Unfortunately, I ran out of time. I will be departing for a tour of the Mid East and Asia tomorrow and wont be back till mid-August. I had planned on submitting the final chapter of TOM and TSTBTPB, but like I said, I ran out of time. Check my profile for story statuses.
The Other Me
Chapter Thirteen: His Decision
By: Sci-Fi Raptor
Beta: replace with preferred alias
Disclaimer: See Chapter Four
Note about last chapter: I've finally gotten close enough to an Elise to touch one (it looks so hot), and I realized that I've made two mistakes about what happened in the race last chapter. The first thing is that the Civic is nearly twice as tall as an Elise. If Taisho had slammed into it at a high rate of speed, he might have either jumped on top of it, or flipped over it, since the Civic is has a much higher ground clearance. That brings me to my next point: the Elise is like an inch off of the ground. If Keitaro had jumped with it, I doubt it would be able to move after it landed…
I've also learned that the Elise drifts well. I think I should have done that a bit last chapter too.
(-O-)
"Happy birthday to you…"
I haven't been so happy in such a long time.
"Happy birthday to you…"
My mom was here. And my dad was here too.
"Happy birthday Shinobu…"
My friends were here. My family was here.
"Happy birthday to you!"
Everyone that I have known and loved was here.
"Are you one?"
Everyone…"Are you two?"
Except…"Are you three?"
The only person I wanted to see.
"She's fourteen!" Su hollered, ruining the song.
"Su!" Sarah yelled and smacked her upside the head.
I've finally turned fourteen.
"Then blow out the candles, Shinomu!" Su insisted.
Would you notice me now if you saw me?"Make a wish," my mom said, putting a hand on my shoulder warmly.
Will you look at me now?"Wish for whatever you want, Shinobu," my dad said, holding my other shoulder. With tears in my eyes, I gave a strong huff.
I want Keitaro-sempai to come back to me…(O)
"P-please… be gentle," the Chinese teen said, looking down at the ground. My chest tightened. My heartbeat rose. My hands trembled. My blood flowed.
I panicked. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed her by the arm
and threw her to my bed. I ripped apart her already torn clothes and went on top of her while she screamed for me to get off. I held her by the wrists as she tried to struggle against me, but I was too strong. The way she squirmed under me got me excited. Her screams and moans only enhanced my pleasure. Before long, I was impaled within her. We were both joined as one, the payment of the rite paid with her virgin blood…
and hurried to the door. Before I took her out with me, I checked to make sure the coast was clear. The house was as empty as a graveyard. I quickly shuffled outside, making a point to hold the girl in a vice-like grip. I checked again to make sure no one was looking and quickly made my way to my new car. I signaled for her to go into the passenger seat and she obeyed without a word. I went into the drivers seat and got the hell out of there.
And I drove.
I drove and drove until there were no more roads.
And I kept on driving. The only thing in my mind was the frantic urge to get as many kilometers away as I could from that place. I didn't know why, but it was a strong feeling. The kind of feeling you get when you are alone in the dark, the hair in the back of your neck rising, minutes before a killer enters your home and kills everyone inside. Imagine that, but so much more.
I came out of my instinct-led autopilot when I started to hear whimpering. I jerked out of my uncontrollable urge to flee and looked to my left. There was the Chinese girl, crying with her head on the tinted passenger window. I fought back to regain control of the car after I unwittingly jerked to the side in surprise. She sat at attention instantly after that. She had stopped whimpering, but there were still tears sliding down her face.
I took a few moments to collect myself. As I started calming down more and more, I parked at the closest parking lot I could find. I took notice of my surroundings. It was still before sunrise. In my mind I chuckled; no matter what happened in my life, I always found myself ending up here. Its like I have some deep affinity for this place. My mind's laugh turned sarcastic.
It was sad how obsessed I had become with Todai. Being there wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I had never been so alone.
"Please don't kill me…" the Chinese girl whispered. Jesus! I had completely forgotten about her, such was the deepness of my thoughts.
"You think," I started, by voice cracking after the thoughts I was having. "You think I'm going to kill you?" I said, looking at her. She moved as far away from me as she could, and said. "Do whatever you want with my body… just please don't kill me." My heart broke. It had shattered to a thousand pieces and was mauled by a sledgehammer. I could feel warm liquid climbing down my cheeks.
What kind of monster had I become?
"W-why do you think I would want to kill you?" I said. Even I could hear the edge of insanity that my voice held.
"Because that's what happens to sex-slaves. You use us, then throw us away," she said, matter-of-factly.
I would never be able to comprehend what this girl had gone through if she could speak about something like that with a straight face.
"You're a sex slave!" I shrieked. I jumped and possibly cracked my skull on the roof. "How the hell did you end up in my closet!"
She stayed quiet. I stood quiet. Neither of us spoke.
I gave up waiting and said, "I'll drop you off at the embassy. They'll send you back to your village or wherever you came from." I started the car again and started to back out of my spot, but the girl screamed No! I slammed the brakes hard, causing me to smack my head on the steering wheel. I felt my forehead and saw blood on my hands.
"Shit!" cursed angrily and put a tissue to my wound. The girl frantically tried to open her door and run away, but it was locked.
"Calm down," I said, trying to sound calm myself. "I wont hurt you."
She stopped squirming, but she maintained her distance. In her eyes, I could see the raw fear; the fear that maybe because I got hurt because of her outburst, I would change my mind about killing her.
And for a split second, I almost did.
After nursing my wounds, I finally said, "Why not the embassy? Don't you have family?"
"No," she said, her voice trembling. She brought her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around her shins protectively; her gaze went to another place, another time. After a while, she whispered, "No father trades his daughter for pigs," barely audible.
We sat together quietly, the only sound being the expectant purring of the Elise's engine.
You crybaby! You have never felt true pain. This girl… this child! She has probably felt more pain in one month than you have in your life!
I kept on yelling at myself. I yelled, screamed and clawed at my mind at all the dumb, foolish mistakes I had made in my life. I cursed myself for all these years in which I had shirked true responsibility for a foolhardy dream that would never come true. I mangled my memories for all the time I had wasted and decided I should live no more.
I was a waste of male…
I was worthless…No one would love a sack of garbage like me…
I deserved to die for my sins.
And this girl was the catalyst that finally made me realize. I suppose should be thankful to her, but I was feeling empty inside all of a sudden. I unlocked the doors. I got out of my seat and walked over to her door. I opened it.
Ba-dump…"Get out," I said dispassionately. A small white cloud escaped my lips; a testament to the fact that winter was approaching.
Ba-dump…"Why?" she said, her ironclad obedience faltered by fear.
Da-bump…"You're free. You're not my problem," I replied flatly. She sat still with shock in her face, as if she didn't believe what I had said.
The rash behind my ear was on fire.
