A Different Life

by crosseyedbutterfly

AU that starts before the anime or manga. A forced engagment, random turtle demons, throw in some new characters, plus an explination of several people's pasts...well... guess you'll have to read it and see...CHAPTER 23 UP. Fini.

10. A job, a Professor, and a Hooligan

I SAID I WAS SORRY!!! ducks as Motoko-muse tosses another dagger rather accurately at me It's not my fault, I SWEAR!! AHHH!! dodges like a maniac before managing to hide behind a bush Ok guys, here's chapter 9. Loads of apologies for not having this up sooner, the first draft got erased in transferring everything over to my laptop and I just haven't had time since I moved north for the summer!! leaps to the side as a sword is thrust through the bush ACK!! Hey, why can't you take a hint from your new aunt and use FANS for Christ's sake!! barely manages to avoid being decapitated as a metal fan buries itself into the tree beside her head, taking off a few inches of hair as it does I MEANT PAPER!!AHH!! goes dashing off in to the sunset, Motoko-muse and the red panda that sits on my computer with its fangs bared chasing me the whole way

Haruka walks out, watching is amusement

Haruka: Heh, idiot....well, here's chapter 10!

Keitaro sighed the very next afternoon, looking over his lists of things he'd need to buy and workers to higher to complete the work he couldn't do himself. There was no way the rent was going to cover this month, or the next, and his personal account was plain empty from the last set of repairs. On top of that, he'd finally gotten his reply back from Hina-san, and it was exactly what he'd hoped for. In any other set of circumstances up to this point such a reply would instantly fix a large sum of his worries. Unfortunately, now, with everything else, there was no way they'd ever be able to afford it. Getting to his feet, he closed the book of all accounts for the Inn with resignation and headed for the door.

"Guess I'd better go find Motoko and oba-san...."

He meandered his way down to the Tea House, waving to Kitsune and Naru who were leaving to do some shopping of sorts. At the bottom of the steps he found a worn Ami and a sheepish Austin, the former about to die from trying to run everything for the first time on her own and the later sorry that all he knew how to do was mix bar drinks from a summer job and wash the dishes Ami brought to him from the tables.

"Hey there," she said with a tired grin when he walked in. "Want something, or are you just here to give me a hard time about letting things get into such a state?"

"Neither, want a hand?" he offered, seeing three tables that needed to be bused and a couple of patrons impatient for their orders. "I can't stay for long, but I think I can at least help you get caught up again."

"If you do, I'll love you forever," she replied quickly with a nod, tossing him an apron from behind the counter. "Just clean things up, will you? I can handle the orders if I don't have to worry about the mess."

"Sure thing, boss," replied Keitaro with a mock salute, picking up the bin and clearing off the dirty tables as quickly as he could.

"Hey now, you'd better not be flirting with my girl over there," joked Austin as he took the full bin from his manager to dump them in the sink.

"Your girl? I thought you two were just 'friends'," replied Keitaro with an amused look. "I may be married, but there's other guys out there that aren't..." He motioned to the table Ami was currently serving, the one young man giving her an appraising look that she pointedly ignored. "Better claim her soon before someone else tries to."

"Don't need to," replied Austin with a simple shrug. "She's got my mark, whatever the hell that means. Guys may look at her all they want, but all of them know better than to try and make a pass at her. Girls can see it to, you know? I've seen the way the other residents react to 'lone males' entering their territory. There's no way they'd have let me in, Haruka's recommendation or not, without feeling I was already attached."

"You're probably right," admitted the ronin with a shrug. "Still, are you ever gonna make it...'official'?"

The American guy shrugged, turning to pour soup all over the cups and saucers before scrubbing them clean one by one. "Maybe. We'll just have to wait and see how things go."

Keitaro rolled his eyes, mentally summing up that answer to the fact that the Toudai guy was too scared. Not that he had any room to talk, he hadn't even proposed to his wife, and doubted he'd ever had gotten the nerve up to ask Motoko out of they'd met under different circumstances. She could be even more intimidating than Ami at her worst and everything bit as enigmatic as well.

Quickly getting his friends back to a manageable level in the Tea House, he made sure things were well under their control before excusing himself and heading into the apartment in the back. Remembering his original reason for coming, he knocked politely on the door that divided the store from the mini-home and got "What do you want, Keitaro?" from his irritated aunt.

"Just wanted to check up on you," he said as he entered the kitchen room, finding Motoko and Haruka in the living room beyond it with a chess board between them. Giving his wife a kiss that she quickly reciprocated, he settled down between them on a stool. "How're you feeling today?"

"Damn peachy," she growled back, moving a knight only to have it captured by one of Motoko's pawns. "It hurts to breath, my niece has beaten me five games straight, and I can't even take a piss without her help. Yeah, my life's just a ray of sunshine..."

Keitaro covered his chuckles with a hand as Motoko's lips twitched slightly in amusement. Moving her queen, she paused, then nodded to herself.

"Checkmate."

"Damn, make that six times." She sighed, lighting another cigarette that she let dangle from her lips. "Your wife here's been pretty gracious, though," she admitted gruffly as the board was set back with its pieces in the starting position. "She's a good helper, even if I am a bit rough on her from time to time..."

"Do not listen to those lies, she was perfectly content until she lost six times in a row," replied Motoko evenly as she gave her aunt-in-law a knowing look. "She can be a bit of a sore loser at times."

Haruka rolled her eyes, shrugging as she did. "Yeah, yeah, whatever...anyways, how's Ami handling things out front?"

"Erm, well..." Keitaro winced slightly. "She's alright, but she's going to be in big trouble tomorrow when Austin has school and lunch rush comes..."

The elder Urashima grimaced, but nodded as if it was what she'd expected. "I figured it would turn out that way," she admitted grudgingly. "Put out a sign tomorrow saying we're looking for a part-time worker, ok?"

"How are we going to pay the wages?" pointed out Keitaro carefully. "Hinata-sou doesn't have the money, we're hardly even going to- OW!!"

"Idiot," muttered Haruka, her eye twitching from the pain of whacking him with a fan. "The Tea House is a separate account, remember? I can afford to take on another hand for a few weeks. Just until I'm well enough to get back in there again."

"Then why don't you hire me?" asked Keitaro quickly, already warming up to such a convenient prospect. "I need to earn a little to make ends meet for this month-"

"No," cut in his aunt flatly, her tone leaving no room for argument. "Urashima men do NOT work in the original Tea House. Ever. That's the way it's been since this place started, and that's the way it's gonna stay."

The manager frowned in annoyance. "What? Why?"

"Dunno, just always has. Not that it matters, nothing you say is going to change my mind on this."

"And surely we are not so tight on funds ourselves that you would need the job, are we?" put in Motoko in concern.

"Actually, we are," admitted her husband a tad bit sheepishly. "We keep our rent low on purpose, just enough to cover each month's expenses with a little extra for the owner to live off of or incase of emergencies. But we don't have that emergency account to fall back on after this last round of repairs, and the hot springs need to be fixed and useable within the next few days. On top of that, oba-san just sent me a reply, and while it was what we'd hoped for we just don't have the funds to do so and yet need to immediately at the same time!"

"What reply from Hina?" cut in Haruka immediately, giving them a questioning look. "What's he talking about?"

"Shinobu-chan's parents have finally decided to get a divorce," explained Motoko quickly. "If we do not find a way to pay her way here, she will have to leave. Permanently."

"Hire her as a helper," stated Haruka immediately. "Her rent can be her wages, and throw in a little extra as spending money ever few weeks."

"That's what I suggested to Hina-san, but at the time we would have had the funds to do so," he clarified with a shrug. "Now...even WITH her rent we wouldn't break even this month."

"I'm not rich, I can't just give you the money for it," muttered Haruka, frowning as she did. "I can loan you some, though, just to get things started with the repairs and getting Shinobu's situation settled."

"Could you really??" Keitaro grinned, gently taking his aunt in his arms and giving her a hug as she feebly protested and brushed him off the moment she was able to without moving too much. "Thank you, oba-san."

"The money's in the top drawer over there," she muttered, giving him a dark look as he quickly located the thick wad of bills and stuffed it in his pocket. "You owe me every single cent back plus ten percent interest, got it?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Keitaro, we can't pay that back!" murmured Motoko a tad bit frantically as she noted just how much money she'd given them. "Not even if we saved the extra yen from rent for a whole year..."

"I'll get a job and work it off," he replied reassuringly, giving her a quick smile. "We just need this money now so we can get started on things, I doubt we'll need all of it period once we get things rolling."

"Still, is not another way...?"

"Take this little heart to heart elsewhere, if you don't mind," cut in Haruka as she picked up the remote and flipped on the TV. "You've got the money, now get out of my hair."

