-Ten-Faced Paladin
Love Hina Redux By Ten-Faced Paladin Chapter 6: Don't Cry Shinobu
It was dinnertime at Hinata house and all the residents were present. The five girls and one guy were all sitting at the table and digging in. Su was by far going the fastest in her whirlwind of food inhalation. Motoko was just eating quietly, still not one for dinnertime conversation. Kitsune was busy sipping sake again while she ate while Keitaro and Naru talked about things they had recently studied. Shinobu seemed as quiet as usual.
"Oh wow," Keitaro smiled as he took a huge bite. "Shinobu's cooking not only looks good, but it tastes awsome too."
"Yep, that's our Shinbou," Kitsune grinned. "Hinata's master chef."
"I'm..uh..I'm not that great," Shinobu sputtered while looking at the table.
"Humble too," Kitsune smiled. "So, what's everone's master plan for the weekend?"
Naru glared at her best frined from her seat next to her, "Don't you ever have anything to do"
"Hey, don't diss my freelance writing," Kitsune spoke as she pointed her chopsticks at Naru. "I have plenty to do. My calender is full of dates."
"I'm sure it is," Naru smiled as she took another bite from her food.
Su finally inhaled as much food as she wanted an she gave a small burp while leaning back in her chair with a content smile. She then opened her eyes and leaned over to Shinobu.
"Shinobu!" she smiled. "What are you doing this Sunday?"
"Oh, uh, me?" Shinobu replied quietly. "Well, um..I..."
Motoko glanced over to the younger girl as she took a sip from a glass, "What's wrong Shinobu. You seem a little down."
Shinobu's face started heating up and the blush was visible on her face and spreading quickly.
"Nothing," She quickly answered. "I'm fine. Honest."
Keitaro was watching the exchange with a little curiosity, "Are you sure Shinbou? If not then I'd be happy to help with whatever it is."
Shinobu's face turned an even deeper red, "N-n-no Sempai. I-I-I'm really okay."
Keitaro looked at Shinobu with a slight frown on his face before he shrugged, "Okay. If you're sure."
Shinobu nodded again before she went quietly back to her meal. Keitaro still kept a lingering glance on her.
'Okay, something is wrong,' he thought. 'I think I'd better ask Motoko about it later. She was the only other one to notice Shinobu's lack of smiles tonight.'
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Motoko was busy with her evening training exercises on the roof. She went through her normal maneuvers and also readying herself with her special techniques. Without the ki of course. Keitaro had enough work on his hands. She was preparing for her Hundred Blossom Profusion Strike when she heard someone coming. They were trying to be quiet, but her trained senses easily caught the sound.
"Uh...Motoko?" she heard Keitaro's voice speak.
Motoko turned and saw none other that Keitaro himself standing by the stairs which led back inside. She let her rest in her hand and glanced at Keitaro.
"You're disturbing my training Urashima," she stated cooly. "What do you want?"
Keitaro rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, "Well, I wanted to talk to you about Shinobu. I just figured I'd talk to you first since you noticed that she seemed a little down too."
Motoko sighed and sheathed her sword, "You would be right about that. I did notice that she seemed rather depressed. I think it might have to do with her grades. Before you arrived she was very depressed about them. Pehaps her grades have slipped again?"
"I hope not," Keitaro frowned as he looked to the ground. "If it is then I'd be happy to help her with that."
"But what about your on studies?" Motoko asked. "Shouldn't you be studying for Tokyo U?"
Keitaro shrugged, "I guess, but I'm also the landlord here. It's my job to make sure you girls are all happy isn't it?"
Motoko looked at Keitaro with a slight hint of respect in her eys, "Though it is not your job to ensure our happiness, it is heartening to see that you take all aspects of your life seriously. That is admirable."
Keitaro rubbed the back of his neck as a red tinge came to his face, "Thanks Motoko. Even if I'm probably nowhere near as dedicated as you are. Thanks for the insight. I think Haruka might have something to add. I'll ask her"
"That is a wise idea," Motoko nodded. "She is quite intelligible. She would have some good advice."
Keitaro smiled with a nod, "Yeah, she's been like that since I've known her. Sorry for interrupting your training."
"You are forgiven," Motoko nodded. "Just be sure you have a good reason should you do it again."
Keitaro nodded and he left. Motoko unsheathed her sword and returned to her training.
'He is quite kind,' she thought. 'There is more to him than meets the eye.'
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It was the next day before Keitaro finally managed to get a chance to talk to Haruka again. He was just getting off the tram from town when he recognised the opportunity. As he was walking up the stairs, he made a detour to head for Haruka's teahouse.
He opened the door and the usual bell tone rang as the door hit a bell that was hanging near the door. There were several poeple sitting at tables and Haruka was bringing out a tray filled with various drinks. Even with all the tables that were occupied, she didn't seem overworked. She even had a cigarettee in her mouth. She finishied passing out the tea when she glanced at the door to see Keitaro.
"Glad you're here Keitaro," she smiled. "I've been meaning to give something to you. Just a minute."
