SFFAL Love Hina RPG
This is the combined transcript of the Love Hina RPG being currently played by the members of the Shinobu Fan-Fiction Authors League. Each week, the players submit their chapter, and these are amalgamated and reconciled by the GM who then adds any extra interaction before posting the completed chapter.
Noone has author powers in this game, it is supposed to be in keeping with the LH theme and most players are playing versions of themselves.
Currently you are welcome to contact Baka-Alaskan if you wish to join the league; however the game is not looking for extra players.
Players: Cody (Baka-Alaskan), Al (Althesushilovingfanficsage), Lance(Nachomanlance), Sam (British Dragon), Kyosuke (Blight), Ryuko, Maho(deucetrick)
GM: Steve (CheshireCat5)
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Chapter 7: The girls arrive -- FULL HOUSE!
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Al's Date (or not)
------------------
Al smiled. After some discussion, he had convinced Motoko to ride on his vespa again. She had at first assumed he was trying to get her to wrap her arms around him, but he just was trying to save what little yen he had by not taking the train.
They sped down the street together. It was a warm night in Hinata, spring was in the air and Al was enjoying the peace of riding down the road -- too loud for awkward conversations, "We'll save that for dinner." he thought.
Motoko sighed, angry at herself -- she had let her guard down, and before she knew it, Kitsune had snatched her off the deck, stopping her training early and had thrown her into this outfit. Ugh, she'd never live this down if any of the girls from her school kendo club saw her. And that "Sisterly advice" she had been given would be the source of nightmares for weeks to come (or at least, some sort of dreams).
***
The Hinata house girls were finding it awfully hard to keep up with Al and Motoko, considering that they had a taxi and Al had a vespa and Al was going down every side street and swerving in between cars. It was so annoying.
"Maybe we should just go home? I'm sure the other guys are lonely all on their own in the house." Keitaro begged, still not sure how he had been dragged along for this.
"It's ok, I left Shinobu and Dizzy to keep them in check."
***
(Back at the house)
Shinobu and Dizzy sat on opposite sides of the front room, staring at each other. Shinobu was scared of the freaky weasel, and Dizzy was sleeping with his eyes open.
***
(Back outside)
Little did the "Hinata House Honeys" know, they weren't the ones doing the following. A shadowed figure stood at the edge of a roof belonging to one of the nearby tea shops (not Haruka's), silently observing the little chase. He paused, as if hesitating, before hopping down along the uneven brick walls of the building and quietly landing on top of a bus, following the taxi tailing the vespa.
Al reached his first stop on his date (but not a date), the movies.
"Um...I thought maybe a movie before a meal would be fun eh?"
"Umm...what movie?" Motoko looked irked. Sitting next to him in a dark movie theatre? He might try something, her imagaination warned.
"Well um...I've heard good things about that one." Al pointed, "Dawn of the Dead."
Kitsune was over in the bushes, leading the date spy team. "Oh this is gonna be rich! She won't sleep for weeks after this movie." she chuckled to herself.
***
Al sat next to Motoko, not knowing that the gang was a few rows behind him, watching and waiting for the show to begin.
"So...uh...you like zombie flicks?" Al asked in an attempt to make conversation.
"I wouldn't know, such things are not what I normally make a habit of doing."
"Wow, kinda boring training all the time isn't it?"
"ARE YOU SAYING I'M BORING?" She glared at him.
"Here it comes!" Kitsune whispered as she lean forward to watch.
"N-No, I'm just not disciplined enough to train every day you know?"
"Humph, lazy is more like it."
"Hey, hey...well...yeah I guess you're right." Al sweat dropped. "Well, to show I'm not totally lazy, I'll go get some snacks -- would you like anything?"
"Hmm, I suppose some popcorn might be nice." Motoko continued looking at the boring advertisements that the theater would normally show on the screen before the movie begins.
Al got up to go fetch the snacks, and Kitsune sighed plopping back into her seat, "Bah, no fun at all."
Keitaro and Naru just sweat dropped while Su and Sarah began pigging out on the tons of snacks they had sneaked in with them.
Al stood in line until he reached the front of the snack stand, where Haitani and Shirai were working that day.
"Hey aren't you guys those friends of Keitaro?"
Shirai nodded in recognition of the face,
"Hey, yeah, and you're one of Kei's new...WHA!" Haitani grabbed Shirai's collar and pulled him under the counter.
"You idiot! You're fraternizing with the enemy!"
"What do you mean enemy? He's just some guy that is renting at the Hinata house, no big deal."
"No, don't you see? The only reason he's there is that he's paying and the girls don't hate him. So, if we make the girls hate him...."
"AH, I see now! That's so evil!"
"Sometimes you gotta be a little evil to get some booty in the long run."
"Um...pardon me but could I order please, I think the movie is starting." Al leaned over the counter to try and find the disappearing pair.
"WHA!" The boys jumped in shock of Alex leaning over the counter to look for them and hit their heads on the underside of it.
"Ow, ow, yes sure, what do you want?" Haitani grumbled rubbing his head.
"Um...how about a large grape soda and a large popcorn."
"That will be 4000 yen." replied Haitani with a smirk.
"Wow, really...um...." Alex opened his wallet; it contained not nearly enough yen for both, if they would be having a meal afterwards.
"Err...umm...just the popcorn please....and let's make that a medium."
***
Al returned to his seat with the popcorn (and a wallet considerably lighter then before).
"Thank you." Motoko answered as she took the popcorn from him.
The previews started and Kitsune had become bored, so she began throwing little bits of popcorn at the back of Al's head which he ignored as best he could.
Motoko took a bite of popcorn, and gagged, "You moron, how much salt did you put in this!?!" She growled at him, trying to keep quiet.
"I...wha? I didn't put any salt in it -- I just brought it, AND WILL YOU KNOCK THAT OFF!?!" He stood to yell into the darkness at the person pelting him with popcorn.
"DOWN IN FRONT!" Su and Sarah yelled in unison just as an explosion sounded on the screen and drown them out, which were ok because Su threw a large bottle of soda, and Sarah threw her Milkduds, hitting Al and sending him to the floor in pain.
"W...want some Milk...d-duds?" He asked Motoko as he tried to ignore the pounding pain in his head from where the soda made its impact.
"Thank you." She whispered as she took the box, not really noticing his pain.
The movie started and Al watched, thinking "Wonderful, Motoko will get scared by the movie and I can comfort her, this is gonna be great!"
He smiled wickedly to himself, knowing that it's a lame way to get a girl to like you, but it works.
However, after the movie had started Alex began to get nervous. A loud noise sounded, causing most of the audience to jump. Motoko just chuckled, and turned looking for Alex.
Alex was clinging to the ceiling above the seats. The scare had made him bolt from his chair in fear, and he jumped so high he now was stuck up there...
*CRACK*
Well, he was stuck...
***
After the movie, Al and Motoko left. Motoko was in a better mood then when she had entered, and Al was still a little shaken, though he had enjoyed the flick, no matter how many times it made him jump and yelp in fear, which in turn made Motoko laugh.
"So how about we grab a bite to eat?" Alex asked, wondering if he could afford a meal on his now greatly depleated funds.
"Alright, where shall we go?"
"Um...how about there?" Al pointed over the road at a sushi bar, with a sign outside which also advertised karaoke.
"Hmmm, alright..." answered Motoko, "but I warn you, I don't sing."
"That's fine, no one expects you too."
They made their way casually across the street and to the bar; little did they know Haitani and Shirai were in hot pursuit.
As for the rest of the gang, Keitaro and Naru had finally convinced them to return home. Kitsune's hopes of impending violence had not turned out as planned, and besides, they were worried about Shinobu and Dizzy.
***
Back at Hinata-sou, Shinobu was continuing to stare at Dizzy who continued to stare right back.
Suddenly, Tama-chan swooped in and grabbed Dizzy, dragging him away to show him some "Sexy" turtle nighties she had bought off the internet. Freed from the hypnotising glare, Shinobu jumped up and run out down the steps, shrieking.
****
Meanwhile, Al sat and sipped his soda. Sneaking into the bar had been easy enough; he could pass for 18 if he needed, and he always had his fake ID just in case.
The two had sat conversing over sushi for half an hour, and things were going well enough.
"Well Rush, I've only known you a short time but I think I've figured you out. May I give you my analysis?"
"Um, sure why not."
"Alright... you're a nice person, but you have little streaks of evil that give you a rather flawed view of right and wrong. With some discipline and training you could be very strong indeed, but you are far to lazy to commit to a training program."
"Yup, that sounds about right."
"Ok, then as part of your payment to me for the money I've loaned you, you will join me in my training first thing every morning at six, is that clear?"
Al grew very pale, "Wh…wha?"
Motoko smiled lightly "Just kidding, you'd just slow me down and get in the way."
Al face faulted, and after a moment he sat up again and he and Motoko both reached for the last piece of tuna sushi.
"Rush, I am your guest, therefore I think it's only fair I get this piece."
"Are you kidding? You've already had more sushi then I have, and THAT'S saying something, I've had a ton of sushi tonight!"
"So who made you official sushi counter?"
"I did!"
The two of them glared at each other like daggers until the waitress came over to them.
"Here is some more sushi sir and miss."
"Back off." They both barked, making the waitress flee.
Haitani and Shirai hid behind their menus on the other side of the room. They had ordered the super-spicy shrimp sushi and sent it to Al and Motoko's table -- with any luck, Motoko would get angry for Al ordering something spicy, and he'd get hurt.
Al sat back and swigged the rest of his soda. He had let Motoko get the last peace of tuna, and was just about to start on the shrimp when Motoko popped one in her mouth.
Her eyes got wide and she opened her mouth but no noise came out but a weak hacking noise, she put her hands up to her neck and looked at Alex, looking scared.
"Oh crap she's choking!" Shirai cried out as the boys watched their plan go astray.
Al hopped up and gave Motoko a hardy whack on the back, causing her to cough and hit the singer on stage in the eye with the expunged sushi.
"AHHHHHHHH, IT BURNS MY EYE!!!!" the man cried, falling to the floor. His band got off stage to find who had thrown the offending food.
"Time to run!" Alex yelped as he grabbed Motoko around her waist, tossed her over his shoulder and bolted from the scene.
"Rats!" Haitani grumbled as he put his menu down, "We'll have to think of something else."
Al ran out the entrance, followed by an angry mob of enraged customers and a pissed-off band, trying to get to his vespa before anyone else managed to get to him and his "date". He managed to lose them after a few minutes of sprinting and was just about done with running around with an angry kendo girl over his shoulder.
"PUT ME DOWN!!" Motoko commanded, placing a hand to where her sword was only to remember that Kitsune had discarded it before putting "little sister" into this ridiculous dress she was wearing now. 'Damn you Kitsune!' she said to herself, 'You had better pray to Kami, because nothing will save you from me! You hear me?! NOTHING!!!!'
Motoko growled under her breath while ignoring the fact that Al was carrying her over to his parked vespa in the parking lot behind the movie theatre. Al made it over to his vehicle with a feeling of relief -- that is, until the figure who was tailing him and his "date" revealed himself from the curtain of darkness. It was Kyosuke, but fortunately for him, Al didn't know that. The young lad was wearing the same get-up he had on during Dizzy's and Tama's wedding.
