Repercussions Chapter 9, a love hina fanfic

Hi there!

Time for another chapter. At last. This one took some doing, but came more smoothly by the end.

Typically for me, I have no idea exactly how this fic is going to end, but I'm beginning to get some ideas. There will be a ship, which one...I don't know. But I'll enjoy finding out.

Thanks to all the reviewers, and a little note as well. I'm happy that everyone will have their own taste and opinions, which they are entitled to. But I have tried to keep this fic as faithful to the manga as possible, and feel I have done a reasonable job. If I contravene the manga, I'd be happy if someone lets me know. And just for 'fionn' to note, I've only seen the first ten minutes of the anime, so I base this fic on the manga which I have read from start to finish.

Oh, and biiiiig thanks to Randomreview. Whilst jumping in to defend my fic wasn't something he or she had to do, I really do appreciate it!

Well, enough rambling, on with the fic.

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Repercussions – Chapter 9

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Haruka took a deep, sighing draw on her cigarette, staring silently at the table. The four others around the table watched her with varying degrees of apprehension. Su seemed more curious at Haruka's silence than apprehensive, but the amount of anxiety rose steadily as the view turned to the others sat at the table. Mutsumi, although not in the firing line, still disliked the tension that hung like Haruka's second-hand smoke in the air. Mitsune dearly, dearly wanted a drink, knowing she was hardly in the café owner's good books to begin with. Factor in her regular participation in numerous set-ups over the years and the fox's trepidation became quite sensible.

No need to explain why Motoko felt like the hand of death was resting upon her shoulder.

"So." Haruka eventually said, once the cigarette was smoked down to the butt and her tea had gone cold. "Basically what you've told me is that, thanks to some short tempers around here, Keitaro has had to have surgery and currently wears more make-up than your average clown to hide it." A few uneasy glances were shared around the table, before Mitsune carefully cleared her throat.

"Uh, that kinda sums it up, yeah."

"I can say one thing, girls. You'd better be thankful Kanako isn't here." Haruka reached for another tobacco stick and lit it without hesitation. "If she was, you'd have to stop every few seconds to make sure your heads were still on your shoulders."

"I'm sure that they meant no harm, Haruka-san." Mutsumi said quietly, trying to dispel what seemed an inevitable explosion.

"Oh, I'm sure you're right, Mutsumi-san." Haruka replied, taking a sip at her cup with a grimace as she realised the liquid was cold. "But the fact remains that they caused it. Make no bones about it, I am not particularly happy with some of you right now."

"Awww, I'm sorry Haruka!" Su whined, sinking down in her seat with a woebegone expression.

"Not you, Su-chan. Or at least not much. You did over-do it with all those mecha-tamas you know."

"But I was only playin'. I always had fun with my oniisan." The tan princess moaned sadly.

"It's a well-known fact that most kinds of trouble start out as fun." Even the stoic older lady couldn't resist the temptation to reach out and pat the miserable girl on the head. "But I'm not really mad with you. There's other people who deserve a chewing-out much more."

"If you wish to exact your own personal retribution upon me, Haruka-san, I will gladly grant you the opportunity." Motoko stated neutrally, assuming a position of deference. Haruka regarded the willowy girl before snorting gently.

"Trust me, if you hadn't started to make it up to him I'd be demanding your ass on a plate right now. But since you've finally got your head on straight, I'll just say this. It's your last warning. As in Last. Warning. I am not my kind-hearted nephew, and I am not going to tolerate any further incidents. Motoko-san, if you draw your sword in anger again in this house your feet will not touch the ground until they hit the pavement outside." The two held each others gaze for several moments, until the swordswoman acceded.

"I understand. You have my word, I will not unsheathe my weapon unless in defence of myself or another." The café owner nodded in response, knowing that the swordswoman was trustworthy. But on the other hand…..

"Mitsune-san. You are also on your last warning." The silver-haired girl spluttered mid-way through a sneaky sip of liquor, sending sake mist wafting across the table.

"Wha? Whatcha mean?" Haruka pierced her with a glare.

"Exactly what I just said." Mitsune threw her hands up in the air in annoyance.

"I never laid a hand on the guy!"

"From what I remember, you laid both of your hands on 'the guy' at every possible opportunity, if it meant it'd cause him trouble. I know he's just a toy to you, and I can think of endless occasions your 'harmless' jokes left my nephew at the hands of someone who was less than harmless." The fox gaped soundlessly at Haruka, unable to formulate a response. What could she say? To any onlooker, this was exactly what was happening.

"Uh, Haruka-san……"

"Oh, and add to that milking the Hinata-sou for all that it's worth and your continuing irresponsible drinking in front of minors….." The café owner took a satisfied drag on the still smouldering cigarette in her mouth, glad to be getting her annoyance off her chest. "I'd say the last warning is more than overdue."

"……." Mitsune floundered for a moment before getting up with a huff. "Fine. Whatever you say, Haruka-san." The hung over girl stalked off, muttering darkly under her breath about things only known to herself.

