Chapter 7: Realization
By Zenithos
Thanks yet again for the really supportive reviews. I can't say how much appreciate your reviews. Having someone take a moment of their precious time to comment on my work feels like the highest form of acknowledgement to me, even if they are flames. It really does. I'm still a beginner, so every bit of feedback, comments, and maybe even flames are extremely helpful. So thanks everyone.
By the way, this has GOT to be the longest chapter I've written to date.
Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina, Mahou Sensei Negima, or Sister Princess.
Proofread by Beyond The Bounds and Eternity Incarnate
"…I'm sorry…I guess I really must apologize for you two losing your jobs like that…" Kietaro said, bowing apologetically all of a sudden as they entered the living room. "If there's any way for me to make it up to you…"
"U…Urashima-sama…" Makie stammered. "It's…it's nothing. Nothing at all…" Her face was reminiscent of an overripe tomato, thrown in a mincer, before thrown out of a 10th story window.
"…R…Really, Keitaro-sama…." Ako said, her face the image of a red lava lamp. "It wasn't your fault. W…We wholly understand."
"Y…yes, exactly, it wasn't your fault." Makie echoed Ako's words.
"Thank you…Thank you very much, you two." Keitaro said, grateful. "And…about you two wanting to stay here?" He asked, gesturing for them to take a seat on the sofas.
"Well…um…After the incident at the residence, me and Ako had nowhere to go, so we set out together to find a new home and a new job…" Makie explained, looking down at her knee. "Grandma returned to Kyoto, back to our family home, but I told her I wanted to stay here."
"Err…and why is that, if you don't mind me asking…" Keitaro asked. "I know it's none of my business…it's just that I 'm a bit worried about your grandmother. Will she be all right by herself?"
"Ah…it's fine…I know you'd be concerned, but she said she'd be fine…." Makie managed before she started stammering again, "As for wh…why…I…I…" She went through the entire spectrum of red and almost burned as she reached infrared.
"Ah…umm…She just wanted to stay here." Ako supplied, trying to cover up for Makie's awkwardness. Makie breathed out a breath of relief and subconsciously placed a grateful hand on Ako's lap. Keitaro thought over this reason for a bit and finally nodded in understanding. "As for me…I…I just have nowhere else to go." She looked down at her feet. "Me and Makie heard that you ran an all-girls dorm with a really cheap rent, so we thought…well…it would be a great place to plant new roots and…umm…find a new life."
"Oh, that's great then." Keitaro said, standing up. "Then allow me to welcome you to the Hinata Sou." He offered his hand to Makie and Ako. Just then, a voice thundered through the Hinata Sou.
"URASHIMA!" Keitaro could already feel the air stir dangerously. "HITTING ON GIRLS AGAIN?! THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING?! YOU PERVERTED LOWLY WASTE!" Motoko shouted, as she stormed into the living room. "TODAY I'LL HAVE YOUR LIFE!"
"Motoko-san?! Didn't we have this conversation yesterday? I said no violence!" Keitaro shouted.
"You really think a lowlife like you has the right to order me around?" Motoko asked, her temper reaching its peak. She raised her katana and pointed it at Keitaro.
"Excuse me?" Makie asked. "Urashima-sama used to be…"
"I'LL DESTROY YOU!" Motoko shouted.
"Ahem…" Keiko coughed dryly as she entered the living room, in a fresh hakama and gi. Motoko's eyes turned towards her and flared.
"N…Nii-ya didn't do anything wrong" Aria mumbled, looking out from behind Keiko. "Please don't…" Tears were brimming in her eyes.
"Karen-chan is sure Onii-chan didn't do anything wrong…" Karen ventured, also peeking out from behind Keiko.
"Onii-tama never hurts anyone…" Hinako mumbled from behind Keiko, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes.
"…" Motoko continued to glare at Keiko, before someone shouted out from the direction of the kitchen.
"Breakfast's ready!" Shinobu announced. Suu was, as usual, the first to bound through the kitchen door. "Oopph…Suu-chan, breakfast's in the dining room…" Shinobu managed, trying her best to regain her composure after having her air knocked out by Suu's air tackle. "Remember? We can't fit everyone in the kitchen…" Shinobu explained, trying to stand up. It was a completely superfluous act on her part. Suu just didn't have any attention for anything other than where the food was and how much was there.
Motoko finally turned around and stormed off towards the dining room, leaving the others standing, slightly disoriented, in the living room.
"Well…that was a close call…" Keitaro said, looking about as one by one the rest of the sisters filtered into the living room on their way to the dining room. They stopped as they noticed Makie and Ako.
"Makie-neechan! Ako-neechan!" Shirayuki, Karen, Aria, Hinako, Hinata, and Mizuki cried out.
"Hi everyone!" Makie smiled, as the children crowded around her and Ako.
"Oh, Marie-chan, there you are." Ako said, as Marie was pushed into the room on her wheelchair by Sakuya.
"Ako-neechan!" Marie cried happily.
"It's only been a day and I've already started to miss you." Ako said, as she approached Marie. "Have you been taking care of yourself properly?"
"Yes, Ako-neechan." Marie smiled up at her former nurse. "It's so good to see you again."
"Likewise." Ako smiled, giving Marie a tight embrace.
"Ok, everyone…I'll introduce Izumi-san and Makie-san after breakfast. For now, please stay quiet." Keitaro pleaded. "Please understand, Izumi-san, Makie-san, things are a little volatile at the moment. It's best if we play it safe. It's just that, as you saw before with the young lady, the tenants here are very prone to misunderstandings." Keitaro explained.
"Oh…umm…don't mind us…" Makie said, shaking her head.
"Yes, your judgment is always the best." Ako nodded in agreement.
It wasn't long until the rest of the house arrived in the dining room. Breakfast worked like magic. It could summon whole armies out of the pits of laziness and depression and send them off to fight wars for just about any reason, even reasons like 'your granddaddy stood up my grandma'. It was probably the only political super weapon more powerful than the megaphone or spearmint bubblegum. It was fortunate for the universe and unfortunate for the political leaders that nobody had yet discovered this fact.
