Ever Wonder If…
Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina, any of its characters, or any thing Love Hina-ish. Ken Akamatsu does. So thank him for creating this awesome manga series.
A/N: It's chapter eleven, and not much to say due to the fact there weren't many reviews…sniff…okay, no I'm joking, I'm not really sad. But there wasn't much input, so I really am just blathering on about nothing here, and talking to air. But aside from that, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please (pretty please?) RR!
"…" Denotes speech
Italics Denotes thought
Bold Denotes sound effects
Certain Sounds: (Just in case you're confused)
GOOMPH! Means fainting
DOONG! Means shock.
:blah: Denotes time/time change
- Denotes scene/scene change
Denotes daydreams and sleeping dreams
Chapter 11: Valentine's Day Cake
The sun rose slowly, with purpose, sending it's red rays over the Hinata-sou like a red sheen of plastic. The rays invaded several windows – most notably the window of the manager's room, Urashima Keitaro. But what it revealed was an empty room, for today was a very important day – February the thirteenth. Why was it so important that in the early rays of light Urashima Keitaro would be awake?
Why indeed? Motoko asked herself, peering into Keitaro's room and seeing no one. Where is he? Motoko had been training, and was going to the kitchen to drink some water after a particularly tiring session. Passing by Urashima's room that was open, she naturally peered into it. Oh well, I don't care anyways, Motoko thought. She walked into the kitchen…or almost did. CLANG CLANG CLANG! Something had fallen in and Motoko peeked in quietly. Urashima was in there. What is he doing? Motoko thought.
Keitaro picked up the pans. Stupid! I'll wake everyone up if I keep on doing that! He looked around, but saw no one (or thought he didn't, but in reality Motoko was still spying on him.) Phew, he thought. He picked them up quietly this time and took several items out of a bag.
Cooking Chocolate? Motoko asked herself. Keitaro had indeed taken out several packages of cooking chocolate, very like the type that Motoko herself had given Keitaro the first Valentine's Day he had spent in the Hinata-sou. But this wasn't all that he took out. He also had butter, oil, flour, eggs, tubes of chocolate frosting, and other various decorations. What is he doing? Motoko wondered.
"Hiya Motoko! Whatcha' up to?" Su asked. Motoko turned around in surprise and shushed Su.
"Shhhhh!" Motoko hissed, putting a finger to her lip.
"Oh, so you're spying on Keitaro?" Su asked.
"Uh…" Motoko stuttered. She realized she was, and she was always one that despised any behavior like it.
"Sounds fun! Move over so I can see too," Su said, and she peered in as well. Keitaro was whistling a tune that Motoko could not place, not that it mattered anyways. What was really interesting was the fact that Keitaro was now mixing in the butter, oil, flour and other ingredients that Motoko didn't know. What was he doing, and so calmly?
"Wow, it looks like he's making a cake!" Kitsune said. Shock hit Motoko.
"K-kitsune?" Motoko asked.
"Heh, looks like you finally decided peeping was a very fun pastime," Kitsune commented.
"N-no! I was just passing by and–" Motoko began but Kitsune shushed her.
"Shh! You don't want to attract his attention now, do you?" Kitsune asked, and peered into the kitchen herself. Keitaro had moved on and taken out a pan; he was happily spooning out the mixture into a pan.
"U-um, what are you doing?" Shinobu asked, who also happened to be walking by. She was up this early to make breakfast.
"Shinobu!" Su whispered. "Shhh! We're spying on Keitaro!"
"On Sempai? I'm sure you can just ask him what he's doing…" Shinobu said, but looked herself after noticing no one heard her.
"Err…why are you guys all spying on Keitaro?" Naru said, for some unknown reason awake this early as well. "What is that idiot doing that is so interesting?" She also peeped in. Keitaro was finishing and he put the pan in the oven. He started to walk towards the door.
"He's coming!" Kitsune hissed. "Move, everyone! Act normal!" SLIDE! The door opened.
"Hmm? W-what are all you doing here?" Keitaro asked.
"What?" Kitsune asked. "I was just passing by."
"Me too," Motoko said.
"I was just following Motoko," Su told him.
