Chapter 15

The Battle-Girl Bedlam and the Reunion Rumpus!

§

Last time, the Hinata-sou residents were facing a big dilemma. They are short on funds for the bills towards their utilities, despite paying the rent. They decided to take a big step in the frontier called city life. While Ruto and the others found various (temporary) part-time jobs, Keitaro had a chance meeting with Noriyasu Seta and his 'daughter' Sarah McDougal. After a few intense disagreements, Seta decides to let Keitaro assist him with his jobs, much to the girl's chagrin.

-LNH-

|Outside the Hinata-sou|

After a brief moment of daydreaming, Sarah's Jeet Kune Do, a unpleasant peek at Keitaro's Photo Collection (including the date of when he and Naru 'first' met), and one car crash, Keitaro was given the responsibility to babysit the unruly Sarah while he has to go to Osaka for a very important appointment. So they decided to go to the Hinata-sou.

"Wow!" Sarah interjected as she saw the former hotel, "You live here? It's like a mansion!"

"No, no. This is currently a dormitory for women," Keitaro explained, "But would you do me a favor? Try not to disturb the residents, and especially my younger brother. If they see you here, they will be all over you like you're a cute, little darling."

"I thought that it's for girls only," Sarah exclaimed with a snooty attitude, "And just who the hell do you think you are‽ I'm only here 'cuz Papa is away on his business flings, so you're just going to keep an eye on me!"

Keitaro had just had enough of Sarah's bossiness and he scolded, "That's not what I meant and you better know it! Seta-san requested me to look after you!"

*WHAP!*

Keitaro was stopped as Sarah pulled a high spinning, roundhouse mule kick to his face, sending him flying and spinning in the air and then landed on his chin to the ground, right in front of a work-clothes wearing Naru who still has a frown on her face from yesterday's incident as she says, "What are you doing laying down on the job, Keitaro?"

(Uh-oh! Naru is onto Keitaro. Not to mention she sounds so cold from what happened last night...)

"It's still daytime! Don't you have anything better to do?"

However, her mood changed 180º and hopped forward on top of the hapless loser as she squealed in excitement, "Uwaaah! Hey, Keitaro, who's the cute kid? Did you..."

"No, Narusegawa," Keitaro disagreed while struggling from being weighed down, "A teacher from where I work is letting me baby-sit her while he's away..."

Then Sarah did a 180º of her own (from a foulmouthed tomboy to a polite and charming little princess) as she introduced herself to Naru, "Pleased to meet you. My name is Sarah McDougal and I'm from sunny California, USA."

Naru was fooled by Sarah's two-faced behavior, but Keitaro isn't buying the little squirt's frontage as he tried to warn his tenant that Sarah is a lying little trickster, but the blonde McDougal pulled the fake tears routine and then Naru socked the hapless landlord, thinking he's being mean.

What the trio didn't know is that Ruto is watching from the 2nd floor window after he had just finished the color pages at A*******-sensei's studio project earlier; he is currently testing one of Su's devices while borrowing her computer. He knows that Sarah is up to something and it's more than just to simply annoy them. For now, he'll have to bide his time.

-LNH-

|Room 304, Naru's Room|

Keitaro and Sarah are sitting at the table as Naru leaves her room to gather some snacks. As the resident-proper is gone, Sarah went back to her tomboyish ways as she reclined herself on her side and then rudely commented, "You know, she's not half-bad."

"And you're just two-faced with your attitude!" Keitaro snapped in exasperation (along with tears of embarrassment), but then he regained his composure as he placed his fingers on the bridge of his glasses and stated, "Listen, Sarah. You can't grow up to be a responsible adult if you..."

But the lecture was interrupted when Sarah tosses some bras and panties from the drawers onto Keitaro's face and she imagines what it's like having big breasts (with Naru imagined as a model) and then the American girl got herself into the wardrobe and held out a nightgown and a full-bodied jacket and then said, "«STYLISH!» She must have one hell of a figure!"

"Hey!" Keitaro yelled as he chased the disorderly little devil, "S-stop that! If Naru catches us we'll be in..."

"I made some tea!" Naru said as she peeked into the room and saw her room a complete mess; her undergarments and gowns all over the place and on the loser.

"...big trouble," Keitaro finishes his warning as he sees Naru lose her temper again while Sarah does a butt-kissing taunt.

"I don't know how you've dunnit, but I KNOW YOU'VE DUNNIT!" Naru gnashes her teeth and cracks her knuckles. Keitaro tries to explain what happened, but to no avail as Naru mule-kicks the hapless loser out of the window, busting another shoji screen. Sarah went buggy-eyed as Keitaro was sent flying out of the dorms ("YAAAH-hoo-hoo-hooey!") and into the ground, right in front of Ruto.

Then the younger brother wittingly asked as he tended his brother's wounds with Iryojutsu (healing jutsu), "Urashima-san, why does everything happen to you?"

"Must be fate. That's what it is, fate!" Keitaro groaned from the scrapes and bruises.

"Aniki, don't blame fate for your carelessness. You sound like Neji-teme when you talk!" Ruto smacked Keitaro wounds with antiseptic medicine, making him wince in pain as the first-aid student finished dressing the injuries.

Sarah didn't see who that person was, but she fixates on how Naru can be real scary; scary as a Kaijū (or in this case, an Amazon). That's when the McDougal girl's foul little mind is hatching up more deviltry.