It was certainly working its magic on the Hinata Sou residents. Everyone was so happily munching that they were completely oblivious to the presence of two new faces. Keitaro had expected this. In fact, he had been counting on it. Hopefully, by the end of breakfast, the other tenants would be in a more emotionally fit state to accept the fact that the two new tenants once worked for him. Though he knew that was no reason for upset, he also knew the tenants would, despite yesterday's lecture, find a way of making it a reason for upset and therefore use him as human pinball, as Motoko had tried to do a few moments before.
"Err…everyone? I would like to introduce two new tenants who've just arrived today…" Keitaro said, standing up, once he sensed everyone was well-fed and satisfied for the time being. "Some of you might already have met them at the residence. This one here is Sasaki Makie, and this is Izumi Ako." Keitaro said, pointing out the two.
"Wait…I've seen you…" Naru said. "Oh, you were one of the maids working at the residence, weren't you?"
"And you were the nurse attending Keitaro's little sister…" Mitsune added.
"Urashima…" Motoko stood up again. "What's the meaning of this? These girls worked for you? And now they're moving in here? Are you abusing your rights as an employer?!" Motoko's eyes drilled into Keitaro's as she unsheathed her blade.
"Ye…umm…" Naru quickly buried her impulse to stand up and blast the living daylights out of Keitaro. She quickly told herself to calm down as she gave her logic a chance to function. No, Keitaro hadn't done anything wrong. These girls have just lost their jobs and their home, remember that. They probably came here in search of a place to stay…that's right. No reason to be angry. Calm down. Her logic somehow triumphed over her emotions.
More or less the same train of thought had gone through Mitsune's mind, but with less of a hostile inclination. Apparently, a full stomach really helps dampen any hostile thoughts. Shinobu, meanwhile, was still waiting for an explanation, though she didn't have a decision on hostility pending at the end of it. Suu, on the other hand, was busy downing her 6th plate of pancakes and was on the verge of downing the plate along with it.
"It's not like that!" Keitaro shouted. "Please, just give me a moment to explain the whole…"
SLASH…CLANG…
"I've told you repeatedly, nobody assaults Anigimi-sama…" Keiko said, as calm as ever, the long metal rod from the day before out yet again. It had halted the progress of Motoko's katana as it aimed straight for Keitaro's head.
"…" Motoko closed her eyes and sheathed her sword before sitting back down. Keiko too sat back down. But she still kept a watchful eye on Motoko.
"Well, since the girls lost their jobs back at the residence, they've come to stay here." Keitaro continued his explanation. "Err…well, everyone, why don't we give them our usual welcome?"
Everyone stood up and hollered out the words from the night before, "WELCOME TO THE HINATA SOU!" They shouted, before clapping and cheering for the two new tenants.
"Thanks everyone, I'm hoping to get along with all of you!" Makie shouted.
"Yes, please take good care of us." Ako bowed. Makie followed and bowed too.
"Well…that settles that. Now, what about desert?" Keitaro asked.
"I think Suu-chan had finished it all…" Shinobu sighed.
"Ok…I'm off, everyone." Keitaro said, buttoning up his suit as he came down the stairs.
"Err…Keitaro, are you going to another funeral?" Naru asked, looking up at him from the sofa.
"Nope, I'm off job-hunting." Keitaro said, taking out the list Haruka had given him the night before. "I need to show these people just how serious I am."
"Onii-sama…" Sakuya said, walking over to Keitaro. "You can't go find a part-time job wearing a suit…they'd never accept you."
"Well, I've got to give a good first impression. Besides, it shows just how dedicated and committed I am." Keitaro explained.
"Well, in that case…good luck." Sakuya said, straightening out Keitaro's tie.
"Err…thanks, Sakuya-chan…" Keitaro said, gratefully.
"Ako! Hurry! All the good jobs would already be taken by this time of the year!" Makie shouted, coming down the stairs, still dressed in the clothes she had worn when she arrived.
"Yes, I know." Ako said, following after her, also still dressed in the same clothes.
"Oh, you two are job hunting too?" Keitaro asked.
"Oh…ah…Urashima-sama…" Makie blushed again. "Umm…yes…pretty much so…"
"Why not go together." Keitaro offered. "I've got a list of good places to go look for jobs."
"Oh…if you don't mind…" Ako said, pushing Makie along, who had gone silent with what could be shock or possibly even pure joy. "It would be a big help, thank you, Keitaro-sama."
"Good luck you three!" Both Sakuya and Naru shouted as they saw the three of them off. As the two of them turned back, their eyes met. Naru smiled sweetly by impulse. Sakuya, on the other hand, gave her a dark scowl and walked away at a brisk pace.
"Ah…Sakuya-chan…" Naru called after her. "What's wrong with her?" Naru wondered out loud as she followed Sakuya into the inn.
Little Aria was lightly skipping down the corridors of the Hinata Sou as she tried to find the others. She was enjoying the feeling of the warm sunlight pouring in through windows as she twirled around, her arms outstretched under the light.
Suddenly, she turned around. There was something slowly making its way down the corridor. It was a small metallic turtle, rapidly yet silently flapping its wings as it maintained steady high altitude.
"Wai…Wai…" Aria cried, giggling in her usual quiet voice, chasing after the turtle as it turned around and slowly picked up speed as it went back down the corridor. "Wait for me, turtle-chan!" She cried happily as she raised her hands towards the turtle in an effort to capture it.
It suddenly disappeared around a corner. Aria quickly rounded the corner, only to find herself in an empty corridor. She looked around for any signs of the turtle while calling out, "Turtle-chan! Turtle-chan!"
She suddenly turned around. There was a cute and cuddly little teddy bear sitting on the floor. She quickly ran over to it and picked it up. "So kawai…" She cooed as she cuddled it tightly.
She had completely ignored the signs painted on the floor under the teddy bear and on the walls around it that said 'Teddy tea party in room 301'. She even ignored the tea set and teddy pictures drawn on the floor with arrow markings leading off down the corridor. She merely walked off in a completely different direction, satisfied with her cute little find.
"Hmm…hmm…plenty of new data…now I know about your little secret…" A voice said from behind a wall, chewing a banana. "Mecha-tama, good job." The obscure figure patted the metallic turtle before dissolving into the darkness, laughing maniacally.
"URASHIMA KEIKO!" Motoko shouted, slamming open the door to Keitaro's room. Indeed, inside was Keiko, alone, sorting out her sisters' clothes. Keiko politely looked up and smiled at Motoko, despite Motoko's intense glare. "I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL!"