"A-and Su wanted me to come s-see a new invention of hers…" Shinobu said. Keitaro turned to Naru.
"What? I don't have a right to just walk by the kitchen? I wasn't doing anything," Naru said.
"You guys didn't, uh, see anything, right?" Keitaro asked.
"What? Of course not!" Kitsune said.
"You're too paranoid," Naru told him. "Were you doing something perverted?" Naru felt slightly guilty as she said this, since she actually knew she was peeping, though she would rather die before admitting it.
"Perv," Su said.
"No! I wasn't doing anything like that at all!" Keitaro said, becoming flustered. Su smiled and hopped around.
"Oo, Keitaro was being a pervert!" she accused playfully. Apparently she didn't have any guilt whatsoever as Naru did.
"No I wasn't!" Keitaro denied, chasing after Su who ran away.
-Kitchen of Hinata-sou-
:Breakfast time, around 7:00 AM:
"ITADAKIMASU!" Su shouted by herself. It was almost expected that Su said it, and they all began to eat.
"So," Kitsune asked, "What were you doing this morning at six o'clock?"
"What?" Keitaro asked, sweat forming on his brow. He dropped his chopsticks too.
"What were you doing this morning?" Kitsune repeated.
"Oh…ah…nothing," Keitaro said. He bent down and picked up his chopsticks.
"Nothing?" Kitsune asked. Keitaro sat straight up again, brushing his long hair out of his face.
"No. Do you have a hair tie?" he asked. Kitsune smiled evilly.
"Oh, so you're trying to change the subject!" Kitsune accused. Keitaro sweated, and hoped no one saw his nervousness that he felt.
"I was just drinking some juice," Keitaro lamely lied. "Do you have a ribbon? Does anyone?"
"At six in the morning?" Kitsune asked, ignoring his question.
"Yes!" Keitaro insisted. "It's no big deal!" Su pressed a hair tie into Keitaro's palm.
"I got one for you, Keitaro! It's special!" Su said. "The hair tie, I mean."
"Special?" Keitaro asked weary. He examined it, stretched it, but nothing blew up yet.
"Yup! It's got special elastic polymers that help retain its elasticity. Plus the hair tie can assume different colors and changes due to several factors, some of which include emotion, temperature, weather conditions, and location," Su told him. Keitaro didn't hear anything dangerous and tied his hair up in a pony-tail. It was the only way he could tie it up, actually, seeing as his hair tying skills have not been practiced for his life up to the point where he was "turned" into a girl.
"But if you pull it too tight the elastic will form a dangerous mix of chemicals that explode," Su said.
"Eh?" Keitaro asked. "Did you say explode?" STREEEEETCCHHHH! BOOOOOOMMMM!
"Like that," Su said as Keitaro flew miraculously out an open window.
"Sempai!" Shinobu cried, and she ran outside to see if he was okay.
"Why didn't he answer my question?" Kitsune pouted. Naru couldn't tell if she was really serious. Probably not, considering she's never serious, Naru thought.
"You're right, Urashima should not cover up his deeds," Motoko said.
"What was he doing?" Naru asked. "I only saw the last part, but it looked like he was baking a cake."
"He was," Kitsune said. Suddenly Mutsumi burst into the kitchen. This was also expected, as Mutsumi always took a bath before eating anything. And then she most often only ate watermelons. "A watermelon a day keeps the doctor away!" Mutsumi said very often. Thus they had a watermelon stash just for Mutsumi. She walked over to the pile of them in a corner. Taking one, she began to slice it.
"Why would he bake a cake?" Naru asked.
"I don't know," Kitsune said.
"Kei-kun was baking a cake?" Mutsumi asked.
"Apparently. And secretly, because he won't admit he was," Naru said.
"Yup! And it look like a yummy cake too!" Su interjected.
"Oh me oh my," Mutsumi said. "Well, tomorrow's Valentine's day…maybe he's making it for (giggle) a special someone," Mutsumi suggested.
"What!" Naru said, he jaw dropping open.
"How?" Kitsune asked. "White day is when guys are supposed to give girls chocolate!"
"But Urashima isn't a guy…" Motoko started.
