Sister Princess Chp4: Stay Together
By Zenithos
Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina. I don't own Sister Princess either. Neither do I own Mahou Sensei Negima from which I've borrowed a number of characters. I completely respect their creators and in no way seek to discredit them for their work. A number of Sister Princess characters are featured in this story, but they are completely OCs. This fan fiction was written completely for personal enjoyment, not for profit.
This story is completely spoiler-free.
Fast update, wasn't it? This chapter is just the other half of chapter 3, really. I completed it about half a day after the published chapter 3. Well, hope you like it.
And thanks ever so much for the reviews. They're really helping me along big time. I'm still an inexperienced writer, so every bit of feedback and support, even flames, is extremely helpful. Thanks everyone! I'll work hard to get another chapter up soon, but things are really promising to become hectic towards the end of the year. I'm not saying there would be delays, but we can never really be sure, right?
Also, regarding Mamoru Minakami, I... I didn't want to make any spoilers out of this, but since people have already started questioning it, let's say I have plans... How's that?
PS: Sorry for the typo in the last chapter. I'll fix it soon. but you get the gist of it, right?
And without further ado, chapter 4!
"The others are asleep?" Keitaro asked in a low voice as he entered one of the smaller rooms in the side pavilions. It was Hinako and Hinata's room, though at the moment quite a few more futons had been laid out across the floor. Hinata and Hinako were sharing the bed on one side, hugging one another for comfort. Kaho and Karen shared another. Marie had somehow made her way to the room, probably seeking company, and had fallen asleep alongside Shirayuki in one futon. Keiko, who had probably been keeping them company, had fallen asleep alongside them.
The one Keitaro was addressing was Sakuya who was sitting on one side of the room, watching the younger ones sleep. Keitaro gently laid down Aria who had fallen asleep in his arms beside Shirayuki, Marie and Keiko and tucked her into the futon.
"Yeah…they went out like a light a few moments ago… " Sakuya said. "It's….been a long day…hasn't it?"
"Yes…it has…" Keitaro said, sitting down beside Sakuya. "Where are Chiikage, Rinrin, and Mizuki?"
"I think they went to get some hot cocoa…" Sakuya said. "They're probably with Sakura-san in the kitchen."
"The Otsuya (funeral reception, basically the time when all the mourners get together to eat and drink the night away) is still going on, I think." Keitaro said. "Did you go see?"
"Nope, can't stand it anyway." Sakuya sighed. "No one sane could have a stomach for merry-making at times like this…" She hugged her knees.
"They've scheduled the oshoushiki (Japanese funeral ceremony) for tomorrow, seeing as we're all here." Keitaro said.
"…" Sakuya remained silent for a bit. Only the gentle breathing of the smaller sisters broke the silence.
"By the way, Sakuya-chan…errr…I know this might not be the best of times for something like this, but…happy birthday." Keitaro said, taking out a small gift-wrapped package. "And may you have many more…"
"…funny you should mention it now…" Sakuya smiled and sighed, accepting the gift. "Thanks, Onii-sama. You actually remembered…"
"Your welcome…" Keitaro said. "You know the others remembered too…they even got gifts ready…but I guess…at a time like this…"
"…." Sakuya relapsed into silence for a few moments. She suddenly spoke up. "Oka-sama and Oto-sama had asked me to come home a few weeks ago…just for my birthday…but I told them I was too busy…" She interlocked her fingers on her knees. "If only I had come home…perhaps…they wouldn't have gone on that trip…perhaps the accident wouldn't have happened"
"Nobody could foresee these things…" Keitaro sighed.
"But…now…I start to question…did I love them enough? If I did, why didn't I just come home? Why didn't I prevent the accident from happening?" Sakuya whispered. "If I loved them enough, wouldn't I have had the sense to come home when they asked me to?" She looked up at her brother.
"Sakuya-chan…" Keitaro sighed again. "In life, you do what you can. You propose, life disposes. It wasn't your fault." Keitaro closed his eyes. "Love in itself is what binds people together…it can no more control the fates of people than divine the future. It is merely a connection. Your love for your parents keeps you close to them, but it has no control over destiny. We make our own destinies."