-Explanation-

Neji Hyuga is Su's classmate who constantly feuds with Ruto with a false sense of 'superiority' and has 'fate' issues. Neji has a known girlfriend born and raised from a Chinese family living in Japan named Rimu Ten-Ten that tries to keep that conflict under control, but tends to end up getting the butt end of the brush-off. (Her name is spelled as 日暮 or Higurashi to the Japanese tongue; so to avoid confusion, Ten-Ten putsリム (Rimu) in parentheses next to her surname.)

-End Explanation-

-LNH-

|Later, In the main onsen|

Keitaro and Ruto have put out the large-printed sign saying that the men are using the baths again, for the corner bath hall is still under maintenance. Tama is joining them in the hot water, too. The brothers were talking about what is really going on with Sarah. He warned Ruto to look out for more of the little stinker's (rather harmful) pranks. The younger Urashima suggested that the two can play this 'little' game.

But when they hear someone coming towards them, Ruto hides near the fence and uses his camouflaging tarp and tells Keitaro to play along. Then the older Urashima acted out, "Wait! Narusegawa... This... I thought there was a sign outside... Why is she always so blind about it?"

And the person coming in the bath isn't Naru, but Sarah in her silver one-piece school swimsuit, holding the temporary sign in her hand. Keitaro facefaulted from the foolery.

"And you thought I was that girl and got excited, right? You sicko!" Sarah teased.

"Th...that's not it!" Keitaro objected.

"Oh? I don't see your imaginary brother anywhere. That Yankee-haired punk must be hiding too good to show his face in front of little old me," the McDougal rudely provoked.

::I resent that, you little wretch!:: Ruto inwardly cursed while maintaining the disguise, ::I'm a natural blonde and I am not one of those punks from across the district, dattebayo!::

Then she covers the wet fool with a 'Dogu head and tries to hide him in the water as she calls for Naru to come in towards the baths for some company. And sure enough, a butt-naked Narusegawa came by with a towel in her hand. She seems to be enjoying the bath without the blockhead lurking about.

(What Naru didn't know is that there are men present, whether she reads the sign or not. And Sarah is intentionally trying to ruin the friendship between the landlord and residents.)

Keitaro is beginning to panic as he tries to hide in the water with the covering, but when you're a guy, who's in a fix, and you see Naru's guitar-shaped physique, high C-cup breasts (including her cinnabar-red, slightly pointy nipples), her trimmed, dark, smooth-hair covered [Standard (V)-shaped] pubis, and her 'flower' hidden by her mounded labia, along with her 'forbidden isosceles' in front of you, expect this to be turned into one big trap, full of 'eye-candy'; in other words, the whole shébang!

As Sarah was scrubbing Naru, the latter is curious about this strange stone piece (for she's not wearing her glasses, so she can't see close objects very well), but the former insists on using it as a seat. It was good and bouncy. It was "Oh, goodie" for Naru, but "Oh, baddie" for Keitaro, who is feeling the weight on his head as his face is getting closer to the hot water.

Naru asked Sarah why she wouldn't take off her swimsuit to let her wash her back.

"I have a creed to not show my butt... No... I mean, I am shy! And I've never let other people see me naked!" Sarah stammers, almost showing her true colors.

(Ruto thinks it was probably American modesty, like the way he habitually wears swimsuits in the onsen sometimes, whenever he's in company with other people. Taking a bath in a private bathroom is another story. Meanwhile, Keitaro is worried that he's going to drown as he hears more of the conversation.)

"Has Keitaro been working hard?" Naru asked.

Sarah responded, "Yeah, but sometimes, he daydreams."

"Did he say anything about going to the university next year?"

"Eto... I think so. What do you mean about him?"

"Does he really want to give up? I know he isn't very smart, but he works very hard. I guess that's one thing I like about him."

"Does that guy really have a brother?"

"Yes. He has a younger brother, Naruto, and he's in the 2nd Year Junior High. Ruto-kun is kind and understandable. He can be funny, sometimes. And there are times that he stood firm on what is right. Of course, there are a few times we get scolded whenever we somehow upsetted him and his brother, but he forgave us in the end."

Keitaro was awestruck as he heard the nice things about himself. But all of the sudden, the half-wit slipped in his footing as he and Naru fell deep into the water, seeing each other practically naked in the skirmish. As they got to the surface, they managed to catch their breath from being nearly drowned. As Keitaro removed the Dogu head, he turns to see an angry and annoyed Naru clenching her fist as she questions, "Can you explain to me why the f*** are you here?"

"Na-Narusegawa, calm down!" Keitaro tried to explain, "It's all that brat... No, Sarah's fault! I didn't do it on purpose!"

"How's THIS on purpose‽" Naru yelled as she punched Keitaro, knocking him towards Sarah and he accidentally grabbed Sarah's swimsuit and they fell to the floor. In the process, her rather overworn silver swimsuit was ripped off at the seams, exposing the ungrateful blonde she-devil's little secret: she has a panda-shaped birthmark on the left flank of her buttocks, along with the rest of the 'naked' truth. But then the trio saw a flash, a sound of a camera, and then the word, "Gotcha!"

It was Ruto, with his swimming trunks on, and his Polaroid camera as he had the instant photo in his hand. "Now that I know what a pretty little liar and a dirty rat that you really are, little girl. The jig is up!"

And Sarah is not only completely naked, (telling her about her physique wouldn't be right, since she's still just a child), but her real secret of her birthmark is exposed in front of her older peers as she hides her shame in front of them. Then she asks in a rough manner, "Now who the hell are you, you dork?"

