The Other Me

Chapter Twelve: Her Decision

By: Sci-Fi Raptor

Disclaimer: See Chapter Four

One clarification that may help people a little; whenever I imagine Sakura, I imagine Leena from Zoids.

This chapter borrows a scene from chapter two (you can find it in The Straw That Broke The Pervert's Back), so it may be worthwhile to read it again to compare it to what happens this chapter. (that chapter is relatively short too…)

A few notes at the end of the chapter to explain a few things. Feel free to ignore them.

(-O-)

Taisho still could not believe that he had lost. How could he have actually lost to that fatso Kenshin? And what made it even harder to believe was that the person that had won the race was this short little freshman that hung out with that loser, Yuri. Taisho just could not let it stand like that.

I can't challenge him for a rematch, though, he thought. That would only prove that he's a worthy racer and that that night wasn't a fluke.

That was the only conclusion Taisho could come up with after a week of losing sleep to the loss. It had gotten to the point where he started dosing off while trying to finish modeling the map he would need for the high performance engine that he was making for his senior project, and he couldn't afford nodding off now because his deadlines were getting closer and closer. He'd been known for his solid work all throughout his life, even though he also lived life on the edge. He was not going to let a defeat (no, fluke) by some freshman ruin his chances at getting into that spot he had curried the favor of the Mitsubishi recruiter for the high performance department. The only way to cream him and get rid of this impasse is to beat him at something else, something he doesn't stand a chance in against me.

What that something would be, he had to figure out, and figure out fast. He had given his bane a letter in which he had politely asked him to meet with him when the last class of the day was over for him. Keitaro had never replied to it, but Taisho went to meet with him anyway. It make me look like I'm begging him for it, he grimaced in afterthought. But it doesn't matter. If I don't get out of this funk, and soon, I won't be able to make my deadline.

He anxiously waited by the lecture hall's entrance while students passed by, until Keitaro stepped out. Taisho walked next to Keitaro and turned on the charm.

"So, Keitaro. I hope you received my letter?"

"Yeah," Keitaro said, not really paying him any attention. It was apparent he was making a beeline for the freshman parking lot.

All the better, Taisho thought. Then no one important will see this. Taisho did his best to word what he was about to say carefully.

"I was hoping you'd wanna play some pool later today," Taisho said, trying his best not to sound like he was pleading to him.

"Not really," Keitaro said, his face getting colder, as if he was thinking of something horrible. "I need to go to the hospital today."

"Hospital?" Taisho said in surprise. Not good… he thought in alarm. I can't let this sit and wait.

"Why don't you suck my dick?" Keitaro said, glaring daggers at him. That made Taisho stop, his face twisting with anger. "You lost, so what? I don't give a crap. You want your dick back, right? Well, not interested. There's nothing in it for me. So if you'll excuse me," he said, not really waiting to be excused, "I have a hospital to get to."

The arrogance of this little shit! Taisho thought, nostrils flaring. He grabbed onto the puny freshman's arm, holding him still so he could give him a piece of his mind.

"What the hell," Keitaro said while being forced to turn back to look at him.

"Who the hell do you think you are, you little shit?" Taisho said. He shoved Keitaro hard enough to knock him down onto his ass. "Just cause you beat me once, you think you're all that?"

"You know what?" Keitaro said in a severely annoyed tone. "Fuck you. If you want your dick back so bad, why don't you race me to the hospital?"

"Fine," said Taisho, realizing he was validating this nothing's existence as a racer by having a rematch. But you know what? Fuck it. My rep will be useless in a few months anyway.

"But if you lose," Keitaro said with a steely glare, "you're my bitch."

That took Taisho by surprise and he did his best to get rid of the look of horror on his face. Calm down. It's not gonna be that bad. You're a better driver, you're gonna win this.

"Whatever," Taisho said a moment later, waving it off like it was nothing. He moved to leave the freshman parking lot so he could get to his car.

"Meet me at the school entrance. We go when the light hits green," Keitaro declared, sounding like every second he was delayed was that much more of an inconvenience.

Minutes later, Taisho was at the prescribed starting point. Not surprisingly, his fan base had gotten wind of the race and was there to cheer him on. It took balls to race during the day, no matter how experienced you were. There were also other cars parked on the sides, ready to tail them and monitor the race in real time and if need be, keep the cops away from them.

The only surprise was Keitaro and his car. He didn't look nervous at all; as if he was just getting ready for a normal drive to the hospital, though there was a glint of… something in his eye. His choice of car had taken a complete 180. Gone was the muscle of his RX-8, replaced by the grace and agility of a Lotus Elise. The car had a stock engine of only 190hp, but was so light and aerodynamic, it could go from 0-60mph in less than five seconds. And since it was so light, it would corner better than him since his Civic's tires had more mass to shove on a turn than Keitaro's Elise would. And what's worse is the crazy crap that can happen to it after it has some after-market gear installed, Taisho thought worriedly. Keitaro didn't change the appearance of his car in any way, but Taisho could tell that his engine didn't purr like a normal 190hp engine would.