"Onii-sama…It's just that…I don't want to lose anymore loved ones…" Sakuya said, looking up at her siblings around the room. "They…they're all I have left…you're all I have left…and I don't want to lose that, ever." Sakuya looked at her brother. "Now...I'll make my own destiny...I never want to be separated from everyone anymore...We'll always be together, right?"
"Forever, Sakuya-chan…" Keitaro said, pulling her towards him. "Forever. That's my promise as a brother." The shadows falling across his face from the moonlight made him seem a lot older. The light shining off his eyes gave her a strange sense of comfort. She snuggled into his shoulder and closed her eyes, feeling safe in the knowledge that she was with her brother. That was all she needed.
"This is a real otsuya!" Mitsune shouted as she staggered towards the other end of the grand room. "Look at all the beer! All the sake!" she hiccupped, falling down beside the others and dragging herself up into a sitting position.
"Hey…pay more respect…this IS an otsuya, not some bachelor party." Naru said, reproachfully.
"Aw…come on, don't…hiccup…be like…ugh…that!" She managed, swigging down more sake from a bottle. "TO THE URASHIMAS!" She shouted. Thankfully, everyone else was too absorbed in what they were doing to hear her.
"Sempai…he's been so busy since we got here…we never got to talk to him…" Shinobu sighed.
"That's true…he's been so very busy…" Motoko said, nodding. "Being an older sibling is obviously a big responsibility."
"Hiccup…where's our boy…I need to…hiccup…thank him for all this…booze…" Mitsune moaned.
"There's so much food!" Suu cried happily. "It's food! It's all food!" She danced past them, downing two chicken legs in a go while balancing a tower of cakes on both hands.
"Oh God…we look like country bumpkins out in town for the first time…" Naru sighed, slapping her forehead in exasperation.
"Heya, girls!" Haitani sauntered up to them. Shirai trailed behind, a few beers in his hands. "Having fun?"
"It's a funeral…" Naru glared icily at them. One of her hands was busy restraining Mitsune from going off and flirting with a particularly nice looking distant relation of Keitaro. Her other hand was busy restraining Suu from trying to assault one of the maids carrying in food.
"Ah, lighten up…" Haitani sighed, as if trying to explain 1 + 1 2 to a particularly stubborn child. "It's an otsuya after all. No need to be so huffed up like that." He sat down beside Naru. "Whaddya say we go hit the liquor stand together?" He offered, holding up a rose.
"I'll give you one yet, you…." A large vein popped on Naru's forehead as she reared back her fist. A few seconds later found Haitani plastered into the woodwork at the other end of the room.
"I thought the two of you were going home this afternoon…" Naru rubbed her fist, turning her attention to Shirai.
"Oh, we decided to stay the night, seeing as the funeral's tomorrow anyway." Shirai said. "Might as well go the full 100 yards…besides, missing the otsuya would be a real pity." He smiled. "Though I haven't had the chance to see any of Keitaro's pretty little sisters…" he added, partly to himself. "Which is the real pity…"
"Gah…No wonder you're his friends…." Naru sighed. "Birds of a feather flock together…"
"Oh! Oh! It's sempai!" Shinobu cried, pointing out a nearby window. Indeed it was Keitaro, walking alone out in the dark courtyard towards the grand hall. A smaller figure ran up to him before leading him away another direction. The falling snow obscured them slightly.
"He's leaving with someone…oh, must be one of his sisters…" Naru commented, looking out the window alongside Shinobu.
"One of the cute ones?" Shirai asked, coming up to the window in a hurry.
"It…must be so nice, having a big brother like Keitaro-sempai…" Shinobu sighed wistfully.
"Nice?" Naru asked. "Well…perhaps…though I wonder if he peeks in on them bathing…"
"Haha! That's a good one!" Mitsune laughed as she started to quaff her beer. There is a very significant difference between drinking and quaffing. In order to quaff properly, you must be at least drunk enough to spill at least half the drink, while puking out the other half.