"My, what 'cheek' you have, chibi (peanut)," the younger Urashima sarcastically remarked and then gives the ungrateful Sarah a mean look in his eyes, "You've put yourself into a corner by putting your foot in the wrong mouth, 'ttébayo. Besides, it's rude to ask the person that question without giving out your own name."

Defeated, Sarah gave out her name to Ruto.

"That's better. Now we're starting somewhere, dattébayo. To answer your question, my name is Naruto Urashima. I'm Keitaro-aniki's younger brother," the Junior High student introduced himself. Sarah did see some resemblance between Keitaro and Ruto, despite her embarrassment.

"Ruto?" Naru exclaimed while hiding her 'assets', "How long were you here?"

"The entire time, Naru-senpai," he explained as his double brought dry towels from the dressing room and gave them to Naru and Sarah, "That little so-and-so tore the sign that we put out to warn you and the girls to stay out. But now that you're here, why don't you at least apologize to poor Aniki for your insincere mistakes?"

Naru didn't quite understand what the younger Urashima meant. But Sarah, however, blushingly did not take the towel right away and she angrily throws her well-placed replicas at Ruto, but the tactic failed as he uses his Kage Bunshin to catch the objects with ease and then grabs the spoiled brat by the wrist and places her on his lap and whips her bottom with the flat end of his big hairbrush like a paddle. (Keitaro gave the consent, much to Naru's protest and dismay.) "You've tried my patience, you little cuss. You've been causing trouble the moment you set foot into my family's dorm, 'ttébayo. Now you'll just have to take your "tonic" and learn to like it!"

"You can't do this to me! I'll tell Papa that you- -" Sarah screamed like the selfish little brat she is.

"Oh, bellyache, fuss, and fight all you want! It won't do you any good," Ruto countered as he landed the first spanking on Sarah's bottom.

Sarah felt the sting as she yelps and curses while her seat reddens from the lashes as she hears the voice of her 'disciplinarian' said, "You'll just have to learn NOT to use hurtful pranks, *whap*, be showing off undisciplined fighting arts, *whap*, throw valuable breakables, *whap*, show utter disrespect of our privacies, *whap*, and NOT to use naughty words! *whap* *whap* And believe me, Sarah, *whap*, this will hurt you worse than it does me, dattébayo!" *Whap-whap-whap-whap-whap! Smack-smack!* And Sarah yelped and sobbed from the pain as she pulled out a white flag, saying that she surrendered.

Naru and Keitaro were stunned at Ruto's 'paternal instinct', for they learned the important lesson to keep naughty kids in their place, "Spare the rod and spoil the child." Ruto then uses iryojutsu on the reddened buttcheeks to soothe the pain off of Sarah and then asks, "Now, are you going to behave?"

"Yes... 'Daddy'," Sarah reflexively said as she felt the cooling effects of Ruto's aura.

That comment somewhat ruffled Ruto's 'feathers' (along with Keitaro and Naru's), being called 'Daddy' like he looks like one because of his growth spurt, but he sternly said to the younger girl, "Now please don't call me that, dattébayo. I may look older, but I'm only 13, just old enough to be your big brother. Call me 'Aniki' or 'nii-chan' if you like. But never call me 'Daddy' like that, 'ttébayo. It just makes me older than I should've. Understand?"

He wrapped the towel around Sarah's body. But then she hugged Ruto out of a form of a strange affection and then she sobbed onto his shoulder. No one else, not even 'Papa Seta' had kept her in line like this before; not before and after her single mother died. Could it be that Sarah is tamed by the unusually blond Japanese citizen somehow?

(Hmm, it's a possibility...)

-LNH-

Later, as the fully-dressed Sarah wanders through the halls, she bumped right into Shinobu, who affectionately hugged her at first sight, in a motherly manner with her now growing B-cup chest (more like a rock of the highest standard), followed by Su and Motoko as they were curious about the new guest. But Sarah doesn't want to get cute in front of the onlookers as they get a little too close for her comfort.

Kitsuné asked Naru and Keitaro if the youngest guest was their love-child. But the unusual couple protested that remark. And Ruto said that Sarah isn't really his youngest sister in blood, either.

Anyway, Sarah McDougal has become very popular in the Hinata-sou.

-LNH-

The next few days later, Keitaro takes Sarah back to the workplace in Tōdai where Seta had recently returned from his meeting. He asked Sarah how her day was.

"It was fine... Heh heh heh..." Sarah chuckled with an unusual smirk.

And Keitaro (with a bump on his head) had learned of Sarah's weaknesses. He'll use that advantage to at least keep her in line.

After that's been said and done, the Hinata-sou residents came up with the money to pay towards their cost of the utilities. They've learned a valuable lesson about the importance of getting and handling a job. They also briefed Haruka about how to budget their spending better, so that this 'crisis' would never happen again.

§

-Interval-

How Ruto Got to Know Sarah Better

|Hinata-sou, at Sunset|

As the Hinata-sou company finished dinner, Sarah decided to get away from "getting cooties" by the older girls and chose not to annoy Keitaro and Naru for her own health. So she decides to crash into Ruto's room.

As Sarah looks into Room 202, she notices that it's just like an average, everyday boy's room; some table stands, a secretary's desk for his homework, some posters of traditional paintings from ancient Japanese artists, and it's practically tidy. He also has a bed that folds to the wall whenever the need is necessary, with clean sheets and a comforter.

As they sit down in a comfortable position, Sarah asks Ruto many questions, such as, "Ruto...onii-chan, how come you have blond hair like I do?"

