-Ten-Faced Paladin
Love Hina Redux By Ten-Faced Paladin Chapter 13: In Dreams
Keitaro was sitting on the roof of Hinata house just enjoying the peace and quiet. The birds were fluttering past and making quite the peaceful scene. He was also reading a small booklet that was part of his study material. He only had twenty days until the actual exam and he didn't want to blow his chances for the third time.
He looked up to the sky and began to ponder for a moment. The girl from fifteen years ago was on his mind again.
"I wonder," he thought. "Naru seemed pretty into the story. She maybe too young to be that girl, but...maybe she knows her."
"I know who?" Naru's voice spoke.
Keitaro turned around and saw the redhead in question. She was standing behind him with a faint smile and the breeze was making her hair flow gently around her.
"Oh..uh..noth..no..No-ACHOO!" Keitaro sneezed.
"Woah," Naru laughed. "Better be careful. You don't want a cold do you?"
"I-I-I...Achoo!" Keitaro sneezed again.
Keitaro then broke into a coughing fit. Naru stepped closer in concern and rested her hand on his forehead. She gasped when she felt his temperature.
"Wow," she gasped. "You have a fever. What are you doing out here? Get inside and back into bed!"
"Yes ma'am," Keitaro snickered as he stood up.
As he stood up, he ripped off another large sneeze. His balance was off at the time and the sneeze caused him to lose it altogether. He fell on his back with a slam.
"Okay, this can't be good," he groaned.
Naru shook her head and helped Keitaro to his feet, "I can't believe you had to catch a cold this badly."
"Not my fault," Keitaro grumbled. "I'll be in my room."
As he made his way back to the stairs, he found that Naru had followed him. He looked at her questioningly.
"Well?" Naru replied. "I'm just making sure you don't pass out in the middle of the hall."
Keitaro nodded and began making his way to his room.
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In his room, Keitaro was in his futon. Naru had just pulled out the thermometer which had been in Keitaro's mouth for the last few minutes.
101.7 degrees," Naru read."okay, that does it. You're staying in bed today."
"Great," Keitaro grumbled. "Just what I need."
"Nothing you can do but rest right now," Naru shrugged as she stood up. "I'm getting an ice pack. Just rest right now. Got that?"
Keitaro nodded as he lay on his pillow.
'While I'm sick here, thousands of other college hopefuls are probably gearing up for the exam. Sometimes I think I'm cursed,' he sighed inwardly. 'I guess I can only hope to get better quickly.'
Any thoughts Keitaro had on getting better were suddenly interrupted by something coming down hard on his stomach.
"Prrrgh!" Keitaro sputtered.
"Heyas!" a happy Su called. "You alive Keitaro?"
Keitaro groaned as he opened his eyes weakly. Sure enough, there was Su, sitting on his stomach with a large happy smile. Strangely, she was also holding a mug of beer and what seemed to be an ostrich egg of some kind.
"I won't be alive for long if you keep that up Su," Keitaro groaned.
"Nya ha ha!" Su giggled. "Don't worry. We came to see you! We even brought gifts!"
Keitaro glanced over to his door and saw Kitsune and Motoko coming into the room.
"Hey there stud," Kitsune smiled. "How ya feeling?"
"Urashima, why am I not surprised?" Motoko greeted with a small smile of her own. "To catch a cold at such an important time."
"Hey, I didn't choose to catch it," Keitaro sighed.
"That's okies," Su giggled again. "I'll make an egg malt for you."
"I also have a remedy for you," Motoko added as she produced a dried gecko and a dried toad. "This remedy has been passed down through the generations and it will defeat your cold quickly."
"Uh...you sure about that?" Keitaro asked weakly.
Neither of them seemed to have heard him as they made their remedies. Su cracked open her egg and poured it into the mug. Motoko had already begun mixing the two dried animals together into a kind of powder. The finished pretty quickly.
"There. It is finished," Motoko announced. "Now eat all of it Urashima."
Keitaro swallowed the powder. Not that he had any real choice in the matter. She practically pushed the stuff down his throat.