"A friendly sparring match?" Keiko asked, cocking her head to one side in thought. "But I'm not that good a martial artist…." She said, which, obviously, is complete and utter modesty.
"NO! This is for real! A fight to the death between two honourable samurai! Loser does anything the victor says!" Motoko shouted at the little 12 year old, raising her katana.
"I'm not a samurai. Rather, I'm training to become a samurai's wife." Keiko smiled. "But very well, an Urashima, samurai or not, must not back down from a challenge." She stood up. "I only ask that whatever the outcome of the battle, the decision of the victor must not have anything to do with anyone else, especially my brother."
Motoko pulled her katana an inch out of its sheath. "Agreed."
"Oh, calm down, please. We can't fight in here." Keiko laughed, picking up her long metal rod with the leather sheath at one end as well as a pure white katana. "I believe there was a clearing by the waterfall. That would be secluded enough." She suggested, walking past Motoko and into the corridor.
"Don't you dare turn you back on me! Are you mocking me?!" Motoko shouted.
"No, on the contrary, I'm honouring your pride as a samurai. I know an honourable samurai would never strike an opponent from behind." Keiko smiled. "Very well, let us make haste. I must help with the laundry later today."
"YOU ARE MOCKING ME!" Motoko growled, but followed along at a sedate pace, knowing full well that what Keiko had said was as true as her samurai pride. In her heart, she was quite awed by this girl. From whatever angle she looked at her, this girl was almost a real life 'Yamato Nadeshiko' (Perfect Japanese lady). But she'd be damned before she ever said that to her face.
Rinrin was walking about the halls with nothing much to do. She had finished moving in her lab equipment into her brother's room. She didn't really have any projects in mind at the time, so she resorted to walking around in search of an inspiration.
She noticed a strange hum come from a room she passed. She knew the hum. It was the characteristic hum of a high performance nuclear reactor. What it was doing there, was what baffled her the most.
On the door to the room was a huge sign that said 'Kaolla Suu's laboratory. Test Subjects Welcome.' Below the sign was a diagrammatic representation of an atom. Not the usual Solar System model of an atom, but, rather, the more realistic Niel Bohrs model. At that instant, Rinrin immediately judged that this person was someone who knew her science, and knew it well.
She gave a few cautious knocks. No answers. She was about to open the door when a thought occurred to her. She ducked and started searching the corners of the door, all the way up until she found what she was looking for. 'Bingo' she thought. She was getting more and more impressed.
The door was protected by at least a dozen well placed security mechanisms that, if tripped, would trigger an alarm and who knows what else. But Rinrin wasn't a genius inventor for nothing. She knew how to bypass just about any security system. It was, after all, a requirement of all the dorm residents of her previous dorm if they ever wanted to go out on a Saturday night, or, say, go to the bathroom.
She took out a simple, handphone-like gadget which she gently raised towards the security mechanisms protecting the door. The lights on the mechanisms turned green as the doors slid open.
Rinrin, upon sneaking in, was confronted with the most bizarre thing she has ever seen…a mad scientists' laboratory and a rain forest all in one. She's heard of mad scientists living up in cold, dreary castles, domes under the sea, or even canons perched on moons, but a jungle inside a room? This was truly pushing it.
The hum of the generator was just one part of the cacophony of voices that graced her ears. There were monkeys chattering out there in the forests, birds cawing, and she could have sworn she heard an elephant out there somewhere.
"…so…she's indeed blind cause she completely missed the 2D messages I wrote on the walls and floor…but she could sense moving objects and stationary objects easily in a 360 degree angle …." A voice said from somewhere up above. Rinrin looked up and spied out what looked like a tree house perched precariously on the branches of an acacia tree.
"Oh…by the way, Keitaro's little sister…" The voice said. Rinrin froze with shock. She was found out? "Suu-chan's impressed…" Suu said, dropping down behind her. "You made it this far without getting killed. Suu-chan has found a worthy adversary…" Suu grinned, giving Rinrin a thorough inspection as she walked around her.
"Uhh…you're…Kaolla Suu, aren't you?" Rinrin asked. "Umm…Aniki had mentioned that you were…"
"Yes, a mad scientist!" Suu shouted, leaping backwards onto a bough of a tree and assuming a heroic pose. "I, Kaolla Suu, am dedicated to carrying into the world into a bright future blessed with science, with or without force, even if I have to drag it in kicking and screaming!" She said, waving a fan with a Japanese flag on it.
"Wow…your lab is certainly…impressive…" Rinrin commented, looking around. "I've seen that particle accelerator over there in a last weeks 'Tech Geeks'."
"Oh, that old thing? It's performance was so poor that I had to customize it quite significantly to get the anti-matter particles I wanted." Suu said, leaping back down. "Suu-chan's still stuck with the magnetic field flux orientation…I can't keep the particles stable enough at low speeds."
"Try routing it through a flux capacitor and a resonance oscillator. If the anti-matter particles are negative enough…" Rinrin suggested.
"…Then they should resonate and neutralize the effects of the field orientation, thus achieving stability…" Suu threw a fist down on her palm. "You're a genius!" Suu shouted, leaping up the tree again.
"Err….right…thanks…" Rinrin said.
"By the way…is there anything you can tell me about your sister, Urashima Aria?" Suu asked, throwing a lot of junk-like items out of the tree house.
"Well…She's nice, and cute, and is really…" Rinrin started.
"She's blind, right? As in completely and utterly unable to see?" Suu asked, picking up an old resonance oscillator and squinting up into a hole on its side.
"Yes…she is…why?" Rinrin asked, wondering where this way going.
"Cause I just made a discovery." Suu said, looking down at Rinrin. "Your sister is capable of sensing 3 dimensional objects, moving or non-moving, in a 360 degree angle around her." Suu said, picking out a good flux capacitor, a spring-like object with many tubes protruding here and there. "But she is indeed blind, as she cannot see 2D images."
"Oh…Really…?" Rinrin asked. She knew, off course. It was common knowledge to the Urashimas.
"You knew, didn't you?" Suu asked, looking down at Rinrin again. "Catch." She threw down the flux capacitor and the resonance oscillator at Rinrin.
