Love Hina: Kenshin the Keeper Well now, this story gaining some momentum, so let us keep on rolling!

And now enjoy the next chapter of Love Hina: Kenshin the Keeper.

Chapter 3: The Plot Thickens! Kitsune's Schemes!

Kenshin POV

I found myself in an empty white room, no one else was here in the room, I was... alone. I walked around the room a bit until the room seemed to begin to move around. As I stood there, colors, shapes, and things began filling the room, my head spinning rapidly as I watched. As the spinning ceased I looked around the room, and was amazed at what I saw. In one half of the room, I saw that night, the night in the orphanage. I saw Enishi standing over a six-year old version of myself, the scene frozen at the time where I just watched him.

Then I looked at the other side of the room and saw a completely different picture. I saw the courtyard of Hinata Sou, with Hinata Sou in the background. I saw Keitaro, Naru, Kitsune, Motoko, Su, Shinobu, and Haruka all lined up in the front yard. They all stood there, smiling, some smirking, at me, they too frozen in time. I smiled at this serene scene, and I was happy with the fact I had a new home. But then I heard laughter, the kind of laughter you hear from a mad man... the laughter that haunted many of my nightmares.

"Such a joyous scene." I heard from the other side as I saw Enishi, slowly but surely begin to move. "It almost brings a tear to my eye." He said as he began moving to the Hinata Sou side of the room. "It is a shame that..." He began saying as he drew his sword. "That it must end." He said as he sped towards the tenants of Hinata Sou and with one slash... everything went back to the orphange. I saw the bodies of my current family blocking the door, I saw Enishi standing before me with his sword in his right hand.

I reached for my sword, only to find it not there. He picked me up by the collar wit his left hand, I tried to strike him, but it was not my fist that hit his face, but a smaller one. I looked at myself to find I had been reduced to my six-year old self. Enishi began laughing as he brought his sword to my left cheek. "Now this is the form that suits you boy." He said as he cut my left cheek, and blood began literally pouring out of the cut. "Weak, helpless, and alone." He said as he dropped me, and I began falling down a never-ending black tunnel.

Hinata Sou

My head was spinning violently as I tried to force myself awake. My eyes shot open as I reached for my sword that wasn't there. I panicked as I checked my body to find that I was still fifteen. I looked around the room to see that I was in Hinata Sou. I sighed as the memories of this morning filled my mind, warding off the nightmare I had just experienced.. I sat up in the futon I was in as Keitaro walked into our room, as he saw me awake he began smiling.

"You're awake, great! You know these past couple days haven't been all that great for you when it comes to staying awake eh?" Keitaro said as he brought a plate of food and tea over. "You missed breakfast, after Naru and Kitsune knocked you out cold, I'm not suprised, you've been out for about two hours." He said as he layed the tray of food down beside my bed. "Anyway I'm glad you decided to stay, I could use your help around here, and you really helped me study, in fact if you kept on helping me I could really make it this year." He said happily. "So... I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm glad you decided to stay Kenshin-san." Keitaro said while smiling.

"As am I Keitaro-sama." I said as I took a bite of some egg on the tray.

"Sama?" Keitaro said while looking confused.

"Yes, now that you've hired me and taken me into your home I am no longer a rurouni, but I am now a samurai, under you control. So I must call you sama." I said smiling while taking a sip of tea.

"Well, you don't really have to I mean it makes me feel a bit uncomfortable being called by such a respectable title." Keitaro said while rubbing the back of his head. I knew that I oculd blow this out of proportion as a joke, but after what I just dreamt, I was not in much a mood for a joke.

"Alright Kenshin-san, if that is what you wish." I said while taking a bite of the breakfast I had missed, and after I had, I started feeling a little better.

"Anyway, you said you had some money now so what are you going to do with it?" Keitaro asked, trying to make some small talk.

"Well (gulp) I'm not sure." I said as I finished the meal. "There's enough there to get me a train ticket, but other than that..." I said as I remembered my current situation. "I guess I'll be needing it to by some clothes." I said as I sat up out of my futon and went over to where I saw my sword and my pouch filled with money.

"Well there is this shop in..." Keitaro said as I began opened the door with my free hand.

"Yes I know, I encountered it while going through my morning run yesterday morning. I'll be back in time for lunch that I will." I said as I closed the door and made my way down the stairs and through the halls to the front courtyard of Hinata Sou. I took a deep breath of fresh air and then made my way down the almost endless flights of stairs leading down to the streets. I walked throught the streets of the city, and I noticed how busy they could be. Whenever I was up in the morning the streets were empty, but now they were filled with hussle. I smiled as I finally reached the tailor's shop and walked in.