The light for the road perpendicular to their road was changing signals, so Taisho started burning out. To his annoyance, he found that Keitaro had beaten him to the punch. Seconds later, both of them rocketed part the intersection, Keitaro narrowly missing a car that ran the red light. To Taisho's pleasure, he was in the lead, but the Elise suddenly pulled up and shot past him. Taisho wasn't brash enough to try and catch up. This was city racing, and you can't keep your speed up at all times.

There weren't any checkpoints for the race, hence the necessity of the trailers, so the two didn't necessarily have to follow the same path. Taisho decided to take the expressway. Though it was longer, he could travel at a high rate of speed to make up for the distance. Besides, there was much less thinking involved this way, and gave him more time on concentrating on how to beat Keitaro to the finish. He expected Keitaro to come to the same conclusion, but the amateur decided to take the shorter route.

Fool. If you stay in the city, you constantly have to stop. You're making this too easy, Taisho thought. But that was Keitaro's choice and going on the expressway was Taisho's. He got on the expressway a few moments later and accelerated to 220mph, leaving the less skilled trailers in his dust. Within minutes of weaving through traffic like silk gliding down air, he slowed down and took the exit that led to the hospital. He would have to go through a mile of suburbia before he was sure he had enough of a lead to not have to worry about losing.

Still no signs of a racer being here yet… Taisho thought to himself after not seeing and black streaks on the road ahead of him. He's probably stuck in some traffic jam.

As if it were judgment day, Keitaro's Elise literally fell from the sky right next to Taisho, causing him to swerve in surprise. The Elise bounced on its shocks once or twice to dissipate the falling energy. There was mud all over the bottom and grass was all over his front bumper. There were scratches all over his side and he could swear that there was paint whipping up into the wind from the back. And all this he noticed from a cursory glance.

Taisho grinned. He remembered when he was young and pulled off the same stunt, though he wasn't sure if Keitaro used the same ramp he did to land next to his opponent. Crashing into an elephant (he was still dumbfounded as to how an elephant was strolling around in the streets of Japan…) had remedied such headstrongness, however.

TRUCK! his mind screamed. Taisho looked ahead and sure enough, there was a tractor-trailer going past the intersection ahead.

If I'm fast enough… I can just make it through the bottom of the trailer, Taisho thought. He wondered what Keitaro was thinking. Mere seconds before they reached the intersection, they both braked, hard.

Nobody's stupid enough to do that. Taisho sighed in relief; partly because Keitaro wasn't stupid enough to be road kill.

The truck would clear Taisho's side of the road first, so he had the advantage. They both burned out and Taisho bolted first. He advantage would have been short lived if he didn't swerve to the right onto the sidewalk at the last second because of oncoming traffic. (he was on the right side of a two-lane road) By the time he got back to the road, Keitaro had already pulled up, pushing his lead. They would have to make a right turn soon, so the only way to win would be if Taisho could force Keitaro on the outside of the turn.

He suddenly remembered that there would be people watching at the last few turns, since the trailers were long gone by now. Taisho grinned for the second time this race. He thought of something that he had seen one of his rivals do, back in the day, which would assure him victory. He pulled up to Keitaro, but slowed down so that Keitaro was ahead, but not by enough so that he could take the inside. As they reached the turn, Keitaro braked, as expected, but Taisho accelerated. Because of the sudden changes in speed, Taisho inevitably slammed into Keitaro, causing them to slide outside even more. For a split second, Taisho thought that that the chance he had taken was coming back to kick him in the ass, but there was the idiot he was expecting, his mouth opening like he was about to scream while the people around his car dived away at the last second. Keitaro's Elise slammed into the unsuspecting BMW and Taisho tore away, ensured the win. One more right and it was over.

He made the turn in a wide, lazy arc since he knew Keitaro had lost, but just as he was about to cross the finish line where people were cheering at him, Keitaro shot from the side, almost clipping someone in the face. Behind the Elise was a trail of vegetation that slacked him anyhow. Taisho slammed his brakes and stared at the carnage that was caused by the puny Elise. Black streaks smoked where moments ago, Keitaro was supposed to be incapacitated. The streaks made a sharp turn into the display made of foliage that used to decorate the hospital's entrance. The sign that welcomed new customers now had a hole in it in the shape of an Elise. Keitaro had stopped just scant centimeters in front of him. They got out and met each other; Keitaro with a strange grin, Taisho with a stoic face.

"That was an excellent race…" Taisho said as his fan base started piling in. "I haven't seen driving like that in a long time," he continued, trying to ignore the sounds of disbelief behind him. "It was a pleasure to race you." The crowd went silent. Keitaro chose that golden moment when everyone would hear him to say three words.

"Me too, bitch." The crowd leered at him for dissing their leader, but when Taisho wouldn't defend himself and just stare at the ground, some of his fans switched sides. As they went up to congratulate Keitaro, he shrugged them off and went back to his car. He parked near the hospital entrance and went in without another word.

Taisho stood still as a rock, staring at a point on the ground as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Some people tried to cheer him up, but only one thing kept playing in his mind over and over, like one of those old record players skipping at the end of the track.

Bitch

Taisho clenched his as he slammed the door of his car as he went in. The crowd slowly approached it, hoping to see their idol once more, but reeled back as his car honked suddenly. Paying no heed to the pedestrians around him, he angrily went back to Todai.