"Ani-chama, Mizuki-chan'd like to show you something Mizuki-chan found…" Mizuki said, leading her brother to one of the smaller side pavilions. She turned around as she reached the door. The steam from the two cups of cocoa she held partially obscured her face.
"Isn't this…the old calligraphy house?" Keitaro asked, in English off course.
"Yes…" Mizuki said, sliding the door open. The air inside was cold, yet fresh, signifying that it had been in frequent use just recently. She set down the two cups of cocoa on a nearby table and proceeded to light up the paper lamps in the room.
"Wow…" Keitaro couldn't keep in his awe as he looked around. There was pile upon pile of scrolls lining both sides of the room beside the door. In the middle of the room was a raised platform, partially obscured by a thin white curtain.
On the platform was a calligraphy sandbox. A number of large sand calligraphy styluses leaned against a nearby wooden stand. On one edge of the raised platform was a stand full of brushes of varying sizes, from small brushes for minute work on rice grains to gigantic brushes for full scale wall scrolls.
At the end of the room, opposite the door, a gigantic paper scroll hung on the wall.
"Mizuki-chan thinks…this is Oto-sama's handwriting…" Mizuki said, indicating the large paper scroll. On it was a single, beautifully drawn calligraphic letter, drawn in black ink in even, gentle strokes.
"It is…" Keitaro said, walking up to it. "Do you know what it spells, Mizuki-chan?"
"No…but Mizuki-chan knows it's kanji (A form of Japanese lettering, derived from Chinese calligraphy)."
"It spells…Kazoku…" Keitaro said. He turned to face Mizuki. "Do you know what it means?"
"No…" Mizuki shook her head slowly.
"It means…family…" Keitaro said, admiring the gigantic piece of calligraphic art. "Keiko-chan would know more about the intricacies of this letter, but each and every stroke has a specific significance…they make up the essence of the word." Keitaro explained.
"Oh…" Mizuki stood beside her brother and looked at the gigantic scroll for any elusive hidden meanings. There weren't any.
"You're looking for hidden messages within the picture, aren't you?" Keitaro asked.
Mizuki looked up at her brother in surprise, but nodded all the same.
"You won't find any…that's what's so interesting about the word 'kazoku', it's clear and simple, with no secrets or hidden meanings. Though each and every stroke has its own significance, they mean nothing without the others. Together, they make up one of the most beautiful letters in the Japanese kanji, 'kazoku'." Keitaro sighed.
"Oh…" Mizuki seemed to ponder on this for a moment. "But…this seems very recent…which means Oto-sama drew it not too long ago." She walked over to the calligraphy sandbox. "The letter is still here in the sandbox too…which means Oto-sama must've practiced it first before drawing it out on the scroll. The lines in the sand are still very fine…it couldn't have been more than three days ago." She said, looking up at her brother.
"Haha, playing Sherlock Homes again, Mizuki?" Keitaro chuckled.
"Bro, this is serious…it seems as if…Oto-sama is trying to tell us something…" Mizuki looked up at the scroll again.
"He might be…" Keitaro smiled. "The message is clear, isn't it?" He asked in a knowing sort of way.
"But….but…" Mizuki looked at her brother. "It's…too much of a coincidence…"
"Don't ponder over those kinds of things too much…he might just have felt a fancy for it…" Keitaro smiled. "Besides…the writing in the sandbox is Oka-sama's. Not Oto-sama's….therefore, your theory that this scroll was drawn within the past 3 days has holes in it…elementary, my dear Watson." He chuckled.
"Ah! No fair, Ani-chama!" Mizuki wailed, pouting playfully at her brother. Keitaro pulled her cheeks teasingly.
"Your hypothesis could still use a bit of work…" Keitaro chuckled good naturedly. "For example…you failed to notice that the large brush that was most likely used for this scroll is still standing on the drying stand." Keitaro gestured at the back of the room where indeed a large brush was sitting on the drying stand. "If indeed it was used for this scroll, then Oto-sama had drawn this scroll just before they left. The brushes are always replaced back on their stands a day after."
