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: Chapter 12! To have made it this far means only one thing – I'm dedicated (though we can't rule out the option of insane as well). This Author's note has nothing much more except possibly to answer the latest reviewer, Anonymous signed Duke about why Keitaro isn't eternally depressed and ready to commit suicide. First off, I was joking about the suicide part, but to me I think Keitaro is an exceptional young and over-optimistic fool, so he believes that he will change back to a male some time in the "distant future." And if any readers have any qualms about whether he will ever change back…well, I can't answer that. Okay, I can, but it would ruin things, you know? Another question posted was why the door stayed put. In my delusion when writing the chapter, I thought I might reveal that Keitaro and planted a steel door behind it that was melded into place. Then I realized, this would never make any sense, and I would have to explain it as they saw it and it would be so unbelievable. So instead I left it a mystery! Use your imagination! If you want to use mine, then you can, but it's poorly constructed and not very well thought out. Enough with this Author's note, and Please enjoy as always (I hope!) and R&R!
"…" Denotes speech
Italics Denotes thought
Bold Denotes sound effects
Certain Sounds:
GOOMPH! Means fainting
DOONG! Means shock.
:blah: Denotes time/time change
Denotes scene/scene change (A/N: In Word which I used to type it up, something was actually here, but the format of must erase it. Oh well, but the words that say things like Blah's room is this)
Chapter 12: Todai Exam! Good Luck! Part I
:February 22nd, Monday:
"SU!"
A voice rang out throughout the Hinata-sou of one very peeved ronnin.
"SU!" Make that two.
Su ran along the hallways, down the stairs and back up, giggling the whole time.
"SU! GIVE ME BACK MY BOOK!" Keitaro shouted. Su hid in a closet in the girls bathroom, snickering. Like Keitaro would ever come in here! Su thought.
"Where's Motoko?" Naru asked. "We could get her to get Su to give it back."
"She's gone to a camp. Why else would Su be bothering us in the first place?" Keitaro moaned. "SU!" Keitaro heard a giggle. No, it was a full throated laugh. "Aha!" Keitaro exclaimed, turning his head into the living room.
"HAHAHAHA!" Kitsune cried, throwing various pieces of paper into the air. "He's winning!"
"Never mind," Keitaro said. "Where is Su?" Naru looked around.
"Kitsune, have you seen Su?" she asked. Kitsune, who was busy cheering for her horse that was currently winning, didn't notice Naru's question.
"Narusegawa, it seems useless to ask Kitsune. Even if Su came by, she probably wouldn't have seen her," Keitaro said. He continued looking around. "I know Su's on the first floor."
"Unless she developed a teleporting device," Naru joked. Keitaro nodded seriously, causing Naru to faint. "It was a joke!"
"Well…I thought, you know, with Su…"
"Idiot!" Naru shouted, bopping Keitaro on the head with a fan she pulled out from nowhere. THWAP!
"Ow!" Keitaro moaned, rubbing his head. Naru continued to search.
"Maybe she went into the baths," Keitaro suggested.
"Probably," Naru said. They walked to the changing area. "You stay outside," Naru ordered.
"I wasn't planning on going in in the first place!" Keitaro said. Naru opened the door and went in. Keitaro waited outside.
"Su!" Naru called. "Please return that idiot's book! The test is tomorrow!"
Indeed it was. For Keitaro and Narusegawa, the Todai test that was so important in their lives was looming on the horizon. Mutsumi was set – Keitaro knew the main point to passing for her was to get to the test center. She somehow managed to be incredibly smart, if only incredibly sickly. It was fortunate she wasn't a hypochondriac or her life would never cease to have problems. Narusegawa knew she should pass – she was determined she wasn't going to be like Keitaro and become a ronnin again! No siree! Keitaro knew what he had been doing had been good – but perhaps it wasn't enough? No, all three of them had studied an enormous amount and deserved to pass the test.
"Su!" Naru called out again. She heard a giggling from the closet. Aha, I got you! Naru thought. She grabbed the closet door and ripped it open. SPROING! BAAAM! A giant gloved fist sprung out and smashed Naru in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her.
"OOF!" Naru groaned. Su laughed.
"I'm not in there…" she said. Naru's eye twitched.
"Keitaro! Come in here!" Naru cried, in frustration.
"Ah…" Keitaro said through the door, "I thought I wasn't supposed to come in…"
"No one's here anyways," Naru said. The door slid open and Keitaro entered looking around carefully to make sure no one was there.
"Phew!" he said in relief, and Naru pointed to the other side of the room.
"Search there," she said, and she began to search on the other side. Keitaro had never had a good look of this room – not that he wanted to, but the room was bigger than he thought. It seemed that the Hinata-sou was able to deal with more residents than currently allocated in here, as there were several rows of lockers and multiple sinks. Keitaro still couldn't find anyone.
