Ch 8
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
"Keitaro-sempai? Haruka-sempai? Are you awake?"
Haruka came awake upon hearing the soft tapping at the door. Looking around, she saw she was still in Keitaro's room, curled up against the wall. The room was now filled with light streaming through the window, showing that the sun had been up for a while now. Hearing someone stirring besides her, she looked over to see Keitaro start to awake up.
Coming up to her feet, Haruka walked over to the door and opened it. In front of her was Shinobu, wearing an apron and standing with her hands clasped in front of her, her fingers twitching. Haruka could not help but smile at the young girl; if she ever had had a choice for a younger sister, Shinobu would have been it. "Good morning, Shinobu-chan."
Shinobu's head dipped slightly as she returned the greeting. "Good morning, Haruka-sempai. How are you feeling this morning?"
Stretching her back, Haruka could feel and hear some soft pops as the vertebra shifted into place. Turning her head and feeling pops come from her neck as well, she replied, "A little stiff, but nothing a hot bath won't cure."
Shinobu shifted on her feet. "How is Keitaro-sempai feeling today?" she asked while looking down at the floor.
Craning her head to the side, Haruka could see Keitaro coming to his feet. He was not wobbling but he was moving slowly. "Hey Kei-kun, how you feeling?"
"Like I fell off a ladder onto a table." Keitaro twisted his head and pops could be heard coming from his neck as well. "I'm sore, but it's nothing some aspirin won't fix."
"If you feel up to it, breakfast will be ready in twenty minutes, Keitaro-sempai, Haruka-sempai." Shinobu spoke up from the doorway.
Keitaro winced and looked over at the young tenant. "Shinobu-chan…" Waiting for her to look straight at him but seeing that she was continuing to keep her gaze on the floor, he said in a firmer voice, "Shinobu-chan, look at me please." With a jerk, Shinobu locked eyes with the young landlord. "You calling me 'Keitaro-sempai' every minute is a bit much. I don't suppose you could just call me Keitaro or Kei-kun like she does?" He gestured over to Haruka, who now had an amused look on her face.
Shinobu gave a small gasp. "I couldn't do that, it would be improper! You're older than I am and the manager as well! I can't be so familiar with you."
"Shinobu-chan, you're more like a little sister to me than a junior in school." Shinobu did not say anything, but the now familiar blush now appeared on her face. "You don't mind me calling you '-chan', do you?" Shinobu shook her head vigorously. "So I really would prefer if you called me something less formal."
Shinobu stood there visibly thinking about the request, her mouth opening and closing slightly. After a few moments, her mouth firmed up and she looked back at Keitaro.
"I still think I should be more formal with you, but if you want me to call you something else, I suppose I should do as you ask. You do not mind if I call you a nickname?" Shinobu asked, her face serious.
"Sure, as long as it's not insulting or embarrassing." Keitaro smiled encouragingly at the young cook.
"In that case, then the nickname I will call you is… just the title 'sempai'." Shinobu said with an impish smile on her face.
Haruka could not help herself; she snorted out loud as she tried to keep from laughing. Keitaro was even less successful, as he laughed for a few moments as Shinobu stood there smiling.
"Good one, Shinobu. Looks like you got me." Keitaro grinned full force at the younger girl, causing her blush to come back. "If you're OK with calling me just 'sempai', I suppose I should be as well." Keitaro looked over at his alarm clock and noted the time. "Give us fifteen minutes to wash up and we'll be down for breakfast." He reached over and ruffled her hair, causing her blush to deepen.
"Very well, sempai, we'll see the two of you downstairs." Shinobu gave a slight bow before leaving for the kitchen.
Keitaro looked over at Haruka, who was smiling knowingly. "Another one bites the dust, Kei-kun?"
"What are you talking about, Haru-chan?" Keitaro turned and walked over to the dresser, pulling open a drawer.
"You don't know what that grin of yours does to people, do you?" Haruka continued smiling.
"No, really, what are you talking about?" Keitaro pulled out a dark blue t-shirt and tossed it over his shoulder.
"You don't know how girls melt when you smile at them like that?" Haruka was starting to sound incredulous now.
"I'm just being friendly when I do that. They all smile and blush. I'm not going to try anything, you know how I am with girls." Keitaro was now starting to look confused.
Haruka rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. "Gods above help us. You know who's the last girl I know of that you smiled like that at? Kanako."
