Love Hina - The Kanako Factor
The Kanako Factor[PG-13]
Niklas "Hawk" Jonsson
Summary: When Keitaro arrives at the Hinata Sou, he's not alone. Having promised his sister Kanako that they'd always be together when they were both much younger, he's been trying to keep that promise ever since. What changes might a decade of having Kanako nearby have made to Urashima Keitaro?
Disclaimer: Love Hina, Hinata Sou, the characters and whatnot are not mine, though I certainly wish they were. The story is mine though, all mine. This series deals with mature subject matters and there's a fair amount of Kanako/Keitaro tendencies scattered all through the fic. If this disturbs you, don't read.
Feedback/Flames: Yes, please. Both of them are equally fun to read, although I must admit that I greatly prefer the first variety. :)
I can be found on ICQ as 21771860 or through e-mail as iamhawk@yahoo.com, more stories are available at my nifty lil' site at or by clicking on my handle up above.
"speech"
*emphasis/shouts/Kindred Domination/post-hypnotic triggers*
/thoughts/
*/telepathy/*
~translation~
+soundeffect/radio/telephone conversation/TV+
*** Author Rant ***
Well, after no less then eight of the eleven kind people who has e-mailed me some feedback on this story so far has mentioned Kanako's OOC behaviour, I guess I'd better say something about it here.
Y'think Keitaro is the only one who would have changed after the two of them have been around each other nearly 24/7 for the last decade? Y'think this wouldn't have an effect on the 'sweet' disposition Kanako has in the anime? Heck, when Kanako first appears in the anime ( I haven't read enough of the manga to see Kanako making an appearance there, if indeed she does that at all in the manga... ), Keitaro doesn't even recognise her! His own sister! A sister that loves him to pieces! That Kanako has a bloody good reason to be a mite bit moody IMNSHO. If I spent so much time apart from my sister that I didn't recognise her, she'd be miffed too!
... ... ...
Well, actually, she'd disembowel me in the most painful and dishonourable way imaginable, but what the heck? Miffed, disembowel. Tomato, to-mah-toe. ;)
Don't worry, though. My lil' Kanako-chan is still a jealous, moody, possessive wacko. It's just that since she's got Keitaro wrapped around her little finger and has had his more or less undivided attention for the last decade, she's less blatantly obvious about it and it doesn't happen nearly as often. Though it'll show up more often once Keitaro starts showing interest in somebody other then Kanako, not to mention how much it'll show once that interest is returned by the girl in question...
*** Author Shutting Up ***
*** Previously, on 'The Kanako Factor' ***
"But Haruka, this is an all-girls dorm." the angry one in the towel protested. "We can't have a man as the manager." she argued.
"It is what Hina wanted." was all Haruka said. "I can't do anything about it."
"It's a man!" was repeated once again as Keitaro sighed, wondering if he'd somehow manage to survive the coming week or if his life would be over before sunset.
*** Roll credits ***
Chapter Two:
"I can't believe Grandma. What was she thinking?" Kanako sighed after the two siblings had retreated to Grandma's old room for a private discussion. "You, managing a girls dorm? It's a recipe for disaster."
"Yeah, well..." Keitaro responded, shrugging. "I'm not feeling all that confident about it either, all things considered... But at least we have somewhere to stay. If we had both gotten part-time jobs, we might have been able to afford to share an apartment. But then we wouldn't have had as much time for our studies."
"You're right about that, though there probably won't be as much spare time for us here as you might think." Kanako commented.
"Huh?" Keitaro responded, blinking his eyes in confusion.
"Have you seen any of Granny's old employees around? We're on our own here. Laundry, cleaning, cooking, gardening and whatnot. We'll still have to work, brother dear." Kanako replied.
"Ah, you're right." Keitaro agreed, nodding absently. "But still... It's better then the alternative, isn't it?"
"Perhaps, brother dear. Perhaps..." Kanako replied, her tone of voice revealing that the judges were still undecided on that issue. "Though I shall have to have words with some of the tenants. That deranged brunette bimbo called you a pervert!" Kanako growled, her eyes burning with barely restrained rage. "Oh yes, I shall have to have words with her..." she purred with anticipated satisfaction, her eyes still aflame.
