Love's Redemption: Chapter 9
Kitsune worked her broom on the steps leading to the entrance to the teahouse with a steady cadence. The steadily rising cloud of dust freed from the ground slowly worked its way up to her face, and she went into a coughing fit despite herself. She wondered how Haruka managed to keep the place clean without losing her patience, as she was about to do.
The sun peeked above the tree line to the east when she finished sweeping. She wondered for a moment if the pathway looked any better than when she started until she realized she only had a few minutes before the teahouse opened for business. Although the majority of the business was done during the afternoon, there were a few regular morning customers. One in particular would be quite upset if the place were not opened on time and she would hear it from him for weeks on end regardless of what she tried to do or tell him.
Kitsune doubled back up the stairs and flipped the notice sign hanging by a strand of thin rope from a ring to the left of the door from "CLOSED" to "OPEN". As she opened the doors, she heard the shuffling of footsteps approaching the stairs. "Good morning," she said with her best formal tone, praying it was not her "problem child", as she always referred to him.
"Good morning, Kitsune," the man at the bottom of the stairs said in reply. Kitsune gasped. It was not her "problem child" standing at the foot of the stairs. In fact, it was not one of her normal customers at all. However, it was a voice she did recognize, although it had been several months since she had heard it. But it was unmistakable. She had said her greeting in Japanese, and his was reply was in English.
Kitsune turned on the spot, half-expecting the man approaching her to not be there, thinking she had just imagined his voice. Yet there he stood, his hair a bit longer than she remembered, looking a bit weathered from traveling, but wearing that same warm, enchanting smile. "Jake?" she asked, squinting through the bright morning sunlight.
"Yeah, it's me," Jake replied, dropping his luggage at the top of the stairs and wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his sleeve. Kitsune could hardly believe he was standing there. She reached out to him, and he pulled her into a hug. She was initially surprised at his sudden outward expression, but she then closed her eyes and embraced him, realizing he was really there.
He released her after a few seconds. "How have you been?" He asked her. "You look fantastic."
Kitsune glanced down at her simple work clothes: a ragged white apron over a light blue button-down top and plain brown trousers. "Thanks. When did you get here?" she asked.
"This morning," Jake said, looking a bit puzzled. "You seem surprised to see me."
"I am," Kitsune responded. Jake huffed, shaking his head. "What is it?" Kitsune asked.
Jake rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. "I tell you, the more things change, the more they remain the same." When he looked up and saw Kitsune's confused look, he said, "Keitaro should have told everyone I was coming. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised he didn't."
"Either way, this sure is a pleasant surprise," Kitsune said, motioning him towards the door. "Did you want to come in? I've got to open up here."
Jake shook his head. "Nah, I've got to get my stuff upstairs, and I don't want to bother you while you're working."
Kitsune protested. "It's no bother really. I want to hear about what you've been up to, anyway. There's free tea in it for you."
Sweetening the deal seemed to do the trick. "Sure, why not?" Jake lifted his bags and followed Kitsune into the immaculate teahouse. "It's been a while, hasn't it?" Jake asked rhetorically, taking the place in with his eyes.
"You can leave your things over there," Kitsune said, motioning with her hands at a corner table. "Have a seat and I'll be right back, okay?"
Jake nodded, dropping his things near the table and seating himself on one of the cushions. He watched Kitsune disappear through a door leading to another area of the building, presumably a kitchen area. After a couple of minutes, she reappeared through the same door, carrying a plain-looking ceramic tea set.
"It sure is slow here in the mornings, isn't it?" Jake asked as Kitsune gingerly placed the set on the table.
Kitsune chuckled and nodded. "I get customers in the morning, usually. To be honest, I thought you were one of my regulars. I'm glad you weren't him." Kitsune poured Jake a cup of tea and pushed it across the table. Jake picked it up and blew away the steam rising from it.
"So," Kitsune said, sitting across from Jake with a huff, pushing the hair out of her face. "You've got my attention. How's life been?"
Jake explained to Kitsune, when she was not distracted by customers slowly trickling into the establishment, how his mother had passed only a few days after he left Japan. It was a trying time, dealing with his own personal problems and simultaneously helping to console his sisters, make arrangements, take care of fiduciary responsibilities, executing his mother's will as power of attorney, graciously accepting food gifts from neighbors, fighting off ambulance chasers and bloodhounds, and finally making peace with the fact that his mother was really gone. He barely had time to think about anything that first month. It finally hit him when the life insurance check cleared and he paid off all of his mother's debts.
"I'm so sorry," Kitsune said, touching Jake's hand.
He smiled weakly in response. "Thanks. The good news is that there is more than enough left out of the insurance money to finance my sister's college educations. She really thought of everything, like she knew her time was coming."