"…" Rinrin remained quiet as she caught the two weird looking objects. This girl wasn't one to be messed around with, she could sense that. Anyone with nukes and positron cannons in their rooms were never to be messed around with. It's rule 1 of instinctive survival.
"Well…" Suu said, with a triumphant air, "I think I've figured it out!"
"What?" Rinrin asked, shocked.
"Your sister…" Suu grinned, "Could sense things by…"
Rinrin's eyes went round with amazement. Not only did this girl get it right 100/100, she even got the basic concepts right along with all the minor details. It was a completely thorough analysis. This was the first time anyone outside the Urashima clan could see through the trick so clearly…
"Sakuya-chan?" Naru called out, finally summoning the bravery to talk to the young teenager. She had, after aimlessly wandering around, finally decided to talk one on one with Sakuya, and finally tracked her down at the laundry drying area, where Sakuya was leaning against the railing, looking out at the snow frosted forest.
Sakuya looked around and noticed Naru. She immediately walked off, intending to pass Naru and go straight inside the Inn. But Naru had expected that and took precautionary measures. She grabbed Sakuya's arm and held her in place. "Ok, I don't know what your problem is, but we'll never get anywhere with you being all stuck up like this."
"Oh, I'm the stuck up one now, am I?" Sakuya said, glaring at Naru. "Let go of me!" She shouted, pulling her arm away from Naru and running into the inn.
"H…hey!" Naru shouted, running after Sakuya.
"Stay away from me!" Sakuya shouted, breaking into a full run.
"No! We're going to talk about this!" Naru shouted as they raced down the stairs. Suddenly, Sakuya tripped and fell headlong down the stairs. Naru, inexplicably, tripped at the exact same spot and tumbled down after Sakuya, before a resounding crash echoed through the air and everything went dark…
"Um…have I fainted?" Naru asked the gloaming darkness in general.
"No, cause I can still hear you talking, unfortunately." Sakuya said curtly.
"What's with that attitude of yours, anyway?" Naru asked.
"That's my question." Sakuya said. "What do you have against Onii-sama?"
"Err…." Naru, contrary to herself, found herself stumped. This was beyond university trigonometry. This was something she HAD to think about. "Well…that's…not your business, is it?" it was the most creative answer she could come up with.
"…It is my business…" Sakuya muttered. "He is my Onii-sama, after all. Nobody should be allowed to go around hurting him." She looked around at the general darkness. "What is this place, anyway?"
"Oh, right…" Naru suddenly realized that they were in a dark space for the first time. "Well…let's put aside our differences for a moment and find a way out."
"There isn't one on my side." Sakuya said, after a few minutes of trying each and every bit of wall, floor, and ceiling around her.
"Nothing here either." Naru said. "We're trapped in a small, closed, dark space…where could we be, I wonder?"
"Sigh…it's all your fault…" Sakuya said.
"My fault? You led us down here!" Naru retorted.
"Yeah?! You're the one who took that picture with Onii-sama!" Sakuya shouted, hotly, before she could stop herself.
"Picture?" Naru asked.
"Oh…it's nothing. Forget what I said." Sakuya said.
"Oh…that photo sticker…" realization dawned on Naru. "You're worried about that photo sticker, are you? The fact that me and Keitaro took one together?" She taunted, trying to get a reaction out of Sakuya.
"Listen, I know how you and the others treated Onii-sama for the past few months. I know he was forced to do menial tasks not fit for even slaves. I know you people fed him nothing but instant noodles for at least 4 or 5 months. And I know you've been beating him up on an almost hourly basis! I know all that! I even know why you did it! You people don't even know Onii-sama well enough to pass any judgements, and yet…" Sakuya shouted, almost hysterically, as she released all the pent up anger she had kept hidden for the past two days. "And you think you've got the right to even start talking about MY attitude? Look in a mirror, why don't you?"
"H…what? That's not….true…" Naru looked down, knowing full well there was absolutely no way she could deny it. Now that someone else pressed the issue on her, especially someone who would, theoretically, know Keitaro far better than she did, she was forced to confront her own actions with logic instead of emotions as she usually did before. Her heart steamed as she realized that every bit of what had happened were all accidents and misunderstandings…just as everything else so far had been.
She had unjustly accused Keitaro of a variety of crimes he didn't, at least intentionally, commit. She had also put him through months of mental and physical torture, and she even enjoyed it. She felt sick and ashamed now that she was confronting herself with her own moral values. It felt twisted. She was twisted. She had become delirious with the feeling of power and control, believing that justice was on her side.
She was finally, as Sakuya put it, looking at herself in a mirror.
"….now that you say it like that…" Naru mumbled. She had always seen herself and the other tenants as the victims. The way Sakuya put it, Keitaro was actually the victim. And it was true. All true. No matter how she tried to avoid it now, her conscience had finally reared its ugly head and slammed the fact in her face. Keitaro was the victim and Naru had been severely unjust to him.
"And…and…he still took a picture with you…" Sakuya mumbled. "He's so nice…so caring…so generous…so forgiving. I know he'd never hold a grudge against anyone…but now that I'm here, I'll hold those grudges for him. I'll protect Onii-sama, especially from the likes of you! None of you deserve his kindness and generosity!" Sakuya shouted. "It's all wasted on you people!"
"I…I…" Naru stammered, at a loss for words. Sakuya was pinning down every bit of these painful facts without mercy. Naru knew Keitaro was a really decent, caring person, and even that was still and understatement. She now wondered at how her past self could even start thinking that such a good person could be anywhere close to being capable of committing heinous deeds. "But…but…" She knew denial would get her nowhere. It was impossible now. The ego inside her was screaming with pain. There was no way she could protect it now. It was at the mercy of Sakuya.
"Draw your weapon, Urashima!" Motoko bellowed at the 12 year old, clutching the hilt of her katana. Keiko merely held out her metal rod and her katana while bowing slightly.
"I, Urashima Keiko, present to you my naginata and my katana." Keiko said, straightening up. She placed her katana in her hakama's belt and balanced her naginata under one arm. (A naginata is a Japanese halberd, thus the long metal rod.).
"I can't care less for formalities, especially with the likes of you!" Every bit of Keiko's politeness and grace was infuriating Motoko further and further. "Unsheathe your weapon!"
"That would be unnecessary…" Keiko smiled.