"And that brings me to the last person who needs a damn good telling off. Probably the biggest one as well." Mutsumi blanched as everyone's attention turned to her, being the only one present who hadn't received some of Haruka's wrath. The brunette felt herself beginning to feel faint until she caught the older lady's smile.

"Ara, Haruka-san. Don't scare me like that." The woman in question chuckled quietly before growing serious again.

"It's a good thing for Naru she isn't here. It isn't only Shinobu that would love to get her hands on that girl." Haruka blew out a plume of cigarette smoke with a reflective sigh. "I have no idea what I'd do with her. Half of me would want to shake some sense into her, the other half is full of sympathy – she got screwed up pretty bad before coming here."

"How so, Haruka-san?" Mutsumi was answered with the shake of a head.

"Not for me to tell. All the same, I would have been sorely tempted to kick her out. Seems like she's made the decision for me." Motoko froze, Su blink-blinked slowly and Mutsumi covered an open mouth with her hand.

"You don't mean……"

"All I mean is that, when Naru returns, she's going to have to prove to me that there will be no more of this 'pervert' bullshit. If she can't, well, Seta won't mind putting her up until she can get something else sorted." Haruka looked each of the other girls in the eye, one by one. "Tsuruko was right. It's not acceptable, it's nothing more than brutality. And I won't stand for it any more." With that, the elder lady rose gracefully from her seat and walked across the room, quickly unhooking and donning her coat. Barely a 'goodbye' later she was out of the door and into the bitter winter air, rapidly descending the staircase until out of sight.

Silence reigned around the table for several seconds. Eventually, Mutsumi spoke.

"Ara, is that what's known as reading the riot act?" Motoko 'humphed' in agreement, whilst an unusually morose Su peered at the seat the elder Urashima had recently vacated.

"Haruka was mad. I don't like mad." The tiny foreigner looked ready to start bawling. "I didn't mean to hurt my oniisan. I was just havin' fun, the way he'd flap around and fly through the sky it looked like he was havin' fun too." She seemed to ponder things for a moment before springing up to her feet.

"Su-chan, what are you doing?" Motoko asked, concerned at the slightly wild-eyed look on the younger girl's face.

"I'm gonna go apologise to Keitaro. I don't want him to hate me." Su stated simply, pushing her chair beneath the table. Motoko and Mutsumi exchanged a look that agreed on one fact – whatever was going on in the room above them was probably best left undisturbed.

"Su-chan, wait-" The Okinawan's call was unheeded as a blond-haired blur sped towards the stairs, Motoko on her tail. Mutsumi was helpless to do anything but watch as the pair rounded the top of the staircase, the swordswoman almost within touching distance as they left her sight.

Only to almost instantly re-appear with a crash as the pair ran into someone moving at high speed the other way.

Three bodies hit the floor in a pile, one of which was sobbing loudly. The brown-haired girl carefully stood, mindful of her fainting tendencies, and made her way over to the bodies at the top of the stairs. Su was slowly easing herself into a sitting position, eyes swirling, as Motoko placed a gentle had to her forehead where a bump was already beginning to swell. Mutsumi made her way over to the third figure, and looked down sadly.

Violet eyes stared back, wet and empty.

"Shinobu-chan….." Helping the young girl to her feet, the Okinawan was surprised as Shinobu shook off her hand and quickly set off towards her own room, leaving a trail of water in her wake.

"Huh?" Was the most intelligent comment anyone could make as the three stood on the landing looked back and forth at one another, wondering what the hell had happened. Normally this would be cue for somebody to scream that a certain Kanrinin would pay for making Shinobu cry, but at that moment it just didn't seem…..appropriate, really.

The only certainty seemed to be that, somehow, life had just become even more complicated.

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"Mornin' part-timer." Seta slipped on his white lab coat and gave his protégé-stroke-dogsbody his usual winsome grin around a Marlboro, one that the younger man tried his best to return.

In the end it was more a grimace than a smile. But, Seta reflected, it was an improvement. Almost a week ago mister part-timer had arrived wearing the kind of face that the most suicidal clown couldn't paint on.

"Good morning Seta-san." Keitaro took his seat, intent on completing the work he'd been single-mindedly performing for the last five days. It was only reconstructing a relic that Sara McDougal had smashed over his head the day before that, but it was work all the same.

"Coffee?" The tall archaeologist asked, pouring a second cup before the question was even asked. Although his protégé had stubbornly refused to accept that a cigarette could cure all ills, he still seemed to have belief in a cup of hot mud first thing in the morning.

"Thanks." Seta shook his head – it seemed Keitaro was already engrossed in his work. The guy was losing touch with reality. You only got that lost in work when there was something you were trying to forget.

Seta had heard all of the details from his wife. Haruka had not been a happy bunny when she spent the night a few days back. He still wore the bruises he'd gained by cheerily pointing this out to her. She'd made up for every single one later on that night, but that was another story. One that concludes with several satisfied cigarettes and the purchase of a new mattress.

Given what he had been told, Seta wasn't surprised at the change in his protégé's outlook.

It didn't mean he couldn't be slightly concerned.

"I've heard rumours that there's more ruins to be found on Pararaklese." He murmured, fishing milk out of the fridge.