"Ah…" Mizuki's eyes turned white in shock. She could feel the three letters, QED, fall down heavily on her head.
"But…I'm sure you've noticed that the calligraphy sandbox wasn't cleared…" Keitaro hinted.
"Yes…it normally is cleared after a letter is complete….which means…" Realization dawned on Mizuki's face. "Oka-sama left it on purpose!" She exclaimed, punching the palm of her hand. "Which means she left it for us to read…knowing she'd…" She looked up at her brother in horror.
"Nice logical leaping there, Agatha Christie…but off course, there's still the possibility that it's just a coincidence…Oka-sama might have forgotten to erase it before she left." Keitaro shrugged. "Or someone might have forgotten to replace the brushes the day after. Anyway, if our parents did know anything about their impending deaths, they would have taken steps to prevent it. They are parents after all."
"Yes…that is true…" Mizuki sighed. "But…indeed…it is a nice message for Oto-sama and Oka-sama to leave us. Each means nothing without the others…only when it's complete does it possess a meaning – family…"
"It is a good letter." Keitaro nodded in agreement.
"Ani-chama…can we really make it as a family? Without Oka-sama and Oto-sama?" Mizuki asked, a few tears running down her face as she suddenly remembered they were now an orphaned family.
"Who says it's going to be without Oka-sama and Oto-sama?" Keitaro asked, pulling his little sister close. "They'll be with us, every step of the way. And we'll pull through this, paddle or no paddle."
"I…I want us to be a family again…one with a complete meaning…" Mizuki said, embracing her brother.
"We will be. Oka-sama and Oto-sama's words will be our guide. Each and every one of us makes up the kazoku." Keitaro said. Together they regarded the scroll for some time. The light of the lamps danced across it, casting strange shadows across the wall on the back. A draught found a hole somewhere and blew across the calligraphy sandbox, erasing the letter slightly.
"I was wondering where you two went off to…" Rinrin said, walking up to them through the snow-laden courtyard. The snow was still gently spiraling down through the dark sky.
"Where's Chiikage-neechama?" Mizuki asked.
"She went back to the kitchen for something, I think. She said something about making cocoa for everyone." Rinrin said, warming her hands.
"Cocoa for everyone? Oh, I'll go help then." Mizuki said. "Ani-chama, Rinrin-neechama, you two can go ahead. I'll catch up with Chiikage-neechama later." She said, before running away in the direction of the kitchen.
"Mizuki-chan…always so helpful…" Keitaro said, shaking his head.
"Yes…she is…" Rinrin sighed. "I wish I knew her better…I wish I knew everyone better…"
"Rinrin-chan…" Keitaro looked down at his sister.
"I…I've regretted…not knowing my parents as well as I should have…" She said, looking down at the frost covered ground. "I feel like…I haven't been a good daughter…"
"Knowing someone…is like knowing snow…" Keitaro stretched out his hand. A few snowflakes spiraled down onto it. "There are so many different snowflakes that make up snow…each and every one different, each unique and special…and yet, you will never be able to see and understand each and every one of them." Keitaro said, looking up at the sky.
"But look around you…all these snowflakes make up snow…beautiful, crisp, snow. We know snow well, though we don't know its individual pieces." Keitaro looked down at his sister again. "What we see is the large picture, made up of all these microscopic fragments. And that large picture is all the more beautiful…"
"Aniki…" Rinrin murmured.
"When we know someone, we know them for who they are. All the smaller details merely contribute towards this identity." Keitaro said. "There's no such thing as not knowing someone enough, just as you can't not know snow enough. You could only know people better, just as you look closer at each individual snowflake."
"Then…I want to get to know you better, Aniki" She said, embracing her brother. "…I want to get to know everyone…I want to be as close to everyone as possible." Rinrin said, one hand still around Keitaro's waist while the other stretching towards the falling snowflakes. "I won't waste my opportunities anymore…"
"Don't worry, Rinrin-chan. We'll all be as close as close could be, all together, all one family." Keitaro said, holding her close.