Keitaro stilled as his eyes widened. "Oh… OH."
"Oh is right, Kei-kun. You already have one stalker in your life, let's not go for a pair." Haruka was smiling slightly again.
"So what should I do? I like Shinobu-chan, but not like that." Keitaro was beginning to look concerned.
"The same as you were before, you dofus," Haruka reached over and lightly smacked Keitaro on the back of the head, "just don't *grin* at her like that anymore."
Keitaro reached up and started to rub where she had hit him. "Who else have I smiled at like that?"
"Well, the only other one I can think of is that Kyoko girl from the summer beach shop, the one that was always dragging you away for walks on the beach." Haruka was rubbing her chin and looking thoughtful.
"She was scared of getting stung by the jellyfish." Keitaro replied, thinking back to the bespectacled pig-tailed girl.
"Which would have jumped out of the ocean and stung her? That's why she would always clasp your arm to her chest?"
"We were ten years old! She was too young to be thinking of stuff like that!" Keitaro responded with some heat.
"The girl that when you said goodbye that summer grabbed you in front of all our families and planted that big kiss on you?" Haruka was looking amused again.
"I thought she was just looking for my chewing gum!" Haruka did a double-take at that last statement before she saw the half-smile on her nephew's face.
"You jerk, you had me going for a second." Haruka playfully scowled at him.
"Yeah, well, you are the one that ruined my innocent memories of a childhood friend with your tawdry insinuations." Keitaro did not look very sorry. "Go ahead and wash up in my bathroom, I'll change shirts out here and brush my teeth after you get out and then we'll go downstairs."
"Are you going to do the room inspections today?" asked Haruka seriously.
Keitaro hummed as he thought for a moment. "If the tenants are OK with it, we'll do it an hour or so after breakfast. That way, they have time to get ready while we use the hot spring. I wasn't kidding about being sore from yesterday.
Haruka nodded. "Sounds like a plan, Kei-kun. I'm still stiff from sleeping sitting up."
Keitaro's eyes widened. "You what?" Looking around the room, he saw no other futon but his own. "Why the heck didn't you tell me, I would have let you have my futon."
"Yeah, the guy that crashed onto a table sleeping on a bare floor, uh huh. I don't think so." Haruka looked at Keitaro unamusedly.
"I could have asked someone to find another one…" Keitaro's voice trailed off.
"Look, I've slept in worse places, I'll be fine. We don't have that long before breakfast, so let's get going." Turning, Haruka walked into the bathroom, Keitaro resignedly shaking his head before starting to change his shirt.
Coming down to breakfast was different than the dinner they had previously shared with the tenants. Instead of eating in the dining room, everyone was crowded around the smaller kitchen table. Keitaro could see various pots and pans on the stove with food in them, with Shinobu standing beside them with a serving spoon and clean plates at the ready. A plate full of food next to her on the counter showed she was eating standing up.
Motoko, Kitsune, and Su were sitting at the table eating with various degrees of enthusiasm. Motoko was still eating like she was at a formal meal, but Kitsune was visible enjoying her food, while Su was still slamming down her food almost as fast as Shinobu was piling it on her plate. Keitaro was not sure where that food was going, but he was thinking that a dimensional warp was involved somehow.
"Good morning everyone." Keitaro called out as he and Haruka entered the kitchen. The occupants of the room all responded with various degrees of clarity, as Motoko was the only at the table that finished chewing her food before responding.
"What would you like for breakfast today, Sempais?" Shinobu handed both of them a plate as they looked over what was ready. The meal looked to be a combination of both Eastern and Western food, with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast on one side, and miso soup and steamed rice on the other. The smell of coffee filled the air, while a tea kettle and cups stood ready for tenants with different tastes.
"Eggs, sausage and toast for me, Shinobu-chan. A large cup of coffee as well." Keitaro held out his plate as Shinobu filled it with food, then waited until she filled a large mug with steaming java. Looking over at the table, he saw that there were only two places left, and there was an empty but clean cup and plate at one already. "Looks like there won't be enough room for the both of us, Haru-chan," he said as he stepped over to the counter and prepared to eat standing up.
"I'm sorry, Sempai, but there are normally not this many people eating breakfast at one time." Shinobu looked genuinely upset at the statement. "As soon as someone finishes you can sit down."
"Not a problem, Shinobu-chan." Keitaro took a sip of his steaming coffee and closed his eyes in pleasure. "This is very good coffee, Shinobu-chan, you sure you're not working as a barista somewhere?"