"The deck," said Motoko quickly, leading them out the door. Once outside she stood off to the side, waiting patiently with her arms tucked in her sleeves for him to explain. "...well?"

"We just won't make it this month without some extra cash flowing in," clarified Keitaro as he closed the door behind himself. "At the bare minimum, and doing most of the work myself, we might be able to break even, but I don't have time. To just get the hot springs back in working order before things get too crowed in the ONE other bathroom with a bath or shower we have would take me a week working non-stop."

"You do not have time to be working, either," replied Motoko earnestly. "The final test is not even a month away, you need to be studying as much as possible..."

"I can cut back a little, I'd only need to work during the early part of the day, maybe in the mornings and come back here to study after lunch for the rest of the day..." Keitaro trailed off as Motoko looked away, gnawing on her lip a little. "Motoko-chan?"

"One of the other residents can watch over Haruka, if needed, we could even make it a part of Shinobu-chan's duties if she agrees," she offered slowly. "There is more than one dojo that would hire me as an assistant after school, with more than decent pay..."

"No," put in Keitaro simply, shaking his head as he did. "You'd have to quit the kendo club to do that, and I know how much you love the work you do there. Besides, who will take care of the Inn for me while I work? Let me get the job, and to help I'll let you take over a few of my duties as manager. Between the two of us, we'll make ends meet somehow."

"You should not have to take on so much," replied his wife, her eyes full of concern as she put a hand on his arm. "You already have one fulltime job, too much more could damage your well-being..."

"I'll take care of myself, I promise," he said, leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek. "And besides, even if I don't, I have a wonderful wife who's always there to help me out when things start to get out of control, right?"

"You always seem to be the most eloquent when you need something of me," she murmured as she threw her arms about his neck, holding him tightly for a moment. "Go, I will watch over things here."

"Thank you." He gave her a gentle hug, then let go and waved as he disappeared down the side path back to the front. "We'll figure out a way to make this work, I promise."

Motoko just hoped he was right.

"YOU WHAT?!"

The dark room with it's robed figures resounded with that single thundered demand, one in particular huddled before their faceless leader and the rest who stand apart as he shakes in fear. "What were your orders? SPEAK MAN!!"

"Th-...that n-none were t-to be ha-harmed. Only to destroy enough to leave an impression without attracting the other's notice."

"THEN WHY DID YOU ATTACK?!"

"M-...my lord, it was not the boy-AH!!"

"Fool," growled the hooded figure as he twists his hold on the man's hair a little harder. "Ingrate. You have set us back further than any attempt before! Before now, he feared us, he was wary, but he did not necessarily hate us. Now that you have caused him to feel THAT as well...do you understand what you have done?!"

"P-please, my lord, I ha-have FOREVER been a f-faithful servant..."

"I do not require that my servants be faithful," cut in the Master, drawling sarcastically over the word. "Merely competent."

"Did I not suggest, my lord, that this plan was not a wise one?" puts forth one f the others, those around him drawing away slightly as if to remove themselves from the attention he was drawing.

"Do you also suggest then that I am incompetent in my ability to reach my goal?" replied the Master, turning towards the offender slowly.

"Of course not, my lord," came the immediate answer.

"Of course not, my lord," parroted back the faceless man mockingly. "We would NEVER dare speak against you in such a way! Oh no, of course not! Well, what would you propose then, oh wise one? We ask him nicely with a present of chocolate with a cherry on top and a nice bow to go along with it?"

"A more subtle approach sir..." A smirk appeared on the speaker's face, drawing the interest of his master. "One which they shall never suspect in the least."

The cowled leader stepped closer, leaning in as the man stared into the black, unrevealing depths of his hood. "Keep talking."

Shinobu stood nervously at Keitaro and Motoko's bedroom door, wondering what it could possibly be that they'd summoned her for. Twiddling her fingers, she paused, the knocked tentatively on the wooden frame.

"Sempai? It's Shinobu, you wished to see me?"

The door slid open, Keitaro standing in the walkway with a grin. "Hey, come on in. Motoko will be ready in just a sec, she's changing real quick."

"Oh..." The younger resident shuffled in after him, looking back in alarm when he shut the door behind her. It wasn't fear that made her nervous, or not fear for her life or safety, anyways. It was more of a premonition of doom that had been hanging over her head lately. Motoko and Keitaro had something very important to say to her, and whatever it was, she hoped it wasn't what she feared.

"I am ready," announced Motoko as she slipped from behind the changing screen, giving the young girl a reassuring smile. "I apologize for keeping you waiting."

"Oh, that's alright," she squeaked in reply. "Um...I was just wondering, though..."

"Why you're here," finished Keitaro for her with a chuckle. "Relax, we have some good news for you, ok? I faxed Hina-san, and she agrees with me whole-heartedly. How would you like to stay at Hinata-sou as a hire on?"

"What...?" Shinobu looked back at him, obviously confused.

"What he means to say," put in Motoko, placing a hand on the younger girl's shoulder as she led her to the table and bid her to sit. "Is that you don't have to leave. We wish to hire you as a cook, permanently. In place of wages, since you live here, you will simply not have to pay rent. If you ever need anything extra, all you must do is ask and if we can provide it we will. Does that sound fair?"

The young cook's jaw dropped, hope blossoming in her eyes as she prepared to accept the position....only to fall again as she remembered something. "But..."

"What? Is something wrong?" asked Keitaro, immediately concerned. "Don't worry, we'll call your parents and everything. Just say yes, and you can stay here for as long as you like."

"But, I..." She shook her head, tears forming her eyes. "Forgive me, sempai, but I heard you speaking with Kitsune today. I don't want you to have to get another job because of me! That's not fair!"

"Oh...Shinobu-chan..." Keitaro chuckled weakly, shaking his head as he did. "Look, you're not the straw that broke the camel's back, alright? You're not even the straw after that, or the bale that followed. Believe me, even if we didn't offer you the position I would still have to take the job. Everything's going to work out though, ok? We'll be able to cover it just fine, and you don't ever have to leave until you're good and ready to."

Keitaro was a little surprised when he found her slender arms thrown about his neck, the preteen sobbing her gratitude into his shoulder as she clung to him. Clumsily putting his arms on her shoulders, he made shushing noises and ruffled her hair affectionately. "Aww...you know we'd do anything for you, Shinobu-chan, or anyone else here for that matter."

"You're so kind to us!" she cried as she let go and let herself be folded into Motoko's waiting arms. Her husband glad of the trade off as he wasn't the best at dealing with crying girls blushed at that comment. "Thank you so, so much, I never thought...oh, I know you said you'd help, but I didn't think there was a way...!!"

"Shh, it will be fine now," murmured Motoko as she calmed the young girl down, pulling her away gently and smoothing her hair away from her splotchy face.

"I'm sorry for acting like this," said Shinobu as she hastily wiped away the last of her tears. "I feel like such a baby, and I got your shirts wet..."

"It's alright," Keitaro assured her gently. "Say, why don't you go wash up and tell the others, ok?"

"Ok, sempai! Thank you, thank you both so much!"

"You're very welcome," replied Motoko, giving her a rare, full smile. "Go, they will wish to share their congratulations with you as we have."

"I know!! Bye!!"

"Did we do the right thing, adding one more thing to our list of impossible things to do?" chuckled Keitaro as he put an arm about his wife, sharing a quiet moment with her as they rarely had these days.

"We would have been wrong to deny her such a chance," replied Motoko lightly. "And besides, nothing is impossible, merely difficult. We will find a way." She glanced up at him, adding a bit wryly. "Somehow, with you, we always do."

''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''/''

Keitaro managed to hire the workers needed for a reduced cost plus the supplies they would need to work with, and even got them to the Inn that very same day to start work. He finished things up with Shinobu, called her parents to get through the 'negotiations', and much to the surprise but joy of the other residents installed her as a permanent cook and washer-for-hire when the other girls didn't want to do their own laundry. He paid for a new heating and cooling system, installed it himself, and took care of a hundred and one other small details that he'd be thankful of later on. He'd even helped Ami sort through the applications that had come in for the Tea House and helped her pick out two part-time helpers. However, he was not having luck with the one bolt upon which this own operation was to turn in the end: finding a job.

Sighing as he crossed off the seventh place on his list from notices in the paper, the manager began to figure out the quickest route to the next one. The first six had already been filled or he hadn't fit the qualifications, and after realizing the seventh was for a lingerie store he'd left without even bothering to apply.

Realizing his next stop was near the Toudai campus, Keitaro decided to take a quick detour there and see if he could find work typing papers or doing research on the way. It may not be steady work, but if it'd bring in some yen while he was trying to find a permanent position he wouldn't object. It was only a couple of blocks walk to reach the edge of the sprawling school grounds, and not much farther than that before he located the huge notice board with so many ads and fliers stapled to it he could hardly tell where some ended and others began. Carefully searching them, he'd copied down a couple of numbers and was tearing off a tab for a third when a plain flier hidden in one corner caught his attention.