After a while, though, she shook her head.
Unconsciously, I put my hand back to scratch it…"I told you, you're free," I repeated.
But it only made the sensation worse.
"Whether I'm your problem or not," she said, looking older than I felt, "you're all I have in this world." When she wouldn't come out, I just shrugged and went back to my seat. I pulled out of the parking lot again, this time not stopped by a sudden outburst and headed back to the Kangawa prefecture. I pulled into Yurislovak Ivanovich Kenersky's garage and went to my room. I stripped down to my underwear and collapsed on my bed, facing up.
There were no more burning sensations behind my ear now.
I heard a thud next to me. I turned my head and came face to face with the girl. She also stripped down to her panties.
I didn't feel anything.
I turned my head to the other side and saw that her tattered clothes were scattered over the floor like mine. She had had the courtesy to close the door behind her. I turned the light on my study off. It was the only light in my room, but the sun had finally started to rise and was filtering through my curtains. I turned to my side so I would face the edge of the bed.
Moments later, I felt warmth behind me. She was slowly getting closer and closer to me. As I was getting closer and closer to unconsciousness, I heard her whisper, "Hold me."
I turned around to face her. I reached out with my hands and cradled her. I brought her closer and closer to me till her forehead was touching my chest. She shivered at my touch, but said nothing. After a while, I heard whimpers and felt warm moisture on my chest.
Inside, I still felt hollow.
Before sleep took hold of me, I thought, No one touches her. Amazingly, the calmness I felt was like the state of Nirvana and I simply turned off, just like that.
(O)
My name is Yu-Ren Xiao. I am fifteen years old.
I am not a thing. I am not 'just a girl.' I am a living, breathing human being with my own emotions and the ability to think. I was the only born of two business owners in the People's Republic of China. They had a small chain of groceries in their possession in a town that the Japanese Imperialist devils call Manchuria. I had grown up loved. My parents loved me and I had many wonderful friends. Everything changed when I turned thirteen.
The River had flooded. My town flooded with it too. Many had died.
My mother was among them. We were ruined.
I was fourteen when the men came. They promised my father pigs in return for me. My father had always wanted a son, but he never said that to me when my mother was there. After the flood destroyed our farm and my family was destroyed by the death of my mother, my father became bitter. Times were tough. The farm my dad and I had to work on after the flood barely made enough to support my father. The government had all but forgotten us, saying that the technological cities were far more important then we were. That the military had to catch up to the Western Devils. I had gone to school when we had money, but the flood destroyed our school too. The government ignored the fact, but my elderly neighbor taught my friends and I how to read and write Japanese. He was a Japanese devil that had become one of the rare surviving Chinese POW's from some war he wouldn't tell us about. How he survived the political purges is beyond my understanding.
The government never made a new school for us.
My father was all too happy to trade me for a fresh start. I didn't cry when they slaughtered him like a pig after he gave me to them. How ironic.I can still remember how they laughed when he was screaming from the fire that covered his body.
They spirited me to some dirty shanty house that had a kang(1) too small to keep my teeth from chattering during the harsh Chinese winter. I wasn't alone though. The men would come in whenever they desired and touched me. I had horribly memories of that place that I never wanted to relive. I would sooner die. The only good thing that came out of it was that they never deflowered me. When I found out why, I cried myself to sleep every night. When spring came, they herded me and several hundred other children into a cargo container. We crossed the Sea of Japan and hit Japanese soil a few dead bodies later.
After that, we were smuggled across the country, taken to this house and that. After almost a year after being betrayed by my blood father, I was finally auctioned off at the ripe age of fifteen. I was delivered to a Russki's house and stowed away in a closet. I never saw those men since. I hope they died.
After my first few hours with the man whose room I had been stowed away in, I ironically went to bed with him. But he never touched me like those men did. Instead, he held onto me and soothed me while I finally let all the fear, anger, and hate bleed out. By the time I went to sleep, I was no longer afraid of this man, he who had taken me in without asking for anything in return.
For the first time since my mother died, I felt loved.
A dark presence suddenly filled the room. It eyed the little Chinese girl that was cradled protectively in Keitaro's embrace. It started moving towards her, but something wouldn't let it get close. It hissed in displeasure and disappeared to the abyss.
(O)
"Good bye, Shinobu," the few people in her close circle of friends said as they left the Hinata-sou. Her parents had had to leave earlier because they had jobs early in the morning, but they didn't leave without embarrassing her about how much they loved her. Shinobu surveyed the wreckage that was inevitably associated with any party that existed within the walls of the Hinata. Almost everyone of age had gotten drunk, even Su's older sister, so it was a pretty wild time. Right now, Su was sleeping on the floor, her face buried under a pile of banana peels. Kitsune, however much she had reformed herself, was lying on the sofa, piss drunk. Sarah was among the land of the living and was poking at Su. Su's sister was nowhere to be seen. Motoko was starting the cleanup, though her face was slightly red from the few drinks she had. Mutsumi was asleep next to Haruka, who was sleeping on Mitsune's lap. Naru looked a little drunk, but she was helping with the cleanup nevertheless.
The place looked like what it used to look like after one of Keitaro's "accidents." Shinobu felt sad just having it cross her mind. She missed her Sempai so much, though she was slowly getting over him, but all too slowly. Naru came up to her and asked with a warm smile, "So Shinobu-Chan. What did you wish for?"
It was just idle chitchat she wanted to start so that the cleanup would go along faster. But Shinobu looked away and said, "I can't tell you Sempai… it won't come true then…"
By the way she said it, Naru could tell what she meant. Shinobu had made it no secret that she blamed Naru for Keitaro's resignation as manager. Naru frowned as went to talk to Motoko.
Shinobu felt guilty. She knew that Naru all but cried herself to sleep nowadays. No doubt, today wouldn't be any different. She started cleaning with a heavy heart.
(-)
It had been a few days since her birthday. Naru hadn't spoken to her, but she hardly spoke in the first place. Shinobu was heading to her classroom and managed to slip in a few minutes before the bell. After all the classroom pleasantries were done, the teacher said she had an announcement.
"I would like all of you to welcome Ren. She's from China, but she speaks Japanese fairly well. I hope you treat her well, since today is her first day in school."
The teacher was an idiot. She should have just introduced her and let her take a seat. The kids would have gotten suspicious of her heritage because of her name and shaky Japanese, but they probably wouldn't have done anything about it. Now that everyone knew she was Chinese, she was going to have a hard time. With things the way they were going with China, every kid's parents probably instilled some form of discrimination against Chinese people to their children.
She sat all the way in the back and never looked at anyone. She was quiet the whole time too. At lunch, she sat alone and ate quietly. When the girls were mean to her, she would just look down and take it.
She was just like Shinobu before Keitaro came into her life.