"Ahh, well. I did walk in on her... I can see where she might have gotten the wrong idea about me." Keitaro spoke up, causing Kanako to sigh. Her brother was way too forgiving and ready to believe the best about everyone. It was both one of his more endearing traits and one of his most annoying flaws.
"The one with the sword is really dangerous. I advise that you try to watch yourself around her, you are not ready to face an opponent of her caliber." Kanako suggested, changing the subject, and Keitaro nodded. He knew very well that he wasn't very good at the Martial Arts that his sister loved so. She was a master of Martial Arts Gymnastics, with a first Dan black belt in Motobu Ha Ryu Karate and a second Dan in Shinkage Ryu Kendo. His sister was an accomplished Martial Artist, very gifted for her age.
His own 3rd Kyu in Motobu Ha Ryu Karate entitled him to the brown belt and much to his own amazement, he'd even managed his first Dan in Shinkage Ryu Kendo, earning the Shodan denomination. It seemed like he had a knack for swordplay that Kanako lacked, but she more then made up for that lack by a more intense training schedule then Keitaro had ever followed. The Martial Arts Gymnastics, he'd ignored more or less completely. Some of those techniques were just plain... Weird. And considering some of the freaks that practised it, he wasn't entirely sure that it wasn't in some way detrimental to the sanity of those who practised it. His sister seemed more or less immune to it, but there were others... Oh yes, there were others...
He still shuddered whenever he recalled that Kuno Kodachi freak who'd snuck into their house and ambushed his sister before a competition. Despite the best efforts of both Kanako and Keitaro himself, Kodachi had broken three of Kanako's ribs and knocked Keitaro out with some sort of freaky powder that rendered him unable to move for nearly six hours. His sister was forced to pull out of the competition due to her injuries.
His sister seemed to enjoy it though, especially the impressive aerial manoeuvres and advanced acrobatics inherent to the school. At Keitaro's request, she no longer competed, but she still practised on a regular basis. But no matter how much she loved it, he just couldn't bring himself to allow her to actually compete any longer, it was just too dangerous. While Kodachi had been the worst by *far*, she was still a far cry from the only nutjob that was involved in Martial Arts Gymnastics.
"I'll try to remain on her good side." Keitaro promised his sister, emerging from his silent ponderings.
"I'd settle for staying away from her really bad side, but I guess there is nothing wrong with aiming high, brother dear. You've always aimed for the impossible." Kanako giggled and Keitaro shook his head in mock dismay.
"Ack, I'm hurt! Betrayed by my own sister. Oh, woe is me." he gasped, clutching his chest theatrically before reaching out and ruffling Kanako's hair.
"Brother!" she protested amidst giggling, trying and failing to fend him off as one of his hands snaked out and tickled her. "Brother!" she laughed, collapsing under his relentless assault.
"Do you give up?" Keitaro asked, stopping for a brief moment.
"Never! I shall overco-*ME*!" Kanako proclaimed, but cut herself off mid-statement with a shrill yell and a hearty laugh as Keitaro renewed his assault. Kanako squirmed, trashed and nearly jumped off the floor in her convulsions, thus 'accidentally' moving so that Keitaro's right hand came to rest on her left breast. It had happened often enough before and Kanako certainly didn't mind. Indeed, even while almost rendered helpless by laughter, she'd managed to manoeuvre so that this very situation was a very likely outcome.
Keitaro was also long since used to the fact that his hands seemed to work like some kind of magnets to various erogenous parts of the female body. Since his sister was the female he spent the most amount of time around, he had become almost as familiar with the curves of her body as his own. She always forgave him for it and it was such a common occurrence that he didn't even take note of it unless it was pointed out to him. Something his sister certainly didn't bother to do.
Of course, the same couldn't be said for Narusegawa Naru.
Said girl had heard the screams, thumps and laughter as she passed the room and ripped the sliding door open to investigate, then froze in shock at the sight before her. Kanako was on the floor, her short skirt having hiked up so that her panties showed. Her face was beet red, in fact, her entire body was flushed and beads of sweat glistened on her forehead. Keitaro was kneeling beside Kanako, his left hand over her right ribcage, his right over her left breast, his own face flushed and moist with sweat from their struggles.