"To put it plainly, Sarah-chan," Ruto explained, "I have blond hair from my late Oyaji (Dad) and my paternal Obaa-chan (grandmother). I'm pretty sure Obaa-chan was from the United States many years ago... It's just..."

Sarah is curious about why the blond Urashima doesn't have many living relatives, as she sees the depressive look on his face, and wonders what was the matter.

"It's just that - - my biological parents and my grandparents from Oyaji's side have passed away due to unfortunate circumstances, dattébayo."

Sarah realizes that she's not the only one to lose a family member or two in her young life. Maybe if she were a little bit nicer, then she'll know her new company a lot better.

Then Ruto asked Sarah his question about her troubled life and she told her story.

Ever since Sarah was little, she has hung around with her mother (Jaycee), 'Papa', and Haruka while going on their excavation tours. It was swell, until suddenly, Jaycee fell ill and later died right in front of her little eyes. Then little Sarah was taken away to her uncle that she knew she didn't like. And for 6 months, she had to endure the abuse of her uncle as she was hidden in the house basement. She wasn't injured too much, but she needed hospitalization, but then realized that she never was taken to school, nor learned more about education, what is like being outside in a playground, or the joys of being with friends and classmates. She's been praying for a miracle to help come save her from the mess. And as luck would have it, she called Seta's number on the landline to cry out for help. And just as Sarah was caught by her uncle and about to be dragged back to the basement, Seta crashed his van into the side of the wall, like it was some accident, along with some officers of the law who came with a same, yet different agenda: a warrant to Sarah's uncle for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, inadequate child care, truancy of a minor, sexual battery on a minor, and child endangerment. The uncle ranted and raved to the officers and to Seta that they can't do this to him; she's the only close relative Sarah only has. But the objection proved futile as the malefactor was hauled away to jail, awaiting trial. He'll be forever scarred as a felon, a child molester, and registered as a sex offender.

Seta knew that Sarah wasn't given proper care, so he took her to the hospital to check on her well-being. She wasn't being given adequate nutrition, has bruises and scars from her many beatings, hasn't been given her latest inoculations, and wasn't given further education that a now 7-year old child should have. So while Sarah is in intensive care, she was given some psychiatric treatment, as well as learning the missing education after the time she locked away from the outside world. It turns out that during her captivity, she learned (the hard way) about mathematics, spelling in English, and some science skills from the books that she swiped from her uncle; otherwise, she's left out a lot on her education.

That's when Seta decided to help home-school Sarah to catch up with her skills while staying in Japan; digging for ancient treasures and artifacts will just have to wait.

And after being recuperated, Seta decided to stay in America for about a year as he helps Sarah in home schooling and taught her Jeet Kune Do to help with not only for exercises, but to give her some self-defense. It was a long, hard year.

Then, Seta was given a letter from Tōdai - Kanagawa Campus for a job back in his native country. Sarah didn't want her 'papa' to leave her alone. But the wandering professor tells his adopted daughter that they will be going into Japan and they'll be talking in a completely different language, although they have a few words of English and other languages tossed in. But the young McDougal girl is willing to try to learn Japanese.

And so, Seta and Sarah traveled across the Pacific for the last 4 months. They visited a lot of places, but they frequented Tōdai for the former's lessons discussing the university students. One time, they stopped by the Hinata-sou to visit some old acquaintances, but for some strange reason, nobody's home, not even Haruka Urashima was present at the time. So the parent-child duo decided to hit the road for a while to do some important errands.

"...and that's what happened before I met you, the dork, and the women from the photos," Sarah finished her story.

Ruto is intrigued on how the little American girl Sarah had to handle the hardships while living in Japan. She has the same kind of eyes that have experienced loneliness. But after some exchange of questions and answers, it was getting late, so they decided to go to the sink to get their teeth brushed, (Ruto gave Sarah a spare, unused toothbrush and an unopened tube of toothpaste for her to keep), and then they decided to wait their turns in the toilet before they go to bed.

As soon as they returned to Ruto's room, Kaolla (without her hair-ties) ran by and clinged to Ruto like a monkey and Shinobu walked to them with tears in her eyes and asked him if she could sleep with them.

"Can you two tell me what is going on?" Ruto questions his upstairs roommate's request, "I know it's late, but what's gotten into you?"

Kaolla replied with a whine, "I can't sleep and I wanted some company with you since Motoko kicked me out her room again-ya..."

Shinobu also explained with tears in her eyes, "I just had a bad dream about Sasuké and the bad men again."

"Please, Ruto-kun?" both girls pleaded with baby-doll eyes.

Ruto just couldn't comply with his best friends' request and said, "Oh, all right. But try not to give the wrong impression to our guest tonight. She's still 'innocent', dattébayo." And he gives both Shinobu and Su the wink.

(Su)» "Yay!"

(Shinobu)» "Thank you, Ruto-kun."

And they clasped Ruto's hands, Sarah didn't know what to believe what she was seeing; how Ruto got along with the other girls was beyond her understanding in her young, naive, little mind. Sure, she reads some adult literature, but this is ridiculous. So she asked, "Onii-chan, does this happen to you a lot when girls want to sleep with you?"

Ruto, trying hard not to get embarrassed by the awkward question as he answered, "If it means just to sleep together in one bed in a simple context, then yes, this happens to me a lot. They like to have me as their form of a teddy bear... Sometimes." Then he gives out a secretive smirk.