HELP WANTED: Part-time Assistant in Archeology Department!!

Ripping it from among the rest, the ronin took off towards the specified offices faster than he'd even run from Naru's Super-Punch on his first day at Hinata-sou. He had to make it to the office before anyone else that might have seen it did, for in his hour of need such a job would be absolutely perfect!

Rounding a corner, Keitaro stopped in his tracks as a van came flying out of nowhere towards him. Hitting a bar that was supposed to discourage traffic through the narrow valley, the four-wheel deathtrap flipped over it and narrowly missed the ronin who had plastered himself to the wall as it continued to roll by and landed on its wheels with a

WHUMP!

The front door popped open, Keitaro peeling himself from the wall to rush forward in concern as a tall, lanky man stumbled out of the driver's seat with blood trickling from his messy, dark brown hairline.

"Sir, are you alright?" he asked as he reached him, pulling out a handkerchief.

"Oh, I'm fine," chuckled the lean fellow, patting the trickle away with his sleeve as he straightened his rectangular glasses and rubbed the stubble on his chin thoughtfully. "Sorry about that, I didn't see you there until was almost too late...hey, you got my flyer there!"

"Flyer?" Keitaro glanced down at his hand, quickly straightening as he remembered why he was heading across the campus in the first place. "Are you the one I need to see about this job?"

"I would suppose so, since I'm the one that posted it," replied the man, whom he assumed was a professor, with a shrug.

"My name is Keitaro, sir, and I'm extremely interested in this position. Is there anything I need to fill out? A questionnaire? References?"

"Whoa, no, none of that stuff for this job," his possible employer laughed. "Just a couple a simple questions, I guess, to make sure you'd like it and could do it. You like sketching?"

"Actually, yeah," replied Keitaro in surprise.

"How about organizing stuff? You any good at that?"

The ronin nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. I mean, I have some management experience so I'd assume so..."

The professor continued to check things off on his fingers. "Do you have allergies to dust, mold, or other types of airborne stuff?"

"Uh...not that I know of, sir." Keitaro scratched the back of his head.

"And do you know how to be gentle with fragile stuff, this is the most important thing of all."

He nodded again. "Yeah, if I have to be."

His new employer grinned, clapping him on the back with enough force to make him stagger slightly. "Good, then you're hired, Keitaro."

Keitaro, who'd been expecting to suddenly have a ton of paperwork to fill out, looked up in confusion. "I am?"

"You are."

"...just like that?"

"Yeah, just like that."

"Oh...ok, well thanks! When do I start?"

"Right now, if you can."

"Sure! I can't work afternoons usually, but today's fine."

"Sounds good to me, part-timer, let's get you hooked up." He climbed back into the van, looking expectantly at Keitaro when he didn't follow. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

The ronin obeyed, though apprehensively, and quickly buckled himself in once in the passenger front seat. He sincerely hoped his boss wasn't that bad of a driver all the time, or he may not live to get his first paycheck period.

"By the way, sir," he asked politely as the engine roared to life and the van was put into drive. "What do you want me to address you as?"

"Oh, don't worry about formal titles or anything," replied the man with a laugh. "You can just call me Seta."

"That is my idea, my lord."

There is a silence, some shuffling of robes heard as the rest wait nervously for their master to speak. His moods have become random and unpredictable as of late, even dangerous sometimes. Where only one would suffer his anger before, now all suffer at times and none wish to bring those times again.

"It is sound," he says after all, almost relishing in their obvious relief.

"You are too kind, my lord."

"Implement it immediately."

"Of course, sir."

"Take care, though for if this fails..." Everyone seems to freeze as his voice suddenly takes on a menacing note, those around the target of it backing away discreetly. "You will not like the consequences."

"Of course, my lord. However, I shall not fear." He smirks again, something his master suddenly finds rather annoying. "For I shall not fail."

Keitaro followed his new boss up a side entrance to a building, hauling a crate along with him as he looked around curiously.

"This is the door you'll have to use," explained Seta as he reached the top of the steps and pulled out a keycard. "I'll go and get you one of these while you're working, but it'll only be set to work from 8 am to 8 pm. That's during the times of the majority of the classes, and if you try and get in any other time you'll probably be arrested and then I'd have to fire you!" Seta laughed, Keitaro chuckling weakly along with him though he made a mental note NEVER to be around other than those times. "Now, here's how they calculate how much they're paying you, ok? I'm not actually supplying your wages, they don't even pay me enough to really live off of, so they said they'd cover it to have this work taken care of since it won't last forever. Every time you come in you punch in number at the top of your card in this pad." He motioned to a keypad beside the door. "And when you're done you do it again. Every week you go up to the main office, show them your card, and they'll give you a check. If you forget a week or something, that's ok, and you can set whatever hours you want to work, but you might want to show up at least a few times a week or they may make me replace you."

"Ok, I'm pretty sure I can do that," replied Keitaro quickly, mentally working out how many hours he might be able to log in a week without cutting into his studying too much. "What am I doing, anyways?"

"Hold your horses, I'll show you in just a second..."

They followed the hall to the end, taking the stairs there up another two flights before they reached another hallway and following it to the opposite end. There, Seta opened another door and let his new assistant inside. The walls, floor, and even shelves running down the middle were full of crack pots, old utensils, and all sorts of other artifacts and fossils than Keitaro had ever seen in his life.

"Whoa..."

"This is your job," said Seta lightly as he picked up a pot and balanced it on the top of his finger. "To label, sort, and sketch every bit of pottery in this room, putting the drawings and records in this." A heavy notebook appeared out of nowhere to land in Keitaro's hands. "I don't have time to do this between the digs I do and classes I teach when I return here at the University (not to mention the other jobs I have to help pay for stuff) so I'd just as soon as shove it off to someone else, like you."

"Oh...well...ok..." The ronin sweated as he looked at the daunting piles and stacks of unlabeled and unorganized bits of pieces of, well, everything.

"I'll bring up the rest of the stuff," offered the lab-coated teacher, dropping the pot on accident as he tired to put it back on the shelf and missed. "Oops...and you might want to glue that back together while you're at it, real quick."

Keitaro face-faulted as his boss just scratched the stubble on his chin and walked out with an easy grin. Carefully gathering the broken bits together, he placed them on the sole free space on one of the counters and managed to unearth a bottle of glue in one of the drawers.

It wasn't nearly as hard as he thought it would be, and he had almost finished putting the final piece in place when a small foot came out of nowhere to land in the middle of the mended pot and pulverize it to dust.

"Who are you, dork?" growled a childish voice, Keitaro looking up (still in denial that his work had been in vain) to see a young girl who couldn't be more than 10 with green eyes and unruly blonde hair. She was obviously American, and wore overalls with a tank top and a baseball cap backwards on her head.

"I could ask the same of you!" replied the ronin angrily, reality finally hitting home. "Do you know how long it took me to fix that?!"

"Sarah, you're not bothering my assistant, are you?" called Seta as he came up with the last load, setting it down just in time to catch the young girl as she hurled herself at him.

"Papa!!"

"Papa?" repeated Keitaro to himself, just barely able to see the family resemblance in their smiles and lanky figures. Still, he wasn't sure he'd have seen it if that particular fact hadn't been handed to him openly.

"Sarah, this is Keitaro," said Seta as he set his daughter down again. "Now, I want you to play nice and stay out of his way while I go and give a quick lecture."

"You can't leave me here!" cried Sarah indignantly. "I think his dorkiness might be contagious papa, and then what'd happen to me??"

"You might be a little less of a terror, that's what," he teased her, ruffling her hair. "You'll be fine with him, right part-timer? Great! Well, see you in a bit!"

"But I-"

"But he's a-"

Slam!

The pair glanced at the other, Keitaro sighing as Sarah eyed him like she'd like to toss him in front of her papa's van while it sped down the highway. That or smash in his face like she'd done to the pot.

"You'd better not touch me, dork!" she warned him as she hopped up onto another one of the cabinets. Picking up a piece of chipped pottery, she sighed and tossed it aside carelessly. "Don't see why papa collects all this junk, seems pretty worthless to me. Besides, he's got me, and I have to be more interesting than all this stuff."

"Ah!!" Keitaro dove to the ground, barely catching the discarded pot with a sigh of relief. "Hey, be careful, that's my job you're throwing around!"

"Why do I care if you get fired?" said Sarah as she tossed an ancient plate in his direction, smirking as he scrambled to catch that one as well.

"Well, maybe the next guy your dad hire's won't be half as nice as I am," replied Keitaro tiredly, putting the plate and pot on another shelf out of her reach. "He may be twice the dork, twice as mean, maybe on top of all that..." Keitaro checked his wallet, finding it a great deal thinner than he liked and hoped he'd only have to use this ploy once. "He'll never bribe you with ice cream if you promise to leave him alone until he's finished for the day."