Being the Narusegawa Naru we all know and love ( Or in some cases, love to hate. ), her reaction to this situation was fairly predicable.
"*YOU PERVERT*!" she bellowed.
+WHAM+
"You... You... You... You..." Kanako stuttered, slowly standing up and just stared alternately at Naru and the hole in the wall.
"Hey, are you all right? Did he hurt you?" Naru inquired. "I can't believe the nerve of that asshole... His own sister!" she started to rant, but never got much further then that.
"You *BITCH*!" Kanako roared.
+WHAM+
"I hate these stairs." Keitaro grunted as he got back onto his feet, dusting himself off and shaking his head, before he looked around. It appeared as if he'd landed about mid-way down the hill and now had to trudge up these stairs for the third time in just a few short hours. For a brief moment, he had a vision, a vision of the future. A premonition, if you will. This caused young Keitaro to shudder violently, as he suddenly envisioned all the times he would have to repeat the exhausting walk if he stayed at Hinata Sou and he instantly started to wonder just how much it would cost to install an escalator or some other sort of mechanised transportation in lieu of the stairs.
He sighed and started walking, only to stop near instantly as a SFO ( Screaming Flying Object ) came hurling through the air in his general direction. He blinked as he realised that it was the angry chick who'd socked him out of the building and instantly realised what had happened. He also understood that she probably didn't have his uncanny constitution and thus would take the fall a lot worse then he had. He rushed towards her and just barely managed to place himself in her trajectory in time, grunting as the impact robbed his lungs of whatever air might have been located in them a split second earlier.
He slid backwards and nearly toppled over, but managed to slide his left foot a bit further back, using that to push himself forward as he strained to support the extra weight in his arms. He sighed with relief as he managed to remain upright, for a moment there, he'd been afraid that they'd both tumble down the slope. He'd probably make it, Doctor Tofu had assured him that his immensely powerful and unusual Chi pathways able to survive just about anything and heal whatever injuries he suffered in record time. But the girl would have been worse off.
He gently lowered her to the ground for a hasty examination, but other then the horrible bruise in her face, she appeared to be more or less all right. She was currently drifting through La-La land and didn't even stir at his gentle ministrations. /Possible concussion, nothing else that won't heal with a bit of rest./ he concluded, then picked her up and made his way back up the hill. He would have to ask Kanako to be a little more gentle in the future, not everybody took a blow as well as he did.
He moved his jaw back and forth, then shrugged. It had been dislocated for a while, but now seemed to be back to normal as his body absorbed the dormant Chi from all around him in order to heal his injuries. He closed his eyes and smiled as he sensed it all. He'd always healed quick, but it wasn't until he'd started to really progress in his Martial Art training that he'd begun to realise why that was. But he had still not completely understood, not until the family doctor recommended him to see Doctor Tofu from the Nerima district.
The good doctor had explained things to him after a brief examination. Apparently, Urashima Keitaro was one of the most gifted Chi Adepts Doctor Tofu had ever come across. After training with and learning from Doctor Tofu, Keitaro had started to be able to harness his abilities on a conscious level and was now aware of the process. Of course, the training had also allowed him to use his talents for other things, though he still had a lot to learn in this area.
Diverting a bit of the ambient Chi all around him, he allowed it to flow into his body and spread through it. The soreness in his muscles eased off and his breathing slowed down, as he felt the forces of life rejuvenate his tired body. Diverting a bit more Chi, he used that to strengthen his limbs. He couldn't do it as well as Tofu had explained and demonstrated was possible. But he could make things a little easier for himself, ease the burden just a little bit.
He wondered if he'd ever be able to copy some of the amazing feats of strength he'd seen while in Nerima. People jumping from roof to roof, punches shattering brick walls, people moving at speeds that shouldn't be humanly possible, but which were made possible by those adept in manipulating their own personal Chi. Granted, he didn't see much use for being able to walk through walls like that directionally challenged boy, but jumping on roofs might be fun. Not to mention how much he'd save by not having to go by train or bus to get to Todai once he was accepted.
