Chapter X

It was dinner time when Su and I called off the slaughter of the last few hours and headed downstairs. Once we had reached the bottom, she tugged at my shirt.

"What is it, Su?"

"I want to piggy ride"

That was an odd request, not because of what she wanted but the way she asked, if my time with Su told me anything, she would usually just hop on first and be sorry later.

"Is something wrong Su?" – I asked confused.

"No, just giving you a heads up, you know?" With that, I nodded my approval and before I shifted into position, Su had already climbed swiftly and skillfully, I hardly felt a thing until she placed her legs on my shoulders and her hands around my head.

It was a good thing the sou's ceilings were tall and that Su was surprisingly light, we walked into the kitchen to find Shinobu and Kitsune talking, well, it was more like Shinobu serving tea to a weary and very miserable-looking Kitsune.

"Oh, Keitaro, please carry me too!" She said as she tried to move her body towards us but it was clear that she was so sore that just turning around took her a lot of effort.

"Nuh-uh, wait for your turn Kitsune" Su answered as - I assume - she stuck out her tongue because Kitsune's expression was priceless.

"My, my, Su is very spoiled right now" Kitsune observed as she slowly shifted back in place, resting on the table as she waited for her plate.

"What happened Kitsune? I saw you waiting tables at Haruka's" My curiosity got the better of me as the image of her and Mutsumi in maid uniforms came to mind.

"Long story short, Haruka visited the inn and seeing that I wasn't busy – Shinobu looked at her reproachingly – she made me an offer I could not refuse"

"Really, what was it about?" I asked, Kitsune seemed to have, shivered? For a split second before continuing.

"Nah, nothing out of the ordinary really, it mainly involved rent and boring stuff like that but let me tell you Keitaro, you really need to be careful around Haruka or she will work you to the bone, believe me"

"I'll keep that in mind" Then Su and I headed to the back of the kitchen to help set up the table, it was also a perfect chance to hide my smirk. I would have to ask Haruka later for the details.

Su nudged me gently, pointing to the plates, Shinobu looked at us and gave us a 'this is weird but it's ok' kind of look, so, with Su on tow, we helped Shinobu set up the table.

So, in all, we were six people, excluding Sarah, Mutsumi, and Haruka. The sou had a few people but if we are honest, it could still harbor a lot more. However, without staff to help, there was no way to handle that much work, and quite frankly without Shinobu's assistance - in exchange for a greatly reduced living fee according to her profile - the sou would be almost impossible to manage without dedicating it the entire day, let alone cook for all the tenants.

That much responsibility, the amount of work that needs to be done around here, made me appreciate Shinobu's help even more, and the prospect of giving her a gift had more weight now than ever.

Anyways, the rest of the tenants were arriving. Motoko entered the room in good spirits until she noticed Su, who was still perched on my shoulders. She tried to be subtle but that bothered her, however, she didn't reach for her sword, so that was a win.

"Good evening everyone" Motoko announced as she went for her seat, glancing at Su every now and then.

"Su has decided to monopolize our landlord here" Kitsune explained to her.

"Is that so? Su, you should let Urashima do his duties, as durable as he is, he is still injured" Motoko added as she patted the seat beside her.

"Nu-uh, he is my playmate and you can't have him, he is really starting to last longer after playing all afternoon on my bed!"

A plate broke near me, Kitsune's eyes opened wide and Motoko's hand calmly and surely started reaching for her side, as if not to make a sudden movement that would set me to run off and escape.

"We played chess all afternoon, now I can delay my doom for five full minutes, also, she doesn't have a table big enough for two" I explained quickly to everyone trying not to show panic in my voice, watching Motoko's right arm the entire time.

"Yep, during our first time, he couldn't even last ten seconds! it was a remarkable improvement!" Su finished with pride in her voice.

Everyone in the room breathed a bit easier now. Motoko coughed as she hid her face and moved her hand away from her side and back on the table and motioned Su to get off my back but she just snuggled me closer.

Motoko looked surprised and annoyed to be rejected a second time but she decided against saying anything, she got up and changed seats to one that was near the entrance with her back to the door, and graciously took the tea that Shinobu offered her.

Afterward, our missing tenant, Narusegawa, entered the room. She looked, tired, well, that was sugarcoating it, she had bags under her eyes and she slumped a little with every step, it was as if she was a car running on fumes.

"Naru, are you ok!?" Kitsune asked, shock visible on her face. It was warranted though, she looked even more tired than her as if she had been going at full throttle for days.

"Don't worry, I just need a good night's sleep, lately there's been so much work in so little time!" She said as she sat, trying to make a smile she clearly didn't have the energy for.

I immediately took a mug and poured some tea for her, Shinobu came in shortly with her dinner, prioritizing Narusegawa over everyone else.

We all watched closely in case she passed out but the food seemed to give her just enough energy to last for the rest of the day.

"You are working too hard dear" Kitsune advised her as we all dined, and I think everyone in the room felt the same way. Seeing her so drained and tired didn't sit well with anyone.