"Really? I thought you were having one of those love nests like me and Papa are living in?" Sarah curiously asked, but then Ruto blushingly replied, "It's not like that. You're just asking things that a little kid like you shouldn't know so soon. But, of course, there are a tendency of things that happen during the night and I'm not talking about the boogeyman from under the tatami mats or through the cracks in the walls. So you better get used to it."

Sarah didn't quite understand what he meant, but then the dormmates and guest decided to get some shut-eye.

Then, in the middle of the night, Sarah was having strange dreams in her sleep, something to do with her uncle wanting revenge against her for being a stool pigeon and at Seta for his meddling. Then, she felt like she was going to be raped and sodomized by her uncle, until she woke up with a sudden gasp from the nightmare. The young American finds herself in Ruto's spare bed, much of her relief, and she didn't see any sign of blood from the so-called rape or any sign of bedwetting inside her panties.

But when she hears moanings and unusual noises and in the starlight-brightened room, the young blonde looks down from her bed to see the futon beneath her... She sees Su and Shinobu kissing Ruto's lips and face, and squeezes him with their shirtless B-Cup chests in their sleep and then they murmur a few words as the girls truly feel blissful in slumber.

Poor Sarah...

She finds herself in a predicament that feels more like a border somewhere in the PG-13 to R-Rating (by the American Movie Rating Standards). But then, Sarah got a little too curious as she checked her chest out and had thoughts of what it's like to have breasts. She then sees an unusual bulge in Ruto's shorts. So, Sarah crawled towards Ruto, wondering if she could lie down with her seat on top of his bulge like it's a certain soft spot before lying down on Ruto's chest.

-Explanation-

Sarah used to sleep on top of 'Papa' Seta to help sleep better. It's somewhat a family type of manner, nothing too personal.)

-End Explanation-

That's when the older girls begin to entangle Sarah with their arms, (Su with her unusual inner strength and Shinobu with her inborn maternal instinct), making Sarah feel like she was given the 'squeeze play' from one side and the 'cootie' effect on the other side, making the unfortunate American girl break out in goosebumps and a bit of crackling sound in her joints. Ruto, who suddenly awoke from Sarah's sudden shrieks from the unintentional instigators' two-fold embrace, so he softly said to Su's and Shinobu's ears to drop Sarah or no more 'teddy bear business' for a while.

Kaolla and Shinobu, unconsciously released their grip and then they were given a brief ministration of love by their (alpha) boyfriend as he caresses their backs and shoulders as the girls kissed their lips against their boyfriend's lips at the same time, while Sarah staggered back to her temporary bed as she sees the sign from Ruto saying that everything's under control; now she knows better than to come within Kaolla Su or Shinobu Maehara's 'affectionate' ways of hugging, especially when they have bad sleeping habits. If that wasn't enough, she hears an unusual moanings from the older girls who then softly said, "Ruto, daisuki (I love you)*," as they collapsed in peaceful slumber.

(Ruto whispered '«daisuki»' and 'sweet dreams' and kissed their foreheads before going back to sleep.)

What a night for the grade schooler, indeed...

-Explanation-

This has also happened sometimes with Motoko and with Kitsuné a few times before. And even more shocking is that one time, all of the girls (sans Naru) were altogether in his room, wanting to have some 'love' and possibly trying to get Ruto's 'honest goods'.)

-End Explanation-

The next day, the Hinata-sou residents are having a hearty breakfast with the guest who looks like she's a mess after last night's incident. Living the unusual family life in the Hinata-sou can be nerve-racking to a newcomer like Sarah's.

After all that has been said and done, well... The rest is history...

The End... of an Interlude…


A/N: * - 'Love' in multiple words of Japanese is a rather hard depiction to translate or transcribe as does the English word "Love" (Suki, Daisuki, Ai, Aishiteru(ze), etc.) It can be friendly, family, brotherly/sisterly, romantically, mutually, platonic, or perhaps in the highest form; depending on the context.

Shinobu is more in common with Hinata Hyuga in terms of her demureness, timidity, and her cooking techniques. She may not have the same physique as an early-bloomer, but she'll show her stuff soon enough.

Kaolla Su is closer to the original Naruto that would have been, when it comes to the hyperactivity, naivety, and ravenous appetite (like bananas similar to his ramen bowls). She may not have the same context as the "Naruko" Sexy Jutsu form yet, but she still has ways to reach that form of peak.

Motoko is more like the original Ten-Ten with her dedication to her family's fighting arts and a touch of Sakura Haruno for her screaming.

Kitsuné is more in common with Tsunade with her drinking habits and possibly with the big breasts fit, as well as her gambling habits, and with Jiraiya for her mooching off of other people to make herself a living (however dishonest it may be).


-And Now, Back to Ringside-


-LNH-

|Outdoors, Undisclosed Location|

A few days have passed since Sarah visited the whacked-out life in the Hinata-sou. Seta is making okonomiyaki for 2 on his portable grill. "Sarah! Lunch is ready!" he called out.

"'K!" Sarah replied.

She ate the street pizza with her chopsticks and complimentarily said, "«Umé, umé»! Papa's skill has improved."

Seta laughed and said, "Thank you, Sarah."

"Papa, I'm kinda used to camping out."

"Hey, don't make camping sound so bad. But we do have to settle down, you know. It's been over 2 months since we came back to Japan, and now that I'm finished working, it's about time to find an apartment."

"But camping is alright. You don't have much money, right?"

"But... I'm glad you mentioned it. However... We just can't always live in Tōdai. At least, not like this."