The inside of the grand (make-shift) coffin hall was almost a complete white the next morning, with white chrysanthemums and a variety of other white flowers lining almost every inch of the walls. No expense had been spared in the ceremony preparations. Everything had been done to the letter.
The altars bearing the photographs of the parents, both smiling warmly, were still there. Huge sticks of incense wafted sickly sweet fragrances across the hall. A number of Japanese Shinto monks had been called in to perform the ceremony. The chants, clash of cymbals, and cacophony of knockings on the prayer bowls filled the room. Otherwise, there was a deep respectful silence.
A number of Christian priests had been called in as well. They watched the proceedings with polite interest as they awaited their turn at the far end of the hall.
The guests, drunken with revelry the day before, had put on their most solemn facades this morning. At the front, the family, arrayed in order of age, were seated, starting with, off course, the parents of the deceased (including Grandma Hina), then siblings ( including Haruka), followed by children, all wearing black. All were kneeling in grieving silence.
The sisters were all crying quietly. The impulse to cry was contagious. It had started with Hinako and worked its way up through the ranks towards Sakuya. Even Kanako couldn't help but shed a few tears. All were trying to comfort one another quietly, giving one another gentle words of comfort, which seemed lost on themselves all the same. Keitaro, on the other hand, was a stone statue.
After the chants came the last respects. The coffins lids were opened and shifted halfway down. A tray filled to bursting with chrysanthemums, lilies, and an assortment of other flowers, was placed atop the lids. One by one the family members stood up, again in order of age, from eldest down, and took a flower from the tray. Grandma Hina went first. She picked up two chrysanthemums and placed it reverently in her son and daughter-in-law's coffins.
There really was nothing to see inside the coffins. The contents had mostly been obscured by a white cloth. It was difficult to even judge whether or not there were bodies inside. All the same, Grandma Hina spent quite some time staring into the coffins. She finally shook her head slowly, maybe unconsciously, before walking away and resuming her seat.
When Haruka's turn came, she stood still for quite some time. Tears were streaming down her cheeks but her face was a stone mask, maintaining its usual seemingly bored expression.
And finally Keitaro's turn came. As he stepped up to the coffins he found his knees weaken. His entire body stiffened as he saw the white cloths inside the coffins. He just wasn't able to hold it in anymore. Tears brimmed in his eyes as he laid down his flowers. He felt as if he couldn't leave them. No, he just couldn't. But the commanding force of ceremonious protocol finally moved his feet for him as he moved aside for his sisters. Kanako and Sakuya looked up at their brother before putting down their flowers.
Keitaro had to lift up Marie, Karen, Aria, Kaho, Hinata, and Hinako to the coffins to allow them to pay their final respects. Hinako and Hinata, after placing their flowers, completely broke down, wailed, and clung onto their brother. Luckily, they were the last, so Keitaro just carried them both back to the seats.
Just as they were taking turns hammering the coffin nails with the ceremonious pieces of igneous rock, a loud screeching sound sounded outside the hall.
Everyone looked towards the hall doors. A number of footsteps were rapidly approaching. The doors suddenly opened roughly as a number of people entered. At the front was a young woman, perhaps still in her early 20s, wrapped in a black coat and black skirt. Behind were a number of girls, in ages ranging from slightly younger than the woman up front to little girls who were probably only 4 or 5.
"Oh…I'm sorry…am I late? For the inheritance announcement, I mean." She asked, chuckling as she walked up the aisle.
"Marciano…" Matsura stood up and barred the aisle. "We thought…you weren't coming."
"Ah, well, you'd hope that, won't you? Then you could grub the legacy all to yourself…but not while I'm here." She said, pushing Matsura roughly aside.
"H…hey!" Matsura shouted. "This is a funeral!"
