Time for chapter 20 at last.
Thanks to all my reviewers, I continue to appreciate your input and opinions.
It's been quite long enough, so I won't ramble on.
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Repercussions – Chapter 20
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Shinobu glanced around herself, as if to affirm the truth she already knew.
Yes, she was still alone. As she had been the last time she'd checked ten seconds before. The door was still locked, and the young home-maker knew that every single pathway and entry point into the laundry room was secure. It was as much her room as the one which bore her name upon the door, and hence she was familiar with all the hidden passageways leading into it.
When Shinobu was doing the laundry, she made very sure she couldn't be disturbed - it was doubtful that even Su could break into her stronghold at these times. While the violet-haired girl doubted anyone would really want to bother her that much, she was unwilling to take any chances as being caught in the act would be not only die-of-shame embarrassing, but also cast shadow on her innocent reputation. Although she wasn't actually doing anything wrong per se, she could still imagine raised eyebrows if someone such as Motoko came across her while she was enjoying a slightly guilty pleasure.
One last scan of the room.
Still empty.
Good.
With a broad smile on her face Shinobu rifled through the piles of linen awaiting their turn in the washing machine, until she came across an off-white set. Putting them carefully to one side she piled her own blankets into the machine and, with remarkable haste, set it to work. Glancing once more around as if in confirmation, the bright-eyed teen quickly made a pile out of the remaining unwashed linens before grasping those she'd set aside. Unfolding them, the girl smiled broadly before cocooning herself in the soft fabrics and flopping blissfully down onto her impromptu bed, burrowing into the soft warmth.
Then she breathed deeply, enjoying the familiarity of her favourite scent.
Keitaro had no idea he was the reason she'd insisted on cleaning the bedclothes at least twice a week, and definitely wasn't aware of what she did while ensconced in her private universe. Shinobu was more than happy for this to remain the case.
Closing her violet eyes slowly, she allowed her imagination to run free. Dreaming of a future where she wasn't wrapped up in these sheets alone, when she could breathe in the scent of a living breathing person, not merely the shadow he left upon his bedclothes.
'But you're so young…..'
The same bitterness which always came to pass during these moments arrived right on cue, and the girl buried her face into the scented cloth, allowing it to absorb her tears. Shinobu was a dreamer, but she was no fool. And she knew there was next to no chance that Keitaro would see her as a woman in time for her to have a chance. Three years was far too long, if the man wasn't taken by one of her peers by then he was either dead or gay. And Shinobu had seen enough evidence to be sure the latter wasn't true.
But she was still allowed to dream, so dream she did. Captured in the grip of unfulfilled desire, enjoying every bittersweet moment she spent wound tightly in an indirect embrace.
Eventually she became aware that the washing machine had fallen silent, and reluctantly disentangled herself from her cocoon. People had started to notice the laundry was taking longer and longer to complete, especially after she'd fallen asleep for three hours the previous week. The last thing she wanted to do was draw attention to her….activities. It was only as she drew the slightly damp fabric away from her face that she noticed something wasn't quite right. There was another facet to the scent, one she hadn't noticed – it was faint but there all the same. Drawing the bundle to her nose she took a deep inhalation, mind whirling. It took some time to place it, but the girl was so familiar with the washing of each of her housemates that it was only a matter of exclusion.
Motoko. Motoko's scent.
Eyes narrowing slightly, Shinobu gripped the cloth more tightly. How did Motoko end up using Keitaro's bedclothes? Suspicious, the young home-maker shuffled through the pile until she came across the linen belonging to the ex-swordsmistress and gathered them up. Breathing in slowly (and feeling a little embarrassed as she did so) the girl could only smell the rich floral tones that were unique to the younger Aoyama, something that secretly reassured her. Dropping them carelessly to the floor, Shinobu set to emptying and re-filling the washing machine while internally laughing at her antics.
Talk about paranoid. She chuckled, placing her now clean sheets over a clothes horse to dry, and scooping up another armful to load into the machine. I'm starting to see things everywhere….
The internal laughter stopped abruptly and she almost dropped the fabric in her grasp as a very familiar scent crept into her nose. Holding the sheets out at arms length, Shinobu recognised them instantly.