"What kind?" asked the young blonde shrewdly.

"Any kind you want for only a few yen," replied the ronin, a coaxing hint in his voice. "Just let me work for a few hours and don't break ANYTHING, and we'll go. Deal?" He stuck out his hand to his current boss's kid.

She shook it warily. "Alright...you'd better not forget, though, or I'll come after you and you won't like that!" She went into a fighter's crouch with a smirk on her face, aiming a kick at him that he barely dodged. "My papa taught me Jeet Kun No, and I'm not afraid to use it!"

"I promise I won't," he assured her, pulling out the glue again to attempt and put the pot back together for a second time. "And I don't forget my promises."

"You got a girlfriend or something, dork?" she asked after a couple of minutes of silence. "Or are you as hopeless as you look?"

"No, I don't have a girlfriend," he chuckled to himself, watching out of the corner of his eye as his young companion opened her mouth with another smirk on her face. "I have a wife."

Breaking into a laugh as Sarah sputtered in surprise and spilled some of the juice she'd been drinking down her front, he watched as she wiped it up hurriedly and gave him a dark look. "You are not," she growled in disbelief. "If you are, prove it."

"I have a wedding band," pointed out Keitaro as he put the last piece in place holding up his left hand.

"So does Papa, but he'd not married," she sassed back confidently. "Gonna have to do better than that, dork."

"Alright, then..." Bringing his wallet back out, he flipped to a picture he'd gotten recently, one Ami had taken without telling them at then Inn while they'd been enjoying a sunset together. Handing it to the young girl, who scanned in suspiciously, he pointed out her matching wedding ring. "See?"

"What'd you do, force her at gun point?" the blonde hooligan said flatly, still not quite believing it.

"No, her father had us at sword point," admitted Keitaro, blushing hotly.

"So it was arranged. What'd you do, get caught in her bed having 'playtime'?" she asked calmly, studying what looked like a bone of sorts.

Keitaro nearly fell over in surprise. "WHAT?! No! You're not supposed to know about stuff like that!"

"Yeah well..." Sarah shrugged, wandering around the room in boredom. "Why'd he pick you, though? She could do better than you by a long shot if she'd got half the brains as she does looks."

"It's a long story..." Wincing rather painfully at some of the memories surrounding their wedding, he shook it off and continued with the sketching he'd started. "So, if we're playing twenty questions, where are you from, exactly?"

"Waddaya mean?"

"I dunno, where do you live, I guess."

She scooted closer warily, poking him in the side of the head as she did. "You're not some stalker pedophile, are you?"

Keitaro whipped his head around, glaring at her in shock. "No! I'm married, you just saw the picture!! I'm into girls my own age, thank you!"

"She looks a bit younger'n you," pointed out his unwilling companion.

"By just a few years, she's 17. And believe me." Keitaro felt himself flush slightly. "Motoko-chan is no child. Seriously, though, I was just curious as to where Seta lives."

Sarah seemed to accept that, and so replied, "Well, we live here."

"On campus?" clarified Keitaro.

"Yeah."

"Where? The dormitories? The apartments?"

"No, the van."

Keitaro paused, glancing at his young charge. "You're kidding right?"

"No, we live in the van, Papa, me and Koshi..."

Keitaro frowned as he cut in. "Koshi? Who's that?"

Sarah pouted at his rudeness, crossing her arms as she replied. "My cousin, he's probably just a little younger than you."

"Is he, now?" Keitaro raised his brows slightly. "Why doesn't he take this job, then?"

"He's strong, but a little, uh, not clumsy, just not careful," admitted Sarah carelessly. "And he can't draw to save his life. Besides, he's busy with all the clubs he's in and sports he plays and stuff...he's a senior in high school this year, and trying for Toudai too, you know."

"Oh..."

"My turn to ask something," she went on, getting back up on another shelf to poke around in it's hidden, dusty recesses. "Hm...where do you live, dork? With your in-laws?"

"No, I own an Inn that's currently being use as an all girl's dormitory. It was my inheritance from my grandmother." Glancing up, he caught Sarah giving him an incredulous look. "What?"

"Only a dork like you would land a dream job like that AFTER you're married," she replied flatly. "You know how many guys would KILL for that job while they're still single?"

"Well, it was supposed to be my graduation gift, but the marriage happened kinda out of the blue and I needed a way to support the two of us with her still in high school," explained Keitaro with a chuckle.

"Ok, so you're in college?"

"Er...not exactly."

"Then what are you graduating from? You can't possibly still be in high school."

Keitaro looked away, ashamed though he still replied. "I'm still trying for Toudai."

Sarah's unexpected burst of laughter caught Keitaro off guard, him watching her with an odd look as she guffawed breathlessly. "Toudai, ha! That's a good one, maybe you're not such a loser after all! Haha! She wiped a tear from her eyes as she settled down, panting breathlessly from her mirth. "Whoo-boy. So really, where are ya planning on going?"

"I just told you," he replied, giving her a glare as he quickly began to shelve some of the items he'd finished with, categorizing them as he went. "Toudai."

She stared at him for a moment, then smacked herself in the forehead. "I take that back. You are a totally, bon-a-fide, bigger than life loser...this has to be, what, you're second try?"

Keitaro turned red. "Uh...third."

"You're hopeless."

"Ok, enough beating up on met about my pathetic life," he snapped roughly. "My turn to ask something. If it's just you, your dad and cousin, where's your mom?"

"Don't got one," said Sarah in a matter-of-fact voice. "She died sometime I was born."

"Oh..." Unsure of what do say to that, Keitaro just kept working with a nod. "Er...I don't mean to pry, but do you remember what she looks like or anything?"

"I remember two women," admitted the hooligan lightly. "A blonde and a brown-haired one. The blonde I know was momma, I've seen pictures of her, but I always wondered who the other one was."

"Does your father know?"

"If he does, he's not telling me."

"Well, um...where did you live before you came here, to Tokyo?" he asked after awhile, giving her a curious look as she amused herself seeing how high she could make a card house go on a separate table.

"I was born in Japan somewhere close to here, but I grew up for the most part in America with my grandparents. Papa said I was old enough to come with him on his adventures last year, so I moved back with him to the van. I was pretty glad, too, cuz as nice as Gramps and Granny where, they were getting old, and smelled funny."

"What about your cousin? Why's he living with you?"

"Cuz his parent's live on a small island somewhere, and he wanted to go to Toudai instead of the local school. His parent's were cool with it, too, cuz then he gets a discount since he's registered through Seta as family and doesn't have to pay room and board. They're pretty cool period, actually, except they have this weird obsession with peaches...My turn to ask. Can you do martial arts or kendo or anything like that?"

"No," admitted the ronin honestly. "I prefer not to hurt people if I can help it. My wife is a very talented kendoist, though."

"That's just the cowards way of saying you're a wuss, too afraid to fight for what you want," scoffed Sarah mockingly.

"No, I'll stand up for myself and those close to me," protested Keitaro good naturedly. "I'm just not that talented when it comes to using my fists."

"Uh huh, right..."

"Hey there, guys, how's things going?" Seta appeared in the door way, a goofy grin plastered on his face as he leaned on the frame. He tossed a plastic card at Keitaro, along with a clipboard and pen. "There's your card, fill in that sheet and we're set."

"Papa!" Sarah flung herself at him for the second time that day, hanging from his neck as he ruffled her hair affectionately. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, kiddo, got help up by some students with questions," he replied lightly as he sat her back down. "But it looks like you two got along alright. You decided not to use this one as a personal punching bag?"

Keitaro raised his brow as the young blonde just giggled slyly. That hadn't been in the job description...

"How much longer do you think it'll take you to finish this room?" asked Seta as he walked over and picked up the log book, nodding in approval at the work completed. "You've made a nice dent in the mountain of things to do as it is."

"A week, maybe two," said Keitaro judiciously. "I can't stay much past noon on any given day usually, but I can be here right at 8 a.m. sharp every morning."

"Good! That means you'll be able to move onto the other rooms in no time!" beamed Seta happily. "Great job, part-timer!"

Keitaro face-faulted. "Other rooms?"

"Oh yeah, this whole hall is full of artifacts, fossils, and other things I've collected that needs to be sorted and labeled," laughed Seta lightly. "It's about 8 years of clutter in all, I think. Say, I got a favor to ask, though. My other job is one where I can't take Sarah with me, and Koshi, my nephew, is busy so if I could leave Sarah with you awhile? I'll cut you a little extra on your check."

"But, sir I-"

"Papa, he's-"

"Great! Koshi'll be by in a couple of hours to pick her up when he finishes with his classes." He took the clipboard, not even glancing over it. "This address here is the one you live at, right? Then Koshi'll just come get her there. Bye!"