After a few weeks, Shinobu approached her during lunch, drawing malicious whispers among her peers. She didn't speak to her when she sat at her table; she just ate. After a few days, her friends joined her. Even though they all talked among themselves, the newcomer never said a word. It took another week before she said anything.
"Do you want this?" she asked Shinobu, holding a Lychee(2) in her hand. The girls had all been talking to each other, but became quieted when she made her proposition. Shinobu's face was covered with a smile from ear to ear.
"You talked!" she said happily and drew her into a hug. Her friends exploded into cheer, drawing attention from the whole cafeteria while the gaijin(3) wondered what the hell was going on within Shinobu's embrace.
(-)
Ren agreed to walk home with Shinobu today. It was a vast improvement on her part since she said something to Shinobu for the first time a few weeks ago. They were both shocked to find that they were on the same train. They were even more shocked to find that Shinobu actually lived in the mansion near Yuri's.
As Ren went to go home, Shinobu waved her goodbye. Ren headed straight for the kitchen. She made what her home economics teacher called giri.(4) They were basically rice balls that she found to be tolerable. Nothing felt right against proper Chinese noodles or fried rice. But then, there was nothing proper about these Japanese devils either. Regardless, she finished her dish of the day before Keitaro got back from school. She set them on his study and started her homework.
He came home sometime later and went straight to his study. He grunted in acknowledgement of the food she had prepared and ate it. They never spoke once. After a while, his head would slam on the desk and he'd get on his feet again. He would close the door behind him as he left their room and go wherever he went with the army of scary looking men that lived here. (The pale-faced Russki that the scary men seemed to take orders from had dragged her some time ago to the Japanese school and enrolled her. She had resisted ever step of the way until he told her in Chinese that her roommate had ordained it.) By the time she would fall asleep, he would come back and sleep on his spot in his bed next to her. Every time she woke up, she would wake up holding onto him. She would get ready to go to school and then repeat everything again.
It was nice, living one day at a time. Even though she didn't like how he never spoke to her since that first day, she had gotten used to it. And she wasn't in want of anything, not like how it used to be. He always left some money in her pocket. By now, she had accumulated a respectable wardrobe and seemed like any other girl to the outside. But within these walls, this room was her safe, though fragile, place that every person needed to have. Sure she had friends at school, but if she had to choose between them, and this man whose name she had yet to discover, she wouldn't have hesitated in the least.
She put on her uniform as quietly as she could, not in the least embarrassed to strip down from her baby blue 'Hello Kitty' pajamas to her birthday suit in front of his sleeping form. Time and time again, she would catch herself staying like that for an extra moment or two, hoping to see him do something else besides grunting, but he just lay there quietly, his chest moving up and down in a steady rhythm. She slipped on her socks before she left the room, but made one longing glance before that. He turned around in his sleep, as if reminding her that she would soon be late for her train. She hurried outside and hooked up with Shinobu.
(O)
My name is Motoko Aoyama. Heir to the Shinmei Ryu School of fighting. Younger sister of Tsuroko Aoyama, the greatest master of our style of fighting ever to live. I lost a duel to a man.
I have made myself pay for it since.
I follow the way of Bushido (5). The only true path to master my family's style of fighting. I had deluded myself into thinking that I could be feminine. I have been enlightened since. Femininity had nothing to do with the abilities of a fighter; my sister is a living testament to that. The only reason I have forsaken ever becoming feminine again is because it reminds me of that arrogant point in my life when I thought that all males were subhuman by their inherent natures. I have amended my views into accepting that there is no difference between a man and a woman, other than the, what I have since learned is called 'genetic,' differences. The only socialization I do now is with my original friends at school. The only people I speak to are those in the kendo club. Outside of school, my life revolves around Bushido.
I no longer tolerate the shenanigans of Kaolla Su. Her older sister, and present Kanrinin (6), has been very useful in expediting her removal from my daily routine. She and Sarah hide in the secret tunnels throughout the Hinata-sou in efforts to keep her sister from completely imposing on their strange and violent lifestyle.
Keitaro's pet turtle, Tama-Chan resides with me now. It doesn't bother me much, and is gone for most of the time after I come back from school, so I tolerate it. I still owe its master that much. Though we hadn't left in the best of terms, he made me discover my weakness- my arrogance, the reason I had lost a duel with him. Since then, I have gotten stronger by at least tenfold. But nothing I've done will be as powerful as his Thousand Needles Attack, even if it did seem like an illusion. Even after all this time, I succumb to phantom pain in the places where his attack had connected, but no remedy that I have tried so far has been able to cure me of it. I know that it would probably be easier to just ask Urashima, but I feel that I would be even more disgraced after what I had done when I lost the duel with him.
At the moment, I am training. If you saw me at any point of the day, I would most likely be training. That is the only reason I am giving you my time. Life has gotten very repetitive and boring.
(-)
Not good enough! Motoko thought as she slashed at the air. It would seem like useless movement, but if you were watching closely enough, you could see her slicing at fallen leaves. With every slash she made, the leaves were cut that much more evenly.
"HA!" she yelled, slashing again. The leaf split into two neat, almost identical halves. She had cut it straight down the central vein.
She still wasn't satisfied. She slashed some more until she felt a presence. She somersaulted backwards, ending the maneuver with her katana at the intruder's neck. Motoko no longer thought of her katana as a sword. It was just a piece of metal. It would dent and dull in its natural state. But at her level, she knew what it really was. I was just a tool to channel her ki. She had recently discovered how to treat it as an extension of herself, instead of an independent entity. Since then, her power grew at a dizzying rate.
Metal clashed on metal. Motoko placed her katana in its sheath and took a step back. She bowed in respect.
"You have gotten much better, little sister," Tsuroko stated.
"Thank you, Aneue," Motoko replied formally. Tsuroko had noticed the drastic change in Motoko's demeanor from the way the slashed in the air, but gave no notice; she had always believed it was Motoko's choice how she would train. If she would conform completely to the ways of Bushido and ignore everything else life had to offer, so be it. So long as she had a clear purpose in life and followed it fully, Tsuroko would not scold her for it.
"I suppose you want to know why I am here?" she asked calmly. She was a bit frustrated they had to act so formal with each other now.
"It is not any of my business," Motoko said neutrally. "But I suppose you will tell me anyhow?" Tsuroko smiled. Even if she did start the true path to become a samurai, she still knew her older sister. She got to business.
"I will reside in the Hinata-sou for a week or so. Our spies within the Black Ninja Stars have reported strange movements towards this area. We were surprised to find that they were under the indirect sponsorship of the remnants of the Yakuza. Me and some of the others will monitor their activities. We have mobilized all but our Council to come down and see what they're up to. Another reason that I have come here is to investigate the presence of an unknown type of demon. The Council thinks that the two may be related, since the report of the demon originated from a Black Ninja Star operative that had a mission somewhere in this region."