Not really wanting to find out but feeling duty bound to, the girl took a tentative sniff and found her suspicions confirmed.
Mutsumi's bed sheets. And they had both her and Keitaro's scents all over them.
There was no mistaking it. Keitaro's smell was far different from anyone else's, more deep and masculine, and it was one Shinobu could detect from twenty miles away with a following wind. Having a trace of Motoko on Keitaro's linen, well, they were stashed on the sofa most of the time and anyone could use them. It wasn't unreasonable to imagine someone borrowing them to keep warm. But Mutsumi's bedding was only ever in one place. On her bed.
Which meant so was Keitaro, and given the relative intensity, he had been there for some time.
The tiny candle of hope which still burned in Shinobu flickered dangerously.
Seconds later, the door was open and the laundry room empty, a pile of blue linen lying discarded in the middle of the floor.
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Mitsune stared dully at the ceiling above her for what seemed to be the millionth time, wishing dearly that she had something new to look at. Sighing irritably, the girl winced as her raw throat announced its own displeasure at the situation. It obviously didn't appreciate having a camera shoved down it, even if it was 'for her own good'. As it was, whatever had caused her to vomit blood all over Keitaro's lap didn't seem to be a major problem any more.
This didn't make Mitsune feel that much better. Her throat still hurt, and her life still seemed utterly aimless.
Coughing once, the fox almost growled in annoyance as the burning intensified in response.
Doctors? Sadists, each and every one of them.
Resisting the urge to express her annoyance, the girl settled for staring abjectly at nothing in particular. She'd didn't know how long she'd been tied to monitors and drips, but was more than sure it was long enough. Even talk of downgrading her and moving her to a regular ward with the potential for getting out and about had done nothing to alleviate her foul mood – all but the cheeriest of nurses had given up trying to lift her from her black fog, and while certain visitors could they did have their own lives to lead.
So Mitsune drifted aimlessly, wondering if there was anything worth recovering for.
"Sulking again?" The voice which awoke her from her daydreams sent a tremor down her spine. Allowing a grey eye to cease its ceiling inspection, Mitsune glanced at Haruka with ambivalence. And decided not to even grace the question with a response.
"Guess you are. Y'know, you could try something else for a change." The woman continued in a conversational tone, one usually accompanied by the tapping of cigarette ash into a tray. But this was a high-dependency ward, so the nicotine addict had to go without.
"……." After recovering from the surprise, Mitsune found herself oddly undisturbed at the older woman's presence. When you just don't care any more, the fox mused, there's not very much that can scare you.
"Because if you don't, we're gonna have words. Again. And this time, I'm prepared to go past words, through gestures and all the way up to physical shaking if that's what it takes to get the message across." Haruka finished, her eyes narrowing hawk-like at the prone figure.
"……Not interested." Was the dismissive reply, Mitsune half-rolling away from her in emphasis.
When the fox subsequently found herself half-rolled back by a pair of firm hands, she felt her eyebrows moving towards her hairline at the unexpected (and unwanted) contact. Feeling stirrings of anger she repeated the same movement, once again turning her back on her visitor.
The anger wasn't quite so well contained when Haruka (fairly forcefully) returned to her original position a second time.
"Ah, sod off Haruka-san. If ya wanna tell me off, ya can do it ta my back." The fox growled, ignoring the complaints from her throat. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of amusement when Haruka instinctively reached for her usual pacifier before realising she couldn't use it. Instead she settled for crossing her legs and linking her hands across her knee, obviously trying to stop fidgeting fingers.
"I'm not here for that." Ignoring the sardonic look she received, Haruka shrugged her long coat off her shoulders, settling it across the back of her chair and making sure she was comfortable. "I'm here to try and talk some sense into you."
Mitsune bit back a snarl at the unconcealed slight.
"If all yer gonna do is hurl insults at me, there's no point hangin' around. Just get 'em off yer chest an' leave." Closing her slitted eyes, the morose figure settled back into her bed with barely a sigh.
And almost yelped out loud as the older woman seized her hand in a grip which could put a shark's jaws to shame.
"I don't think you're listening Mitsune-chan." Leaning forwards, Haruka gave the captured hand an extra tweak, careful to ensure it looked innocent to anyone nearby. "I've come to talk some sense into you, because if I don't no-one else will." For long seconds the pair stared at one another, the irony of the situation not lost on Mitsune.
