko vowed.
Why Sempai? Shinobu thought on the verge of crying.
Ara Ara… a certain ditz thought.
Banana… (This stream of thought is not even worth noting, due to its extreme single-mindedness)
"About yesterday, I'm sorry that I didn't call to say that I'd come home so late, and I'm really sorry if I worried all of you." Everyone stood in shock. This definitely wasn't what they were expecting.
"But something happened yesterday and it made me think. It made me think about how precious each and everyone one of you are to me and how much joy being with each of you has brought me." They stood in stunned silence. What was he getting at?
"I know I've acted badly over the past few days… I said things that I really wish I hadn't. I'm sorry for having spoken so out of line to both of you, Naru and Motoko. I shouldn't have exploded like that. I'm sorry for treating you so coldly, Shinobu. I know that all you wanted was for me to get better.
"I've done things that I wish I could take back (He looked at Kitsune with an ashamed face). But I can't. All I can do is ask for all of you to forgive me." The girls stood silently, on the verge of tears.
Keitaro's normal again!
While thoughts of pure happiness went thought their minds, they didn't hear what he was saying until he said something that almost chilled their blood: "but actions speak louder then words," he continued, his nervousness of what he was about to say screaming through his face by the look of apprehension on it. "So… I have fixed the Hinata-sou and will exempt this month's rent in hopes that you all will forgive me." He went to the floor on his knees and said something that made everything right: "I'm sorry…"
Unable to hold back any longer, the girls all ran to him to give him a heartwarming hug. Naru, Kitsune, Motoko and Shinobu said that they all forgave him and the group stayed together in the tearful, emotional cluster until Sarah started gagging and tried to force her way out.
(O)
The girls had all forgiven Keitaro by the next day and all was well again. They had also told him that his attempts at reconciliation weren't needed and that they would still pay that month's rent, much to their Kanrinin's relief. For once Kistune didn't even try to skimp out on paying. She liked being challenged, she replied to the girls when they asked her about it.
The entrance exam was only a few days away now and the ronins knew it was crunch time. Naru was going down to Keitaro's room to call him to study, but when she poked her head down the hole that connected their rooms, she caught him in the middle of changing.
"Ah!" Keitaro yelped, feeling the embarrassment that Naru felt every time he stumbled into her room without asking.
"Sorry!" Naru yelped back and went back to her room. "Just wanted to tell you that me and Mutsumi are ready to study!" she said, the embarrassment still in her voice. "No Mutsumi! Don't look down there!" she added just as Keitaro put his pants on.
"Ara, ara," she said with a tint of disappointment in her voice. "I don't see what's wrong in here…" she said in her way.
"I was changing!" Keitaro said in anime-style agitation.
"Oh…" Mutsumi said. "Well, are you ready to study then?" she asked.
"Actually, I was going to go study with a friend…" Keitaro said, his face blushing.
"What?" Naru said in disbelief. "Now's not the time to goof around Keitaro! The test is only a few days away!"
"I'm serious about it!" Keitaro said with a hurt expression. "Besides, I promised and I won't go against my word," he said in a final manner. He moved to collect his study materials.
"Fine! Leave! Fail for all I care!" she said angrily and slammed the plywood over the hole adjoining the two rooms.
"I won't fail…" he said to himself quietly and left his room.
Kitsune groaned from where she sat on the sofa while watching TV, "Those two are already at it again…"
"Don't worry, Mitsune-sempai," Shinobu said from the floor where she was doing homework. "It just shows that they're back to normal."
(O)
(Morning of the test)
Keitaro went back and forth between Hinata-sou and his friend's house to study those last few days leading up to the test. It frustrated Naru that he was goofing around right on the home stretch, but she had to admit that at least he didn't seem as nervous about the test this time. He held a confident air, even though he looked haggard every time he came back to the Hinata for one of Shinobu's five-star dinners. And the absence of the male seemed to help the other ronins, since they didn't have any 'incidents' and just spent all of their time studying.
It was finally time for the test and the three had gotten up early for the test. Naru and Keitaro still looked tired, though Mutsumi looked as cheery as ever.
"Good luck, Keitaro-sempai, Naru-sempai, Mutsumi-san," Shinobu said as the two tired looking ronins and the watermelon-loving Mutsumi made their way to the train station.
"Break a leg," Kitsune said with a wily grin. Then she flinched when she realized the 'turtle lady' was among them.
"Good luck!!!" Su said, bouncing around suddenly.
"May the spirits be on your side," Motoko said. The rest of the girls said their own wishes of warm regard and the three started the (suddenly) long climb down.
Mutsumi fainted suddenly and the other two ronins scrambled to keep her from tumbling down.
Everyone sweat dropped and dispersed for their respective activities.
(-O-)
I've finally updated! Yay! I haven't been run over by a car yet for saying those semi-nasty things to a certain someone yet…
Anyways…
I know, I know… I've been a bad little author for not having updated in what was probably 4 months. But I really made an effort to work on it the spare moments of consciousness I had (I was working a 24 hour school week! So many sleepless nights… shudder)
I also know everyone is gonna be mad at me for the extremely short chapter (roughly 1/2 of the previous) but the rest of the stuff would probably work best in the last chapter (Ara ara…) of TSTBTPB. BUT FEAR NOT! For TSTBTPB is just the first book in a three book series I had imagined when I first started this endeavor. (The other reason is because it is what balances this fic's daughter story The Other Me. They both have a Ying Yang relationship that I plan on using down the line in a not too subtle way in one of my greater schemes dealing with fate, supernaturalism, higher dimensions and such.) As I said in the last chapter, the next book (I say book when it's more like a short story. Not even…) will be between 3-5 chapter and the last and final book will be open ended, though I plan on intermingling it with some of my other unfinished works…
Bad news: school opens in a little over a week. Plz don't stone me if I end up not updating again… I have so many classes lined up… (Hey, I like learning about stuff, especially about engines) And I will also do my best to PR for those that I already do it for (though my efficiency will probably drop dramatically).
One last thing: PLZ PLZ PLZ read the daughter fic The Other Me! I spent so much time on it and I'm having so much fun writing it!!! (Not that I'm not having fun writing this!)
And remember, click the 'Go' button. (Flames are understandable, especially if critical)
Cheers! )