Keitaro didn't even get to ask his question when Haruka vanished into the back part of her shop. Not wanting to look strange, Keitaro sat at a nearby table. After tapping his fingers on the table fo a moment, Haruka came back out carrying a black book.
"Here you go," she spoke as she handed it to Keitaro. "It's a list of all the residents in Hinata house and their personal information. You'll need it since you're the landlord."
"Well, uh, thanks I guess," Keitaro mumbled. "Oh, Haruka, I need..."
Keitaro was cut off as more people came into the teahouse. Haruka sighed as she took a drag from her cigarette.
"I'll have to cut this short," Haruka spoke. "You'd better head back to Hinata House."
Sensing that he wasn't going to be able to get his question answered, Keitaro just nodded and left the shop. He looked through the book as he went up the stairs. Haruka wasn't lying. Everything that he needed to know about his residents as their landlord was there.
"Don't know what I'll need this for, but you never know. Especially around here." Keitaro commented with a smirk.
Back at the cafe, Haruka leaned on the counter while the new arrivals looked through the menu. She had a slight smirk on her face as she he took her cigarette in her fingers.
"That should help with Shinobu," she smiled. "I just hope that boy is sharp enough to pick it out."
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Shinobu sat in her room and gave a depressed sigh. She was looking at her calender as she tapped on the current date with a mechanical pencil.
"I guess no one remembered after all," she sighed.
Shinobu felt a little like crying. Even back home her parents were usually too busy fighting to remember much of anything about her.She was really happy when she came to Hinata House. Everyone was really nice to her and it got even better when Keitaro came. He was really nice to her and he really believed in her too. It made her feel really good inside. Everytime Keitaro talked to her he always said soemthing nice. He made her feel warm inside.
"Not even Sempai remembered," Shinbou murmured, tears in the corner of her eyes.
Heaving another huge sigh, she began to shake her he to get all the depressing emotions out of it. All she had to do was her usual chores to keep her mind off it. That way she wouldn't get sad about it.
"Okay!" Shinobu nodded to herself. "Time to get to work on that laundry."
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Keitaro just finished getting his shoes off as he went through the entire book about his tenants. He shut the book and began heading for the stairs when he saw a large stack of folded laundry walking towards the stairs.
"Shinobu?" Keitaro asked curiously. "Is that you?"
"Oh! Hello Sempai," Shinobu greeted.
"You, uh, need some help?" Keitaro asked in slight concern.
"Oh I'm fine Sempai," Shinobu smiled from behind the laundry. "I've been doing this for a while. I'm used to it.
"Well, if you're sure," Keitaro remarked while rubbing the back of his head.
Shinobu nodded, making the pile shake and she went up the stairs. Keitaro shrugged and continued on his way. When he got up to the floor where his room was situated, he started looking through the resident list again.
"Why do I get the feeling that there's something I missed in here?" he asked himself.
As he looked through the book, he didn't notice Shinobu coming around the corner in front of him. She was piled up with sheets this time and she couldn't see in what was in front of her. It was a collision waitng to happen.
Keitaro looked straight ahead only to see a pile of sheets which collided with him. He fell back and was covered with the sheets.
"What the!" he gasped in surprise.
Keitaro pulled the sheets away from his head and saw Shinobu frantically folding up the sheets again.
"Oh jeez!" Keitaro gasped. "I'm so sorry Shinobu! I should have watched where I was going."
Shinobu looked from her folding, "Oh no Sempai! It's my fault. I should have been watching where I was going."
Keitaro and Shinobu both collected all the sheets and they both managed to get them back into a pile again. It was lucky he had wiped down the floors again or else she might of had to wash the sheets again.
"Thank you for helping me Sempai," Shinobu smiled.
"It's no problem Shinobu," Keitaro smiled while rubbing the back of his head. "Are you sure you still don't want me to help?"
"I'm sure Sempai," Shinobu smiled as she picked up the stack. "I'll see you later."
The girl then charged off to complete her chores. He looked to the ground and found his book lying open on the floor. He picked it up and found that it was open on Shinobu's information. As he continued towards his room he read it over.
"Moved to Hinata House because of family issues," Keitaro read as he entered his room. "Wow. A girl her age living on her own. Must be tough. She probably gets lonely."
He took as seat at his table and placed the list on it. He looked over the information again in his need to know what was bothering his youngest resident. His eyes ran over a bit of information and widened in surprise.
"Oh no way!" he gasped. "How'd I miss that?"
He leaped out of his seat and ran over to his calender to check the date. After looking at the current date he dropped his head in guilt.
'No wonder she's so depressed,' he thought to himself. 'How could we have missed this?'
Keitaro tore himself away from the calender and raced back for the hole that connected him to Naru's room. He grasped the edges of it and hopisted himself up, pushing up the lid that she used to cover it.
"Hey Naru!" he called. "Are you there?"
"What?" she answered curtly. "I'm studying here so this had better be good."
Keitaro hoisted himself up through the hole where he found Naru sitting at her kotatsu. She had a number of books opened and she seemed to have been working since she got back from cram scchool.
"I think I know what's wrong with Shinobu," Keitaro reported. "You know how she's been depressed over the last few days."
Naru's face softened instantly. "Really? Well, spit it out already."