"Look, jus' leave me be. If you wanna throw me out or whatever, I don't care." If anything, the look on her visitor's face darkened further.
"You really can't see past yourself, can you? This isn't about me, or you for that matter. You still owe Keitaro big-time, and I intend to see you earn every single yen back, that hasn't changed. I'm here for everyone else, everyone who's spent the last few days chewing their nails off while they pray for you to get better." Mitsune snorted gently, apparently unimpressed.
"Yeah, right…."
"Don't you dare, Mitsune-san. Don't you dare take that tone." Haruka growled in annoyance, giving the girl's hand another squeeze in warning, one that drew the fox's full attention. Regarding the café-owner Mitsune found the faintest tingle of fear sparkle in her nerves, unpleasant but somehow welcome at the same time.
"You'd better stop this whole 'it doesn't matter' pity parade right now, it doesn't give your friends the respect they deserve." The older woman continued, her tone hard and unflinching. "Keitaro, Shinobu and everyone else have been worried sick. I reckon I've not seen that nephew of mine this worked up since the whole Naru business went down." At the mention of her one-time best friend, Mitsune grimaced visibly. Pinned by a questioning look, she sighed and dropped her eyes to the bedspread, voice dropping to a dull murmur.
"She's one who wouldn't mind me outta the way, I reckon." Beneath Haruka's ever more curious gaze, the girl found an explanation pouring forth despite herself. "She's plannin' ta move out, seems me an' her ain't gonna get along like we used ta." For several long moments the Urashima seemed to regard her with something nearing amusement, a reaction which really elevated Mitsune's heckles. "Yeah, way ta laugh at a girl when she's down, Haruka-san."
"You really, honestly think she's moving out just because of you?" The slim woman half-chuckled, shaking her head idly. "You really are self-centred aren't you? Look, Naru's been found out. Shinobu will hardly speak to her, Mutsumi has blanked her, she's surrounded by memories and the man she really desires she can't have. And he's still living under the same roof as her, so she sees him every single day."
"……" Suddenly feeling incredibly foolish (and not a little guilty) Mitsune found her fingers intensely interesting.
"Look. Whatever's going in between you and her is for you and her to sort out. I imagine she needs you a lot more than you need her right now. But as for everyone else..." Huffing slightly, Haruka continued with grudging annoyance"Well, there's an earth in the Hinata-sou that's missing its fox. Your friends are waiting for you, and you'd better not forget it."
The silence following the statement seemed to stretch on for hours, eventually punctuated by a tiny nod from the grey-haired woman. Seemingly satisfied, Haruka released Mitsune's captive hand and stood, unconcerned by the fact the imprints of her fingers could still be seen outlined on the pale skin.
"I'll leave you to mull it over. Oh, and just so you're sure….." Leaning over the prone fox and dropping her voice to barely a purr, the slim figure felt a stirring of satisfaction as the target of her ire cringed in a very nervous manner. "You're a long way from forgiven, but I'm willing to give you the chance. All the same, I expect to see every single Yen paid back, even if I have to work you into the ground. Every. Single. Yen." With that Haruka span on her heel and strode from the ward, nodding in acknowledgement to the nurses as she left.
Mitsune released a breath she didn't know she was holding, willing her heart to return to somewhere near her normal eighty beats per minute.
It seemed Haruka did still possess the ability to scare the hell out of her. Even so, it had given her plenty to think about, a silver lining to look at.
Unfortunately, every silver lining had a cloud attached.
Resting back, head cradled upon the hands joined behind it, Mitsune let out a long sigh and closed her grey eyes. Although she had plenty to think about, it wasn't as if she had anything else to do at this moment in time.
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The kitchen was warm, its occupants bathed in the light from a bulb clothed by a tan lampshade hanging from the ceiling. Leaning easily against one of the wooden worktops where Shinobu frequently worked her magic, Keitaro watched the kettle as it came to the boil, the sound of water bubbling energetically precluding a clicking sound as the power shut itself off. Lifting it from its resting place, the man tipped its contents into the waiting teapot and closed the lid with a small 'clunk'.
