Ch 31
Hongo Campus
University of Tokyo
Early December
late morning
(three months after story start)
Keitaro looked at the new smart phone in his hands, absently turning it over and back again as he considered what he needed to do next. He had already spent half the morning reading the instruction manual and programming the phone's applications, manually tapping in the numbers he wanted to store in the memory. Technology had certainly changed a lot since the last time he had owned a mobile phone. It had been only a little more than a year, but the new applications and features were almost enough to cause his head to spin.
The salesgirl at the phone store had been helpful, but she had been a little incredulous that he did not want the latest features. Apparently most current phones included a camera and a music media player, and the store did not carry any mobiles that did not include them. Internet access, email, and text messaging were also now a part of all smart phones as well. The strangest look he had gotten was when the salesgirl had offered to transfer his contact list from his old phone to his new one, and he had replied that he did not have an 'old' phone. It was only after he had explained that he had been out of the country for a year and he gave his old phone back to his family when he left that the girl understood why.
After leaving the mobile phone store in Hinata City that morning, Keitaro got on the train and started heading toward Todai, flipping through the manual to pass the time. Slowly and deliberately, he was able to program his email app and contacts into the mobile, the latter being copied from a mini-sized black address book that he kept in his wallet. After deleting the trio of spam that managed to sneak past his email filters, Keitaro flipped back to the main screen and brought up the phone number marked 'Miyuki K.' before looking up to see that he was approaching his train stop. Tucking his phone away in his coat pocket, Keitaro put the instruction manual back in the store bag and patiently waited for the train to stop to disembark.
Once he was off the platform and walking toward Todai, Keitaro looked down at himself in some dismay. Today was one of the rare days that he was wearing business attire, which was something he did not normally do. The tight white shirt collar and dark red tie and heavy dark blue suit was too restrictive and stifling for his taste, and the leather lace up dress shoes were uncomfortable to wear for any amount of time. He had grown used to wearing shorts and a t-shirt around the Sou, and slacks and an open collared dress shirt when more dressy attire was required. But wearing a suit and tie was not something he normally did, preferring even traditional attire like haori and hakama to the modern Western business suit. But today he did not have a choice, he had to go to the university administrative offices to renew his contractor ID card and turn in some paperwork for Seta-sensei, and the dress code there was definitely not casual.
Seeing that the sun's glare was getting much stronger in spite of the winter cold, Keitaro slipped on a set of clip on shades for his glasses, fitting neatly over the squared off lenses. Looking around , the young ronin could see that he was getting quite a few glances from the various students and faculty as he walked onto the campus, most of them from the fairer sex for some reason. Keitaro did not quite understand why he would attract so much attention, unless it was just the novelty of seeing someone as young as he was dressed so formally.
After swinging by Seta's office and dropping off his bag and picking up the papers that his boss wanted him to fill out and submit to the admin people, Keitaro paused for a long moment outside the building before sighing and taking out his mobile. Keying it on and mentally reviewing what he had decided to say to the girls beforehand – something that he had spent most of a sleepless night thinking about – he finally hit the 'Send' button, the phone ringing in his ear before the call finally connected.
"Moshi moshi, how can I help you?" Miyuki Kobayakawa's voice came through the ear piece, recognizable even without her identifying herself initially, a wise precaution for someone in her occupation.
"Hello Miyuki-chan, it's Keitaro Urashima…" The young man would have said more, but he was interrupted by a feminine squeal over the phone.
"Keitaro-kun! You're back in Tokyo already?" Miyuki was sounding much more lively and excited than from when she had initially answered the phone.
"Yes I am, I only just saw your email the other day, and today is the first chance I had some time to call you. I just barely got a replacement mobile phone, you see." Keitaro was rubbing the back of his head, his excuse weak even by his standards.
"And you didn't think to call us from a public telephone?" Even with the scolding tone in her voice, Keitaro could hear how happy Miyuki was to speak with him.
"Well, I wasn't sure you were all that eager to hear back from me after I was gone for such a long time." Keitaro would have continued, but he heard some other muffled sounds come through the line consistent with someone either dropping and picking up the phone or someone taking the phone from the speaker by force. Once he heard the voice on the phone again, he realized it had been the latter.
"Taro-kun! You're back, how are you, where are you!" The exuberant voice could only come from one person, Natsumi Tsujimoto, Miyuki's partner in more ways than one.