(O)

I still don't know why I'm here… Keitaro thought as he scratched the back of his hand. Stupid rash is getting annoying. He walked past the receptionist who smiled at him, but her just scowled. He walked like someone with purpose and quickly made his way to the now familiar room.

Keitaro scoffed as he sat next to the trauma victim lying in the bed within. His victim. He knew he should have felt guilty. He should have been spilling his heart, begging the comatose victim for his forgiveness. Even though he didn't really remember this guy or how he'd done him in. Keitaro gave a long, annoyed sigh and scratched behind his hand some more.

"Koishi?" someone said. Keitaro snapped his head up in the direction of the coma patient that should have been a vegetable.

"You're here again, Koishi…" the idiot said, tears in his eyes.

"Yeah, Uuichi…" Keitaro grumbled with familiarity he didn't know he possessed. How the patient knew his new street name was beyond him. How the patient was talking was beyond him. (How he knew the patient's name was beyond him too…) All that he knew was that as long as the Yakuza knew of the movements of Urahara Koishi, as opposed to Urashima Keitaro, all the better. He had decided that he was bored of actively smiting them and they would stop 'harassing' him if he laid low for a while.

"You remembered my name, Master," Uuichi started, "I am sorry for my circumstances, but I will be ready to serve you in the near future."

That got Koishi/Keitaro by surprise. Thinking of nothing better to say, he said, "Just chill," and left the patient to himself. The strange event baffled Keitaro as he made his way back to the Elise he remembered that he had jacked from the strange Yakuza the other day. He was also confused as to why he had met him in the hospital at all. It's not like he knew him or anything. He just felt compelled to go to his room the day after he smacked him up.

"I don't care," Keitaro said, the urge for 'personal time' getting more and more urgent. He drove to the red light district and went into a booth. He came out a few minutes later, looking relieved. He held in his hand a set of sticker photos of him alone. Satisfied, he drove to his new home, Yuri's house.

"Tadaima," Keitaro said wearily and took his shoes off. He walked to the living room, thinking he'd watch some TV, but was delighted to find Yuri with his hands across his chest, a scowl on his face. Keitaro blinked in surprise. He was sure he'd laugh when he saw the dirty picture he had taken of him from the last time they got drunk.

"You have some visitors," Yuri said, motioning to the couch. Keitaro looked and saw a trio of Yakuza sitting there, playing some video game, and laughing jovially. When they realized that Keitaro was in the room, they stood at attention, no even bothering to pause.

"Good evening Master, how may we serve you?" the one in the middle said. He was flanked by a built giant that seemed stoic and a shorter sword carrying one that seemed ready to slash at anything in his way.

Keitaro blinked again. He knew what was going on. The Yakuza must have had some rule that if someone defeated you, you were obligated to serve them. (He didn't know what, but something in the back of his head nipped at him when he thought of that)

"I don't really have orders for you guys. Do whatever you want for now, just as long as you don't bother Yuri too much. Jerk off for all I care," Keitaro said, walking to his room. As he got further away, he chuckled when he heard Yuri shriek, "NOT THERE!"

Keitaro suddenly felt exhausted when he went to his room. That race must have taken a lot more out of me than I thought, Keitaro thought as he collapsed on his bed. He scratched his itchy hand as sleep overcame him, and before he knew it, the darkness surrounded him once more.

(O)

"This is an outrage!" a short old man by the name Reyega said angrily, slamming his fist onto the corporate sized table. Most people would see him as no threat, but had anyone tried to bother the old man, they would soon find out that they were wrong. Dead wrong.

"Drug deals have plummeted and you want to take more dealers and use them as soldiers? That will destroy the fabric of our existence!" he continued in a wheezing voice.

"What can we do?" said a younger, colder and much calmer voice. "That damn Urashima takes our soldiers out one by one, as if they were weeds. It's gotten so bad that our rivals are not even taking advantage of our predicament. And with Akira recruiting our best soldiers left and right, what other choice do we have? The dealers are too scared to go out undefended. They know that everyone that's been attacked by the Urashima is now a vegetable. Furthermore, many people that we collect protection money aren't taking us seriously anymore."

"I've also been hearing some disturbing rumors," a middle aged man with a balding head said. Everyone turned to the usually quiet Lord to pay attention. "My soldiers have told me that a lot of the Yakuza that that cursed Urashima put to rest have been waking up."

The Lords opened their eyes in delights, thinking that their overwhelming shortage of soldiers would be one less headache they'd have to deal with.

"So how is this news disturbing?" said the most elderly Lord in the Council. No one knew his real name, but everyone called him Sensei due to his connections with the schools of martial arts. "This seems like news that we can rejoice to." The other Lords expressed their agreement with solemn nods.

"That wasn't the disturbing part, at least not the most disturbing part," the middle aged man said, holding the attention of the Lords' once again. "My sources tell me that when they wake up, they immediately pledge their loyalty to someone named Koishi Urahara."

The Lords stayed silent, seeing if he had any more grave news. After collecting himself, the middle-aged man dropped the bomb. "Yesterday, Azuka's crew woke up. They did the same in my own house. They escaped before we could interrogate them." He grimaced at the uproar caused by the bad news. They all knew what it meant and none of them were happy with what would happen as a result.