"SU!" he called out. "Please? I really need my book!" Keitaro got no reply and he sat down on a bench in disgust. "Perhaps if I feign disinterest…" He sat and lay down and pretended to fall asleep. Only Su, however, knew he was like that and in a moment descended upon his body and tied him to the bench.
"Gotcha, Keitaro!" She cried.
"Hey! Let me go!" Keitaro cried, straining against the ropes. He struggled but was secured.
"No, and here is my revenge!" Su said, and she brought out a machine that had…various things on it.
"Um Su, aren't you the one already getting us?" Keitaro asked. "You're the one with my book!" Su giggled and placed the machine on Keitaro.
""It's an perpetual tickling machine!" Su said. She was about to press the on button when Naru came from behind and grabbed Su.
"Caught ya!" she cried. Keitaro, who had been sweating from fear, now was relieved and could breathe easily.
"Hey! Let me go!" Su shouted, wriggling but Naru held fast.
"Where's Keitaro's book?" Naru asked. "Tell us or we'll set your machine on you."
"Nooo!" Su said, but Keitaro thought it sounded fake. "Okay, it's in my room!"
"What?" Keitaro said in dismay. Su's room was a jungle; how was it possible to find anything? Suddenly the door opened and closed, and Keitaro heard something he didn't want to hear – Motoko was undressing preparing to take a bath. Apparently she had come back from her camp TODAY and decided to take a bath NOW. My life stinks, Keitaro thought. She only needs to walk over here… She did.
"URASHIMA!" Motoko cried, taken aback and she covered her exposed body with the towel she was holding. "DIE!" she cried, and she raised her sword with such fury that even Naru was slightly scared.
"Wait, Motoko, we were chasing Su…" she started.
"WHAT?" Motoko yelled. "CHASING SU INTO THE BATHROOM? EVEN MORE REASON TO DIE! ROCK SPLITTING TECHNIQUE!" A huge wave of ki power flowed towards Keitaro and he closed his eyes. BAM!
"Aieeeeeeeeee!" he cried as he went into the sky. Motoko made a satisfied sound and went into the bath. Su and Naru were left.
"That was fun!♥" Su said, and she hopped away to chase Motoko, stripping and following her into the bath. Naru remained silent.
Keitaro's Room
"Su was quite a bother today, wasn't she?" Keitaro asked, smiling with multiple bandages on his head.
"You're lucky Motoko came back," Naru said. They had finally got back the book and now were studying.
"Lucky?" Keitaro asked. "Yeah, right, I was lucky. When is Mutsumi coming?" Naru checked her watch.
"Ah…in about half an hour. She said she had a surprise," Naru said.
"Surprise?" Keitaro asked. "Probably something I don't want to know about." Naru chewed on the end of her pencil. They continued to study.
"Say, Keitaro, did you get this one?" Naru asked after a while. She did this more and more, when she wasn't sure. Yes, she had been the top scholar in the nation, but apparently that didn't guarantee entrance to Todai. And ever since Keitaro had gotten that A he had been better at questions. Keitaro took the paper.
"Number seven?" he asked, looking.
"No, eight," Naru said. Keitaro frowned.
"But you got seven wrong," he said. "You forgot to switch the order of the words so in English it makes sense. No one in England says to store we go."
"What? Of course they do!" Naru said. She furrowed her eyebrows and thought about it carefully. "Okay, but it still makes sense." Keitaro shook his head.
"It makes much more sense to saw we go to the store. How did you manage to mess up such a simple problem anyways?" Keitaro asked. Naru began to be irritated.
"Oh, Mr. I can't even do a simple integral says that!" Naru accused.
"Hey hey hey, that was a low blow!" Keitaro said. "I can do simple integrals!" Naru snorted.
"Then how come you couldn't integrate x squared?" she asked. She took a mask that slightly resembled Keitaro and started to mock him. "Oh, Narusegawa, I can't integrate x squared. What do you do? Do you raise the exponent? Ha!" She took off the mask and Keitaro got angry.
"Well…you…you…" he sputtered. He ended by crossing his arms. "That's only because I'm bad at math!"
"Someone call the newspaper! It's a news flash! It's a news flash!" Naru shouted, with a microphone in her hands.
"You!" Keitaro said again, and he stood up but tripped over the table. "Woah!" he cried, and started to fall forwards.
"Watch out!" Naru shouted but it was too late and Keitaro crashed into the table, spilling the hot water that had almost finished boiling all over himself.
"Yearghhhh! Hot! HOT! HOT!" he cried, doing a dance that resembled an ostrich.
"Calm down!" Naru cried as Keitaro took off his shirt. "Kyaahh!" Naru cried as Keitaro proceeded to take off his bra. "DO THAT IN PRIVATE!" she shouted and swung with all her strength at the stripping Keitaro. Hit! BAAAAM!