The gangly-legged, slightly neurotic professor disappeared back into the hallway, into his van, and down the road before either Keitaro or Sarah could so much as speak in protest.

"Well, I can't just leave you here," sighed Keitaro as he scratched his head, the professor having dumped his daughter on him for the second time in a row. Still, money was money and he needed it. "Come on, I'll take you back to the Inn and we can wait for him there like he said."

"Don't get all excited about it or nothing," she shot back, glaring at him huffily more out of annoyance than actual despise. "What's he thinking, sticking me with a loser..."

"Wanna get your ice cream now or when we get there?" asked Keitaro as they left the facility.

"Ice cream?" She looked up at him, confused for a moment before remembrance dawned on her face. "Oh! Um...now."

"Ok, then." Keitaro fished out his wallet. "There's a vendor right on our way to the station. What flavor do you want?"

"Strawberry!"

He nodded. "Ok."

Sarah glanced at him suspiciously. "You're being creepily nice."

"You kept your end of the deal and let me work, so now I'm just keeping mine," replied Keitaro with a shrug. "What kind of man would I be if I couldn't keep even a simple promise like that?" He paid for the ice cream as they went by the vendor, handing it to her as they waited for their train.

"Dunno..." She accepted it, licking the melted bits for a moment before she added, "But you're still a dorky loser."

Keitaro rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Hey, easy there!" grumped Haruka as Motoko helped her lower herself into a kitchen chair. "Freakin' ribs, can't even sit on my own..."

"I believe you were upset not long ago for supposedly 'coddling' you too much," replied Motoko lightly with an amused edge to her voice. "I am simply attempting to obey you, honored elder."

"Honored elder my butt," snapped Haruka, though her eye had a slight twinkle in it none the less.

"What do you need for this 'project' of yours?" inquired Motoko, setting a pot of tea and a cup beside her aunt-in-law respectfully.

"Just the box under my bed," replied her charge around the cigarette hanging from her lips, a cloud of smoke about her head. "Don't open it either."

"I will be sure not to." Doing as she had been instructed, the box was set carefully before Haruka. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, go and get some practice time in," came the prompt reply. "I know you've been slacking in your disciple to help me around, go make it up while you can."

"Very well," replied Motoko with a slight smile. "I shall be back before dinner time, and you know how to reach me should you require something else."

"Yeah, yeah, get lost."

Motoko smiled to herself as she left Haruka to the secret technique of 'Hinata Fan Making'. Curious, but not curious enough to risk the wrath of her relative and possibly further her injury with the attack that would surely follow if she peeked, the swordswoman headed for the roof.

Keitaro paused at the bottom of the steps leading up to Hinata-sou, glancing back at his sulky companion as she licked up the last of her ice cream. "Well?"

"Well what?" she growled back, pulling her cap lower over her eyes as if fearing someone might recognize her on the street.

"What do you think?" He motioned to the grand old building above them with a wave of his hand.

Trailing behind, she glanced up and shrugged. "It looks like a nice place, I guess. You got a whole floor to yourself?"

"No, only a bedroom and office, the rest is open to the tenants," he replied cheerfully, incredibly glad to be back.

"All that space, and you don't even take advantage of it?" she grumbled. "You really are a loser..."

"Some would call it generous," offered Keitaro.

"Thankfully, I'm not 'some' or whatever."

"Look, I don't mind if you insult me do whatever to me, but you have to be polite to my wife and the other people living here if you're going to be staying with us in the evenings," said Keitaro as they paused outside the front door. "And in truth, I'm not sure what to do with you yet since I have work to do around here. So you might be spending more time with them than with me."

"Fine, whatever."

"Ooh....got something you need to tell us about, Keitaro?" Both turned to see a rather tipsy Kitsune swaying towards them, her usual foxy grin in place. "Had a run in with a sexy blonde a few years back, did you?"

"I'm not his kid!" cried Sarah indignantly. "Come on, I'd kill myself if I were related to a dork like him."

"She's my boss's kid, and I'm just keeping an eye on her for a couple of hours," explained Keitaro quickly. "Where've you been all day? Or do I want to know?"

"Just been visiting some friends of mine," she giggled back, leaning over to get a better look at the newcomer. "What's your name, kid?"

"Sarah. Who're you?"

"Saucy little thing, aren't ya?" teased Kitsune as Keitaro opened the front door and let them all in. Winking, she added, "Not that there's anything wrong with that in the least. Call me Kitsune, hun."

"Ok." Sarah flashed her a brief grin, Kitsune raising her brows in surprise.

"Say, kid, you look a lot like someone..."

"GERONIMO!!!"

Everyone looked up to see Su jumping from the top of the stairs, landing on Keitaro who just barely managed to catch her on his back without falling over.

"Hiya, Keitaro! Who'szat?" Su grinned as blissfully ignorant as ever, giving him the usual death-grip hug.

"Hey, Su-chan," he gasped as he finally managed to get some breathing room. "This is Sarah, my boss's daughter."

"Nice ta meetcha," said Su as she flipped herself to the floor, holding her hand out to the smirking young girl.

"Same here," replied Sarah as she shook the offered hand. "What's it like, living with the dork here?" She jerked her head at Keitaro who was rubbing the back of his neck.

"Lots a fun! 'Specially dive bombing Keitaro, or making my giant robots with all their rockets and lazers...wanna come see?"

Sarah, who'd decided right from the start she liked this girl, broke out into a bright grin. "Sure!"

"Don't break anything!" called Keitaro after them as they raced up the stairs. "And no explosives either, Su-chan!!"

"Aww..."

"Well, I'm off to clean the hot springs," announced Keitaro after he watched them disappear. "If anyone needs me, I'll be out there."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll let 'em know..." The manager left the foxy lady in the main room, settling herself on the couch with a paper about the day's races as she flipped on the TV.

"Sempai, did you find a job today?" asked Shinobu as he entered the kitchen, carrying a basket and some brushes in either hand.

"Yep, and got the hours I wanted to," he added happily. "My boss asked me to watch his daughter, though, and she might be joining us for dinner so would it be to much trouble to have you set an extra place tonight?"

"Of course not, Sempai!" She grinned brightly, a faint blush staining both cheeks. "Where is she now?"

"With Su-chan."

"Au..." The resident cook frowned, looking slightly worried. "I hope she goes easy on her..."

"Don't worry," he snorted wryly as he made his way out to the back. "Whatever happens, that girl can handle it. I'm more worried about Su that her, to be honest. Let me know if something happens, alright? She's kinda my paycheck right now and we can't afford to lose that."

Shinobu nodded, promising herself she'd listen closely as she prepared the meal in return for his assistance. "Yes, sempai."

"Thanks!"

Sarah and Su snuck up to the roof, paintball guns in hand as the elder of the two grinning in anticipation. They wore masks over their faces, but nothing more than that as she'd assured her younger companion it wouldn't be needed.

"You sure she'll make a good target?" whispered Sarah as she removed the safety and pulled the mask on more securely. "I don't wanna waste my time on some whimp that just let's themselves get pegged to the wall..."

"Nah, this one is good," Su assured her with a wink. "We may not even be able to get a hit in, she doesn't let me half the time but it's still fun to try."

"100 yen says I can get the first hit in before you."

"You're on! Now our target's right around the corner on the roof outside, ok? Don't worry about being quiet, she's probably already hear us by now. Get ready, now, three...two...one...GO!!"

"HA!!"

SLAM

Tok tok tok tok tok tok!!!

"Hold fire!" called Su, realizing their intended target was no where in sight. The deck was covered in spatters of her special neon-reflective paint that would wash away with a good rain, and no evidence of where their quarry had gone.

"She's getting better at this," chuckled Su as she pulled up her mask and began to survey the surrounding area. "A worthy prey indeed."

"I do not believe you asked Keitaro if you could repaint the deck, girls," called an amused voice from above them.

Both had their guns turned and aimed at the voice within seconds, but it was not quick enough. Su's weapon was tossed off the roof as the tall young woman with flowing black hair rebuffed the other resident gently but firmly.

Sarah hesitated as she recognized her as the woman in the picture, and that was all the time she needed to leap up and out of her line of fire, coming down behind Sarah to attempt to knock the gun from her with a quick thrust of her sheathed katana. Remembering her father's training, Sarah moved just in time to miss it, but didn't see the back sweep as it caught her just below the knees and she was dumped to her butt to stare up at the slightly smiling kendoist.

"My apologies," she said simply as she tossed Sarah's gun aside before holding a hand out to help her up, Su already clinging to her back affectionately. "Su-chan does not always warn her playmates ahead of time what they are getting into. Do you, Su?"