"Me next! Me next!" Su cheered as she raised her mug.
She planted herself on Keitaro's chest again and 'helped him swallow the mug of beer. When he finished, she backed off, holding the empty mug. Keitaro sat still for a moment before he started trembling. He then promptly burst into a bloody nose.
"Gah!" he cried as he dove for the tissues. "A little strong in my opinion."
"Sorry," Su giggled.
"My apologies," Motoko frowned guiltily.
Keitaro's nose was quick to subside and he let himself back into bed.
"I really appreciate the sentiment everyone," Keitaro sighed. "But I don't think a remedy is what I need at this point."
Kitsune suddenly cut in. She was holding her own Mug of beer which Su must have brought for another egg malt. Her face also had a flush on it. There was no doubt about it. She was drunk again.
"Of course you don't," she giggled. "They're doing it all wrong. If you want to get rid of a cold, you gotta do it directly."
Kitsune then put down her beer and began unbuttoning her shirt. Keitaro promptly began to freak out.
"What are you doing Kitsune!" he shouted in panic.
"Me?" she asked while continuing to unbutton. "I'm just gonna help take out your cold."
She then opened her shirt, revealing her white-lace bra which she had underneath. Keitaro then promptly looked away again as she giggled. Kitsune then sauntered over to his futon and began to tuck herself into bed with Keitaro.
"Kitsune!" Motoko shrieked, forgetting herself. "Control yourself!"
"Yeah!" Keitaro quickly agreed. "You aren't yourself right now!"
"That looks like fun," Su smiled.
Kitsune didn't listen as she then gripped Keitaro and began to lie on top of him. Keitaro could feel her breasts pressing against his chest. His face turned crimson as he tired desperately to think of things other than what he was feeling at the moment.
"There there Keitaro," Kitsune cooed gently, losing her party animal tone and her eyes opening slightly. "No need to be shy. I'm not gonna bite. I'll just tuck myself in and keep you warm. Okay?"
"Uh..ah..er," Keitaro mumbled incoherently.
Any further speculation was cut off when a crash was heard. Everyone looked over to the door and saw a trembling Shinobu. She had apparently brought something for Keitaro to eat and walked in on the little scene Kitsune created. She had then dropped what she was carrying in shock.
She looked like her heaat was breaking fir a moment before she bolted from the room, "Noooo!"
Shinobu didn't get two feet before she bumped into Naru. The older girl was looking into the room with an angry look on her face.
"Okay you guys!" she shouted. "That's enough!"
After everyone had calmed down, Naru finally set the ice pack in Keitaro's head. After that, she turned to face the others.
"I know you guys are worried about him and want to make him get better," Naru sighed. "but if you keep this up then his cold is going to get worse. Remember, he is a student preparing for his second exam. If his cold gets worse then he's going to be down even longer. In other words, don't toy with him like you usually do."
"Yes ma'am," the three girls sighed.
Su then looked up to Naru with a questioning gaze, "Well... I wanted to read Keitaro a story I found. Is that okay?"
"Hmm. I guess so," Naru replied.
Su smiled brightly and hopped to Keitaro's bedside with a book in hand.
"I found this book that's all about you Keitaro," Su smiled. "See?"
Keitaro looked up and saw the book. It was the story of Taro Urashima. Keitaro couldn't help but smile. He had been compared to Taro when he was in school.Something about being really nice to other people.
As Su began to read the story, the other girls soon produced books of their own.
"I see Su's point," Motoko spoke. "It must be lonely being curled up her in bed with no company."
"I guess I can read you something too," Kitsune smiled.
"Um...me too," Shinobu spoke shyly.
As the other girls went into their stories, Keitaro decided that he could try to fall asleep. He needed it. His last thoughts before he fell asleep were on how lucky he was. Even if he might end up as a third-year ronin.
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Keitaro woke up and he found himself lying on a beach. Cherry blossom trees were in full bloom. He didn't feel sick and he was still in his pajamas.
"Must be dreaming," he reasoned to himself.