"Do you want me to help in the search?" Motoko asked.
"No, you should continue your training. This is none of your concern."
"Thank you, Aneue," Motoko said, largely uninterested. Tsuroko took the thinly veiled dismissal and formally dismissed her younger sister. She went out in search for answers while Motoko continued slashing; as if her sister hadn't spoken to her at all. It chilled Tsuroko how Motoko hardly reacted to her presence. She didn't even hug her!
(O)
Shinobu had gotten nosier and nosier. She kept on asking Ren (they had nicknamed her Rin, since it was a Japanese name that sounded very similar to her own) about personal stuff that she really didn't want to talk about, but she somehow managed. She reminded her of Ren's childhood friend, Anna Leung, a girl who had moved to her village from Hong Kong. She was part of the bourgeois class (even though China was supposed to have banished such class distinctions long ago) and had a habit of trying to match her friends with boys to marry, much like a bourgeoisie mother would try to match her daughters up with privileged men. During lunch, they were gossiping over who liked who, and the question came to Ren.
"So Rin, is there anyone you like?" one of the girls asked.
"No," she replied automatically, her almond shaped slits giving away nothing. But there wasn't anything to give; she hated all the boys in this school.
"It doesn't have to be someone from here…" another girl said. Ren opened her mouth again to say no, but nothing left her lips. Before she could cover herself up, all the girls giggled.
"You do like someone!" the same girl accused.
"Who is it?" Shinobu said, her eyes sparkling. Ren knew that Shinobu had this unrealistic image of Ren being this girl that would jump into a man's arms and ride off into a romantic sunset. Ren knew better. After all she had been through, she better have known better.
Ren was about to deny the truth, but said instead said, "He's the kindest person I have ever met." Ren sounded distant, and scolded herself when she realized that she was having one of those ridiculous fantasies about riding off into the sunset in her protector's arms. She blushed as the fantasy reached its climax.
"Rin looks like Shinobu when she's thinking about that four eyed dork!" the first girl teased.
"Hey!" Shinobu instantly retorted. "Keitaro-sempai isn't a dork!"
"But he's short and he failed the test for Todai three times," the girl countered.
"But he made it in the fourth time," Shinobu insisted. The two girls stared each other down until they did something that Ren wouldn't have imagined: they broke down into an infectious giggle that had the whole table giggling.
The first girl to speak was the first to stop giggling. She had a brilliant idea that she verbalized when everyone calmed down. "Hey," she started, "Why don't we all go to Shinobu's house and fix Rin up like we fixed Shinobu? Maybe it'll impress this mysterious man she wont tell us about?" The other girls nodded in agreement.
Ren thought, What the hell does fix mean? in alarm. She had seen enough animals get 'fixed' to make her wary. Shinobu was also wary, but for a different reason.
I wonder if Naru-sempai is still upset with me? I hope she lets us use her make-up again. Naru had been all but happy to let her silly friends make a clown out of her that Keitaro ended up laughing at (and subsequently flying off into LEO after making her cry), and she had unbelievable talent in the art. Shinobu hoped that she still wouldn't be upset with her. Otherwise, they would have to ask Motoko's older sister Tsuroko, but she was a little extreme…
(-)
After getting permission from their parents, Shinobu's friends, Shinobu and Ren made their way to Shinobu's room. After giving everyone her famous snacks, they went up to Naru's room to see if she would cooperate.
Maybe she won't be able to say no after she sees how badly we need her? Shinobu thought as she rapped on her screen door.
"Come in," a resigned voice said. Shinobu slowly opened the door. She was shocked to see what she found though: Naru's room was clean! Of all the years that Shinobu had been maintaining the Hinata-sou, this was a first.
"Sempai, we were wondering if you would help make-up my friend from school?" Shinobu asked meekly. Naru looked away from her study materials and scanned the group. When she registered the new face, she gave a small tired smile and said, "Sure. I needed a break anyway."
The girls let out the breath they had been holding (They were informed of Naru's demeanor when they were snacking) and piled in. They sat scattered about the room while Naru brought her stuff out. As she rummaged to her things, Shinobu took notice of how haggard she looked. Her eyes were puffy and she actually had wrinkles about her face. The room was dark when they came in, but Naru opened the shades to reveal how depressing her room really was. It just didn't seem the same without the mess. Shinobu felt a wave of guilt wash over her as she remembered how mean she had been to Naru by deliberately hurting her.
Naru put the kit on the floor and said in creepy voice, "And who's today's victim?" she pretended no to know it was Ren. Ren had a disturbed look on her face and eyed the kit warily. She couldn't see inside of it, but it looked like she thought that it contained knives, hammers and syringes. The girls slowly prodded her forward and Naru got to work. The other girls took stuff out of the box-o-evil and added their own 'enhancements.'
Shinobu was styling one of Ren's fingernails and decided to take a break. She was putting a lot of work and detail into it and her eyes got tired from the strain. She scooted back so that the girl next to her had easier access to the nail she was working on herself. Shinobu closed her eyes for a few moments. When she opened them, she saw Naru sitting behind Ren, who looked like she was being mobbed, doing her hair. Much of the wrinkles had magically disappeared, and she was humming something to herself as she worked her magic, a small smile adorning her face.
She looked every bit the big sister Shinobu had always thought of her as. Smiling to herself, she scooted back into position and started where she left off.
After such a long time, things seemed to settle into a small microcosm of normalcy.
(-)
Ren felt like a fool. She felt like one of those bourgeoisie women whom she had heard stories of that were painted and displayed as if they were ornaments. And it frustrated her how true the notion probably was. She wasn't used to make-up, gossiping and soft things like this. She was a well-oiled machine, ready to bolt out of anywhere whenever she felt something was amiss.
And boy, did things feel amiss right about now. When the mob had finished their pillage, she looked at herself in the mirror. If it weren't her, she would have been laughing…
Actually, her hair was done well, but she thought that maybe they had put too much of whatever they used on her face. It was so shiny and not the proper pasty yellow it normally was. She liked her fingernails. They had sanded them down into cute little ovals and painted pictures on them with remarkable detail. They also gave her what they called a Kimono (7) supplied by Shinobu. It was hard not to feel overwhelmed by the (girlyness). They bid farewell to the older tenant named Naru and went back to Shinobu's room where they played some ridiculous game where Ren was a helpless princess captured by some villain and Shinobu was her prince charming…
As all the girls waved goodbye, Ren started to disrobe from the uncomfortable Kimono she had been forced to wear. Shinobu, however, stopped her and convinced her that she should at least take it home and show it off to the guy that she liked. Ren had no choice, since Shinobu hid her street clothes as blackmail. Ren walked back home after the tiring day and made her way to her room. She sat down in Keitaro's seat and realized that he hadn't come home yet. Worried a little, she went to the kitchen to make something for him while she tried to bide the time. She had already finished her homework with her friends (something that sounded strange coming from her lips after all this time) and really had nothing better to do.