"No, do you think?" Naru asked.
"Think what?" Su asked. "What?"
"It can't be," Kitsune said. "Can it?"
"Urashima wouldn't…" Motoko said, not quite believing it herself.
"But he's been like that for several months…" Naru stated.
"What is it? Tell me Motoko!" Su whined.
"Perhaps Keitaro has found…" Kitsune started.
"A guy he likes?" Motoko and Naru finished.
"Eh? But Keitaro's a guy!" Su said.
"He has been a girl now for several months," Naru repeated, still doubtful.
"It must be. What else could it be?" Kitsune asked. SLIDE! The door opened and Keitaro walked in with Shinobu.
"Shh! Don't say anything!" Kitsune said, holding a finger up to her mouth.
"Oh, good morning Mutsumi!" Keitaro said.
"Hello Kei-kun!" Mutsumi replied. "Would you like some watermelon?" She held out a slice.
"Oh, ah, not today, thanks," Keitaro said. He sat back down while everyone finished their breakfast. At the end, Keitaro stood up.
"Today I have to go into town to pay for maintenance fees, because the town changed its laws or something along those lines. I don't know, really, I, uh, got a letter from them. So I won't be around," Keitaro said. "Thanks for a great meal, Shinobu, as usual." Keitaro patted Shinobu on the head while she smiled and left. All the girls stared after him.
"What is it?" Shinobu asked.
"We think Keitaro may have a special someone!" Su said without thinking.
"Sp-special someone!" Shinobu said, beginning to faint.
"Su!" Naru cried.
"Catch her!" Kitsune shouted. Motoko immediately moved and caught the falling Shinobu.
"Don't worry, Shinobu, these are just suspicions. Most likely Urashima has no one and even if he did, he wouldn't have the guts to follow through with his feelings," Motoko said.
"I don't know about that," Kitsune said. "After all, perhaps he's changed since becoming a women."
"Perhaps? Are you blind?" Naru asked.
"I meant more than just physically, though he's a lot more cuter too," Kitsune said, giggling. Naru sighed. Will she ever end about that?
"Plus," Kitsune continued, "What's with this going into town thing? It sounds like a cover up…maybe he's meeting his special someone and didn't want us to come along!"
"Me-meeting!" Shinobu cried, fainting again.
"Catch her!" Naru shouted.
-Naru's Room-
:8:00 AM:
"Phew, at least today I can rest a bit from studying," Naru sighed in relief. "Thank goodness it's Saturday." Naru picked out a book she had been meaning to read for sometime now. She lay on the floor, her hair splayed out in all directions.
But maybe he's meeting his special someone!Kitsune's voice rang in her head.
"What was that! Of course not, there is no such thing!" Naru told herself.
And he didn't want us to come along!
"No no no!" Naru cried, hitting herself with her fists.
-Downtown-
Keitaro whistled as he walked into the bookstore. He was in a jovial mood.
Why is he in such a happy mood? Naru asked herself. Yes, she had relented and actually come to trail Keitaro. I'm so pathetic! Naru told herself, but she could not stop trailing him. She moved to a mailbox in front of the store and peered in. Keitaro was browsing the books. Perhaps he just decided to do some shopping since he had to come downtown anyways, Naru thought. Wait a minute! Keitaro suddenly seemed to recognize someone and started to walk towards a handsome looking man. It can't be! But no, he walked pass him and went deeper into the store. Naru looked around, then slipped into the bookstore.
Where are you? Naru asked herself. She spied him in the comics section. He's buying comics? No wait…right next to that section were the magazines. That was what he was browsing through. He picked up a Cosmo: Asia magazine. It boasted on What your favorite man will love this Valentine's Day!
"No way!" Naru whispered to herself. But Keitaro suddenly put back in a different slot.
"People should put these where they belong," Keitaro muttered. He continued to browse, but apparently found nothing good and moved on. Naru crept around. BUMP!
"Oh, I so terribly sorry!" Naru said.
"Oh no, excuse me…Naru?" the other lady Naru bumped into asked.
"Motoko?" Naru said, astonished. "What are you doing here?"