The sound of someone crying caught his attention. He looked over down the shoreline and saw two kids beating up on a third with a fan and rubber mallet.
"Hey!" keitaro shouted as he ran over to them. "Stop picking on him!"
The two attacking boys turned and looked at Keitaro. He was met with the faces of Shirai and Haitani when they were kids.
"Okay," Keitaro sighed. "This dream took a step to the weird. Anyhow, stop picking on him! Why are you being mean to him?"
Keitaro looked at the boy they were picking on. His jaw almost dropped when he saw ayounger version of himself. He was teary-eyed and looking at Keitaro expectantly.
"We're picking on him because he's a stupid second-year ronin who still thinks he can get into Tokyo U. He's like a slow turtle."
"Oh yeah?" Keitaro frowned. "In case I forget, aren't you two ronins too?"
"Ah!" Chibi-Shirai and Chibi-Haitani gasped.
Keitaro then bonked both of them on the head rather sharply, "Now get outta here and don't let me catch you teasing him again!"
As both boys ran away crying, Keitaro turned to his younger self, "Are you okay?"
Chibi-Keitaro nodded, "I'm okay. Thanks Oniichan."
"Don't worry about it," Keitaro smiled. "I'm glad to help."
"I know!" Chibi-Keitaro smiled. "I'll take you to the dragon palace for saving me! We can play with the princess there!"
Chibi-Keitaro then grasped his older self's hand and began to pull him closer inland. Keitaro wasn't sure what was going on, but he decided to see how the dream was going to turn out.
When the two boys got to a clearing, the heard something.
"Heyas Keitaro!" someone shouted.
Keitaro looked and saw a large ostrich running towards him. On it's back was none other than Su. The only difference was thta she was smaller than before. She looked like she was about five years old.
"Is that you Su?" Keitaro gasped. "Why are you so small?"
Su giggled, "I heard you weren't feeling so well. I know just the thing! Egg malt!"
The ostrich turned around and began laying eggs like no one's business. Keitaro and his younger counterpart were quickly buried in eggs. When the were completely buried, they both found themselves dunked in a giant swirling mug of booze.
"What the-!" Keitaro gagged.
"This will fix you up in no time!" Su cheered as she swirled the beer with a large stick from the ostrich's back.
At one point, Su stirred too much and knocked the mug over. Both Keitaro and Chibi-Keitaro tumbled onto the ground.
"Feel better?" Su asked curiously.
"You almost killed us!" Keitaro shouted.
After finally getting up, Keitaro and Chibi-Keitaro headed for the dragon palace again. Su followed close behind. She had gotten off the ostrich and was tightly clamped to Keitaro's hand. They moved through several more trees before coming to anotheer clearing.
"Urashima!" someone shouted. "It seems you are sick."
Keitaro looked around for the voice, but there wasn't anyone else around. The small group was about to keep moving when a large cloud of pink smoke erupted from the ground in front of them. When it cleared, Keitaro's eyes bugged out. There was a giant toad and a giant gecko standing in front of him. On the toad's head was a five-year old Motoko and a baby Shinobu.
"To defeat your illness you must mix these creatures and partake their essence," Motoko smiled. "They're a warty toad and a gecko after all."
The giant gecko stepped forward and licked Keitaro with it's slimy tounge.
"I think he has a better chance of being eaten!" Chibi-Keitaro spoke fearfully.
Motoko leaped off the giant toad and walked towards Keitaro. The gecko backed off as she got closer. As she did get closer, her face slowly turned redder.
"Ummm...Urashima?" she asked shyly. "Can I have a piggyback ride?"
"Huh?" Keitaro asked. "Uh, sure."
After Motoko scrambled onto Keitaro's shoulders, they set off for the dragon palace once again. The five-year old's face was still a little red as she sat on Keitaro's shoulders.
"Oooh!" Su giggled. "Motoko's all red."
"I'm just hot!" Motoko snapped. "That's why I'm up here!"
Baby Shinobu just gurgled something through the pacifier in her mouth.