"That's half the fun, though!" replied the bright foreigner with a laugh. "Motoko, this is Sarah-chan."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," said the samurai as she bowed slightly, Sarah bowing back immediately more out of habit than actual respect.

"I already know who you are," she put in as she dusted herself off. "The dork showed me a picture of you while he was working."

"Dork...?" Motoko glanced at Su in puzzlement.

She quickly translated. "She means Keitaro." Leaping upon the young girl's back, she grabbed her cheeks and pulled them into a leering smile as far as they would go while adding one of her own. "Hehe, ain't she sweet? She's got a nickname for him and everything!"

Motoko's lips twitched in amusement, as if unsure just how sweet the struggling American may be but willing to leave it for the moment.

"Weh go!!" cried Sarah as she flailed about helplessly, Su giggling as she pulled her cheeks out a tad bit farther. "Ahh!! Weh gowah mah mouf!!"

"That will be quite enough," said Motoko as she pulled Su off, setting her aside gently. "Shinobu-chan will be finishing her chores soon, why don't you go ask her for a snack?"

"Yippee!! Come, Sarah!"

"Alright!"

Motoko watched them dash off with an amused look, wondering for just a moment just who it was that young blonde reminded her of before shrugging it off and settling into one of her routine katas. If it was relevant, the answer would come to her, if not then it was not worth dwelling on for now.

Keitaro sat back in his office, books spread out in front of him and sheets of notes lying everywhere as he tried to organize himself enough to study again. The hot springs had been left fairly clean by the crew that had put the fence back up (and at an amazing quick rate, too) so it had only taken a little time for him to make it spotless. His other chores and duties were mainly covered by Shinobu, bless her heart, and to cover her rent and he figured he might as well get what time he could spare buried in his books before the big test.

Hearing two sets of feet come pounding down the steps, he saw Sarah and Su flash by his door before disappearing into the kitchen. Having heard nothing crash or explode as of yet, he figured they must be getting along fairly well and didn't spare them another thought. Time passed as he immersed himself in mathematical formulas and sentence structures, and he was just about to move on to Japanese characters when there was a loud CRASH! from the back of the Inn.

The Manager was on his feet and out through the kitchen and the backdoor within moments past a confused Kitsune and worried Shinobu, and what he saw shot the calm he'd found in studying straight to hell.

"SARAH!! SU!!"

"Uh....hi, Keitaro!"

The pair perilously hung from one of the tallest trees outside of the hot springs, only saved from a painful fall to the ground by the hanging seats and harnesses that strapped them to a hover-type craft currently lodged into the giant pine.

"Guess, I should tweak that navigational system..." sighed Su as she surveyed the wreckage with regret.

"Gee, ya think?" replied Sarah, who was looking thoroughly peeved. "Ground doesn't look too far away, maybe we should just drop from here..."

"No, you'll stay where you are!" cried Keitaro, his heart racing in panic. "Just don't move, I'll think of a way to get you down without getting hurt!!"

"Great, we're gonna be here all night..." muttered Sarah, crossing her arms and pouting slightly. "Stupid dork..."

"How'd you guys get up there?" called Kitsune who'd followed them out, lounging against the back wall with an amused grin.

"Er, well...we punched in our destination in the nav system," called back Su. "And it took the shortest route there...into the tree."

"How were we supposed to know it'd do that?" added Sarah with an easy shrug. "Getting any ideas, dorkus?? I'm getting hungry up here!" To herself, she added, "I gotta pee, too..."

Keitaro began pacing frantically below, about to tear out his hair as he tried in vain to think of a plan and instead kept seeing the worst possible scenarios of how it would end with the girls getting hurt (and he fired) in his mind's eye. "What am I gonna do? What am I gonna do? Think, think, think, come on...What am I gonna do?!"

"Come on," murmured Sarah to Su out of the corner of her mouth, "Let's just go ahead and drop down. We'll probably break a leg each, but at least we'll be down and that means the others will have to wait on us..."

"Don't worry, we'll be down in just a couple of moments," said Su cheerily.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because, either Motoko-chan is going to make a heroine entrance in Haruka-san's place and save the day, or..." The branch above them creaked ominously. "Our weight will prove to be too great for the tree to hold, in which case gravity will take over."

Sarah felt her first twinge of fear as there was a loud CRACK and they fell downwards a few inches. "Holy crap...!!"

"Looks like I won't get to test the force field built into the harnesses, there comes Motoko right on time," said Su, sounding more than a little disappointed though her companion was incredibly grateful. Considering this particular hovercraft's launch and crash had been a test flight, she wasn't sure she wanted to help test anything of Su's ever again.

Keitaro was about to lose all hope and just place himself under the shuddering wreck in hopes of at least cushioning one of the girl's fall with his body when his wife appeared out of nowhere. Leaping from branch to branch, she soared past Sarah, cutting through her harness and grabbing her in one motion before bringing her safely to the ground.

"Are you alright?!" cried Keitaro as he rushed towards her the moment she was on terra firma once more. "Gees, don't you ever THINK before you do stuff?? If you'd died or gotten seriously hurt, do you know how DEAD I would be?!"

"Thanks for worrying about your job while I was hanging there on the brink of death!" snapped Sarah, attempting to kick him in the head as he dodged just in time. "Didn't know you cared!"

"This is not about my job, it's about the fact that I'd be flayed alive if something had gone really wrong!" yelled Keitaro back, turning red as he glared at the young girl.

"Gee, as I said, thanks for your concern, but I think I can take care of myself!" shouted Sarah with all her might.

"Is something wrong?" asked Motoko as she landed with Su in hand, as safe and sound as her companion though a huge explosion behind them testified to the fact that gravity had finally claimed the ill-fated craft once and for all.

"Motoko, can you believe what just happened?!" exclaimed Keitaro, visibly upset as he let go of Sarah's shoulder. "Su, I'm ashamed of you! Putting a visitor's life in danger like that without even telling anyone...do you know how irresponsible that is?!"

"It wasn't her fault, don't yell at her!" screamed Sarah as she took off and disappeared into the woods. "You'll be sorry for that!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare anyone..." whispered Su as she hung her head. Turning, she ran to the house with tears falling from her eyes.

"Sarah, wait, don't-!! Su, come back here, I-...oh, shoot." Keitaro sighed and glanced at his wife who was regarding him with a slight frown. "Looks like I really messed up this time, huh?"

"Yes, you did," she agreed quietly. "Go apologize to Su, quickly."

"But Sarah-"

"Will be safe with me. Now go." Motoko disappeared into the underbrush, leaving Keitaro behind to do as she had told him. Obeying, though reluctantly, he turned to head back inside, preparing to do some of the most humbling groveling ever in his life. He'd been a real jerk, and now it was time to pay.

Sarah grinned to herself as she sauntered confidently through the woods, using what her Papa had taught her about finding her way, the four cardinal directions, and the sun to remain just a little west of where she thought the Inn was. Coming upon an old worn path, she began to follow it instead as it angled even further away from the Inn and led to an old deck attached to the back of what appeared to be a decent-sized house with the windows shuttered and door tightly closed.

Keitaro was likely sick with worry, and it served him right too! He shouldn't have yelled at Su-chan like that, especially since she'd egged the older girl on in the first place. He'd pay dearly for that!

Those were the thoughts that whirled about the young hooligan's head as she tested the steps, and finding the wood sound, began to explore quietly. It didn't look like anyone was home, but you could never be too careful and from the sounds at the front it was probably reached all the way to the street and who knew when the owners (if there were any of this shoddy dump) might return home.

Finding nothing more interesting than a couple of old cigarette cartons and what appeared to be empty packing crates of foodstuff items, she went close to the windows themselves. Testing them and finding the shutters locked from the inside, Sarah moved to the door and, much to her shock, it swung open the moment she turned the handle.

Reasoning that if whoever owned this place really cared about it they'd have left it locked up and it wasn't like she was going to steal anything (though she couldn't guarantee the safety of any cupcakes or cookies she happened to come across) she quietly slipped inside and closed it carefully behind herself.

A quick inspection of the dark space revealed an old black and white TV, some ancient chairs with a matching couch, and lots and lots of dust. Whoever lived here didn't care much about cleaning, or hadn't been around in months. Banking on the later, Sarah began to explore her surroundings more closely.

Picking up an old vase with funny carvings on it, she traced them over with her hand for a moment before setting it down again. Her hands bumped the lamp next to it though, and it fell from her grasping hands to the floor below with a THUMP!

"Motoko-chan? Is that you?"

Sarah froze as the sound of someone moving about in the room behind the door across from her reached her ears. A second passed as she waited, not making a sound.

The voice came again. "I know you are there," she said, obviously a woman though there was an older feel to it than Keitaro's wife's voice. "It would be best just to show yourself now, I am not a fun person to piss off."

Sarah made a dash for the back door as the one from which the voice was coming swung open, running headfirst into a solid wall of red and white that suddenly appeared in her way.

