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 Eight: Everyone learns something new: REVELATIONS
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Friday evening with Ryuko
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Keitaro paced back and forth in front of Ryuko's door for several minutes before finally knocking on it.
"Who's there?"
"It's me, Keitaro. Do you have a minute?...I just wanted to apologize."
"Nani?...just a second." Ryuko rose from her futon and slid the door open just a few centimeters. "Urashima-san. I don't understand."
Keitaro couldn't see much, but quickly averted his eyes because he thought he caught a glimpse of something he shouldn't, and didn't want what happened to Lance to happen to him.
"Well, you see, until today, this room was Lance's. The other women on the floor felt that he should be in the men's wing down the hall, so when you came, they used that as justification to relocate him. We didn't tell you earlier because we didn't want you to feel uncomfortable about the idea. I was going to tell Lance myself, so he wouldn't walk in on you like he did, but it totally slipped my mind."
Ryuko winced, realizing the suffering she caused the previous occupant. "Is he all right? I feel awful for having kicked him..."
Keitaro nodded. "I think he'll be ok, though he might have chest pains for a while. I'm very sorry about the whole mess. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
Ryuko considered this for a moment. "I'm just glad there was no permanent harm done. I can't think of anything off-hand, how about if we just say you owe me a favor?"
"It's a deal!" Keitaro smiled, glad to have that issue behind him. "Oh, how do you like your room so far?"
Ryuko turned her head to face the center of the room. "It's pretty nice, but there's a squeaky spot in the floor I'd like you to take care of sometime. Remind me later to sh..."
Upon hearing those words, Keitaro started sliding the door further open so he could have a look. "A squeak? Where is it?"
Ryuko snapped her head back to face Keitaro when she heard the door sliding, "Baka, not right now! I'm not dressed!" She promptly reached for the door and slid it shut again, catching the landlord's fingers.
Keitaro yelped, and retracted his poor, throbbing hand.
"Make that /two/ favors you owe me."
"Yes ma'am."
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Sara's Revalation
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Sarah and Kaolla sat together with Shinobu on the sofa, as Kitsune sat in the chair opposite, studying the racing form.
"Ewww! No, Sara, you can't be serious!" shouted Kaolla, pantomiming being sick while she danced around in front of her.
"Why not?" said Sarah, stubbornly. "He's sooooo cute! Don't you just look into those eyes and want him to snuggle you all night?"
"Auuu... but Sara," Shinobu pointed out, "Lance-san is seven years older than you! And you're only eight! It's... not right..."
"What, the same age difference as you and the dork?" Sara retorted. "And, don't you dream about HIM snuggling you all night? AND more? Eh?"
"Auuuu!!!!" Shinobu ran out, scarlet-faced. Sarah sat back, smugly.
"Lance has got a girlfriend, Lance has got a girlfriend..." sang Kaolla, happily dancing around the room. Irritated, Kitsune put down her paper and came over to them.
"I know how to cure you of this," she said with a smirk. "Here, Sarah, take a look at these, and tell me what you think of your new boyfriend, hmm?"
She passed over a few photographs. They showed Lance, dressed in cheerleader's outfit for Sam and Motoko's duel a couple of days before. Kitsune paused when she reached the last, which showed Lance in mid-panty-flash waving his pom-poms.
"See what I mean?" asked Kitsune.
"I... yes..." said Sarah, hesitantly, as she thumbed back through the pictures.
"And...?" prompted Kitsune.
"And... what a man!" she gushed.
"What?" Kitsune sweatdropped.
"Oh yes!" smiled Sarah, "How many men are so... rugged... as to be able to wear such clothes and still be able to set a woman's pulse racing?"
"Err..."
"And, of course, he surely has no worries about his sexuality if he is comfortable dressing up like that!" she added. "He must be a real /tiger/... I wonder if he's a good kisser?" she mused.
"Are you sure you're only eight?" asked Kitsune, wandering off, and quickly returning to snatch the photos back as Sarah tried to conceal them down her non-existant cleavage.
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Sam's Revalation
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It was late in the evening, and Sam had just woken up after his day's alcoholic binge. He went downstairs to the kitchen to find something plain to eat, and he was sitting nursing his hangover when Keitaro came in.
Seeing that they were alone, Keitaro came over to talk. Sam would have preferred to have been left alone to suffer in silence, but Keitaro seemed intent on a talk whether Sam wanted it or not.
"Look, Sam -- this has to stop," Keitaro began, bluntly. "When you first came here, I was desperate for new tenants, and so I didn't look into things very far. I didn't even ask references! But in just one week, you've been in more trouble than some people get into in a year."
Sam sat there, trying to ignore the words. He didn't need this, not now! But Keitaro continued.
"Everyone gets into trouble with Motoko -- well, everyone male! -- but you're only provoking her. She sees you as an insult to her swordsmanship, and that grope was just calculated to annoy, wasn't it? More importantly, you haven't even paid the first month's rent, and now you owe me for the bail bond I had to pay to get you out of jail as well. You're just lucky that they are charging the bar with serving a minor instead of making you pay damages...."
If Keitaro was hoping for a reaction, he found none.
"Look, Motoko is demanding that you be evicted after this last piece of idiocy, and I'm finding it hard to give her reasons not to. I'd talk to your family, except that you still haven't filled in the tenants' forms to tell me who they are and how to contact them! Are you /trying/ to get evicted?" He paused. "Can't you say anything?"
Sam just looked impassive, and turned away. Couldn't Keitaro just get it over with? He knew he was going to get evicted, why not just do it now without the verbiage?
Keitaro sighed, and stood up. Shaking his head, he left the room, trying to think of some way to get through and work out what was going on. Many people would have just let Sam sink in the mess he had created, but Keitaro was unable to let anyone down. He saw himself as having accepted responsibility for Sam as soon as he accepted him as a tenant, and Keitaro was nothing if not a man who viewed his responsibilities seriously.
As Keitaro left, Kitsune lifted her head from the high-backed chair in which she'd been seated all along, hidden from view. She could see, better than most, the yawning pit that was opening in front of Samuel and although she doubted her ability to help she had to try something...
"What is it that is driving you?" she asked, curiously.
Sam jumped in surprise, and looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"No-one goes that far into alcohol completely by choice," she clarified, "there's always something that's pushing them. Something they can't cope with. You're only thirteen, you haven't gone too far yet -- you should try to get out of the habit for your health, if nothing else."
Sam had had enough preaching by sanctimoneous hypcrites to last him the whole day. First Motoko, then Keitaro, and now Kitsune! And for her to criticise him... this was the last straw.
"You're one to talk!" he almost spat at her. "I know the amount of sake you put away each day, any you have the cheek to lecture me? What gives you the right?"
Kitsune went silent for a while.
"I have the right because I've been there. I'm there now, because I didn't listen when I was told the very same thing. I don't expect you to listen either, but I have to say it so that I know I at least tried..."
Kitune sighed, and glanced around briefly to make sure they were alone.
"Want to know something?" she asked, rhetorically. "This isn't the real Kitsune. The Kitsune you see every day, smiling and drinking, is the mask I wear to hide from my lonliness. The real Kitsune is the one that cries all night and no longer knows how to live without the support of alcohol. This fake smile has been with me for so long, that I no longer know how to put it aside... and yet it remains just that, fake."
Sam looked up in surprise, his head being filled with disquieting new thoughts that, although he tried to ignore them, still continued to prod his brain.
"I don't know that I can find the way out any more... although these days, maybe the lonliness doesn't push so hard, for some reason. So tell me... what is pushing you?"
At this thought, Sam's expression closed up again.
"You understand nothing." he stated contemptuously. "Am I driven? Maybe I just go there because I like it, or because I have to? In any case, why don't you just keep out of it! Deal with your own life before you try to deal with mine!"
At this, Kitsune decided she'd had enough as well. The kid needed help, it was only too plain, but although you can lead a horse to water some mules are too stubborn to drink even if they are dying of thirst. Shaking her head, she left.
Now Sam was alone in the room.
"How can she possibly think she can understand!" her said to himself, angrily. "She doesn't know what it's like! If I knew any other way to stop it, I would -- but I don't!"
Sam lookup up, tears of frustration running down his face.
"I dont WANT to know the future!"
From the doorway, a cheerful voice came.
"Ara, ara... me neither. But, you can always change it, ne?"
Mutsumi wandered in as if nothing had happened. Sam turned in surprise for the second time that night, and coloured.
"About that," he mumbled, "don't misunderstand me, I..."
"Oh, but I do understand!" said Mutsumi happily. "Now I know why I saw us talking up here. You see, I too have involuntary precognitive visual acuity!"
Sam looked confused. "You have what?"
"Oh... it's what my mother calls it! Yes, I can see the future... just like you can."
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Lance's Evening
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After rearranging all of his things in his new room down the hall, Lance could finally get some sleep and time alone that he really needed. At least the girls had moved his things for him, when they had unilaterally decided to relocate him! Placing the remaining boxes on the other side of the room to unpack later, he dropped himself onto the futon and tried to relax.
What a hectic night.
Ironic how his day began with a boost in spirit, then suddenly ended with confusion and, to little degree, fear. Who is this girl they call Sarah? And who on Earth was that girl in his old room? A new tenant? He was told (by an irritated Naru) that they had changed his room to the men's wing to make space for a new tenant. Darn. And Motoko was just warming up to him.
And Naru... geez, Naru barely even makes eye contact with him. He wondered if she had some sort of unknown grudge against him, or even kids. But she gets along with Shinobu... hell, everyone gets along with her. Especially Cody.
Speaking of Cody, he hasn't seen him around lately. Not all day, in fact. Wonder where he could be? Then again, he was barely home to socialize with anyone, only during breakfast and dinner. And yet again, most of it was focused on Naru or Motoko laying the smackdown on Keitaro or that one kid... Sam, was it?
Lance turned and tried to fall asleep, but was roused by a rustling sound outside his window. He perked his head up with eyes half closed, trying to find out what dared to wake him from his much needed sleep. Finally annoyed, he got up and opened his window, staring into the darkness outside. The rustling had stopped, and he closed the window and turned back.
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Maho's Evening
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"Kei-kun?"
"Hai." Keitaro looked up from his studies. Maho was standing in the doorway to his room, wearing a loose red robe and a sheer lavender nightgown that didn't leave very much to the imagination.
Keitaro gulped, and turned a shade of red. He took a deep sniff in case a nosebleed was forthcoming. "Is there…" He had to breathe. "Something you need, Maho-chan?"
She pouted. "Why do you keep calling me that?"
"I'm older than you, you know." Keitaro tactfully looked away, pushing away all dirty thoughts from his mind. Thinking about his aunt like that was just plain nasty, no matter how appealing his testosterone made the prospect seem.
Maho stepped inside the room and closed the door quietly. Her expression immediately transformed into a cute smile. "I just wanted to come in and talk a little. You know, catch up on all those years we missed." She sat down gently on the floor mat. "And to facilitate good discussion…"
She reached into her robes and pulled out two enormous cans of beer, which were much too large to have conceivably fit in her skimpy outfit.
"Ta-daa!" She grinned. "One for you and one for me!"
Keitaro sweatdropped. "You can't be serious."
But she had already cracked open one of the cans, and was proceeding to empty its contents.
He sighed. Well, as ways to spend an evening went, he supposed this one could be worse. Keitaro opened up the last can and took a sip.
"So. How've you been?"
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Sam's Revalations
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Sam and Mutsumi were talking in the common room of Hinata-Sou, after the rest of the building had long since retired for bed.
"You have this curse as well?" asked Sam in shock. "I thought I was the only one..."
"Oh, it's not a curse!" smiled Mutsumi. "The number of times it's saved me from accidents, I just can't count. It's probably the only reason you are so good with your sword, as well... I guess you subconsciously predicy your opponent's moves?"
Sam ignored her cheerfulness and reiterated his previous verdict.
"Of course it's a curse! Every time I get one of these visions, I know what's going to happen... then what fun is there in life if I know what'll happen whatever I do? And it's always something bad."
"But..." said Mutsumi in confusion, "didn't anyone tell you that your visions are only possibilities? Nothing will stop you from changing them, will it?"
Sam looked on in astonishment. "I'm not foolish enough to tell people about this... and the last time I tried to change things, I couldn't."
He thought back to the time a few years back, when his visions had first come. He'd warned people about the fire that would be at school, but noone had listened. So, he went there at night to try and stop it himself -- and that was when he'd been picked up by the police, and been blamed with the very thing he had sought to prevent. That was when he'd known his visions were unchangeable, and it was best to get them over with.
Mutsumi looked at him seriously.
"You CAN change them," she emphasised. "Nothing is fixed. If you assume it is fixed, then the odds are it will happen..."
"Like my fight with Motoko?" Sam asked. "I knew she'd be blasting me away today, so I just thought I'd get it over with this morning. Just like when I came here, and just like I know I'm going to be evicted shortly..."
"It only happens because you /let/ it happen..." Mutsumi responded, seriously. "My mother always told me, you can change anything!"
"My mother told me to shut up and stop making up stories," responded Sam, bleakly. "It wasn't long after that I found out that having alcohol in my system seems to block these visions. That seemed to be a partial solution."
"You never received any training at all? No wonder you have such uncontrolled Talent!" Mutsumi exclaimed. "If you want, I could train you to..."
Mutsumi's eyes unfocussed.
"Oh my..." she murmured, and fainted.
Mutsumi came back to consciousness, as Sam held her up from where she had fallen. She gave him a small smile, and before he knew what was happening, she'd planted a kiss on his cheek. Sam flushed with embarassment, as Mutsumi stood up.
"Ara, ara... I just had another vision!" she said, clapping her hands. "I saw the two of us, eating watermelon together in the kitchen..."
She stretched her hand out towards Sam, making an offer.
"Do you /want/ it to come true?" she asked, and Sam felt a weight lift from his shoulders.