"Come on!" Chibi-Keitaro smiled. "We're almost at the dragon palace! We can play with the princess there!"
"Don't worry! The princess has come to you!" someone shouted.
Everyone looked forward and saw two more people in front of them. One was Kitsune who looked like a four-year old in a bunny girl outfit. The other one was a two-year old Naru who was in a tiny yukata and had oversized glasses on her face and short hair.
"Figures," Keitaro smiled. "I finally get to see her as a bunny girl and she turns out so small. I wonder why she looks so familiar though."
Kitsune looked at the group of friends and her eyes landed on Keitaro.
"Hey, no fair!" she frowned angrily. "I want a piggy back ride too!"
"I was here first!" Motoko shouted back.
"I had first dibs!" Kitsune retorted.
"Uh-uh!" Motoko pouted.
"Uh-huh!" Kitsune replied.
"Share!" Naru smiled proudly as her glasses slipped off her face.
A short time later, the friends were moving again. Chibi-Keitaro led the way while everyone else followed. Keitaro was close to the back because of the added weight to his shoulders. He was carrying both Motoko and Kitsune on his shoulders. Both of them had smiles on their faces. Baby Shinobu was also gurgling happily from her vantage point on Motoko's back.
'I'm lucky they're so small here,' Keitaro smiled. 'Or else I'd be a goner.'
As they travelled, Keitaro began seeing familiar streets. I was the street that he had run down with that girl from his dreams.
"Oh yeah," he spoke. "I came to Hinata House when I was younger. That was where I met her."
Chibi-Keitaro raced up the stairs and everyone followed him. When they finally came to the top of the stairs, they found him in the sandbox. There was a little girl with him too. They watched as both her and Chibi-Keitaro made the promise to go to Tokyo U together.
"Wovey-dovey!" Naru squealed in delight.
"That's so romantic," Kitsune sighed.
Chibi-Keitaro looked up and saw thee others. He smiled brightly and turned back to the promise girl.
"There's the person who saved me!" he smiled as he pointed at Keitaro.
The promise girl smiled and picked up a small box and headed over to Keitaro.
"Thank you so much Oniichan," she smiled. "Here's a present for you. Just don't open it okay?"
"Uh, sure," Keitaro nodded as he took the box in one hand.
"What's in it?" Su asked as she popped open the box.
"SU!" Keitaro shouted as smoke erupted from the box.
Keitaro coughed and looked through the smoke. When he could see clearly, he saw a surprised looking normal Su and a very embrassed normal Naru clutching at her clothes. It was then Keitaro realised something. He had a normal Kitsune, Motoko, and Shinobu on his shoulders, trying to protect their modesty. Their combined weight sent Keitaro sprawling and put his face into the ground with a loud splat.
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Keitaro woke up from his dream with a loud gasp. He sat up and looked around to see that he was back in Hinata House and his room. He looked around and saw the girls sitting around his room. Su was still reading her book while Motoko was in meditation.Kitsune was watching T.V. while Naru was studying. Shinobu was sitting at the table politely.
Motoko looked at Keitaro and smiled.
"Good to see you awake Urashima," she spoke.
Everyone looked to Keitaro as he sat up. It didn't take them long to crowd around him.
"Welcome back stud," Kitsune smiled as she rested her palm on his forehead. "Your fever's finally broken I see."
"That's wonderful Sempai!" Shinobu smiled brightly.
"Yay!" Su cheered.
"Have any good dreams?" Naru asked wwith a smile.
"Well," Keitaro laughed. "It was a crazy one, I'll be honest. If you feel like listening I guess I can share it with you."
"We're all ears stud," Kitsune grinned.
"Okay," Keitaro laughed. "Well, it started with me waking up on a beach..."
To Be Continued
A/N: That's chapter 13 in the wraps. I'm still going on strong and working hard to bring out my stories. I hope you reviewers are enjoying it and I hope to keep hearing from you. I have over 16000 hits for this story so I guess I'm doing something right. I just hope I can keep doing it. I'll see you guys next chapter!