The tailor shop, though small, held quite a few things in it. There were stand up dummies for not only showing outfits but for making outfits on, there were racks of materials, and clothes as well. I looked around and noticed that there was still a lot of room left in the store. I approached the counter and rang the bell and a man with measuring tape hung over his shoulder, and a needle between his teeth came out of the back room and walked up to the front desk.

He was a middle-aged man with thinning grey hair. He wore glasses with square lens, and a hat with a plastic visor, wierd accessory really. Most of his other clothes were basically what you would commonly see around Japan these days, jeans, a t-shirt, but on top of that the man wore a black sweater-vest... this was an odd, old man. "There something you need?" He asked snapping me out of my thoughts and back to the situation at hand.

"Yes, I would like about nine copies of this outfit made." I said as he raised his eyebrow. "Alright then, if you would please take your clothes off in that changing area over there so I can check the stitching for the clothes, and then measure you for them." He said pointing to a small door on the side of the room. I nodded and walked into the rather cramped changing area and took off my clothes, save for my underwear hiding my privates, and then walked back out. "Go into the back room and wait for me." He said as I nodded in compliance and went back into the room.

I waited for several minutes before the man came in, stretching out his measuring tape. "Please stretch out your arms and stand straight." He said as I did as he said. After a while of him measuring places on my body, and several more minutes of awkward silence, I broke the silence.

"So the store is pretty empty huh?" I asked as he snapped the tape against my thigh. "OUCH!" I said as I stood there.

"That's what you get for being wise ass." He said as he continued measuring me. "And yeah, with all of the clothing stores that are practically everywhere now there is no longer any needfor tailor shops." He said as he continued measuring."So then why don't you go into a different buisness?" I asked as he looked up and then looked down."Well... this is really the only thing I'm qualified for..." He said as I raised my eyebrows

"What do you mean 'only qualified for'?" I asked as he sighed.

"Well you see, I was convicted on a DUI so I couldn't have any careers that had to do with driving." He said as I raised my eyebrows, interested. "Then I got drunk and beat my wife, so I couldn't go into any career with weapons in it, hell I'm barely allowed to hold this piece of measuring tape." He said as I watched with a bewildered expression as he continued. "Then I got drunk and I molested some school kids, so I couldn't go into any career with kids in it." He said as I began regreting leaving my sword back at Hinata Sou.

"So why do you keep on getting drunk!?!" I almost screamed as his face suddenly twisted into a scowl.

"Because some bastard named Hiko Seijuro keeps on making this amazing Sake that I can't stop drinking!" He shouted as I suddenly felt a sense of doom wash over me. "I swear if I ever find him, his friends, anyone who knows him, his family, or his kids, I'll..." He said as he began tighting his grip on the measuring tape as I almost soiled myself right on the spot.

"Heh... heh... I-I-I-I-I-I don't b-blame y-you." I stammered out as he finished.

"Alright, I got your measurements and I should be done in about ten days." He said as he looked up only to see a dust cloud in my shape. He ran to the other room as he saw the door fly open and shut. "Hey!!!" He shouted. I ran through the streets, trying to get away from that guy as soon as possible... but I felt like something was wrong...

"HEY YOU PUT SOME PANTS ON MAN!!!" I heard some guy say as I looked down. I blushed as I covered my privates that were only concealed by a pair of underwear. And as fast as I ran out, I ran back into the tailor shop where the guy had my clothes.

"Forget these?" He asked as I nodded, took the clothes, ran into the dressing room, got dressed, and then ran all the way back to Hinata Sou, not sure if I would be able to handle the embarassing events of today. I entered Hinata Sou and I looked around. I looked around as I heard the sound of Shinobu calling everyone in for lunch. I looked at the clock as I saw it was 11:00, I grinned as I had made it back exactly in time for lunch. I walked into the dinning/kitchen room where everyone else was slowly but surely filling it too. I saw Shinobu by the stove, finishing up lunch.

"Hello everyone." I said as I took a seat.

"Hello Kenshin-kun!" Shinobu shouted from the stove.

"Hello Shinobu-chan, smells delicious." I said as Shinobu blushed.

"Thank you Ke-Kenshin-kun..." Shinobu said as she continued cooking.