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Saturday Morning
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Maho woke up early, just as the first glimmering rays of dawn were streaming in through her window. She stretched lazily on the futon, smiling like a content cat as she moved her joints around. She wasn't required to go to class until Monday, which gave her a full weekend to enjoy herself in this cozy little part of town. Maho hadn't had any time for vacationing while she was at the Magic Academy, and she was dying for some new clothes. Now would be the perfect opportunity. Could things get any better?
Maho rubbed her eyes sleepily. It took her a moment to realize that there was a note taped to her forehead.
"Mrr?" She took off the note curiously, unfolding it as if it were a fascinating geometric puzzle of some kind. "What's this?" She began to read.
Maho-chan:
Go to the grocery store as soon as you read this. We need seven boxes of green tea for the teashop, a carton of eggs, some orange juice, tomatoes, onions, miso soup base, and shabu shabu beef for dinner tonight. There's some money under your pillow; it should be enough for all of that, plus some lunch for yourself if you're hungry.
Haruka
PS: If you don't finish by 15:30, I will kill you.
Maho stared at the clock. It was 6:15.
She groaned. "Well at least I have some spare time…" She got up and trudged to the bathroom.
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Lance's Morning
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Bright and early the next morning, as Lance got himself dressed, he noticed a small envelope laying untouched in front of his door. It reminded him of the envelope he received the before from his brother. Lance was instantly holding his breath and staring at it.
"This is too much," he heard himself say, "I don't even know if he is for real. My parents just said that I might have an older brother."
Deciding to ignore the letter, he walked out of his room and toward the kitchen where his food awaited.
"I wonder what I should do this weekend," he heard himself say again, "maybe catch a movie or something. God knows I need to practice some more Japanese..."
"You and I are on the same boat, aren't we cutie?"
With a turn, he saw her. Sarah, the eye stalker during dinner last night. She had on her usual outfit, overalls and red cap worn backwards. Only now she had a flower stuck in her hair, apparently attempting to look attractive. Unfortunately for her, this only made Lance even more afraid.
"S-so you were the one who was out my window!" he stammered. Sarah grinned mischievously.
"You know, we'd make a pretty cute couple. Let's say we get a little more... comfortable?" At that instant, Sarah opened her arms and rushed to give him a tight, snuggly hug. But as she closed her arms, she only hugged the air. Lance had seen her approach and promptly ran the opposite direction.
Sarah grinned. "I love it when a woman chases her man..."
Lance zoomed past the halls with a gust of wind following him, sending single slips of scratch paper to flutter to the ground. Since he had been here for barely a week, he had no hiding places. This left him unprotected and a running target, and thats no good thing if you're being chased by Sarah McDougall.
He tore up the stairs and searched for an empty room. Noticing a door slightly opened, he rushed to it and flung it open. It was Naru's room, but he was very, VERY lucky that she wasn't inside. He continued down the hall, desperately looking for a spot to hide. Meanwhile, Sarah was gaining on him and she smirked at her progress.
But suddenly, she saw Lance do the unthinkable. With a cry, he jumped through the window and fell two stories to the bushes below. She poked her head out of the smashed window and saw as Lance limped away from his crash site and into the small wooded area.
She growled in frustration, but leaned her head on the sill with a dreamy smile on her face. "I just can't help it, he's too innocent to get him into trouble! I'd better tell that loser I broke the window, I can't let my new love-slave get the blame."
She left to tell Keitaro she had "accidently" broke the hall window.
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Ryuko's Morning
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"mezameru, ryuko!"
Ryuko rolled over on her futon to see the animated image of a familiar, chibified dragon jumping up and down on her PDA's display. "Ohayo, Ryu-chan. What's today's weather forecast?"
The little dragon put on sunglasses. "it will be hot and sunny today." He then volunteered, "you have new messages: two are personal, twenty-two are from mailing lists, thirty-nine are spam, one is from a financial account, six are..."
"Arigatou," Ryuko interrupted, "I'll read them later. I need to get some fresh air." Ryuko stood up and stretched, then walked over to her backpack. After digging through it, she retrieved a white sports bra and a matching pair of sports shorts and put them on. Then she headed out to the deck where the clothesline was hung, and arrived there just in time to see the sunrise. Her vantage point provided an excellent view of the Hinata complex, and when she saw the abandoned annex in the distance, she paused as if it reminded her of something.
After looking around for several minutes, Ryuko dropped and did fifty push-ups (real ones, with straight knees).
After that, she switched to sit-ups. As the sun was starting to get in her eyes, she closed them instead of turning to face the opposite direction. After again counting aloud to fifty, she paused to take a break, and a shadow passed over her. Opening her eyes, she saw a tall figure standing before her.
"Ohayo gozaimasu, Ryuko-san."
Ryuko smiled. "Ohayo, Motoko-san." She sat up, Indian-style. "You're up early."
"No earlier than yourself. I come up here to practice every morning, but was surprised to find you here before me."
"I didn't mean to hog the deck or distract you...I can find another place."
Motoko shook her head. "No, there's plenty of space for both of us here. Do you exercise every day? Your endurance is impressive."
Ryuko nodded. "Yes, though I'm careful to vary my routine, so I don't over-strain any particular muscle group. I would like to have jogged this morning, but when I packed yesterday, there wasn't enough room left over for my running shoes."
Motoko smiled a bit, seeing something of herself in the new tenant. "You're disciplined. It's an admirable quality, one I wish the other tenants shared. I'll let you resume your work-out." She moved to the other end of the deck and began swinging her bokken with deftness at imaginary adversaries.
Ryuko did various stretches while watching the kendo practitioner with interest. Motoko noticed this but didn't seem to mind.
Finally, after a bit over an hour had passed, both of them were showing signs of fatigue. "You're welcome to join me for a bath, Ryuko-san. There's just enough time before breakfast."
"That would be perfect."
Ryuko had never bathed outdoors before, but had an idea of what to expect. Still, she was understandably a bit hesitant, having been raised in a culture where this was considered unusual. "Embrace your heritage," Okasan used to say. Sampling the water's temperature with her foot, she found it sufficiently warm, and stepped in after Motoko. It didn't take long for her to feel at ease.
Motoko found a comfortable spot beside Ryuko. "So, what's your impression of Hinata-sou so far?"
"I think I'll like it here. Though that incident last night had me wondering what I'd gotten myself into for a while. Urashima-san explained what had happened and apologized to me before dinner. It'll take a while to get used to living in mixed company. In my old apartment complex, it was so quiet, I didn't even know my neighbors."
Motoko nodded. "Something unusual occurs here every day. I suppose it keeps things interesting. If you can handle it, the rest of your life will be comparatively simple."
Ryuko chuckled. "A kind of cram school for the world, huh?"
"That's an apt description."
By this time, Ryuko was beginning to realize that Motoko was among the more calm and level-headed of the tenants she'd met so far. She wanted to get to know her better, and hoped that their morning routines together would afford just that opportunity.
"Myuh."
Ryuko thought she heard something, and inclined her head to see...a turtle hovering over Motoko's head. Eyes widening, she raised a dripping hand out of the water and pointed at it. "Motoko-san, what...is /that/?!"
"Nani?" Motoko looked up. Upon spotting Tama-chan, she leaped out of the water, flailing her arms about. "Get it away! Get it away!" She quickly ran into the changing room.
Ryuko just sat there, staring at the creature in unbelief not unlike a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.
Then Tama-chan landed on Ryuko's head, wanting to be friendly. "Myuh!"
Ryuko sweatdropped.
After hesitating for a moment, she leaped out of the water and ran after Motoko.
Tama-chan blinked. "Myuh?" It seemed as if this new resident was not going to play with her either... However (she brightened up), maybe that stud of a weasel would be up and ready for her now...
After soaking in the hot spring, Ryuko went upstairs, changed into her street clothes, and came back down for breakfast. She brought her PDA with her for Kaolla to play with. The two of them sat next to each other at the table and spouted hardware specs and technobabble for the duration of the meal, much to the amusement of the others present, most of whom couldn't make heads or tails of the conversation.
"You should see my setup after we're done eating, Ryuko-san!" I've got my own network operations center!"
Ryuko smiled at the youth's enthusiasm and technical knowledge. "Maybe later. I have to get back to my old apartment to retrieve the rest of my belongings. I'll be gone a few hours. But, you can play with Ryu-chan while I'm gone. Just...be careful with what you say to him, he's very impressionable. Oh, he's pretty good at /twenty questions/, if you ask him to play."
Kaolla's eyes lit up as she finished devouring a banana. "Arigatou! Don't worry, I'll take good care of him!"
Ryu-chan sweatdropped.
Throughout the meal, Ryuko had been averting her eyes from Lance at the other end of the table, still feeling embarrassed about the prior night. She finished early and excused herself.
Just before leaving Hinata to catch the bus to Tokyo, she stopped by Lance's room, and slipped a piece of paper under his door.
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Dizzy's Morning
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Dizzy crawled out of his castle, a toy that had been converted to be his home, and looked around the cluttered room finding it odd that there was no Al.
It was only 9:00A.M -- Al wouldn't be awake yet, but come to think of it, Dizzy couldn't remember Al ever coming home from the Motoko date last night.
Dizzy left the room in serch of his missing master.
He came upon the breakfast table. The tenants were busy eating and casually chatting, not seeming to notice the lack of the blond otaku named Al.
"Grr." Dizzy began hoping around, growling and pantomiming, trying to get across the message of "Where's Al?".
"What is it boy, Timmy fall down the old well?" Kitsune joked.
"You want me to burn you a mixed CD to get Tama-chan in the mood for wild nookie?" Kaolla asked, totally serious.
"Are you trying to say that nothing about this world is real, and that we're really just characters controlled by some freakish puppet masters in another world who make us do these things for their entertainment?" Keitaro guessed.
Everyone turned at him and stared, sweatdropping.
"What?"
Dizzy hopped off the table with a piece of toast, grumbling about the lack of communication between himself and the humans.
"Come to think of it, Rush-sempai never came back from the date last night, did something happen?" Shinobu asked innocently.
Dizzy slapped a paw to his forehead in frustration.
Dizzy made his way into the bedroom to get his toothbrush when he spotted Tama-chan.
She was laying on a bed of rose petals, surrounded by lit candles, Barry White music softly in the backround.
Dizzy turned to leave but she flew after him, begging him to let her hang out with him -- or at least to let her help him find Al.
Dizzy refused. She would just cause trouble.
Twenty minutes later he found himself floating through town on Tama-chan's shell, looking for Al.
"How did she ever rope me into this?" Dizzy wondered to himself.
"Oooooo lookie at the turtle and mousy!" a child screamed.
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And now, where was Lance?
He was still hiding from the amorous advances of that scarily mature eight-year old. The prospect of being hugged by her was somewhat akin to being cuddled by a pirahna -- besides which, she was half his age and not remotely attractive to him in the way she seemed intent on.
Hungry and exhausted, Lance finally stopped to rest on the wooden bridge that was strangely infested with old men who mumbled something about "obsession". He leaned over the side, panting and staring at the water lightly flowing below him. It had been at least two hours that he had been going to various places to try and lose Sarah, but he hadn't heard or seen a trace of her since he fell out that window.
Oh crap, the window! "Dammit! Keitaro is really gonna hate me for this..."
"I wouldn't worry about that, handsome.." said a pretty voice behind him.
Startled, Lance turned to see Sarah standing calmly behind him. He began to panic and turned to jump off the bridge, but his injured leg only caused him to fall back down. Sarah giggled, amused with his willingness to escape. She gripped her length of rope she brought with her and laughed.
"Now my cute little prince, you won't run away from me anymore..."
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Saturday Afternoon
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Shinobu was finishing clearing up from lunch. Everyone but Cody was there... he had been missing since yesterday, from what she knew. She wondered where he could have gone -- he didn't seem like the kind of person that just disappeared without reason.
She put the final dish away in the cabinet, and decided to go work on her schoolwork. She was about to leave the kitchen, when she felt something land on her head.
"Oh, hello Tama-chan," Shinobu said as she reached up to pat the small hotspring turtle, but something wasn't right. It didn't feel like Tama-chan. It was cold, and metallic... Just then, it flew off her head, and hovered right in front of her face. It was a Mecha-Tama.
"Meeyah!" the metal turtle said as it hovered there in front of her. Suddenly a bolt of energy shot out hit Shinobu, and paralyzed her. The Mecha-Tama then flew over to the sink, and gave its eerie call. More Mecha-Tama came out, and immediately picked her up, and dropped her down a tunnel under the sink.
She fell into darkness.
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Ryuko's Afternoon
-----------------
Ryuko returned well after lunch, lugging several suitcases and boxes. She paused in the entryway just long enough to kick off her shoes, then proceeded up to her room.
She spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking. Even as she was finishing up, however, the room still looked spartan. Clothing, books, and accessories for her PDA comprised most of what she had. It wasn't because she was poor, but because she had left the bulk of her posessions in storage back in the States, and she'd intentionally kept herself as mobile as possible, knowing she might relocate a few times while attending the university. Hopefully, Hinata would be her last residence in Japan.
The very last item to be put away was an old, worn book. Ryuko curled up on her futon with the book, and opened it to a dog-eared page near the front. A bent-up, black-and-white, wallet-sized photo slipped out, landing in her lap.
She set the book down and gazed at the photo intently, her eyes widening as a realization set in. "Obaasan...did I actually find it?" She held the picture tightly against her chest, her eyes welling up with tears.
---------------------------------
Sam's Afternoon
---------------
It was mid-afternoon when Sam walked onto the deck area, where Motoko was practicing slicing leaves as they fell from the tree overhead. This morning, he has seen himself being blasted away over the rooftops by an angry Motoko, and he supposed it would be better to get it over with now rather than have to walk back in the dark.