"That's nice." Came the absent reply, as Keitaro pieced together another two fragments of what was once priceless pottery.

"And in England they reckon they're close to cracking the mystery of Stonehenge."

"Uh-huh." Seta added a spoon of sugar to both cups and stirred slowly, a half-inch of fag ash threatening to topple into the hot liquid.

"Apparently, ninety percent of Molmolian relics are actually prehistoric sex aids."

"Sounds like fun."

"And the Welsh are allergic to clouds."

"I'll do some research into it." Seta shook his head in amusement as something slowly filtered through to Keitaro's brain, and he suddenly looked up with an expression of irritation. "What do you mean, there are more ruins on Pararaklese? We traced every square inch of that island."

Anyone less cool than Seta would have found themselves face-down on the floor.

"Sorry, made that one up part-timer. Good to see you're awake." The cigarette-smoking man set a steaming mug on the side of Keitaro's desk, and knocked the ash from his nicotine stick into a handily placed artefact. "If you want a lie-in, you know I'm happy to have one myself. Just let me know in advance."

"Nah, I'm fine Seta-san." Keitaro reached out a grateful hand towards his cup, only to have it snatched away from his grasp by a blond-haired girl.

"Too slow, dumbass." Sara took a mouthful, and swallowed with a grimace. "I'm not surprised that you're taking forever to piece together a stupid bowl if that's as fast as your hands get."

"Eheheheh, speed was never my strong point." The brown-eyed man replied, scratching at the back of his head. The girl perched herself on the edge of the desk, taking another mouthful of coffee.

"No shit." Keitaro winced as the eleven-year-old swore casually, quite happily draining what was until moments ago his drink.

"Now Sara-chan, enough of that." Seta said mildly, pouring a third mug of coffee.

"Sorry, papa." The pre-teen replied, quite clearly not sorry in the least.

"Thanks, Seta-san." Keitaro said as he accepted a new steaming cup and grasping it tightly, this time intending to actually drink some of it.

"Ahhhh, much better." Sara gasped as she drained the last of her stolen coffee. The pink shirted girl gave an un-petite burp with obvious satisfaction before fixing the cup currently in the part-timer's grasp with a beady blue-eyed stare.

"Uhhhh, Sara-chan, aren't you meant to be going to school?" The seated man asked nervily, holding his mug yet tighter. Sara snorted derisively.

"Nah, can't be bothered today. Felt like hanging around with papa, seeing what he was doing." Keitaro had to resist the desire to bang his head on the table. The translation to that statement was 'I want to make your life hell, because it's more fun than class.'

"You know that come later this year you'll be in high school, and then you're going to have to go." Seta put in, swiping a stray drop of coffee from his mouth using a white sleeve.

"Yeah, whatever. It's getting boring hanging around here with two old men anyway. Never seem to get anyone interesting visiting." The blonde American twisted a few strands of hair around her fingers before another thought came to mind. "Come to think of it…..Hey dork, where's that girl that used to hang round you for god-knows-what-reason got to? She was cool, pretty too, though what she was doing with a loser like you I don't know." For a moment the only sound was Seta sipping at his coffee and Sara's idly swinging legs bumping against the legs of the desk.

"She's busy with her course. They're preparing for exams over there, and she's up to her eyeballs in work." The bespectacled student lied, badly. Sara raised a fair eyebrow, before shrugging.

"Whatever. I reckon she's better off there anyways." The young girl slipped off the edge of the desk, and she stretched cat-like. "Well, catch you later. I'm gonna go watch some TV, reckon Pokemon should be on about now." With that Sara strolled off, dumping her cup unwashed in the sink before slipping into Seta's spare room. For a few seconds the two men both stared into their cups, thinking.

"Sorry about that part-timer. Swear to god that girl hit teenager-hood two years early." Keitaro waved the apology away.

"It's no trouble, that's just Sara for you." The pair took another sip of their drinks.

"All the same, she shouldn't say things like that, especially considering….."

"Don't worry about it. She doesn't know what's going on, and I'm happy keeping things that way." Keitaro shrugged gently, before leaning back to stare out of the window. "I dread to think what she'll say and do if she finds out the truth. In all honesty I wouldn't have told you either, if I wasn't sure you already knew." Seta set his empty mug down.

"How did you know I did?"

"You offered me a cigarette." The 'part-timer' stated simply. "Something had to be up if Seta Noriyasu was offering his precious tobacco to me. Well, that and the fact you're married to my aunt……"

"Good point." Silently, the unshaven man offered his student a cigarette, which was politely declined, before taking one for himself. "Besides, smokin's not a habit to get into. Bit of a joke me saying that with a ciggy in my mouth, but there you go." Seta lit up casually, and blew out a plume of smoke in a manner not unlike Haruka.

"Well, you'll know the day I take up your offer is the day the girls officially have driven me insane." Keitaro stuck the last piece of pottery in place, and sat back with a satisfied smile. "Which won't be too long at this rate."

"Worse than usual then?" The older man asked, taking a seat at the desk opposite, this one haphazardly stacked with paper and books and littered with ashtrays. "Thought it might have settled down after Naru left. You haven't taken any fresh injuries, have ya part timer?" It was not known to Haruka that Seta had been the one to help Keitaro find the appropriate medical assistance when the strain had finally begun to show. Seta was more than happy for that to continue being the case.