Shinobu blushed slightly in pleasure. "No, Sempai. Haruka-sempai taught me how to properly make tea and coffee when I first arrived here. She also helps me get better quality coffee and tea to use at a lower price."
"Well, good job Haru-chan," Keitaro raised his mug in a salute to his aunt, who was now sitting down and working on her own breakfast. She nodded her response, as she was busy eating.
After a few moments of eating cheesy scrambled eggs and sausage, Keitaro looked around and asked, "Where is Narusegawa-san? I have an announcement to make." He did not notice that almost everyone in the room stiffened slightly, except for Su, who was obvious as usually, and Haruka.
"Naru-sempai usually comes down late for breakfast, Sempai. She has a hard time waking up in the morning." Shinobu replied.
Keitaro nodded in response. "Very well, if she doesn't make it down here before we finish eating, I'll go to her room and tell her." At this point it was Haruka that stiffened slightly. "As you all know, the room inspections last night were postponed due to me face-planting into a table from the stepladder. As I'm feeling better now, I want to do the inspections this morning." Keitaro paused as he looked down at his wristwatch. "It's 8:30 AM now, so I was thinking of starting them at 10:00 AM. That way you all have a chance to neaten up if you have to, and I have a chance to use the hot spring this morning."
Motoko spoke up for the first time that morning. "The spring is not set up for males to be in there, Manager-san," she stated with a frown.
Keitaro looked at her for a long moment, almost causing her to fidget. "The spring used to be open mixed bathing before, that's what it's going to be again. I'm only going to use it for maybe a half an hour in the morning and in the evening, so it wouldn't be fair for me to not use it the times you guys aren't in there. In fact, I'll set up hours that will be female only, but for now the spring will be mixed bathing, and swimsuits will *not* be optional." Motoko looked like she wanted to argue, but in the end she did not say anything else, as Naru came stumbling into the kitchen, almost literally. The brunette was wearing her horn-rimmed glasses, her hair was sticking up at all angles, and she was wearing what looked to be just an overlong t-shirt, but shorts could be seen peeking from below the hem. She sat down at the empty place of the table, almost falling into the chair. Silently, Shinobu poured coffee into the large mug, and without adding any cream or sugar, Naru started to guzzle down the steaming hot drink like it was cold soda.
After Naru drank down the entire mug before giving out a sigh, Shinobu refilled the mug and placed some buttered toast on the plate. Seeing that Naru was now sipping at the coffee, Shinobu greeted her. "Good morning, Naru-sempai."
Naru hummed for a moment before putting down her mug. "Morning, Shinobu-chan. Gods, I had the weirdest dream last night, and I didn't sleep right after that."
"Did the dream involve whipped cream and Seta again?" Kitsune made her presence known, smirking slightly, while Haruka's eyebrow quirked upwards at the question.
Naru blushed. "No it didn't, you freak. And no Su, Seta isn't tasty." She said, cutting off the question that Su had her mouth open to ask. Kitsune looked like she wanted to disagree with Naru's last statement, but keep quiet in the end. "I dreamed that some pervert cut a hole in my floor so he could peep on me in my underwear."
"Well, you weren't completely right, and it wasn't a dream, Naru-san." Haruka drawled. The prep student looked at her for a moment, surprised to see her there when they hardly ever saw her in the morning, then looked over at where the older female was nodding, seeing the new manager standing next to the counter, a half-smile on his face as he gave a short wave at her. Naru's face flushed as she started to get angry, but Haruka cut her off. "Mind explaining why you have a hole in your room floor? It looks like it's been there for a while, and the hole was not cut with tools. It looks like it was blown through."
Naru's flush turned into an embarrassed blush. "One day a pervert groped me on the train home, and he got away before I could hit him. I got home angry, and I tripped over some shoes on the floor and I fell on my hands and knees. I was so mad I punched the floor with my fist, and I blasted a hole through it."
Haruka looked at Naru with a raised eyebrow. "You were able to do that with one punch?" Naru nodded silently. "And not break every bone in your hand?" She nodded again. "You study martial arts, Naru-san?"
Naru shook her head. "I was shown how to protect myself by an upperclassman at school, but I never had formal training."