"They're blocking off all the exits." Kyosuke snarled from beneath his grotesque mask, "I'll distract them for you."
"Who the hell are you talking to, Rush!? And put me down this instant!" Motoko demanded from her helpless position, completely unaware of the grotesquely masked stranger in the darkness.
Kyosuke walked away and chuckled, "Watch out for her. She can be a handful."
Al put Motoko down lightly and she glared at him, "I can run on my own Rush!"
"Sorry, force of habit... usually I'm running faster then my friends 'cause I'm the one in trouble. I just wanted to keep you out of trouble..."
Motoko glared and then sighed, forcing a smile. "This was a lovely night Rush, thank you -- I needed to relax a bit, and this was just what the doctor ordered... I suppose!"
"I think I'll take that as a compliment." he smiled and then looked into her eyes with a determined expression. She froze.
"R...rush?"
"Hold still." Al came forward.
"Oh no, oh no, not this!" Motoko thought in a panic. Kitsune had warned her of this moment -- the big end-of-date kiss! What would she do? Should she permit it? Would she do it correctly? Would she....
"There we go." Alex smiled and plucked a loose thread off of Motoko's shoulder. "Sorry, I get a little weird about loose threads." he laughed, and climbed onto the vespa, "Ready to go?"
Motoko glared, "A...thread?" Motoko was a maelstrom of emotions, of which she was surprised to find a thread of disappointment mixed in with the scarlet embarassment. She dealt with this situation in the only way she knew how.
WHAM!!!!
Al flew back to the hinata house, saving a bundle on gas.
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Maho-chan arrives at Hinata
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A young girl strolled down the sidewalk as the evening settled into night, staring idly up at the blinking streetlights. There were many thoughts going through her mind at the moment, but she was primarily thinking that she should have thought things through a little better. Because, although she intended to live there for a year, and had traveled miles to get there in the first place, Maho couldn't remember for the life of her where the Hinata Sou actually was.
She sighed. Oh well.
The sound of her stomach growling soon brought her attention to other things.
"I'm starving," she said to no one in particular. Maho wondered if there was a noodle booth nearby. She had a craving for udon, and a nice big hot bowl of it seemed like a grand idea.
She stopped in front of a sign that read `Hinata Tea House.'
"Oh, wow. Lucky! That must mean the Hinata Sou is somewhere around here," Maho smiled. She had known it would be a piece of cake. She stepped gingerly into the teahouse, bowing. "Konbanwa!"
A tall young man with brown hair greeted her at the door. Though he was handsome, the weary look in his eyes told Maho that he had definitely seen better days.
"Konbanwa. My name is Kentaro. Have a seat and I'll be right with you." He recited the greeting like a robot, and finished it off with an equally mechanical bow.
"Arigato." Maho took a seat at one of the tables. "Say, do you know where the Hinata Sou is? It's probably a stupid question, but I'm pretty lost. Is it nearby?"
Suddenly Kentaro became more animated, as a mildly contemptuous expression crossed his face. "It's next to this building, all the way up the stairs. Though I can't imagine for the life of me why you'd ever want to go there. Those women... they are nothing but misfortune." He looked like he was about to weep.
Maho nodded in sympathy. She didn't know what he meant by that statement, but obviously he had been through a lot. She felt the need to cheer him up a little.
"Hey, do you want to see a magic trick?"
"Nani?" Kentaro looked confused.
"A magic trick." She smiled encouragingly. "Here, watch." Maho reached into one of her many coat pockets, and pulled out a long, bright red silk scarf. Rolling up her sleeves, she held the length out in front of her so Kentaro could examine it.
"Just an ordinary scarf, see? But watch carefully. With my amazing magic powers, I can twist it like so - " She began twisting the scarf, balling it up in both hands until it was no longer visible. After a couple of seconds, she lifted her hands with a flourish -- the scarf had completely disappeared.
"And ta-daa!" she pronounced proudly.
Kentaro's eyes widened in disbelief, like a child's. Then he smiled, despite himself. "How did you do that?" he asked.
"Sorry," She winked. "that's a secret!"
A thoroughly unamused voice cut through their conversation.
"Kentaro-kun, is this what I pay you for?"
Kentaro froze, his face a mask of abject terror. He turned toward the source of the voice, cowering meekly. "G-gomen! Please spare me!" he begged.
"Do the dishes, and we'll discuss your punishment." the harsh reply came.
With a fatalistic sigh, Kentaro trudged off to the kitchen, leaving Maho thoroughly confused. A woman slowly stepped out from the hallway, wearing a plain black apron. Dangling from her lips was a cigarette, which she inhaled from with an unnerving calmness.
"I apologize for the help. They tend to slack off." Haruka smiled.
Maho stared at her. "Onee-san?" she whispered.
Haruka's almost-unnoticeable grin immediately transformed into a frown, as she focused on the girl sitting before her. Recognition dawned on her face, and she almost dropped her cigarette in surprise.
"Maho-chan?"
"Haru-nee!" Maho smiled, standing up to give her big sister a hug. "It's been so long! How're you -- Aaaack!" Her words were cut short, as Haruka pulled her mercilessly into a chokehold. "Onee-gggrrkk-san!"
"You don't write, you don't call..." Haruka admonished the girl who was struggling fruitlessly in her arms. "...and now you show up at my teahouse without even intending to visit your dear older sister. Somebody forgot their manners, eh chibi-ko (small fry)?"
"Don't call me that!" Maho whined. She winced as Haruka began giving her a noogie.
"No whining. You deserve every bit of this." The older woman gave Maho a tender smile as she inflicted plentiful amounts of pain on her. "I missed you, you know."
"Itae-yo (ow)! Let me go! Onee-saaaan!"
*******
Haruka took a sip of tea, lighting another cigarette. "One more year of school, huh?" she asked.
Maho nodded, holding a cracker dish on her lap as she sipped tea. Perched on the dish were two white doves, which were pecking away at a soy cookie.
"Hai. In a Japanese school. They say that since I didn't go to an international school, my London credit is almost worthless. I heard that you and Keitaro-kun were running this place after Mama decided to retire, and I don't really have anywhere else to go..." She clasped her hands together. "Please, Haru-nee, can I stay here?"
"Baka..."
"Mmm?" Maho looked at her sister, puzzled.
"Why are you even asking?" Haruka almost looked annoyed as she puffed away, but still her face betrayed little. "I would never turn you away, Maho-chan. You're family."
Her face brightened. "Hontou (really)??"
"Hai, hontou desu."
"Onee-san..."
"It's not a free ticket. You'll have to help out here and there with the chores to keep this place running, since you won't have to pay rent."
"Hai! You can count on me, I promise."
"I know." Haruka nodded confidently and raised the cup of tea to her lips -- Only to discover that she was holding an egg. Calmly, she set the egg down on the table. Then her eyes narrowed. "Maho-chan..."
The younger girl smiled nervously.
Haruka immediately put Maho into another chokehold. "I told you not to play
those magic tricks with me, didn't I?"
"Hai, hai you did! Gomen! I give up!"
"You think it's going to be that easy, chibi-ko?"
"Aaaagh, I'm sorry!"
"Ano..."
Both women stopped. Shinobu was standing in the doorway with Keitaro and the rest of the gang, looking nervously at the spectacle before them.
"G-Gomen-" The young girl stammered.
Maho's eyes shimmered. She immediately disentangled herself from Haruka's grasp like Houdini slipping out of a straightjacket, and ran up to Shinobu excitedly. "Aww, you're so adorable! What's your name, little girl?"
"M-Maehara Shinobu."
"Shinobu! You're such a cute little girl, Shinobu-chan! Can I call you Shinobu-chan?" Maho giggled, pinching both of Shinobu's cheeks. This prompted an "Auuuu!!" from the blue-haired girl, which made Maho squeal even more in delight.
Haruka leaned over to Keitaro. "I forgot about that. Her and cute things- it's sickening, really."
"Oh." Keitaro paused. "Err - Who is she?"
Haruka raised an eyebrow. "You mean you don't remember, Kei-kun?"
At the mention of the name, Maho turned around to face Keitaro.
She seemed to be awe for a moment, reaching up to touch his face. "Kei-taro?"
Keitaro gulped nervously. Behind him, Naru twitched, but miraculously held back whatever violent urge may have possessed her.
Maho's face split into a smile. Her front hair-spiral bobbed excitedly as she jumped up to wrap him in a hug. "Keitaro! Look at you, all grown up and handsome now!" She dismantled from him, briefly wiping a tear. "It's all so- overwhelming."
Upon seeing Keitaro's still-confused expression, Maho sighed. "It has been a long time, hasn't it? I suppose it's time for reintroductions-" She stepped back and bowed, deeply and formally. "I'm your mother's sister." She gestured to Haruka. "Her sister as well. My name is-"
"Maho-chan?" Keitaro said incredulously. "Maho-chan, is that really-?" He earned himself a punch to the forehead, a remarkable feat considering the girl's noticeable lack of height. "Ow!"
"That's *Auntie* Maho to you, baka-Kei." She smiled good-naturedly. "So I hear you're the amazing landlord here. That's pretty impressive."
Keitaro blushed. He never heard his job described in such a nice way. "Arigato!" he responded.
"I don't mean to cut things short, " Maho added, "but in fact I'm really worn out from the trip here. Maybe if I can have somewhere to get some rest, I'll be more full of energy for the introductions tomorrow?"
"Oh... I'm so sorry!" apologised Keitaro. Why don't you come up to the inn with us now, and you can have the room next to mine, 203. I'll give you all the news in the morning..."
"That would be great," she responded enthusiastically. "And I'll see you tomorrow, onee-chan!"
--------------------------------
After dinner, Lance retired to his room to change into more comfortable clothes. His work with Yamasugawa had taken longer than he had hoped, and barely had time to come home and eat. Every day, more and more papers were filled out and his patience wore thin each time. What the hell is the purpose for wasting his time with work, and he didn't even do anything?!
Wearily, he fell onto his futon, trying to block out the sounds of heavy footsteps coming down the hall. The door knocked.
"What is it?" Lance said groggily.
Keitaro's voice answered. "You got a letter from someone in the States. Do you want it now?"
"Just slide it under the door, I'll pick it up in a sec."
"Alright," Keitaro replied, and Lance saw a white envelope slip underneath the door.
When the footsteps were out of earshot, Lance crept off the futon and picked up the envelope. It felt slightly heavy, like a ton of papers were jammed inside. Carefully, he ripped open the envelope and a small pile of money fluttered to the floor.
"What the..."
He checked inside the envelope again, making sure this wasn't some kind of joke. He then felt a small piece of paper inside, and took it out. He unfolded it and read,
"I hope this is enough to pay for a new home. Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Damian."
Lance dropped the short note, letting it fall on top of the American money.
"How did he....know...."
--------------------------------
Cody
----
Cody came back to consciousness, and promptly wished he had not. The passage had bumped and bruised him all over as he has descended, and apparently had ended up inside a large glass-walled tank. Outside, shaped moved back and forth, and clicking sounds could be heard.
Cody hammered on the glass to try and break it, but all it did was draw the attention of the surrounding shapes. One shape moved closer to the glass, and with a shock he saw it was one of the mecha-tamas that he had last seen in the Annexe at Dizzy and Tama-chan's abortive wedding.