"No, I'm fine. Physically anyway." Keitaro rocked back on his chair, propping his feet on his desk. "I don't know. Motoko is stressed all the way out, she's got centre exams on her mind. Thankfully today she'll have her results, which is a relief. Mutsumi is her usual self, thank god. Su has gone to ground, something's not right with her. I'm going to have to do something for her, I've been so self-centred that I missed something important." With that the brown-eyed man sighed, propping his chin on his hands. "Kitsune I'm worried about, she's completely going off on one. Don't think she's been sober for five days. And as for Shinobu……"

"Shinobu?" Seta was surprised. If there was one person in the Hinata-sou that would rather eat pond slime than go against the Kanrinin it was the purple-haired chef.

"Yeah. It's my fault I guess. But I just didn't know what to do. First I have Naru throw herself at me, then leave. Next the whole world finds out about my little secret, and minutes later I have a sixteen-year-old proclaiming her everlasting love. I kinda got tongue tied, said the wrong thing. Or the right thing in the wrong way. I'm not sure." The student removed his feet from the table, letting his chair return to the ground with a thud. "All the same, I didn't mean to hurt her, not like that. Ever since she's been someone different. More upright and deliberate. Just not, well, Shinobu."

"I know you don't want to tell me what happened, otherwise you just would have." Seta said casually, leaning back in his own seat and closing his eyes. "Give it time, part-timer. Things usually sort themselves out."

"Maybe." Seeing his mentor unashamedly dozing off, Keitaro shook his head with a smile before selecting another relic to reconstruct. Within minutes he was engrossed in his work, enjoying the simple escape it offered.

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Haruka cleaned the last of her tables as her final customers of the day strolled out into the frigid evening air, chattering happily between themselves. The tall woman resisted the urge to slam the door behind them – they had gotten right up her nose with the inane babble about how 'quaint' her shop was, and hadn't even left a tip.

"Bloody tourists." She muttered, taking the used cups to the sink and setting to work scrubbing the brown enamel clean. In all honesty, she was only using the visitors as a focus for her bad temper. But all the same, they were annoying.

Washing cups gave Haruka the chance to think for a while. The foremost question in her mind was what the hell was going on with Shinobu. The girl was on cloud ninety-nine for a good week, until the morning Naru left. Something took place she didn't know about, and there was a sudden about-face. Then, two days later, a knock on the door came late in the evening. She'd opened it with baseball bat in hand, and had been puzzled to find a determined-looking schoolgirl waiting on her step. She had invited the girl in and given her a cup of tea, one that Shinobu had spent some time mulling over. Eventually, the quiet girl had taken a deep breath and looked her in the eye……

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"Haruka-san, I need your help." Haruka gave an internal sigh of relief that the girl had finally drawn up the courage to stop delaying and just come out with it.

"I guessed as such." Putting her drink to one side, the dark-haired woman leaned forwards to look the smaller girl in the eye. "What is it you need, Shinobu-chan?"

"To not be Shinobu-chan any more." The café owner made a face at the cryptic statement, confused.

"Well, if you want to change your name, afraid I can't help you. Your parents might be able to do it, as they still are your legal guardians..." Shinobu shook her head rapidly, cheeks colouring.

"No, that isn't the part I want to change. It's the 'chan' I want to lose." Seeing the other woman's continued confusion, the diminutive girl sighed. Time to lay the cards on the table. "I want you to tell me how to be a woman, Haruka-san. Not a girl any more, a woman." Haruka blink-blinked slowly.

"Uhm, so far as I know, that's something only age can do."

"But I'm sixteen! I'm of legal age by law. Well, not to smoke or drink, but you know what I mean." Shinobu threw her hands up in frustration. "Why does everyone still see me as a kid?" Or one person in particular….. Haruka thought to herself.

"Shinobu-chan, being a 'woman' isn't something that just happens overnight. You don't wake up on your sixteenth birthday with a deeper voice or an extra dose of maturity. Growing up makes you into a different person, and like it or not you've got some of that to do yet."

"Please, Haruka-san." The girl set her cup down and looked at the café owner with desperation in her eyes. "Please, just give me some help. Anything, I've got to show everyone I'm not a child any more."

For several long moments the smoking woman regarded the girl before her. Eventually, she nodded, and put her cigarette down. "Okay. I'll give you some ideas. But don't go thinking this is the blueprint to adulthood, since it's only when things come naturally that everything feels right." The smile that lit up Shinobu's face suggested her warning went unheeded.

"Great! Hang on a second….." The girl set to rummaging in a small white handbag, before yanking out a pink-covered notepad and pencil. "Okay, fire away." Haruka had to hold in a spurt of laughter at the girl's intent pose, looking just like a ten-year-old in her favourite lesson. It seemed she had her work cut out for her.