However... Mutsumi had given him a third option. He was no longer sure that he was going to lose, and that gave him a bit more confidence as he walked up. He was also (for the first time in weeks) completely sober, and he was surprised to realise that he was stepping forward with a firm and balanced step.
Mutsumi had shown an understanding that he had never encountered before, and her confidence in him had given him the resolve to see if it wasn't possible to turn things around. He liked life in Hinata-sou -- if it really was possible to prevent his vision of being evicted, then this is when he would prove it.
Up on the deck, Motoko sliced away at leaves, but her mind was elsewhere -- she was fuming over the outcome of her recent date with Al. How dare he not talk to her -- or even see her! -- since that night? Of course, she /had/ punched him out at the end of it... but he had deserved it for trying to kiss her. Or, rather, for not trying to kiss her. Or... Motoko couldn't work out exactly what she was angry about, but it was definitely someone elses fault. And the next person to annoy her would pay for it.
"Konnichiwa, Motoko-san," Sam said, formally, as he came onto the deck.
"So, pervert, you return to the scene of your former disgrace?" replied Motoko as she swung around, irritated at being distracted from her practice. She noticed that Sam carried his sword. "Are you intent on receiving another chastisement that your dishonourable conduct clearly merits?"
"Motoko-san," Sam replied, with difficulty, "I... apologise for my earlier behaviour. It was... not how I would choose to act. However -- I would like a rematch, if you are willing?"
Motoko's eyes lit up with glee. Another chance to beat this fool into submission and ensure his departure from Hinata-Sou! She immediately took up position at the end of the deck.
"I accept!" she declared. "I warn you, I will not go easy on you, nor will I allow a repeat of your shameful molestation. Also -- if you do not win, then you must agree to leave Hinata-sou on the day I specify!"
There it was, his future bearing down on him. Sam sweatdropped.
"Agreed. But... if you do not defeat me, then... oh, I don't know, you have to pay my bail money?" Sam picked the first thing on his mind.
"Agreed!"
Sam took up his place at the other end, and for a moment looked around in doubt.
"Remember, Sam-kun, nothing is certain!" came Mutsumi's voice from the steps, as she smiled at him.
The fight started.
---------------------------------
Maho's Afternoon
----------------
Maho strolled down the street, her coat billowing carelessly in the breeze. She had yet to buy the groceries, but it was noon already, and she felt like buying some lunch after all the sightseeing she had done today. Errands could wait, but sustenance -- never.
A loud noise from behind got her attention. She raised an eyebrow, stopping in front of the theater and turning around.
"What's this?"
Tama-chan, recognizing the new girl, immediately flew inside her coat for safety. Dizzy (riding on her back) growled miserably, but could do little, seeing as he was some considerable height above the ground.
"Well, hello there." Maho smiled at the two animals. "Do I know you two?"
"Myuh!"
"Grrr!"
"Ah." Maho nodded sagely. "I see. You're looking for a place to make hot passionate love, thereby having a litter of wurtles for your very own."
The two shook their heads, though Tama-chan did so with a severe blush.
"No?" she smiled. "Then what?"
They pointed.
A veritable mob of children surrounded Maho while she had been distracted. She wasn't much taller than they were, but thankfully they still seemed intimidated by the scary lady in the dark blue coat. Despite this, there was a growing chant among them, one that the passing adults simply ignored, or in some cases prompted them to give Maho a look of utter pity:
"We want the turtle! We want the weasel! We want the turtle! We want the weasel!"
They grew louder and louder, and many of the children became increasingly bold, narrowing the distance between Maho and the crowd of prepubescent nightmares. She backed away from the closest ones, looking for an exit of some kind. There was none forthcoming from the wall of kids.
"Nice mess you got yourselves into," she muttered, glaring at Tama-chan and Dizzy.
"Myuh."
"Grr."
Maho nodded to herself, sighing. "Well I guess this is it, then. Leave it to Maho-chan to save the day." She dug into her pockets with both hands. "No matter what happens, stay in my coat."
Tama-chan and Dizzy nodded.
A thought came to her. "Oh. And you might want to hold your breath for a little while."
They sweatdropped.
The crowd got uncomfortably close. When one of the kids actually touched Maho's coat, she snarled.
"Back off, shrimp!"
All of the kids backed away, their fear of the scary lady renewed. But soon, their desire for the turtle and the weasel once again overrode everything, and they edged slowly closer.
Maho smiled wickedly. "Hey kids..." They stared at her curiously. "... You wanna see a magic trick?"
With that, she pulled out two enormous cloths from her pockets, one white and one black. Both were covered in a tacky amount of sparkly gold and silver glitter, and she held them with both hands. Pausing a moment for dramatic tension, Maho lifted the cloths into the air and got under them, wrapping herself with them completely and crouching down in the middle of the space.
Before the kids even knew what was going on, the large mass under the fabric appeared to be getting smaller and smaller with each passing moment. They crowded around it in amazement, and it just kept shrinking, until finally...
KABOOM!
The fabric flew into the air, and the children screamed at the flash of light and loud explosion. Once the confusion finally settled, however, the kids looked around for the scary lady, or any sign of the two animals. They couldn't find anything.
Maho was gone.
The kids gasped in wonder, but not without a little bit of disappointment, as their quarry had gotten away beyond a shadow of a doubt. A minute later, they disbanded and walked miserably back to their homes.
Once the children left, Maho stood up from where she had been hidden in the crowd, and dusted herself off confidently.
"A little sloppy, but not bad for an improvised trick. What do you think?"
"Myuh!"
"Grr!"
She smirked. "It's easy to mystify kids. Just give them something big and pretty to look at, and they won't know what's coming. That's a first-year lesson at the Academy."
Tama-chan quickly flew out of Maho's coat, and beckoned her to follow. Maho stared blankly at the flying turtle, then at the weasel hanging off of its shell.
"This isn't going to turn into some Alice in Wonderland thing, is it?"
"Myuh!"
She shrugged, and began to follow. "Well, it beats getting the groceries. Lead on."
Dizzy sighed. He had just finished explaining their situation to her, though if she understood, it was beyond him. His position had changed (much to Tama-chan's dismay) so he was no longer clinging to her shell, but was instead sitting, perched upon Maho's head.
Maho touched her chin in thought. "So, I'm going to hazard the guess that you're looking for someone." She looked up at the weasel on her head for confirmation.
Dizzy nodded.
"Is it a young high school girl who needs to be given the Moon Wand to combat the forces of darkness?" She smirked.
"Grr."
"I'm a magician, not a comedian. Well who is it?" She raised an eyebrow as a possibility came to her. "Someone important?"
"Grr!" Dizzy hopped down from her head, grabbing a small pebble and scratching the letters A L into the pavement.
"Hmm." She looked at Tama-chan, who was flying aimlessly about her head. "Very interesting."
They continued following the route Al had taken the night before. Soon they discovered his Vespa laying unused in the parking lot. His helmet was still in the side bag, and everything was untouched since the other night.
Dizzy pointed at the Vespa.
"Grr." he demanded, looking up at Maho.
"You want me to ride this?"
"Grr!" Dizzy climbed up onto the seat.
Maho nodded, pretending to understand. "You guys just sit tight. I'm going to grab a bite to eat and come back." She turned toward a café, leaving Dizzy and Tama-chan with the Vespa.
Hardly a day living at the Hinata Sou, and already there was some kind of crisis going on. Maho sighed. She thought she was taking a break from things like this.
At least the day wasn't completely wasted. This café, for instance, was certainly interesting.
"Welcome to the Cosplay Café," said a roundish young man with brown hair and glasses. He seemed particularly miserable, wearing a bad approximation of a sailor fuku while trying to maintain whatever shreds were left of his dignity. "My name is…" the words came out with a great deal of effort. "Sailor Mars. Would you like the bar or a table?"
"Table, please," Maho replied, biting the inside of her cheek so she wouldn't laugh.
"Right this way." He moved quickly, covering his rear with the menu. "Your server will be with you in just a moment."
"Arigato." She waited until he was a little ways away before she started giggling. Granted, the whole place looked silly, with even some of the restaurant's patrons dressed up in gaudy anime outfits. But that 'Sailor Mars' fellow took the cake, easily.
The waiter stood next to the table, a notepad and pen in hand. He was indeed dressed as Lupin, complete with a black wig, though a strand of dark blond hair came out from it. He was clearly American or something along those lines, though for some reason Maho wasn't surprised at all. This place reeked of foreigner bait, judging from the fair amount of catgirls walking around.
"Konnichiwa," the waiter greeted her. "My name is Lupin the Third, and I'll be your server today."
Maho smiled. "Konnichiwa. I'd like an iced cappuchino…"
"Oi, Al-san!" Haitani called from the 'employee's only' door.
"Hai!" The waiter turned his head.
"After you're done, help me out with an order here." He said more, but Maho wasn't listening.
She grabbed his arm suddenly. Al gave her a surprised look.
"What-?"
"You're coming with me." Maho commanded in English. He seemed surprised by her English accent, but only for a moment. There were more immediate concerns, after all, like the fact that she was dragging him away from his paycheck.
"But, but!"
"But nothing, come on!" She stood up, looking up at Al in amazement. "Wow. You're awfully tall, Lupin-kun." Maho began pulling him to the exit, ignoring his protests. "Forgive me for being so forward, but there's a weasel and a flying turtle waiting for you, and the turtle looked like it was about to do something vicious."
"Now wait a minute here!" Al protested as the girl pulled him out the doors. He dug his feet into the dirt and stopped her easily.
She continued pulling, but when Al didn't want to move, the result was the two of them falling to the ground, Maho on top, their faces uncomfortably close.
"I..Errr...um...sorry!" Al stammered, blushing.
They stayed in that position for a few seconds, as an awkward silence descended. People inside the restaurant and passersby began to crane their necks to see what all the commotion was about.
Maho frowned, flicking Al on the forehead with her index finger. He winced, but all things considered, it was better than a punch to the face.
"Baka." She stood up, dusting off her skirt. "I know I'm not Miss Japan, but you don't have to be so difficult."
"Listen," Al finally said, exasperated. "I don't have the slightest clue who you are. I've been working for ten hours non-stop with no breaks, and I really have a wedgie from hiking my pants up high enough to look like Lupin. Just tell me your name and I'll be glad to let you drag me wherever it was we were going."
She scowled, making a fist. "Stop looking up my skirt, and then you can talk."
He stood up quickly. "I wasn't-"
She interrupted him. "My name is Urashima Maho, but that's not important. I came here because Weasel-kun and Turtle-chan were looking for you." She looked up at him. "You'd better go to them right now, they're waiting next to your scooter."
"Oh...I see. Well I'm sorry, but I can't go." Al seemed apologetic. "This is a good job, and once it hits one-thirty I can stop working and go home, but I really can't lose this job..." He had an idea. "Hey, just do me a favor and bring Dizzy here."
"Who?"
"The weasel. I think he could really help me." Al got down on one knee. "If you could do this, I would be more grateful then you could ever imagine."
Maho crossed her arms. "You were already enough trouble, and now I have to do things for you? Hmph! I'm not your maid, baka!" She began walking away.
Al looked crestfallen. But then Maho turned her head to look at him.
"Will my coffee be ready by the time I come back with Dizzy-chan?"
He was silent for a split second. Then he smiled. "Yes. Absolutely."
"Good." She gave Al a brief, glowing smile, and disappeared around the corner.
Al bolted back to the cafe and began humming till his voice sounded close enough to Lupin's.
He darted into the backdoor tying to avoid letting his new boss see him, and he almost made it to where the drinks were, when haitani appeared.
"Howdy, howdy, Rush -- who was that firey babe who pulled you out of here?" He grinned evilly, which was a little frightening because he was dressed as Lagato Bluesummers who is generally excessively creepy.
"N...no one man, sorry about the boxes, still need help with them?"
"No, but I think you'll be begging to do things for me to keep the boss from seeing these!" Haitani slapped out some instant photos of Al and Maho in the akward position they had been in only moments before.
"Getting busy on the job? Not company policy, Rush..." Haitani smirked, thanking God that Shirai had been outside in the big Kuro costume.
"That's taken out of context and you know it!"
"Yeah, but what will Motoko say?"
Al turned very pale.
"Now I could just show her this, and get you kicked out of the Hinata house and free up my room... but I think if you do me a few favours, then maybe I'll give them to you."
Al grew even more pale.
Maho leaned back, taking a deep, contented sip from her cappuccino. She had come back with Dizzy about half an hour before, and now Al was doing whatever he was supposed to be doing. It surprised her how the weasel seemed more in control of the situation than Al was, but she had seen stranger things before.
She looked at Tama-chan, who was tackling a cup of tea.
"You know that this is weird, right?"
The turtle smiled politely at the lady, and responded with her normal "Myuh!"
"What I especially don't get is your relationship with the weasel. Are you another one of Al's pets, or what?"
"Myuh." Tama-chan hid her face and blushed. "Myuh…"
Maho nodded. "Yep. Really bizarre." She smiled, standing up and taking out a few bills from her coat. "But I don't think I mind."
She placed a few yen notes on the table. "This should cover everything. I need to get going. Important things to do, you know." She gave Tama-chan a respectful nod. "I don't think we'll meet again, Turtle-chan. But this was a nice way to spend lunch. Give my best regards to the weasel and Lupin-kun."
Tama-chan waved a flipper as Maho walked casually out the door. "Myuh!"
Al worked at a breakneck pace trying to keep up with the lunchtime rush the café was going through. At least Dizzy made things easier.
"Where to next?" Al called to the little weasel in his pocket. Dizzy pointed, and Al made his way to the next table, taking orders.
Organized thinking was never Al's best skill, nor was memory, so if Dizzy was around things would be a little easier.
He took down the orders of some Otaku who had left school for lunch, and then made his way into the kitchen, left the orders behind and then made a bee-line for the alleyway behind the café where the employees took their breaks.