"You dare underestimate me?!" Motoko screamed, leaping forwards into a dash. "Then die!" She aimed a rapid slash at Keiko.
Keiko smiled serenely as Motoko's blade missed her by a full meter.
Motoko turned around and aimed another horizontal slash at Keiko…which somehow missed her again, this time by full 2 meters. Motoko looked around at Keiko who was calmly smiling a few feet off, looking not the least bit shook by Motoko's attacks. In fact, it seemed as if she hadn't even moved a muscle.
Motoko looked around at her surroundings. She found a number of good landmarks by which she could judge Keiko's movements. She marked Keiko's position before launching into another attack. This time, it was a ki blast.
The ki blast carved a neat trough through the rocky ground before blowing up a large rock into crumbling dust. Motoko looked around as the dust settled around her. There was Keiko, still smiling serenely. Motoko looked around at her landmarks and found that…Keiko hadn't moved at all. Her attacks were missing her by ludicrous distances. Even a blind person would only miss her by, say, a feet. Her ki blast had missed Keiko by a full 5 meters.
"You depend too much on your eyes." Was all Keiko said, as she raised her naginata and spread out her legs into a fighting stance. "The eyes are most untrustworthy, especially when you are blinded by rage. It is most easy to manipulate the perception of an enraged person." She smiled. "Well…I believe tricks and whatnot are fun, but it wouldn't be fair to you since you wanted a real fight." Keiko said, digging her feet into the ground.
Motoko waited for a moment, feeling ridiculed. Then she raised her katana and charged again, this time keeping on the lookout for any suspicious movements.
Nothing strange happened. Keiko merely raised her naginata to counter Motoko's blade, just as she had done on two previous occasions. Motoko, judging the naginata to be a slow weapon, decided that out-speeding it would be the best tactic. She brought around another slash at an open point by Keiko's side.
Keiko, with the fluidity and grace of a calligrapher, moved her wrist ever so slightly. It caused the naginata to come around and stop the progress of the katana. Undeterred, Motoko raised her blade again and brought it down diagonally at Keiko's shoulder.
Keiko, with another subtle wrist movement, countered the attack. This time, she followed it through by giving Motoko a gentle yet audible smack on the side with the end of her naginata, all the time retaining her smile.
"An enraged person's moves are so very easy to read…am I dropping too many hints?" Keiko asked.
"How dare you…" Motoko spat, before leaping backwards and sheathing her blade again. "I've underestimate you…but now, I shall no longer hold back. Prepare yourself." She said.
"Very well then, since you have honoured me by not holding back, I shall return the honour by doing the same." Keiko bowed slightly.
"DIE! SHINMEI-RYU OUGI! ZAN GAN KEN!" Motoko bellowed, her blade singing as it flew out of the scabbard and sent a roaring wave of ki at Keiko.
Keiko dug her feet into the ground and slammed the edge of her naginata into the ground. She brought it around, its sheathed edge slashing through the ground, before she threw it upwards at the approaching wave of ki, which blew up and dispersed, leaving behind a cloud of smoke and dust.
Motoko waited as the smoke subsided. Suddenly, a dark figure grew more and more distinct as it flew through the haze, before it resolved itself into the shape of Keiko, her eyes set with determination. She raised her naginata and delivered a complex series of thrusts and slashes, with well calculated feet and body movements.
The sound of steel clashing on steel resounded through the clearing as Motoko did her best to counter the attacks. She realized that Keiko was capable of using ki, since she was able to disperse that ki wave. But now she wasn't delivering a single ki attack at her.
It was beginning to annoy Motoko. The moves Keiko were performing were all basic naginata moves, only delivered at greater speed and precision. This could only mean that she, at her level of martial arts, had more advanced moves and techniques up her sleeves which she hadn't even started using. This was definitely ticking off Motoko.
Motoko spun her katana around and shouted, "Shinmei-ryu! Ougi! Rai Mei Kin!" She shouted at the top of her lungs as pure white lightning arched around her blade. She brought it down on Keiko, who quickly spun her naginata around to counter and disperse it. Her naginata shuddered violently with the shock of the attack as the ground underneath her cracked with the pressure. Keiko looked around at the ground. She gasped. Cracks had formed networks all across the clearing. The ground itself had sunk slightly. It won't be long until the ground gives away, she thought.
Seeing her chance as Keiko was distracted, Motoko executed another ki attack, "ZAN GAN KEN!" She shouted, sending another ki wave searing towards Keiko. Keiko, taken completely by surprise, without any time to bring around her naginata for another counter, resorted to drawing her katana. It sang beautifully as it slid out of its scabbard, the sunlight dancing brilliantly across its blazing surface. It seared through the ki wave and dispersed it.
Motoko, not losing a single moment, followed through her assault and delivered another ki strike right where Keiko was open. "ZAN KU SEN!" She shouted, slashing the ki attack into Keiko's abdomen at point-blank range.
The blast sent Keiko flying across clearing. She turned around in midair and landed in a crouch, skidding a few meters across the rocky ground. She looked up at Motoko who was dashing straight towards her while clutching her suddenly pulsating abdomen with her katana hand. She looked down at the ground. Cracks had formed all across the rock, and were converging exactly where the troughs left by the ki attacks crossed.
"NO! STAY BACK!" Keiko shouted, standing up. Too late. The ground gave away under Motoko with an ear-splitting moan and roar. "Aoyama-san!" Keiko shouted, leaping after her, falling after her into the pitch black hole.
She quickly sheathed her katana in midair and reached out for Motoko. "Grab my hand!" She shouted.
"NO!" Motoko shouted. "I'd rather die!"
"Then we both will!" Keiko shouted, reaching out and grabbing her hand by force. She unsheathed her naginata, spun it around and slammed both ends into the rock walls lining the hole. The naginata's blade and end burst into sparks as they cut into the cold hard rock.
Slowly, yet surely, they slowed down.
"Phew…that was a close one…" Keiko breathed a sigh of relief. "Are you all right down there?"
"Aside from you having mortally wounded my pride, well, all's well." Motoko spat.
"Good. Pride is easy to repair. A flattened body, on the other hand, isn't." Keiko said. "I'm going to swing you to into the rock wall. I don't think I can handle your weight anymore."
"Are you saying I'm fat now?!" Motoko shouted.
"One…two…three!" Keiko heaved, swinging Motoko into the rock wall.