Keitaro arrived not long after she set the dish on his table and sat on the bed. When he opened the door, he greeted her with a "Tadaima," to which she responded with its complement. He took notice of the abnormality and came to notice her apparel.
Maybe he'll do something else besides grunt for once? Ren thought, making the best of the situation. To her infinite pleasure, he did.
"You look nice," he said, the first words he had said directly to her in weeks. She didn't really care that there was an edge of amusement to the appraisal; her face lit up and she was holding him in an embrace before her mind caught up to her body.
"Arigato…" she said quietly, trying to make the moment last as long as she could. They stood there silently for a while, until Keitaro stirred.
"Would you like to go to the park?" he asked warily. She let go of him, warranting a confused look on his part.
"Really?" she said with uncontained eagerness, her wide eyes scanning his face to make sure that it was he who made the proposal.
"Sure," he said.
"But the fish will go to waste," she thought out loud. She snapped her hands to her mouth in an instant and looked at him to see what he would say.
He had a small grin on his face and said, "I'll leave it in the fridge and eat it later." Glad that he wasn't going to cancel the trip on account of her slip up, she started changing out of the ridiculous outfit she was in and went into something more casual. She hadn't really thought about the fact the she changed while Keitaro was conscious, but found that he was taking his time putting her dish away.
"Curses," she said to herself and washed her face in the bathroom.
Instead of taking his car to the park, they walked. He didn't say anything to her the whole time and she was too afraid that she might say something that would ruin everything. To her disappointment, even though he was walking right next to her, hand in hand, his gaze was off to some other place and time.
Not to her surprise, they didn't do anything but walk. She asked him if she could have an ice cream from a vendor, and he got one for both of them. She led them to a short wall that they both sat on while they ate; Ren kicked her legs like the young person she was. She glanced at him every now and then, but was disappointed every time to find him staring into the almost setting sun.
When the sun started to set, they came back to Keitaro's room. Ren came to the conclusion that he would never see her in the way she wanted him to; not anytime soon at least. But she decided to content herself with the fact that he seemed to acknowledge her presence now. But I'll still keep on trying, she thought while watching him work at his study. As usual, his head slammed down onto his desk, but he didn't get up this time. After a few minutes of staying silent, Ren could hear him breathing softly. Curious as to the change in behavior, she quietly walked up to his desk. She peered forward to look at his face.
She was stunned at how cute he looked.
He was sleeping on the side of his face; drool was slowly inching down the corner of his mouth to the table's surface. His face no longer had the familiar tension on it. She had never known till now that he had a baby face. He must have been dreaming well, since he didn't have the scowl he normally had when she woke up to see him. Instead, a small smile adorned his lips, exposing creases at the corners associated with a person who smiled a lot. He had a few creases starting to form between his eyebrows, so he probably had been a very happy person until recently.
Ren put her hands on the edge of the table and rested her chin on it. She stared at his content form for a ridiculously long time, until she decided that he wouldn't wake up. With strength that only comes from working in a farm, she managed to put him on the bed where he normally slept. He must have been really tired, because he didn't even make a sound as she moved him. She slipped into her baby blue pajamas and turned off the single light in the room, then made her way to her side of the bed. She got on gingerly, as if the tiniest disturbance might have woken him up, but she was reassured by his steady breathing that that had not become the case.
Normally, they would have their own, seperate blankets and they would go up to about stomach level. Ren had heard from one of the girls that winter was going to start soon, so she decided to make a change to the current arrangement. She layered their blankets on top of each other so that it was now two layers thick, and covered both of them to the neck.
Then, as if to see how far she could go before she got in trouble, she rolled to her side so that she was touching Keitaro, and put her arm across his chest. Surprisingly, he responded and drew her into his chest with a warm embrace just like their first night together. Even though it was dark, Ren could tell that she was blushing because of the excess heat coming from her cheeks. She didn't mind though, and snuggled into his warm embrace, his soft breaths tickling her exposed earlobe. As the subtle caress of sleep overcame her, she thought she heard him whimper a single (familiar sounding) word, with the same kind of longing that she had for him.
It sounded like Naru…
(O)
"So, Kei-kun, what are we studying today?" she asked, sitting next to him, making casual arm contact. He blushed and replied, "English is my next worst subject."
"Okay, lets go over the basics just to be sure," she said and reached forward to get her materials. Keitaro couldn't help but memorize each of her perfect curves.
She seemed to have noticed him staring, since she said with a giggle, "I thought we were studying English?"
Keitaro blushed even more and said, "I'm sorry…"(-)
The world dissolved and came back to the more familiar dark emptiness he had gotten used to.
"Why does she torment me in my dreams? Why wont she just let me have my peace!" Zombie Keitaro screamed to the void. Even after he had forsaken her, the promise girl was invading the only haven he had left in this world. He held himself in his arms and cried for the first time in a very long time. Some time later, in what felt like an instant but was an eternity, he felt another presence.
"Why are you crying?" it asked in a comforting voice. It sounded like it actually cared. Zombie Keitaro looked up to find his mirror image staring back at him. He was about to tell him to go away, but he stopped. This mirror was different- and familiar.
He didn't have cold eyes.
He wasn't plotting against him.
He wasn't another substitute.
…
It was Keitaro. It was all he used to stand for. It was everything he used to be before this horrible mess started. It was the Keitaro that was so much stronger than he was now.
"Is it that bad?" it asked in a troubled tone.
Zombie Keitaro didn't talk to him for a while. He watched him for a few minutes, before he said, "Don't I scare you? Aren't you repulsed by my horrid self?" He knew what he would say and knew how he would just leave him by himself again. They were all the same: if they couldn't use you, you meant nothing to them.
"Why would you scare me?" the mirror replied. Zombie Keitaro was shocked. "Why do you think so lowly of yourself?" if questioned, becoming sad. "Why?"
Keitaro didn't speak; he only looked down in shame. Why… Why? WHY!
"Why…" Keitaro repeated "… I don't know… but I just can't see why I should try anymore. No one loves me. I hate everyone else. The only way I can stand the torture anymore is to just cut myself off from everyone!" Keitaro said, his hands enclosing his head as if he were in pain. He shut his eyes closed as horrific images of the abuse and pain flashed through him mind. The mirror stayed quiet. No doubt it had left after his outburst. No one wanted to listen to a baby like him whine.
He felt something around his shoulders. He opened his eyes to find the mirror staring back at him through a pool of tears. Keitaro was about to speak, but the mirror spoke first.