"AH!!"

"It is alright, Haruka," called the kendoist as she put a firm but gentle hand on Sarah's shoulder. "Put your fan down and please go sit before you move your ribs too much. To injure yourself further would be very unwise."

"Who've you got there?" called the woman from the doorway, light framing her and making it impossible to see her face. Sarah squirmed under the penetrating gaze she couldn't see but could feel attempting to analyze her every movement.

"Keitaro-kun's employer's daughter," came the simple reply, the blonde glaring up at her captor as the swordswoman continued to hold her in place.

"Bring her in, then, might as well since she's already here," said the woman tiredly as she turned stiffly and headed back into the room. "Besides, once she sees there's nothing here but a grouchy old hag maybe she'll be less likely to break in next time.

"Are you sure?" inquired Motoko, obviously surprised though Sarah had no idea why.

"Yeah, it doesn't really matter, right?"

"If you are sure, I suppose not." Guiding Sarah in front of her and ignoring her quiet protests, Motoko followed. "Be polite," she warned the girl in a whisper. "This is Keitaro's aunt, and whether or not you like him she deserves your respect."

"Sit," said Haruka as they came into view again. There was a plate of cookies and a fresh pot of tea still steaming hot waiting for them on the table. Picking up the fan she'd apparently been working on and going back to applying a layer of gold foil over the carved design without looking up, Sarah studied her unexpected host while Motoko placed a few cookies and a cup of tea before them both.

She guessed the woman was about the same age as her papa, with unreadable gray-brown eyes and a firm mouth. Her dark brown hair, which was the exact same coloring as Keitaro's, hung neatly over her eyes and along her shoulders, cut more for practicality than style she would think. Dressed in, once again seemingly for practically rather than style, in a burgundy shirt and jeans, Sarah noted that while the woman was not ugly by any stretch she had certainly downplayed what looks she did have until they were nearly unnoticeable.

"So what were you doing in my house?" asked their host after awhile, still not looking at her intruder as she put a series of kanji down one side of the end stick of the completed fan.

"Looking around," replied Sarah, cramming a whole cookie into her mouth and gulping down her tea straight. "Wasn't gonna take nothing'."

"Wouldn't matter much if my ribs were whole and I'd decided to attack first and ask questions later," coughed Haruka, pointedly bringing a fan from her belt into view and spreading the razor-sharp edges out so they could be seen. Looking up at last, her brows raised slightly as if in surprise, Sarah staring back calmly. The oddly matched pair remained in eye contact for several seconds until Haruka looked away, picking up another fan that was of silk with a heron painted on its panels and heading to the young girl. "What do you think of my work?"

"I think more of it than your house cleaning," Sarah blurted out, Motoko about to admonish the young girl when, much to both visitor's surprise, Haruka chuckled dryly.

"You are your mother's daughter, Sarah," she murmured quietly, more to herself than her guests.

"You don't even know who my momma was!" replied Sarah defiantly, glaring in offense at her host.

"Did so," snorted Haruka, lighting a cigarette as she settled back in her chair more comfortably. Motioning to a picture frame on the counter of two young woman sitting together with one obviously being a younger Haruka and the other a blonde beauty that was similar to Sarah's own features indeed, she smirked as her intruder's eyes widened slightly in recognition. "Same golden hair and every bit as impudent as you are...Yeah, I probably even knew her better than your dad."

Motoko, who'd been listening with interest, looked at her Aunt-in-law with open surprise. The elder Urashima sighed, as if remembering something from long ago.

"Would you...tell me about her?" Sarah squirmed a little as Haruka pinned her in her seat with an unreadable look. "Er...please?"

"Didn't your dad tell you about her?" questioned Haruka neutrally.

"No, he always said he couldn't," admitted Sarah with a shrug. "All I know is she named me after her grandma, and that she grew up in Japan."

"That idiot..." Haruka smirked to herself, closing her eyes for a moment as she breathed deeply. "Yeah," she said after a few beats of silence, nodding slightly as she reached for her tea. "I'll tell you about her. It's probably what she would've wanted me to do, anyways, but I feel for you kid. Your mom was an incredible woman, and there's a lot of incredible things she did that I'll never be able to even begin to describe to you." Shaking her head, Haruka laughed with a bitter edge in her voice. "It's really little wonder...well, that's another story for another day, though."

Sarah leaned forwards, propping her head on her hands. "What was she like as a kid?" she asked suddenly. "I mean, was she like me? Or what?"

"Oh, she was always getting us into trouble," replied Haruka immediately, her mood lightening considerably as those memories came to mind. "Kami, there was the time we knocked down the hot springs fence, and then the week we got lost in the secret tunnels around Hinata...I never thought we'd find our way out! I met her in grade school when we had the same teacher one year and it seems like we were never far apart long from that time on..."

Keitaro paused outside Su's room, wincing as he recalled just how sharply he'd dealt with her. She hadn't deserved it anymore than she deserved to be shot, and he'd overstepped his bounds big-time as just the manager.

Knocking on the door, he sighed when there wasn't a reply and gently slid it open a crack. "Su-chan...are you in there?"

"Go way."

It definitely wasn't the response he'd hoped for, but it was a start. Kneeling beside the door, the manager rested his head on the frame with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Su-chan, I was wrong."

The sound of more sniffling met his ear, and as he gently eased the door open even farther, he was surprised to find the young foreign girl sitting beside the door. A small stuffed alien lay in front of her, the one he recognized as the one he'd won for her at the New Years festival. It's arms had been torn off, and the head hung from the rest of the body by a couple of threads. Staying there in the doorway, Keitaro watched as Su wiped her tears away with her palm and starred at the broken toy mournfully.

"Sorry," she mumbled as he scooted a little closer, trying to gauge if she was still angry or not. "I...I got mad and tore it..." She cringed away slightly, almost as if expecting to be punished. "...please, please don't yell at me. I'll fix it, I promise..."

"Su-chan!" The young girl was a bit surprised when Keitaro appeared at her side half a second later, pulling her into his ever-ready arms for a warm hug. "It's not your fault, I'm not going to yell," he murmured as she instantly snuggled into his shoulder like a child. "I can never say I'm sorry enough for the way I acted. The whole thing wasn't your fault, it was just a stupid mistake, and I was wrong for trying to blame you."

"You scared me," she admitted tearfully, letting herself be comforted as he rubbed her back in a brotherly fashion. "My sister used to get mad at me...she'd yell when I'd start to cry..."

"There's nothing wrong with crying," he stated firmly, pulling her away slightly so he could look her in the cry. "And those close to you should never be the reason for it. Nothing that happened was your fault, and I was wrong for making you cry by saying it was."

"I still broke Mi-chan," she pouted in a whisper, as if he might still yell at her.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to fix her, won't we?" Keitaro picked up the body and put it in his lap, putting the arms along side it and setting the head on the neck so it wouldn't snap off completely. "If I fix Mi-chan, will you forgive me for being such a jerk?"

"I already did!" Su wrapped Keitaro in one of her famous death-grip hug, giggling away the rest of her sadness as he failed about to escape. "Thank you, big brother."

"Big brother, eh? Well, I guess I always wanted another little sister," he replied with a chuckled once he was free. "Why are you thanking me, though?"

"Just cuz." She sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder again, looking up at him. "I didn't like you that much when you first came," she admitted after a moment, giving him a shy look. "I thought you were taking Motoko-chan from me, and she was the only one I had, see? I know she doesn't show it much, but she loves everyone here with all her heart, even enough to die for them if she had to. And she let me be her little sister. Now I'm glad you came, though, cuz I don't know what we'd do without you, big brother."

"Oh..." Keitaro flushed slightly, scratching the back of his head as he did. "Well, I'm happy to be your big brother. Wanna go find some needles and thread though?" He rose to his feet, pulling her with him and letting her hang from his back. "We could fix Mi-chan then."

"Ok!"

The two of them went out the door, Su still latched to his back and already chattering away happily as they did. Some how, he'd managed to patch their friendship just like he was going to fix her doll, he just hoped Sarah would forgive as easily as his lovable young resident. Otherwise, it was going to be hell.

Sarah sat there, riveted to her seat for more than an hour as Haruka spoke endlessly for the sandy-haired American next door. Anecdotes of the pranks they'd played on their 'rebelling' older brothers in middle school. Tales of the scrapes they'd managed to get themselves into and always seemed to wriggle out of just barely at the end. Stories of fistfights in the alleys behind the Inn, and their unsuccessful attempts at hiding their black eyes and bloody lips from their parents afterwards. (Haruka swore the boys always came out of it looking worse, though.)