Its eyes glowed purple as it stared at him. "MYU" it intoned, and the pattern of movement outside altered.
Over the other side of the room, a screen lit up. Straining his eyes, Cody could just make out "Subject analysis: Human. Vulnerabilities research."
He lokoed at his watch, and was amazed that it was already 8am. He had been unconscious all night! What would he do about his job? How would Minako-san react to his being AWOL? More importantly, what about food?
This last question was answered, in part, as a number of objects fell into the tank with him. These included various food items from the kitchen -- a bottle of mustard, some flour (this made a bit of a mess as the bag broke open), a couple of cans of soda (he just avoided another sleep as they crashed down next to him) and -- fortunately -- some sandwiches. He started to eat the sandwiches, deciding to leave the soda for a bit as it had landed rather heavily and he didnt want to mix liquid with the clouds of flour in the tank.
***
Upstairs, Shinobu was puzzling over her pilfered kitchen. Things had been left in a bit of a mess... since Cody-san hadn't turned up at breakfast, she assumed that he has made himself a very early meal and had left already? Still, he could have left the place a bit tidier. She also shook her head over the strange diet these Americans seemed to eat.
--------------------------------
Friday Morning
--------------
"Oh my... these pancakes are tasty!" exclaimed Mutsumi, as she tucked in to another delicious breakfast prepared by Shinobu in Hinata-Sou.
"I agree..." said Naru, "...but more to the point, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
"Oh!" Mutsumi giggled, "I forgot where my apartment was, and so I wandered around for a bit, and finally ended up here. I always seem to end up here when I get lost! Isn't it funny? I must have some sort of tie with the place, or something here..." She stared happily at Keitaro, who looked nervously as a vein in Naru's head began to twitch.
"Mutsumi, you..." began Naru, but had no chance to finish.
"I know!" Mutsumi laughed, clapping her hands together with a big smile, "How about I move here? You have some more rooms and need some tenants! I could have the room next to you, Naru, and we could be like twin sisters, sharing everything!"
Naru facefaulted.
"That's a great idea, isn't it, Kei-kun?" she asked of Keitaro. "You'd like it if I moved in with you here, ne?" she looked over at him innocently. Keitaro's treacherous imagination wandered off at a tangent at this point, as he imagined Mutsumi moving in with him a little more closely than she (probably) intended, and also of her and Naru sharing... *everything*. His nose began to bleed.
"Keitaro!" growled Naru, and sent him flying.
"Well, I suppose it would be OK," she answered Mutsumi on Keitaro's behalf, while blowing on her knuckles as Keitaro soared into the distance. 'It would also help to keep this floozy nearby where I can keep an eye on her!' she thought privately.
"All settled, then!" cheered Mutsumi, completely oblivious to the surrounding world. "I'll move in next to Naru! Ara, ara... does anyone know where I left my bags?"
--------------------------------
Samuel makes a fool of himself
------------------------------
Sam came down to breakfast that morning in a more bruised state than previous days. His duel last night had given him a few injuries, although somehow his cockiness seems undamaged. Hence, his self-preservation instincts were still not quick enough to kick in when he met Motoko on his way down.
"Hi," he mumbled as he pushed past her, "hey, your butt is blocking the passageway, it didn't feel so big when I groped it last night..."
He realised what he had said when he heard Motoko's growl of anger from behind him.
***
Somewhere around 5 miles distant from Hinata Sou, Samuel finaly made his landing.
"Ouch.. I think I took out a satellite on my way up," he groaned to himself. He peered off in a promising direction. "I think the inn is that way ... " he guessed, and started walking.
Five and a half hours later, Sam was still lost.
"Now, where the fsck am I..." he asked himself, before spotting a guy walking on the path nearby. "Hey, " he shouted to the man, "can I ask you something?"
"Sure," came back the affable reply.
"Where am I?"
"Um... " the man thought for a while, before confidently answering "Risato, a small fishing village in the Satsuma province."
"What? How do I get to Hinata from here?"
"oh, Hinata is to the south. Just follow that road over there!" the guy seemed really helpful.
"Thanks! Can I ask, what's your name?"
"Ryoga Hibiki, that's me!" he replied proudly.
"Well, thanks Ryoga! Bye !" Sam waved as he strode out in the indicated direction.
Shortly afterwards, an attractive black-haired girl joined Ryoga, with a worried expression on her face. "Um, Ryoga, please tell me you didn't give that guy directions?"
"Well, yes, I did..." responded Ryoga.
"Great... you know that you get lost even when you try to get to the bathroom?"
"Hey!"
***
Back on the road, Sam was still walking, remarking to noone in particular as to what a pleasant day it was and how helpful the stranger had been. Three hours later, however, his opinion had undergone a slight shift.
Sam was standing next to a large roadsign.
"Let's see... What?! 2 miles to Hiroshima?? THAT BASTARD ... Hey, a bar..."
Temporarily distracted, Sam wandered into the bar. Although the barman gave him a hard look, Sam claimed to be 21 (a claim that could only have been truly believed by a blind, deaf and extraordinarily stupid elementary school student) and in this remote location the enforcement of this sort of rule was seen more as a guideline, anyway.
20 minutes and 7 bottles of sake later, Sam was well over his limit.
"I... like GOATS!" he hiccupped to the world in general.
***
Back at Hinata Sou, Kitsune was vaguely wondering where Sam could have got to after his morning flight courtesy of Motoko and the God's Cry school.
"He's probably out taking a nice peaceful walk?" suggested Keitaro
"Probably in trouble, knowing him." was Naru's more astute opinion.
"Naw..." contradicted Keitaro, "he seems a nice guy..."
***
Back with Sam, he was in a confused conversation with another drunk.
"Wash you shay about my momma ?" he slurred.
"Bite me, kid " was the curt response.
Sam exploded into a stream of Japanese words he should never have been taught by any reputable language school, and launched a fist at the man.
Two minutes later, a full scale bar brawl had broken out.
Another 2 minutes later, the police came.
30 seconds later police called in a riot team, as Sam swung his sword far too dangerously.
A few minutes later, Sam was finally subdued by a riot squad.
***
Back at the inn, the telephone was ringing.
"Keitaro! Get that phone, you lazy good-for-nothing!" shouted Naru, walking past the phone and completely ignoring it herself.
Keitaro ran in, and grabbed the phone.
"Hello? Yes, he lives here... WHAT?! Yes, I'll go over there and pick him up -- and then kill him, the baka..."
One trip to Hiroshima and back later, Samuel was lying out cold on the sofa. He has arrived conscious (albeit inebriated), but unfortunately for him, and angry Motoko had knocked him out again as soon as she saw him.
Keitaro was furious because it had taken all of Sam's rent payments just to bail him out and pay compensation to the bar for the damage, and he had only just avoided being charged himself with allowing a minor to run riot. When Sam came to, he would have a lot of explaining to do, and an extremely large bill to foot. He would also have to find some rent payments very soon.
And that was the story on how Samuel made a total idiot of himself in one day.
--------------------------------
Lance's Day
-----------
The first thing he saw in the classroom was Yamasugawa-sensei, who stood by the door. The room was lined with lab tables, instruments and chemicals laid on top of them. The only open space was the back of the room, where two older teenagers were looking at notes on the chalkboard in front of them. Lance closes the door after him, and they turn to see him.
"Glad you could make it here on short notice, Mr. Waymire." said Yamasugawa-sensei politely. "I'd like to introduce you to my two assistants."
He guided him to the back of the room, where they faced the two people by the chalkboard.
He waved to the first one, "This is Amy Sena, who's studying to work in the medical field." She smiles and shakes his hand.
"And this is Kyoji Lee, son of Principal Lee, studying chemicals and life science." Kyoji inclined his head slightly to Lance, who reluctantly did the same.
"The three of us are a small group who are doing our own research for different projects and experiments that we feel deserve more recognition, such as rare diseases and lost theories." said Yamasugawa, now standing in front of Lance. "I had you take those surveys and paperwork to see how much of a logical thinker you are, and after careful consideration, I feel that you are qualified to work with us."
Lance was still confused, but followed along. "Work with you? What...?"
"You will be paid extra for your services, if you are interested."
His ears perked at the last sentence. Now THAT he can get used to.
"What exactly would I be doing," he asked, "and how long is the job?"
Yamasugawa answered, "Since you're just starting, you'll be helping with organization of notes and equipment preparation, etc. And you'll start tomorrow right after school for two hours, instead of the four you used to take."
Without pausing to think, Lance smiled and said, "Yamasugawa-sensei, I accept!"
--------------------------------
Ryuko's Arrival
---------------
Around noon, a bus pulled up to the Hinata Sou. A young woman, either late teens or early 20s, and almost Motoko's height, stepped off. She was carrying a PDA in one hand and a backpack in the other.
"This looks like the place." Ryuko slung the backpack over her shoulder and climbed the steps leading up the hill. When she got to the top, she paused and glanced at the map displayed on her PDA. "Ryu-chan, add geographical
marker: 'Hinata Sou'." Immediately, a chibified dragon avatar appeared on the map and inserted a pushpin icon at her exact GPS coordinates. "ok!" came the response. Ryuko smiled. Ryu-chan, the customized software assistant living in her PDA, was learning new ways to be helpful all the time.
Ryuko walked up to the main entrance and rang the doorbell.
Keitaro heard the bell and answered the door. As the door parted, he found himself momentarily transfixed on the personage before him, despite the visitor's modest clothing.
Ryuko arched an eyebrow. "Hello...?"
Keitaro snapped out of it. "Oh, uhm, hello. May I help you?"
"Yes, I'm looking to rent a room. One of my professors, Cheshire-san, recommended this place to me."
"Oh, I have him for a professor too. Yeah, we still have some rooms available for immediate occupancy. Come on in." Keitaro opened the door all the way and stepped aside. "Oh, and my name's Keitaro Urashima. I'm the landlord."
"I'm Ryuko Yoshikawa. Nice to meet you." She stepped inside, set the backpack down, and looked around as Keitaro closed the door behind her. After spotting a few pairs of shoes neatly lined up in the entryway, she pulled hers off and placed them at the end of the row. A sweatdrop formed as she realized hers were markedly larger than the others. She scooted them a little further away so that fact wouldn't be quite as obvious.
Keitaro motioned her into room 202. "This room is typical of what we have available. Room and board is 50,000 yen per month, payable in advance, and you'll be expected to help out with chores and such. On the other end of the complex is a hot springs bath, which you can use any time except Tuesdays and Fridays, because on those days it's reserved for the male residents."
Ryuko explored the spartan room. "Sorry, I'm still accustomed to US currency. Let's see...that would work out to about 460 dollars. I think that sounds reasonable." She'd been searching for a place like this for several weeks now, and had been about to give up. "I think I'd like to sign a tenant's agreement."
"Great! I'll go get one. Oh, when would you like to move in?"
"Tonight, if possible," Ryuko answered. "I have enough in my backpack for one night's stay...I can bring the rest of my stuff tomorrow."
Keitaro nodded, "That's fine with me. I'll go get the forms." He went next door to room 204, and began rummaging around. "Now where did I put them?"
At this point, Naru poked her head into 203, having heard voices in the area. "Hi, I'm Naru Narusegawa. Are you applying for tenancy?"