"Mmmm, pervert..." the angry girl muttered and Keitaro chuckled to himself as he trudged up the stairs. "Oh, no. You mustn't... Oh, we really shouldn't..." she mumbled, blushing and adopting a coy expression. "Oh, not there... Oh... Not there... Oh... Yeah... Touch me, touch me there..."
Keitaro blushed furiously as the unconscious girl kept on talking, vividly and explicitly describing what she appeared to be dreaming of. The blush only worsened as he walked back into the Hinata Sou, where Mitsune and Motoko opened the door for him and the girl in his arms started talking again.
"Oh, yeah... Oh, my sweet little pervert... Kiss me... Kiss me, Keitaro..." she muttered, a request that caused Konno Mitsune to burst out laughing and Aoyama Motoko to blush even more furiously then Keitaro did.
"Way to go, Keitaro!" Kitsune laughed, enthusiastically slapping his shoulders, before wrapping one of her arms around him. "I am her best friend, y'know. Here, gimme your wallet. I have to make sure that you can support my friend in a serious relationship." Kitsune continued, reached into his pocket and withdrew his wallet with a practised move. She flipped it open and deftly removed whatever money he had in it, before she returned it to his pocket and patted his arse with a sultry smile on her lips. "Not bad, loverboy. But you had better start improving your finances, Naru's high maintenance." she hinted, then darted away, no doubt heading for the nearest bar.
"Wha... Whe... I... We... Hey!" Keitaro stuttered, looking with a stunned expression after the departing tenant.
"Well, Urashima... I can't say that I approve, but... Congratulations." Motoko intoned seriously, then focused a horrible threatening glare at him. "However, there are certain things I approve of even less." she announced, then drew her sword and held the razor-sharp edge against his throat. "No funny business before your marriage. We are in agreement, are we not?" she inquired, pressing the sword a little harder against him for emphasis.
"Wha... Whe... I... We... Hey... We're not... I'm not... She's not... We're not going to..." he stuttered, then swallowed. "It's not like that at all!" he protested, but Motoko had apparently taken his stuttered ramblings as agreement, then departed, leaving Keitaro to protest to a nearly empty room.
Nearly empty, because on the stairs stood Kanako, frozen in mid-stride with a wide-eyed stare directed at the unconscious woman in Keitaro's arms.
*Her* Keitaro!
Steps would have to be taken. Oh yes, steps *would* be taken to rid the Hinata Sou of that bitch...
The End! ( For now... )
Niklas "Hawk" Jonsson
Disclaimer: Love Hina, Hinata Sou, the characters and whatnot are not mine, though I certainly wish they were. The story is mine though, all mine. This series deals with mature subject matters and there's a fair amount of Kanako/Keitaro tendencies scattered all through the fic. If this disturbs you, don't read.
Feedback/Flames: Yes, please. Both of them are equally fun to read, although I must admit that I greatly prefer the first variety. :)
I can be found on ICQ as 21771860 or through e-mail as iamhawk@yahoo.com, more stories are available at my nifty lil' site at or by clicking on my handle up above.
"speech"
*emphasis/shouts/Kindred Domination/post-hypnotic triggers*
/thoughts/
*/telepathy/*
~translation~
+soundeffect/radio/telephone conversation/TV+
*** Author Rant ***
Well, after no less then eight of the eleven kind people who has e-mailed me some feedback on this story so far has mentioned Kanako's OOC behaviour, I guess I'd better say something about it here.
Y'think Keitaro is the only one who would have changed after the two of them have been around each other nearly 24/7 for the last decade? Y'think this wouldn't have an effect on the 'sweet' disposition Kanako has in the anime? Heck, when Kanako first appears in the anime ( I haven't read enough of the manga to see Kanako making an appearance there, if indeed she does that at all in the manga... ), Keitaro doesn't even recognise her! His own sister! A sister that loves him to pieces! That Kanako has a bloody good reason to be a mite bit moody IMNSHO. If I spent so much time apart from my sister that I didn't recognise her, she'd be miffed too!
... ... ...
Well, actually, she'd disembowel me in the most painful and dishonourable way imaginable, but what the heck? Miffed, disembowel. Tomato, to-mah-toe. ;)
Don't worry, though. My lil' Kanako-chan is still a jealous, moody, possessive wacko. It's just that since she's got Keitaro wrapped around her little finger and has had his more or less undivided attention for the last decade, she's less blatantly obvious about it and it doesn't happen nearly as often. Though it'll show up more often once Keitaro starts showing interest in somebody other then Kanako, not to mention how much it'll show once that interest is returned by the girl in question...