"Hi Natsu-chan. I'm fine, and right now I'm at Todai doing some paperwork. Did you have to snatch the phone from Miyuki-chan?" Keitaro could almost hear the pout in the short haired girl's voice as she replied.
"I'm just really happy to hear that you're back, Taro-kun." There was some more muffled sounds before Miyuki's voice came back on the line.
"We are both on the phone now Keitaro-kun, we are splitting a pair of earphones." Keitaro had to smile at the mental image of the two girls face to face, their foreheads together as they each listened through an earbud.
"Are you two at work now?" Because they were patrol officers, the two girls had some unusual work schedules, with days off sometimes in the middle of the week.
"Nope! We were doing some shopping for groceries. We were about to head for home when you called." Natsumi replied. "How much longer are you going to be at Todai? We really want to see you again" Her voice had dropped down into a suggestive purr.
Keitaro looked at his Luminox watch. "It's 10:30 now, I should be done by one o'clock at the latest. There is some paperwork I have to submit to administration for Seta-sensei."
"We're close to our apartment. By the time we drop off our groceries and make our way through traffic, it will be close to 1 pm. Could you meet with us today?" Miyuki's voice was calmer than her partner's, but he could still hear the eagerness in it.
"Sure, if you want we can meet here on the campus. Have either of you been to the gardens at Hongo campus?" Keitaro asked.
"A long time ago, when I was younger. It should not be a problem." Miyuki's voice replied.
Natsumi picked up where her dark haired partner left off. "Yeah, and we can get there faster if I drive!"
Keitaro gave a slight shudder, having ridden in a car piloted by the outgoing girl before, it was not something to easily forget, even when you would much prefer to. "Let Miyuki-chan drive, Natsu-chan. I don't think the drivers and citizens of Tokyo need the scare that you would give them.
Natsumi giggled. "I'm not that bad, Taro-kun."
"Yeah, but there is no big rush to getting here. We're just going to talk there for a bit." Keitaro felt a shiver run down his spine at the next words, especially who they came from.
"You seem to think that we are interested in talking. We may do that for a while, but there are other things that we have been looking forward to doing." If he had not heard Miyuki's distinctive voice being so suggestive, Keitaro would have never believed it. As it was, his face flushed just from the tone of her voice.
"If it's OK with you, we can meet at the bridge at Sanshiro Pond at the Hongo campus at one o'clock. If you don't see me, call me back at this number, it's my new mobile."
"No problem, Kei-kun. We look forward to seeing you again." It was now Natsumi who was speaking. "Bai bai for now." The call disconnected at the suggestive farewell.
Keitaro looked the phone to make sure the call was over, then pocketed the device and started walking toward the main admin office building. He needed to make sure everything he had to do today was completed by the time lunchtime was over, as he had a couple of very lovely ladies he was both nervous and eager to see.
Sanshiro Pond
Hongo Campus
University of Tokyo
Early December
early afternoon
Natsumi and Miyuki were walking at a quick pace, just a notch below an actual jog, as they looked around for Keitaro. They had not needed directions on how to find the pond, as it was visible through the main gate of the campus. The only thing that slowed them down even slightly was when the security officers at the gate had asked for either staff or student ID, but the two young women showing their police IDs was apparently sufficient.
The hard part had been finding parking for Miyuki's Toyota convertible. They finally wound up having to leave the car at a staff parking lot with the police placard on the dash, something that the dark haired girl would have previously protested even suggesting, but now done without any prompting, resulting in a raised eyebrow from her compatriot. Of course, the fact that the kinder, gentler policewoman had been driving through Tokyo traffic like they were in their patrol car with the lights and siren going had occupied much of her partner's attention.
"Where is he, where is he, where is he…" Natsumi was muttering to herself as she looked around. There were various people around the beautiful garden and lake, but no one looked like their long lost paramour.
"Keitaro-kun said that he would wait for us at the bridge, perhaps we should start there." Miyuki sounded calmer than her partner, but she was looking around just as intently as her partner.
"But the only guy there isn't Taro-kun," Natsumi almost whined. Her friend did not hear her, as she was focused on someone else.
The darker haired policewoman was looking closely at the lone male standing on the bridge. The guy was wearing a suit and sunglasses with a fairly short haircut, resembling most of the various plainclothes police officials and protective agents she had come across in her job. He was leaning back against the railing, facing out toward the larger part of the pond and while Miyuki could not see his face clearly from where she was standing, the man's posture was such that he was either rather tired and was simply resting there, or that he was lost in thought, and his distant gaze and relaxed shoulders were simply signs of that.