"A-ah, I was just merely browsing," Motoko said. Naru looked and saw that the books right in front of Motoko were beauty books. Either Motoko had a deep dark secret or…
"You're following Keitaro too?" Naru asked.
"Shh!" Motoko shushed. "He might hear us!"
"You are," Naru said.
"I-I mean, whatever are you talking about?" Motoko said, realizing her cover had been blown but not wanting to actually admit it. "I'm just looking at these!" She grabbed a book and shoved it in Naru's face.
"Ten Ways to Get That Guy and How You Should Look to Do It?" Naru asked dryly.
"Ah…" Motoko stuttered. Suddenly she realized something too. "Hey, but what are you doing here?"
"M-me? Oh, I was looking for Todai Test books," Naru answered, sure that this was a good excuse.
"You just bought some two days ago," Motoko said, now the accusing one.
"I did? Oh, silly me!" Naru joked. "Okay, well I'll be going now…" Naru said, starting to leave.
"No you don't!" Motoko said. "If we're going to spy on Urashima, we'll do it together!"
"But I wasn't spying…" Naru said, a weak smile on her face. Motoko shook her head.
"I won't let you go. And stop lying. Oh, hurry, he's leaving the store!" Motoko exclaimed, and they both rushed out. Keitaro hadn't bought anything, and he left the store still whistling some old tune. Motoko and Naru sped from one hiding place to another.
"What is the chance he's actually doing it?" Motoko asked.
"I don't know," Naru answered, determined to keep to Keitaro. "Oh wait, he's going into that pastry store!"
"Pastry store?" Motoko asked. They hid behind a bench and looked again through the glass windows of the store. Keitaro was ordering something!
"Maybe he thought his cake wasn't good enough!" Naru whispered to Motoko.
"Maybe…" Motoko answered.
"What are you guys doing?" someone asked.
"Eh!" Naru and Motoko exclaimed while turning around. It was Haruka!
"Ah…ah…" Motoko stuttered.
"N-nothing! Nice to see you out and about," Naru said.
"What's happening with your Tea House?" Motoko asked.
"Oh, Kitsune's taking care of it," Haruka answered lazily.
"Ah…good," Naru said.
"But what are you two doing?" Haruka asked again.
"Oh, just out, you know, for a leisurely stroll," Motoko said.
"Do you mean a leisurely creep? What's happening now?" Haruka asked. Suddenly Keitaro came out and he was munching on a black bean bun.
"Are you spying on my nephew?" Haruka asked, upon seeing Keitaro come out.
"No!" Naru and Motoko quickly denied.
"You know the worst thing to do when asked something is to deny it that quickly. Why are you spying?" Haruka asked.
"Can't answer, must follow," Naru said, and started towards Keitaro who was walking down the street.
"We shall see you later, Haruka-san," Motoko said, following Naru.
"Jeez, wait up! I haven't finished asking what's going on yet!" Haruka said, actually having to use some effort to keep up with Naru and Motoko. Keitaro's next target was the bank.
"Why is he going there?" Naru whispered. Suddenly two people in sunglasses followed Keitaro in.
"Who are they!" Motoko asked.
"I don't know? Creditors?" Naru asked. They followed Keitaro into the bank. The bank was modestly big, as it housed the money of most of the people in this prefecture. There were marbled counters and floors, and many desks where people could be seen working. Keitaro went up to the counter.
"Down!" Naru hissed. Motoko, Naru, and Haruka (for some reason she could not fathom) all ducked as Keitaro looked around.
"Hey, those people in sunglasses are ducking too!" Motoko said, pointing. One of the sunglasses people had a remote.
"Myuh!"
"Tama-chan, where did you come from?" Keitaro asked.
"That's not Tama-chan," Naru said, her face falling. She knew what it was and now recognized the controller that one of the sunglasses people was holding. "That's Mecha-Tama, which means one of those people over there is Su!" Naru grabbed Motoko and crept to the people with sunglasses.
"Su! Is that you!" Naru hissed.
"Naru! I've got Mecha-Tama on Keitaro ready to go!" Su said, apparently undisturbed that Naru was also spying.