He sighed and pulled a bottle of soda from his pocket, swigging down half in one go.
"Grr."
"Oh come on, it's not that bad for my health, and it's better then drinking Sake!"
"Grrr."
"Oh alright, here, have some." Al gave Dizzy the bottle and the weasel promptly emptied the rest of it into his mouth.
"Sorry about not calling you," Al apologised. "I went back to get my Vespa, and got a call from the Café -- some of their waiters had been arrested for attempting to drug some cat girl customers, so they needed all applicants from the interviews to come in and take the jobs. I've been working all night." Al yawned and stretched.
"GRRR." Dizzy looked up at Al cheerfully.
"Yeah, so I got the job! After work we'll celebrate by hitting up an arcade. I hear Hinata's got this great Arcade with really cool prizes for high scores!"
Dizzy looked excited -- the little weasel had three things in his life he found important: Food, Al and video games.
Haruka looked up from her newspaper. "You're late."
"Hai hai, I know." Maho set down the multitude of paper bags in her arms, sitting down on the sofa. "Gomen, but I had the weirdest day, Haru-nee. You wouldn't believe…" She stopped and stared.
Tama-chan flew by happily, giving Maho a cheerful "Myuh!" before disappearing down the hall.
Haruka looked at her younger sister. "Something wrong, Maho-chan?"
Maho shook her head. "Uh, no. I'm fine, onee-san."
And then Al entered, with Dizzy perched on his shoulder. He wasn't wearing the enormous black wig, but he was still relatively recognizable. Dizzy growled in recognition. Al and Maho stared at each other for a long time, their expressions reflecting surprise, confusion, and finally some small amount of comprehension.
She smiled and gave Al a small wave. "Konnichiwa, Lupin-kun." With that, she grabbed the grocery bags and retreated into the kitchen.
Once she left, Haruka gave Al a sidelong glance, arching an eyebrow.
"Lupin-kun?"
---------------------------------
Cody's Afternoon
----------------
Cody sat in the mecha-tamas' tank thinking of ways to escape. He had one, but he needed something to stand on to climb over the top of the tank. While he was running this problem thru his head, he heard a noise coming from above him... it kind of sounded like, "Auuuu!!".
Just then a door opened above the tank. Cody looked up in time to see (and feel) someone land on him. Both people lay on the floor of the tank with swirly eyes.
Cody woke up to find Shinobu sitting on his back.
"Umm... Shinobu-chan, can you get off my back?" Cody asked with a slight wince. After all, having someone land on you hurts.
"Auuuu... Gomen, Cody-san!" Shinobu said as she quickly got off him.
"Not your fault, Shinobu-chan." Cody said with a smile to the young girl.
"W-where are we Cody-san?" She stammered a question.
"Well, we seem to be somewhere in the basement of the Hinata Sou, captured by what looks like mecha-tamas, stuck in a tank." Cody said with a "matter of fact" tone in his voice, "But I have a plan." He told her of his plan to get out, which was to have her stand on his shoulders, climb out of the tank, and press the 'release' visible button on the panel opposite. They then set the plan into action.
They waited until the mecha-tamas had left the room; Cody had Shinobu climb on to his shoulders. Unfortunately, her skirt caught on his head for a second (he suppressed any hentai thoughts, with an effort), but quickly she reached the top of the tank and climbed over. Shinobu gave Cody a quick V sign and ran over to the tank-control panel, where there was a large button labeled 'Release'. She pushed it, and the tank popped open. Cody hopped out and together they left the mecha-tamas' lab.
The two escapees had found their ways out of the lab, only to get lost in the seemingly endless hallways.
"Lets head this way Shinobu-chan." Cody said as he led them down another hallway.
"Ok, Cody-san." She said as she followed him. She admired the way he gave her confidence by taking charge like this, even though he most likely had as little an idea of where they actually were as she did. Still... he had managed to quickly get them both out of their captivity. Shinobu blushed as she though of how he had probably been looking up her skirt as she had climbed out of the tank.
"Lucky I was wearing my good panties," she said to herself.
"Pardon?" asked Cody, not hearing her clearly.
"Auuu!! Nothing! Really!"
They were continuing down the hall, when suddenly they heard the sound of mecha-tama following them. They quickly ducked into the closest room and locked the door.
"I think we will be safe here, for a little while at least." Cody said sheepishly. He looked around the room and found very little there, save for what looked like a sheet-covered chair. He walked over to it, and pull the sheet off, to reveal a life-like doll sitting in a chair.
"Whoa! It's a doll." Cody said a little shocked. To find a doll was not something that happened to him much.
"Oh, that's the doll that Keitaro-sempai found -- I think its name is Moe." Shinobu said as she looked at the doll Cody found.
Just then the mecha-tama broke through the door. Shinobu screamed and knocked into Cody. This caused the young man to fall forward -- luckily his face did not connect with the floor, but it did connect with something. Moe's lips! A strange, green light filled the room.
The mecha-tama had been watching this happen with a weird mechanical curiosity, but they the chose then to advance on the two young people. Suddenly, Moe was on her feet.
"You leave my master alone!!" Moe yelled at the mecha-tama. They jumped at her, but she placed her hands together, and they glowed green with power. When they were right above her she let loose the power, which blew them away but also blasted a hole in the ceiling, straight up to the first floor. Dust filled the air.
"Well, at least now we don't have to find a way out." Cody said with a very sheepish look on his face. Shinobu sweat dropped at his comment.
Just then the other tenants started to gather around the hole in the floor above. Keitaro saw them, and yelled down that he was getting a rope. A couple of seconds later the rope was lowered, and the two young people and Moe climbed out.
"Looks like you had an interesting time Cody-san." Said Keitaro as he help the young man out of the hole. "And, it looks like you've met Moe?"
"Yeah, it was." Was Cody's answer. Moe ran up to Cody and gave him a hug.
"Master are you ok?!?" The doll asked with concern in her voice.
"M-Master?" Cody said shocked.
Everyone looked dumbfounded at what Moe had just said, and pelted Cody with questions. With all of them talking at once and having been through a great deal in the past 24 hours, Cody fainted. The last thing he heard was Moe yelling, "Master!", before everything went black.
---------------------------------
Later that evening, Al decided to spend his first paycheck in style, going to the best arcade in hinata. Cody had recovered from his ordeal, although he had gone to bed to recover, and that weird animated doll had insisted on accompanying him. So, Al figured there was nothing to stop him from going out on the town.
Sadly... Su found out, and decided she wanted to come too.
"SUUUUUUUU I CAN'T SEE!!!!" Al screamed as he rode his Vespa down the street, Su's arms wrapped over his eyes.
"Use the force Al!" Su cheered as Al narrowly avoided crashing into a fruitstand.
"GRRRRRRRR!" Dizzy cried as he clung to Su's skirt for dear Dizzy life.
Somehow they made it to the arcade alive, and went their seperate ways -- Su to Pinball, Al to a fighting game, and Dizzy to a ticket game.
Al was dominating the field of the battle arena XG4 game, by useing his favorite character, Sushi Neko-sama.
"Booya! Who wants to be my next meal?" Al cheered as another defeated player walked away sullenly.
"How about me?" A voice asked.
Al turned, and sighed -- it was Haitani and Shirai.
"Hey, boys." He said turning back to his game.
"I'll play you, and beat you." Shirai proclaimed confidently.
"And if you lose to Shirai, you gotta leave the hinata house, got it?"
"Now, why would I agree to that?" Alex asked as he fished in his pocket for some more tokens.
"Because if you win we'll give you those pictures, but if you refuse we'll show them to Motoko!"
"You're on." Al sighed.
Moments later Su stood in a referee's uniform, reading the rules for combat.
"Three games shall be played, One chosen by Al, one by that friend of Keitaro's that I don't know..."
"IT'S SHIRAI!"
"...and one by me. The winner of two will be champion!"
"Let's get it on!" Shirai called, and the game began.
"Laser arm!"
"Cat's cradel!"
"Sonic boom!"
"Sushi wrap!"
"Flying fists!"
"Wasabi Whomp!"
"YK!!!!!!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo!" Al fell off his stool as his cat was blasted into the last century and the game ended.
"When it comes to gaming, no one beats me!" Shirai boasted as Su raised his arm declaring him the winner of round one.
Moments later found Shirai and Al blasting zombies from a rollercoaster in a haunted carnival.
"Dieeeeeeeeeeee!" Shirai cried as more and more mutant clowns surrounded his character.
Al grabbed the 3rd player's gun and blasted madly.
"Game over, winner player blue."
Al posed with his fingers in the V for victory sign.
"You used two guns -- that's cheating!"
"No way man, I used the extra token."
The final match was something that made Alex cringe
"POKEMON!?! NONONONONO! NOT THAT! ANYTHING BUT THAT!" He cried as Haitani and Shirai dragged him into the backroom gleefully.
For the last round Su had chosen to make use of the fact that this arcade had a 3D Pokemon game simulator. It provided a virtual-reality environment that was like a real battle.
"No, no, no! You guys don't get it! I was big into pokemon in the day, I became addicted, I've been scarred by trying to get over it."
"Perfect." Haitani and Shirai both grinned evilly.
Shirai summoned Warturtle. The large blue turtle growled, and spat some water in the air in anticipation of victory.
Al curled up into a ball shaking. The pokemon -- they would get him, and ruin his life like once before!
Dizzy found his way into the room with a huge bag of tickets behind him, and upon seeing the problem at hand, leaped into the arena.
"D..Dizzy?" Al whimpered.
Dizzy leaped onto Warturtle and bit his ear. The turtle screamed, and began running around in circles.
"Wait, he's no Pokemon, he can't do that!" Shirai protested.
"He can and did pal!" Al cheered as the angry turtle spat water on the controls that ran the arena.
They began to spark and the Arena began to shake.
"The computer's shorting out, we gotta go!" Shirai cried -- but it was too late.
BOOOOM!
Al And Dizzy soared into the sky, leaving Suu to spend the tickets they had left behind.
"Those guys are soo fun!" she laughed, before returning to the games.
--------------------------
Dinner time
-----------
Shinobu walked up to the deck to call Motoko in for the evening meal.
"Motoko-sempai, dinner is..." she called, and stopped.
On the deck, Sam and Motoko were still fighting, although clearly neither had any energy left. Sam would make a weak swing, which Motoko would dodge, and then she would swing at him. Somehow, his exhausted stagger would cause him to stumble and the blade passed harmlessly over his head, and the sequence would begin again.
"How... how are you managing to evade me?" gasped Motoko through her exhaustion.
"Luck?" said Sam, between breaths.
Eventually, both swung at the same time. Their blades connected, and they both collapsed on the deck opposite each other.
"I declare the duel a draw!" called out Mutsumi, from where she was sitting in a deckchair, eating slices of watermelon from a nearby table. "Now, anyone want a slice?"
---------------------------------
"Itatakimas!"
The residents of Hinata-Sou all sat down to another of Shinobu's delicious meals. Sam and Motoko were noticeably subdued, Mutsumi was cheerful as normal, and Cody was absent, since he was resting upstairs in his room.
"Erm, can I have your attention a minute?" asked Keitaro, after people had eaten their fill. "I've a bit of news for you all. Since we are no longer in such dire straits financially, we have to have some repairs done on the inn in order to satisfy the bank -- who hold the mortgage papers. So, this week, there will be builders about doing repairs to the structure. I'd sort of advise people that wandering about semi-clothed might be a bit troublesome... the builders will need access to many areas, so be prepared for a bit of disruption, I'm afraid. You can move out for a week, if you prefer, but they should be able to work around us."
Naru looked annoyed.
"And how am I supposed to study with that sort of noise going on?" she griped. "Why didn't you take better care of the building, baka? Most of the damage was made by you..."
"...after a Naru-punch, though!" added Kitsune with a smile. Naru glowered.
Motoko looked over at Sam. "Are you planning on moving out?" she asked.
Sam looked surprised. "Hey, I didn't lose our duel, so I don't have to go, right?" He smiled over at Mutsumi.
"Not exactly," stated Motoko. "In actual fact, the terms of our wager were that if you did not win, you would have to leave on a date chosen by myself. Do you intend to renege?"
Colour drained from Sam's face. It was true... and it seemed that, after all, his vision would be coming true. He made a last attempt to save himself.
"But -- in that case, you'd have to pay my bail money as well, since you failed to defeat me, right?"
Motoko nodded.
Sam paused for a minute, and then looked defeated. With an angry look at Mutsumi, for leading him to believe he was free, he stood up to leave.
"Where are you going?" asked Motoko, suddenly.
"To pack, of course."
"Why? We only agreed on a date chosen by myself. And... I have not yet chosen a date."
Sam looked up in surprise. The rest of the residents, watching this scene with bated breath, also dropped in amazement. Motoko continued,
"You have shown a surprising level of skill, and somehow seem more disciplined than before. I would be interested in seeing how you managed to avoid every attack I could send against you... what has changed? And, is this a true change or just a temporary one, and you will return to your previous foolish behaviour?
In any case: I have not chosen a date. You can stay... but I reserve the right to chose a date, should you relapse. And," she added, turning to Keitaro, "I will be paying the bail bond money, as agreed."
Sam sat down again, in confusion. Did this mean that he had changed the future or not? He had certainly avoided being blasted into the sky today, so he supposed that he had managed to change it... and maybe, just maybe, he'd also managed to avoid being evicted. Life was looking brighter than it had in a long time.
Mutsumi smiled as she quietly ate the remains of her meal. Steering the future was hard work, sometimes, but it was very rewarding.
If only she could see even a possibility of a future for herself with Kei-kun.
-------------------------------------------------------------
End of Ch8
-------------------------------------------------------------
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 Eight: Everyone learns something new: REVELATIONS
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Friday evening with Ryuko
-------------------------
Keitaro paced back and forth in front of Ryuko's door for several minutes before finally knocking on it.