The onlookers are staring at the 'campsite' near the wooded area in the university.

"Who cares about them. I just don't give a - - a...," Sarah could care less of her living quarters, but then remembered Ruto warned her about cussing.

"Eto..." Seta interjected, "You've somehow managed to get your vulgarity under control, but you're getting the 'could care less about details' from me. This is troublesome. Oh yeah, you have to go to school after the break is over. Otherwise, I'll have to send you back to your relatives in California."

"I'm not going back to that jerk of an uncle!" Sarah huffed while crossing her arms, "About studying, Papa, could you teach me, instead? I wanna stay by your side."

Seta sighs in exasperation, but then he remembers that person from before, "That's right... I haven't thanked that assistant for letting you put up for the day over there. Keitaro-san, was it?"

"Yeah, that dork. You should at least remember his name, Papa."

"He works really hard and he helps me a lot."

"What? You should've kicked the bum out!"

Seta looked at the paper of his assistant's name and learned that Keitaro's surname is Urashima. Urashima... Why does that name sound so familiar and why is he remembering an old flame from his college days.

But then Sarah also mentioned a particular detail, "His house is really weird. It used to be a hotel, but it's now a women's dormitory! Hinata-sou, I believe, was the name of the place. And the dork has a younger brother who looks like he is the 'wearing the pants' kind in the group."

Hinata-sou‽ That name is enough to make him drop the cigarette off of Seta's mouth in suspense.

-LNH-

|Hinata-sou, Lunchtime|

The residents had just finished eating as Su does her chores of cleaning the dishes today. Shinobu curiously questions her landlord/senpai in the middle of the conversation, "You're helping that history teacher from Tōdai? So you are helping him dig stuff?"

"Yeah, that's because he doesn't have any helpers," Keitaro explained as he finished his bowl.

"Sounds like Hakase-san (Mr. Professor) must be one heck of an archaeologist, Aniki," Ruto commented as he joined the group, sitting next to Kitsuné, facing his brother.

"You seem to like this job," Kitsuné said to Keitaro.

(Keitaro)» "Yeah."

(Shinobu)» "Is that teacher Sarah's father?"

(Keitaro)» "Not entirely. But he takes good care of her like she's his own daughter. He may be a bit looney, but he's a nice guy."

But then, Naru got their attention as she finished her meal and scoffingly said, "Good for you. Seems like you found a good employer. Since you like digging so much, why don't you be his lifetime assistant?"

Keitaro secretly whispered to Tama and Ruto, pretending that Naru didn't hear him, "She's the one that wants to go to Tōdai because of a crush."

"Did you say something‽" Naru yelled as she tossed a round stuffed doll at the landlord-ronin and she left the room, slamming the door as she had that person on her mind.

-LNH-

|Hinata-sou, Hallway|

Kitsuné is walking down the hall with a picture of herself, Naru, Haruka, and a scribbled out face of Seta. She wasn't sure why her roommates (Keitaro and Naru) were constantly feuding but it may be something to do with an acquaintance that's probably long gone from her life. The vixen was hoping that Naru at least gave up on Seta, but it may be too soon to tell, when she hears a man's voice calling her attention.

"Excuse me!" the man from outside said.

Kitsuné was skeptical about having men coming over, so she answered, "This is the women's dorm. Men are not welcome."

"Sorry, but it's something to do with Sarah McDougal the other day."

As Kitsuné opened the shoji doors, she couldn't believe her eyes (even rubbing the sleep off of them), and was surprised that her old tutor was standing next to his 'daughter'.

"Is that you, Mitsuné-chan?" Seta querulously asked, "Long time, no see."

"Se-Seta‽" Kitsuné exclaimed in shock, "What the *cuss* are you doing this? And what's with that short blonde brat?"

"I'm Sarah, cat-eyed witch. How dare you call me a short blonde!" Sarah argued, but then turned to Seta and asked, "Papa, you know her?"

"Why, yes. She's one of my former students," he answered and then explained to Kitsuné, "Forgive me, I came so late to say hello; I've been very busy, you see. I have been here in Japan since late February, but I seemed to find the place empty. And I haven't seen the landlady, either..."

"What? 'Papa'‽" Kitsuné stammered as she pointed her finger at Seta as he replied, "You mean Sarah? There's a reason for this..." He chuckled in levity. "By the way, Is Naru around? I heard that she's trying for Tōdai. How is she doing?"

::Yabai… (Uh-oh...):: Kitsuné worried to herself, ::If Seta-san and Naru meet now, things are goin' to be complicated.:: Then she came up with a fast idea and nervously explained, "A...actually, Seta-san... Naru didn't try for Tōdai."

Seta wonders what really happened to his old acquaintance as Kitsuné said, "Because she was so depressed, she sets off for a trip around America!"

The absentminded professor couldn't believe what had happened; in fact, he bought the bold-faced lie as he convinced himself, "That's not so bad. Everyone's life is always a little different. Not a bad idea."

Kitsuné sweatdropped and can't believe that the roaming professor was easily fooled, but Sarah isn't liking the vixen's tactics. As Kitsuné tries to make Seta leave the former inn, Keitaro and Ruto coincidentally come by the entrance.

"Aniki, is that who I think he is?" Ruto asked.

"It's Seta-san!" Keitaro said as he noticed his former employer from the university.

"G...Guys, how did you know about Seta?" Kitsuné anxiously asked.