"But I was burning up!" Keitaro cried as he flew towards the hot springs with his usual bad luck. BAM! CRASH! THUD! WHAMMMO!
"URASHIMA!" Naru heard Motoko cry out.
"Oops," she said.
"DON'T SHOW ME THINGS LIKE THAT!" Motoko shouted. Naru heard a sickening thud as Keitaro landed…somewhere in the Hinata-sou. SLIDE!
"Hello Na-chan!" Mutsumi greeted. "Huh? I thought Kei-kun was here just a moment ago?"
"He was," Naru stated, devoid of any guilt whatsoever. Keitaro came in through the door, limping with bruises on his body again. Though he was smarter and was wrapped in a towel.
"Kei-kun!" Mutsumi said, and she put down the bags she was holding. "Let me kiss you!" She leaned forward to do just that but Keitaro was to quick for her.
"Waah!" he cried, backing away, and he tripped on the doorpost that was on the floor. Mutsumi tripped as well and landed on him. SQUISH! SMOOCH!♥ Naru closed her eyes but she knew what those sounds meant.
"Mutsumi-chan!" Keitaro shouted. Mutsumi giggled. She got up and grabbed her bags when Keitaro stood up violently in anger. "Don't do that aga—" SMOOCH!♥ Too late, for it seemed that Mutsumi was on one of her kissing rampages that Keitaro had only been subject to once; Naru hadn't witnessed it and the memory still sickened her. It was most disturbing because afterwards it seemed Mutsumi only had a vague recollection of it and no matter how many people who kissed nor what gender (last time it had happened on a trip to Okinawa and it was while she was drunk – though her mom doubted the alcohol had any influence whatsoever).
"Run!" Naru shouted and she stood up to run but Mutsumi was after her.
"Wait, Na-chan I haven't greeted you properly yet!" Mutsumi cried, dropping Keitaro who was shrinking away into a corner. Naru slammed open a door and ran outside. Mutsumi gave chase. Keitaro was left alone and he breathed a sigh of relief. Going to his door, he boarded it up with several boards and various heavy duty metals. Not only was he afraid of Mutsumi, but he could only imagine the reaction of several of the girls if they caught Mutsumi in the middle of a rampage with Keitaro. He took out his book and began to study.
"Hmm…this problem is difficult…let's see, how do I solve it? Was it the partial fraction method?" Keitaro mused to himself. He set to work but soon heard loud noises. BAM! CRASH! THUD!
"Waaaaaaaiiit!" he heard Mutsumi cry. Ignore! Ignore! Ignore! He told himself. CLATTER! Ignore!
"Kei-kun?" Keitaro spun around to see the worse thing possible – Mutsumi had come out of the connecting hole and was advancing upon him.
"No! I forgot!" he whimpered as he shrank back, then quickly he zoomed into the closet but Mutsumi followed him and he was forced to an experience which is unmentionable.
Kitchen
:Dinner Time, around 8:00:
GOOMPH! The entire Hinata-sou stared as a very spent and exhausted Keitaro burst in, with Mutsumi close behind. She had her finger in her mouth and an innocent expression on. As stated, she had no clue that she had just made Keitaro experience something no one should ever have the pain of experiencing.
"Hello Na-chan!" Mutsumi greeted, waving. She sat down and Keitaro tried to as well, though he missed the chair and fell on the floor.
"Sempai!" Shinobu cried, and she rushed over to a swirly-eyed Keitaro who mumbled something about wanting to "rest in peace." Naru felt slightly guilty that Keitaro had borne this great burden all by herself, but it was inevitable because she wasn't about to bear any of it herself.
"Keitaro, you'd better eat otherwise you won't be able to take the test tomorrow well," Naru said. Keitaro sat up suddenly.
"You're right!" he affirmed, then he quickly started to eat all the food.
"Sempai, you'll choke!" Shinobu cried in worry. URK! It seemed that Shinobu was good at predicting what would happen, and Keitaro did start choking. "Someone save me!" Keitaro choked out. Shinobu moved behind him but, alas, she was too small to reach around him.
"Someone help!" Shinobu cried out. Mutsumi turned her head, then suddenly tripped and the watermelon she was carrying bowled into Keitaro, causing him to cough up what he had been choking on. Everyone was silent for a moment as Keitaro finished his coughing fit. Naru was the first to speak.
"Idiot!" she said, then continued with her meal. Kitsune commented as well.
"You know, that was quite low on the intelligence scale," she said with a joking smile. "But don't worry, I have just the thing to cheer you up!" She looked towards Su and then shouted, "PARTY TIME!" KABOOM! A party ball opened up and confetti flew everywhere. "Alcohol!" Kitsune shouted as well. Su had turned on a loud boom box which was threatening to bring the Hinata-sou down into splinters. It was playing some offensive techno song by J-Pop (A/N: If any of you are J-Pop fans…don't be offended. It's just me.).