"If Akira finds out…" Reyega said, voicing the unspoken concern. "How will we ensure that she won't go over to Urashima's side? She controls a significant number of out skilled soldiers. If she wanted to, she could take us down! What can we do to ensure our safety if she finds out?"

"She won't," said a sultry voice from the dark. Everyone quieted down at the intrusion. There were few privileged people who exercised their right to sit in on Lord meetings, but it was punishable by pains of death to interrupt. The voice's owner slowly walked up to the table, the click of her heels reverberating off the soundproof walls. The person's identity was finally revealed when she was within close proximity to the table.

"Sakura…" Reyega said simply, as if a curse. Sakura just held her cocky glare and sinuously walked up to the balding middle-aged man in her scanty dress that revealed more than it covered. She wrapped her arms around the man's chest, letting the back of his head rest in her flowering chest in a manner that quickly aroused the Lords.

"Sakura, what are you doing…" her father said nervously while she stroked his scalp. Sakura continued where she had left off, throwing caution to the wind.

"She won't find out because we won't tell her," Sakura said in a definite tone.

"And what about when she visits them at your father's home?" Reyega said icily. Sakura just smiled at him.

"Nothing. I've arranged to have some… replacements take their places. Since Azuka and his crew were covered in bandages almost completely, she won't be able to tell the difference," she answered, a sweet smile plastered on her face. "As long as she focuses on killing Urashima, we should let her be."

"We wouldn't have to let her be, if you didn't tell Akira about Azuka in the first place. And we also wouldn't have to worry about her wanting to supplant us either!" Reyega accused, now standing with a beet red face in exclamation. His aides were quickly by his side and got him to calm down so he wouldn't have a stroke. The Lords stayed silent.

"It was a necessary risk," Sakura returned, shocking the Lords with his insurrection. "She is the only one capable of stopping him; even our best have fallen to his might. Her knowledge of what Urashima did to Azuka will simply enhance her efficiency. I would know." Sakura smiled. Everything was going exactly to script. Just a little more and everything would fall into place.

"Do you mean to say that your wisdom is greater than the Council's?" Sensei said calmly.

Shit… Sakura thought. She hadn't planned on someone catching her on that. She opened her mouth to speak, but Sensei beat her to the punch.

"Sit down before you dishonor your father any further," he said, calmly as ever. Sakura felt her father's back stiffen. Deciding that she had played with a fire she couldn't handle as well as she originally thought, she went back to the shadows without another word. Sensei continued to speak.

"Sakura did have a valid point…" the elder continued. "And only for that, will the Council forget today's transgressions." Reyega was about to protest, but decided that the matter was too small to voice. "My experience with Black Ninja Star magic tells me that there are spells that can be used to further the illusion of Azuka's replacements and keep Akira at bay, and keep her from recognizing him should she ever cross paths with the true Azuka." He looked around and the Lords seemed satisfied with his proposal.

"Speaking of the Black Ninja Stars, I also have a duty to perform on their behalf, since I also preside on their council…"

(O)

Sakura felt like destroying anything in her sight. A whip in hand, she was deciding which of her eunuchs (2) she would beat to a pulp. The Indian one squirms and screams more, but the Irish one is so much bigger… she thought. Making her decision, she started whipping the Irish one, the poison soaked whip making multicolored welts all over his body, the only exceptions being where the restrains held him in place. The Indian still squirmed, unable to stomach the atrocity happening next to him.

After half an hour of bloody torture later, Sakura got bored. She let the Irish eunuch rest for a little bit until she decided to rape him. Over and over. After an hour of that, she called her personal eunuch to clean the blood off of her 'toys'. She also told him to clean up the mess she made and the vomit that covered and was under the Indian. Before she left, however, she decided to brand the Indian where the sun should never shine. His howlings were like music to her ear as she left to go take a bath.

While she soaked, she still didn't feel sated. Her body still wanted something, and even having sex with herself didn't quite itch her scratch. Frustrated, she left the bath without drying off or covering herself and went straight to her closet.

Inside, she found the object of her lust: her Keitaro doll 2.0. She had replaced the crude sex doll with a sex robot (1) that had just come out and programmed it to behave how Keitaro behaved while she spied on him. While having disturbing intercourse, she realized why she wanted his seed so much; everyone that ever talked to her treated her like royalty. Except that bitch Akira.

The robot was made very well and was worth every penny. While she climaxed, to her extreme annoyance and irritation, her personal eunuch came in and informed her that she had a phone call. He knew what would happen to him if he bothered her at a time like now with something unimportant, so it had to be an urgent call. Dismounting, she picked up her phone as he left.

"Moshi, moshi?" she said.

"Hello Sakura-chan. How are you this evening…" said a man with an old voice Sakura easily recognized it to be Sensei's.

"Hello, Sensei. I humbly thank you again for keeping my father's honor intact after my foolish outburst today," Sakura said. She did her best to hide the fact that she hated treating anyone like they were above her.