"Don't worry, It's all under control, just a little more and I will be on my way to be the top student again" Narusegawa assured.

"Really? I thought you decided to take it a little easier, you know, good grades but still enjoying the journey?" Kitsune asked worriedly.

"I am enjoying my time at Tokyo U, honest!" Narusegawa said defensively as everyone on the table tried not to make eye contact with her.

"Narusegawa, I think she means that you are overdoing it, you look really tired" I followed Kitsune's words as carefully as I could.

"... Fine" She replied as the grip on her hands instinctively tightened, she kept eating her meal in silence, but she just looked so, frustrated.

Perhaps, she knew, and yet she just couldn't find a way around it, heck, maybe there was no way around it, being a student of a school with that much reputation meant that the responsibilities and the work exceeded the usual, also, aiming to be number one? I just couldn't picture the amount of work and effort required, Narusegawa had to be not only very smart but hard-working as well.

That reminded me, wasn't I supposed to enter Tokyo U at the same time as her? Well, seeing her like that made me feel a bit inspired by her compromise but also a little anxious, in all this time I had not opened a single book, and even though the exam was done, It was no time to relax study-wise.

Did she know about the onion incident? Surely she did, after all, we did go to the same opening ceremony, and if the janitor's words were true, it must be the hottest topic right now.

The University had done a great job kepping all this under the rug, so far, no news anchors had come to the sou but most importantly, no one would recognize me as the idiot who danced on the 'onion' and was almost crushed to death, now that was the attention I didn't need or want.

Narusegawa thanked everyone for the meal as she finished, the plate wiped clean. She wished everyone good night and then proceeded to leave the kitchen. The food had reinvigorated her but her pace was still a bit slouchy.

"Narusegawa, Do you need help getting back to your room?" I offered.

The question stopped her in her tracks. None of the tenants spoke but the question hung around in the air.

"No, jeez I am fine, I will go to bed early tonight ok?" She answered, exasperation in her voice as she turned down the offer.

"Oh, well, it's also time for me to go" Kitsune announced as she slowly left her seat and made an effort to stretch trying not to upset her sore muscles. She wasn't very successful though, she groaned from the pain before giving up and stopping, also, well as a guy it's hard not to look when a girl with her attributes tries to stretch her back that far.

"Kitsune, you should finish stretching back in your room" Motoko told her as I turned my gaze away but in the end, it was too late, everyone had caught me staring. Being the only man in the house meant that not only Motoko but the girls would be more aware of what I did.

That sucked, but I was glad that the situation didn't escalate from there, nor anyone brought it up during the rest of the dinner but there was an uncomfortable silence while we ate. Maybe because we didn't want to talk about Narusegawa.

Well, Su was the exception, as soon as she finished her dinner she went after the second-best thing, the bananas we had bought earlier and, Shinobu was right, those wouldn't last long.

Other than that, the rest of the dinner went without more incidents, I would not say it was the friendliest of dinners but we were all civil and even Shinobu chit-chatted a bit with Motoko.

After everyone finished dinner, Motoko and Su wished us good night and returned to their rooms, Motoko looked relieved that Su had chosen her for piggyback duty back to her room, as for Shinobu and me, we stayed behind for kitchen duty, I worked on the dishes while Shinobu cleaned.

"So, how were things with Su?" She asked out of the blue.

It took me a few moments to answer, I thought she was going to ask me about my eyes wandering to Kitsune's assets but I guess that's not what was on her mind? I could've sworn.

"Well enough, Su's toys were not on a patrol and she didn't hold a grudge against me"

"Grudge? Why?" Shinobu asked surprised.

To be frank, I didn't want to remember it, nor share if I didn't have to, it was not something I was proud of but my instincts told me that hiding it from Shinobu would not help, she had also helped me before so maybe it was worth a shot?

"So on the day Seta picked up Sarah, it was the day I came back from Tokyo U, and I wasn't in the best of spirits, honestly, I was feeling down and disappointed because I couldn't remember a lot of things besides the… incident"

"Oh, you mean when…" Shinobu said, her gaze moving to my leg. I nodded.

"Yeah, I wasn't in the best mood. Sarah and Su wanted to play and, you might not know, they both like to play rough with me - Shinobu looked away for a second - but I was so frustrated when they approached me that I treated them coldly, Sarah didn't even notice because Seta was there but Su resented that"

"Oh, so that's why you bought her the bananas this morning"

"Yes, I felt guilty because I realized that she didn't deserve the cold shoulder, I wanted to apologize to her but it turns out - I paused for a second, considering my words - that she just wanted attention"

"And that's why she slept in your room?"

"Yes, turns out she misses her family and I promised to play with her, to be honest, I was expecting explosions being involved so playing chess was a great alternative" I said with relief in my voice, still feeling that I had lucked out.