"Who's there?"
"It's me, Keitaro. Do you have a minute?...I just wanted to apologize."
"Nani?...just a second." Ryuko rose from her futon and slid the door open just a few centimeters. "Urashima-san. I don't understand."
Keitaro couldn't see much, but quickly averted his eyes because he thought he caught a glimpse of something he shouldn't, and didn't want what happened to Lance to happen to him.
"Well, you see, until today, this room was Lance's. The other women on the floor felt that he should be in the men's wing down the hall, so when you came, they used that as justification to relocate him. We didn't tell you earlier because we didn't want you to feel uncomfortable about the idea. I was going to tell Lance myself, so he wouldn't walk in on you like he did, but it totally slipped my mind."
Ryuko winced, realizing the suffering she caused the previous occupant. "Is he all right? I feel awful for having kicked him..."
Keitaro nodded. "I think he'll be ok, though he might have chest pains for a while. I'm very sorry about the whole mess. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
Ryuko considered this for a moment. "I'm just glad there was no permanent harm done. I can't think of anything off-hand, how about if we just say you owe me a favor?"
"It's a deal!" Keitaro smiled, glad to have that issue behind him. "Oh, how do you like your room so far?"
Ryuko turned her head to face the center of the room. "It's pretty nice, but there's a squeaky spot in the floor I'd like you to take care of sometime. Remind me later to sh..."
Upon hearing those words, Keitaro started sliding the door further open so he could have a look. "A squeak? Where is it?"
Ryuko snapped her head back to face Keitaro when she heard the door sliding, "Baka, not right now! I'm not dressed!" She promptly reached for the door and slid it shut again, catching the landlord's fingers.
Keitaro yelped, and retracted his poor, throbbing hand.
"Make that /two/ favors you owe me."
"Yes ma'am."
--------------------------------
Sara's Revalation
-----------------
Sarah and Kaolla sat together with Shinobu on the sofa, as Kitsune sat in the chair opposite, studying the racing form.
"Ewww! No, Sara, you can't be serious!" shouted Kaolla, pantomiming being sick while she danced around in front of her.
"Why not?" said Sarah, stubbornly. "He's sooooo cute! Don't you just look into those eyes and want him to snuggle you all night?"
"Auuu... but Sara," Shinobu pointed out, "Lance-san is seven years older than you! And you're only eight! It's... not right..."
"What, the same age difference as you and the dork?" Sara retorted. "And, don't you dream about HIM snuggling you all night? AND more? Eh?"
"Auuuu!!!!" Shinobu ran out, scarlet-faced. Sarah sat back, smugly.
"Lance has got a girlfriend, Lance has got a girlfriend..." sang Kaolla, happily dancing around the room. Irritated, Kitsune put down her paper and came over to them.
"I know how to cure you of this," she said with a smirk. "Here, Sarah, take a look at these, and tell me what you think of your new boyfriend, hmm?"
She passed over a few photographs. They showed Lance, dressed in cheerleader's outfit for Sam and Motoko's duel a couple of days before. Kitsune paused when she reached the last, which showed Lance in mid-panty-flash waving his pom-poms.
"See what I mean?" asked Kitsune.
"I... yes..." said Sarah, hesitantly, as she thumbed back through the pictures.
"And...?" prompted Kitsune.
"And... what a man!" she gushed.
"What?" Kitsune sweatdropped.
"Oh yes!" smiled Sarah, "How many men are so... rugged... as to be able to wear such clothes and still be able to set a woman's pulse racing?"
"Err..."
"And, of course, he surely has no worries about his sexuality if he is comfortable dressing up like that!" she added. "He must be a real /tiger/... I wonder if he's a good kisser?" she mused.
"Are you sure you're only eight?" asked Kitsune, wandering off, and quickly returning to snatch the photos back as Sarah tried to conceal them down her non-existant cleavage.
--------------------------------
Sam's Revalation
----------------
It was late in the evening, and Sam had just woken up after his day's alcoholic binge. He went downstairs to the kitchen to find something plain to eat, and he was sitting nursing his hangover when Keitaro came in.
Seeing that they were alone, Keitaro came over to talk. Sam would have preferred to have been left alone to suffer in silence, but Keitaro seemed intent on a talk whether Sam wanted it or not.
"Look, Sam -- this has to stop," Keitaro began, bluntly. "When you first came here, I was desperate for new tenants, and so I didn't look into things very far. I didn't even ask references! But in just one week, you've been in more trouble than some people get into in a year."
Sam sat there, trying to ignore the words. He didn't need this, not now! But Keitaro continued.
"Everyone gets into trouble with Motoko -- well, everyone male! -- but you're only provoking her. She sees you as an insult to her swordsmanship, and that grope was just calculated to annoy, wasn't it? More importantly, you haven't even paid the first month's rent, and now you owe me for the bail bond I had to pay to get you out of jail as well. You're just lucky that they are charging the bar with serving a minor instead of making you pay damages...."
If Keitaro was hoping for a reaction, he found none.
"Look, Motoko is demanding that you be evicted after this last piece of idiocy, and I'm finding it hard to give her reasons not to. I'd talk to your family, except that you still haven't filled in the tenants' forms to tell me who they are and how to contact them! Are you /trying/ to get evicted?" He paused. "Can't you say anything?"
Sam just looked impassive, and turned away. Couldn't Keitaro just get it over with? He knew he was going to get evicted, why not just do it now without the verbiage?
Keitaro sighed, and stood up. Shaking his head, he left the room, trying to think of some way to get through and work out what was going on. Many people would have just let Sam sink in the mess he had created, but Keitaro was unable to let anyone down. He saw himself as having accepted responsibility for Sam as soon as he accepted him as a tenant, and Keitaro was nothing if not a man who viewed his responsibilities seriously.
As Keitaro left, Kitsune lifted her head from the high-backed chair in which she'd been seated all along, hidden from view. She could see, better than most, the yawning pit that was opening in front of Samuel and although she doubted her ability to help she had to try something...
"What is it that is driving you?" she asked, curiously.
Sam jumped in surprise, and looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"No-one goes that far into alcohol completely by choice," she clarified, "there's always something that's pushing them. Something they can't cope with. You're only thirteen, you haven't gone too far yet -- you should try to get out of the habit for your health, if nothing else."
Sam had had enough preaching by sanctimoneous hypcrites to last him the whole day. First Motoko, then Keitaro, and now Kitsune! And for her to criticise him... this was the last straw.
"You're one to talk!" he almost spat at her. "I know the amount of sake you put away each day, any you have the cheek to lecture me? What gives you the right?"
Kitsune went silent for a while.
"I have the right because I've been there. I'm there now, because I didn't listen when I was told the very same thing. I don't expect you to listen either, but I have to say it so that I know I at least tried..."
Kitune sighed, and glanced around briefly to make sure they were alone.
"Want to know something?" she asked, rhetorically. "This isn't the real Kitsune. The Kitsune you see every day, smiling and drinking, is the mask I wear to hide from my lonliness. The real Kitsune is the one that cries all night and no longer knows how to live without the support of alcohol. This fake smile has been with me for so long, that I no longer know how to put it aside... and yet it remains just that, fake."
Sam looked up in surprise, his head being filled with disquieting new thoughts that, although he tried to ignore them, still continued to prod his brain.
"I don't know that I can find the way out any more... although these days, maybe the lonliness doesn't push so hard, for some reason. So tell me... what is pushing you?"
At this thought, Sam's expression closed up again.
"You understand nothing." he stated contemptuously. "Am I driven? Maybe I just go there because I like it, or because I have to? In any case, why don't you just keep out of it! Deal with your own life before you try to deal with mine!"
At this, Kitsune decided she'd had enough as well. The kid needed help, it was only too plain, but although you can lead a horse to water some mules are too stubborn to drink even if they are dying of thirst. Shaking her head, she left.
Now Sam was alone in the room.
"How can she possibly think she can understand!" her said to himself, angrily. "She doesn't know what it's like! If I knew any other way to stop it, I would -- but I don't!"
Sam lookup up, tears of frustration running down his face.
"I dont WANT to know the future!"
From the doorway, a cheerful voice came.
"Ara, ara... me neither. But, you can always change it, ne?"
Mutsumi wandered in as if nothing had happened. Sam turned in surprise for the second time that night, and coloured.
"About that," he mumbled, "don't misunderstand me, I..."
"Oh, but I do understand!" said Mutsumi happily. "Now I know why I saw us talking up here. You see, I too have involuntary precognitive visual acuity!"
Sam looked confused. "You have what?"
"Oh... it's what my mother calls it! Yes, I can see the future... just like you can."
--------------------------------
Lance's Evening
---------------
After rearranging all of his things in his new room down the hall, Lance could finally get some sleep and time alone that he really needed. At least the girls had moved his things for him, when they had unilaterally decided to relocate him! Placing the remaining boxes on the other side of the room to unpack later, he dropped himself onto the futon and tried to relax.
What a hectic night.
Ironic how his day began with a boost in spirit, then suddenly ended with confusion and, to little degree, fear. Who is this girl they call Sarah? And who on Earth was that girl in his old room? A new tenant? He was told (by an irritated Naru) that they had changed his room to the men's wing to make space for a new tenant. Darn. And Motoko was just warming up to him.
And Naru... geez, Naru barely even makes eye contact with him. He wondered if she had some sort of unknown grudge against him, or even kids. But she gets along with Shinobu... hell, everyone gets along with her. Especially Cody.
Speaking of Cody, he hasn't seen him around lately. Not all day, in fact. Wonder where he could be? Then again, he was barely home to socialize with anyone, only during breakfast and dinner. And yet again, most of it was focused on Naru or Motoko laying the smackdown on Keitaro or that one kid... Sam, was it?
Lance turned and tried to fall asleep, but was roused by a rustling sound outside his window. He perked his head up with eyes half closed, trying to find out what dared to wake him from his much needed sleep. Finally annoyed, he got up and opened his window, staring into the darkness outside. The rustling had stopped, and he closed the window and turned back.
---------------------------------
Maho's Evening
--------------
"Kei-kun?"
"Hai." Keitaro looked up from his studies. Maho was standing in the doorway to his room, wearing a loose red robe and a sheer lavender nightgown that didn't leave very much to the imagination.
Keitaro gulped, and turned a shade of red. He took a deep sniff in case a nosebleed was forthcoming. "Is there…" He had to breathe. "Something you need, Maho-chan?"
She pouted. "Why do you keep calling me that?"
"I'm older than you, you know." Keitaro tactfully looked away, pushing away all dirty thoughts from his mind. Thinking about his aunt like that was just plain nasty, no matter how appealing his testosterone made the prospect seem.
Maho stepped inside the room and closed the door quietly. Her expression immediately transformed into a cute smile. "I just wanted to come in and talk a little. You know, catch up on all those years we missed." She sat down gently on the floor mat. "And to facilitate good discussion…"
She reached into her robes and pulled out two enormous cans of beer, which were much too large to have conceivably fit in her skimpy outfit.
"Ta-daa!" She grinned. "One for you and one for me!"
Keitaro sweatdropped. "You can't be serious."
But she had already cracked open one of the cans, and was proceeding to empty its contents.
He sighed. Well, as ways to spend an evening went, he supposed this one could be worse. Keitaro opened up the last can and took a sip.
"So. How've you been?"
---------------------------------
Sam's Revalations
-----------------
Sam and Mutsumi were talking in the common room of Hinata-Sou, after the rest of the building had long since retired for bed.
"You have this curse as well?" asked Sam in shock. "I thought I was the only one..."
"Oh, it's not a curse!" smiled Mutsumi. "The number of times it's saved me from accidents, I just can't count. It's probably the only reason you are so good with your sword, as well... I guess you subconsciously predicy your opponent's moves?"
Sam ignored her cheerfulness and reiterated his previous verdict.
"Of course it's a curse! Every time I get one of these visions, I know what's going to happen... then what fun is there in life if I know what'll happen whatever I do? And it's always something bad."
"But..." said Mutsumi in confusion, "didn't anyone tell you that your visions are only possibilities? Nothing will stop you from changing them, will it?"
Sam looked on in astonishment. "I'm not foolish enough to tell people about this... and the last time I tried to change things, I couldn't."
He thought back to the time a few years back, when his visions had first come. He'd warned people about the fire that would be at school, but noone had listened. So, he went there at night to try and stop it himself -- and that was when he'd been picked up by the police, and been blamed with the very thing he had sought to prevent. That was when he'd known his visions were unchangeable, and it was best to get them over with.
Mutsumi looked at him seriously.
"You CAN change them," she emphasised. "Nothing is fixed. If you assume it is fixed, then the odds are it will happen..."
"Like my fight with Motoko?" Sam asked. "I knew she'd be blasting me away today, so I just thought I'd get it over with this morning. Just like when I came here, and just like I know I'm going to be evicted shortly..."
"It only happens because you /let/ it happen..." Mutsumi responded, seriously. "My mother always told me, you can change anything!"
"My mother told me to shut up and stop making up stories," responded Sam, bleakly. "It wasn't long after that I found out that having alcohol in my system seems to block these visions. That seemed to be a partial solution."
"You never received any training at all? No wonder you have such uncontrolled Talent!" Mutsumi exclaimed. "If you want, I could train you to..."
Mutsumi's eyes unfocussed.
"Oh my..." she murmured, and fainted.
Mutsumi came back to consciousness, as Sam held her up from where she had fallen. She gave him a small smile, and before he knew what was happening, she'd planted a kiss on his cheek. Sam flushed with embarassment, as Mutsumi stood up.
"Ara, ara... I just had another vision!" she said, clapping her hands. "I saw the two of us, eating watermelon together in the kitchen..."
She stretched her hand out towards Sam, making an offer.