*** Author Shutting Up ***
"But Haruka, this is an all-girls dorm." the angry one in the towel protested. "We can't have a man as the manager." she argued.
"It is what Hina wanted." was all Haruka said. "I can't do anything about it."
"It's a man!" was repeated once again as Keitaro sighed, wondering if he'd somehow manage to survive the coming week or if his life would be over before sunset.
"I can't believe Grandma. What was she thinking?" Kanako sighed after the two siblings had retreated to Grandma's old room for a private discussion. "You, managing a girls dorm? It's a recipe for disaster."
"Yeah, well..." Keitaro responded, shrugging. "I'm not feeling all that confident about it either, all things considered... But at least we have somewhere to stay. If we had both gotten part-time jobs, we might have been able to afford to share an apartment. But then we wouldn't have had as much time for our studies."
"You're right about that, though there probably won't be as much spare time for us here as you might think." Kanako commented.
"Huh?" Keitaro responded, blinking his eyes in confusion.
"Have you seen any of Granny's old employees around? We're on our own here. Laundry, cleaning, cooking, gardening and whatnot. We'll still have to work, brother dear." Kanako replied.
"Ah, you're right." Keitaro agreed, nodding absently. "But still... It's better then the alternative, isn't it?"
"Perhaps, brother dear. Perhaps..." Kanako replied, her tone of voice revealing that the judges were still undecided on that issue. "Though I shall have to have words with some of the tenants. That deranged brunette bimbo called you a pervert!" Kanako growled, her eyes burning with barely restrained rage. "Oh yes, I shall have to have words with her..." she purred with anticipated satisfaction, her eyes still aflame.
"Ahh, well. I did walk in on her... I can see where she might have gotten the wrong idea about me." Keitaro spoke up, causing Kanako to sigh. Her brother was way too forgiving and ready to believe the best about everyone. It was both one of his more endearing traits and one of his most annoying flaws.
"The one with the sword is really dangerous. I advise that you try to watch yourself around her, you are not ready to face an opponent of her caliber." Kanako suggested, changing the subject, and Keitaro nodded. He knew very well that he wasn't very good at the Martial Arts that his sister loved so. She was a master of Martial Arts Gymnastics, with a first Dan black belt in Motobu Ha Ryu Karate and a second Dan in Shinkage Ryu Kendo. His sister was an accomplished Martial Artist, very gifted for her age.
His own 3rd Kyu in Motobu Ha Ryu Karate entitled him to the brown belt and much to his own amazement, he'd even managed his first Dan in Shinkage Ryu Kendo, earning the Shodan denomination. It seemed like he had a knack for swordplay that Kanako lacked, but she more then made up for that lack by a more intense training schedule then Keitaro had ever followed. The Martial Arts Gymnastics, he'd ignored more or less completely. Some of those techniques were just plain... Weird. And considering some of the freaks that practised it, he wasn't entirely sure that it wasn't in some way detrimental to the sanity of those who practised it. His sister seemed more or less immune to it, but there were others... Oh yes, there were others...
He still shuddered whenever he recalled that Kuno Kodachi freak who'd snuck into their house and ambushed his sister before a competition. Despite the best efforts of both Kanako and Keitaro himself, Kodachi had broken three of Kanako's ribs and knocked Keitaro out with some sort of freaky powder that rendered him unable to move for nearly six hours. His sister was forced to pull out of the competition due to her injuries.
His sister seemed to enjoy it though, especially the impressive aerial manoeuvres and advanced acrobatics inherent to the school. At Keitaro's request, she no longer competed, but she still practised on a regular basis. But no matter how much she loved it, he just couldn't bring himself to allow her to actually compete any longer, it was just too dangerous. While Kodachi had been the worst by *far*, she was still a far cry from the only nutjob that was involved in Martial Arts Gymnastics.
"I'll try to remain on her good side." Keitaro promised his sister, emerging from his silent ponderings.