"Hello Kenshin-kun!!!" Su shouted as she kicked me in the face knocking me out of the chair. I sat on the floor, rubbing my jaw as Su stood above me laughing. "Nice to see you're awake again, how did ya like my greeting!?" Su shouted as she sat down.

"Hello Su-chan, good to see you too. And that greeting was... pretty different." I said as I stood up, and sat down in my chair again.

"Hello Kenshin-san." Motoko said sounding as plain as usual.

"Hello Motoko-san, nice to see you this morning." I said as Motoko nodded and sat down.

"Hello Kensshhhin-shhhan." Kitsune said as she stummbled down the stairs, apparently drunk.

"Hello Kitsune-san... have you been drinking since this morning..." I said as she just waved it off and sat down.

"Hello Kenshin-san." Naru said as she came down the stairs and sat down.

"Hello Naru-san, and don't worry it doesn't hurt anymore." I said as I rubbed my jaw and Naru nodded her head,

"Hello everyone!" Keitaro shouted as Motoko said nothing, Shinobu kept to her cooking, Su kicked him in the head, Kitsune just flat out ignored him because of her hangover, and Naru greeted him back.

"Hello Keitaro-san, thank you for bringing up my breakfast this morning, I never did thank you for it." I said as he walked around the table.

"No problem at all." Keitaro said as he sat beside me.

"Okay everyone here's lunch." Shinobu said as she passed the food around. Keitaro and I began eating heartily as everyone ate. I didn't eat as fast as Su today since I wasn't nearly as starved. I looked around and saw that most of the girls were exchanging glances with one and other, it was strange but I just waved it off as some girl thing. Su finished first and ran up stairs, saying something about a new invention. Motoko went next, saying that she went to train on the roof. Next was Shinobu saying that she was going to do the laundry, but going the wrong way to the laundry room. Kitsune and Naru left next, telling us to finish the dishes. I put my chopsticks down as I stood up, and gathered half of the dishes, while Keitaro got half of the others. We went over to the sink and began washing them.

"So Keitaro-san, you want some more help with your studies?" I asked as Keitaro nodded.

"Yeah, I would like that." Keitaro said as I smiled.

"Alright then, I'll help you out whenever I am able, that I will." I said as we finished up the dishes.

I decided to take a dip in the hot springs, after that encounter with the tailor... I felt really dirty for some reason. I walked into the locker room and undressed, and then walked into the hot springs. I lounged in the tub and relaxed for a little while until I heard the sounds of talking above me. I looked up and behind me to see the room in the floor above filled with every member of Hinata Sou. I raised my eyebrows as my curiousity got the best of me. I lowered my ki levels, and then jumped up and grabbed onto the ledge of the window to the room. I began listening in to their conversation.

"Alright then everyone, thank you for showing up." I heard Kitsune say without her drunken slur.

'Her slur, its gone... was she faking it?' I said as I got closer to the window.

"Now then, the reason we are here. Keitaro Urashima and Kenshin Himura, what are they doing here in a girl's dormitory? These meetings are to help decide whether or not to let them stay or to kick them out." Kitsune said as a lot of murmers began rising from inside the room. "Now some of you may be startled by this, but we, Naru and I..." Kitusne began saying.

"Hey don't drag me into this!" Naru shouted as Kitsune waved it off.

"Have collected a lot of evidence to support kicking them out." Kitsune said as the murmers died out and silence overtook the room. "Now then for the first and most obvious piece of evidence, they are thieves." Kitsune said as Motoko raised her hand. "Yes Motoko?" Kitsune said as Motoko cleared her throat.

"I thought that we had dispelled the thoughts that they were theives." Motoko said as everyone murmered in agreement.

"True Motoko, but don't forget both had lied to us before..." Kitsune said before Shinobu interupted.

"When did Kenshin-kun lie to us?" Shinobu said in a very small voice.

"Well I got that little piece from Naru." Kitsune said as this time Motoko interupted.

"And by got it, you mean got her insanely drunk, so much so that she told you everything she knew." Motoko said as Kitsune nodded, and she and everyone else sighed.

"According to Naru that ever since the first moment Keitaro started lieing about Tokyo U, even before that, Kenshin knew about it being a lie." Kitsune said as murmers resonated through the room again. "Now then, the contributing piece of evidence to Kenshin being a theif is actually quite simple. Kenshin being a rurouni there is no way he could've always had money in order to surviveon his own, being a kid in all. There is no way in hell he could have had no money for another hotel, with as good of a sword, as good of a robe he has." Kitsune said as murmers racked the room again and this time Su raised her hand. "Yes Su?" Kitsune said, shocked about Su having a question.