"HEY!" Motoko shouted, slamming into the wall and scrabbling for a foothold, before finally slamming her katana into the rock. "Do you want to kill me?"
"…I don't think I can hold on any longer…" Keiko winced, looking up at her naginata, which was slowly slipping out of its hold in the wall. Her fingers too were aching horribly. Motoko WAS too heavy. She winced as the pain inside her abdomen pulsated again. "Ulp…that…ki attack…was for real, wasn't it?"
The rock wall gave away and Keiko dropped down into the abyss.
"URASHIMA!" Motoko shouted. "Grr…." She pulled her katana out of the rock and followed after her.
"He took a photograph with you…" Sakuya muttered.
"All right, I must admit, you were right…I was really horrible to Keitaro. I probably should've given him a chance to explain himself each time incidents happen. Heck, I should't have put him on the instant noodles ration. And yes, I treated him worse than a slave, and now I feel sick thinking about it. Haven't you given me enough?" Naru sighed. "I feel like a complete jerk now…"
"Why…why did he take a photograph with you? A person who never cared for him…who treated him unjustly…why?" Sakuya looked up at Naru. "I'm asking you, WHY?!"
"I…I don't know…" Naru said. "It was…an impulse thing…Keitaro was about to take a photo by himself, and…I just stepped in, thinking it was a bit sad for him to take photos by himself…"
"…" Sakuya remained silent for some time. "It's just that…I feel…I feel like you people might now him better than we do…and I can't accept that." A few tears brimmed in Sakuya's eyes. "Onii-sama is…is everything to me. But he's been away for so long, we thought, he had forgotten about us. Every time he sent us letters, he would tell us about how wonderful you people are…" Sakuya hugged her knees. "He seemed so happy around you people…it hurts to think he was out there with other people we don't know while we didn't get to see him much. But then I learned about how you treated him. I thought, 'how could this be?' then I thought 'they must be taking advantage of Onii-sama's kidness'." Sakuya said. "I hated that…I love Onii-sama so much, but the world seems to want to take him away from me…"
"Nobody wants to take your brother away from you, Sakuya-chan." Naru said. "He's still your brother, no matter where he goes. Besides, you know him so much better than all of us put together. You made me realize what a nice person he really is." Naru said, taking out her handphone. "Tell you what, allow me to become your friend and I promise I'll make better friends with your brother. Your friends are my friends, right?" Naru smiled, opening up her handphone.
"As long as you try to be more civil to my brother, then, why not? I need to keep an eye on you anyway." Sakuya said.
"Ok, whatever you say." Naru said. "Darn…no signal…oh, wait…I found an opening…" Naru said, raising her cell phone over the cracks in the wooden wall. The blue green glow lit up a small, almost invisible latch in the wall which Naru successfully pulled open. "C'mon….If I ever get out of this place alive, I promise you, I'll apologize to your brother for everything I've done to him."
"I'll keep you to your word…" Sakuya said, following Naru through the opening. They crawled out into a long, dark wooden corridor, line with solid wooden doors on either side.
"I know Hinata Sou has a basement…but not something like this…" Naru gasped, raising her cellphone as high as possible to shed more light on the corridor. Unfortunately, there just wasn't enough light.
"It's the ancient lost halls. Hinata Sou is full of them. The ones on the upper levels are small and fun to play in, but the ones under the hill are whole collections of labyrinths…we were always warned not to venture down here." Sakuya said, shivering. The air down in the lost halls was near freezing point, being a good few hundred feet under the ground.
"Ok…do you know your way around this place?" Naru asked.
"No. Onii-sama may know a bit of it. But we were always forbidden from setting foot down here." Sakuya said, trying to warm her hands. "It's a maze down here. If you get lost, you're finished. The tunnels go on for miles, extending all throughout Hinata city."
"Your ancestors built all that?" Naru asked, looking around. "Well…let's hope that really stupid theory about knowledge getting passed down genetically does really work, cause otherwise, it seems we stand no hope in frozen-over-hell." Naru looked around. "Well…my intuition tells me we should go this way." Naru said.
"It says 'hilltop sanctum' on this signboard pointing that way." Sakuya said. "Well…if we do get to the old hill sanctum, then it would be easy to go back downhill to Hinata Sou."
"What are we waiting for? Let's go then." Naru said.
A long half hour later…
"These tunnels just keep going on and on and on…" Naru moaned. "The wooden walls gave away to solid rock a few minutes ago…and it seems like we're going downwards…Aghh! This rock floor's biting my feet through the soles of my shoes!"
"Just keep on going…" Sakuya said. "We're bound to…hey!" A rumble sounded somewhere in the distance. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear wha…AGHHHH!" Naru screamed as something big fell down heavily on her. A few heavy boulders fell all around them as the entire cave rumbled angrily.
Sakuya instinctively looked up, just in time to see something whistling through the air towards her. "Yipes!" She cried as she stepped aside, just before the naginata struck through the rock she was standing on just a few moments before. The naginata shuddered, making a sound reminiscent of a ruler springing on a table's edge.
"Keiko-chan?" Sakuya asked, crouching down beside Keiko, whose fall had been broken by Naru's back. "Keiko?!" She shouted, cradling Keiko in her hands as she realized her sister had passed out. "Keiko! What happened?!"
A few sparks fell from above before Motoko slid down the wall with her blade and landed on the ground beside them in a crouch. "Is Keiko all right?" She asked, standing up and looking at Keiko. "…The internal wounds seem bad…we've got to get her out of here, fast!"
"What?! Internal wounds?!" Sakuya shouted in disbelief. "How on earth did she get internal wounds?!"
"It was my fault, all right!" Motoko shouted. "Now get moving!"
"…You've got some serious explaining to do when we get out of here…" Sakuya said, darkly.
"Hey…did I j…just miss…anything?" Naru asked, standing up, wobbling slightly.
"Hurry up, Naru-sempai!" Motoko shouted, pulling Naru into a run.
"Uhh….yeah…sure…" Naru muttered, dizzy.
"But…but…where are we supposed to go?" Sakuya asked, carrying Keiko on her back. Motoko and Naru skid to a stop. "We're not even sure we'd make it to the hilltop sanctum. We're still going downwards here!"