"Well, it's not just about wearing a neat kimono, or knowing when to bow and how to sit." Haruka relaxed back in her seat, taking a long look at the ceiling. "It's about manner, about what you say, and more importantly what you don't." The dark-haired lady took a reflective puff on her cigarette, before glancing back down at the girl opposite. Who was busy copying the sentence, verbatim, into her notebook. This time Haruka failed to keep in a snort of laughter. You've got a long, long way to go, girl.

"What was that, Haruka-san?" The honest innocence in the question nearly sent the temporary teacher into another fit of laughter.

"Nothing at all." Shinobu peered at her curiously before shrugging and accepting Haruka's statement.

"Okay. So, how about clothing?" Haruka took another slow look at her happily smiling student, before holding in a sigh. It seemed that Shinobu had even further to go than she'd imagined.

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It had gone on for quite some time that night. And the night following. It would have gone on again the night after that, but Haruka had pleaded other arrangements. It wasn't that Shinobu annoyed her at all, it was simply that half the time she wanted to burst out laughing at the youthful determination the purple-haired girl displayed, and half the time sigh in exasperation at exactly the same feature.

It just wasn't her. Haruka doubted that Shinobu could never be the paradigm of womanhood that she was attempting to be – the girl was just too free spirited. It didn't help that the model she seemed to be basing things on was seemingly out of the Edo era.

Lord knows where she got it from...

In any case, the girl seemed to have raided Motoko's kimono drawer, and seemed to insist on offering people tea and bowing every time someone spoke to her.

Which amused Motoko and Mutsumi, but confused the hell out of Su and Keitaro.

Mitsune was probably too smashed to notice.

Finally drying off the last mug, Haruka realised she was late. Late for what she wasn't sure, but she set to putting them away quickly. Keitaro said something was going on up in the Hinata-sou, and gave her a look that suggested she had better be there. The lady knew her neph- uh, her relative well enough to see when he was serious.

The only way to find out what about was to get her arse in gear.

The cigarette smoking woman locked her café firmly and set off up the staircase, glad that the snow had held off thus far. It probably wouldn't much longer, the moist chill in the air and low clouds illuminated by spill off the city lights suggested weather reports would be spot on later in the night. The bitter air seemed more pervasive than ever, and the slim figure wrapped her scarf more tightly around her.

I must be getting old. Haruka mused with a tiny smile. Although if anyone says that to me, they might find out that sometimes silence is wise.

After what seemed an endless climb, the lady found herself at the front door of the Hinata-sou and mildly out of breath. After taking a moment to compose herself and consider the benefits of quitting smoking, the dark-haired woman slid the door open and entered into the welcoming light and warmth.

Time to find out what Keitaro was ruining her nice peaceful evening for.

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Keitaro was busy setting the table with the assistance of Shinobu, who on this occasion was dressed in a very nice maroon Kimono, complete with what appeared to be all the trimmings. She was also bowing to him every time he said a word, and calling him 'Keitaro-sama'.

Which was equal parts curious and disturbing.

Resolving to try and work out what exactly the violet-haired chef was doing at the next possible opportunity, the Kanrinin finished arranging nine chairs at the table as his aunt walked in.

"Good evening, Haruka-obasan." A solid 'thwack' of a harisen later, Keitaro adjusted his greeting to something Haruka appreciated more.

"Okay then Keitaro-bozu, what's all this about?" The lady peered at the carefully set table, as her nose told her that something very nice was cooking in the kitchen Shinobu had just entered. Spicy, but nice.

"I'd kinda like to know myself." Hearing her husband's voice behind her, Haruka spun to see the unshaven archaeologist smirking slyly, Sara in tow. Whilst the man wore an old white shirt with the two top buttons open, he still managed to look more dignified than his adoptive daughter. Who was clad in a dress that was so pink it was offensive, and looked thoroughly unhappy to be there.

"Ara, that makes, um, six of us." Mutsumi voiced, making her cautious way down the stairs with a pensive Motoko and a ragged Mitsune in tow.

"In a second." Came the smiling response. "Would you care to take a seat?"

"When you get around to telling me what's going on." Haruka stated firmly, irritated.

"Well, okay then. Everything ready, Shinobu...chan?" Receiving an affirmative response, Keitaro cupped his hands around his mouth, and called out. "Su-chan! Dinner!"

A small blond and brown comet hurtled into the room, before stopping on a sixpence at the sight of the assembled company.

"Huh?" The little Molmolian cocked her head in curiosity as she regarded her regular playmate and partner in crime Sara, who was suddenly looking much happier to have been dragged away from the TV. "Whatcha all doin' here?"

"Well, I called them over, thought they might like to join us." Keitaro pulled back one of the chairs, and gestured with a jacket-clad arm. "Would you care to take your seat, madam? The starter will not be far away..." Mutsumi and Motoko chuckled at the hammy display, whilst Su needed no second invitation. Eventually, everyone took their respective seats before Haruka asked the inevitable question.

"So, are you actually going to tell us?" Looking around the table and seeing six pairs of curious eyes staring back at him (Su being too distracted by the imminent arrival of food to bother) the young man scratched the back of his head with customary embarrassment. "Guess I forgot, huh." The six pairs of eyes continued staring. Until, eventually...