"I'm Ryuko Yoshikawa. Yes, I am. It seems to be a very nice place." 'Wow, she's pretty,' Ryuko thought to herself.
Naru rubbed her chin. "Hmmm. Wait here just a moment. Let me speak with the landlord...there's a room upstairs that just became available, which I'm sure you'd be happier with."
"I don't want to be a bother. I'll take any room you have."
Naru grinned. "Trust me." She then slipped next door and had a word or two with Keitaro.
Ryuko heard some raised voices through the wall, but couldn't quite make out what was said.
Naru poked her head back into 202. "Ryuko, wasn't it? Why don't you let Keitaro show you to the kitchen...most of the residents are out, so we have plenty of left-over lunch that you're welcome to, and he can go over the details of the agreement there. Meanwhile, I'm going to prepare your room for you."
"Sounds good. Thank you so much!"
(upstairs, while Ryuko and Keitaro were in the kitchen...)
Naru found Motoko practicing kendo moves outside, and interrupted her to explain the situation.
Motoko realized the opportunity that Naru had in mind. "What fortunate timing. I have no classes this afternoon...now is the time for reclamation!"
Naru smiled and gave Motoko a thumbs-up.
The two promptly headed up to room 303, and began hauling everything inside down the hall to room 307...
(later...)
Keitaro was showing the new tenant where everything was.
"And...I guess this is going to be your room." Keitaro gestured towards the door to 303. Naru and Motoko were inside, apparently having just finished cleaning the floor.
Ryuko gave her new landlord a questioning look. "What do you mean, /you guess/?"
But Motoko stepped forward and introduced herself before Keitaro could answer. "You must be Ryuko. I'm Motoko Ayoyama. It will be nice to have another young lady around. Unfortunately, there is something I must do, so please excuse me."
"You really didn't have to go to all the trouble of cleaning the room for me. Thank you."
Motoko grinned. "Believe me, it was our pleasure."
Motoko returned to her own room, and Keitaro began wondering how he was going to explain this to Lance. "I have some small repairs to make, so I'll see you around, Ryuko. I look forward to getting to know you. If you need anything, you know where to find me."
Ryuko nodded to Keitaro as he left, then stepped into her new room and set her backpack down. "The landlord seems friendly."
"Sometimes, too friendly," Naru remarked as she collected the cleaning supplies together in a bucket. "Be careful around him. He's accident-prone, and gifted at making untimely entrances. Hardly a day goes by in which Motoko or I don't slug him for some indecent act or another. Never hesitate to put him in his place. If nothing else, he's...resilient. Actually, I think we're all surprised he's survived as long as he has."
Ryuko chuckled, "I'll keep that in mind." Little did she know that Naru wasn't exaggerating. She unzipped her backpack and retrieved the PDA and a few accessories for it, then connected them together on a small table along one of the walls.
Ryu-chan's dragon avatar reappeared on the small display. "there is a wireless network here, but it's encrypted," he announced, frowning.
Naru turned to face the PDA, startled by the voice emanating from it, then walked towards the table to get a closer look. "What's that?"
Ryuko gestured between Naru and the PDA as if introducing two friends. "Naru, this is Ryu-chan. Ryu-chan, this is Naru."
Ryu-chan waved. "hi naru!"
Naru blinked. "Uhm...hi?"
"Ryu-chan is a little AI project I work on in my spare time. He can interpret, summarize, and learn from things he sees, hears, and reads, answer simple questions, and hold a simple conversation. Sometimes I forget he's just a computer program. I use him to filter news feeds, keep me organized, and keep me company."
"I didn't realize AI had advanced that far."
Ryuko grinned. "To tell the truth, I didn't, either. He could very well be unique. I hope to extend his capabilities as time permits."
Ryu-chan smiled and pointed to himself. "i'm one of a kind!"
"How cute! Su would get a kick out of him. She can give you the code to access the LAN, too. I'd love to stay and chat, but Shinobu asked me to get some groceries. So I'll leave you to get settled in. I think you'll like it here, once you get used to the mens' antics."
"Catch you later, then. Thanks for everything."
Naru paused at the door and waved to the PDA. "Good-bye, Ryu-chan!"
Ryu-chan waved back. "bye-bye naru!"
Naru chuckled, and went on her way.
--------------------------------
Lance
-----
Lance was returning home, and after his meeting with Yamasugawa-sensei, he was in much better spirits. He felt so relieved, he didn't even think about the envelope he got from his long-lost brother as he walked home from school.
"Finally, I can come home early enough to actually socialize with everyone," he said to himself as he climbed the stairs to the Hinata Sou, "although I'm not sure if that would be a wise thing to do considering the nature of said tenants. I haven't spoken with Shinobu in awhile though.."
Suddenly a loud sound interrupted him, something that was coming from behind. He turned and gasped, not believing what he was seeing. A large van, definetly going fast, was heading toward him!
"WAAAAAHHHH!!!"
He ran for his life as the van came closer, no sign of stopping. He reached the top of the stairs and sprinted toward the door to Hinata Sou, the van still speeding toward him. Then the van careened to the right, causing it to roll a few times. Lance dove out of the way, avoiding becoming the next
human pancake. The van finally stopped, a cloud of dust rising from where it stopped. Lance stood up and slowly walked to the van, which sat on its side.
The side door slid open, an unknown figure to him climbing out and gasping for air. As Lance walked closer, he was able to get a good look at the man. White lab coat, a broken cigarette hanging from his mouth, and blood trickling down his face. But as he looked up, he smiled as if nothing out of the ordinary happened.
"Like a GLOVE!"
"Oh Daddy, you can be so clueless sometimes!"
Another figure, smaller, clambered out of the van. It was a girl, looking no older than ten at most. She had a long bright blonde hair reaching all the way down her back, a red hat covering the top of her head.
The man stepped off the van, somehow not knowing that he was loosing a lot of blood. He noticed Lance (who was near the verge of peeing in his pants) and waved to him.
"Hello there! You must be a new tenant here, I'm Noriyasu Seta. Is Keitaro around by any chance?"
"Uh....I.....uh...."
"Ah good, then we're right on time! Come on Sarah, let's go."
The two strangers walked inside as if they owned the place, leaving behind a very confused and a very afraid Lance.
"M....mm....mommy..."
---
Lance ran into Hinata-sou, grabbed a hurried dinner and nearly sprinted to his room, intending to take a break in the hot springs to relax since it was Friday. He had been given weird looks by that one girl, Sarah McDougal, as if he were the answer to her prayers.
Wait a minute, how would he know what she was thinking?
--------------------------------
Ryuko
-----
After having met most of the other tenants, Ryuko was pretty tired, and decided to take a rest before the evening meal. She returned to her room and disrobed, then began rubbing some moisturizing cream into her legs.
Moments later, the door to her room opened. It was Lance, who hadn't yet met Ryuko (or been told that he'd been relocated...)
Lance hesitated as the reality of the situation set in. A barely-clothed girl was sitting on his futon (or at least, what he thought was his futon). "Huh...?"
Ryuko glared at the intruder, momentarily petrified. A second later, a feminine scream could be heard throughout Hinata Sou. Then a thud! Then a slam.
Lance's next memory was waking up in the hallway outside room 303, with a 30-centimeter-long oily footprint squarely centered on his shirt.
Everyone else came running to the source of the commotion, crowding the hall. Shinobu was first on the scene, and she gently propped up Lance's head.
"Are you hurt? What happened?"
Keitaro facepalmed. "I knew I forgot something..."
"What?!" Naru and Motoko were not impressed, and poor Keitaro promptly found himself airborne.
--------------------------------
Maho
----
Maho awoke to the late afternoon light.
Sitting up in her futon, she stretched uneasily. Jet lag had a real way of messing with the body. She could barely recall the other night after making introductions, but everyone seemed too exhausted to say much anyway. She pulled out her pocket watch. 18:00.
"Looks like I really slept in," she muttered, surprising herself with the horrid croak in her voice. Dinner wouldn't be for another hour, she reasoned. And at the moment, she felt like nothing would make her feel better than a nice, warm bath in those hot springs she saw the other night. She felt caked in sweat and general grossness, so it would be a welcome relief after all the traveling.
Ten minutes later, Maho slipped into the bath.
She'd never really tried an onsen before; it was a new experience. She smiled, letting the hot mineral water run through her hair and around her
skin.
Yeah, this was nice. She could get used to this.
But when the door slid open and she heard male voices through the steam, Maho immediately snapped to attention.
Who was that? She thought this was an all-women's bath -- was it those housemates looking to sneak a peak at the new girl? She didn't want to immediately assume the worst, but she'd overheard some horror stories from the other female residents, about how the males would always find ways to "accidentally" grope them and invade their privacy. And they kept doing it, too, even after repeated beatings and warnings. The very thought of their persistence chilled her to the bone, and made her grind her teeth in rage. How dare they!
As the males approached, Maho sank into the water, slowly pulling out a smoke bomb from within her towel -- sleight of hand came in handy in convenient ways, sometimes.
As soon as she could see the whites of their eyes, she leaped from the water and lunged the smoke bomb at them, landing gracefully as they coughed and sputtered. She didn't even take the time to look at them as she blew them a hard raspberry.
"Pfffttthh! Serves you right, you dirty perverts!"
Confidently, Maho tightened the towel around herself and walked back into the house.
About a minute later, Keitaro's head popped out from the doorway to the hot spring. "Guys, dinn- what the heck-?" His jaw dropped for a moment. Then he shrugged -- probably just Kaolla Su doing her version of fun again.
"Dinnertime," he repeated, and left them to find their way out of the smoke.
-----------------------------
The group all set down around the table to enjoy another of Shinobu's excellent meals. At least, most of the group...
"Ano... has anyone seen Cody recently?" asked Shinobu, with a worried expression. "He's not in his room, although he was at work today..."
"Actually, he was absent from his work today." corrected Motoko. "There was a telephone call this afternoon from his employer, Minako-san, asking if he was ill. I responded that I had no idea what the baka was doing and left it at that... however it does appear that he has been missing for some time."
"Well, I'm sure he'll turn up," interjected Naru grumpily. I guess he's just busy. And, you said that he must have been about this morning as he collected food, right?"
Shinobu seemed somewhat reassured by this. "Well, yes... I guess."
"So, don't worry. You can look later this evening, if you want."
-----------------------------
Later that evening, Lance found himself trying for the second time to relax in the warm waters of the
Hinata Hot Spring, finding comfort for the first time that day. He wanted this comforting moment to last forever, until....
"WAAAAAHOOOO!!!"
A loud splash later, Kaolla Su stands in the hot spring in full clothing, carrying what looks like a small spherical ball.
"Su, this is men only!" Lance exclaimed. However, Su pretended she didn't hear a thing and held out the ball.
"Look at my latest invention, newcomer! I call it the Cool Thing!"
Lance faceplants into the water, not believing what he's seeing. "Su, you just made that from the pictures in Megatokyo..."
"No, I made it myself! An original copy of the one and only Cool Thing! Let me show you what it does!"
She clicks on button on one side, and something sharp shoots out from the other side. Lance stares wide-eyed, cowering away from her.