"It was of no consequence," he said, brushing it aside. "But next time you want to voice your opinions, use the correct channels. I will not always be there to save your ass," he said sharply. Sakura held her breath. This is not the guy to piss off, she thought.

"This isn't a social call," he continued, going straight to business. "I'm here to tell you to stay away from Urashima."

Sakura choked. Was this Reyega's retaliation for her insubordination? And how did they know about her obsession (infatuation she corrected) with Keitaro?

"Why would the Council order me to do such a thing?" Sakura said after she gathered herself. She had to make it sound like Keitaro was just some thug that she happened to hear about on an off chance. It must be one of the eunuchs, she thought and thought how she would punish all of them to root out the rat. They were the only ones who had any idea about her lust.

"This is not an order sanctioned by the Council," he replied, taking her by surprise. This is advice from me. You would be advised to rethink whatever you are plotting to do with him. You do not know what you are getting yourself into."

Sakura blinked for a second. So it wasn't the Council's orders, she thought in relief. But the fact that Sensei had some clue as to her intentions with her Keitaro still irked her.

Click

Before she could say anything back to him, he hung up. She put her phone back into its receiver and did the same with Mecha-Keitaro. She wasn't in the mood after taking that call.

(O)

For once in a long time, Keitaro was finally relaxed. His body was completely submerged under the warm, soothing waters of the hot spring up to his neck. The tension of the last few months slowly dissipated away from his tight muscles as the mineral water rejuvenated his battered body. Another first in a long time, Keitaro gave out a contented sigh. He would have gone on not caring about anything had his mind suddenly become alert to that fact that he was in a hot spring bath.

His body jerked out of the water so that he was now sitting up, attentive to his new surroundings. His eyes went from their normal almond shapes to those of saucers as he realized why his surroundings seemed familiar.

He was in the open-air hot spring bath back in the Hinata-sou.

"Oh goddammit!" Keitaro cursed, landing a balled fist onto the waters surface, causing water to spray everywhere as a result of the dissipation of mechanical energy. He heard a chuckling next to him. He turned to find…

"Me?" Keitaro said, more to himself than the person sitting next to him. The person made an amiable grin.

"No, not you," the stranger said wagging his finger in a negatory fashion. "The Other you."

Keitaro was about to respond to the anomalous reply, but he heard something in the distance. He turned his head to see some people enter the changing room, their outlines visible. He turned back to his companion to warn him of what was to come, but all he saw was steam. Keitaro wondered where he went, when he heard shuffling coming out of the changing room. What he saw was

the goddess of beauty, walking to him as if she had chosen him for some sacred duty. Every step she took radiated her beauty and made him succumb to her charms, as a Siren would snatch a sailor into her web of lust.

Naru, clad in nothing but a towel. She wasn't wearing her glasses, so that could be why she wasn't immediately thundering up to him with a Naru-punch. She was followed in by the younger

raven haired samurai. Every movement she made radiated the power and confidence associated with all Samurai. Her simple ways made her have a natural beauty that was only surpassed by the goddess that she accompanied.

Motoko, who was also clad in only a towel. The two were talking to each other and failed to notice his presence.

"I don't know, it seems like he's been avoiding us," Naru said as she placed a foot in the other end of the spring.

"Maybe he's just stressed from the upcoming exams?" Motoko's voice answered with concern she had never shown openly in front of Keitaro. Before you could say "Ping," the two were inside the pool and were getting dangerously closer to Keitaro.

"Baka, hide before they see you!" someone said from behind him. He stopped short of a yelp and turned to find that it was the person who had disappeared moments ago. Keitaro turned back for a second to see where the girls were and saw he had a few seconds before they would notice him. He turned back to ask the person where to hide, but he had disappeared once again. Keitaro was already about to react as he used to, but suddenly found himself calm.

No, he wouldn't hide. That always made things worse.

Fighting the leaden weights on his feet, he fought his way towards the girls, while his instincts screamed for him to scurry and hide.

"Someone's gonna get hurt," whispered the person who like to disappear a lot. His voice was just next to Keitaro's ear and sounded disappointed, but Keitaro ignored it.

"Hi Naru, Motoko," Keitaro said with cheer he hadn't had in quite some time. The two looked at him in shock, as if they'd been literally caught with their panties down.

"K-Keitaro!" was all Naru could say through the screen of fury within her mind. The fact that he wasn't flying yet showed Keitaro that maybe things wouldn't be as painful as they usually were.

"Urashima!" Motoko said,

cutely, her face flushed.

taken by surprise. She put her arms around herself protectively, as if to shield herself from Keitaro germs. Keitaro moved forward another step, his confidence growing with every second he hadn't become a human projectile. He bowed.

"I'm sorry that I didn't make it clear I was going to be in the bath," he said simply. The girls just looked at him in wonder, but made no aggressive moves towards him. Hoping the situation wouldn't melt down in the next few seconds, Keitaro started walking towards the exit, while saying, "I hope you enjoy your bath," with one of those genuine smiles that hadn't populated his face for some time. He thought that all he had just worked for was about to collapse when Naru suddenly reached forward. Instinctively, his mind prepared himself for the jolt that would send him to another region.