Ruto elucidated, "We sorta ran into him twice before. The first time was when we were chased by him and his runaway van at Komba and the other time during the Spring Festival."

"He's the professor I've been working with," Keitaro added.

It's a small world (and getting smaller) as Seta had reacquainted with a few people. And Kitsuné is worried that if Naru sees Seta (her teenage crush), there's going to be trouble. But then again, she is beginning to have plots of enjoying what will be considered 'fun' to watch. Ruto notices from a glance that he doesn't like the Vixen with that look in her expression.

But then Seta nearly forgot to ask one thing. "Keitaro-kun, I didn't know that you have a brother. Are you really that closely related?"

. . . . .

Keitaro, Kitsuné, and even Ruto facefaulted from that awkward question and shot back at Seta, "You didn't know‽"

The landlord regained his composure, cleared his throat, and answered, "Ruto-niisan is my adopted brother and he helped me on my cram tests for Tōdai last year."

"Is that so?" Seta surmises, but suddenly is interrupted when Ruto senses Naru approaching the hallway. Kitsuné wanted to stall her, but Naruto has a better idea as he concentrate his katas in his hand signs and then muttered, "[Magén: Optic Delusory,]" and then Naru arrives (with Tama on her head) and sees nobody in the hall; it's as if they just disappeared. But then, she was splashed with a water filled bucket, spilling onto her clothes while Keitaro takes Seta to the landlord's room and Kitsuné and Ruto take Motoko, Shinobu, and Kaolla for a briefing in the attic.

-LNH-

|Hinata-sou, Attic Space|

The ragtag committee were sitting in the dark area with a battery-powered lantern in the center of the circle. That's when Kitsuné broke the news to the other girls.

"What? That man..." Shinobu gasped.

"...is Naru-senpai's crush‽" Motoko finished the exclamation.

Su is somewhat busy eating her bananas and Ruto nodded in affirmation from the briefing.

"Right, things are getting seriously bad," Kitsuné said, "Because if we let Seta meet Naru again, this would make a big impact on Keitaro! Usually we could wait and see while we watch the fun, but Keitaro will have no chance of winning over Naru at all."

The suspense of what Kitsuné had said left some of the group wondering what could happen to their landlord.

"What does 'no chance at all' mean-ya?" Kaolla randomly and cluelessly asked while chewing her piece of fruit.

"It means that Aniki is getting into a whole heap of trouble, Kaolla-chan," Ruto answered while eating a banana of his own.

(Kitsuné)» "And Keitaro's such a nice guy and easily gets depressed, he'll probably end up in commiting suicide."

The tenants can see the headline in the papers now:

"A Come-From-Behind Ronin Student Hanged Himself in the Former Inn!"

"Here we go again," Kaolla murmured, somewhat breaking the 4th wall.

Then Shinobu aimlessly fidgets and wonders, "What'll we do?"

"Now, don't panic, girls," Ruto consoled Shinobu to calm herself down, "Seta-san just came by to say hello. As long as we keep that meeting a secret and Naru stalled long enough, we should be fine. I hope, dattébayo."

"Yeah, and I have an idea on how to keep Naru from seeing that heartbreaker," Kitsuné suggested.

"I get it! I'll help you out!" Shinobu agreed.

"Un (Yeah)," Motoko reluctantly obliged.

"I'll help, too-ya!" Kaolla joins in.

"Thanks, everyone," Kitsuné cheerfully said as the operation commenced.

Shinobu is currently lost in thought as she thinks about Naru and Seta becoming a couple, but what's going to happen to Keitaro if that possibility arises? But suddenly, that thought was interrupted by Ruto telling her that she's going to be left behind. And the two students left the attic and the former turned off the lantern before closing the attic space hatch.

-LNH-

|Meanwhile, at the Landlord's Room|

Seta is admiring the room while Sarah is snooping around for anything out of the ordinary, like hidden porno mags. The professor then questioned Keitaro, "So you're the new landlord of the women's dorms?"

"Yeah, although I'm the landlord, it's not that much. Good thing I only pay the utilities instead of the rent. Ruto-niisan pulls his weight, too," the ronin answered truthfully.

And as the two men were chatting with each other, Sarah stacked a stool on top of the short table and curiously peeked at the hole in the ceiling and lifted the cover. And while she climbed up the hole, she encountered Naru who is wearing a different set of dry clothes and is drying herself off with a towel.

"Eh? Aren't you Naru from the other day?" Sarah questioned, "It's strange how holes lead to here."

Naru saw Sarah from the hole in the floor and asked, "Oh...? Sarah-chan, when did you get here?"

"I came here with Papa and he's downstairs," she replied.

"Eh, your papa is here, too?"

-LNH-

Meanwhile, Ruto's group are walking towards the Landlord's Room, wondering how to make Seta leave. And just as they entered the room, Shinobu and Kitsuné panicked as they saw Naru peeking in below. So Shinobu thought fast and smacked Naru with one of her stuffed dolls, while the rest carted Seta and Keitaro away.

Naru wondered what came over Shinobu like that.

-LNH-

One thing leads to another whenever Naru and Seta crossed paths, but never have the chance to meet together as Kitsuné, Motoko, Shinobu, Kaolla, and (sometimes) Ruto kept dragging either side away from the happenstances; whether it's in the dining room, the kitchen (with a crick in the neck), and in the lounge (another splash from a bucket of water on Naru and boot to the head at Keitaro and Seta by Kaolla and Kitsuné). But when Naru was taken by Shinobu to a different location, she smelled a familiar burning scent coming from a brand of cigarettes; not like the kind that Haruka smokes, but something else. It's the scent that she remembers only so long ago.