"You're not alone. Don't you dare think you have to do this alone! There are so many people out there that will help you. The Chinese girl, Shinobu, Haruka, Grandma, our parents, the girls, and the promise girl…"
Keitaro automatically pushed back against the mirror, realizing that he was just out to feed him lies.
"SHUT UP!" he screamed, putting a look of shock on its face. "Those girls hate me! They hate me as much as I hate them!" he spat. The mirror put his hands to his face, as if to protect itself from the verbal assault. "And that promise girl…" he said, as if saying a curse. "She's just a figment of my imagination. No girl has ever loved me or ever will!"
The mirror wouldn't stand anymore of this and did the unexpected. "Don't you ever speak like that about any of them!" it yelled. "Those girls love you. They're your family. There's no way that they'd ever hate you unless you were to blame!"
Keitaro was about to cite many examples when the girls blamed him for something that wasn't his fault, but was beat to it.
"And what made you think that the promise girl isn't real!" he said, looking angry for the first time. "She's there! Trust me, she's out there and all she wants is to finally meet you. You may not remember her, but she remembers you. And if you don't meet each other before hand, you both will definitely meet at Todai! It's my promise to you. Now stop making excuses and pull yourself together! Do you think anyone wants to go out with you like this? No! You have to be a strong person, Keitaro! It's always been our strength to never give up and now isn't the time to stop. I don't know what's caused you to say those things about our girls, but it can't possibly be a good enough a justification."
The mirror just stared into his eyes, burning disappointment through them. After a few moments, Keitaro relented. He expected to be scolded by the mirror after his admission to defeat, but he was met again with caring eyes.
"Its okay…" it said. "You don't have to hold back anymore."
"Hold back? Hold back what?" Keitaro said with a puffed up chest. The other Keitaro just stared back at him with those caring eyes, penetrating his very soul. He took one of his hands and pulled Keitaro's head in, resting Keitaro's head against its own.
"Just let it all out…" he said, rubbing Keitaro's back with his other hand. Keitaro just stood in that intimate position for a long time. Before long, he found himself bawling without even thinking about it.
And the more he cried, the less heavy his chest felt. Unknowns to him, his zombie like body was also repairing itself.
"What the hell are you doing!" the second, more familiar copy shouted, storming in from nowhere. Before the first copy could get to its feet (Keitaro wondered how it would be possibly to fall if there wasn't anything to stand on in the first place. But he had already had that conversation before with a copy of himself once, so he didn't think too much on it), the second copy punched him and the first copy vaporized.
"God damn it, first that stupid bitch and now him…" the second copy thought out loud, angrily. He turned to suddenly look at Keitaro.
"And you! What the hell are you still asleep for! Pretend that this never happened, and WAKE YOUR LAZY ASS UP!"
(-)
Keitaro got up with a jolt. Of all the dreams he'd had, that was the strangest. What was I dreaming? he thought when he realized he couldn't remember it at all. He just shrugged and went about his daily routine. As usual, the Chinese girl had gone off to school. Well… he didn't really know if she went to school or not, but that wasn't his business, was it?
Come to think of it, why is she still here? a part of him thought. His mind played back when they had first met and his initial reaction to her.
He lightly scratched the back of his ear.
"I suppose it can't be helped that she's following me around now," he thought out loud, coming to the conclusion after remembering her admission back in Todai. Wouldn't it be ironic if she ended up going to Todai too? He cracked a small smile, but it disappeared into the normal stoic face he seemed to carry nowadays. He supposed he should be getting ready to go to class.
While he had breakfast, he mused over how there always seemed to be strangers in Yuri's house. He then got to thinking, I wonder why Yuri puts up with them?
He had more thoughts along that line, and finally came to a startling revelation. Why does his dad put up with it? Come to think of it… I've never seen his dad come to the place ever. He shrugged to himself again as he left his finished breakfast on the table. Before he left the kitchen, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that one of those men took his dishes and cleaned them. Keitaro didn't think of it much. He went into his now familiar Elise and started the engine. Someone was nice enough to fill up the tank again, he thought. He wasn't really sure why these strangers gave him such courtesy, but he didn't mind. He pulled out of the garage without a second thought.
(O)
She watched him pull out of the garage as if it were any other day. She smiled at his naivety. Without making another sound, she started the long awaited op.
(O)
Shinobu was a bit anxious. Rin, as all the girls had nicknamed Ren, hadn't arrived at school today. She wanted to know what had happened, but was too shy to give her a call. Instead, she decided that she would bake some cookies and pay her a surprise visit, since she lived close by. Before she left, she wrote a letter as to where she was going, and left the Hinata-sou with a bright smile on her face.
It was the late afternoon when Shinobu walked up to the mansion that Rin lived in, played ever part the Little Riding Hood that she seemed to play the role of for today. Where her wolf was, time would tell, however.
She rang the doorbell once and waited patiently, all the while wondering if Rin would like her cookies. When no one answered for a minute or so, Shinobu gave another ring. Still, no one answered. She got impatient and started rapping the door, but it opened. Shinobu hesitated for a second, but decided to go in, in the end. She took a step forward and said, "Hello… is anyone here?" Getting no response, she continued searching the mansion.
After half an hour of searching, she found no one. The whole place was deserted, as if no one had ever lived there. There weren't any signs of people occupying the place either; everything looked brand new and shiny and things were too neat to have been under daily use.
Shinobu was stumped. Had she gone to the wrong house?
(O)
Finishing his only morning class, Keitaro went to the school's only eating area. As usual, the vendor gave him whatever he wanted without asking for anything in return. Such behavior would normally seem suspicious, even to the naïve Keitaro from a seemingly other life, but Keitaro knew different. The strange men that occupied Yuri's house always shadowed him while at school. It had taken a while to notice them, but when he did, they stood out like the North Star. Today, he was being followed by a trio was composed of all three classes of height.
When he sat in his usual spot, he was surprised to find a letter taped to the table. Somewhat curious, he opened it up to read while he ate. It only had one line.
Pick up the phone near the men's bathroom at noon if you want to see Ren alive again.
Keitaro stared at the letter for a while, till he set it down. He ate his lunch like normal, until he realized that he was no longer alone. He looked to his right and saw one of the men who were shadowing him, the one that was about his height, sitting next to him and reading the letter. As if talking about a recent test question, Keitaro asked, "So, who's this Ren?"
The man looked at him in surprise. When he saw that Keitaro was serious, he explained, "She's that Chinese girl you sleep with."
"Oh," Keitaro said simply. He went back to eating his sandwich. The man stared at him with a disbelieving look. Annoyed, Keitaro said, "What?"
"Are you just going to eat your sandwich while that girl dies?"
"Sure, why not?"
"Aren't you even a little scared that this girl you've been sleeping with might not be there again?"