"I'd settle for staying away from her really bad side, but I guess there is nothing wrong with aiming high, brother dear. You've always aimed for the impossible." Kanako giggled and Keitaro shook his head in mock dismay.
"Ack, I'm hurt! Betrayed by my own sister. Oh, woe is me." he gasped, clutching his chest theatrically before reaching out and ruffling Kanako's hair.
"Brother!" she protested amidst giggling, trying and failing to fend him off as one of his hands snaked out and tickled her. "Brother!" she laughed, collapsing under his relentless assault.
"Do you give up?" Keitaro asked, stopping for a brief moment.
"Never! I shall overco-*ME*!" Kanako proclaimed, but cut herself off mid-statement with a shrill yell and a hearty laugh as Keitaro renewed his assault. Kanako squirmed, trashed and nearly jumped off the floor in her convulsions, thus 'accidentally' moving so that Keitaro's right hand came to rest on her left breast. It had happened often enough before and Kanako certainly didn't mind. Indeed, even while almost rendered helpless by laughter, she'd managed to manoeuvre so that this very situation was a very likely outcome.
Keitaro was also long since used to the fact that his hands seemed to work like some kind of magnets to various erogenous parts of the female body. Since his sister was the female he spent the most amount of time around, he had become almost as familiar with the curves of her body as his own. She always forgave him for it and it was such a common occurrence that he didn't even take note of it unless it was pointed out to him. Something his sister certainly didn't bother to do.
Of course, the same couldn't be said for Narusegawa Naru.
Said girl had heard the screams, thumps and laughter as she passed the room and ripped the sliding door open to investigate, then froze in shock at the sight before her. Kanako was on the floor, her short skirt having hiked up so that her panties showed. Her face was beet red, in fact, her entire body was flushed and beads of sweat glistened on her forehead. Keitaro was kneeling beside Kanako, his left hand over her right ribcage, his right over her left breast, his own face flushed and moist with sweat from their struggles.
Being the Narusegawa Naru we all know and love ( Or in some cases, love to hate. ), her reaction to this situation was fairly predicable.
"*YOU PERVERT*!" she bellowed.
+WHAM+
"You... You... You... You..." Kanako stuttered, slowly standing up and just stared alternately at Naru and the hole in the wall.
"Hey, are you all right? Did he hurt you?" Naru inquired. "I can't believe the nerve of that asshole... His own sister!" she started to rant, but never got much further then that.
"You *BITCH*!" Kanako roared.
+WHAM+
"I hate these stairs." Keitaro grunted as he got back onto his feet, dusting himself off and shaking his head, before he looked around. It appeared as if he'd landed about mid-way down the hill and now had to trudge up these stairs for the third time in just a few short hours. For a brief moment, he had a vision, a vision of the future. A premonition, if you will. This caused young Keitaro to shudder violently, as he suddenly envisioned all the times he would have to repeat the exhausting walk if he stayed at Hinata Sou and he instantly started to wonder just how much it would cost to install an escalator or some other sort of mechanised transportation in lieu of the stairs.
He sighed and started walking, only to stop near instantly as a SFO ( Screaming Flying Object ) came hurling through the air in his general direction. He blinked as he realised that it was the angry chick who'd socked him out of the building and instantly realised what had happened. He also understood that she probably didn't have his uncanny constitution and thus would take the fall a lot worse then he had. He rushed towards her and just barely managed to place himself in her trajectory in time, grunting as the impact robbed his lungs of whatever air might have been located in them a split second earlier.
He slid backwards and nearly toppled over, but managed to slide his left foot a bit further back, using that to push himself forward as he strained to support the extra weight in his arms. He sighed with relief as he managed to remain upright, for a moment there, he'd been afraid that they'd both tumble down the slope. He'd probably make it, Doctor Tofu had assured him that his immensely powerful and unusual Chi pathways able to survive just about anything and heal whatever injuries he suffered in record time. But the girl would have been worse off.
He gently lowered her to the ground for a hasty examination, but other then the horrible bruise in her face, she appeared to be more or less all right. She was currently drifting through La-La land and didn't even stir at his gentle ministrations. /Possible concussion, nothing else that won't heal with a bit of rest./ he concluded, then picked her up and made his way back up the hill. He would have to ask Kanako to be a little more gentle in the future, not everybody took a blow as well as he did.