"Narusegawa-sempai?" the other person that Naru recognized as Shinobu asked. "A-are you following Sempai too?"
"Ah…" Naru stuttered.
"Yes, she is," Haruka answered.
"Haruka-sempai? Why are you here?" Shinobu asked.
"I don't know," Haruka answered.
"Hey, look!" Su said, and she pointed to the screen of the controller. Keitaro was on it, and was withdrawing money.
"Shh!" Naru hissed.
"Yes, I would like to withdraw money please," Keitaro told the male clerk.
"Ah, yes, hmm, do you have an account number?" the clerk asked.
"It's on the paper," Keitaro said, and he handed the clerk a withdrawal form.
"Yes and woo wee, that's a lot of money," the clerk commented.
"Could you not be so loud, please," Keitaro asked.
"Are you sure a pretty lady like you should be carrying that much money?" the clerk asked.
"Yes," Keitaro answered. The clerk persisted, though.
"Perhaps you need help. I would be more than willing to assist you," the clerk shamelessly said.
"Why that little weasel is flirting with him!" Motoko said. "That spineless male!"
"No, I'm okay," Keitaro repeated.
"Are you sure miss? You know, it's a dangerous world out there," the clerk said, finally handing Keitaro an envelope with the money in it.
"I could easily tell my boss that I have to protect you," the clerks said, smiling.
"I already have someone that does that, thanks," Keitaro said, and he walked out.
"Whaaaaaat!" Naru shouted. "He already has someone?"
"H-has someone…" Shinobu said, starting to faint.
"Follow him, quickly!" Su said, and they did. Keitaro seemed not to notice a gaggle of girls behind his back (and his aunt) following him and spying. He walked out of the bank and down the street. He continued to whistle.
"Why must he have that annoying habit of whistling all the time?" Motoko asked. No one actually answered. Keitaro walked through the town, occasionally turning left and right until he reached a big tall building.
"Where is this?" Shinobu asked.
"This is a government building," Haruka observed.
"Why is he here?" Naru whispered.
"Maybe he's doing what he actually said he was going to do," Kitsune said, appearing from nowhere. "You know, for you all not to believe me, you all turned up," Kitsune said, smiling broadly. "Anything interesting happen yet?"
"No," Su said, sad. "Nothing yet." They watched the Mecha-Tama.
Keitaro was wandering the halls, looking occasionally at the numbers of the rooms he was passing.
"Excuse me, miss, can I help you?" a man, presumably a security guard asked.
"Ah yes, I would like to find this room," Keitaro said, taking out a piece of paper that had a number written on it. He brushed his hair out of his face as he showed the guard the paper.
"Ah, yes, room 202E is right down this corridor. Turn left then right, then the room should be on your left, about half-way down that hall," the guard said.
"Yes, thank you," Keitaro replied, and he continued down the hall.
"Ugh, he's booring," Su said. "Nothing's happening."
"It does indeed look like he's only doing what he said he would be," Motoko commented.
"Why would Keitaro lie?" Haruka asked.
"Because you didn't see what we saw this morning!" Kitsune told Haruka. She recounted their little voyeuristic discovery.
"Um, he was just baking a cake?" Haruka asked. "And that got you guys so upset?" Haruka waited for an answer while most of them realized how dumb they were being. Shinobu bit her finger.
"B-but later Sempai didn't admit that he had baked a cake…" Shinobu spoke up, wanting to rationalize the reason why she was sitting outside a government building spying on Keitaro.
"Yeah, that idiot could have just said that he was baking a cake and not lie so feebly," Naru pointed out.
"Hmm…" Haruka said, pondering the matter. "Well, if that's it, then I'm going." She stood up and left.
"Oh well, hey is he there yet?" Kitsune asked. Keitaro was. He opened a door that read 202E.
"Greetings," a young handsome looking man said.
"Hey, he looks pretty good," Kitsune said, pointing to the guy behind the desk. Naru trembled. Keitaro couldn't be like that…No, he's still a guy after all. He wouldn't ever switch his preference, after all, the reason in the first place why he changed was that he wanted to understand women, Naru thought. They had dragged this fact out of Keitaro early on, not satisfied with the lame excuse that the genie had just done it on a whim.