But the punch never came. Instead, Naru's hand was holding onto his arm, cutting off escape. Keitaro was about to beg for forgiveness, something he realized at once that he would have done months ago when this same scenario happened, but Naru didn't wind up any punch.

Instead, she said, "It's alright. You weren't doing anything perverted for once. We'll leave."

Keitaro, along with Motoko, looked at Naru with dumb faces. Neither could believe that she wouldn't send him flying for his atrocity, whatever it might be. But Motoko's features softened when she realized that there wasn't any atrocity; that Keitaro wasn't perpetrating any kind of crime. Naru was looking at her for approval, and she nodded in agreement.

Ready to piss himself, Keitaro just waited for the inevitable punch. But still, it never came. To the contrary, Naru started moving to leave the spring, Motoko in train. Before she entered the changing room, however, she gave him a

cute, heartwarming smile that a wife gives to her love as he is about to go out for the first day of his new job.

smirk that seemed to tell him that he was in her good graces for once in their lives. As Keitaro felt relief from them leaving and him still being on the earth, the water in the springs started to boil. It got so hot that he fainted.

(-)

When Keitaro woke up, he found himself in his futon. He slowly sat up and tool note of his surroundings. He was back in his room as the manager of the Hinata-sou. Sitting on his study seat was his copy.

"Comfortable are we?" he said with something not amicable edging in his voice. Before Keitaro could respond, he heard a large crash nearby. When he turned to look at his study, his seat was empty, as the person he saw sitting there was just a figment of his imagination. His door suddenly opened and revealed Motoko, her katana quivering dangerously in one hand.

"You shall die today for your transgressions!" she accused, being the only warning Keitaro had before she lashed out. Normally, Keitaro would have ran like hell, only to be beaten to a pulp later, so he decided to try something different.

"Motoko," he said carefully, trying to reason with her. "What happened?"

Why do you hurt me?

"You have no excuses!" she declared and let fly one of her demonic attacks. Keitaro tried to block the attack, but found that his newfound powers were gone. He was hit full force with the ki attack and sent upstairs to Naru's room.

He lay sprawled over her floor, trying to recover from his daze. Immediately, he got to his feet and said, "Naru! Motoko's gone crazy! Talk some sense into her!"

I don't want her to hurt me anymore. Protect me!

He was answered by a kick to the loins. He looked up to find a red-faced Naru wearing only undergarments. And she was winding up for bear.

"You stupid," Punch

"Short," Punch

"Good for nothing," Punch

"Waste of man," Punch

"Piece of trash!" Kick

"You're so weak that you can't even protect yourself!" Punch

"You're so shameless that you ask a girl!" Punch

"You're so useless, I never want to see your face again!" Slash! Motoko had joined in on the fray. And so, Keitaro retreated into himself as his body was flung around like a rag doll, making new doors throughout the Inn. By the time they were done with him, he could barely open his eyes. With how much he could open them, he saw Naru towering over him with a look that could kill. She spat at him in disgust and stormed away. Motoko had those eyes… those blood chilling eyes that her sister had. She stared at him for a few moments before giving him a final kick in the chest and storming off with Naru. Keitaro crumpled into a fetal position after the last assault and cried blood as he waited for his body to pick itself up again.

Why do they hurt me?

Why do they hate me?

You're worthless… a voice rung in his head. You stupid ronin piece of shit!

What did I ever do to deserve this?

All I ever wanted was to be accepted… to be loved.

Who would want to love a sack of garbage like you? the voice said more angrily.

Why do they hurt me?

Why do they hate me?

By now, Keitaro had recovered enough so that he could move. He fought to get back to his room and collapsed on his futon. He lay there for what seemed to be ages and heard some shuffling.

No more! he begged in his mind. He craned his head to where the noise came from, even though he knew he would regret it. But to his surprise, there was his copy, sitting on his study chair once again.

"Keitaro… they hurt you. They hate you. They will never accept you…" it said gravely.

"Never?" Keitaro said with a cracked voice.

"No."

"Will anyone love me?" he said after a while.

"No."

Keitaro started crying. He cried so hard he was crying blood. He felt someone touch his shoulder. He looked up to find his copy sitting next to him. Keitaro instinctively grabbed onto him and cried harder then he knew he could. After a while, he calmed down. After much thought, he finally said, "Will you love me?" hoping that he would respond well.

The copy looked straight at him and smiled warmly. "Yes, Keitaro. I will love you. If only you will receive me…"

Hesitantly, Keitaro finally agreed, nodding subtly. The copy broke out into a grin. Thank you, Keitaro. I will do my best to love you. But then he disappeared.

Keitaro was alone. All by himself, he felt like he was already dead.

"Me? Where are you? Don't leave me alone… I don't want to be alone…"

"Don't worry, Keitaro, I'm still with you," his voice said, though he was nowhere to be found. For some reason, everything started to look blurry. "I have a present for you Keitaro. I know that you want to be with someone. Please take accept my gift, and love it in my place."

With that, Keitaro's world blurred into a kaleidoscope of color until it finally settled down.

Into his bedroom at Yuri's house. Keitaro got up, realizing he had been dreaming.

