Much thanks to the continued support! As to the supposed OOC-ness from Motoko, it's really not so. Remember, Motoko was pretty cold at Tsuruko for trying to run her life in the manga/anime, and justly so with her impression of Kanako trying to do the same here.
As always, Love Hina and its characters belong to Ken Akamatsu.
Lineages
Chapter 4: Get strong, get fit!
"Keitaro! The ceiling fix you made yesterday is falling apart!" Naru's voice called out from outside the landlord's room, followed by her fist banging against the frame of his screen door. "Hey! Are you listening to me, moron!"
"Keitaro!" Kitsune's voice, further down the hall, called out. "The hot springs looks all icky with green stuff! Could you clean it?"
"Mmph..." The said landlord's face was buried in his pillow. "Five more minutes... Zzz..."
"Urashima!" The door to his room slid open, and Motoko walked in with an annoyed look and nudged him with her foot. "I am currently refining a technique from my teachings, so I need you to accompany Shinobu when she goes grocery shopping!" Seeing that Keitaro remained motionless, Motoko was about to turn and leave when Kanako stopped her.
"It's no use, hand me that." Kanako's voice was calm, causing the landlord to wonder what the sisters were up as he slipped in and out of sleep...
KERWHAP!
Jumping up from his futon with an embarrassingly girlish yelp, Keitaro was nearly in tears as he rubbed his rear with both hands and glared at the Aoyomas. While Motoko was standing to one side with an annoyed look, Kanako merely grinned, holding a kendo practice bamboo sword.
"You're an embarrassment as a landlord, Keitaro!" Kanako spoke, striking the ground near Keitaro's feet and making him jump nervously. "This will not do! My sister and I have decided to shape you up and start training you! So get dressed and meet us outside in five minutes, understood?"
Seeing that all the tenants were standing outside his room, he scanned for any faces that were sympathetic with him, but found no such luck. "Come on, Haruka!" Keitaro begged, seeing his aunt along with the other tenants. "Help your nephew out for a change!"
Lighting her trademark cigarette, the stoic Urashima shook her head. "Sorry kid, you got yourself in this mess. Besides, I kinda agree with them..." She then turned to leave, along with the tenants who were watching on.
"But...!"
"Stalling, Urashima?" Motoko growled, inching her katana out of her saya a few inches. "I could easily rectify the mistake of having you here and make it an 'All girls dorm' literally, if you're not down in five minutes..."
With that type of encouragement, Keitaro only took three minutes to get ready...
"A whole week of training?" Naru's eyes were wide in shock. "But who's going to be doing all the cleaning, maintenence, and all the ladlord stuff in that time?"
"I will have to ask that each of you to do a fair share in Urashima's absence, everyone." Motoko replied to the gathered tenants. "I assure you, we will change him around in one week so that he will no longer be a lazy good-for-nothing."
"You sure that one week's all it'll take?" Kitsune asked, a skeptical look on her face. With a smile, Motoko gestured for the tenants to look out into the balcony...
"488..." Keitaro struggled to rise and complete a push-up, sweat trickling down his face from the effort. He then went down and struggled for a few seconds to come back up. "489..."
"Keep it steady, Keitaro..." Kanako's voice was not unlike an instructor's, as she stood in the crane's stance on his back - with one foot tucked behind her other knee, and her bokken held parallel with her closed eyes. "Too much motion, and I'll tack on another one hundred push-ups!"
"I'm sorry, Kanako..." Keitaro's breathing was becoming ragged. "I'm just not used to being weighted down when I did push-ups before..."
"Are you saying I'm fat!" Kanako roared, whacking him several times on the head with her bokken. "Two hundred more for you, starting from scratch!"
"Aiee!" Keitaro wailed, then began doing the push-ups as fast as he could...
"Move it, Urashima!" Motoko roared as she jogged behind the landlord, who was beginning to gasp for breath. "We haven't even gone halfway through the fifth mile yet!"
"But Motoko..." Keitaro began, only to be whacked by her bokken.
"That's SENSEI to you for this entire week, Urashima!" She continued jogging after him, prompting him to move faster by repeated strikes of her bokken all over his body. "Any slower, and you don't get to eat later!"