"The hole above us has sealed up too…" Motoko said, looking up. "What do we do? Keiko might not survive…"
"Keiko! Please…hold on!" Sakuya shouted. "I don't want to lose anyone anymore, especially not you!"
"There has to be an exit around here somewhere. If these were escape tunnels, there would be exits built into the tunnels every few hundred meters to allow for cave-ins and…" Motoko said, searching the walls, before a part of the wall swung open in her face, knocking her out.
"Oh…so this is where it led…" Rinrin said, poking her head out through the opening. "Even boiler rooms have secrets, huh?"
"Hurry up, Rinrin, before anyone realizes we stole the boiler's spare parts!" Suu shouted from behind her. "Oh…" She looked up at the surprised faces of the others. "Hi…"
"No time, get moving!" Sakuya shouted, shoving Suu aside and entering the opening. "Rinrin, this tunnel leads to the Hinata Sou boiler rooms, right?"
"Yes…it does…" Rinrin said, slightly disoriented with everything. "Keiko-neechan! what happened?!" She cried, noticing Keiko's state.
"No time to explain. We've got to move! Fast!" Sakuya shouted, heaving up Keiko and running up the tunnel towards the boiler rooms.
"Hime-chan think this would be something nice to try out for dinner desu-no." Shirayuki said, pointing out a recipe to Marie, who was seated beside her on the living room sofa with Kaho and Chiikage. "what do you think, Marie-chan, desu-no? It would make a nice dish for Nii-sama's congratulations party desu-no."
"Yes, that would be nice, Aneue-sama." Marie said, smiling at her big sister. "But…what if Aniue-sama doesn't find a job?"
"Though Hime-chan thinks it's unlikely, we'd have to make it a cheer up and good luck party desu-no…" Shirayuki said. Kaho immediately pulled on Shirayuki's sleeve for attention.
"What is it, Kaho-chan, desu-no?" Shirayuki asked. Kaho shook her head and balled her hands into fists, raising them up and down in front of her chest. "Oh, you're saying it's completely impossible for Nii-sama not to find a job, is that right, desu-no?" Shirayuki asked. Kaho immediately nodded, her eyes alight with confidence.
"You're right, Kaho-chan. We shouldn't doubt Aniue-sama." Marie smiled at her younger sister. Kaho beamed up at them.
"Oh…disaster…" Chiikage said ominously, as she drew a 'death' card from her pack of tarot cards. Marie, Shirayuki, and Kaho turned to look at her.
"Disaster, Chiikage-neesama?" Marie asked.
"Yes…" Chiikage said, drawing out another card. She looked at it thoughtfully for a moment before adding, "Right about….now…"
The door to the living room slammed open as Sakuya rushed in carrying Keiko. "Marie-chan! Please! Take a look at Keiko-chan! Quick!"
"…I'll do my best." Marie said, taking in the situation and immediately taking charge. She lowered her hands over Keiko who Sakuya gently laid on the sofa in front of her. She closed her eyes as her hands glowed brightly. "Hmmm…"
"Oh…" She opened her eyes.
"What is it, Marie-chan?" Sakuya asked, panicked.
"It's…diarrhea…" Marie said.
"Disaster indeed desu-no…" Shirayuki said, still wearing a worried look.
Suddenly, a loud sound emanated from Marie's stomach. "Ughh….my…stomach…" She winced.
"What's diarrhea? Is it edible?" Suu asked. Everyone mentally winced at the idea.
"He…hey! Marie-chan!" Sakuya cried as Marie suddenly bent double over, clutching her stomach. Her stomach too suddenly gave out a loud, painful grinding sound. "Ughh…wh…what did we…eat?"
"I…don't know…" Rinrin groaned, falling to her knees, clutching her stomach. Kaho too doubled up and fell forwards to the ground.
"Th…this…this can't be happening…desu-no…" Shirayuki groaned, supporting herself on a wall as she too bent double over her stomach. "It…it had to be the onions desu-no…" She said, before she too fell to the floor.
"B…bathroom…" Motoko moaned, before she too collapsed, wincing and twitching.
"Ch…Chiikage-chan…call for help…" Sakuya said.
"…this is a disaster?" Chiikage asked, drawing out another card. "Oh…I see…" She said, before she dropped the cards and ran for the bathroom.
"T…Traitor…" Sakuya groaned.
"It's every girl for herself…" Rinrin shuddered as she heaved herself up. "…Bathroom…"
"Onii-sama…I'm done for…" Sakuya reached out, before falling to the floor.
"Is everyone all right?" Suu asked, looking around.
"….Suu-chan…." Shinobu moaned as she dragged herself into the living room. "Wh…what was it…that thing…you told me was…sesame oil?" Shinobu managed, shivering violently as she reached out for Suu.
"Oh…that? That's sesame oil from my home country." Suu replied happily. "Back in our home country, we use it to grease our ox carts and sometimes heavy machinery, like particle accelerators, for example." She explained happily.
"That…explains…a lot…." Naru groaned, scraping her way towards the bathroom.
"We're…doomed…" Shinobu gasped. "Se…Sempai…I love you…" She whispered, before passing out.
"This is just great…" Keitaro sighed, sitting back on a bench. "Half the day gone and I'm still unemployed…" He looked up at the sky as he reflected on what had happened.
They had first gone to a local clinic that was advertising for assistant nurses. Black was a colour deemed unsuitable for clinic workers and since first impressions were important and Keitaro's suit was black….well, let's say Izumi Ako got the job.
"I'm so sorry, you two…" Izumi had bowed and apologized repeatedly to Keitaro and Makie, who repeatedly told her it was all right.
Next came a job at a local bakery. Keitaro, again courtesy of the suit, struck them as a professional looking for a high pay while Makie struck them as, well, Makie. It went without saying that the job went to Makie.
"I…I…I apologize…" Makie bowed repeatedly, apologizing with overflowing tears, while Keitaro had to repeatedly tell her it was all right.
The next job was at a bar. It had gone well. The boss liked him. But just as he got into the rhythm of the job, Mitsune appeared. Not only did she try to flirt with him to have him pay for her bill, she also suddenly complained about having stomach pains. Since it was Keitaro cooking her snacks, well…he got fired.
Two more jobs afterwards, he still had no luck, thanks to the suit. Well, how was he to know that black gave people the impression of dreariness, depression and somberness? He was halfway through the list and not a single person wanted him as a part-timer. He sighed and fell backwards into the bench. "Aghhh…What am I to do…"
"Ani-chama?"