But it felt so real…

Keitaro sat up on his bed and rubbed his eyes. The last thing that that copy of himself in his dream said was still replaying in his mind. Feeling a bit foolish, he started searching his room for his gift. After a few minutes of searching, he gave up and laughed at himself for being a baka.

But he heard a sniffle.

Keitaro listened for the sniffle and found that it came from his closet. He walked up to it slowly, ready to fight if necessary. He jerked the door open and pulled the person hiding inside out.

It was a small Chinese girl not that much older than Shinobu with a bow tied around her wrists and ankles. Keitaro stumbled back in surprise. What was she doing in his room?

In shaky Japanese, she said something that chilled him to be bone: "P-please be gentle."

(O)

Mutsumi clicked her tongue on her teeth. Today's test was harder than usual, but it wasn't anything that a little hard thinking wouldn't solve. Three hours later, she and the rest of her class handed in their tests as the left the lecture hall. The semester was coming to a close, and everyone was getting ready to the holidays. She connected with her normal group of upper-classmen posse and proceeded to go out for lunch before going home. On her way out, she spotted Naru and waved to her in salutation. Naru waved back and proceeded on her beeline to the Hinata-sou. Mutsumi's face adorned a rare frown on it. Ever since that day she had gone out with Kentaro, Naru became as recluse as her high school years, and Mitsune had explained to her recently.

Everyone knew that Naru had had feelings for Keitaro, and from what she had heard from Kentaro from that night, Keitaro had flatly rejected her, after all these years of chasing her. Mutsumi gathered that one reason that Naru had never been true to her heart was that she was always afraid of rejection, and that if she opened up, she would be badly hurt.

A lot good that did… Mutsumi thought sarcastically. By choosing to keep Keitaro at a distance, she had ended up hurting herself a lot more than she could have imagined. Mutsumi knew that Naru was paying for that now. It wasn't all that uncommon for her to hear Naru cry herself to sleep whenever Mutsumi went to the bathroom at night. Her sister had stopped by a few times to take care of her, and that usually made Naru feel a bit better. But it was inevitable that she would go back to her stupor. The two presided in the same school and they would cross paths every now and then. Whenever Naru saw Keitaro, she would freeze up or hide. Whenever Keitaro saw Naru, he would just ignore her and walk away coldly.

Neither knew as much, but they hurt each other deeply whenever they met.

Kei-kun… Mutsumi thought affectingly. What had happened to her Kei-kun? Her memories were slowly coming back to her and she remembered the sweet little boy that played with her and nursed Na-chan back to health when she was sick. The Keitaro she had gotten to know so fondly from back in Okinawa wasn't much different. His babyish face and childlike grin always melted her heart. He was always so nice to her and helped her whenever she fainted. She had gotten very cozy with Naru and him up till the exams.

Everything went horribly wrong.

From what her friends told her, Keitaro was running with a rough crowd. He actually had a reputation on the street for being a cold merciless bully; nothing like the Kei-kun that she fondly remembered. She couldn't understand why he turned out the way he did. Sure, the girls teased him every now and then, but he was loved. Didn't he know that?

Mutsumi had remembered about Keitaro's promise girl. Wasn't it ironic that it was none other than Naru, the girl he had chased after ever since he became a part of the girls' lives? The girl that lover him, but was too afraid to admit it to him or herself and ended up driving him away from her. Mutsumi could tell them about what she knew, but she knew it would cause more harm than good. Naru would be heartbroken to discover the truth, that he would have accepted her in the end, no matter her failings. Keitaro would be a bit upset, but he would probably call her a liar.

Mutsumi sighed. The Hinata-sou wasn't as lively as it was back when everything was perfect. Shinobu's grades had slipped down the slippery slopes of depression. Without Keitaro to tutor her anymore, she simply lost all interest in school. Her cooking had gotten a bit dull, something Su emphasized everyday, to Shinobu's annoyance. She wasn't sure, but maybe Shinobu had finally discovered boys? There was that boy she hung out with a lot, though she had her suspicions that she only did so to fill in the vacuum of Keitaro suddenly leaving her. She was surprised that he didn't visit her at all, since she knew that Keitaro and Shinobu had a thinly disguised sibling-like relationship.

Motoko was the most interesting. After her defeat to and subsequent grilling by Keitaro so long ago, she had given up all of the femininity she had cozied up to and went back to her strict Samurai lifestyle. She had gotten colder and all of her movements held an air of purpose, not the way she had changed after Keitaro had become part of her life. And from the way she trained, even Mutsumi could tell that she had gotten tremendously stronger since then.

Su and Sarah were largely unaffected, though Su was forced to play with Sarah only now, since Motoko would no longer tolerate her presence. Strangely, they were blossoming into seemingly normal school girls, no more inventions and no more guns. It probably had something to do with how Su's sister ran the joint with an iron fist.

Mitsune seemed the most changed. She was no longer piss drunk all the time, but instead worked with Haruka at her shop and wrote a series of books that were selling quite well. They had both gotten closer since Naru became so antisocial and were very good friends and confidants.

"You coming, Mutsumi?" said one of her friends, bringing her out of her thoughts. She had a worried look on her face.

"Ara, ara, sorry about that," Mutsumi said and moved to join her friends.