"Drink! Be happy!" Kitsune said, pouring out several shots of sake for Keitaro, Mutsumi, and Naru.
"Kitsune! We'll get such a bad hangover tomorrow that we won't be able to do our test!" Naru cried. "No, we refuse!" GULP! Mutsumi took all of the shots and drowned them in one gulp.
"More! And make one watermelon flavored!" Mutsumi said, looking drunk though Naru and Keitaro weren't too sure. Kitsune smiled and poured another one, and from some mysterious place added a slice of water melon as big as a slice of lemon.
"Kitsune! Did you hear anything I just said!" Naru asked loudly, drawing in closer to Kitsune in case she didn't hear her the first time.
"Narusegawa, Narusegawa, calm down!" Keitaro said, and he held her back while Naru grumbled and muttered something non-repeatable. The party lasted late into the night though Keitaro and Narusegawa managed to only drink one shot that had been thrown into their mouths while they were unawares. When at last the last song had played and even little poor hardworking Shinobu was tired out, Keitaro and Narusegawa said their goodnights while everyone fell asleep where they were. It was 1:00 AM.
Keitaro's Room
:Test day, February 23rd, 6:29 AM:
TICK!
:6:30 AM:
BRIIIIINNGGGGGG!
"AHHH! I'm up! I'm up!" Keitaro shouted, jumping up immediately. He slammed the clock and grunted. "Oh, it's the stupid clock." He changed into his normal attire, putting on a long-sleeved blue blouse and a skirt. Even though it was winter, somehow Keitaro had managed to get used to wearing it. He sometimes wore sweatpants underneath his skirt when it was really cold – though the first time he had done that Kitsune had nearly choked to death and stripped him of the sweat pants. After trying several unsuccessful passes through his hair with a comb, he tied it into a simple ponytail and gathered his stuff.
"I wonder if Shinobu has done anything this morning?" he mused aloud. Upon reaching the living room, however, he received his answer as he saw Kitsune, Shinobu, Motoko, and even Mutsumi snoring away peacefully. He decided it would be too cruel to make Shinobu cook something, and since he was a decent cook why not? He put on an apron and began to cook.
Naru's Room
:6:40 AM:
Naru jerked awake. For a second she didn't know where she was. No…I'm in my room… She didn't know the reason she woke up until she smelled something…odd. What is that? She didn't really care, and wanted to fall back asleep. She glanced at her watch. Only 6:40 am…Wait! I have the entrance exams today! Naru jerked awake again instantly this time, and she quickly changed. She glanced at her watch again. No, calm down…I still have time, the exam is at eight o'clock and the train leaves at seven fifteen… Naru thought. Wait, seven fifteen? Naru flew out her door and bounded down the stairs. When she reached the living room, she had a double take.
"Wha—? Mutsumi is still asleep!" Naru cried, and with a clear concern for her friend Naru got up and shook Mutsumi. She groaned something and turned over. "Mutsumi!" Naru hissed. "Wake up!" Mutsumi suddenly grabbed Naru's feet and nuzzled against them. Naru started to blush but her resolve was firm. With a heave and a pull, she managed somehow to put Mutsumi on her back. Mutsumi kept on mumbling something while Naru swayed to keep balance. In this way, along with the fact Mutsumi was drooling, Narusegawa Naru stumbled into the kitchen where our resident manager was cooking. The steam filled the room and the noise from whatever Keitaro was frying was oppressive.
"Urf!" Naru grunted. "A little help?" Keitaro, who because of the noise had not heard Naru enter, turned around and immediately was shocked.
"Narusegawa! Let me help you!" he cried, and leaving his food in danger of burning, he took two chairs and grabbed Mutsumi, gently laying her down into one where she snored loudly. Naru collapsed into the other one.
"Whew, that's my workout for the day," Naru said. She panted and wiped her forehead when Keitaro put down a plate of pancakes in front of her. She stared at them.
"What," she asked, "is this?" Keitaro, who had meanwhile started on a second batch, answered.
"Chocolate chip pancakes," he said.
"I know that!" Naru said indignant. "But why are we eating this?" Keitaro came and put down a plate in front of Mutsumi also stacked with pancakes.
"For energy," Keitaro replied. "We need a lot of energy for this test!"
"Why don't we just drink tea…" Naru mumbled, but she gathered the necessary utensils and the maple syrup anyways. SLICE! Keitaro chopped a piece of watermelon and placed it in front of Mutsumi.