"Su, don't get that thing near me! No...no! WAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
------------------------------
This is the combined transcript of the Love Hina RPG being currently played by the members of the Shinobu Fan-Fiction Authors League. Each week, the players submit their chapter, and these are amalgamated and reconciled by the GM who then adds any extra interaction before posting the completed chapter.
Noone has author powers in this game, it is supposed to be in keeping with the LH theme and most players are playing versions of themselves.
Currently you are welcome to contact Baka-Alaskan if you wish to join the league; however the game is not looking for extra players.
Players: Cody (Baka-Alaskan), Al (Althesushilovingfanficsage), Lance(Nachomanlance), Sam (British Dragon), Kyosuke (Blight), Ryuko, Maho(deucetrick)
GM: Steve (CheshireCat5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 7: The girls arrive -- FULL HOUSE!
---------------------------------------------
Al's Date (or not)
------------------
Al smiled. After some discussion, he had convinced Motoko to ride on his vespa again. She had at first assumed he was trying to get her to wrap her arms around him, but he just was trying to save what little yen he had by not taking the train.
They sped down the street together. It was a warm night in Hinata, spring was in the air and Al was enjoying the peace of riding down the road -- too loud for awkward conversations, "We'll save that for dinner." he thought.
Motoko sighed, angry at herself -- she had let her guard down, and before she knew it, Kitsune had snatched her off the deck, stopping her training early and had thrown her into this outfit. Ugh, she'd never live this down if any of the girls from her school kendo club saw her. And that "Sisterly advice" she had been given would be the source of nightmares for weeks to come (or at least, some sort of dreams).
***
The Hinata house girls were finding it awfully hard to keep up with Al and Motoko, considering that they had a taxi and Al had a vespa and Al was going down every side street and swerving in between cars. It was so annoying.
"Maybe we should just go home? I'm sure the other guys are lonely all on their own in the house." Keitaro begged, still not sure how he had been dragged along for this.
"It's ok, I left Shinobu and Dizzy to keep them in check."
***
(Back at the house)
Shinobu and Dizzy sat on opposite sides of the front room, staring at each other. Shinobu was scared of the freaky weasel, and Dizzy was sleeping with his eyes open.
***
(Back outside)
Little did the "Hinata House Honeys" know, they weren't the ones doing the following. A shadowed figure stood at the edge of a roof belonging to one of the nearby tea shops (not Haruka's), silently observing the little chase. He paused, as if hesitating, before hopping down along the uneven brick walls of the building and quietly landing on top of a bus, following the taxi tailing the vespa.
Al reached his first stop on his date (but not a date), the movies.
"Um...I thought maybe a movie before a meal would be fun eh?"
"Umm...what movie?" Motoko looked irked. Sitting next to him in a dark movie theatre? He might try something, her imagaination warned.
"Well um...I've heard good things about that one." Al pointed, "Dawn of the Dead."
Kitsune was over in the bushes, leading the date spy team. "Oh this is gonna be rich! She won't sleep for weeks after this movie." she chuckled to herself.
***
Al sat next to Motoko, not knowing that the gang was a few rows behind him, watching and waiting for the show to begin.
"So...uh...you like zombie flicks?" Al asked in an attempt to make conversation.
"I wouldn't know, such things are not what I normally make a habit of doing."
"Wow, kinda boring training all the time isn't it?"
"ARE YOU SAYING I'M BORING?" She glared at him.
"Here it comes!" Kitsune whispered as she lean forward to watch.
"N-No, I'm just not disciplined enough to train every day you know?"
"Humph, lazy is more like it."
"Hey, hey...well...yeah I guess you're right." Al sweat dropped. "Well, to show I'm not totally lazy, I'll go get some snacks -- would you like anything?"
"Hmm, I suppose some popcorn might be nice." Motoko continued looking at the boring advertisements that the theater would normally show on the screen before the movie begins.
Al got up to go fetch the snacks, and Kitsune sighed plopping back into her seat, "Bah, no fun at all."
Keitaro and Naru just sweat dropped while Su and Sarah began pigging out on the tons of snacks they had sneaked in with them.
Al stood in line until he reached the front of the snack stand, where Haitani and Shirai were working that day.
"Hey aren't you guys those friends of Keitaro?"
Shirai nodded in recognition of the face,
"Hey, yeah, and you're one of Kei's new...WHA!" Haitani grabbed Shirai's collar and pulled him under the counter.
"You idiot! You're fraternizing with the enemy!"
"What do you mean enemy? He's just some guy that is renting at the Hinata house, no big deal."
"No, don't you see? The only reason he's there is that he's paying and the girls don't hate him. So, if we make the girls hate him...."
"AH, I see now! That's so evil!"
"Sometimes you gotta be a little evil to get some booty in the long run."
"Um...pardon me but could I order please, I think the movie is starting." Al leaned over the counter to try and find the disappearing pair.
"WHA!" The boys jumped in shock of Alex leaning over the counter to look for them and hit their heads on the underside of it.
"Ow, ow, yes sure, what do you want?" Haitani grumbled rubbing his head.
"Um...how about a large grape soda and a large popcorn."
"That will be 4000 yen." replied Haitani with a smirk.
"Wow, really...um...." Alex opened his wallet; it contained not nearly enough yen for both, if they would be having a meal afterwards.
"Err...umm...just the popcorn please....and let's make that a medium."
***
Al returned to his seat with the popcorn (and a wallet considerably lighter then before).
"Thank you." Motoko answered as she took the popcorn from him.
The previews started and Kitsune had become bored, so she began throwing little bits of popcorn at the back of Al's head which he ignored as best he could.
Motoko took a bite of popcorn, and gagged, "You moron, how much salt did you put in this!?!" She growled at him, trying to keep quiet.
"I...wha? I didn't put any salt in it -- I just brought it, AND WILL YOU KNOCK THAT OFF!?!" He stood to yell into the darkness at the person pelting him with popcorn.
"DOWN IN FRONT!" Su and Sarah yelled in unison just as an explosion sounded on the screen and drown them out, which were ok because Su threw a large bottle of soda, and Sarah threw her Milkduds, hitting Al and sending him to the floor in pain.
"W...want some Milk...d-duds?" He asked Motoko as he tried to ignore the pounding pain in his head from where the soda made its impact.
"Thank you." She whispered as she took the box, not really noticing his pain.
The movie started and Al watched, thinking "Wonderful, Motoko will get scared by the movie and I can comfort her, this is gonna be great!"
He smiled wickedly to himself, knowing that it's a lame way to get a girl to like you, but it works.
However, after the movie had started Alex began to get nervous. A loud noise sounded, causing most of the audience to jump. Motoko just chuckled, and turned looking for Alex.
Alex was clinging to the ceiling above the seats. The scare had made him bolt from his chair in fear, and he jumped so high he now was stuck up there...
*CRACK*
Well, he was stuck...
***
After the movie, Al and Motoko left. Motoko was in a better mood then when she had entered, and Al was still a little shaken, though he had enjoyed the flick, no matter how many times it made him jump and yelp in fear, which in turn made Motoko laugh.
"So how about we grab a bite to eat?" Alex asked, wondering if he could afford a meal on his now greatly depleated funds.
"Alright, where shall we go?"
"Um...how about there?" Al pointed over the road at a sushi bar, with a sign outside which also advertised karaoke.
"Hmmm, alright..." answered Motoko, "but I warn you, I don't sing."
"That's fine, no one expects you too."
They made their way casually across the street and to the bar; little did they know Haitani and Shirai were in hot pursuit.
As for the rest of the gang, Keitaro and Naru had finally convinced them to return home. Kitsune's hopes of impending violence had not turned out as planned, and besides, they were worried about Shinobu and Dizzy.
***
Back at Hinata-sou, Shinobu was continuing to stare at Dizzy who continued to stare right back.
Suddenly, Tama-chan swooped in and grabbed Dizzy, dragging him away to show him some "Sexy" turtle nighties she had bought off the internet. Freed from the hypnotising glare, Shinobu jumped up and run out down the steps, shrieking.
****
Meanwhile, Al sat and sipped his soda. Sneaking into the bar had been easy enough; he could pass for 18 if he needed, and he always had his fake ID just in case.
The two had sat conversing over sushi for half an hour, and things were going well enough.
"Well Rush, I've only known you a short time but I think I've figured you out. May I give you my analysis?"
"Um, sure why not."
"Alright... you're a nice person, but you have little streaks of evil that give you a rather flawed view of right and wrong. With some discipline and training you could be very strong indeed, but you are far to lazy to commit to a training program."
"Yup, that sounds about right."
"Ok, then as part of your payment to me for the money I've loaned you, you will join me in my training first thing every morning at six, is that clear?"
Al grew very pale, "Wh…wha?"
Motoko smiled lightly "Just kidding, you'd just slow me down and get in the way."
Al face faulted, and after a moment he sat up again and he and Motoko both reached for the last piece of tuna sushi.
"Rush, I am your guest, therefore I think it's only fair I get this piece."
"Are you kidding? You've already had more sushi then I have, and THAT'S saying something, I've had a ton of sushi tonight!"
"So who made you official sushi counter?"
"I did!"
The two of them glared at each other like daggers until the waitress came over to them.
"Here is some more sushi sir and miss."
"Back off." They both barked, making the waitress flee.
Haitani and Shirai hid behind their menus on the other side of the room. They had ordered the super-spicy shrimp sushi and sent it to Al and Motoko's table -- with any luck, Motoko would get angry for Al ordering something spicy, and he'd get hurt.
Al sat back and swigged the rest of his soda. He had let Motoko get the last peace of tuna, and was just about to start on the shrimp when Motoko popped one in her mouth.
Her eyes got wide and she opened her mouth but no noise came out but a weak hacking noise, she put her hands up to her neck and looked at Alex, looking scared.
"Oh crap she's choking!" Shirai cried out as the boys watched their plan go astray.
Al hopped up and gave Motoko a hardy whack on the back, causing her to cough and hit the singer on stage in the eye with the expunged sushi.
"AHHHHHHHH, IT BURNS MY EYE!!!!" the man cried, falling to the floor. His band got off stage to find who had thrown the offending food.
"Time to run!" Alex yelped as he grabbed Motoko around her waist, tossed her over his shoulder and bolted from the scene.
"Rats!" Haitani grumbled as he put his menu down, "We'll have to think of something else."
Al ran out the entrance, followed by an angry mob of enraged customers and a pissed-off band, trying to get to his vespa before anyone else managed to get to him and his "date". He managed to lose them after a few minutes of sprinting and was just about done with running around with an angry kendo girl over his shoulder.
"PUT ME DOWN!!" Motoko commanded, placing a hand to where her sword was only to remember that Kitsune had discarded it before putting "little sister" into this ridiculous dress she was wearing now. 'Damn you Kitsune!' she said to herself, 'You had better pray to Kami, because nothing will save you from me! You hear me?! NOTHING!!!!'
Motoko growled under her breath while ignoring the fact that Al was carrying her over to his parked vespa in the parking lot behind the movie theatre. Al made it over to his vehicle with a feeling of relief -- that is, until the figure who was tailing him and his "date" revealed himself from the curtain of darkness. It was Kyosuke, but fortunately for him, Al didn't know that. The young lad was wearing the same get-up he had on during Dizzy's and Tama's wedding.