Slowing down to a walk, Miyuki, stepped onto the wooden bridge and approached the distracted man, Natsumi following behind her in some confusion. It was not until the man shifted slightly that she was able to see his face, and even with the squared off shades, the man's identity became obvious.
"Kei-kun?" Miyuki started to move faster, the sound of her voice causing the guy to turn toward her. "Kei-kun!" With three long steps she slammed into him, her arms wrapping around him as she buried her head in Keitaro Urashima's chest.
"Miyuki-chan?" Keitaro would have said more, but the ebony haired girl reached up and yanked his head downwards, her lips crushing into his in a heated kiss. Stunned by the fiery greeting, he simply stood there for a long moment as she enthusiastically kissed him, her mouth open and tasting his. He was finally able to pull away slightly and was about to speak, but then Natsumi put her own two cents in, turning his head toward her and immediately starting her own search of his mouth with her tongue. After getting over the second stunner in the last couple of minutes, Keitaro was finally able to break free, gasping for breath as the two girls cuddled up with him.
"Miyuki-chan? Natsumi-chan? What the hell?" Keitaro had known that the two girls would be happy to see him, but they were acting like he had just come back from a major war. "We're in public!" Public displays of affection between couples were no longer taboo in Japan, but they were still frowned upon, especially when it attracted a lot of attention. Two hot girls kissing one guy certainly qualified.
"Don't care. We missed you so much, Taro-kun." It was now Natsumi's turn to bury her head in his chest. Her hand ghosted up his chest and started undoing the buttons of his now open collared dress shirt from the top downwards. Her hand slipped inside the shirt and she purred at her discovery. "No undershirt? How naughty." She nuzzled up against his throat, but pouted when his hand came up and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from undoing any more buttons once she had reached the middle of his chest.
"Natsumi! We're in public!" Keitaro repeated, a little shocked. The brown haired girl could be enthusiastically passionate, but he was starting to think she was getting ready to thrown him down on the bridge and have her way with him right now.
"You don't understand, we really, *really* missed you, Kei-kun. It hasn't been the same since you left us." Miyuki was snuggled up to Keitaro besides Natsumi, the two girls pressed up in front of him.
"Yeah, even when I was helping Yuki-chan relieve some tension, she kept screaming out your name. I was starting to get jealous." Natsumi had taken her hand out of Keitaro's shirt and was now running it up and down his back under his coat, causing him to slightly shiver.
The dark haired girl flushed tomato red at her partner's revelation. "Natsumi-chan! You're the one that bought that… thing in the harness and kept telling me to imagine it was Keitaro-kun!"
By now Keitaro's head was starting to spin. Taking a step back, he put his hands up so the girls didn't grab him again. "Ladies! Stop with the sex talk for a minute! We need to talk, seriously." The girls pouted but stayed in place. "I know you two are happy to see me, but I didn't think you missed me that much."
"We did, Kei-kun. It wasn't until you left that we realized how much we enjoyed being with you. It wasn't just the sex." Here it looked like Natsumi was going to interject with some comment but Miyuki just nudged her with her shoulder in a sign to keep quiet."We had each other to keep ourselves company, but all those weeks without you really got to us. That is why we are so happy to see you again ." Natsumi nodded her agreement.
Taking off his glasses, Keitaro tiredly rubbed the bridge of his nose. Detaching the shades from the frame, he slipped the spectacles back on his face and looked from one eager girl to the other."Well, up until I got that email from you guys, I wasn't sure you even wanted to get back with me. After all, I am a ronin, and you two are attractive women, you shouldn't have trouble finding decent guys."
"We're policewomen, we're gearheads, and we're Christmas cakes, Taro-kun. You know how old we are?" Natsumi gestured toward her partner. "Miuyki-chan is 29 years old, and I'm 28. The only men that want to date us are other police officers, and I hate to say it, but they act like assholes a lot. The one guy I was interested in is now running an expedition service for mountain climbers in the Himalayas, and the guy Miyuki was into is too busy polishing the chrome on his bike. We actually had more dates in one year from American guys when we were on exchange with LAPD than in all our time at Bokuto. *You* are the decent guy we found, and we want to see how much further we can go with that."
Keitaro looked them both, seeing the sincerity on both their expressions. "You're saying this now, but things have changed since the last time we were together. You may decide you don't want to continue with me after you hear about it." He had trouble believing that two hot, sweet, smart girls like Natsumi and Miyuki would trouble romantically.