"I assume you have the – ?" the guy asked, and Keitaro handed him a paper.
"Ah," the guy said. He read over it for a while.
"This is correct…do you have the money?" the guy asked. Keitaro reached into a handbag that he brought out from nowhere.
"Where did Keitaro get a handbag?" Kitsune asked. "Not to mention on so obviously feminine! I mean look at it!" Naru and the others did. It was decidedly feminine. It was first of all glaringly a girlish color, but not so girlish that it was natural – a baby blue. No man would be caught dead in that color. Next, it had a cute baby bear with huge eyes and a small round nose and underneath the bear it read, "Cuteness is My Job."
"That…is unnatural…" Motoko said. She would never carry that, and she was a girl. Keitaro finally brought out money and handed it to the man.
"Thank you," the guy said, and he counted it. "It's all there, and you're all set for the next two months."
"Thanks," Keitaro said, taking his "bag" and leaving.
-Hinata-sou-
:That night:
Naru was in her room. She was exhausted from…no, she didn't want to think about it, but she did. From spying on Keitaro all day, she guiltily thought. After visiting the government building, Keitaro had done nothing at all interesting, gone around town, browsed several stores, including the book store where he went and bought Girls Manga. ("I bet he buys it all the time, only now he can buy it freely, that pervert!" Motoko had commented harshly.) But he had done nothing suspicious at all. But what about this morning?
"Naru-chan," a voice called out. Naru turned around to see Mutsumi.
"Yes, Mutsumi-chan?" Naru asked.
"Can you help me?" Mutsumi asked.
"With what?"
"I need to make chocolate for Kei-kun, but I broke a cabinet reaching for the baking chocolate. Can you help me fix it? I can't ask Kei-kun…I'll make some chocolate for you to give to Kei-kun also," Mutsumi said. "As payment."
"Ch-chocolate? I'm not giving him any chocolate!" Naru shouted.
"? Why not?" Mutsumi asked. "Isn't it Valentine's Day tomorrow?"
"Yes, but…he's not a guy anymore!" Naru said. After that garishly girlish bag, Naru was sure of this.
"But we all know it's really Kei-kun in disguise…" Mutsumi said. She sighed. "I'll go ask someone else."
"No! I'll help you!"
-Hinata-sou Kitchen-
BAM! BAM! BAM!
"There, all fixed," Naru said, looking back at her work. It was pretty good, if she did say so herself. It didn't look like any of the other cabinets on the wall, but hey, what more could she do?
"That's really good! Thank you, Naru-chan!" Mutsumi shouted in delight, and leaned closer to Naru.
"Woah! No kissing!" Naru exclaimed, and backed away.
"No, Naru-chan, I'm giving you this," Mutsumi said. "But I'm sorry if you thought I was going to kiss you, unless you want one."
"No! Nothing to be sorry about," Naru said quickly, and she took what Mutsumi offered. It was a white box tied with lace. "Should I open it?"
"If you want. There's chocolate from me for you to give to Kei-kun. I know! It can be from both of us!♥" Mutsumi said, realizing a great idea.
"Err…" Naru stuttered.
:February 14th, Sunday:
Again the sun rose, shedding it's light. It did this everyday, unless some clouds decided to show up. Here we go again, the sun thought, or would have if it could think. But it didn't, so the sun rose without thought and the light entered the room of the manager of the Hinata-sou. Someone, however was awake with the same amount of discipline the sun had.
Motoko walked down the hallway, finished with her training exercises that morning, as with any other morning. It was more than a routine, it was a necessity. She paused in front of Keitaro's room again. I wonder if he's there today, she thought, reaching out for the door. Suddenly she stopped. No, it wouldn't be right to peek into someone else's room without at least knocking. And if he's in there, it would be rude to wake him. And look what happened last time. Motoko walked to her room and reached to open her room's door. It didn't open.
"Eh?" Motoko asked, pulling harder. It still didn't open. RATTLE! RATTLE! RATTLE! It was totally locked up. Weird…and disconcerting… Motoko pondered. She was now quite irritated and annoyed. She decided that she should break it down by force.