He moved his jaw back and forth, then shrugged. It had been dislocated for a while, but now seemed to be back to normal as his body absorbed the dormant Chi from all around him in order to heal his injuries. He closed his eyes and smiled as he sensed it all. He'd always healed quick, but it wasn't until he'd started to really progress in his Martial Art training that he'd begun to realise why that was. But he had still not completely understood, not until the family doctor recommended him to see Doctor Tofu from the Nerima district.
The good doctor had explained things to him after a brief examination. Apparently, Urashima Keitaro was one of the most gifted Chi Adepts Doctor Tofu had ever come across. After training with and learning from Doctor Tofu, Keitaro had started to be able to harness his abilities on a conscious level and was now aware of the process. Of course, the training had also allowed him to use his talents for other things, though he still had a lot to learn in this area.
Diverting a bit of the ambient Chi all around him, he allowed it to flow into his body and spread through it. The soreness in his muscles eased off and his breathing slowed down, as he felt the forces of life rejuvenate his tired body. Diverting a bit more Chi, he used that to strengthen his limbs. He couldn't do it as well as Tofu had explained and demonstrated was possible. But he could make things a little easier for himself, ease the burden just a little bit.
He wondered if he'd ever be able to copy some of the amazing feats of strength he'd seen while in Nerima. People jumping from roof to roof, punches shattering brick walls, people moving at speeds that shouldn't be humanly possible, but which were made possible by those adept in manipulating their own personal Chi. Granted, he didn't see much use for being able to walk through walls like that directionally challenged boy, but jumping on roofs might be fun. Not to mention how much he'd save by not having to go by train or bus to get to Todai once he was accepted.
"Mmmm, pervert..." the angry girl muttered and Keitaro chuckled to himself as he trudged up the stairs. "Oh, no. You mustn't... Oh, we really shouldn't..." she mumbled, blushing and adopting a coy expression. "Oh, not there... Oh... Not there... Oh... Yeah... Touch me, touch me there..."
Keitaro blushed furiously as the unconscious girl kept on talking, vividly and explicitly describing what she appeared to be dreaming of. The blush only worsened as he walked back into the Hinata Sou, where Mitsune and Motoko opened the door for him and the girl in his arms started talking again.
"Oh, yeah... Oh, my sweet little pervert... Kiss me... Kiss me, Keitaro..." she muttered, a request that caused Konno Mitsune to burst out laughing and Aoyama Motoko to blush even more furiously then Keitaro did.
"Way to go, Keitaro!" Kitsune laughed, enthusiastically slapping his shoulders, before wrapping one of her arms around him. "I am her best friend, y'know. Here, gimme your wallet. I have to make sure that you can support my friend in a serious relationship." Kitsune continued, reached into his pocket and withdrew his wallet with a practised move. She flipped it open and deftly removed whatever money he had in it, before she returned it to his pocket and patted his arse with a sultry smile on her lips. "Not bad, loverboy. But you had better start improving your finances, Naru's high maintenance." she hinted, then darted away, no doubt heading for the nearest bar.
"Wha... Whe... I... We... Hey!" Keitaro stuttered, looking with a stunned expression after the departing tenant.
"Well, Urashima... I can't say that I approve, but... Congratulations." Motoko intoned seriously, then focused a horrible threatening glare at him. "However, there are certain things I approve of even less." she announced, then drew her sword and held the razor-sharp edge against his throat. "No funny business before your marriage. We are in agreement, are we not?" she inquired, pressing the sword a little harder against him for emphasis.
"Wha... Whe... I... We... Hey... We're not... I'm not... She's not... We're not going to..." he stuttered, then swallowed. "It's not like that at all!" he protested, but Motoko had apparently taken his stuttered ramblings as agreement, then departed, leaving Keitaro to protest to a nearly empty room.
Nearly empty, because on the stairs stood Kanako, frozen in mid-stride with a wide-eyed stare directed at the unconscious woman in Keitaro's arms.
*Her* Keitaro!
Steps would have to be taken. Oh yes, steps *would* be taken to rid the Hinata Sou of that bitch...
The End! ( For now... )