Keitaro walked over to Naru and whispered what he found out in her ear. Afer that she gasped and brought her hands to her mouth.
"Are you serious!" she gasped. "Oh man! How could we have missed that?"
"I know," Keitaro nodded. "I'm not feeling great about this either."
"So what do we do?" Naru asked with a tone of guilt in her voice.
"Well, you get Motoko and Su, I'll get Kitsune," Keitaro explained. "We'll meet up downstairs."
"Gotcha," Naru noddded.
Keitaro nodded and scrambled back down the hole he came through while Naru stood up and went out the door, intent on finding Motoko and Su.
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Shinobu finally put the last load of laundry into the dryer and she went to the living room to see what evertone was doing. She was slightly surprised to see that no one was there. Usually Kitsune could be seen there with a drink or passed out on the couch. It was odd to not see her there.
She then walked upstairs and silently knocked on Keitaro's door.
"Sempai?" she asked quietly. "Is anyone there?"
No answer came. Shinobu then opened the door a crack and confirmed that little fact. There wasn't any light coming down from the hole that connect his and Naru's room. That meant that Naru wasn't in her room either.
"where'd everyone go?" Shinobu asked herself.
She walked to the third floor expecting to find Su working on some kind of invention or Motoko in the midst of her meditation. Nothing. No one was there and it didn't look like they were there for a while.
"They're all probably out having fun," Shinobu muttered sadly. "They really did forget."
Shinobu wanted to cry again and this time she didn't have any chores to keep her mind off of it. Hot tears leaked to the corners of her eyes. She just shook her head. She couldn't cry just yet. Taking a shuddering breath, Shinobu ran for the stairs which led to where she hung the laundry. It was her secret place. She always went there when she was feeling sad.Right now she needed it more than anything else availible to her right now.
Shinobu came into the cold evening air and walked slowly over to the railing which surrounded the area. She looked out into the darkening sky and felt the tears coming to her face again. This time though, she wouldn't stop them. She was all alone so it didn't matter.
"Shinobu?" a voice asked.
Shinobu quickly turnd around and saw Keitaro standing at the stairs. She was caught by surprise at his sudden appearance.
"S-Sempai?" she gasped in surprise.
Still feeling the tears in the corners of her eyes, Shinobu decided to make a break for it. She didn't want Keitaro to see her like this. A small part of her was also a little upset with him for not remembering something that was so important to her.
As she ran past Keitaro, he reached out annd gently clasped her hand. Shinbou felt her face turn cherry red as she felt Keitaro's warm hand holding hers.
'He-he's holding my hand!' Shinobu squealed in thought. 'Am I dreaming?'
"I thought I'd find you up here," Keitaro smiled as he let go of Shinobu's hand. "There's actually something I just have to tell you."
"W-what's that Sempai?" Shinbou asked uncertainly.
Keitaro's face broke into a huge smile, "Happy birthday Shinobu."
Shinobu's face turned into the perfect example of surprise. What Keitaro had said had completely blindsided her.
'He knew?' she thought to herself, her face reddening again. 'He remembered!'
There was a rustling sound past the railing and suddenly the rest of the residents of Hinata House came into view. They were all wearing party hats and throwing confetti into the air.
"Happy birthday Shinobu!" they all shouted at the top of their longs, well, everyone except Motoko anyway.
"Ah!" Shinobu gasped in surprise.
"November 15th, that's your birthday isn't it?" Keitaro smiled. "You turn 13 if I'm not mistaken."
Shinobu smiled as tears came to the corner of her eyes yet again. This time however, these tears represented just how happy the young woman was.
"Th-thank you eveyone," Shinobu smiled. "I'm..I'm so happy."
Kitsune walked over to Keitaro and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.
"You should thank this big lug most Shinobu," Kitsune explained. "This whole surprise was all his idea to begin with."
"Hey, come on now," Keitaro smiled embarrassingly. "You all helped out too."
Shinobu didn't seem to hear that last part as she looked up to Keitaro with stars in her eyes again. It caught everyone by surprise when she raced at Keitaro and leaped at him, wrapping her arms around him.
"Thank you Sempai!" she cried into his shirt. "Thank you so much!"
"Hey, hey," Keitaro smiled as Shinobu backed away with a red face. "Come on Shinobu. Tears aren't meant to be seen on a birthday. Come on, you've got presents to open."
"Time for presents!" Su cheered noisily.
"Time to party!" Kitsune cheered just as loudly.
Everyone then took the party down to the living room where it really went into full swing. It actually got so noisy that Haruka could hear it clearly from the cafe. She just stood outside the door with her usual cigarette and a pleased smile.
"Looks like they figured it out," she smiled. "Knew that kid was smart."
To Be Continued
A/N: There we go. I want to thank my reviewers for pointing out my spelling mistakes. Sometimes it's a little hard to notice them and I don't have spell check. On the story front, I hope you guys like what you're reading so far. I know I'm enjoying writing it. For Motoko fans, the next chapter is for you. For anyone who still doesn't know, I'm working from the manga. I hope you guys are enjoying that. I'll see you all next chapter.