"Having trouble, Motoko-chan?" a voice called just as Motoko had raised her sword high.
"What!" Motoko snapped, and turning around she accidentally smashed Keitaro in the face, sending him down the hall and into the wall.
"Aiieeeeeeee!" he shrieked as he flew down like a baseball thrown at ninety miles per hour (A/N: Perhaps I should convert that into kilometers per hour, heh heh). BAAAAAMMM!
"Ow…" Keitaro groaned, getting up and rubbing his head. "You hit harder in the morning."
"Well!" Motoko said, not knowing exactly what to say. She had merely been angry at her door and by accident hit Keitaro across the face without any reason. She was clearly in the wrong, but still did not want to apologize. Frustrated, she changed the subject. "My door won't open."
"Hmm?" Keitaro asked, coming up and pulling on the door. It didn't budge. "That's odd, I just fixed all the doors in the Hinata-sou last night…"
"Really?" Motoko asked. Keitaro hit the door. BAM!
"It's stuck, Motoko-chan, I'm sorry," Keitaro said. "Guess you'll have to stay somewhere else for now."
"What? Let me hit it, because obviously a weakling like you can't do anything!" Motoko said, pushing Keitaro away. "ROCK SPLITTING TECHNIQUE!" BAAAAM! Dust filled the air and the room shook. As the dust cleared one thing became apparent – the door was still standing. DOOOOO-OOONG! "Wha-what?" Motoko said, her mouth open. "How is that possible?"
"Hmm…very odd indeed…" Su said, appearing from nowhere.
"Waah! Su! Where did you come from?" Keitaro asked. Su ignored him, tapping and touching the door in several places. Suddenly, Naru, Mutsumi, Kitsune, and even little Shinobu came up.
"What's all the noise?" Naru asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Yeah, you woke me up from my hangover. I'm completely sober now," Kitsune said, yawning.
"What's up, Sempai?" Shinobu asked. "What's wrong?"
"Good morning, Kei-kun!" Mutsumi cried.
"Good morning good morning," Keitaro said, smiling and waving. "Motoko just can't open her door."
"Ah," Naru said. "Why?"
"I don't know," Motoko said. "But even my ultimate technique doesn't work on it!"
"Motoko-chan, let me try this!" Su said, and she grabbed a bazooka and fired.
"NO! SU!" Motoko shouted. It was too late, and the bazooka exploded. KABOOOM! Again dust flew everywhere, but the door remained stuck.
"Odd, because everything around the door is blown away…" Su mused. Everyone sweat-dropped, because it was true.
"Now my room is destroyed!" Motoko complained. The wreckage was incredible. Strewn over the floor were bits of paper and splintered wood, while a lone door stood there. However, to the astonishment of all, there was in the middle of the room a table with a lovely and gorgeous chocolate cake!
"Oooo…who made that?" Su said, immediately going closer and examining the cake.
"Yeah, Motoko, who's your secret lover?" Kitsune asked, a sly smile on her face.
"I have NO secret lover!" Motoko shouted, angry. Who did put this darn cake in my room! Mutsumi had also advanced forward.
"This cake is quite expertly made, I must say," Mutsumi said. Naru and Kitsune wandered in, admiring the cake.
"Looks like it's from a world-renowned pastry shop!" Naru said. "Someone spent a lot of money to get you this, Motoko."
"I tell you no one bought me this!" Motoko denied. Su stuck a finger into the cake's frosting and licked her finger.
"YUM! This is sooooo deelicious!" Su exclaimed in chocolate bliss. "Motoko, if you don't want it can I eat it?"
"NO!" Motoko said. Su pouted ("It's rude to eat someone else's cake!" Mutsumi exclaimed).
"Well…if no one gave it to you, then we should all share it, right?" Kitsune asked, breathing in the heavenly aroma that was the chocolate cake. "Hey, Keitaro, you've been silent all this time. What do you think?"
"Me? Oh…err," Keitaro stumbled. Naru, upon seeing his reaction, knew what was really going on.
"You made this cake, didn't you?" Naru asked, straight to the point. Keitaro became flustered and shook his arms.