"Really? Well, I don't have much time for such trivialities…so let's skip to the more important bits while I'm still here." She said, extending a hand to one of the girls behind her. There were exactly 12 of them in all. One of the 12 came forwards and handed Marciano a brown envelope.
"Hey…You might be busy and all…" Haruka stood up, hands crossed, scowl in place. "But in here, I won't tolerate any crap…"
"Oh…Haruka…still here, serving the family?" Marciano chuckled. "You old busybody…Well, enough of that. I'm just here to announce my ownership of the legacy." She said, opening the envelope with a flourish.
Everyone in the hall gasped.
"WHAT!" Matsura shouted, running up to her. "What's the meaning of this!"
"I personally witnessed the young master and miss sign their last will and testament!" Sasaki-san shouted, standing up in rage. "The legacy was left in the hands of Urashima Keitaro and his sisters!"
"Not anymore it isn't…" Marciano said, a smug smile adorning her face. "State law states that wills signed on later dates automatically render the earlier ones irrelevant." She said, pulling out a wad of papers from the envelope. "And I have witnesses. My legal advisor is here with the official items…the letter was even signed in front of a court judge…and you're saying you want to make a case out of a letter signed in front of a best friend and the head-maid?" She laughed.
"WHAT!" Sasaki-san, Matsura, Haruka, and Grandma Hina shouted in disbelief. Keitaro, slightly confused, was now looking on the whole thing with an expression of worried apprehension.
"What? Are you looking for trouble?" One of the older girls with Marciano asked Keitaro.
"No…" Keitaro replied, shaking his head. "No, sorry…"
"Onii-chan!" Kanako cried. "What are you apologizing for!" She shouted as she stood up. "YOU! You dare speak rudely to my brother!"
"SILENCE!" Marciano shouted. "THIS!" She shouted again, holding up the letter. "Is the last will and testament signed by the late Urashimas, leaving the entire Urashima legacy to ME!"
"That is true…there is no way around it. As Lady Marciano's legal advisor, I can say that everything stated here is true." A balding bespectacled man said beside Marciano. "You know you haven't got a case, Matsura. You just don't." He smirked at Matsura.
"Rokubunji…" Matsura scowled at the balding man. "You…this conspiracy…you know that common sense will see through the whole thing…why would these parents leave this distant, disgusting relative with their entire fortune and leave their children nothing? I can even argue they weren't sound of mind, if I need to…that legacy rightfully belongs to their children!" He shouted.
"Well…common sense…money can buy a lot of common sense…" Rokubunji smiled an ugly smile at Matsura. "and since all the money will be on our side…well…I think the case is in the bag…" He patted his lawyer's bag.
"Damn you, Rokubunji…." Matsura swore. "I'll fight you all to the death! The last wishes of my best friends must be carried out!" He shouted, raising his fist.
"Stop…" A bespectacled man with a stubble wearing a battered lab coat over a crumpled black shirt with the sleeves turned up and a pair of matching black trousers said, holding onto Matsura's fist. "I know how you feel…but at this point, punching him won't solve anything…if it did, I'd have been the first to send him through the wall…"
"Listen to the man, Matsura." Rokubunji smiled, wiping off the sweat off his brow. He had yelped when Matsura raised his fist. Now he was trying his best to regain his composure.
"Now…do what you can and fight this man in court…it might be a losing battle but you said you'd die trying…" the man released Matsura's fist.
"You don't have to tell me twice. Justice will be done." Matsura said, glaring at Rokubunji. The bespectacled man in the lab coat, meanwhile, walked over to Haruka who proceeded to ignore him.
"Well…that settles it…though there's still the issue of the children. I'm not that heartless, and I'm willing to take care of the Urashima brats." Marciano said, looking over at the Urashima sisters behind Keitaro.
"No!" Kanako shouted.
"We want to stay with our brother!" Some of the sisters shouted. Others chorused 'yes!'.
"Well…what'll it be, wonder boy?" Marciano said, smirking at Keitaro. "Do you want to reduce you sisters to living in poverty along with you, just as you brats deserve, or would you take advantage of my kindness and leave them in my hands?" Marciano asked.