"Itadakimasu!" he said along with Naru and they ate. Mutsumi woke up in the middle of the breakfast and ate with them as well, apologizing along the way for falling asleep. All in all, it was a very enjoyable morning, one of the most enjoyable that Keitaro had had ever since becoming a girl, though even now it seemed he forgot about it as if he had been a girl forever. If you visited his room, you might even be tortured to find girlish objects like a vanity mirror, hair ties, combs, various feminine products, cream and facial products, and lets not forget the girl clothes hanging in his closet and laying down in his drawers. Actually, since Kitsune burned all his male clothes, he had no male clothes and only owned an ever increasing wardrobe (Kitsune liked to add to his collection) and several unmentionable and un-displayable undergarments (thank Kitsune again). Yes, life would be good if they didn't have one of the most important exams of their lives.
"Goodness gracious!" Mutsumi exclaimed. "It's almost time to go!" Just to articulate her point, the clock struck seven and they all scrambled to get out. Somehow they managed to not wake any of the other residents and arrived at the test center, ready, refreshed, and feeling the best any of them ever had for a Todai entrance exam.
Hinata-sou Living Room
:A half hour after the ronnins left, about 8:15 AM:
"Uh?" Shinobu groaned in question to a heavy weight on her arm. It was an empty sake bottle and suddenly she remembered that there was a party. Of course, Shinobu hadn't drunk anything but Kitsune had drunk a ton and somehow Motoko and Su always managed to drink. Shinobu had noticed Motoko had very little tolerance for alcohol so that one or two shots would make her completely drunk, which is what Kitsune aimed for. In truth, it was really bad. Motoko usually didn't like to do things like this but somehow whenever they were celebrating something for Keitaro, Naru, and Mutsumi…or for Naru and Keitaro…or for Keitaro himself…
"I should clean up," Shinobu said, and started with the sake bottle on her arm. She hummed a small children's tune about cleaning up while she did so, and soon the only unclean portions of the living room was the couch Kitsune was sleeping on and the chair that Motoko was sleeping in as well. "Should I wake them?" Shinobu asked herself, her finger in her mouth. She looked at them sleeping peacefully, however, and couldn't bring herself to. "I'll cook breakfast first." She walked into the kitchen, and to her surprise found a stack of pancakes. Who made this? She wondered. A note, thought, served to tell her.
Shinobu-chan,
If you're reading this, then good morning!♥ I hope you slept well, as well as Motoko-chan and Kitsune. I made these this morning and had quite a lot left over! I hope you guys like chocolate-chip pancakes (You might want to warm them up)!
Luv and Kisses!♥
Urashima Keitaro
P.S. How was that?
Shinobu was puzzled by the P.S. and the Luv and kisses, but she shrugged and warmed the pancakes up. Kitsune struggled in with Motoko supporting her.
"Oh!" Shinobu exclaimed. "You're both awake!"
"Oh course. School started already," Motoko said. "And I already called in, but we should get going," Motoko said. "I don't want to get into trouble for being hung over." Kitsune suddenly sniffed the air.
"What's cooking?" she asked. "It doesn't smell familiar…"
"Oh! Sempai cooked some chocolate-chip pancakes for breakfast, and had some left over, so he gave it for us," Shinobu explained. Motoko put on a sour face.
"I don't like chocolate-chip pancakes," she said dejectedly.
"Oh come on, Motoko," Kitsune said, straightening up her mood brightening. "Pretend it's made from your lover and it will add the best sauce of all!" Motoko instantly became red and started to shout.
"L-Lover! As if! I would NEVER get a…lover…" Motoko said, and she ended with her head down.
"Aha!" Kitsune exclaimed, and she pointed a finger at Motoko. "I see you aren't sure of that!" She waggled her finger.
"O-of course I-I am sure!" Motoko said, but without the usual fiery resolve behind her words. Kitsune knew this as well.
"Ho ho, have anyone in mind?" she asked. Motoko trembled and blushed. "You do! Keitaro?"
"N-NO!" Motoko yelled. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" She stomped away angry when moments before she had been fine.
"Heh heh, one day she'll confess," Kitsune said, leaning against the counter with a hand on her chin and her legs crossed.
"Kitsune, you shouldn't tease her so!" Shinobu cried. "You know how sensitive she is about these issues!" Kitsune smiled.
"But it's so much fun! And what about you?" Kitsune asked. Shinobu blushed.
"I…uh…" Shinobu stuttered. She really really liked Keitaro, and she knew it and she knew everyone knew it, but to say it aloud was a whole other level altogether. "re-respect Keitaro deeply…"
"Oh, I see that hasn't gone away," Kitsune said. DING! The microwave timer dinged and Shinobu took the pancakes out of the oven.
"Perfect," she said. Kitsune surprisingly had already gotten out the condiments and plates.
"You're unusually helpful today," Shinobu commented.