"So?" Mitsune prompted, whilst Haruka shook her head with a chuckle. Seta was turning Keitaro into a clone of himself.

"Uh, well, a week ago we all missed something important." The kanrinin turned to Su. "Su-chan, why didn't you mention it at the time?"

"'Cause everyone was so busy." The tan princess replied, unusually subdued. "Didn't want ta bother anyone, there was badness going on. It's not important."

"Su-chan, turning seventeen is important." Several gasps around the table announced that more than one person was ignorant of the fact. "So, this is your slightly delayed birthday party, and I can't say I'm sorry enough that it wasn't on time." Seeing Keitaro's face falling, Su pounced across the table to rub her cheek cat-like against her Kanrinin's.

"Awwww, Su's not mad Keitaros. I'm happy we're havin' it now, I don't want my oniisan sad." Seeing the man's expression lifting again, the diminutive girl sprang back across the table, landing with the softest of thuds back in her chair. "Now bring on the food!" She crowed, flinging gleeful arms into the air.

"One more thing." Keitaro said, looking towards the ebony-haired swordswoman who was grasping an envelope in her hands and looking as anxious as she ever got. "Motoko-san, care to do the honours?" The girl gave the table a sickly smile before tearing almost frantically at the envelope, quickly withdrawing a slip of paper. Unfolding it rapidly she scanned it, before her eyes widened to the size of saucers. Trembling fingers dropping the piece of paper, the normally implacable girl put her hands over her mouth, staring blankly at Keitaro sat opposite her. It was Seta who scooped the discarded sheet up from the floor, and read it thoroughly. His eyes also widened minutely, and he passed it silently to Keitaro.

Who seconds later had thrown it skywards with a whoop of joy.

"Motoko-san!" The Kanrinin gave up on any pretence of formality and raced around the table to engulf the seemingly dumbstruck girl opposite with a joyous hug. It was Mitsune who seized the paper and read the contents.

"Second. Ranked second in the nation." The fox's eyes opened wide, and several people around the table gasped.

"Ara, second?" Mutsumi blinked slowly at the swordswoman, who she'd never seen look quite so speechless.

"What's second? Does it taste good?" Koalla chirped.

"I'd say it does." Motoko said shakily, regaining some semblance of balance.

"I told you! Knew you'd do it!" Keitaro unthinkingly gave the pale girl a kiss on the cheek, one that caused both her face and several others around the table to colour. (Mitsune put hers down to the swig of sake she'd stolen whilst everyone else was busy.)

"Thank you, Kei-kun." Murmured the black-haired kendoist, trying unsuccessfully to regain her normal complexion with the man still hugging her shoulders. Damn, I'm going to be blushing all night after that...

"Food is ready!" Shinobu called from the kitchen. Keitaro detached himself from Motoko and hurried to get the dishes before Su launched herself bodily through the door to fetch them herself.

As he set the first steaming plate down on the table the Kanrinin hoped that, between the good mood and the dinner prepared, everyone would be too cheerful for anything to happen this time.

Wrong. As usual.

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The starter had been demolished, and the main course – inevitably curry, one that Su received a special spice shaker to accompany – enjoyed by all. It was mid-way through desert (banana split, equally inevitably) that Sara clocked that something wasn't right.

Papa had told her to be on her best behaviour. But this was Sara McDougal we're talking about.

"Hey dork, where's the girl with the glasses?" The blond pre-teen scanned the table once more, ignoring that most of the people sat at it had stopped eating.

"Naru is, uh..." Keitaro glanced around, realising that lying to Sara was not going to look good in front of so many people.

"Uh what? C'mon, spill the beans."

"She's gone home for a while." He eventually mumbled, hoping the half-truth would satisfy the nosey girl.

"Home huh? Man, that's boring." Sara fiddled with her desert, staring at the ex-ronin. Slowly, a cruel smile began to ease its way onto her mouth. "What's she doing home during term then? She had all Christmas to go, so why now?" The piercing tone began to irritate Keitaro, who was doing his best to ignore her.

"Family emergency." Mutsumi broke in - too quickly.

"Oh, convenient." The young girl leered, sensing collusion. "You wanna know what I reckon?"

"Now now, Sara-chan." Seta admonished gently.

"I reckon she's fed up of ya, and wanted to get away for a while to see what real men are like."

"..." Keitaro didn't reply, but Mutsumi paled as the hand tightly clutching his knife began to shake.

"Enough, Sara-chan." Haruka said firmly, giving the girl a cold glare, which did nothing to the irreverent girl but confirm her allegations. Something she apparently enjoyed giving the way she crowed in triumph.

"Knew it! Nice one Naru, about time you came to your senses! I could have told you ages ago, dump the dork-"

"SHUT UP!" Sara nearly wet herself in fright as Keitaro sprang to his feet, slamming his fists down on the table. "Just give it a rest, you insufferable brat!" The normally mild-mannered man roared, before suddenly realising where he was. For several seconds no-one moved, no-one breathed.

"Kei-kun?" Mutsumi murmured, reaching up a hand onto the man's shoulder. He blink-blinked for a moment, before easing up from his chair.