Keitaro's expression was completely unreadable. It was a mix of worry and fear, coupled with sudden helplessness. He had off course been counting on the inheritance to help him bring up his sisters. But now, with no support whatsoever, he was faced with a dilemma. He sure as hell didn't want to ruin his sisters' lives…but at this point both choices seemed to lead to that.
He gulped. "You….you promise to take care of them?" He asked.
"Onii-sama!" Sakuya shouted. "What are you saying!"
"Anigimi-sama!" Keiko shouted. "You promised us!"
"Aniki!" Rinrin cried. "You said we'd be together forever!"
"Nii-sama!" Shirayuki cried. "You promised you'd never leave Hime-chan!"
"Ani-kun." Chiikage said. "There's no way I can keep on going without you."
"Aniue-sama…please…I beg of you, don't leave us." Marie said, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Nii-ya!" Aria ran up to her brother and folded her arms around him. "Nii-ya said Nii-ya would always be with Aria-chan! You can't leave us!"
"Onii-chan…" tears flooded Karen's eyes. "You…you're not planning on leaving us, are you?"
Kaho ran up to her brother and hung onto him, looking up at him with watery eyes. She shook her head rapidly and clung on tighter.
"Onii-tama!" Hinako wailed. "If Onii-tama leaves Hina-tan, Hina-tan will cry!"
"Onii-chama!" Hinata cried. "Please…don't leave us…"
"Ani-chama!" Mizuki shouted, tears streaming down her face. "What happened to our 'kazoku'? Didn't you promise! What happened to 'paddle or no paddle'!"
"I…" Keitaro shut his eyes. "I…"
"What are you worrying about, Onii-chan?" Kanako asked. "We're a family, and families pull together. There's no need for you to carry the entire burden by yourself."
"Kanako is right, Keitaro." Grandma Hina said. "And families never abandon one another. Remember that."
"I'm not abandoning them…it's just that…" Keitaro looked down at his sisters, all of whom had clustered around him, looking up at him beseechingly. "I don't have the means…"
"You're worried about means!" Haruka shouted. "Grow a backbone, nephew!" She barked. "We're all in this together. You're not alone!"
"Yeah, baka." Mitsune stood up and shouted from behind.
"Sempai! We…We're behind you!" Shinobu shouted.
"You never were standing alone, baka." Naru said, crossing her arms, striding up the aisle towards them. "What did you see us as?"
"If it's money you need, then we can just make it!" Suu shouted, taking out a portable printer and taking the phrase 'making money' to an all new literary meaning.
"That's illegal Kaolla!" Shinobu cried, her eyes spinning.
"Samurais must help the weak." Motoko said, still seated. She didn't say anything else.
"Hey man, this is what friends are for." Haitani said, his eyes sparkling dramatically.
"Yeah. Count on us!" Shirai said, winking.
"Yes! We'll all help!" Sakuya shouted. "Won't we?" She asked the sisters.
"Yeah, we're kazoku!" Mizuki shouted.
"We'll do it together!" Rinrin shouted. Their words were almost drowned by a chorus of cheers and words of encouragement from the other sisters.
"…thank you…everyone…" Keitaro said, not being able to hold back the tears. "They're my family…I'm not handing them to anyone!" Keitaro said to Marciano levelly.
"Are you sure? You do know that to be a guardian, you must have a…what do they call it again? Ah…yes, a solid income…" She made an emphasis on the last word while gloating at Keitaro.
"Wait…there's a clause that says that the closer of the relatives volunteering to be a guardian, as long as he or she is of legal age, and should they have no source of income as yet, is allowed to have a probation period within which they must find a secure source of income. Within that probation period, he or she is allowed custody of the children in question." Matsura said, reading the clause off word for word as if he had a law book in front of him.
"Is that true?" Marciano turned to her legal advisor.
"It is…" Rokubunji said, raising his glasses as he looked through a law book he had in one hand. "Yes…he is entitled to a probationary period of 6 months…starting on the month after the case is put forwards…which means he would have until June next year."