-LNH-

|The Lounge|

Kitsuné was thinking of the next step of making her former teacher leave the dorms. "Finally! Managed to strategically succeed in the hard part," Kitsuné sighed a breath of relief.

"This is the hard part‽" Motoko sweatdropped in complaint.

That's when Ruto had an idea that would keep the professor occupied long enough so he suggested to Keitaro and Seta, "Guys, I have an excellent idea. Why not come to the upstairs corner bath hall? I probably need a hand on getting the final touches with the plumbing."

"That's a great idea," Seta agreed, "After that, we all could use a hot soak."

And the men went on their way, with Ruto giving a wink and a thumbs-up to the girls, telling them that everything is (currently) under control.

-LNH-

|Meanwhile, at the onsen|

Naru is in her birthday suit as she relaxes in the springs. However, she contemplates one thing about a particular scent, ::What is that smell? The smell that helped calmed me and made me feel safe, like something from a long time ago. It's from somewhere that I can't put my finger on…::

|Elsewhere, in the corner bath hall|

Seta was surprised that Keitaro and Ruto worked hard to repair the previously destroyed room, (with the help of the instructional guidebook on indoor plumbing), and after a few tests, the water system is a run-go and the drainage system is coming along very smoothly. And then, Ruto sent his doubles to bring in a few towels from downstairs.

Seta remarked to Keitaro, "You know, your brother is a hard worker."

"Yeah, he helped me with maintaining the already wrecked place," Keitaro replied and soon after, the doubles brought in the requirements and then they *poofed*, knowing that their job is done.

-LNH-

While they undressed themselves and put towels around their 'honest goods', Seta went into the giant wooden tub first and then said to them, "You know, everybody around here is energetic, but nothing is like this compared to Sarah-chan. *laugh* She is hard to look after."

"Seta-san, I've been thinking. You didn't just hire me just to let me be Sarah's baby-sitter and not as your assistant, would you?" Keitaro questions with a sweatdrop.

"Yeah, Hakasé-san," Ruto agreed as he scrubs his back with the long washcloth, "I don't know how I could have doubted you for letting the little squirt stay with us. Must you spend all of your time with your job?"

"You're right," Seta admitted, "For that, I'm sorry for doing this to you like that. Anyway, I really want to thank you two; for you see, Sarah-chan has been through hard times. But ever since you boys came, she's been a lot more playful."

"I see," the landlord understood the situation as did Ruto.

That's when Seta pulled out his own box of cigarettes (Turkish Gold) from his clothes pile and asked if he could smoke.

Before the Urashima men gave their consent, Ruto checked the wind direction and found that the downwind wasn't blowing in their direction and there's an extra ashtray available. So, Seta lit up his cancer stick with the scent of smoke wafting away from the open-aired bath hall.

|Back at the onsen|

Naru was still relaxing on her side of the springs when she smelled that particular cigarette smoke coming from somewhere. It's the scent that brings her memories from her time with her former tutor a few years back. ::Seta-sensei,:: she thought as she stood back up with a towel in her hand, ::That kind of cigarette... It's so familiar, it must be the ones that Seta-sensei uses.:: She looks around to see where that person with the brand of cigarettes used, when she overhears what the guest said, "You know, boys. I love (daisuki) Naru-chan..."

Naru blushes from the flattering statement while Keitaro feelings went sunk like the weight of despair is dropping on his shoulders, but Ruto knows that Seta hasn't finished his conversation, "And I love Sarah, Mitsuné-chan, Haruka-kun, Keitaro-kun, and you as well, Ruto-kun."

The Urashimas face-faulted in a Ranma-styled fashion (thumbs, index fingers, and pinky fingers sticking out in a warding gesture), as did Naru, when they heard what the shameless flatterer had said.

"Can you put that in writing, Hakase-san‽💧" Ruto reposted with a sweatdrop.

"When you say that you 'loved' me, you mean it like you're bi-sexual or something, were you?" Keitaro anxiously and nervously asked.

"Well, I don't mean it that way, boys," Seta disclaimed as he puffs a drag, "What I meant to say is that I loved to enjoy being in company with you, the residents, and taking care of Sarah."

The Urashimas and Naru breathed a sigh of relief that their guest wasn't starting something particularly revolting.

After finishing the bath, Seta and Sarah bid the residents goodbye and thanked them for the hospitality. But then, Seta realized that there were two other people absent. For one, Haruka is busy with her teahouse duties, (like always), and he noticed that Naru is missing. Maybe she must've caught a head-cold from being in the water too long. So, he and Sarah left the dormitory.

Where's Naru really gone, you ask? Well, let's just say that she's a bit tied up like a caterpillar in her bedroom, by means of rope and a gag courtesy of Ruto's ninja tricks and the other girls' involvement. Then she was drugged with a non-narcotic sleeping aid while the girls secretly untied her. It seems that poor Naru Narusegawa will probably never know who was the mystery guest today, but she must be dreaming after being knocked out... Or was she?

§

To be continued…-»


A/N: By the time I've started typing up the compilation chapter, I've been in a writer's slump. Forgive me for that.

In the next section will involve Keitaro and Naru a redemption of applying for Tōdai (If at first you don't succeed...), as well as a chance meeting with Naru and Seta and the consequences of being completely losing one's mind for a moment; both retold in a different perspective.

That's all, until the heat of the moment will be on!

-blukmage19