"Ah, no! No!" he denied. Naru glared at him. "Well…maybe…" Keitaro said, dropping his head in defeat.
"Ha!♥" Naru exclaimed. "I knew it!" Shinobu slowly moved to the cake and repeated Su's actions; she wiped a bit of the frosting off and licked her finger. Woah! This is really good!
"Kei-kun…why did you make a cake?" Mutsumi asked.
"And why did you put it in my room!" Motoko demanded as well. Kitsune spoke up.
"Obviously, Motoko, he has feelings for you that he wanted to express by giving you a chocolate cake on Valentine's Day!" Kitsune snickered to herself in her brain, and prepared herself for Motoko's hot and angry denial. She didn't have to wait long.
"THERE IS NOTHING LIKE THAT!" Motoko bellowed, shouting in the direction of Kitsune. Still, even as Motoko shouted this statement so brashly and loudly, only the incident at Christmas and her sister's remark flew through her brain.
"Besides," Motoko said, having shouted enough at Kitsune, "Boys give chocolates to girls on White Day anyways."
"Heh heh, but he's no longer a boy, Motoko," Kitsune informed her.
"Will you just quit it!" Motoko shouted, almost begging Kitsune who only laughed.
"Don't worry, Motoko-chan, I made it for everyone!" Keitaro said. He took out a knife from his pocket ("You were carrying that sharp thing in your pocket?" Naru said, sweat-dropping). "Let's see…" Keitaro said, counting, "Seven pieces."
"What, you made such a tasty cake and you won't even let your aunt try it?" Haruka asked, appearing.
"Aunt Haruka!" Keitaro said, turning around and almost slicing her with his knife. BAM!
"I thought I told you to call me Haruka-san," Haruka told him calmly after punching him in the face.
"But…you…just…called…yourself…aunt…" Keitaro groaned on the floor. Kitsune went over and plucked the knife from his hand.
"No point in waiting, let's start the eating!" she said, and proceeded to cut the cake into eight pieces. Everyone took a slice and ate happily – especially since it was 6:00 in the morning.
"So," Naru asked, pausing in between bites, "Haruka-san, why are you here?"
"Well, you guys are hardly quiet in the morning," Haruka said. "You know, Keitaro, you should've told me you could make cakes this good. I could sell them for a lot of money, and you would get some."
"Oh? How much?" Keitaro asked.
"Ten percent," Haruka replied.
"You…only ten?"
"And how did you get to this level?" Haruka asked.
"Oh…err…I sort of…" Keitaro mumbled.
"Speak up, I can't hear you," Haruka commanded.
"That idiot doesn't want to tell you that he made dummy cakes every Valentine's Day to ward off teasing, and that's how he got so good, the idiot," Naru said.
"You…dummy cakes?" Haruka said, pointing from the cake to her nephew.
"Yeah…" Keitaro mumbled again. Haruka let loose a full throated laugh. Keitaro just sighed. When Haruka calmed down, she wiped the tears from her eyes.
"You know, it's something every boy should do," Haruka said, breathing heavy from laughing. She covers her mouth very un-lady like and un-Haruka like and begins to giggle again. "Excuse me…" she said, and she left. Keitaro could hear her laughing from the first floor.
"Well…" Keitaro said, when everyone had finished.
"Urashima, I still want to know why my room had your cake and why my door is still standing!" Motoko demanded.
"I thought it might be a good idea…you know, to get everyone here…" Keitaro mumbled.
"You're lying!" Motoko accused.
"I'm not!" Keitaro responded quickly. Motoko glared at him.
"All right, break it up," Kitsune said. "Keitaro, I suggest you start fixing this."
"WHAT! I have to study for Todai exams!" Keitaro whined.
"Ahh, you're the manager, you wimp. Do it!" Naru shouted, hitting Keitaro on the head.
A/N: Let's see… on a scale to one to ten this scored…a four…no…I don't know, but it could have been funnier, perhaps. Next chapter and future updates might be long. Sorry, but I was caught this week reading Bleach and Rouroni Kenshin, both of which are really good. Anyways, I haven't been seeing much review action, so I'll make a nice list on why reviewing is good. First, Please RR! Reviews are always helpful!