"They're blocking off all the exits." Kyosuke snarled from beneath his grotesque mask, "I'll distract them for you."
"Who the hell are you talking to, Rush!? And put me down this instant!" Motoko demanded from her helpless position, completely unaware of the grotesquely masked stranger in the darkness.
Kyosuke walked away and chuckled, "Watch out for her. She can be a handful."
Al put Motoko down lightly and she glared at him, "I can run on my own Rush!"
"Sorry, force of habit... usually I'm running faster then my friends 'cause I'm the one in trouble. I just wanted to keep you out of trouble..."
Motoko glared and then sighed, forcing a smile. "This was a lovely night Rush, thank you -- I needed to relax a bit, and this was just what the doctor ordered... I suppose!"
"I think I'll take that as a compliment." he smiled and then looked into her eyes with a determined expression. She froze.
"R...rush?"
"Hold still." Al came forward.
"Oh no, oh no, not this!" Motoko thought in a panic. Kitsune had warned her of this moment -- the big end-of-date kiss! What would she do? Should she permit it? Would she do it correctly? Would she....
"There we go." Alex smiled and plucked a loose thread off of Motoko's shoulder. "Sorry, I get a little weird about loose threads." he laughed, and climbed onto the vespa, "Ready to go?"
Motoko glared, "A...thread?" Motoko was a maelstrom of emotions, of which she was surprised to find a thread of disappointment mixed in with the scarlet embarassment. She dealt with this situation in the only way she knew how.
WHAM!!!!
Al flew back to the hinata house, saving a bundle on gas.
-----------------------------------------------------
Maho-chan arrives at Hinata
---------------------------
A young girl strolled down the sidewalk as the evening settled into night, staring idly up at the blinking streetlights. There were many thoughts going through her mind at the moment, but she was primarily thinking that she should have thought things through a little better. Because, although she intended to live there for a year, and had traveled miles to get there in the first place, Maho couldn't remember for the life of her where the Hinata Sou actually was.
She sighed. Oh well.
The sound of her stomach growling soon brought her attention to other things.
"I'm starving," she said to no one in particular. Maho wondered if there was a noodle booth nearby. She had a craving for udon, and a nice big hot bowl of it seemed like a grand idea.
She stopped in front of a sign that read `Hinata Tea House.'
"Oh, wow. Lucky! That must mean the Hinata Sou is somewhere around here," Maho smiled. She had known it would be a piece of cake. She stepped gingerly into the teahouse, bowing. "Konbanwa!"
A tall young man with brown hair greeted her at the door. Though he was handsome, the weary look in his eyes told Maho that he had definitely seen better days.
"Konbanwa. My name is Kentaro. Have a seat and I'll be right with you." He recited the greeting like a robot, and finished it off with an equally mechanical bow.
"Arigato." Maho took a seat at one of the tables. "Say, do you know where the Hinata Sou is? It's probably a stupid question, but I'm pretty lost. Is it nearby?"
Suddenly Kentaro became more animated, as a mildly contemptuous expression crossed his face. "It's next to this building, all the way up the stairs. Though I can't imagine for the life of me why you'd ever want to go there. Those women... they are nothing but misfortune." He looked like he was about to weep.
Maho nodded in sympathy. She didn't know what he meant by that statement, but obviously he had been through a lot. She felt the need to cheer him up a little.
"Hey, do you want to see a magic trick?"
"Nani?" Kentaro looked confused.
"A magic trick." She smiled encouragingly. "Here, watch." Maho reached into one of her many coat pockets, and pulled out a long, bright red silk scarf. Rolling up her sleeves, she held the length out in front of her so Kentaro could examine it.
"Just an ordinary scarf, see? But watch carefully. With my amazing magic powers, I can twist it like so - " She began twisting the scarf, balling it up in both hands until it was no longer visible. After a couple of seconds, she lifted her hands with a flourish -- the scarf had completely disappeared.
"And ta-daa!" she pronounced proudly.
Kentaro's eyes widened in disbelief, like a child's. Then he smiled, despite himself. "How did you do that?" he asked.
"Sorry," She winked. "that's a secret!"
A thoroughly unamused voice cut through their conversation.
"Kentaro-kun, is this what I pay you for?"
Kentaro froze, his face a mask of abject terror. He turned toward the source of the voice, cowering meekly. "G-gomen! Please spare me!" he begged.
"Do the dishes, and we'll discuss your punishment." the harsh reply came.
With a fatalistic sigh, Kentaro trudged off to the kitchen, leaving Maho thoroughly confused. A woman slowly stepped out from the hallway, wearing a plain black apron. Dangling from her lips was a cigarette, which she inhaled from with an unnerving calmness.
"I apologize for the help. They tend to slack off." Haruka smiled.
Maho stared at her. "Onee-san?" she whispered.
Haruka's almost-unnoticeable grin immediately transformed into a frown, as she focused on the girl sitting before her. Recognition dawned on her face, and she almost dropped her cigarette in surprise.
"Maho-chan?"
"Haru-nee!" Maho smiled, standing up to give her big sister a hug. "It's been so long! How're you -- Aaaack!" Her words were cut short, as Haruka pulled her mercilessly into a chokehold. "Onee-gggrrkk-san!"
"You don't write, you don't call..." Haruka admonished the girl who was struggling fruitlessly in her arms. "...and now you show up at my teahouse without even intending to visit your dear older sister. Somebody forgot their manners, eh chibi-ko (small fry)?"
"Don't call me that!" Maho whined. She winced as Haruka began giving her a noogie.
"No whining. You deserve every bit of this." The older woman gave Maho a tender smile as she inflicted plentiful amounts of pain on her. "I missed you, you know."
"Itae-yo (ow)! Let me go! Onee-saaaan!"
*******
Haruka took a sip of tea, lighting another cigarette. "One more year of school, huh?" she asked.
Maho nodded, holding a cracker dish on her lap as she sipped tea. Perched on the dish were two white doves, which were pecking away at a soy cookie.
"Hai. In a Japanese school. They say that since I didn't go to an international school, my London credit is almost worthless. I heard that you and Keitaro-kun were running this place after Mama decided to retire, and I don't really have anywhere else to go..." She clasped her hands together. "Please, Haru-nee, can I stay here?"
"Baka..."
"Mmm?" Maho looked at her sister, puzzled.
"Why are you even asking?" Haruka almost looked annoyed as she puffed away, but still her face betrayed little. "I would never turn you away, Maho-chan. You're family."
Her face brightened. "Hontou (really)??"
"Hai, hontou desu."
"Onee-san..."
"It's not a free ticket. You'll have to help out here and there with the chores to keep this place running, since you won't have to pay rent."
"Hai! You can count on me, I promise."
"I know." Haruka nodded confidently and raised the cup of tea to her lips -- Only to discover that she was holding an egg. Calmly, she set the egg down on the table. Then her eyes narrowed. "Maho-chan..."
The younger girl smiled nervously.
Haruka immediately put Maho into another chokehold. "I told you not to play
those magic tricks with me, didn't I?"
"Hai, hai you did! Gomen! I give up!"
"You think it's going to be that easy, chibi-ko?"
"Aaaagh, I'm sorry!"
"Ano..."
Both women stopped. Shinobu was standing in the doorway with Keitaro and the rest of the gang, looking nervously at the spectacle before them.
"G-Gomen-" The young girl stammered.
Maho's eyes shimmered. She immediately disentangled herself from Haruka's grasp like Houdini slipping out of a straightjacket, and ran up to Shinobu excitedly. "Aww, you're so adorable! What's your name, little girl?"
"M-Maehara Shinobu."
"Shinobu! You're such a cute little girl, Shinobu-chan! Can I call you Shinobu-chan?" Maho giggled, pinching both of Shinobu's cheeks. This prompted an "Auuuu!!" from the blue-haired girl, which made Maho squeal even more in delight.
Haruka leaned over to Keitaro. "I forgot about that. Her and cute things- it's sickening, really."
"Oh." Keitaro paused. "Err - Who is she?"
Haruka raised an eyebrow. "You mean you don't remember, Kei-kun?"
At the mention of the name, Maho turned around to face Keitaro.
She seemed to be awe for a moment, reaching up to touch his face. "Kei-taro?"
Keitaro gulped nervously. Behind him, Naru twitched, but miraculously held back whatever violent urge may have possessed her.
Maho's face split into a smile. Her front hair-spiral bobbed excitedly as she jumped up to wrap him in a hug. "Keitaro! Look at you, all grown up and handsome now!" She dismantled from him, briefly wiping a tear. "It's all so- overwhelming."
Upon seeing Keitaro's still-confused expression, Maho sighed. "It has been a long time, hasn't it? I suppose it's time for reintroductions-" She stepped back and bowed, deeply and formally. "I'm your mother's sister." She gestured to Haruka. "Her sister as well. My name is-"
"Maho-chan?" Keitaro said incredulously. "Maho-chan, is that really-?" He earned himself a punch to the forehead, a remarkable feat considering the girl's noticeable lack of height. "Ow!"
"That's *Auntie* Maho to you, baka-Kei." She smiled good-naturedly. "So I hear you're the amazing landlord here. That's pretty impressive."
Keitaro blushed. He never heard his job described in such a nice way. "Arigato!" he responded.
"I don't mean to cut things short, " Maho added, "but in fact I'm really worn out from the trip here. Maybe if I can have somewhere to get some rest, I'll be more full of energy for the introductions tomorrow?"
"Oh... I'm so sorry!" apologised Keitaro. Why don't you come up to the inn with us now, and you can have the room next to mine, 203. I'll give you all the news in the morning..."
"That would be great," she responded enthusiastically. "And I'll see you tomorrow, onee-chan!"
--------------------------------
After dinner, Lance retired to his room to change into more comfortable clothes. His work with Yamasugawa had taken longer than he had hoped, and barely had time to come home and eat. Every day, more and more papers were filled out and his patience wore thin each time. What the hell is the purpose for wasting his time with work, and he didn't even do anything?!
Wearily, he fell onto his futon, trying to block out the sounds of heavy footsteps coming down the hall. The door knocked.
"What is it?" Lance said groggily.
Keitaro's voice answered. "You got a letter from someone in the States. Do you want it now?"
"Just slide it under the door, I'll pick it up in a sec."
"Alright," Keitaro replied, and Lance saw a white envelope slip underneath the door.
When the footsteps were out of earshot, Lance crept off the futon and picked up the envelope. It felt slightly heavy, like a ton of papers were jammed inside. Carefully, he ripped open the envelope and a small pile of money fluttered to the floor.
"What the..."
He checked inside the envelope again, making sure this wasn't some kind of joke. He then felt a small piece of paper inside, and took it out. He unfolded it and read,
"I hope this is enough to pay for a new home. Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Damian."
Lance dropped the short note, letting it fall on top of the American money.
"How did he....know...."
--------------------------------
Cody
----
Cody came back to consciousness, and promptly wished he had not. The passage had bumped and bruised him all over as he has descended, and apparently had ended up inside a large glass-walled tank. Outside, shaped moved back and forth, and clicking sounds could be heard.
Cody hammered on the glass to try and break it, but all it did was draw the attention of the surrounding shapes. One shape moved closer to the glass, and with a shock he saw it was one of the mecha-tamas that he had last seen in the Annexe at Dizzy and Tama-chan's abortive wedding.