"No…July next year." Matsura corrected, slightly triumphant. "Since the eve of the parents' death was after the closing period of this legal year, the case is automatically set to be put forwards in January…thus the 6 month period is counted starting February."
"Well…we'll see…what kind of income this brat could scrounge up in half a year...haha, that's something I'd like to see." Marciano laughed. The tension in the room was at breaking point. The elder of the girls behind Marciano were fighting a mental war with the elder of the Urashima sisters. "Oh well…" Marciano sighed. "Your loss. I can't care less." She said, turning around and walking away down the aisle towards the doors. "I want the house emptied by the end of the day." She added, before leaving.
"The t…" Haruka muttered.
"In the middle of a funeral too…" Grandma Hina sighed. "Where on earth did she get that will? My son and daughter-in-law wouldn't have signed such a will…not even if their lives were at stake…"
"It must be a fake of some sort…but how to prove it…" Kanako's eyes narrowed.
"What matters now is how we're supposed to finance the sisters…" Haruka sighed, looking around at the sisters who were crying with joy around Keitaro. "We might have acted all high and mighty…but now…"
"First things first…" Grandma Hina gestured at the coffins. "We've got a funeral to finish…"
The rest of the funeral proceeded smoothly without any more interruptions, though the mood was a lot drearier than before. Instead of a normal Christian burial, the Urashimas had requested a Kasouba (a Japanese cremation).
Keitaro's mind was continually bothered by the thoughts of having to raise his little sisters on pretty much nothing. He didn't have a job, he was a penniless student, the Hinata Sou's rent barely paid for monthly maintenance….it was just impossible no matter how he looked at it. And he couldn't bear the thought of any of them working part-time just to make ends-meet, which he was sure they'd do just to help him out.
He kept on thinking that he should've just handed them over to Marciano…then he cursed himself for thinking it and went back to worrying.
The flames of the crematorium flickered across the eyes of the siblings as they watched the coffins go up in flames. It was the only hint of life in them at that point as they said their final silent goodbyes to their parents. Nothing remained but the ashes.
At the end of it all, Keitaro, being the eldest (and only) son, was handed the two urns containing the ashes, all wrapped up in embroidered silk sheets. He felt how heavy they were…these two bodies that had borne the burden of a life with 14 children.
These were people who never made excuse…people who pulled through thick and thin…people who always kept their promises to the end…
He was their son, and he had made a promise…now as things turned thin, he was making excuses. He kicked himself mentally as he realized what a fool he had been for even hesitating.
This burden was his now…his parents had entrusted him with it…and he'd be damned if he ever messed up. He turned around and looked at his sisters. A fierce new fire raged in his eyes.
There was no way he could ever fail now…his life was no longer his own, he knew that. He was now living for his parents and for the lives of his sisters. There was no more room for weakness. He was now fighting for something far more valuable than life itself.
"We'll make it." He said, confidently. "I know we will. I've promised you, Oka-sama, Oto-sama, and I will keep that promise."
To be continued…
Keitaro's really starting to seem like some sort of emotional counseling service for his sisters. Then again, that's what big brothers are for, isn't it?
Even with all that talk about staying together, it seems actually staying together will prove a lot tougher than promising to. Will the siblings make it through? Will they manage to keep their fledgling little family together? Find out in the next chapter of Sister Princess! Finally! The Sibling's first day in Hinata Sou!
For character profiles, sneak peaks, previews of upcoming chapters, for Sister Princess as well as my other works, feel free to visit our Fan Works Forum, the Unlimited Fan Works, accessible through the homepage link on our profile. Thank You.
Glossary of Japanese terms:
Terms and words:
Otsuya: Japanese funeral reception, basically the time when all the mourners get together to eat and drink the night away.
Oshoushiki: Japanese Funeral ceremony
'kazoku' – family
'kanji' – Japanese calligraphy derived from Chinese calligraphy
Kasouba: Japanese cremation