"Well… when you put it that way…" Keitaro said. These winter nights are getting colder… he thought. Taking another bite out of his sandwich, he said, "What time is it, um…"
"Azuka," the man filled in. "You have ten minutes till the deadline."
"Good," Keitaro said. "I can finish my lunch in five." And with that said, he continued eating his sandwich. He scratched behind his ear.
(-O-)
Character/Psych Profiles and forecasts of all major characters used thus far (all forecasts assume everything stays the same as the middle of this chapter):
Keitaro:
Since he is the main character, character development mainly focuses around him, so I will not elaborate on him this section. I would like to say, as a defense for my awkward insertion of the racing scenes, that they were intended to be a way for Keitaro to get drunk (with power), and distract him from the downward spiral that he thinks is his life. Ren seems to be the embodiment of everything that has happened to him, so she fits in very nicely with him, especially towards the end of the story.
Ren:
The newest and second Chinese character to appear in the cast. She is a survivor. She had a semblance of normalcy under Communist rule back in China, but she has gone through one traumatic experience after another since the death of her father.
As a character, I don't like her. She screws up the story very much, especially the next chapter. My intention was for Keitaro do dump her at the Chinese embassy and never look back. I still regret the other decision I had made for the short term, but she seems to be very promising for the story line in the long term. However problematic her introduction is, I cannot ignore the richness to plot she will give in the second phase of TOM.
Ren is Keitaro's new Shinobu. Though the only time they really spoke was when he was in near hysteria, she has grown fond of/ attached to him. Superficially, it would seem irresponsible for the author to randomly ass a character that fell in love with him. But bear this in mind- for nearly a year, every person that she has come in contact with has hurt, used or violated her in come way. She has not opened herself up to anyone probably since before the flood that raped her village, up till the time with Keitaro (to some extent). She had left herself in a vulnerably state and needed some kind of emotional ground (or anchor) with which to steady herself. She really wanted someone to comfort her to help shoulder her pain and is in the impression that Keitaro actually cares for her. It is obviously not the case, but since she doesn't see evidence that proves otherwise, she distorts reality to make it more accommodating for her. However, as this chapter clearly shows, Keitaro has, in essence, emotionally cut himself off from the real world in an unconscious defense mechanism to the whirlwind of emotions that have been brewing inside, and lives only for the sake of living. In a matter of speaking, he is simply on autopilot. He follows his daily routine and acts on instinct.
It should be evident from the way she thinks that Ren is a full-fledged communist. She was schooled by the Reds when she was younger, and their philosophy is deeply ingrained within her. She looks down her nose at all things Japanese (actually, anything not Chinese), but is slowly learning to adapt. She is suspicious of everyone but Keitaro.
She will probably commit suicide when she realizes that Keitaro does not care for her.
Su/Sarah:
I tried my best not to change them as much as I could during the story. They are very young and easily adept at change. A week is a long time for them and they have comfortably situated themselves in their new reality.
I think Su is lesbian. I have no doubts that she is at least bisexual, simply because she is open to things. I think this is the consensus among writers, since I see stories of her being like that often. It shouldn't be surprising that Su and Sarah were experimenting in the confined, intimate tunnel network throughout the Hinata-sou.
Sarah isn't comfortable with the relationship she has with Su, but she is not rejecting it either. She will grow up to be a very strong businesswoman, because of the nerve she will grow from her later expeditions with her father. She will follow her father's legacy as a hobby.
Su will eventually take the throne after most of her family will be assassinated from a civil way. Her expertise will lead her country to a technological revolution that will soon specter that of Japan and China.
Shinobu:
I think its no secret that I like Shinobu the most among the Hina Girls. What I like adout her is how caring, nice and shy she is. She actually seems to be the female version of my childhood self, though I had become much more disillusioned than she is. I think that since we come from the same place, it is much easier for me to connect with her and write in her point of view than any of the other characters.
From the first time you meet her (either in thee anime or manga, though I base her personality on the anime and her experiences from the manga), Shinobu has been frustratingly fragile. (The Anime) Shinobu had been overcome by the sudden dissallusionment of her family, and desperately sought someone for an emotionally ground, just like Ren. The picture that Keitaro drew of her, and the display of caring and affection, instantly drew her to him. As a child, she was easy in giving her fully trust to a complete stranger.
Throughout her adventures throughout the anime, Shinobu became a major player in the fruitation of the finale. Her influence in keeping Keitaro from deep bouts of depression was most emphasized in the Christmas special, where she searched the needle in a haystack for Keitaro. He unwavering faith for the love between Keitaro and Naru, no matter how much it was against her own interests, ended the episode with Naru finally giving some substance on her end for her affection for Keitaro. If I had been Ken, I would surely have made Shinobu the Hina girl that prevailed for the heat of the Kanrinin.
From the beginning of TSTBTPB, I messed up her character. I made her too old mentally, and much more physically. The Shinobu portrayed here is based around the lovesick girl you find towards the end of the manga. I have reread a lot of the earlier volumes in attempts to transition to a Shinobu that would be more appropriate for this stage of the Hina world's time stream (I didn't know till this chapter that the manga version of her was a child of only 14!), but the version of Shinobu that emerged seemed to work best with the flow of TOM, in my humble opinion.
The Shinobu portrayed has finally come face to face with her budding sexuality. Kitsune's tremendous, but always subtle wisdom was expressed in chapter 8 when she gave Shinobu a vibrator as a present. It may also be part of the reason why Shinobu has since distanced herself from Su. Shinobu has blossomed into a normal teenage middle school student. She has passed the bottleneck that welcomes all children to the blazing highway called popularity. She has a small, close group of friends that will no doubt follow her through high school and possibly remain her loyal posse. Though it saddens me to say so, her naivety will leave her susceptible to betrayal, and she will soon be immersed with the complicated rules and etiquette of petty high school politics as her reputation becomes ever more famous. She will undoubtedly become deflowered at a young age and join the workforce after she completes high school or earlier. Such is the impact of the sudden uprooting of Keitaro from her life and her parents' divorce.
Shortly following the final chapter of TOM, she will care more about herself and what people think about her in school to fill the void that was occupied by her healthy obsession with her Sempai. She will lose her selflessness and become more conceited. Probably by high school, she will no longer even talk to Su or Sarah and be the subject of much scorn during the private talks that occur within the high school and the Hinata-sou, partly because of jealousy, and partly because of her behavior.
I hope, however, that she will endeavor with her culinary skills, because they will be her only ability in her possession that will stand between succumbing to the social cesspool that Kitsune seemed to be a part of in most of the anime/manga and leading a full, happy life with someone she loves. And have a lot of children, too…
Motoko:
Three words describe her best: sword, breasts and ass.
Motoko was largely based on the anime. Her present version in TOM (Motoko XP) that this chapter portrayed is a very extreme version of her. The little femininity that she slowly accrues during the anime does not permeate as strongly as in the manga, and what little did, Motoko has squashed it within herself.