"Well, Keitaro's not here to help me, nor Naru, so I have to do something I guess," Kitsune commented. She piled several pancakes onto her plate while Shinobu did the same.
"Itadakimasu," Shinobu said, and they both started to eat. Motoko sat down suddenly and grabbed some pancakes for herself.
"I thought you didn't like chocolate-chip pancakes," Kitsune said. Motoko threw a death glare at Kitsune, but Kitsune remained unfazed. If things like that scared her, she would have quit the "professional" teasing business anyways.
"I have to eat something," Motoko said, uncapping the syrup can and pouring it on her pancake. Shinobu didn't say anything. Where's Su? She wondered. Usually by this point Su would have burst in because there was food on the table. And she really likes Chocolate-chip pancakes. Wait, Sempai didn't mention her on the note either! Shinobu checked – no Su.
"Have you guys seen Su?" Shinobu asked. Motoko shook her head.
"Nope," Kitsune said. Shinobu began to worry – had Su gone with Keitaro? How? Why? Noooo…It can't be… Shinobu thought.
Todai Entrance Exam Testing Area
:12:00 PM:
"We will take a fifteen minute break – you are not to make any phone calls, nor go online during this period and looking at any books is also strictly prohibited," the moderator called out. Instantly, there was a shuffling of desks as the students stood up and stretched. Keitaro was no different; he stood up and stretched his arms out to the ceiling, then went outside to the hallway. He looked around for Narusegawa or Mutsumi, but didn't see either. I wonder how they did? He asked himself. He took out a sandwich made lovingly (though he didn't know it) with care by Shinobu the day before.
"Itadakimasu," he muttered to himself, opening his mouth wide. CHOMP! Suddenly someone took a giant bite out of Keitaro's sandwich. "Eeeehh?" Keitaro exclaimed. Su was in his face, smiling while eating his sandwich. "Su? Why are you here in the middle of a test?"
"Why because I want to take it too! So I'm just scouting!" Su explained. Keitaro's jaw dropped.
"WHAT! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" He shouted in abject horror. "That's cheating!"
"Why?" Su asked, in her usual clueless manner. "It's not like they do the same test year after year."
"Well…because…you see…oh never mind," Keitaro said. He felt someone grab his throat. Keitaro began to turn blue. I can't die here, Keitaro thought. He had to fight for his life!
"Hello Kei-kun!" he heard someone say. It must be Mutsumi! Maybe she can save me! Keitaro thought.
"Heeelp!" he managed to choke out. Wait, where had Su gone?
"Hello turtle girl!" Su cried from above. Wait, from above?
"Su!" Naru cried. "You're going to kill him!" Keitaro suddenly felt relief from his choking pressure.
"Oh, I guess I was clutching too tight," Su grinned. Keitaro collapsed, and Su tumbled off while Keitaro caught his breath again.
"How…(pant) did you (pant) do?" Keitaro asked Naru. She crooked her head to the side.
"I did decently," Naru said after a pensive moment. "How about you?"
"I don't really know," Keitaro said, adding a nervous laugh. Mutsumi clapped her hands together.
"Well I was doing really bad, but then I realized the problem could be solved if you think about it like a watermelon!" Mutsumi said. Keitaro and Naru were confused and their faces showed it.
"What?" Naru asked. "Come again?"
"Well, a watermelon is hard on the outside and nice and juicy and yummy on the inside! So once you get past the hard outside then you get to enjoy it! The problems are like that, once you get past the hard part you can do them really easy!" Mutsumi explained. Keitaro still didn't understand, but that was how it stayed because just then the bell rang.
"Please return to your testing rooms. The test will resume within five minutes, and if you are not present you will not be allowed to continued," a voice over the PA system said aloud.
"Oh, we should get back," Naru said. Su nodded vigorously.
"I gotta continued with my scouting!" she cried. Keitaro grabbed her.
"You can't do that!" he hissed. "Now leave and be a good girl." He pushed her off in the direction of the exit. Su crossed her arms in anger.
"No!" she said in defiance. Keitaro sighed. "Look, you can't just be anywhere, otherwise you might get into trouble."
"That's right," Naru said. "Su, don't make trouble." Su continued to pout, but when Mutsumi, Naru, and Keitaro left Su followed no one.
"Phew!" Keitaro said aloud as he sat down at his desk. The proctor wrote a big 12:17 on the board.
"Please begin the math section," he said.
Hinata-Sou
:Sometime later:
"I wonder when Sempai will return?" Shinobu asked herself. She was in the kitchen, reading English books for homework while a stew slow roasted. Today she decided that she would make beef stew, something American and not Japanese, since Sempai had done the same at breakfast. "But maybe they want something oriental?" she asked. She continued to read. Kitsune sauntered in, slowly with a sway in the hips. She continued to sway her hips as she walked around the kitchen.