"Do you /want/ it to come true?" she asked, and Sam felt a weight lift from his shoulders.
---------------------------------
Saturday Morning
----------------
Maho woke up early, just as the first glimmering rays of dawn were streaming in through her window. She stretched lazily on the futon, smiling like a content cat as she moved her joints around. She wasn't required to go to class until Monday, which gave her a full weekend to enjoy herself in this cozy little part of town. Maho hadn't had any time for vacationing while she was at the Magic Academy, and she was dying for some new clothes. Now would be the perfect opportunity. Could things get any better?
Maho rubbed her eyes sleepily. It took her a moment to realize that there was a note taped to her forehead.
"Mrr?" She took off the note curiously, unfolding it as if it were a fascinating geometric puzzle of some kind. "What's this?" She began to read.
Maho-chan:
Go to the grocery store as soon as you read this. We need seven boxes of green tea for the teashop, a carton of eggs, some orange juice, tomatoes, onions, miso soup base, and shabu shabu beef for dinner tonight. There's some money under your pillow; it should be enough for all of that, plus some lunch for yourself if you're hungry.
Haruka
PS: If you don't finish by 15:30, I will kill you.
Maho stared at the clock. It was 6:15.
She groaned. "Well at least I have some spare time…" She got up and trudged to the bathroom.
---------------------------------
Lance's Morning
---------------
Bright and early the next morning, as Lance got himself dressed, he noticed a small envelope laying untouched in front of his door. It reminded him of the envelope he received the before from his brother. Lance was instantly holding his breath and staring at it.
"This is too much," he heard himself say, "I don't even know if he is for real. My parents just said that I might have an older brother."
Deciding to ignore the letter, he walked out of his room and toward the kitchen where his food awaited.
"I wonder what I should do this weekend," he heard himself say again, "maybe catch a movie or something. God knows I need to practice some more Japanese..."
"You and I are on the same boat, aren't we cutie?"
With a turn, he saw her. Sarah, the eye stalker during dinner last night. She had on her usual outfit, overalls and red cap worn backwards. Only now she had a flower stuck in her hair, apparently attempting to look attractive. Unfortunately for her, this only made Lance even more afraid.
"S-so you were the one who was out my window!" he stammered. Sarah grinned mischievously.
"You know, we'd make a pretty cute couple. Let's say we get a little more... comfortable?" At that instant, Sarah opened her arms and rushed to give him a tight, snuggly hug. But as she closed her arms, she only hugged the air. Lance had seen her approach and promptly ran the opposite direction.
Sarah grinned. "I love it when a woman chases her man..."
Lance zoomed past the halls with a gust of wind following him, sending single slips of scratch paper to flutter to the ground. Since he had been here for barely a week, he had no hiding places. This left him unprotected and a running target, and thats no good thing if you're being chased by Sarah McDougall.
He tore up the stairs and searched for an empty room. Noticing a door slightly opened, he rushed to it and flung it open. It was Naru's room, but he was very, VERY lucky that she wasn't inside. He continued down the hall, desperately looking for a spot to hide. Meanwhile, Sarah was gaining on him and she smirked at her progress.
But suddenly, she saw Lance do the unthinkable. With a cry, he jumped through the window and fell two stories to the bushes below. She poked her head out of the smashed window and saw as Lance limped away from his crash site and into the small wooded area.
She growled in frustration, but leaned her head on the sill with a dreamy smile on her face. "I just can't help it, he's too innocent to get him into trouble! I'd better tell that loser I broke the window, I can't let my new love-slave get the blame."
She left to tell Keitaro she had "accidently" broke the hall window.
---------------------------------
Ryuko's Morning
---------------
"mezameru, ryuko!"
Ryuko rolled over on her futon to see the animated image of a familiar, chibified dragon jumping up and down on her PDA's display. "Ohayo, Ryu-chan. What's today's weather forecast?"
The little dragon put on sunglasses. "it will be hot and sunny today." He then volunteered, "you have new messages: two are personal, twenty-two are from mailing lists, thirty-nine are spam, one is from a financial account, six are..."
"Arigatou," Ryuko interrupted, "I'll read them later. I need to get some fresh air." Ryuko stood up and stretched, then walked over to her backpack. After digging through it, she retrieved a white sports bra and a matching pair of sports shorts and put them on. Then she headed out to the deck where the clothesline was hung, and arrived there just in time to see the sunrise. Her vantage point provided an excellent view of the Hinata complex, and when she saw the abandoned annex in the distance, she paused as if it reminded her of something.
After looking around for several minutes, Ryuko dropped and did fifty push-ups (real ones, with straight knees).
After that, she switched to sit-ups. As the sun was starting to get in her eyes, she closed them instead of turning to face the opposite direction. After again counting aloud to fifty, she paused to take a break, and a shadow passed over her. Opening her eyes, she saw a tall figure standing before her.
"Ohayo gozaimasu, Ryuko-san."
Ryuko smiled. "Ohayo, Motoko-san." She sat up, Indian-style. "You're up early."
"No earlier than yourself. I come up here to practice every morning, but was surprised to find you here before me."
"I didn't mean to hog the deck or distract you...I can find another place."
Motoko shook her head. "No, there's plenty of space for both of us here. Do you exercise every day? Your endurance is impressive."
Ryuko nodded. "Yes, though I'm careful to vary my routine, so I don't over-strain any particular muscle group. I would like to have jogged this morning, but when I packed yesterday, there wasn't enough room left over for my running shoes."
Motoko smiled a bit, seeing something of herself in the new tenant. "You're disciplined. It's an admirable quality, one I wish the other tenants shared. I'll let you resume your work-out." She moved to the other end of the deck and began swinging her bokken with deftness at imaginary adversaries.
Ryuko did various stretches while watching the kendo practitioner with interest. Motoko noticed this but didn't seem to mind.
Finally, after a bit over an hour had passed, both of them were showing signs of fatigue. "You're welcome to join me for a bath, Ryuko-san. There's just enough time before breakfast."
"That would be perfect."
Ryuko had never bathed outdoors before, but had an idea of what to expect. Still, she was understandably a bit hesitant, having been raised in a culture where this was considered unusual. "Embrace your heritage," Okasan used to say. Sampling the water's temperature with her foot, she found it sufficiently warm, and stepped in after Motoko. It didn't take long for her to feel at ease.
Motoko found a comfortable spot beside Ryuko. "So, what's your impression of Hinata-sou so far?"
"I think I'll like it here. Though that incident last night had me wondering what I'd gotten myself into for a while. Urashima-san explained what had happened and apologized to me before dinner. It'll take a while to get used to living in mixed company. In my old apartment complex, it was so quiet, I didn't even know my neighbors."
Motoko nodded. "Something unusual occurs here every day. I suppose it keeps things interesting. If you can handle it, the rest of your life will be comparatively simple."
Ryuko chuckled. "A kind of cram school for the world, huh?"
"That's an apt description."
By this time, Ryuko was beginning to realize that Motoko was among the more calm and level-headed of the tenants she'd met so far. She wanted to get to know her better, and hoped that their morning routines together would afford just that opportunity.
"Myuh."
Ryuko thought she heard something, and inclined her head to see...a turtle hovering over Motoko's head. Eyes widening, she raised a dripping hand out of the water and pointed at it. "Motoko-san, what...is /that/?!"
"Nani?" Motoko looked up. Upon spotting Tama-chan, she leaped out of the water, flailing her arms about. "Get it away! Get it away!" She quickly ran into the changing room.
Ryuko just sat there, staring at the creature in unbelief not unlike a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.
Then Tama-chan landed on Ryuko's head, wanting to be friendly. "Myuh!"
Ryuko sweatdropped.
After hesitating for a moment, she leaped out of the water and ran after Motoko.
Tama-chan blinked. "Myuh?" It seemed as if this new resident was not going to play with her either... However (she brightened up), maybe that stud of a weasel would be up and ready for her now...
After soaking in the hot spring, Ryuko went upstairs, changed into her street clothes, and came back down for breakfast. She brought her PDA with her for Kaolla to play with. The two of them sat next to each other at the table and spouted hardware specs and technobabble for the duration of the meal, much to the amusement of the others present, most of whom couldn't make heads or tails of the conversation.
"You should see my setup after we're done eating, Ryuko-san!" I've got my own network operations center!"
Ryuko smiled at the youth's enthusiasm and technical knowledge. "Maybe later. I have to get back to my old apartment to retrieve the rest of my belongings. I'll be gone a few hours. But, you can play with Ryu-chan while I'm gone. Just...be careful with what you say to him, he's very impressionable. Oh, he's pretty good at /twenty questions/, if you ask him to play."
Kaolla's eyes lit up as she finished devouring a banana. "Arigatou! Don't worry, I'll take good care of him!"
Ryu-chan sweatdropped.
Throughout the meal, Ryuko had been averting her eyes from Lance at the other end of the table, still feeling embarrassed about the prior night. She finished early and excused herself.
Just before leaving Hinata to catch the bus to Tokyo, she stopped by Lance's room, and slipped a piece of paper under his door.
---------------------------------
Dizzy's Morning
---------------
Dizzy crawled out of his castle, a toy that had been converted to be his home, and looked around the cluttered room finding it odd that there was no Al.
It was only 9:00A.M -- Al wouldn't be awake yet, but come to think of it, Dizzy couldn't remember Al ever coming home from the Motoko date last night.
Dizzy left the room in serch of his missing master.
He came upon the breakfast table. The tenants were busy eating and casually chatting, not seeming to notice the lack of the blond otaku named Al.
"Grr." Dizzy began hoping around, growling and pantomiming, trying to get across the message of "Where's Al?".
"What is it boy, Timmy fall down the old well?" Kitsune joked.
"You want me to burn you a mixed CD to get Tama-chan in the mood for wild nookie?" Kaolla asked, totally serious.
"Are you trying to say that nothing about this world is real, and that we're really just characters controlled by some freakish puppet masters in another world who make us do these things for their entertainment?" Keitaro guessed.
Everyone turned at him and stared, sweatdropping.
"What?"
Dizzy hopped off the table with a piece of toast, grumbling about the lack of communication between himself and the humans.
"Come to think of it, Rush-sempai never came back from the date last night, did something happen?" Shinobu asked innocently.
Dizzy slapped a paw to his forehead in frustration.
Dizzy made his way into the bedroom to get his toothbrush when he spotted Tama-chan.
She was laying on a bed of rose petals, surrounded by lit candles, Barry White music softly in the backround.
Dizzy turned to leave but she flew after him, begging him to let her hang out with him -- or at least to let her help him find Al.
Dizzy refused. She would just cause trouble.
Twenty minutes later he found himself floating through town on Tama-chan's shell, looking for Al.
"How did she ever rope me into this?" Dizzy wondered to himself.
"Oooooo lookie at the turtle and mousy!" a child screamed.
---------------------------------
And now, where was Lance?
He was still hiding from the amorous advances of that scarily mature eight-year old. The prospect of being hugged by her was somewhat akin to being cuddled by a pirahna -- besides which, she was half his age and not remotely attractive to him in the way she seemed intent on.
Hungry and exhausted, Lance finally stopped to rest on the wooden bridge that was strangely infested with old men who mumbled something about "obsession". He leaned over the side, panting and staring at the water lightly flowing below him. It had been at least two hours that he had been going to various places to try and lose Sarah, but he hadn't heard or seen a trace of her since he fell out that window.
Oh crap, the window! "Dammit! Keitaro is really gonna hate me for this..."
"I wouldn't worry about that, handsome.." said a pretty voice behind him.
Startled, Lance turned to see Sarah standing calmly behind him. He began to panic and turned to jump off the bridge, but his injured leg only caused him to fall back down. Sarah giggled, amused with his willingness to escape. She gripped her length of rope she brought with her and laughed.
"Now my cute little prince, you won't run away from me anymore..."
---------------------------------
Saturday Afternoon
------------------
Shinobu was finishing clearing up from lunch. Everyone but Cody was there... he had been missing since yesterday, from what she knew. She wondered where he could have gone -- he didn't seem like the kind of person that just disappeared without reason.
She put the final dish away in the cabinet, and decided to go work on her schoolwork. She was about to leave the kitchen, when she felt something land on her head.
"Oh, hello Tama-chan," Shinobu said as she reached up to pat the small hotspring turtle, but something wasn't right. It didn't feel like Tama-chan. It was cold, and metallic... Just then, it flew off her head, and hovered right in front of her face. It was a Mecha-Tama.
"Meeyah!" the metal turtle said as it hovered there in front of her. Suddenly a bolt of energy shot out hit Shinobu, and paralyzed her. The Mecha-Tama then flew over to the sink, and gave its eerie call. More Mecha-Tama came out, and immediately picked her up, and dropped her down a tunnel under the sink.
She fell into darkness.
---------------------------------
Ryuko's Afternoon
-----------------
Ryuko returned well after lunch, lugging several suitcases and boxes. She paused in the entryway just long enough to kick off her shoes, then proceeded up to her room.
She spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking. Even as she was finishing up, however, the room still looked spartan. Clothing, books, and accessories for her PDA comprised most of what she had. It wasn't because she was poor, but because she had left the bulk of her posessions in storage back in the States, and she'd intentionally kept herself as mobile as possible, knowing she might relocate a few times while attending the university. Hopefully, Hinata would be her last residence in Japan.
The very last item to be put away was an old, worn book. Ryuko curled up on her futon with the book, and opened it to a dog-eared page near the front. A bent-up, black-and-white, wallet-sized photo slipped out, landing in her lap.
She set the book down and gazed at the photo intently, her eyes widening as a realization set in. "Obaasan...did I actually find it?" She held the picture tightly against her chest, her eyes welling up with tears.
---------------------------------
Sam's Afternoon
---------------
It was mid-afternoon when Sam walked onto the deck area, where Motoko was practicing slicing leaves as they fell from the tree overhead. This morning, he has seen himself being blasted away over the rooftops by an angry Motoko, and he supposed it would be better to get it over with now rather than have to walk back in the dark.