"Well... isn't it possible he got all that stuff before he became a rurouni? I mean it is possible that he obtained that stuff before he no longer had a constant money source." Su said as everyone in the room, and even myself, we were stunned by her thinking.

"Su... I didn't know you were so... intuitive..." Naru said as everyone nodded in agreement.

"Oh you're making me blush!" Su said as she went back to her hyperactive self.

'What Su was saying was partly true, I had obtained all of those things before I had a become a rurouni, but I still have my constant money source, Hiko. But I don't like calling Hiko up for that kind of thing, I left to be a rurouni cause Hiko said that 'On my journey as a rurouni I would find all of the things I was looking for'. But I want to find all of these things on my own, without his help...' I thought as I continued listening to the meeting.

"Well Su I suppose that may be a possibility, but it's unlikely cause the robe he wears and the sword look like new." Kitsune said as I sat outside of the door.

'That's cause I actually took good care of that stuff...' I thought as I continued listening.

"Now then, the next piece of evidence against both of them that most of us know, Kenshin may be a pervert." Kitsune said causing a bunch of murmers in the room. Motoko raised her hand and Kitsune nodded in her direction.

"We all already know about the... event between you two, that's nothing." Motoko said calmly.

"Yes.. but there was another 'event' as you call it." Kitsune said as everyone in the room began paying attention to her, except for Naru who was sighing a 'Oh my God I can't believe she's going to tell them' sigh/groan. "You see yesterday when Kenshin was taking a bath, he was in there for a long period of time, long enough for Naru to walk in, naked, and sit just a few feet from him, she saw him, screamed, and he ran out." Kitsune said as a collective amount of gasps went through the room.

"Kitsune, first off you told me he wasn't in there when you knew he was! Second he was asleep when I screamed, he was just sleeping!" Naru shouted as everyone stared at her.

"Or was he Naru?" Kitsune said in a conspirital tone. "Maybe he just faked looking like he was asleep so that when the next innocent girl walked in he could peep on her." Kitsune said drawing a gasp from everyone.

"Come to think of it, men are naturally dishonorable perverts, and he did say he was of fifteen years. Maybe his perversive nature is now coming into effect." Motoko said gathering gasps from Shinobu and Su as I sat outside, with a giant sweatdrop on the back of my head.

"I thought that I would be given more credit than that... oh no!" I muttered under my breath as I soon realized my mistake.

"What was that?!" Kitsune said as she began walking to the window. I was incredibly nervous as I hung there, I decided I had no other choice and I let go of the ledge and then dropped into the water below. Kitsune peeked out of the window and looked down, seeing only myself in the water, bathing. "Ah, it was just Himura, he's just bathing in the springs." Kitsune said as she closed the window and I jumped right back up there and grabbed onto the ledge again.

"Now then, where were we... oh yes, Kenshin being a pervert." Kitsune said as everyone got back on subject. "I believe that if he stays much longer who knows what he'll start doing." Kitsune said as she slammed her hand on the table. "And the same goes for that other Sake thief, Keitaro, he lied to us before, he may do it again! And like Motoko said men are naturally perverts so he may try something funny!" She said as a collective sound of 'Yeah!' went through the room.

"And Kenshin is also a danger to the property of Hinata Sou! You saw what he did to Motoko's room and my room, even if he fixed it, he destoryed it!" She shouted everyone, almost everyone, nodded with her. "So now I think we should come up with a plan to get rid of them!" Kitsune shouted as everyone, but Naru, shouted in agreement. "Now then, we'll continue meetings like this for about nine days after today, we need to come up with some plans." She said as everyone agreed. "Now then dismissed." Kitsune said as everyone left the room. By the time the meeting was over, I was back in the locker room, dressed and running back to mine and Keitaro's room.

I ran into the room, closed the door behind me and then place my back against it and sighed. I had barely got away from the door in time to keep them from seeing me. So in ten days the process of making mine and Keitaro's life a living hell. Well till then I guess I would have to pass some time, training myself, making some minor repairs around the house. I guess I should try to patch some things up between the tenants and I so Keitaro and I won't have too many problems. I decided to start off with Su, thinking that perhaps she would be the easiest tenant to get on our side. So I began walking through the halls down to Su's room. When I approached the door I saw a vine sticking out of the door. I raised my eyebrows at the vine and knocked on the door.