"Um…Kitsune, what are you doing?" Shinobu asked. Kitsune turned and struck a pose that can only be described as flashy, showy, and sexy.
"Why, practicing my sexy walk, of course, for Keitaro," she said. Shinobu almost dropped her book, but swallowing hard, she gripped it tighter. "You know," Kitsune continued, "If he, or she right now, passes the test, I want to practice so he will have no choice but to fall for my charm!" Shinobu, now instead of feeling worried, felt silly that she had been worried. "Plus I'm teaching Motoko," Kitsune said winking at Shinobu. CLATTER! This time she did drop her book and stood up, stuttering and red.
"Wh-wh-why?" she asked, haltingly. "Why?" Kitsune shifted her pose to a straight up form.
"Because," she started, but Motoko entered.
"What's this you're teaching me?" she asked. Kitsune smiled playfully. She motioned to Motoko.
"Here, this is a very important exercise I found in a magazine," she said. Motoko looked intrigued.
"Oh?" she asked. Kitsune nodded her head vigorously. "What kind?"
"It helps in relaxation of certain muscles and increases the, uh, blood flow as well," Kitsune said.
"Okay, teach me," Motoko said. Kitsune giggled, but quickly stifled it and started to show Motoko the "sexy" dance.
"First you move your legs like this," Kitsune said, thrusting her legs out and swaying her hips. Motoko followed. "Okay, to the other side." Motoko swayed her hips to the other side slightly awkwardly, but still in a manner that would have most guys drooling. "Alright, good," Kitsune commented as Motoko continued, somehow blind to what she was really doing. Shinobu started to put her fingers in her mouth in worry.
"You know, Kitsune, I really don't feel anything," Motoko said.
"That's because I haven't taught you the upper body part," Kitsune explained. She thrust out her chest in an almost offensive manner and swayed her arms as she walked.
"Uh…Kitsune, I don't think I can do that," Motoko said, trying to and almost falling over several times. Kitsune sighed and came over.
"Stand up straight!" She commanded. "Bend back! Lean forward! And…walk!" Kitsune added a playful slap on the behind as Motoko strutted down the kitchen. Shinobu couldn't take anymore and almost cried out, but before she could the door slid open and Keitaro, Naru, and Mutsumi came in.
"Uh…What are you doing, Motoko-chan?" Keitaro asked. Motoko stiffened and didn't answer for a second.
"She's learning how to sexy walk for you!" Kitsune interjected. DOOONG! Shock attacked Motoko in various forms, freezing her up even more but leading her to stutter unintelligibly for one of the first times in her life.
"I-I…what…Kitsune…" she tried to say something, but it didn't work out.
"And she was just getting good! Show him, Motoko!" Kitsune exclaimed. Naru had an "angry smile" plastered on her face and she balled up her fist, ready to hit someone, anyone, heck she would have murdered a squirrel had it revealed itself. Suddenly Mutsumi, with her usual timeliness (none), spoke.
"Oh, that's great Motoko-chan! Can I learn too?" Mutsumi asked, turning to Kitsune.
"Mutsu-umi!" Keitaro wailed. "Don't fall for Kitsune's tricks!" Mutsumi turned to Keitaro confused.
"That's right, I was just, ah, exercising!" Motoko said, trying to clear the misunderstanding. "And Kitsune said it was good for the body!"
"It is, increasing one's femininity is always healthy," Kitsune said. Motoko's emotions took a flip and she became angry.
"Ah, darn you Kitsune!" she cried, grabbing a sword from her hip and running after Kitsune who had started giggling.
"Motoko!" Keitaro yelled, and he tried to stop her, but upon approaching her Motoko whipped out her second sword that she had gotten for Christmas from a certain manager and smacked Keitaro with the flat of the blade knocking him away and causing him to crash into the table. Kitsune managed to run out the door of the kitchen and Motoko followed when without any warning Su came flying in and sat on Motoko, causing her to collapse from the unexpected weight. THUD!
"Motoko! I missed you all day!" she cried. Motoko sighed heavily. Kitsune always has to tease me, she thought wearily. Motoko gave up on chasing her deciding it only encouraged her. She stood up again with Su hanging on to her and pestering her.
"I am very, ah, sorry Urashima," Motoko said. She stuck out her hand. "Greetings." Keitaro looked at it oddly, but since he figured Motoko was just being polite, he took it and shook it. It would probably offend her if I didn't shake it, he thought. "How did you fare?"
"Huh?" Keitaro asked. Naru slapped her forehead in disgust and disbelief.
"The test you idiot! The test!" Naru cried in irritation, slapping him hard on the back of his head with a fan she unfolded from somewhere. THWAP!