"Oh, I didn't know she had a chessboard, especially since she prefers doing other stuff" Shinobu answered.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we are almost the same age but I've not played chess with her, she has always wanted to go outside, hang out, eat and invent. Also, I've never heard from Naru or Motoko sempai that they've played chess with her, not even once"

"Well, I guess she made an exception this time, I mean, it's not like I could have kept up with her in the playing department right?"

"Well, she is pretty rough but…" Shinobu began to reply but stopped herself mid-sentence.

"But?" I urged her to finish

"You are also very… Ummm… durable" Shinobu said as carefully as she could. Well, it's not that she was mistaken, but It felt wrong to 'play' rough just because you are durable.

After that, the conversation died down as we finished cleaning up, we both said our goodnights as I made sure the doors and windows were locked, then, I returned to my room, the sou was quiet, my guess is that the tenants would stay in their rooms until tomorrow.

I took a look at Kitsune's room and realized that the lights were off, which was unusual, maybe she had already turned in but if I were to make a guess, she was in Narusegawa's room, making sure she didn't push herself.

A smile came to me. Kitsune seemed like nothing in the world could bother her but she cared deeply for Narusegawa. I wonder if they became friends at the sou or if they were already friends before that, I would have to ask her later on that.

Back in my room, I found myself with a lot more energy than other days, maybe because of Shinobu's cooking or simply because I hadn't run for my life. Which, let's be honest, takes a lot out of you. Trust me.

Anyways I took a look at the hole on the ceiling and remembered Narusegawa, her tired image vivid in my mind. I took a look at my bookcase and it reminded me that I hadn't done any studying since my arrival. Everything else seemed to be more important than taking a look at my notes. I didn't feel guilty for that but I felt that I was putting it off at my own risk.

That reminded me, where had I put my papers? I searched the bookshelf, fortunately, It wasn't long until I found several folders with all the paperwork that had accumulated over time. It was a lot, but on top of it all, I found one with my career.

Law? I was surprised, all this time since I arrived I hadn't seen a single book about it. Just tons and tons of study guides, exercises, all of them ranging from Japanese, English, math, history, you name it but nothing about law.

What did that mean? I paced from one side of the room to the other, trying to make sense of it, scrambling my brain until a familiar scenario from earlier gave me an answer that fitted. It didn't mean that I liked it but it made all the sense in the world.

I hadn't thought that far ahead.

Oh boy, after considering the answer time and time again, it was the only explanation that made any sense, no matter how many times I tried to deny it, I always circled back around to the same conclusion.

And let´s be honest, if a suggestive comment from Kitsune could make me flustered and my ability to talk back got me into more trouble, my future as a lawyer looked bleak at best. Or maybe I was aiming to be one of those guys who researched all the time? A law erudite so to speak?

Well, without a single book to back that up it definitely was not an option. Unless you count my porn, which I found some new volumes stuck behind the folders, I had to find a better place to stash them.

Let's not get sidetracked though, it was as if my only goal was to get in, but what for? From the papers, I could tell that it was not my first time trying, why did I want to get into Tokyo U so badly in the first place? That promise? But that didn't keep me from finding a career I liked didn't it? In fact, I think that would have helped a lot.

Was I some kind of moron? Why had I tried something so difficult if I didn't have a plan for it? What was I looking for? Who was I looking for?

The answer didn't come but, on the bright side, I was a student in one of the most prestigious universities in Japan, if I had picked the wrong career, there was still time to change it. A weird silver lining, all things considered.

Now, what did I like? What do I want to dedicate my next years to learning? I closed my eyes as I tried my best to visualize myself in the future, so, in a few years, I see myself doing…

…

….

….. My god, why does it come out blank!

Curse this god damned amnesia! Surely, there was something in this room that could clue me in, so, I re-checked the bookcase until I found a small notebook that contained sketches. There were a lot of them and were varied as well, there were buildings, people, some OC's, and sketches of the tenants but what surprised me is that my name was on them, I took a closer look.

There was one of Shinobu, smiling at the viewer. It was a great sketch because I couldn't help but smile back at her.

I kept sorting through the pages, there was a sketch of Motoko training with her boken, another one of Haruka smoking a cigarette, Kitsune resting on the couch, Sarah and Su playing. Narusegawa leaning on a balcony, looking into the distance.

For some reason, my heart skipped a beat, there was a longing that I couldn't place, a feeling of something I wanted but that I could not place. I forced myself to keep going, the sketches continued with more locations, more people.

Damn, I am not boasting but I did have a talent for this!

I kept going through them until I arrived at some sketches that I didn't recognize.

These were sketches of pottery, artifacts, and the like but the interesting part was that some of them had a three-eyed symbol etched on them. Like the one in Seta's van, It was fascinating.

On the bottom of the page, there were a few notes, like 'common medallion', 'common Mol-Molian house jar'. Nothing too detailed but I still found them intriguing.

Finally, I reached the finish and I thought to myself that, in the end, there was something I could be interested in, and if everything went well, I could have the headstart I wanted.

Thank you for reading! If you like this story please leave a review and tell me what you think! Once again I hope to see you on the next chapter!