"Su-chan, are you in there?" I asked as I recieved no answer. I opened the door and entered Su's room.

And to say I was suprised when I went into Su's room would be a major understatement. There a jungle in here! So many trees, and computers on the walls... computers... After I got over my suprise I pulled out my sword and began cutting throught the foliage. I cut my way through till I sensed a disturbance. I looked out the corner of my eye and smiled as I saw Su swinging on a vine in my direction, getting ready to kick me in the head.

"HIIIIIIII KENSHIN-KUN!!!!" Su shouted as she jumped from the vine and got ready to kick me. I let her, but only cause I knew it was her own special greeting. After I was done flying into a tree, I rubbed my jaw and smiled.

"Hello there Su-chan, how are you. You up to anything." I said as Su got a mischievious grin, but quickly hid it behind her hands and began giggling as she calmed down. "Nothing!" She shouted as she sprang up.

"Cool, so..." I said as I looked around the room. "I like what you did with the place." I said as I looked around.

"Yeah, I just wanted my home's jungles around so then I just decided to bring them here!" Su shouted as she lept onto my shoulders.

"Cool. So you're an inventor too?" I asked as she nodded. "What exactly do you invent?" I asked as she tapped her chin.

"Depends on what I feel like inventing... oh! I'm a bit of a writer too." Su shouted as she jumped off my shoulders, ran over to a bookcase and pulled a small folder and showed it to me.

"You wanna read my first story?" She said as I began chuckling.

"Yes, I would like to read it very much, that I would." I said as I opened the folder and began reading the only story in it so far.

The Angry Raptor and Dennis Noodles!

One day while I was peacefully watching TV in Hinata Sou, I heard this huge exploding sound going 'BOOM' in the back. I didn't invent anything today so I got up and ran outside to see what in the world it was. I looked around the yard but could not find the source of the sound. Then, I noticed something... there was an egg the size of the Hinata Sou rammed into the ground by our home -an egg I swear- an egg!!! I walked over to the amazing object. I was so amazed that I had to touch it to believe it, but when I did, something happened. The egg cracked and this gigantic raptor came out of it came out of it.

The raptor stared at me... frightened me - but finally spoke "Do you know a boy named Dennis Noodles?" I was so shocked, and interested at the same time by hearing him speak, that I couldn't even answer. He repeated himself, but I still couldn't answer. He said that I was an "idiot" and ran off into the... interstate I think they're called. I then heard about the very beginning of what turned out to be a one hundred car pile up.

Somewhere nearby, Dennis Noodles was on the toilet. Awkwardly enough, he was reading one of his mother's magazines Suddenly his house shuddered. He heard a load crack and then all of a sudden his roof flew off the top of the top of Dennis Noodles' house. The raptor looked down at Dennis Noodles and said. "Are you Dennis Noodle?" Coincidentally enough, he shat all over the bathroom. After several moments of silence Denis replied.

"I shat myself." The raptor understood this, and knew instantly that this was indeed Dennis Noodles. The raptor picked up Dennis Noodles and bit off his arm. Dennis screamed and then asked. "What was that for?!" The raptor replied.

"I bit off your arm because you ate my noodles three years ago!" Dennis thought long and hard about this... then answered.

"Yeah, but I didn't bite off your arm!" The raptor saw his point... and decided to be more fair.

"Fine then, give me noodles and I'll say we're even!" Dennis looked at his arm.

"Ummm... and what about my arm?" Dennis said shaking his stub of an arm.

"Suck it up you little wimp!" Replied the raptor! "I hope that you suffer and bleed to death, because NO ONE eats my noodles!" Then the raptor then tore off Dennis' head, then the raptor ate Dennis. Then the raptor thought of something... he still didn't have any noodles! He ran off to the local grocery store and took all of the noodles and went to the counter. The cashier at the store asked if the raptor was going to pay for the noodles and the raptor slit the cashier's larynx. After this, the raptor went back to his place and ate his noodles whole, without boiling them! Dennis Noodles's parents did not notice he was missing, or that the roof was gone - for four more hours... and I... I still have a giant egg in the yard!

The End!

I kept on reading and rereading the page long story in front of me. Then I handed the page back to Su and smiled. "Well Su-chan that was certainly a interesting story. I have to say it did make me laugh a few times." I said as I tried to keep my self from shivering.