"Well, what about you?" Kitsune asked.
Jake sighed. "I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do. All I know right now is that I made a promise to a friend and I intend to follow through on it. Besides, from what I've heard, Keitaro could really use all the help he can get."
Kitsune laughed. "You've got that right. With finals coming up soon, he just can't keep up with everything. The place is a real mess, so you are going to have your work cut out for you. You sure you don't want to find work elsewhere?"
"Is that an offer?" Jake asked mischievously.
Kitsune waved her hand at Jake dismissively. "I, quite literally, couldn't afford you. Unless, of course, you'd be willing to work as my slave."
"I'll keep that in mind," Jake said, finishing off his tea in one gulp. Taking that as the conclusion of the conversation, Kitsune stood up and Jake soon followed. "Time for me to face the music. If it's true that Keitaro didn't tell anyone I was coming back, they sure are going to be surprised. Will I be able to see you later on tonight?"
Kitsune nodded. "I'll be up when I close here."
"Alright, see you there, then." Jake picked up his belongings and exited the teahouse. On the way down the stairs, he passed a young man, perhaps a few years younger than him, with light brown hair and brown eyes. He was immaculately dressed in a business suit. "Excuse me," Jake said politely, swinging his bag out of the young man's way. Jake glanced back at him. The man reminded him of someone, but he could not place the feeling. With more important matters to address, Jake turned back around, starting up the looming staircase leading to Hinata Sou.
The young man turned back to look at the American start up the stairs to Hinata Sou, squinting at him slightly before turning back to enter the teashop.
Jake ascended the last of the stairs, coming up heaving air in and out of his lungs. He had gotten incredibly out of shape since the last time he traversed that staircase. He looked around the courtyard of Hinata Sou. The place looked like it had not seen a least bit of maintenance since he left. The shrubs along the wall were growing into each other. The trees had branches growing in complete disarray. The stone floor looked like it could use a good sweep and scrub.
Groaning in protest of the massive amount of outdoor work required, and the probable month's worth of work required inside the building, Jake walked towards the front door. Dropping one of his bags, he reached out to pull the door open, stopping short. He retracted his hand, remembering he had not lived there for months and it was likely no one other than Keitaro knew he was there. He rapped on the door several times with his fist.
On the other side of the door, Naru lowered the newspaper from her eyes, taking off her glasses. "Who could that be?" she asked, Keitaro, who was sitting adjacent to her in the love seat. Keitaro shook his head. He had no idea after all.
The couple heard someone running on the floor above them and Su bounded down the stairs, yelling, "I'll get it!" She ran to the door and opened it just enough to poke an eye out of the portal. "Who's there?"
Jake smiled at the foreigner. "I was just looking at your landscaping here and it looks like it could really use some work. I'd like to speak to your landlord, please."
"Jake," Su screamed, and simultaneously tossed the door open and threw herself at him, nearly knocking him to the ground.
"Jake?" Naru asked, peering at the doorway, then at Keitaro.
Keitaro gasped, slapping himself on the forehead. "I forgot. Again!"
"Forgot what?" Naru asked, her eyes turning to slits.
"To tell you that Jake was coming back to manage the place again. I learned about it a few days ago, but I guess after our phone conversation it just slipped my mind."
"You forgot again?" Naru asked him in disbelief.
"That's what I just said!" Keitaro shrieked.
"Naru stood, slapping Keitaro across the head with her folded up newspaper. "You're incorrigible." She turned towards the door, giggling at the sight of Jake, with ruffled hair, squirming around in a vain attempt to unlatch Su from him.
"Let the man breath, Su-chan," Naru said, tugging Su away from the American.
"But I missed him," Su protested, clutching at his neck even harder. Jake was beginning to go blue in the face.
"You'll miss him more if you kill him!" Naru roared, yanking Su forcefully away from Jake.
"Thanks, Naru," Jake managed between gasps, rubbing his neck. "How about one with a little less force?" Jake opened his arms wide and Naru released Su, and they shared a warm, much less painful hug. "It's good to see you," Jake said to the blond, ruffling her disheveled hair with his hand.
"Same here," Su said, turning and dashing back into the inn.
"She hasn't changed a single bit," Jake noted aloud. He turned his attention to Naru. "Hey, you," he said, giving her a short hug.
"Hope you are doing okay," Naru said politely.
"I'm alright," he reassured her. "Is Keitaro here?"
"Yeah, he's inside," Naru said with a tone of venom Jake recalled being not good for whomever it was directed toward.
Jake picked up his things and dropped them inside the door. Keitaro approached him and started to apologize. He raised his hand to stop him. "I heard from Kitsune, already. I can't believe you forgot again!"