She has been taught the way of Bushido since childhood and largely practiced it when she first came into the scene. Her rock solid belief in its ways faltered as time went on as her body responded to Keitaro's presence, resulting in the budding of her femininity and her sloppy work. Though she would never admit that the process was ongoing, it was manifested in her struggle to come to terms with her enlarging bosom. In the manga, her focus became divided between Kendo and writing risqué romance stories. Her skills suffered greatly, attenuated by the fact that Keitaro managed to stop her blade with his bare hands.
In TOM, she was finally alerted to how bad her skills had become after her loss in the duel with Keitaro and his fledgling powers. After his surprising display of infuriation when she was about to commit seppoku in response to her loss, she has completely given her life to Bushido. Her present level of seriousness is very scary, and her friends and fan club have since started to estrange themselves from her, though they still chat every once in a while at the regular kendo club meets.
In terms of character development, I don't think she'd grown at all. I think she's receded into a streamlined Samurai, one that is very boring and predictable. She is getting more powerful everyday ad will far surpass her sister at the age in which she was at her peek. Though Motoko has discarded her adaptations to modern culture, she still retains the physical and emotional changes brought about by puberty (which is best embodied by the actor who plays er voice in the anime, since she cracked a lot). To relieve her sexual tensions, she secretly discos under the alias Kiki, since she has no inspiration to make writing stories substantial to that effect.
Motoko will become a prominent figure among her clan, having a reputation of being a cold, efficient killer. She will be content for the majority of her matriarchy, until she will kill a man with whom she will realize she had loved. She will regret that decision till the day she dies.
Haruka:
The anomaly. She stays in the background, quietly influencing people and events to control the damage brought about by her nephew. A major player in more ways than one, her influence has stopped many a travesty.
She will live a quiet life, unless she decides to marry Seta when he proposes by the time he has to choose between Sarah's mom and she.
Mutsumi:
Popular among the upperclassmen. Known for her looks, smarts, niceness and naivety, she will no doubt bag some rich guy and make him a loving and faithful wife. Built for a maximum of 22 births, slightly more than her mother.
She is a very mature woman who has more energy than most. Though she (probably) loves Keitaro, she will not get in the way between Kei-kun and Na-chan and will endeavor to fulfill their childhood promise. Though things may seem (somewhat) shaky between the two, she will never give up on her struggle against fate. Like Haruka, she works in the background and rarely shows her cards.
Do not underestimate her.
Mitsune:
Vixen is the best word for her. She used to be a waste of life who lived at the bottom of the bottle. Her sole means of monetary income was through conning men and her dearly beloved Kanrinin. Since her con gone wrong with Keitaro early in TSTBTPB/TOM, she has done some soul searching as to where her life was going and how it would all end. The reason for the drastic change was the she had always thought that if she would have been molested, it wouldn't be from a harmless gnat like Keitaro, and thought that he had always understood her games and merely games. Seeing that she had gone so far as to make a person whom she had thought a friend react like that, Kitsune finally decided to clean herself up and shed the high school girl that always had to clean up after Naru's wooers. She has been thinking hard on things from angry mother to zucchini and has been writing many thought provoking books. She will eventually become a popular author who will have a part in the patriotism that will save Japan from being caught unprepared by an unprovoked Chinese attack.
In the end, she will stay loyal to Naru and help her through thick and thin. She will help her into transitioning into the dating phase once again, and make her stronger against being, and the thought of being rejected.
Naru:
Known by most for her hot temper, Naru has always been a sweet girl that just has been unable to express herself. She exposes her cute side to those that are close to her and projects a tough exterior to the world. Strong, sexy and smart, she had grown to become an independent woman with clear goals in mind, and the means to achieve them. Though she seems an unapproachable woman, she is very fragile and needs an emotionally strong and pure lover to keep her happy. That is probably what drew her to Keitaro, but she had been too afraid to act on her emotions.
Before TOM, she was a very proud woman brought to her knees because of herself. She has always been afraid of rejection and thought that if she never made anything official with Keitaro, things would stay as happy as they were and that she would never have to worry about it. She has yet to come to terms with her rejection at the racetrack, and has been contemplating suicide for some time.
Fortunately for her, she has been getting close to her family, and leaning on Mei, her younger stepsister. Through the ordeal that has since ensued, her familial bonds have grown very strong and have been the key emotional ground from keeping her from the edge of the knife. Her bond with Kitsune has never been stronger and she has been a very important confidant. This part of her life will always mark her and will give her the strength to run for president.
(She will be the first female president of Japan, ironically ensuring a peaceful and sustainable culture for generations)
Sakura:
(Shudder)
Evil spawn from hell; she is the kind of girl that all mothers, daughters, female cousins and friends tell all guys to stay away from. She has the mind of a super villain and strives for power.
Though she is young, she is skill in the arts of human psychology and is notorious among the Yakuza's ranks for getting what she wants from whomever she wants. Though on the outside, she seems a cute, fragile girl, she is an intimidating person. Very few challenge her, even her father.
It shouldn't be surprising to anyone that her mother has either died or divorced her father. And that he was a drunk at that time and started molesting her at a young age. She has been raised on the streets and knows all of its rules. She has the makings of a strong ruler under any kingdom and the will to keep it growing.
Except for the fact that she is a rich (and what people assume) stuck up daddy's girl, there isn't much known about her personality except for the S&M part. She is a dominant person, but she wants to be the recessive, which is probably why she is so obsessed with TOM's Keitaro, since he was really the only person to ever push her around.
(O)
(1) Kang: primitive heating apparatus common among Chinese villagers. I'm not really certain as to how it works, but I know that you can sit on it…
(2) Lychee: Asian fruit. It has a seed at the core, covered by whitish sweetened fleshy matter covered by a very thin, tough outside skin. Highly recommended.
(3) Gaijin: foreigner. Like me. 'Nuff said.
(4) Giri: rice balls like that stuff Naru made for Keitaro early in Volume 1 of the manga. Hers were much neater.
(5) Bushido: the way of the samurai. Portrayed very well in the movie, The Last Samurai.
(6) Kanrinin: manager, Keitaro's position in the Manga and Anime.
(7) Kimono: female Japanese formalwear. It's the thing with the ridiculously large sash that wraps around their waist with a sophisticated bow tied at the back. (I don't really know what it is, just what I have seen over the years, though I doubt anyone who is a Love Hina fan isn't familiar with it)
I was supposed to discard the Chinese character within a few lines of the first scene with Keitaro in it. But then the rusty wheels in the back of my head started turning and I found that she would become very useful down the line…
Well… that was lengthy.
Remember; click the 'Go' button on your way out. (Flames are still understandable and especially welcome if critical)
Cheers: )