"THANKS! No one else said that, they just stared at me and then left!!!" Su said as she ran back to her book shelf. While she was gone I looked out the window that showed the back of Hinata Sou. I saw no giant egg or crater so I sighed a sigh of relief and turned around to see Su running in front of me. "So is that all you came here for?" Su asked as she watched me walk to the door.

"Oh yes, that is all that I needed, thank you for allowing me into your room Su-chan. See you later." I said as I walked out the door and then closed it behind me.

"Bye bye Kenshin-kun!" Su said as she all of a sudden giggled. "Now then... back to my latest invention." Su said as she climbed up some trees all the way up to some canopy at the top of the trees.

I stood outside the door as the words from the book seemed to go through my head again and again... Su was probably more disturbed than Enishi... But for now I guess I guess I should go back to mine and Keitaro's room. If the others were going to be as mind-numbing as Su, then I was in for trouble, or at the very most, insanity. So I made my ways through the halls, down one flight of stairs and then throught the rest of the halls to my room. Where Keitaro was waiting in there.

"Oh hey Kenshin-san, took you a while to get back up here, so where were ya" Kenshin said as I sat down.

"Well Keitaro-san, I decided to get to know some of the tenants, so I stopped by Su's room on the third floor... let's just say it's a jungle up there." I said as Keitaro looked at me.

"So it's that filthy up there? Man I knew that out of all the rooms Su's would be the toughest to clean but..." Keitaro began saying as I shook my head left and right.

"No Keitaro-san, I mean it is literally a jungle, with vines, trees, plants, moss, and the like." I said as Keitaro looked at me with widened eyes.

"Are you serious?" He said as I nodded my head. "Well... I don't think we would need to clean up there then..." Keitaro said as his mystified eyes turned back to the table.

"Yeah that may be a good idea." I said as I looked up at the clock. "Well... it's still pretty early, I think that I'll just..." I began saying as I suddenly fell back and spinning symbols entered my eyes.

"Kenshin-san, what's wrong!?" Keitaro shouted as he shook me and I just layed there.

"Jungle... raptor... Dennis Noodles..." I said as I passed out. Keitaro as simply looked at me, then looked up at the ceiling as a sweat drop appeared on his head.
"Now I definetly don't want to go to Su's room. He just passed out from mental distress..." Keitaro said as he layed me in my futon for what felt like the hundreth time in the few days I had been here.

Some Large Amount of Hours Later

I slowly opened my eyes to the darkness of mine and Keitaro's room, the entire time I was out I only dreamt of Su's story... I shuddered as I sat up in bed and looked at a clock, situated on my desk. It read about 2:40, and since it was so dark I could tell it was the next day already. I sighed as I got out of my futon and stood up, stretching my stiff body. I walked over to the shelf thing where my sword was kept and took it off and strapped it to my waist. I then walked into the bathroom and did my usual morning routine. When I was done I walked out and noticed Keitaro was asleep at his desk. He must've been studying. I walked over to check on what he was doing when I saw that instead of books, he had files on Hinata Sou. Bank loans, needed repairs, ect. I smiled as I threw Keitaro over my shoulder, with a bit of struggle, the guy's heavier then he looks, and put him into his own futon. After I did I left the room and proceeded walking down the stairs. When I got to the bottom I began walking to the entrance... but before I did I heard sounds coming from the kitchen, it sounded like we were being ramsacked.

I drew my sword and slowly walked towards the kitchen door. I slowly opened it, and the sight I saw made me untense immediately. Kitsune was simply getting more booze from the fridge, no wonder we ran out so early. I smirked as I slowly opened the door all the way while Kitsune had her head inside of the refridgerator door. I tip-toed over and then when I was close enough.

"What are you doing?!" I shouted, trying to sound like Su as much as possible. Kitsune immediately jumped right up out of the refirdgerator and turned around.

"GOD DAMMIT SU HOW MANY TIMES TO I HAVE TO..." Kitsune began yelling until she saw it was me, wearing a smile on my face. "Oh it's just you..." She said as she took a bottle of Sake out of the refridgerator. She walked over to the table and began drinking. "So what are you doing here at this hour?" Kitsune said as she took a large drink.

"I could easily ask you the same thing." I said while smiling while Kitsune turned around and scowled.

"Why should I tell you." Kitsune said as she took another drink.

I sighed as I opened the refridgerator and got out some water for myself, and then sat at the same table as Kitsune. "Well I guess that's fair. As to what I'm doing I'm going to start training soon." I said taking a drink of water as Kitsune simply looked at me.

"Why would you train this early in the morning?" She said as she took another drink of her Sake.