"Onii-chan?"
"Onii-tama?"
"Onii-chama?"
Keitaro opened his eyes. Behind him stood Mizuki, Karen, Hinako, and Hinata, all smiling upside-down at him. He raised his head and turned around. "Oh, hi girls, what're you all doing?"
"We're out shopping for tonight's dinner!" Karen said. Little Vanilla mewed happily from its position on Karen's shoulder.
"Look! Look! We got plenty of veggies and goodies for dinner!" Hinako cried.
"Dinner is a guaranteed success, Onii-chama!" Hinata said.
Keitaro suddenly found a magnifying glass shoved into his face, "How's the job hunt, Ani-chama? I can see you're still working hard." Mizuki said, encouragingly, squinting at Keitaro, half winking.
Keitaro's mind suddenly went back to the day of the funeral…
"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's laughing face loomed up in front of him. "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."
"I'm…doing fine!" Keitaro said, laughing, standing up. "All the potential employers are out for lunch breaks right now, so I'm just here killing time."
"Oh, that's great then." Mizuki smiled. "Keep up the good work, Watson." She smiled.
"Ani-chama! Checky!" The toucan on her shoulder squawked.
"Good luck, Onii-tama!" Hinako shouted.
"Don't give up, Onii-chama!" Hinata jumped up and gave her brother a quick hug.
"Yes, I'm praying for your success, Onii-chan." Karen said, squeezing his hands.
"Yes, I'll definitely do my best." Keitaro said, balling his hands into fists. "I'm Urashima Keitaro! Hard Work is my middle name!" He laughed in a triumphant manner, blowing out his chest.
"Haha, Onii-chama's so cool!" Hinata shouted.
"Well, we'd best get going. Shirayuki-chan wants to have the ingredients ASAP." Mizuki said, shepherding the other children down the road. "Let's go children. Good luck, Ani-chama!" The younger sisters all cheered for him and echoed Mizuki's words.
"Thanks guys!" Keitaro shouted. "thank you…" He sighed, as they disappeared down the road. He looked down at his list. There weren't that many left. But he had to try his best. For their sake. For the sake of his family.
"Well…I guess I'll try this one next…" Keitaro sighed as he turned around to head down the road. Suddenly, a loud screeching noise came from around the bend which caused him to turn his attention to it.
A white van came spinning down the ice covered road, screeching this way and that, straight at Keitaro.
"GYAAAAA!" Keitaro screamed, standing still like a deer in headlights. As the van came closer, instinct took control over his body and tossed him onto the ground, just as a resounding crunch and smash filled the air.
"Ughhh…" Keitaro slowly picked himself up from the road and looked around at the totaled van. It had crashed into a tanuki statue that, ironically, said 'safety first'.
"Ughh…Sarah-chan? Are you all right?" A voice said from inside.
"Hai!" Another voice, a little girl's voice, replied from a back seat.
The driver's door opened slightly, and stopped. Apparently it got jammed. "Oh my…hahahahaha….seems like my door's jammed." The voice said from inside, repeatedly trying to open the door. Keitaro flinched in fear as, suddenly, the door of the van flew out with a resounding smash and crashed into the snow.
A rugged-looking tall man climbed out of the cab and fixed his square spectacles as he stepped onto the snow outside. He was dressed in a black shirt and black pair of heavy duty trousers, covered by a worn out white lab coat. But the most striking thing about him was that a line of blood was streaming down his face from the edge of his jet black hair.
What was more remarkable was that he was laughing heartily as he inspected the damage of his van. "Oh no…what am I going to do now?" He laughed. "The meeting's at 2.00….I've got…minus half an hour…wow, I'm already late…" He laughed again, looking around at his engine. "Wow…the bumper's bumped off…all these little bits have gone flying everywhere…" He laughed again, this time, even more heartily. "I wonder if I can find someone who could help me fix this…" He looked around and noticed Keitaro, smiled, and turned to fetch his toolbox.
"E…excuse me!" Keitaro called after the man, feeling the need to offer assistance. "If you don't mind, can I help? I've got a bit of experience with machines." Keitaro said, taking off his suit and tying it around his waist.
"Oh, that would be much appreciated young man. Thank you." The man said, smiling at Keitaro. "Well, first of all, I don't know how much we could do with these tools…" The man said, opening up the toolbox and showing Keitaro an assortment of worn-out tools.
"This is fine…" Keitaro said, sorting through the tools. Some of them looked like they've survived through both World Wars. A few of them even bore Nazi and Allied symbols. But most of them were still in good condition. He looked around at the van. "This'll only take a minute…"
"What's your name, young man?" The man asked, smiling a broad smile.
"Um…Urashima Keitaro." Keitaro said.
"Oh…really? My name's Noriyasu Seta…" The man smiled an even broader smile.
"Wait…I think I've seen you somewhere before…" Keitaro said, frowning.
"You might have…" Seta laughed. "Now…what do we do with this? Is this thing necessary?" Seta asked, pulling something out of the front of the van.
"THAT'S THE ENGINE!" Keitaro shouted, a look of pure incredulity and disbelief on his face. He mentally corrected himself, this might take more than just a few minutes…
To be continued…
Moment of truth, Naru-chan. Looking in the mirror hurts, doesn't it? But I hope this doesn't count as Naru-bashing cause I sort of like her, despite her many trespasses against Keitaro.
By the way, has anyone noticed that though we've reached chapter 7, the story itself has only reached the middle of day 4 of the story?
By the way, thanks a lot for making it this far. I really appreciate your efforts in following the story. Thank you.
Also, if you have the time, please take the time to read Eternity Incarnate's newest story, 'My Perfect Little Wife', also here in the Love Hina section. Me, Apocalypse Alchemist, and our friends put her up to it, so it's only fair if I support her a little. Haha. For the full story of how we put her up to it, check out her story. I think she added a description of the event.
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 words:
Kawai : cute
Yamato Nadeshiko: Perfect Japanese lady
Ki : Spiritual energy. In martial arts, ki attacks are usually referred to as soft attacks. In contrast with hard attacks which are for physically damaging a body's exterior, soft attacks are aimed directly at internal organs.
Tanuki : Raccoon.