(-)

Mutsumi got back to the Hinata-sou at the time she usually did and went to the steps that led to its mansion. She decided to take a detour, however, and stepped into Haruka's shop. Mitsune wasn't at the register, so she assumed that she was off duty at the moment. That was one good thing. She didn't was Mitsune to hear any of this.

"Good evening Mutsumi," Haruka said casually, while Mutsumi hung her coat on the wall. "Anything I can do for you?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something…" she said a bit sadly. The two sat down at a table while Haruka lit up.

"About my nephew?" Haruka said after taking a drag. When Mutsumi nodded, she said, "How is he these days?"

"I wouldn't say well, but he's… found his place I guess…" Haruka didn't say anything, so Mutsumi started talking about what was bothering her. "I remembered something from my childhood. I know who his promise girl is."

"Ah… so you finally figured out it was Naru, ne?" Mutsumi's eyes opened up in surprise.

"You knew? Since when?"

"I've known for some time now…"

"Then why didn't you tell him? Maybe he wouldn't have left us like he did." Haruka took a long drag from the fag she was smoking.

"It wasn't my business," she finally said. "I was hoping Naru would get around to it, not me."

"Oh," Mutsumi said quietly. "But suppose-"

"What's done is done," Haruka said, cutting her off. "I don't think of the what if's. There are just too many of them. The world will go on, even if someone else doesn't," she said, referring to Naru. Mutsumi didn't speak, though the expression on her face said enough. "Look," Haruka said, extinguishing her butt out on a glass ashtray. "I've learned the hard way not to make decisions for people. You may mean well, but things like this tend to blow up in your face."

Mutsumi sighed. She had thought as well too. When Haruka saw that expression on her face, she held Mutsumi's hand and said, "It may be hard to believe, but things always fall into place. Just give him some time and he will probably come around. If I know anything about Keitaro, its that he's not a bad guy, even if he is hanging around with a rough crowd right now." She said the last part with a wrinkle on her nose. The two stood quiet for a while, until Mutsumi stood to get up.

"Thank you for seeing me," Mutsumi said. She wasn't as confused as she was earlier that day with all of her thoughts anymore. As much as it pained her to do it, she would keep quiet about what she had discovered.

"No problem," Haruka said, also getting up. She walked Mutsumi to the door and saw her off. As Mutsumi disappeared into the distance, someone walked up behind Haruka.

"Don't do anything stupid," Haruka said as neutrally as she could.

"Don't worry," Mitsune said from behind her. "Naru will always be my best friend, but this isn't something I'll tell her about, no matter how much she'd want to hear it." The two stood there silently until a customer walked in.

(O)

It was a few hours before sunrise, but someone started to leave the house. Akira suddenly perked up. She had been stalking this house the whole night and the bane of her existence finally showed.

"You sure you ready for this, doll?" said Luciana, her best friend from the States. The two stood invisible as they watched Keitaro lead a small girl with tattered clothes to his car as quietly as he could.

"He's into kids!" Luciana said, disbelievingly. "Okay, he does deserve to die."

"Thank you," Akira said smugly. The two left as quietly as they came and went back to their temporary base of operations.

Soon… Urashima Keitaro… soon I will repay you for the blood on you hands…

(-O-)

(1) These actually exist, though I don't think they are as sophisticated as the one that I use in this chapter. But then again, this is Japan and they're years ahead of us in everything and decades in this particular field. I chanced upon it on Yahoo! news one day. They're supposed to heat up and cool down where a normal person would while in use. I can't believe that some people are so desperate…

(2) A dude without a set of… ehem…

Technical specs of the Lotus Elise from Lotus of America's official website:

Toyota supplied, 4 cylinder, dohc 4 valves per cylinder with variable valve timing and lift
Capacity: 1796 cm3
Bore/Stroke: 82.0 mm / 85.0 mm
Maximum Power: 190 hp (141 kW) 7800 rpm (DIN 70020)
Maximum Torque: 138 lb ft (181 Nm) 6800 rpm (DIN 70020)
Compression Ratio: 11.5:1
0-60 mph: 4.9 sec, 4.7 sec (Sports Pack)
0-100 mph: 13.0 sec
Standing 1/4: circa 13.6 sec
Top speed: 150 mph
0 - 100 mph - 0: circa 17.5 sec
100 mph - 0: circa 85m

Fun fact about Lotus:

TYPE 43 1966 - 1967

Chapman truncated the monocoque chassis, ending Formula 1

it abruptly behind the driver. The engine was BRM H16 2996cc

mounted to the rear bulkhead and the entire BRM 6 speed

rear suspension was mounted to the engine and Stressed Monocoque

transaxle. Other teams declared that the car Weight: 1105 lbs

would fold in half at the first corner. Today

EVERY Formula One, Indy Car and World Endurance

Cup car has a truncated monocoque chassis with

its engine and transaxle carrying the rear

suspension, it is now accepted as the "only"

way to build a fast race car.

Wow, I usually catch mistakes like repeated sentences or paragraphs. Thanks to glazedlookineyes101 for pointing out that horrid mistake (and the minor one as well).

Remember; click the 'Go' button on your way out. (Flames are still understandable and especially welcome if critical)

Cheers: )