"Ow!" Keitaro said, wincing and cringing in pain, though he could take it because he had been taking it since he came here. Not that it didn't hurt, though. "Oh, I did okay," Keitaro said. "At least I didn't bomb it."
"Yeah, cause then you'd have to go on a sad vacation!" Su cried. "And then we would have to find you! Just like when you left for Kyoto!"
"Please don't remind me of that," Keitaro asked.
"Then perhaps we should hold a celebration," Motoko suggested, which surprised several people, well, everyone.
"Great idea!" Kitsune said. "We can hold it in the hot springs!"
"NO!" came the general reply. Kitsune pouted.
"We can have a non-alcoholic party, as well," Motoko said. At this, Kitsune put on the most excellent face that portrayed her intense disapproval.
"Are you joking? How can you have any sort of party without alcohol? I NEED my Sake!" Kitsune nearly wept.
"Give me a break," Naru said, with a face of disbelief. Kitsune turned to Naru with a face that showed utter sadness, like the life of her had been sucked out and she put her hands over her eyes while tears fell from her face.
"Kitsune, don't worry, you can drink if you really want to," Keitaro said, hurried to stop the what he thought was a crying girl in distress. Kitsune's mood immediately brightened.
"All right! So are we going to do this or what?" she asked, and without any warning Su pulled a string that revealed a banner that read "CONGRATULATIONS RONNINS!" Naru face-faulted at the sign.
"I'm NOT a ronnin!" Naru shouted with her fists waving in rage. And thus the party started. Indeed, there was lots of food (hastily ordered out) and lots of candy (already bought by Su) and lots and lots of Sake (a fraction of Kitsune's stash). Everyone really had a good time, and you could say the party was a smashing success.
"Hey (hic) K-Keitaro," Kitsune asked.
"Yeah?" Keitaro replied, not focused because he was relaxing by playing video games.
"Wh-when do you, ah, get your scores back?"
"I don't know, sometime around the summer, I guess," he said. "Oh darn it."
"What?" Kitsune asked. Keitaro didn't respond.
"Ha!" Su, his opponent, said. She threw down the controller in victory while Keitaro threw his down in frustration.
"Curses!" he muttered. Meanwhile, Naru and Mutsumi were trying to play the watermelon smashing game, but they first were trying to get Motoko's sword from her which she was very reluctant to give to someone (Mutsumi) who was drunk.
"C'mon, Motoko," Naru said, also slightly under the influence. "You have two!"
"No," Motoko said sure of her position. The day ended and passed smoothly, and the next day as well. In fact, with Todai examinations passed, the days were smooth and besides the daily occurrences of "perverseness" by Keitaro (all accidents), nothing much happened.
Hinata-Sou
:June:
"Ah…" Keitaro moaned in relief, sitting on the couch in the living room, watching a movie. He had just taken a run and was relaxing with a soda and a movie. Everyone was out at the moment – Mutsumi had left for home and Naru went shopping with Kitsune. Motoko had decided to take a training trip since school had ended and Shinobu and Su had decided to take lessons of some kind – Su engineering, and Shinobu cooking (though why she needed to learn better cooking was beyond Keitaro). The only person left was Tama-chan, who now flew in with a small "Myuh!"
"Hello Tama-chan," Keitaro said, and Tama flew over and landed on his head. "Want to watch a movie?" Keitaro had already put in "New Police Story" starring Jackie Chan, and the noise of the movie droned on in the background. (A/N: This is actually a real movie. It is really good, proving Jackie Chan can act if he decides not to do some stupid slapstick movie like Around the World in 80 Days, or Mr. Tuxedo or something bad like that. By the way, I don't own any rights to those movies or the name Jackie Chan either. I probably have to pay him, actually) Keitaro though soon became absorbed in the movie so much that he didn't notice someone enter into the Hinata-sou until he heard a clatter.
"Huh? Who's there? Naru, is that you?" Keitaro asked, checking his watch. 1:00 PM it read. Nope, they aren't due for another hour, Keitaro thought. He strained his ears, but heard nothing. "Probably was a cat or something," he mused, and continued to watch his movie. Suddenly someone grabbed his shoulder and he spun around.
"Who are you!" Kanako accused. "And where is my brother!" Keitaro stared at her without answering for a while.
"Tell me!" she said.
Crap, Keitaro thought.
A/N: Okay, just some updates. This chapter seemed to me necessary, after all, they need to take the exam! Perhaps, though, I could have just said they took it. It wasn't very funny, but the important part is that Kanako appeared! Yes, Keitaro's sister! What will happen? Oh, and in case anyone cares, the updates are more random now because work at home is piling up and I can't work on these as often as I'd like to, in case you haven't noticed it has slowed down. This is more for my conscience, and I'm really sorry that the future updates will be delayed, but what can I do? I'm not about to write Fanfiction instead of doing homework…Please R&R!