However... Mutsumi had given him a third option. He was no longer sure that he was going to lose, and that gave him a bit more confidence as he walked up. He was also (for the first time in weeks) completely sober, and he was surprised to realise that he was stepping forward with a firm and balanced step.
Mutsumi had shown an understanding that he had never encountered before, and her confidence in him had given him the resolve to see if it wasn't possible to turn things around. He liked life in Hinata-sou -- if it really was possible to prevent his vision of being evicted, then this is when he would prove it.
Up on the deck, Motoko sliced away at leaves, but her mind was elsewhere -- she was fuming over the outcome of her recent date with Al. How dare he not talk to her -- or even see her! -- since that night? Of course, she /had/ punched him out at the end of it... but he had deserved it for trying to kiss her. Or, rather, for not trying to kiss her. Or... Motoko couldn't work out exactly what she was angry about, but it was definitely someone elses fault. And the next person to annoy her would pay for it.
"Konnichiwa, Motoko-san," Sam said, formally, as he came onto the deck.
"So, pervert, you return to the scene of your former disgrace?" replied Motoko as she swung around, irritated at being distracted from her practice. She noticed that Sam carried his sword. "Are you intent on receiving another chastisement that your dishonourable conduct clearly merits?"
"Motoko-san," Sam replied, with difficulty, "I... apologise for my earlier behaviour. It was... not how I would choose to act. However -- I would like a rematch, if you are willing?"
Motoko's eyes lit up with glee. Another chance to beat this fool into submission and ensure his departure from Hinata-Sou! She immediately took up position at the end of the deck.
"I accept!" she declared. "I warn you, I will not go easy on you, nor will I allow a repeat of your shameful molestation. Also -- if you do not win, then you must agree to leave Hinata-sou on the day I specify!"
There it was, his future bearing down on him. Sam sweatdropped.
"Agreed. But... if you do not defeat me, then... oh, I don't know, you have to pay my bail money?" Sam picked the first thing on his mind.
"Agreed!"
Sam took up his place at the other end, and for a moment looked around in doubt.
"Remember, Sam-kun, nothing is certain!" came Mutsumi's voice from the steps, as she smiled at him.
The fight started.
---------------------------------
Maho's Afternoon
----------------
Maho strolled down the street, her coat billowing carelessly in the breeze. She had yet to buy the groceries, but it was noon already, and she felt like buying some lunch after all the sightseeing she had done today. Errands could wait, but sustenance -- never.
A loud noise from behind got her attention. She raised an eyebrow, stopping in front of the theater and turning around.
"What's this?"
Tama-chan, recognizing the new girl, immediately flew inside her coat for safety. Dizzy (riding on her back) growled miserably, but could do little, seeing as he was some considerable height above the ground.
"Well, hello there." Maho smiled at the two animals. "Do I know you two?"
"Myuh!"
"Grrr!"
"Ah." Maho nodded sagely. "I see. You're looking for a place to make hot passionate love, thereby having a litter of wurtles for your very own."
The two shook their heads, though Tama-chan did so with a severe blush.
"No?" she smiled. "Then what?"
They pointed.
A veritable mob of children surrounded Maho while she had been distracted. She wasn't much taller than they were, but thankfully they still seemed intimidated by the scary lady in the dark blue coat. Despite this, there was a growing chant among them, one that the passing adults simply ignored, or in some cases prompted them to give Maho a look of utter pity:
"We want the turtle! We want the weasel! We want the turtle! We want the weasel!"
They grew louder and louder, and many of the children became increasingly bold, narrowing the distance between Maho and the crowd of prepubescent nightmares. She backed away from the closest ones, looking for an exit of some kind. There was none forthcoming from the wall of kids.
"Nice mess you got yourselves into," she muttered, glaring at Tama-chan and Dizzy.
"Myuh."
"Grr."
Maho nodded to herself, sighing. "Well I guess this is it, then. Leave it to Maho-chan to save the day." She dug into her pockets with both hands. "No matter what happens, stay in my coat."
Tama-chan and Dizzy nodded.
A thought came to her. "Oh. And you might want to hold your breath for a little while."
They sweatdropped.
The crowd got uncomfortably close. When one of the kids actually touched Maho's coat, she snarled.
"Back off, shrimp!"
All of the kids backed away, their fear of the scary lady renewed. But soon, their desire for the turtle and the weasel once again overrode everything, and they edged slowly closer.
Maho smiled wickedly. "Hey kids..." They stared at her curiously. "... You wanna see a magic trick?"
With that, she pulled out two enormous cloths from her pockets, one white and one black. Both were covered in a tacky amount of sparkly gold and silver glitter, and she held them with both hands. Pausing a moment for dramatic tension, Maho lifted the cloths into the air and got under them, wrapping herself with them completely and crouching down in the middle of the space.
Before the kids even knew what was going on, the large mass under the fabric appeared to be getting smaller and smaller with each passing moment. They crowded around it in amazement, and it just kept shrinking, until finally...
KABOOM!
The fabric flew into the air, and the children screamed at the flash of light and loud explosion. Once the confusion finally settled, however, the kids looked around for the scary lady, or any sign of the two animals. They couldn't find anything.
Maho was gone.
The kids gasped in wonder, but not without a little bit of disappointment, as their quarry had gotten away beyond a shadow of a doubt. A minute later, they disbanded and walked miserably back to their homes.
Once the children left, Maho stood up from where she had been hidden in the crowd, and dusted herself off confidently.
"A little sloppy, but not bad for an improvised trick. What do you think?"
"Myuh!"
"Grr!"
She smirked. "It's easy to mystify kids. Just give them something big and pretty to look at, and they won't know what's coming. That's a first-year lesson at the Academy."
Tama-chan quickly flew out of Maho's coat, and beckoned her to follow. Maho stared blankly at the flying turtle, then at the weasel hanging off of its shell.
"This isn't going to turn into some Alice in Wonderland thing, is it?"
"Myuh!"
She shrugged, and began to follow. "Well, it beats getting the groceries. Lead on."
Dizzy sighed. He had just finished explaining their situation to her, though if she understood, it was beyond him. His position had changed (much to Tama-chan's dismay) so he was no longer clinging to her shell, but was instead sitting, perched upon Maho's head.
Maho touched her chin in thought. "So, I'm going to hazard the guess that you're looking for someone." She looked up at the weasel on her head for confirmation.
Dizzy nodded.
"Is it a young high school girl who needs to be given the Moon Wand to combat the forces of darkness?" She smirked.
"Grr."
"I'm a magician, not a comedian. Well who is it?" She raised an eyebrow as a possibility came to her. "Someone important?"
"Grr!" Dizzy hopped down from her head, grabbing a small pebble and scratching the letters A L into the pavement.
"Hmm." She looked at Tama-chan, who was flying aimlessly about her head. "Very interesting."
They continued following the route Al had taken the night before. Soon they discovered his Vespa laying unused in the parking lot. His helmet was still in the side bag, and everything was untouched since the other night.
Dizzy pointed at the Vespa.
"Grr." he demanded, looking up at Maho.
"You want me to ride this?"
"Grr!" Dizzy climbed up onto the seat.
Maho nodded, pretending to understand. "You guys just sit tight. I'm going to grab a bite to eat and come back." She turned toward a café, leaving Dizzy and Tama-chan with the Vespa.
Hardly a day living at the Hinata Sou, and already there was some kind of crisis going on. Maho sighed. She thought she was taking a break from things like this.
At least the day wasn't completely wasted. This café, for instance, was certainly interesting.
"Welcome to the Cosplay Café," said a roundish young man with brown hair and glasses. He seemed particularly miserable, wearing a bad approximation of a sailor fuku while trying to maintain whatever shreds were left of his dignity. "My name is…" the words came out with a great deal of effort. "Sailor Mars. Would you like the bar or a table?"
"Table, please," Maho replied, biting the inside of her cheek so she wouldn't laugh.
"Right this way." He moved quickly, covering his rear with the menu. "Your server will be with you in just a moment."
"Arigato." She waited until he was a little ways away before she started giggling. Granted, the whole place looked silly, with even some of the restaurant's patrons dressed up in gaudy anime outfits. But that 'Sailor Mars' fellow took the cake, easily.
The waiter stood next to the table, a notepad and pen in hand. He was indeed dressed as Lupin, complete with a black wig, though a strand of dark blond hair came out from it. He was clearly American or something along those lines, though for some reason Maho wasn't surprised at all. This place reeked of foreigner bait, judging from the fair amount of catgirls walking around.
"Konnichiwa," the waiter greeted her. "My name is Lupin the Third, and I'll be your server today."
Maho smiled. "Konnichiwa. I'd like an iced cappuchino…"
"Oi, Al-san!" Haitani called from the 'employee's only' door.
"Hai!" The waiter turned his head.
"After you're done, help me out with an order here." He said more, but Maho wasn't listening.
She grabbed his arm suddenly. Al gave her a surprised look.
"What-?"
"You're coming with me." Maho commanded in English. He seemed surprised by her English accent, but only for a moment. There were more immediate concerns, after all, like the fact that she was dragging him away from his paycheck.
"But, but!"
"But nothing, come on!" She stood up, looking up at Al in amazement. "Wow. You're awfully tall, Lupin-kun." Maho began pulling him to the exit, ignoring his protests. "Forgive me for being so forward, but there's a weasel and a flying turtle waiting for you, and the turtle looked like it was about to do something vicious."
"Now wait a minute here!" Al protested as the girl pulled him out the doors. He dug his feet into the dirt and stopped her easily.
She continued pulling, but when Al didn't want to move, the result was the two of them falling to the ground, Maho on top, their faces uncomfortably close.
"I..Errr...um...sorry!" Al stammered, blushing.
They stayed in that position for a few seconds, as an awkward silence descended. People inside the restaurant and passersby began to crane their necks to see what all the commotion was about.
Maho frowned, flicking Al on the forehead with her index finger. He winced, but all things considered, it was better than a punch to the face.
"Baka." She stood up, dusting off her skirt. "I know I'm not Miss Japan, but you don't have to be so difficult."
"Listen," Al finally said, exasperated. "I don't have the slightest clue who you are. I've been working for ten hours non-stop with no breaks, and I really have a wedgie from hiking my pants up high enough to look like Lupin. Just tell me your name and I'll be glad to let you drag me wherever it was we were going."
She scowled, making a fist. "Stop looking up my skirt, and then you can talk."
He stood up quickly. "I wasn't-"
She interrupted him. "My name is Urashima Maho, but that's not important. I came here because Weasel-kun and Turtle-chan were looking for you." She looked up at him. "You'd better go to them right now, they're waiting next to your scooter."
"Oh...I see. Well I'm sorry, but I can't go." Al seemed apologetic. "This is a good job, and once it hits one-thirty I can stop working and go home, but I really can't lose this job..." He had an idea. "Hey, just do me a favor and bring Dizzy here."
"Who?"
"The weasel. I think he could really help me." Al got down on one knee. "If you could do this, I would be more grateful then you could ever imagine."
Maho crossed her arms. "You were already enough trouble, and now I have to do things for you? Hmph! I'm not your maid, baka!" She began walking away.
Al looked crestfallen. But then Maho turned her head to look at him.
"Will my coffee be ready by the time I come back with Dizzy-chan?"
He was silent for a split second. Then he smiled. "Yes. Absolutely."
"Good." She gave Al a brief, glowing smile, and disappeared around the corner.
Al bolted back to the cafe and began humming till his voice sounded close enough to Lupin's.
He darted into the backdoor tying to avoid letting his new boss see him, and he almost made it to where the drinks were, when haitani appeared.
"Howdy, howdy, Rush -- who was that firey babe who pulled you out of here?" He grinned evilly, which was a little frightening because he was dressed as Lagato Bluesummers who is generally excessively creepy.
"N...no one man, sorry about the boxes, still need help with them?"
"No, but I think you'll be begging to do things for me to keep the boss from seeing these!" Haitani slapped out some instant photos of Al and Maho in the akward position they had been in only moments before.
"Getting busy on the job? Not company policy, Rush..." Haitani smirked, thanking God that Shirai had been outside in the big Kuro costume.
"That's taken out of context and you know it!"
"Yeah, but what will Motoko say?"
Al turned very pale.
"Now I could just show her this, and get you kicked out of the Hinata house and free up my room... but I think if you do me a few favours, then maybe I'll give them to you."
Al grew even more pale.
Maho leaned back, taking a deep, contented sip from her cappuccino. She had come back with Dizzy about half an hour before, and now Al was doing whatever he was supposed to be doing. It surprised her how the weasel seemed more in control of the situation than Al was, but she had seen stranger things before.
She looked at Tama-chan, who was tackling a cup of tea.
"You know that this is weird, right?"
The turtle smiled politely at the lady, and responded with her normal "Myuh!"
"What I especially don't get is your relationship with the weasel. Are you another one of Al's pets, or what?"
"Myuh." Tama-chan hid her face and blushed. "Myuh…"
Maho nodded. "Yep. Really bizarre." She smiled, standing up and taking out a few bills from her coat. "But I don't think I mind."
She placed a few yen notes on the table. "This should cover everything. I need to get going. Important things to do, you know." She gave Tama-chan a respectful nod. "I don't think we'll meet again, Turtle-chan. But this was a nice way to spend lunch. Give my best regards to the weasel and Lupin-kun."
Tama-chan waved a flipper as Maho walked casually out the door. "Myuh!"
Al worked at a breakneck pace trying to keep up with the lunchtime rush the café was going through. At least Dizzy made things easier.
"Where to next?" Al called to the little weasel in his pocket. Dizzy pointed, and Al made his way to the next table, taking orders.