"I know. I'm an idiot. I'm sorry."
"It's alright," Jake said with a smile, slapping Keitaro firmly on the back.
"It's good to have you back," Keitaro said, wincing and shrugging his shoulders.
"It's good to be back," Jake responded, gazing around. "Same room, right?" Keitaro nodded. "Alright, then I'm going to drop my stuff off and have a quick gander. If the inside looks like the outside, I'll have a lot of work to do." Excusing himself, Jake hefted his luggage back over his shoulders and walked up the stairs.
"What a relief," Keitaro said, letting out a huge sigh. "I don't think I could have handled much more of this."
"Don't relax yet," Naru told him. "Other than Kitsune, no one else knows he is here."
"I suppose that's true enough," Keitaro said, rubbing his chin. "But what's the worst that could happen?"
Jake let his bags fall to the ground with several thuds. The room looked just like he left it, although it looked like it could use a quick dusting. Taking a deep breath, Jake exhaled, letting his lips rasp. Before walking out, he opened a window and left the door to his room open to let some fresh air in. Dust bunnies littered the hallway floors on each of the floors. The lacquered shine he remembered appeared to be long since gone. There was also more than one Keitaro-shaped hole in the walls, and several of the windows required replacement.
After several hours, a familiar rumbling in his stomach told Jake his physical inventory of the building would need to be put on hold for the time being. He detoured downstairs to the kitchen. Naru and Keitaro were nowhere to be found. Jake surmised they had left for their midday classes. Su had taken off for school soon after he arrived. How she managed to get to school within 5 minutes was a complete mystery to him.
Jake crafted a simple sandwich, poured a glass of milk, and sat at the table to eat. The silence was broken only by the sound of crunching roughage in Jake's mouth, the trees rustling in the breeze and birds chirping. Jake had a hard time deciding whether the stillness in the air was peaceful or disquieting. If his previous experience at Hinata Sou had taught him anything, it was to be wary of times like these.
Jake had consumed half of his sandwich when the door to the foyer swung open without warning. Jake nearly leapt out of his chair, but remained where he was when he saw Motoko step through the portal. Her long locks were tied back in a single ponytail, and she was still wearing her pajamas: an oversized tee and cotton shorts. Jake had never seen the kendo artist with such a casual appearance before, and he could not get over how cute she looked.
Motoko would have noticed Jake right away had she not had her face buried in yet another textbook. She padded across the floor to the kitchen, murmuring to herself. Jake sat in silence, bemused by Motoko being oblivious to anything around her. Whatever she was reading had her absolutely entranced. Jake chuckled lightly when Motoko exited into the kitchen. She came back in a moment later, carrying a can of juice, walked right past the table occupied by Jake again, and left the way she came in.
Feeling no need to interrupt her studies, as well as fearing her reaction if he suddenly announced his presence, Jake remained still and quiet, listening intently. He heard footsteps going up the stairs. Shaking his head, he took another bite out of his sandwich.
When he finished his meal, he heard the front door slide open and Shinobu's muffled voice announcing she was home. Jake listened as the girl ran across the floor on the other side of the wall and up the stairs. He wondered idly how long he could sit there before being noticed.
It was not long. Another moment later, Mutsumi pushed the door to the dining room open, randomly humming a tune. She walked across the room while Jake watched her, sitting still as stone. Suddenly, Mutsumi glanced out of the corner of her eyes in Jake's direction and looked away just as quickly. She took two more steps before stopping. She turned her head, and Jake waved hello at her.
Mutsumi shrieked at the top of her lungs. Her outburst surprised Jake, and he yelped too. Having blown out her air supply, Mutsumi's eyes rolled back into her head and she swooned, landing on the floor with a thud. Gasping, Jake flew out of his seat and was at her side immediately.
The common room door swung open with a heavy crash, and Motoko stepped through the portal with her sword drawn. Noticing movement on the far side of the table, she saw a strange man who was not Keitaro kneeling over Mutsumi's prone body. Shouting a battle cry, she leapt over the table, slicing her blade at the intruder. Her blade sunk into the floor as the intruder rolled away at the last possible second.
Before she could draw her weapon out of the wood floor, Jake belted out, "Stop, Motoko! It's me!" He gently lowered Mutsumi's unconscious body onto a chair and lifted his hands out in front of him.
Motoko's murderous expression softened when she looked the supposed intruder in the face. "Jake?" she asked, pulling her weapon from the floor.
"Yes, I'm Jake," he said, sighing in relief when Motoko sheathed her sword.
Naru barged into the room, with Shinobu and Su peering over her shoulder. "What the hell is going on in here? I thought I heard someone screaming!"