"Let us be the judge of that, Kei-kun. What is different now?" Miyuki was starting to look concerned.
Glancing around, Keitaro could see that there were only a couple of other people in the pond area, and no one was anywhere near close enough to be able to overhear them. "Well, two major things have happened. One is that my Granny Hina made me the manager of our family hot springs resort inn." Keitaro noticed both girls reacted slightly at his grandmother's name, but he did not know why. "It's a house and property on the other side of Yokohama. The problem was when she told me to met her there, she forgot to tell me that she had converted the inn to a girls dorm. She wasn't there to meet me, she just left me a letter saying that I was now the manager of the Hinata-sou and the heir to our family clan now."
"Girls dorm? How many girls are there?" Natsumi was frowning slightly.
"Five at first, ranging from age 20 to 14. For the most part, they're decent kids, but we had to ask one of them to leave for using violence in an improper manner."
"We? What do you mean we? Is your granny there?" Natsumi asked.
"No… Granny knew that I wouldn't be happy to take on the responsibility of running the house, so she just left the letter and took off. My Aunt Haruka runs a tea house at the bottom of the hill, and she helps when she can, but I had to ask my sister Kanako to move into the Sou and become the assistant manager."
"Your sister is only sixteen, correct?" The look on Miyuki's face was starting to match her partner's.
"Yeah, but for her it's only a part-time job. I need a female to stay in the Sou to keep things above board, and Aunt Haruka has to concentrate on running her tea house. Between the tenants, Kanako-chan and myself, we split up the chores of the Sou so that it isn't a major problem. That way we all have time to study and relax if we want to," Keitaro explained.
"So what is the problem with this? You being the manager of a girl's dorm isn't that bad, especially since you've brought in your sister to help you," asked Natsumi.
"Well… I've been running it for the last three months…" Keitaro was interrupted by Natsumi grabbing him by the shirt and yanking him toward her so they were literally face to face.
"Three months? You've been in Tokyo for three months? Your Granny brought you home from Thailand to run a girl's dorm? And you didn't call us?" Given that Natsumi's voice had been dropping in pitch with each sentence, it was almost a growl by the time she finished speaking.
"No, I came home early because things went to hell in Thailand. Seta-sensei, his daughter Sarah and I just barely got to Osaka when I got the word from Granny to get to the Hinata-sou as soon as possible. I got there the day after but she was already gone. I had to take over that day, and I've been busy running and fixing the place up since then." Keitaro was able to keep his composure even though he was being held on his tiptoes by Natsumi's fist on his shirt, but just barely.
"Went to hell? Keitaro-kun, what happened in Thailand?" Miyuki was openly frowning, which on the face of the normally placid woman was almost as disconcerting as the snarling look currently on Natsumi's face.
"The expedition site got raided by pirates. The site was pillaged, Seta-sensei was badly wounded, some of the workers and one of the other guards got killed, and Sarah was taken by the pirates." The fist on Keitaro's shirt loosened enough for him to drop flat on his feet again.
"Seta-kun was injured? How badly? And Sarah was taken?" The questions came from Natsumi now.
"Shot in the leg and chest, just barely missed the femoral artery. One of the others was able to patch him up enough that we were able to get him to get medical aid. And yeah, Sarah was taken by the pirates. Apparently a fourteen year old blonde haired blue eyed girl is worth a lot of money in certain circles." Keitaro's voice was flat by the time he finished speaking.
"How'd you get her back? The police?" Natsumi finally let go of Keitaro's shirt.
Keitaro snorted. "The police in Thailand aren't worth the money spent on their uniforms. Especially once we found out where the group that Sarah was sold to for resale was based."
"Where were they based, Kei-kun?" Miyuki stepped up closer to Keitaro, the frown on her face now replaced by concern.
"Roanapur." Both of the girls' faces turned pale as they heard his answer. The criminal haven's reputation was such that even in Japan they heard stories about it.
"And how did you get her back?" asked Natsumi.
"My partner and I snuck into Roanapur, questioned some people and found out where she was, grabbed her back, and tried to sneak out of town. That didn't work out so well. Sarah and I managed to get away." Keitaro's voice was completely emotionless. Both of the girls inwardly winced. They both noticed that he had not mentioned that his partner had gotten away.
Keitaro continued speaking. "We got picked up by the Royal Thai Navy and taken to Bangkok. Because of the uproar we created, Sarah, Seta and I were put in protective custody. We got evacuated from Thailand on an American military cargo plane to get us out before the criminals could locate us and try and take revenge."