Its eyes glowed purple as it stared at him. "MYU" it intoned, and the pattern of movement outside altered.
Over the other side of the room, a screen lit up. Straining his eyes, Cody could just make out "Subject analysis: Human. Vulnerabilities research."
He lokoed at his watch, and was amazed that it was already 8am. He had been unconscious all night! What would he do about his job? How would Minako-san react to his being AWOL? More importantly, what about food?
This last question was answered, in part, as a number of objects fell into the tank with him. These included various food items from the kitchen -- a bottle of mustard, some flour (this made a bit of a mess as the bag broke open), a couple of cans of soda (he just avoided another sleep as they crashed down next to him) and -- fortunately -- some sandwiches. He started to eat the sandwiches, deciding to leave the soda for a bit as it had landed rather heavily and he didnt want to mix liquid with the clouds of flour in the tank.
***
Upstairs, Shinobu was puzzling over her pilfered kitchen. Things had been left in a bit of a mess... since Cody-san hadn't turned up at breakfast, she assumed that he has made himself a very early meal and had left already? Still, he could have left the place a bit tidier. She also shook her head over the strange diet these Americans seemed to eat.
--------------------------------
Friday Morning
--------------
"Oh my... these pancakes are tasty!" exclaimed Mutsumi, as she tucked in to another delicious breakfast prepared by Shinobu in Hinata-Sou.
"I agree..." said Naru, "...but more to the point, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
"Oh!" Mutsumi giggled, "I forgot where my apartment was, and so I wandered around for a bit, and finally ended up here. I always seem to end up here when I get lost! Isn't it funny? I must have some sort of tie with the place, or something here..." She stared happily at Keitaro, who looked nervously as a vein in Naru's head began to twitch.
"Mutsumi, you..." began Naru, but had no chance to finish.
"I know!" Mutsumi laughed, clapping her hands together with a big smile, "How about I move here? You have some more rooms and need some tenants! I could have the room next to you, Naru, and we could be like twin sisters, sharing everything!"
Naru facefaulted.
"That's a great idea, isn't it, Kei-kun?" she asked of Keitaro. "You'd like it if I moved in with you here, ne?" she looked over at him innocently. Keitaro's treacherous imagination wandered off at a tangent at this point, as he imagined Mutsumi moving in with him a little more closely than she (probably) intended, and also of her and Naru sharing... *everything*. His nose began to bleed.
"Keitaro!" growled Naru, and sent him flying.
"Well, I suppose it would be OK," she answered Mutsumi on Keitaro's behalf, while blowing on her knuckles as Keitaro soared into the distance. 'It would also help to keep this floozy nearby where I can keep an eye on her!' she thought privately.
"All settled, then!" cheered Mutsumi, completely oblivious to the surrounding world. "I'll move in next to Naru! Ara, ara... does anyone know where I left my bags?"
--------------------------------
Samuel makes a fool of himself
------------------------------
Sam came down to breakfast that morning in a more bruised state than previous days. His duel last night had given him a few injuries, although somehow his cockiness seems undamaged. Hence, his self-preservation instincts were still not quick enough to kick in when he met Motoko on his way down.
"Hi," he mumbled as he pushed past her, "hey, your butt is blocking the passageway, it didn't feel so big when I groped it last night..."
He realised what he had said when he heard Motoko's growl of anger from behind him.
***
Somewhere around 5 miles distant from Hinata Sou, Samuel finaly made his landing.
"Ouch.. I think I took out a satellite on my way up," he groaned to himself. He peered off in a promising direction. "I think the inn is that way ... " he guessed, and started walking.
Five and a half hours later, Sam was still lost.
"Now, where the fsck am I..." he asked himself, before spotting a guy walking on the path nearby. "Hey, " he shouted to the man, "can I ask you something?"
"Sure," came back the affable reply.
"Where am I?"
"Um... " the man thought for a while, before confidently answering "Risato, a small fishing village in the Satsuma province."
"What? How do I get to Hinata from here?"
"oh, Hinata is to the south. Just follow that road over there!" the guy seemed really helpful.
"Thanks! Can I ask, what's your name?"
"Ryoga Hibiki, that's me!" he replied proudly.
"Well, thanks Ryoga! Bye !" Sam waved as he strode out in the indicated direction.
Shortly afterwards, an attractive black-haired girl joined Ryoga, with a worried expression on her face. "Um, Ryoga, please tell me you didn't give that guy directions?"
"Well, yes, I did..." responded Ryoga.
"Great... you know that you get lost even when you try to get to the bathroom?"
"Hey!"
***
Back on the road, Sam was still walking, remarking to noone in particular as to what a pleasant day it was and how helpful the stranger had been. Three hours later, however, his opinion had undergone a slight shift.
Sam was standing next to a large roadsign.
"Let's see... What?! 2 miles to Hiroshima?? THAT BASTARD ... Hey, a bar..."
Temporarily distracted, Sam wandered into the bar. Although the barman gave him a hard look, Sam claimed to be 21 (a claim that could only have been truly believed by a blind, deaf and extraordinarily stupid elementary school student) and in this remote location the enforcement of this sort of rule was seen more as a guideline, anyway.
20 minutes and 7 bottles of sake later, Sam was well over his limit.
"I... like GOATS!" he hiccupped to the world in general.
***
Back at Hinata Sou, Kitsune was vaguely wondering where Sam could have got to after his morning flight courtesy of Motoko and the God's Cry school.
"He's probably out taking a nice peaceful walk?" suggested Keitaro
"Probably in trouble, knowing him." was Naru's more astute opinion.
"Naw..." contradicted Keitaro, "he seems a nice guy..."
***
Back with Sam, he was in a confused conversation with another drunk.
"Wash you shay about my momma ?" he slurred.
"Bite me, kid " was the curt response.
Sam exploded into a stream of Japanese words he should never have been taught by any reputable language school, and launched a fist at the man.
Two minutes later, a full scale bar brawl had broken out.
Another 2 minutes later, the police came.
30 seconds later police called in a riot team, as Sam swung his sword far too dangerously.
A few minutes later, Sam was finally subdued by a riot squad.
***
Back at the inn, the telephone was ringing.
"Keitaro! Get that phone, you lazy good-for-nothing!" shouted Naru, walking past the phone and completely ignoring it herself.
Keitaro ran in, and grabbed the phone.
"Hello? Yes, he lives here... WHAT?! Yes, I'll go over there and pick him up -- and then kill him, the baka..."
One trip to Hiroshima and back later, Samuel was lying out cold on the sofa. He has arrived conscious (albeit inebriated), but unfortunately for him, and angry Motoko had knocked him out again as soon as she saw him.
Keitaro was furious because it had taken all of Sam's rent payments just to bail him out and pay compensation to the bar for the damage, and he had only just avoided being charged himself with allowing a minor to run riot. When Sam came to, he would have a lot of explaining to do, and an extremely large bill to foot. He would also have to find some rent payments very soon.
And that was the story on how Samuel made a total idiot of himself in one day.
--------------------------------
Lance's Day
-----------
The first thing he saw in the classroom was Yamasugawa-sensei, who stood by the door. The room was lined with lab tables, instruments and chemicals laid on top of them. The only open space was the back of the room, where two older teenagers were looking at notes on the chalkboard in front of them. Lance closes the door after him, and they turn to see him.
"Glad you could make it here on short notice, Mr. Waymire." said Yamasugawa-sensei politely. "I'd like to introduce you to my two assistants."
He guided him to the back of the room, where they faced the two people by the chalkboard.
He waved to the first one, "This is Amy Sena, who's studying to work in the medical field." She smiles and shakes his hand.
"And this is Kyoji Lee, son of Principal Lee, studying chemicals and life science." Kyoji inclined his head slightly to Lance, who reluctantly did the same.
"The three of us are a small group who are doing our own research for different projects and experiments that we feel deserve more recognition, such as rare diseases and lost theories." said Yamasugawa, now standing in front of Lance. "I had you take those surveys and paperwork to see how much of a logical thinker you are, and after careful consideration, I feel that you are qualified to work with us."
Lance was still confused, but followed along. "Work with you? What...?"
"You will be paid extra for your services, if you are interested."
His ears perked at the last sentence. Now THAT he can get used to.
"What exactly would I be doing," he asked, "and how long is the job?"
Yamasugawa answered, "Since you're just starting, you'll be helping with organization of notes and equipment preparation, etc. And you'll start tomorrow right after school for two hours, instead of the four you used to take."
Without pausing to think, Lance smiled and said, "Yamasugawa-sensei, I accept!"
--------------------------------
Ryuko's Arrival
---------------
Around noon, a bus pulled up to the Hinata Sou. A young woman, either late teens or early 20s, and almost Motoko's height, stepped off. She was carrying a PDA in one hand and a backpack in the other.
"This looks like the place." Ryuko slung the backpack over her shoulder and climbed the steps leading up the hill. When she got to the top, she paused and glanced at the map displayed on her PDA. "Ryu-chan, add geographical
marker: 'Hinata Sou'." Immediately, a chibified dragon avatar appeared on the map and inserted a pushpin icon at her exact GPS coordinates. "ok!" came the response. Ryuko smiled. Ryu-chan, the customized software assistant living in her PDA, was learning new ways to be helpful all the time.
Ryuko walked up to the main entrance and rang the doorbell.
Keitaro heard the bell and answered the door. As the door parted, he found himself momentarily transfixed on the personage before him, despite the visitor's modest clothing.
Ryuko arched an eyebrow. "Hello...?"
Keitaro snapped out of it. "Oh, uhm, hello. May I help you?"
"Yes, I'm looking to rent a room. One of my professors, Cheshire-san, recommended this place to me."
"Oh, I have him for a professor too. Yeah, we still have some rooms available for immediate occupancy. Come on in." Keitaro opened the door all the way and stepped aside. "Oh, and my name's Keitaro Urashima. I'm the landlord."
"I'm Ryuko Yoshikawa. Nice to meet you." She stepped inside, set the backpack down, and looked around as Keitaro closed the door behind her. After spotting a few pairs of shoes neatly lined up in the entryway, she pulled hers off and placed them at the end of the row. A sweatdrop formed as she realized hers were markedly larger than the others. She scooted them a little further away so that fact wouldn't be quite as obvious.
Keitaro motioned her into room 202. "This room is typical of what we have available. Room and board is 50,000 yen per month, payable in advance, and you'll be expected to help out with chores and such. On the other end of the complex is a hot springs bath, which you can use any time except Tuesdays and Fridays, because on those days it's reserved for the male residents."
Ryuko explored the spartan room. "Sorry, I'm still accustomed to US currency. Let's see...that would work out to about 460 dollars. I think that sounds reasonable." She'd been searching for a place like this for several weeks now, and had been about to give up. "I think I'd like to sign a tenant's agreement."
"Great! I'll go get one. Oh, when would you like to move in?"
"Tonight, if possible," Ryuko answered. "I have enough in my backpack for one night's stay...I can bring the rest of my stuff tomorrow."
Keitaro nodded, "That's fine with me. I'll go get the forms." He went next door to room 204, and began rummaging around. "Now where did I put them?"
At this point, Naru poked her head into 203, having heard voices in the area. "Hi, I'm Naru Narusegawa. Are you applying for tenancy?"