Both of Haruka's eyebrows were up now. "You know how rare it is to be able to use chi reinforcement without training, Naru-san? It usually takes years of instruction, like Motoko-san has." The kendoist nodded in silent agreement. "There is only one exception to that, and it's a bad thing."
Naru looked at Haruka in concern. "What would that be?"
"Well, there is another exception to that, and that is that you are on a adrenaline rush. Problem with that is that you are just hitting something with your pain receptors turned off, and you can do a lot of damage to yourself since you are not reinforced. The real exception is something you may have heard of. You ever hear the term 'berserker'"?
"Kinda. It's someone that goes crazy, right?" Naru was starting to look concerned.
"Sort of. Some of the old Viking and Norse warriors would dress up in bear and wolf skins, take psychedelic mushrooms and start war dances to frighten their enemies. They would believe that the animal spirits would possess them, and help them in battle. Some people said that berserkers would start glowing." Motoko's eyes widened as she understood where Haruka was going with this. "In the Eastern world martial artists call that a ki aura, and they could control it better, but bad things happen if someone is angry enough to produce a ki aura and they are not trained in how to use it."
"Like what?" This time the question came from Kitsune, who was looking interested. "And what the difference between chi and ki?"
"Chi is life energy, all living things produce it. Martial artists can produce large amounts of this energy and use it to internally reinforce their bodies so they don't get injured while fighting. Ki is when they can externally manifest the energy so it can be seen visually and use it as attacks, like Motoko-san does.
"When untrained people reach high levels of emotions like rage, sometimes they manifest a ki aura or they just unconsciously use chi to reinforce their bodies and strength. They can enter what is called a battle rage, where they just keep attacking until they run out of enemies or energy. Sometimes they're as big a danger to their friends as their enemies. But there is one thing that is worse."
"I'm almost afraid to ask." Kitsune had lost the smile on her face.
"It's called going 'kill crazy'. They start killing any person around them, enemies, friends, innocents, everyone. Sometimes they have to be killed themselves to stop them, and they usually have a mental breakdown as a result of what happened when they lost control." Haruka shook her head. "Thankfully that's pretty rare now. For a while the police would blame PCP for people raging like that, but most police know what it is now, and how to deal with it."
"How do they deal with it, Haruka-sempai?" Hearing Shinobu ask that question reminded Haruka that there are really some things that should not be spoken of around the younger residents, even if Su was busy eating her usual half-dozen bananas.
"Nowadays they have Tasers, electro-shock guns that can knock someone out. You hit someone several times with that and it usually works." Haruka decided not to mention there was only one other option after that, and it involved a police sharpshooter. Thankfully, the other tenants did not ask for that clarification. Naru and Kitsune were starting to look worried, Motoko was looking troubled, but Shinobu thankfully did not fully realize the implications of what they were talking about and who it applied to.
"Anyway, Keitaro and I are going to do the room inspections at 10:00 AM, Naru-san. You all need to be ready by then. Keitaro is going to be using the hot spring right now, and I need to check with the opening employees at the teahouse before I join him. If anything comes up, you know where to find us." Haruka looked over at Keitaro, who silently nodded in agreement. He walked over to the sink and quickly washed his dishes, including Haruka's when she handed them to him. The two then walked out of the kitchen, leaving the tenants to their troubled thoughts.
Author Note: I want to thank all the people who have been reading my story and written reviews, especially the ones that do so for multiple chapters. Reviews here and at TFF are what gives me the encouragement to write, and it is a lot better to read it in written words in a review rather than just numbers and statistics in the authors page on FFN (although it is cool to see that people are reading your story in as varied places as Germany, Italy, Russia, Pakistan, Singapore, Indonesia, New Zealand, Chile, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, and of course all the English-speaking countries out there - that is at least one country on each continent except Antarctica, and I'm working on that… *grin*).
Point to all this is that while I am planning on keeping my current writing rate at two chapters a week, I could probably be encouraged to write even faster if I get feedback more frequently. Plus, I want to know how the readers feel about certain tangents I take, like the previous chapter where I showed young Haruka meeting toddler Keitaro for the first time. Since I got only three reviews for that chapter, and not one mentioned the section set in the past, I don't know if I should continue doing sections like that or not. As I've said before, your thoughts are always appreciated.
Also, should I release new chapters on the weekends? I thought that more people would respond if you first read the chapter during your free time, but if you all are reading this on your work computer, I can always set release days to be during the work week.
Thanks again for reading my story, and good luck to you all.
-Greydon Creed