"Well you don't think that this body and my sword skills just happened did you?" I asked as Kitsune raised an eyebrow. "No, I had to work for them, and work very hard I do almost every single day." I said as I took another drink of water.

"Well why work so hard now when you got the hang of it?" Kitsune said as she took another drink of Sake.

"Because there are people far more powerful then I am... and there's one I have a bone to pick with... And also, I guess I do it out of habit." I said taking one last drink of water. "Well Kitsune-san it was nice talking with you." I said as I walked out of the kitchen and began making my way to the front door while Kitsune sat there, shook her head, and began taking another drink of Sake... "Oh and Kitsune-san." I said as I peeked my head through the door and Kitsune stopped to look at me. "Drinking this late at night won't be too good for that.. oh what word did dad use... oh yeah, voluptuous figure of yours." I said quickly pulling my head through the door, thinking that Kitsune would probably throw the Sake bottle at me.
But suprisingly I didn't hear a Sake bottle hitting the wall.

General POV

If I had stayed I would've seen Kitsune just sitting there, kind of staring at the door. She sighed as she shook her head. "Kids..." She said as she lifted the bottle of Sake to her lips. She didn't take a drink though as she stared at it. "... Ahhh. That's enough for tonight." She said as she put the cork back on the bottle, put the bottle back in the refridgerator, closed the door, and then walked back upstairs towards her room.

Kenshin POV

I walked outside of Hinata Sou and looked at the night time sky. So many stars out, despite us being so close to the city. I looked over the city and saw that there really weren't that many lights on. I looked up again and admired the beauty that was right there in front of me. And to think that I would be able to look upon this beauty every single day for as long as I stay at Hinata Sou. The thought made me feel lighter, as if some stress was just instantly lifted off my shoulders. I looked foward and then began running at a pretty fast pace. I ran my usually lap around the town, passing through all of the empty streets. I turned to the street that would be the last leg of my running and as I did I saw something I didn't expect to see. I wasn't sure exactly what it was, or what it was going here. It was some kind of bird, it looked weird though, it had a long outstreched neck, its head was pretty small and it had some feathers sticking out of the top of it, the wings and body were also pretty big, and it just was there, on the edge of a building, looking in the direction of Hinata Sou. I could tell immediately, that it was spying on Hinata Sou.

It looked down at me, its eyes looking directly into my own, and then it flew off the edge of the building and started flying circles around the street. I watched it for a second before a smile crossed my face. I quickly jumped onto one of the walls of the buildings, jumped off that wall and onto the ledge of the building across from it, and then jumped into the air, caught the bird, and then landed on the ground. I looked at the bird with fake curiousity, as I turned my head slightly to the side.

"What a strange looking bird." I said as I began petting the bird on the head, not only calming it down but causing it to coo at the same time. "You like that don't you?" I said as the bird nodded slightly, and I looked at it with an interested look. "Wow you can understand me, cool." I said as I began running my hand down the bird's neck. "Well now this is a feature I never have seen in a bird before, large body, long neck, small head. You're an oddball aren't ya little fella." I said as the bird semi-glared at me as I began laughing. "I'm just kidding little fella, that I am." I said as the bird calmed down slightly and began pecking at one of its wings. "You wanna go now?" I asked as the bird nodded. "Well then little fella I'll let you go then, that I will..." I said as I began letting the bird go but then stopped. "But before that could you pass on a message to your master?" I asked as the bird's eyes actually widened a bit, making him look even more weird.

"Tell your master that whatever they want with Hinata Sou it better not cause problems." I said as my facial expression became more serious, my eyes narrowing, and the bird actually began sweating. "Or else, as the samurai to the owner of the house, and the grounds keeper, I'll have to take care of it." I said as the bird's eyes widened even more. I literally could imagine its next thoughts.

'This punk is actually threatening my master?!' I could imagine the bird thinking.

"Now then mister bird." I said as I smiled lightly to it. "If you deliver that message and come back when you're done I'll give you a nice handful of seeds." I said as the bird actually started to look like it was drooling. "Sunflower seeds." I whispered to it as it immediately went crazy. I chuckled as I imagined its next thoughts.

'SUNFLOWER SEEDS!!!" God damn! I gotta get me the hell outta here, and get some of that!!!' I imagined it think as I looked at it.