"I'm Ryuko Yoshikawa. Yes, I am. It seems to be a very nice place." 'Wow, she's pretty,' Ryuko thought to herself.
Naru rubbed her chin. "Hmmm. Wait here just a moment. Let me speak with the landlord...there's a room upstairs that just became available, which I'm sure you'd be happier with."
"I don't want to be a bother. I'll take any room you have."
Naru grinned. "Trust me." She then slipped next door and had a word or two with Keitaro.
Ryuko heard some raised voices through the wall, but couldn't quite make out what was said.
Naru poked her head back into 202. "Ryuko, wasn't it? Why don't you let Keitaro show you to the kitchen...most of the residents are out, so we have plenty of left-over lunch that you're welcome to, and he can go over the details of the agreement there. Meanwhile, I'm going to prepare your room for you."
"Sounds good. Thank you so much!"
(upstairs, while Ryuko and Keitaro were in the kitchen...)
Naru found Motoko practicing kendo moves outside, and interrupted her to explain the situation.
Motoko realized the opportunity that Naru had in mind. "What fortunate timing. I have no classes this afternoon...now is the time for reclamation!"
Naru smiled and gave Motoko a thumbs-up.
The two promptly headed up to room 303, and began hauling everything inside down the hall to room 307...
(later...)
Keitaro was showing the new tenant where everything was.
"And...I guess this is going to be your room." Keitaro gestured towards the door to 303. Naru and Motoko were inside, apparently having just finished cleaning the floor.
Ryuko gave her new landlord a questioning look. "What do you mean, /you guess/?"
But Motoko stepped forward and introduced herself before Keitaro could answer. "You must be Ryuko. I'm Motoko Ayoyama. It will be nice to have another young lady around. Unfortunately, there is something I must do, so please excuse me."
"You really didn't have to go to all the trouble of cleaning the room for me. Thank you."
Motoko grinned. "Believe me, it was our pleasure."
Motoko returned to her own room, and Keitaro began wondering how he was going to explain this to Lance. "I have some small repairs to make, so I'll see you around, Ryuko. I look forward to getting to know you. If you need anything, you know where to find me."
Ryuko nodded to Keitaro as he left, then stepped into her new room and set her backpack down. "The landlord seems friendly."
"Sometimes, too friendly," Naru remarked as she collected the cleaning supplies together in a bucket. "Be careful around him. He's accident-prone, and gifted at making untimely entrances. Hardly a day goes by in which Motoko or I don't slug him for some indecent act or another. Never hesitate to put him in his place. If nothing else, he's...resilient. Actually, I think we're all surprised he's survived as long as he has."
Ryuko chuckled, "I'll keep that in mind." Little did she know that Naru wasn't exaggerating. She unzipped her backpack and retrieved the PDA and a few accessories for it, then connected them together on a small table along one of the walls.
Ryu-chan's dragon avatar reappeared on the small display. "there is a wireless network here, but it's encrypted," he announced, frowning.
Naru turned to face the PDA, startled by the voice emanating from it, then walked towards the table to get a closer look. "What's that?"
Ryuko gestured between Naru and the PDA as if introducing two friends. "Naru, this is Ryu-chan. Ryu-chan, this is Naru."
Ryu-chan waved. "hi naru!"
Naru blinked. "Uhm...hi?"
"Ryu-chan is a little AI project I work on in my spare time. He can interpret, summarize, and learn from things he sees, hears, and reads, answer simple questions, and hold a simple conversation. Sometimes I forget he's just a computer program. I use him to filter news feeds, keep me organized, and keep me company."
"I didn't realize AI had advanced that far."
Ryuko grinned. "To tell the truth, I didn't, either. He could very well be unique. I hope to extend his capabilities as time permits."
Ryu-chan smiled and pointed to himself. "i'm one of a kind!"
"How cute! Su would get a kick out of him. She can give you the code to access the LAN, too. I'd love to stay and chat, but Shinobu asked me to get some groceries. So I'll leave you to get settled in. I think you'll like it here, once you get used to the mens' antics."
"Catch you later, then. Thanks for everything."
Naru paused at the door and waved to the PDA. "Good-bye, Ryu-chan!"
Ryu-chan waved back. "bye-bye naru!"
Naru chuckled, and went on her way.
--------------------------------
Lance
-----
Lance was returning home, and after his meeting with Yamasugawa-sensei, he was in much better spirits. He felt so relieved, he didn't even think about the envelope he got from his long-lost brother as he walked home from school.
"Finally, I can come home early enough to actually socialize with everyone," he said to himself as he climbed the stairs to the Hinata Sou, "although I'm not sure if that would be a wise thing to do considering the nature of said tenants. I haven't spoken with Shinobu in awhile though.."
Suddenly a loud sound interrupted him, something that was coming from behind. He turned and gasped, not believing what he was seeing. A large van, definetly going fast, was heading toward him!
"WAAAAAHHHH!!!"
He ran for his life as the van came closer, no sign of stopping. He reached the top of the stairs and sprinted toward the door to Hinata Sou, the van still speeding toward him. Then the van careened to the right, causing it to roll a few times. Lance dove out of the way, avoiding becoming the next
human pancake. The van finally stopped, a cloud of dust rising from where it stopped. Lance stood up and slowly walked to the van, which sat on its side.
The side door slid open, an unknown figure to him climbing out and gasping for air. As Lance walked closer, he was able to get a good look at the man. White lab coat, a broken cigarette hanging from his mouth, and blood trickling down his face. But as he looked up, he smiled as if nothing out of the ordinary happened.
"Like a GLOVE!"
"Oh Daddy, you can be so clueless sometimes!"
Another figure, smaller, clambered out of the van. It was a girl, looking no older than ten at most. She had a long bright blonde hair reaching all the way down her back, a red hat covering the top of her head.
The man stepped off the van, somehow not knowing that he was loosing a lot of blood. He noticed Lance (who was near the verge of peeing in his pants) and waved to him.
"Hello there! You must be a new tenant here, I'm Noriyasu Seta. Is Keitaro around by any chance?"
"Uh....I.....uh...."
"Ah good, then we're right on time! Come on Sarah, let's go."
The two strangers walked inside as if they owned the place, leaving behind a very confused and a very afraid Lance.
"M....mm....mommy..."
---
Lance ran into Hinata-sou, grabbed a hurried dinner and nearly sprinted to his room, intending to take a break in the hot springs to relax since it was Friday. He had been given weird looks by that one girl, Sarah McDougal, as if he were the answer to her prayers.
Wait a minute, how would he know what she was thinking?
--------------------------------
Ryuko
-----
After having met most of the other tenants, Ryuko was pretty tired, and decided to take a rest before the evening meal. She returned to her room and disrobed, then began rubbing some moisturizing cream into her legs.
Moments later, the door to her room opened. It was Lance, who hadn't yet met Ryuko (or been told that he'd been relocated...)
Lance hesitated as the reality of the situation set in. A barely-clothed girl was sitting on his futon (or at least, what he thought was his futon). "Huh...?"
Ryuko glared at the intruder, momentarily petrified. A second later, a feminine scream could be heard throughout Hinata Sou. Then a thud! Then a slam.
Lance's next memory was waking up in the hallway outside room 303, with a 30-centimeter-long oily footprint squarely centered on his shirt.
Everyone else came running to the source of the commotion, crowding the hall. Shinobu was first on the scene, and she gently propped up Lance's head.
"Are you hurt? What happened?"
Keitaro facepalmed. "I knew I forgot something..."
"What?!" Naru and Motoko were not impressed, and poor Keitaro promptly found himself airborne.
--------------------------------
Maho
----
Maho awoke to the late afternoon light.
Sitting up in her futon, she stretched uneasily. Jet lag had a real way of messing with the body. She could barely recall the other night after making introductions, but everyone seemed too exhausted to say much anyway. She pulled out her pocket watch. 18:00.
"Looks like I really slept in," she muttered, surprising herself with the horrid croak in her voice. Dinner wouldn't be for another hour, she reasoned. And at the moment, she felt like nothing would make her feel better than a nice, warm bath in those hot springs she saw the other night. She felt caked in sweat and general grossness, so it would be a welcome relief after all the traveling.
Ten minutes later, Maho slipped into the bath.
She'd never really tried an onsen before; it was a new experience. She smiled, letting the hot mineral water run through her hair and around her
skin.
Yeah, this was nice. She could get used to this.
But when the door slid open and she heard male voices through the steam, Maho immediately snapped to attention.
Who was that? She thought this was an all-women's bath -- was it those housemates looking to sneak a peak at the new girl? She didn't want to immediately assume the worst, but she'd overheard some horror stories from the other female residents, about how the males would always find ways to "accidentally" grope them and invade their privacy. And they kept doing it, too, even after repeated beatings and warnings. The very thought of their persistence chilled her to the bone, and made her grind her teeth in rage. How dare they!
As the males approached, Maho sank into the water, slowly pulling out a smoke bomb from within her towel -- sleight of hand came in handy in convenient ways, sometimes.
As soon as she could see the whites of their eyes, she leaped from the water and lunged the smoke bomb at them, landing gracefully as they coughed and sputtered. She didn't even take the time to look at them as she blew them a hard raspberry.
"Pfffttthh! Serves you right, you dirty perverts!"
Confidently, Maho tightened the towel around herself and walked back into the house.
About a minute later, Keitaro's head popped out from the doorway to the hot spring. "Guys, dinn- what the heck-?" His jaw dropped for a moment. Then he shrugged -- probably just Kaolla Su doing her version of fun again.
"Dinnertime," he repeated, and left them to find their way out of the smoke.
-----------------------------
The group all set down around the table to enjoy another of Shinobu's excellent meals. At least, most of the group...
"Ano... has anyone seen Cody recently?" asked Shinobu, with a worried expression. "He's not in his room, although he was at work today..."
"Actually, he was absent from his work today." corrected Motoko. "There was a telephone call this afternoon from his employer, Minako-san, asking if he was ill. I responded that I had no idea what the baka was doing and left it at that... however it does appear that he has been missing for some time."
"Well, I'm sure he'll turn up," interjected Naru grumpily. I guess he's just busy. And, you said that he must have been about this morning as he collected food, right?"
Shinobu seemed somewhat reassured by this. "Well, yes... I guess."
"So, don't worry. You can look later this evening, if you want."
-----------------------------
Later that evening, Lance found himself trying for the second time to relax in the warm waters of the
Hinata Hot Spring, finding comfort for the first time that day. He wanted this comforting moment to last forever, until....
"WAAAAAHOOOO!!!"
A loud splash later, Kaolla Su stands in the hot spring in full clothing, carrying what looks like a small spherical ball.
"Su, this is men only!" Lance exclaimed. However, Su pretended she didn't hear a thing and held out the ball.
"Look at my latest invention, newcomer! I call it the Cool Thing!"
Lance faceplants into the water, not believing what he's seeing. "Su, you just made that from the pictures in Megatokyo..."
"No, I made it myself! An original copy of the one and only Cool Thing! Let me show you what it does!"
She clicks on button on one side, and something sharp shoots out from the other side. Lance stares wide-eyed, cowering away from her.
"Su, don't get that thing near me! No...no! WAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
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