Organized thinking was never Al's best skill, nor was memory, so if Dizzy was around things would be a little easier.
He took down the orders of some Otaku who had left school for lunch, and then made his way into the kitchen, left the orders behind and then made a bee-line for the alleyway behind the café where the employees took their breaks.
He sighed and pulled a bottle of soda from his pocket, swigging down half in one go.
"Grr."
"Oh come on, it's not that bad for my health, and it's better then drinking Sake!"
"Grrr."
"Oh alright, here, have some." Al gave Dizzy the bottle and the weasel promptly emptied the rest of it into his mouth.
"Sorry about not calling you," Al apologised. "I went back to get my Vespa, and got a call from the Café -- some of their waiters had been arrested for attempting to drug some cat girl customers, so they needed all applicants from the interviews to come in and take the jobs. I've been working all night." Al yawned and stretched.
"GRRR." Dizzy looked up at Al cheerfully.
"Yeah, so I got the job! After work we'll celebrate by hitting up an arcade. I hear Hinata's got this great Arcade with really cool prizes for high scores!"
Dizzy looked excited -- the little weasel had three things in his life he found important: Food, Al and video games.
Haruka looked up from her newspaper. "You're late."
"Hai hai, I know." Maho set down the multitude of paper bags in her arms, sitting down on the sofa. "Gomen, but I had the weirdest day, Haru-nee. You wouldn't believe…" She stopped and stared.
Tama-chan flew by happily, giving Maho a cheerful "Myuh!" before disappearing down the hall.
Haruka looked at her younger sister. "Something wrong, Maho-chan?"
Maho shook her head. "Uh, no. I'm fine, onee-san."
And then Al entered, with Dizzy perched on his shoulder. He wasn't wearing the enormous black wig, but he was still relatively recognizable. Dizzy growled in recognition. Al and Maho stared at each other for a long time, their expressions reflecting surprise, confusion, and finally some small amount of comprehension.
She smiled and gave Al a small wave. "Konnichiwa, Lupin-kun." With that, she grabbed the grocery bags and retreated into the kitchen.
Once she left, Haruka gave Al a sidelong glance, arching an eyebrow.
"Lupin-kun?"
---------------------------------
Cody's Afternoon
----------------
Cody sat in the mecha-tamas' tank thinking of ways to escape. He had one, but he needed something to stand on to climb over the top of the tank. While he was running this problem thru his head, he heard a noise coming from above him... it kind of sounded like, "Auuuu!!".
Just then a door opened above the tank. Cody looked up in time to see (and feel) someone land on him. Both people lay on the floor of the tank with swirly eyes.
Cody woke up to find Shinobu sitting on his back.
"Umm... Shinobu-chan, can you get off my back?" Cody asked with a slight wince. After all, having someone land on you hurts.
"Auuuu... Gomen, Cody-san!" Shinobu said as she quickly got off him.
"Not your fault, Shinobu-chan." Cody said with a smile to the young girl.
"W-where are we Cody-san?" She stammered a question.
"Well, we seem to be somewhere in the basement of the Hinata Sou, captured by what looks like mecha-tamas, stuck in a tank." Cody said with a "matter of fact" tone in his voice, "But I have a plan." He told her of his plan to get out, which was to have her stand on his shoulders, climb out of the tank, and press the 'release' visible button on the panel opposite. They then set the plan into action.
They waited until the mecha-tamas had left the room; Cody had Shinobu climb on to his shoulders. Unfortunately, her skirt caught on his head for a second (he suppressed any hentai thoughts, with an effort), but quickly she reached the top of the tank and climbed over. Shinobu gave Cody a quick V sign and ran over to the tank-control panel, where there was a large button labeled 'Release'. She pushed it, and the tank popped open. Cody hopped out and together they left the mecha-tamas' lab.
The two escapees had found their ways out of the lab, only to get lost in the seemingly endless hallways.
"Lets head this way Shinobu-chan." Cody said as he led them down another hallway.
"Ok, Cody-san." She said as she followed him. She admired the way he gave her confidence by taking charge like this, even though he most likely had as little an idea of where they actually were as she did. Still... he had managed to quickly get them both out of their captivity. Shinobu blushed as she though of how he had probably been looking up her skirt as she had climbed out of the tank.
"Lucky I was wearing my good panties," she said to herself.
"Pardon?" asked Cody, not hearing her clearly.
"Auuu!! Nothing! Really!"
They were continuing down the hall, when suddenly they heard the sound of mecha-tama following them. They quickly ducked into the closest room and locked the door.
"I think we will be safe here, for a little while at least." Cody said sheepishly. He looked around the room and found very little there, save for what looked like a sheet-covered chair. He walked over to it, and pull the sheet off, to reveal a life-like doll sitting in a chair.
"Whoa! It's a doll." Cody said a little shocked. To find a doll was not something that happened to him much.
"Oh, that's the doll that Keitaro-sempai found -- I think its name is Moe." Shinobu said as she looked at the doll Cody found.
Just then the mecha-tama broke through the door. Shinobu screamed and knocked into Cody. This caused the young man to fall forward -- luckily his face did not connect with the floor, but it did connect with something. Moe's lips! A strange, green light filled the room.
The mecha-tama had been watching this happen with a weird mechanical curiosity, but they the chose then to advance on the two young people. Suddenly, Moe was on her feet.
"You leave my master alone!!" Moe yelled at the mecha-tama. They jumped at her, but she placed her hands together, and they glowed green with power. When they were right above her she let loose the power, which blew them away but also blasted a hole in the ceiling, straight up to the first floor. Dust filled the air.
"Well, at least now we don't have to find a way out." Cody said with a very sheepish look on his face. Shinobu sweat dropped at his comment.
Just then the other tenants started to gather around the hole in the floor above. Keitaro saw them, and yelled down that he was getting a rope. A couple of seconds later the rope was lowered, and the two young people and Moe climbed out.
"Looks like you had an interesting time Cody-san." Said Keitaro as he help the young man out of the hole. "And, it looks like you've met Moe?"
"Yeah, it was." Was Cody's answer. Moe ran up to Cody and gave him a hug.
"Master are you ok?!?" The doll asked with concern in her voice.
"M-Master?" Cody said shocked.
Everyone looked dumbfounded at what Moe had just said, and pelted Cody with questions. With all of them talking at once and having been through a great deal in the past 24 hours, Cody fainted. The last thing he heard was Moe yelling, "Master!", before everything went black.
---------------------------------
Later that evening, Al decided to spend his first paycheck in style, going to the best arcade in hinata. Cody had recovered from his ordeal, although he had gone to bed to recover, and that weird animated doll had insisted on accompanying him. So, Al figured there was nothing to stop him from going out on the town.
Sadly... Su found out, and decided she wanted to come too.
"SUUUUUUUU I CAN'T SEE!!!!" Al screamed as he rode his Vespa down the street, Su's arms wrapped over his eyes.
"Use the force Al!" Su cheered as Al narrowly avoided crashing into a fruitstand.
"GRRRRRRRR!" Dizzy cried as he clung to Su's skirt for dear Dizzy life.
Somehow they made it to the arcade alive, and went their seperate ways -- Su to Pinball, Al to a fighting game, and Dizzy to a ticket game.
Al was dominating the field of the battle arena XG4 game, by useing his favorite character, Sushi Neko-sama.
"Booya! Who wants to be my next meal?" Al cheered as another defeated player walked away sullenly.
"How about me?" A voice asked.
Al turned, and sighed -- it was Haitani and Shirai.
"Hey, boys." He said turning back to his game.
"I'll play you, and beat you." Shirai proclaimed confidently.
"And if you lose to Shirai, you gotta leave the hinata house, got it?"
"Now, why would I agree to that?" Alex asked as he fished in his pocket for some more tokens.
"Because if you win we'll give you those pictures, but if you refuse we'll show them to Motoko!"
"You're on." Al sighed.
Moments later Su stood in a referee's uniform, reading the rules for combat.
"Three games shall be played, One chosen by Al, one by that friend of Keitaro's that I don't know..."
"IT'S SHIRAI!"
"...and one by me. The winner of two will be champion!"
"Let's get it on!" Shirai called, and the game began.
"Laser arm!"
"Cat's cradel!"
"Sonic boom!"
"Sushi wrap!"
"Flying fists!"
"Wasabi Whomp!"
"YK!!!!!!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooo!" Al fell off his stool as his cat was blasted into the last century and the game ended.
"When it comes to gaming, no one beats me!" Shirai boasted as Su raised his arm declaring him the winner of round one.
Moments later found Shirai and Al blasting zombies from a rollercoaster in a haunted carnival.
"Dieeeeeeeeeeee!" Shirai cried as more and more mutant clowns surrounded his character.
Al grabbed the 3rd player's gun and blasted madly.
"Game over, winner player blue."
Al posed with his fingers in the V for victory sign.
"You used two guns -- that's cheating!"
"No way man, I used the extra token."
The final match was something that made Alex cringe
"POKEMON!?! NONONONONO! NOT THAT! ANYTHING BUT THAT!" He cried as Haitani and Shirai dragged him into the backroom gleefully.
For the last round Su had chosen to make use of the fact that this arcade had a 3D Pokemon game simulator. It provided a virtual-reality environment that was like a real battle.
"No, no, no! You guys don't get it! I was big into pokemon in the day, I became addicted, I've been scarred by trying to get over it."
"Perfect." Haitani and Shirai both grinned evilly.
Shirai summoned Warturtle. The large blue turtle growled, and spat some water in the air in anticipation of victory.
Al curled up into a ball shaking. The pokemon -- they would get him, and ruin his life like once before!
Dizzy found his way into the room with a huge bag of tickets behind him, and upon seeing the problem at hand, leaped into the arena.
"D..Dizzy?" Al whimpered.
Dizzy leaped onto Warturtle and bit his ear. The turtle screamed, and began running around in circles.
"Wait, he's no Pokemon, he can't do that!" Shirai protested.
"He can and did pal!" Al cheered as the angry turtle spat water on the controls that ran the arena.
They began to spark and the Arena began to shake.
"The computer's shorting out, we gotta go!" Shirai cried -- but it was too late.
BOOOOM!
Al And Dizzy soared into the sky, leaving Suu to spend the tickets they had left behind.
"Those guys are soo fun!" she laughed, before returning to the games.
--------------------------
Dinner time
-----------
Shinobu walked up to the deck to call Motoko in for the evening meal.
"Motoko-sempai, dinner is..." she called, and stopped.
On the deck, Sam and Motoko were still fighting, although clearly neither had any energy left. Sam would make a weak swing, which Motoko would dodge, and then she would swing at him. Somehow, his exhausted stagger would cause him to stumble and the blade passed harmlessly over his head, and the sequence would begin again.
"How... how are you managing to evade me?" gasped Motoko through her exhaustion.
"Luck?" said Sam, between breaths.
Eventually, both swung at the same time. Their blades connected, and they both collapsed on the deck opposite each other.
"I declare the duel a draw!" called out Mutsumi, from where she was sitting in a deckchair, eating slices of watermelon from a nearby table. "Now, anyone want a slice?"
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"Itatakimas!"
The residents of Hinata-Sou all sat down to another of Shinobu's delicious meals. Sam and Motoko were noticeably subdued, Mutsumi was cheerful as normal, and Cody was absent, since he was resting upstairs in his room.
"Erm, can I have your attention a minute?" asked Keitaro, after people had eaten their fill. "I've a bit of news for you all. Since we are no longer in such dire straits financially, we have to have some repairs done on the inn in order to satisfy the bank -- who hold the mortgage papers. So, this week, there will be builders about doing repairs to the structure. I'd sort of advise people that wandering about semi-clothed might be a bit troublesome... the builders will need access to many areas, so be prepared for a bit of disruption, I'm afraid. You can move out for a week, if you prefer, but they should be able to work around us."
Naru looked annoyed.
"And how am I supposed to study with that sort of noise going on?" she griped. "Why didn't you take better care of the building, baka? Most of the damage was made by you..."
"...after a Naru-punch, though!" added Kitsune with a smile. Naru glowered.
Motoko looked over at Sam. "Are you planning on moving out?" she asked.
Sam looked surprised. "Hey, I didn't lose our duel, so I don't have to go, right?" He smiled over at Mutsumi.
"Not exactly," stated Motoko. "In actual fact, the terms of our wager were that if you did not win, you would have to leave on a date chosen by myself. Do you intend to renege?"
Colour drained from Sam's face. It was true... and it seemed that, after all, his vision would be coming true. He made a last attempt to save himself.
"But -- in that case, you'd have to pay my bail money as well, since you failed to defeat me, right?"
Motoko nodded.
Sam paused for a minute, and then looked defeated. With an angry look at Mutsumi, for leading him to believe he was free, he stood up to leave.
"Where are you going?" asked Motoko, suddenly.
"To pack, of course."
"Why? We only agreed on a date chosen by myself. And... I have not yet chosen a date."
Sam looked up in surprise. The rest of the residents, watching this scene with bated breath, also dropped in amazement. Motoko continued,
"You have shown a surprising level of skill, and somehow seem more disciplined than before. I would be interested in seeing how you managed to avoid every attack I could send against you... what has changed? And, is this a true change or just a temporary one, and you will return to your previous foolish behaviour?
In any case: I have not chosen a date. You can stay... but I reserve the right to chose a date, should you relapse. And," she added, turning to Keitaro, "I will be paying the bail bond money, as agreed."
Sam sat down again, in confusion. Did this mean that he had changed the future or not? He had certainly avoided being blasted into the sky today, so he supposed that he had managed to change it... and maybe, just maybe, he'd also managed to avoid being evicted. Life was looking brighter than it had in a long time.
Mutsumi smiled as she quietly ate the remains of her meal. Steering the future was hard work, sometimes, but it was very rewarding.
If only she could see even a possibility of a future for herself with Kei-kun.
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End of Ch8
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