"Please excuse me, I think I'm finished. Thank you for the food, Shinobu-chan." The man strode off to the stairs, taking them two at a time, before leaving sight.

Silence reigned.

"Shit." Mitsune muttered, pouring herself a glass of wine from the selection of bottles on the table. "Way ta go, Sara-bozu. Thought he was gettin' over things, and you have ta open yer stupid yap..." The fox drained half a glass of white and relaxed back in her seat, eyes closing.

"Wha-hey! Don't you say that to me!" The blond girl protested, still shocked at the reaction.

"Sara-chan. Take a look around." Seta muttered quietly. His adoptive daughter did so, heart sinking further and further as she met each face. Haruka and Motoko cold and disapproving. Mitsune ignoring her completely. Shinobu looking close to furious as she'd ever seen her. Mutsumi looking up towards the stairs, eyes too bright to be dry. Su...

Su had never looked at anyone with dislike, let alone her. But now, there was definitely a hint of anger in her stare.

Suddenly, Sara felt very small and alone.

"I-I..." The girl wanted nothing more than to hide behind her papa's coat until everyone else went away. But she was being firmly held in place by the man, forcing her to endure the scrutiny.

She didn't even notice the tears until they began pattering in her lap. For the first time in her life, Sara McDougal realised what it meant to have hurt someone, and what it meant to face the consequences. She'd always done what she did out for fun or out of petty spite, for enjoyment, never considering what her words could actually do. Shame and guilt overwhelmed the eleven-year-old, drowning her in a torrent of despair, one she had no chance of swimming against.

Her next memory was sobbing into her papa's chest, nursing an awful headache with her nose running like a tap. Slowly she peeled her face away, and cast a look around the table. Haruka and Motoko were both still present, drinking leisurely glasses of red and deep in conversation. Mitsune seemed to be sleeping sat up, drool slowly seeping from one corner of her mouth.

Washing up noises from the kitchen suggested that at least two others were in there. Shinobu and Su's voices could just be heard, subdued. Mutsumi had vanished completely.

"Sara-chan." Seta murmured, shifting slightly.

"Yes, papa?" Sara gurgled, trying to clear her throat.

"Are you okay?" The bespectacled man gazed down at her with a lopsided smile.

"Yeah..." Slowly, the blond-haired girl eased herself up, cursing her throbbing head.

"I'm glad." Seta muttered, fixing his adoptive daughter. "So, do you want to say sorry?"

"...Yeah..."

"Are you willing to go up there and tell him?" Motoko asked, surprising the girl.

"No." Sara stated, startled.

"Then shut up and forget the idea." Haruka said bluntly, studying her nails. "Mutsumi has already gone. I think you'd best off staying with me and Seta."

"Okay, Haruka-san." Sara acceded, deciding that she wasn't really up to apologising to 'the dork'. Maybe tomorrow. Or next year. Maybe in the next life. But not now. She was still shaken to the soles of her sock-clad feet by the look he gave her before he left. The blond girl had never seen someone look so...desolate.

"Speaking of 'staying' Haruka, mind if lodge here tonight?" Seta asked, gesturing at the silent snow falling with ebullient energy outside. "It started about ten minutes after the food did, there's probably half a dozen inches on the ground by now."

"Yeah, sure. You can share my room, and Sara-chan will have to shack up with one of the girls. Or stay in Naru's room, but that's a bit bare at the moment." The girl considered her options, and decided to pay a visit to Su. She wasn't going to stay mad...probably.

"Mind you, after the last party this is pretty tame." Haruka mused, lighting up another of her endless cigarette supply and taking an easy puff. "At least there's no bloodshed yet..."

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"I thought you'd go to your room." Mutsumi said gently, breath misting in the snow-laden air.

"Decided to be radical." The man beside her answered with a hint of bitter humour. The Okinawan drew her hands around herself, aquamarine jacket not enough to keep out the cold.

"Ara, Wind is having a lazy night tonight." She commented, leaning on the same railings as Keitaro.

"How so?"

"Well it can't be bothered going around things, so it's going straight through instead." The man let out a tiny chuckle, staring out into space.

"Hasn't anyone told it that exercise is good for you?" Mutsumi brushed a few flakes of snow from her hair, staring at the same nondescript spot.

"If someone did, it didn't listen."

"Seems that way." The pair stared out into the darkness in silence. The mahogany-haired girl let Keitaro brood, quite happy to just be in his company. The girl knew the man beside her, and knew that he would speak when he wanted to speak. And if he wasn't tonight, then fine. She wasn't Shinobu, who would push to be heard, or Naru who would get bored waiting. She'd be there when he was ready, whenever that may be.

The silence passed, well, silently.

The Okinawan shivered once, unwilling to let the cold force her inside.

And she was not going to let a fainting spell take her. No way.

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"You okay, Mutsumi?" The mahogany-haired girl's eyes fluttered open, and she found herself peering up into a pair of matching irises from close range. Blinking rapidly, she noticed that she was standing at quite an awkward angle, and that Keitaro was supporting her with two arms snugly bound around her waist.

"Ara, I'm fine Kei." Mutsumi carefully eased her weight back onto her feet, light-headedness receding slowly.