"Do we have a deal my fine, feathered friend?" I asked as it nodded again. "Okay then, well see you later then." I said as I released the bird and it sped off into the distance. I watched the strange bird fly off into the distance as I once again began running towards Hinata Sou. As I made my way up the stairs I saw that the sky, despite all the time I took to talk to the bird, was still very dark. I was still on time despite my stop and chat with the bird. I reached the top of the stairs I immediately began running through the halls of Hinata Sou and up the stairs to my little training spot, the annex. I stood in the middle of the annex for a few minutes in order to regulate my breathing and then I began doing several other work outs once again.

About an hour and a half later I was resting my hands on my knees as I was catching my breath. I stood up as I regulated my breathing and then pulled out my sword and then got into my stance. I began taking swings at the air, several slashes, several fast slashes. I kept it up for several minutes until I felt satisfied with the amount of swings I had taken, I began stabbing the air in front of me as I once again heard the sound of the door to the annex opening as Motoko walked up. When she saw me she scowled slightly before taking on her usual look.

"And I liked the silence here yesterday." Motoko said as she walked in.

"Well sorry Motoko, I just got better and so I decided to train again this morning, as I will every morning I have the chance to." I said as I stabbed the air in front of me once again.

"I see, I suppose I should find another place to train then." Motoko said as she began walking towards the door.

"Motoko." I said as Motoko stopped, scowled a bit before turning around. "I was wondering, perhaps you would like to train with me?" I said as Motoko raised her eyebrow and then before I could even comprehend it she drew her sword, ran over to me, and then held her sword to my throat. "Did I say something wrong?" I asked as I began panicking and Motoko glared at me.

"Watch yourself pervert, I won't give you any chance to do anything perverted to me, got it?" She said as she put her sword back into its sheath and walked out of the annex, and closed the door. I stood there and sighed as I watched her leave.

"Man, just when I got her respect..." I said as I groaned and then placed the sword back into its sheath and began doing Batto-jutsu for practice.

General POV

"Everyone! Breakfast is ready!" Shinobu shouted about and hour later as everyone funneled down the stairs. All of the girls arrived first as they glanced at each other and nodded. Keitaro arrived and recieved the same greetings, only Motoko's glare, Shinobu's and Kitsune's silence, were much more powerful. Then everyone heard stummbling down the stairs and looked up to see me, leaning up against the wall of the stairwell, sweating profusely, and gasping for breath.

Everyone watched me with eyes filled with interest as I began walking over to the kitchen, picking a few herbs out of the refridgerator, and beginning to boil some hot water. I began mixing the herbs with the water as the color of the water changed from clear to a light brownish green. I then walked over to the liquor cabinet and poured some Sake into the mix, causing it to become a very light green.

I walked over to the table and sat down, everyone's eyes still watching me intently as I began drinking the mixture I had created. I drank it all in one gulp and sat there for a few seconds before taking a very deep breathe, and then expelling it in the form of a yawn, a rather large amount of what looking like steam escaping from my breath. I looked up, though my face and hair was still saturated with sweat, but my body's posture seemed much more relaxed, and I had a smile on my face.

"Hello everyone." I said non-chalantly as if I had done no exercise the entire morning as everyone just stared at me with eyes so wide open, they were the size of dinner plates. "So what is for breakfast Shinobu-chan?" I asked as I looked at Shinobu. Shinobu shook herself a little bit and forced herself out of her stupor and then walked over to the counter and picked up a couple trays filled with food, and began handing them out to us, not saying a thing to me. I stared momentarily at Shinobu momentarily before hurrying through my breakfast, this time at the same pace as Su. As I finished I sat up and began walking towards the hall that led to the bath. "I gotta take a bath now, see you all soon." I said as I turned and smiled to them as I walked down the halls to the bathroom as everyone stared at my back.

General POV

Slowly the girls filed out of the kitchen, only leaving Shinobu and Keitaro left.

"Well Shinobu-chan..." Keitaro said as he stood up. "I guess I'll see ya later too." Keitaro said as he left the room, leaving Shinobu to wash the dishes.

Kenshin POV

I poured a bucket of water over my head in the hot springs as I soaked in the warm water. I sighed a sigh of grief as I looked over the situation. Kitsune and her plotting really screwed me over here for now, and now Keitaro and I are going to have to work to gain everyone's respect again... oh well at least we have Naru on our side... I hope. I looked up at the sky and then sighed as I sank deeper into the water.

'Let's hope, that ten days from now things will get a little more interesting.' I thought as I poured another bucket of water on my head.

Wow this chapter was really easy to reconstruct. Remember to review!!!!