"Revenge? Just what did you do, Taro-kun?" Natsumi was still close to Keitaro's face, only now she was wide-eyed.
"Shot up a slaver auction, blew up a building, shot any bad guy that tried to stop us from getting away," Keitaro momentarily flashed back to the female criminal on the other side of the heavy machine gun he was using that he didn't kill, for the very reason that she and the others she was with did not point weapons at him. "Hijacked a boat, shot at the people chasing us. Oh, I think I killed the guy that was running the whole thing too. That probably pissed them off a lot."
"And what does this have to do with you not contacting us?" Miyuki asked, apprehension on her face.
"You're policewomen, you have your own lives. I didn't think you would want to get involved with a guy like me." Keitaro turned his head so he was not looking at them and instead was looking across the pond.
"A guy like you?" Natsumi asked now, all anger gone from her face.
"A killer. I lost track of how many people I killed rescuing Sarah. Even now, I've only told my aunt and my sister what happened." And even then not everything, Keitaro thought to himself. His thoughts were interrupted by a hand taking hold of his jaw and turning his face back toward them. It was Natsumi, who was visibly angry again, while Miyuki had what looked to be the start of tears in her eyes.
"You stupid, stupid man…" Natsumi pulled his head forward and kissed him hard. After a few moments she released him and turned his head so he was facing Miyuki, who was whispering, "Silly, silly man" before kissing him as well.
"We are the ones to decide if we want to be with you. You don't get to make that decision for us, especially without telling us anything. Gods, we've missed you so much Taro-kun, that isn't a lie." Natsumi was now nuzzling up to his neck as Miyuki kissed him. "Besides, there's something we need to tell you as well."
"What was that, Natsu-chan?" Keitaro was getting distracted by Miyuki's kisses, but it was though a record player needle had screeched across an LP when Natsumi replied.
"Your Granny came to talk to us when you left for Thailand. She made us an offer." Slowly, Keitaro pulled away from Miyuki and turned toward the brown haired girl, an incredulous look on his face. "She wants to have great-grandbabies, so she offered to give the Urashima name to and financially support any children both Miyuki and I have with you."
Author's Note: It's hard to believe it's been almost a month since the last update. As you all can imagine, Real Life came up and bit me hard in the butt. First, I took ill with an infection two weeks ago, and that week was spent going from one doctor's office to another, which did not put me in the proper mood to write. Then my mobile phone broke on me, I had to go to the store to see if it could be replaced. It was less expensive to sell the phone back to the phone store and get a brand new mobile than it was to repair or replace it. Ironically, I did the same as Keitaro did in this chapter, sit around and program a new phone and get used to the new features.
You would think that having a new recliner chair would be more conductive to writing, but it turns out the opposite is true. The chair is a little too comfortable, and me being tired all the time makes me too sleepy to write. That and having the DSL hooked up when I write is not a good idea, I start to get distracted by the internet. I found out I write better with the DSL unplugged and after an energy drink or two.
As you have seen, Keitaro had reunited with his Lovely Ladies, and they have dropped Granny Hina's little offer on him like one of Su's dropkicks. It is something he really has to think about, but I think the three will be able to reach an agreeable and pleasurable accord. *grin*
Winners of the chocolate fudge cookies for guessing the source of the names for the Aoyama elders and the anime series they originally come from (Danzo – Naruto, Naoko – Evangelion) are as follows; two cookies for getting both right: Toa Naruto, Patcheresu, and PersplexChameleon. One cookie to each person that got at least one right: Orchamus, Ruckyree Dun Goof'd, Hektols, and SentiNel090. The Sinful gets *three* cookies for guessing the source of Tsuruko's mom's name as well (Michiru – Sailor Moon).
Winner of the most currently unusual place reading my story is Kuwait. The runner up is Thailand, which may be ticked off at me once I finish with the Roanapur arc. *smile* Special mention goes to the guy/gal that is reading this story by downloading it by satellite provider. Hope the story is worth the amount of money you are spending for your bandwidth. *grin*
My thanks go out to AZ MII and PCH for their excellent help in beta-ing this chapter.
As of 19Mar 2012 0520PDT, this story had 172,996 hits (for some reason, the hits counter on the stats pages isn't working - grrr), 346 Reviews, 35 C2 Listings, 471 Favorite Listings, and 434 Story Alerts. Thanks again for reading, guys.*thumbs up*