"Good." The brown-haired man watched her for a few seconds, before going back to regarding the view.

"Don't mind me." As she turned to watch the falling snow again, the Okinawan cursed her fragility. She'd been so determined not to disturb Keitaro, and what did she go and do? Now he was never going to open up...

"I don't. I never will." Keitaro turned around to rest his back against the red-painted railing, staring back at the Hinata-sou. "You're not someone who forces things. I think of all the people I know, only you and Motoko would have let me be. Which is all I wanted. Shinobu, for example, would have badgered me 'til kingdom come. Not that I dislike it, it's her way of showing she cares. But all the same..." The man trailed off, letting out a silent sigh.

"Kei, I'm afraid I'm curious. What happened that morning?"

"A week ago?"

"Yes." Mutsumi fidgeted nervily as Keitaro frowned.

"Well, she decided to pledge her undying love to me." The Okinawan bit back a gasp. "At that time, I was a mess, Naru had gone, and then she goes and says that. I didn't know what to think. In the end I blurted out something I didn't really mean. Or something I mean, but in the wrong way, I don't know." There was a pregnant pause, as Mutsumi scrutinised Keitaro carefully, taking in his agitated posture.

"What did you say?"

"I said 'but you're so young!'" Keitaro laughed emptily, hand scratching the back of his head. "I don't know what I meant by that. I love Shinobu, love her to pieces. But she is so young..."

"She's sixteen. Seventeen this year." The bespectacled man shook his head ruefully, mouth in a humourless grin.

"I know, I know. She's flowering into a lovely young lady now, and she's really growing up. But I don't know, I still see in her the meek twelve-year-old I first met. I'm so confused, I really don't know what to make of it all."

"So you're not sure what you feel for Shinobu." Mutsumi replied honestly. Keitaro nodded.

"Pretty much sums it up, yeah." The man held out a bare palm, catching an errant snowflake. "I'm not sure if I want to protect her as a brother or as a husband. I can't work it out..." Keitaro trailed off, voice pensive.

"Ara, give it time Kei. The answer will come." The pair stood in companionable quiet, the hum of snowflakes falling to earth the only noise. Eventually a disparaging laugh interrupted the peace.

"I wish it would. I'd have had thought that I'd have an answer, or at least a bit of relief from the agony by now." He didn't have reference the girl by name, Mutsumi knew exactly who he was talking about. "I'm not so angry at Sara as I am at myself, why did I react like that down there? I should be over this by now!" Sensing the normally placid Kanrinin growing angry, Mutsumi gently placed a delicate on his shoulder.

"Kei, it's perfectly normal. How long have you been chasing Naru's shadow? Twenty-plus years?" Feeling the man trembling, the brown-eyed girl placed her second palm on Keitaro's other shoulder, steering him to face her. "I'm no professor, but I understand. That kind of shock takes more than a night's wailing to get over." God knows did Mutsumi understand, she'd cried herself to sleep for nearly a month after Keitaro and Naru hooked up.

"A night's wailing? You mean..."

"Kei, my room is just down the hall. A deaf woman in a soundproofed box could have heard you the night Naru left. Or at least, a deaf woman who was awake..." Mutsumi trailed off, slipping one hand from it's position to wipe Keitaro's cheeks dry. "Besides, Sara deserved it. It's about time that someone showed her that cruelty has a price to pay." The man in front of her couldn't even raise a smile.

"It doesn't make things any easier." Head bowed, Keitaro stared at his feet through blurry eyes.

"It won't. Nothing will." Mutsumi's hand moved to cup the distraught man's cheek. "Except time. Give yourself enough, Kei. Don't try and be the hero just because you're expected to be. Let yourself say goodbye properly, and stop pretending it's all okay when it isn't. I won't think less of you, none of us will."

"Mutsumi..." Keitaro's overflowing eyes spoke louder than his faltering voice ever could.

"Shhhh Kei, words are for later. Actions speak louder, you know?" With that the gentle Okinawan pulled Keitaro to her, resting his head against her shoulder, waiting for the inevitable.

Slowly, oh so slowly, the man in her embrace began to shake. Then the first sob, as the rumble preceding the avalanche. Eventually the sound of weeping permeated the night air. As Keitaro mourned a love lost, the girl holding him almost enjoyed the sound, the song of farewell. She ached at the music, but saw within the chance of a new start. A new beginning, one that she could share.

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The eyes watching from the shadows became moist. Both at the anguish on display, and the way the Okinawan embraced the distraught man.

The eyes blinked to clear themselves, and a quiet sigh blended in with the sound of sadness.

This made things difficult. Obviously Mutsumi was close to Keitaro, and this made things difficult.

The voyeur silently made her exit, mind in a whirl. What to do, what to do?

The only certainty was that she wanted the Kanrinin for herself, and was willing to do anything in her power to get her way. It might be her only chance...

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All done!

Hope no-one minds the wait, I really do apologise for it. I try to get chapters out fortnightly at least, but this time life got in the way...

Thanks again to all the reviewers, and I hope that anyone who's read this chapter has enjoyed it!

'Til next time,

Nodoka Miyazawa.