"Alright, alright..." The landlord then collapsed, gasping for breath. "But can I at least get some water before we continue...?" Rolling her eyes and muttering about weak men, she whistled and made a gesture. Kaolla soon rode up in what appeared to be a small tank and doused Keitaro with a fire hose, before driving off again.
"You got your water, now move!" Motoko then whacked him with her bokken until he got to his feet, then began jogging behind him once more...
"Are you sure...?" Shinobu asked timidly. As much as she cares for the landlord, she found that she could do little to persuade the Aoyomas from their training regime for Keitaro. "I'm not sure if this will be enough for him..."
"It'll be fine, Shinobu." Kanako smiled as she took the steaming bowl from the young cook's hands. "My sisters and I ate the exact same thing during our own harsh training, but I'm sure he'll appreciate your caring." The comment drew a blush from Shinobu, as Kanako walked back to where the landlord was waiting in the dining room.
"Thank goodness, I'm starving!" Keitaro was practically drooling by the time the bowl reached him, but stopped and took a sniff before looking into the bowl. "Oatmeal...?"
"Oat gruel, with meats and vegetables." Motoko corrected him, walking in and setting a glass of water before him. "It proveides all the nutrition you need, and it doesn't weigh you down."
Seeing the landlord's deflated expression from expecting a full meal, Kanako leaned in with a raised eyebrow. "Not good enough for you? Perhaps we could skip lunch altogether and continue your training while I tell poor Shinobu you didn't like her cooking..."
The threat of losing what food he has on top of hurting Shinobu's feelings, jolted Keitaro into action, as he began wolfing down his bowl...
"Alright, I think starting with three should be enough for now..." Kanako nodded, as she finished directing Kitsune into balancing a sake bottle in each of Keitaro's outstretched palms, and one on his forehead.
"Listen up, Urashima!" Motoko whacked the ground beside his feet with her bokken, causing him to sweat a little. "This excercise is to train your balance, both physically and mentally. Should you drop any of the bottles, they will be replaced at your expense!" This caused the landlord to gulp nervously, but he remained steady.
"Ooh, ooh!" Kitsune jumped with glee as she held a feather in her hand. "Can I, can I?"
"I don't see why not, it'll build character, as they say..." Kanako grinned, and Keitaro's eyes widened in fear as Kitsune came towards him with the feather and her trademark grin on her face...
A week passed in what felt like a minute, and the other tenants have already gotten used to taking on their chores in Keitaro's absence as he continued training with the Aoyomas. So it was a pleasant surprise to them all when they awoke to a spotless dorm, and found the trio chatting pleasantly with each other in the dining room over breakfast with Shinobu.
"Thank goodness!" Kitsune smiled as she sat down with the group. "I can finally take a soak in the hot springs again without having to scrub it everyday!" Naru merely muttered something about slackers, before something drew her attention.
"Keitaro?" Seeing the landlord's attention on her, Naru continued. "Why are you still eating gruel, if your training is complete?"
Keitaro blinked down at his bowl, then smiled at her. "I'm not done with training yet, just resuming my duties as landlord." This brought questioning looks from all the tenants except the Aoyomas, who smiled proudly from where they sat...
The English language is so confusing sometimes... Kanako thought to herself as she walked down the hallway with her school textbook. Naru's already asleep, maybe Keitaro can help me out... As she reached the landlord's room, she raised her hand to knock, but stopped herself. As she sensed the world around her, she merely smiled and opened the door quietly.
True to what her senses told her, Keitaro was planted face-first in his study books and notes, and was snoring quietly. Kanako merely shook her head and easily carried him to his futon, before tucking him under the blankets.
"You truly are a wonder, Keitaro." Kanako whispered with a smile, then kissed his forehead softly. "I can only wish you best of luck in entering Toudai..." She then rose and walked out, taking an empty bowl with bits of gruel remaining from his room before sliding his door shut once more...
Like? No like? Please review!
Some people have brought to my attention that Kanako might be younger than Motoko, but as much research as I did, I couldn't find any info on Kanako's age. Due to her more mature demeanor, I'll stick with her as the older one. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more!