"Mutsumi saw me and freaked out. I think she got a little too excited and passed out," Jake explained. "I was in the middle of helping her up when Motoko ran in and thought I was some cat-burglar."
"I had no idea it was him," Motoko said defensively. "I heard someone scream, ran down here and saw someone looming over Mutsumi-san." Motoko's eyes found the floor. "I just…reacted. Sorry."
"Jake-san is here?" Shinobu exclaimed, pushing her way past Su and Naru.
"Yup! He showed up early this morning, before I left for school," Su clarified.
"And you didn't tell me?" Shinobu asked, incredulous.
"Sorry, I forgot," Su laughed.
"Seems to me forgetfulness is epidemic around here," Jake noted. "But yes, I'm back. If everyone wants to have a seat," he motioned to the chairs around the table, "I'll explain more."
Mutsumi stirred in her chair, lifting her head from the table. "Ara, ara. What a wonderful dream I just had. Jake was here, and I was so happy. Oh, why did I have to wake up?" She rubbed her eyes, and when they refocused, she saw Jake standing right next to her.
"Good morning," Jake greeted the anemic woman.
"Ah, I must still be dreaming then," Mutsumi said melodically, clapping her hands. She stood with uncharacteristic agility and threw her arms around the stunned American. He glanced around at everyone, giving them the universal facial expression signifying a call for help, but they just stared at the situation unfolding before them.
"This feels so real," Mutsumi giggled, snuggling against Jake's chest. "You smell so good, and," her voice trailed off. She pulled away from Jake slowly. "I'm not dreaming, am I?" she asked him.
Jake shook his head. She giggled nervously and bopped herself on the head in her uniquely characteristic fashion. "Well, that was a little embarrassing. Do you suppose I might have said too much?"
"Just a little," Naru said sarcastically, rubbing her forehead.
After getting situated, the group held a meeting over dinner to discuss the future of Hinata Sou. Keitaro informed everyone Jake would be taking over managing the dorm again. This time there were no complaints. In fact, it appeared everyone was more than happy to have Keitaro out of the position, not because he was incompetent, but because his life was currently far too hectic to manage the dormitory on top of everything else going on in his life. After some frank discussion, Jake agreed to front the money for essential repairs and pending remodeling projects, which would be reimbursed through the proceeds from the rent.
"This is still only a temporary thing, everyone," Jake informed them. "I plan on trying out again next year, and this time I don't plan on failing. However, whether I make it or not, I will be leaving this place for good. Besides, Keitaro will be caught up with school by then." Heads nodded around him. "That being said, I really missed you guys. I'm really glad to be back." He smiled weakly at them.
Jake opened up the discussion for questions, and it was near midnight when the questions finally stopped, and the meeting was adjourned. He was left alone in the dining room, jotting some notes onto a piece of scrap-paper when he realized that Kitsune never showed as promised. Although it was certainly out of character for her to not grace Hinata Sou with her presence, he was quite certain she had her reasons. He just had no idea what those reasons were. A huge, languorous yawn escaped past Jake's lips, and he decided against any further internal inquiry.
Setting his pencil behind his ear and folding the paper on the table, Jake kicked himself away from the table and meandered to his room. He threw open the door and turned on the light, illuminating the bare-bones room. "Home, sweet home," he said with a deep sigh, and placed the paper and pencil on the table tucked in the corner. He kicked his sandals towards the door and unrolled the dusty futon in the middle of the room.
He turned to close the curtains, but the view from his window made him take pause. The moon was full, and it's pale light cast a million specks of light across the distant sea. He gazed upon the sight for a while, and he silently wished he had someone to share his view with.
Clicking the light off, Jake slid down onto the short futon, his ankles once again hanging outside the comforter and over the end of the mattress. "I swear, the first thing I am buying is a new bed," he vowed before turning onto his side and pulling his legs closer to his chest.
On the second floor of the Hinata Teahouse, Kitsune stood in front of her bedroom window, staring up at Hinata Sou, which was dimly illuminated by the full moon. The silhouette she had been watching moved away, and the final light on at Hinata Sou finally went out. A smile crept slowly across her face as she fingered the end of her robe.
"Are you coming to bed, or is whatever you are looking at out there more interesting?" A male voice asked from behind her.
Kitsune pulled the drapes closed and joined the man lying in her bed. "You are so impatient. Don't you know good things come to those who wait, Kentaro-kun?" The two locked lips, and their ensuing throes of passion lasted well into the early morning.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading and reviewing, everyone. The story is about to get into high gear now, if you failed to notice by the tone of this chapter. Look forward to more after the next chapter of Hajime no Keitaro is completed.