Motoko listened as well, a silent observer of two worlds being brought together from the past and present in a mold that strangely fit. Noting every detail with her sharp eyes, she could tell Haruka was drawn to the young girl. Sarah indeed looked a great deal like her mother in the photo, and from the sound of it she was one of the few people who knew Haruka inside and out. So it was natural for her aunt to wish to spend time reminiscing about her old friend with the appearance of her daughter, and Motoko was glad fate had provided the restless Haruka with a diversion for at least a little while.

"...it was your mother that convinced me to get into excavating and exploring, she was absolutely fearless," finished Haruka at long last, rising stiffly as Sarah blinked rapidly as if waking from a dream. "And my best friend ever."

"Wow." The young American sat there, looking more than slightly dazed with the amount of information she'd just taken in. "I...papa never told me about all that stuff, though he said they met in high school once. Funny..." she glanced up at Haruka, wrinkling her nose slightly. "He never mentioned you, either, but I kinda get the feeling I've met you before."

"He knows everything I just told you, or most of it," came the flat reply as Haruka turned and began to leave. "Why he doesn't speak of her is his own business. It was nice seeing you kid, but I'm tired and my ribs are giving me a rough time. Motoko'll take you back to the house."

"But how do you-" The door to the living room was shut firmly. "-know papa?"

"Come," said Motoko simply, rising to her feet and clearing away the dishes quickly as Sarah followed her numbly. "We shall leave through the front."

"Ok..."

Sarah allowed herself to be led away quietly, her mind still in a whirl as they passed through a bustling tea shop. Not even bothering to look up when someone hailed Motoko from across the room and she replied kindly, she completely missed the lanky elder fellow with rectangular glasses and stubble on his chin toting a huge bin of dishes as they walked by.

Coming to the steps that led to the inn, she paused there and glanced up at Motoko who looked back expectantly.

"Yes?"

"I was just thinking," mumbled Sarah, turning to begin to head up the stairs slowly. "I wonder if she knows how my mom died."

The samurai woman raised her brows at that, a hundred questions racing through her mind though all that came out was, "Why?"

"Papa never told me how," explained her companion with a shrug as they continued to ascend. "He says it's something I wouldn't understand, but it's not like I'm a kid or anything! I understand a lot more than he thinks I do."

Motoko smothered a smile at that last comment, thought she was slightly puzzled as to why Sarah would be kept from such information. "I suppose you shall have to ask Haruka that as well next time you visit," was all she said, though, unwilling to nose herself into another's business.

"Yeah, I guess so..."

"Why did you run away?" questioned Motoko after a little while, glancing at her companion curiously.

"From the dork? To make him worry, of course," she said flippantly.

"Why did you wish him to do that?"

"Because, he was mean to Su-chan and he shouldn't have been," she snorted simply. "He yelled at her for no reason like a big bully, and I hate bullies."

"You did give him a bit of a scare, though he was wrong to react in the manner that he did," Motoko pointed out gently. "Would you be rather upset if your papa did something a little crazy and got himself into a position he couldn't escape from and you could only watch?"

"...maybe." Sarah stuck out her lip into a pout. "But I wouldn't yell."

"Are you sure?"

"...yeah."

Motoko chuckled slightly to herself as Sarah scowled. "I am not saying he was right," she said as they neared the top of the stairs. "Or that you were wrong. But...should he apologize, I think it would be kind of you to forgive him. He is only human, and prone to make mistakes occasionally. The reason you should forgive him, though, is Keitaro learns from his mistakes and always admits when he is in the wrong. That is a rare gift these days, young miss."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"SARAH-CHAN!!!"

The American didn't even have time to brace herself as she bowled over by a laughing Su who was huggling her stuffed alien in one are and soon had Sarah's neck in the other.

"I see you managed to 'patch things up' with Su-chan," murmured Motoko aside to Keitaro, who'd appeared only moments after Su's grand entrance.

"Yeah, she forgives my complete stupidity easily enough," he replied, flushing slightly. "Sarah may be a problem, though..."

"Hey, dorkus!" called Sarah when she managed to free herself, coming over with Su still bouncing around her happily.

"Hey," he said, crouching down so he was more on her eye level. "Look, I'm really sorry..."

"Yeah, yeah, you're still a dork but you're aunt's pretty cool," she cut in with a shrug as she let herself be dragged away back inside and up the stairs. "You're still a dork though!"

"...that was strangely easier than I thought," said Keitaro as he scratched his head in confusion. "Did you do something to her?"

"We had a chat with Haruka, and I spoke with her some, but that was all," replied Motoko with a mysterious shrug. "Come, we both have work left to complete and it shall soon be time to eat."

"Yeah, you're right." Keitaro grabbed the door and opened it for her, bowing ever so slightly. "After you, fair lady."

Motoko's smile widened just ever so slightly. "Thank you, kind sir."

Laughing at their private joke, the pair entered the Inn with everything relatively peace once more. For now, at least.

A dark figure stood wreathed in black flames, speaking to something with its depths as it strode restlessly about like a cage animal.

"Yes," soothed the lone voice. "Soon, I promise you...very soon indeed...you shall be free to have your revenge, I swear, and very soon indeed..."

And that is sighs chapter 10. Good grief, this took forever to write you guys. I really am so sorry, but between my paying job (40 hours a week at a marketing office) and my rent job (watching my cousins so I can live with my extended family for free) I just don't have much time these days! Here's the replies to your reviews, as always, and please review even though it took so long! I'm only here another week or so before I go home, so maybe I'll have time then to get another chapter in before school starts, but who knows? I'm not even going to try and set a time frame, with the way my life has been lately it's insane to even try. Once again, so sorry!

#1. I hope this one was worth the wait as well! Not as long as some others, I know, but it did have lots of thought and love put into it!!

#2. ...yes, you are biased. Girls are not evil, merely...different from males, shall we say? ;P Yeah, that works.

#3. sighs I think I'll do a back flip for joy if I can get through a chapter without my spelling and grammar mistakes mentioned, which means I didn't make any for once. Fat chance though. Sorry!!

#4. A lot of you guys really are too nice in your praises. blushes Especially with as slow as I've been as of late. I am thankful, though, for all your kind words. I'm glad you're all enjoying it as much as you are, it makes it worth it for me.

#5. You are very sadistic, whoever you are, putting questions like that about time dimensions or whatever the hell after I've just typed this chapter for you and my brain is fried. : P Big questions hurt, let's not do that anymore, ok? I'm glad you liked it, though!

#6. Haitani and Shirai...oi, those two are gonna be in for some fun soon 0.o;;. And yes, hate the turtle clan! That is right, I am encouraging not liking them at all!! Why? Because I hate writing their parts A LOT because in reality, they're all the SAME! It's always like that with the bad guys, eesh... . ;;

#7. Yes, Motoko and Keitaro have hit a bit of a stall at the moment. giggle Oh, worry not, my friends. Their 'kick in the pants' shall be very soon indeed. If someone can predict what it is I'll give 'em a cookie in the chapter where it occurs...

#8. Kanako is coming, I swear, just give me a few chapters, oi...: P You guys are a lot more anxious to see her than I first thought! It won't be too much longer, but try and be patient. Have to get through everything else first...

#9. Jihi, you just earned yourself a special mentioning in the end notes. : D You made my day with that equation, and that will be the one posted at the end of this chapter! And yeah, I did get them mixed up, didn't I? Oops....o.o;;

#10. Er, yeah, peace with chicken grease to you too...I think...o.0

#11. Hey, thanks for giving me a second chance! I have to say, I do sometimes tend towards things that have been done before, but add in a lot a fresh twists just so I can say mine stood out a little. : ) I'm just glad you enjoyed it more than you originally thought you would, that means a lot when you can change someone's first impression like that. And whoever the friend was, thank them for me too, just cuz it was nice of them to stick up for me like that.

#12. I'm not even going to bother explaining Naru again, character personalities are as interpreted by the author as someone already said. I'm sorry if you think they're a little off in places, but then again their not exactly in the same positions they were in the manga or anime. Sorry.

Two quick notes for me, the original ideas for the story just had a MAJOR plot change, so...some of the stuff that happened, like with Shinobu's problem, really had no purpose now so I just resolved it as I could. Sorry. Unplanned sudden change of plans, if that makes any sense at all. That, and I know this chapter is shorter than some of the others, and I apologize. It's just the next part would've pushed it into being at least 35-40 pages long or I'd have had to stopped in a bad cliff-hanger type place so...here's what I can do for now.

Gees, that's less authors notes that usual...maybe I'm just being really lazy, and if I am, I'm sorry but I'm so exhausted right now...yawns I swear, I'm sleeping for a few days after I post this...yeah...nite all, and I hope you enjoyed this.

crosseyedbutterfly

Boys=money x money x sex

Sex = girls = money = evil

So, Boys = money x money x money

Money = evil

Therefore, boys = evil cubed

Special thanks to Jihi, who sent that one to me. : D

CB