"Ara, is it just me or do we seem to spend most of our time drinking tea?" Smiling gently at Mutsumi, Keitaro shrugged as he fished three cups from one of the cupboards.
"Well, it's pretty much standard with every meal, and if you fancy a proper chat with someone having a drink to do it over is usually a good idea. Particularly when you have a guest." Nodding at the gravid figure opposite him, the man received a light chuckle in response.
"While I do appreciate ceremony, I feel your caffeine intake requires monitoring. Perhaps it was a factor in your habitual clumsiness, and also the slightly frantic manner of the exchanges that always followed….." Tsuruko noted with amusement, drawing a mock-glare from the Kanrinin.
"I wouldn't say it's that bad."
"Ara, ara. We're not saying you're addicted Kei, but you single-handedly keep rural China in business." Mutsumi chipped in, her grin taking any bite out of her words.
"Hey! It's Haruka's fault, okay? She'd only talk to me if we made tea first. I guess it turned into a habit." Keitaro defended, looking sheepish. Something that vanished the moment the brown-haired girl sidled closer and took his hand apologetically. "Besides, it's not like anyone ever refuses a cup is it?" The man finished, using his free hand to open the teapot lid and inspect its contents.
"You do have a point. Anyhow, on other matters….." Gesturing to the linked hands and the closeness of the pair, Tsuruko continued languidly. "I take it circumstances have changed, yes?"
"Yeah, you could say that. Partially thanks to you to be honest." At her boyfriend's words Mutsumi's gaze turned curious, seeking the explanation he quickly provided. "You see, a few days ago Tsuruko managed to do the impossible, which was extract my head from where it had been stuck. She reminded me that it wasn't just my time I was wasting by not making my mind up." Sighing gently Keitaro leant back against the worktop and examined the ceiling, fingers still not releasing their hold. "I kinda had a few ideas what I wanted, that I'd been getting closer to you for a few weeks. But between what happened in the springs and that night, on top of what Tsuruko said to me……I'm sorry if it was sudden, but I didn't want to let the chance pass me by." For a long second the brown-eyed pair stared at one another, before the shorter figure allowed her trademark smile to shine through.
"However it came about, I'm glad it happened. I've wanted you for the longest time, Kei." Throwing her free arm around Keitaro Mutsumi drew him into a chaste kiss, one the Kanrinin responded to.
"I see." Tsuruko stated shortly, not showing any overt reaction. "I also assume this is not a development which has become common knowledge?"
"No."
"So why so carefree before myself? I am the sister of one of your residents." The swordsmistress continued, apparently curious.
"Well, it's not as if we could hide anything from you." Keitaro replied, shrugging idly as he poured the tea out and handed the cups out. "Also, you're not really involved, which makes it easier. We'd rather tell the others when the time is right."
"How long would that have taken, Keitaro?" The question, voiced in a cool soprano, drew everyone's attention to the doorway. Where Shinobu stood, looking at the linked hands between her two favourite housemates with an almost accusing stare.
"Ara, Shinobu. Um…." Mutsumi was cut off by a waved finger, the violet-haired girl having none of it.
"Don't bother denying it. Keitaro spent last night with you, his smell was all over your sheets." Uncaring that her private hobbies were exposed Shinobu took a firm pace into the room and fixed Keitaro with a glare. "I'll ask again. How long?"
"I-I don't know." The man admitted quietly, dropping his head. "I was worried how people would react."
"Worried how…..?" About to set off on a tirade, the young home-maker was made to pause as a firm hand landed on her shoulder, and a quiet voice crept into her ear.
"You are currently demonstrating, quite ably may I add, exactly why he was reluctant to tell anyone." Abruptly, Shinobu found the wind taken from her sails. Tsuruko had hit the nail head on, and what right did she have to make a big song and dance about anything? It wasn't as if she was being betrayed…..although deep down, that was exactly how it felt.
"Sorry, Shinobu. We only became a couple last night. You're the first resident to know." Mutsumi put in, sympathy clear in her tone.
"I see." Still dazed and confused, the girl accepted a proffered cup and took a sip without even realising she was doing so. Focussing on the pair before her, she could see the obvious affection in Mutsumi's gaze and nothing but honesty coming from her Kanrinin. "How?"
"Well…..I've had to think long and hard about things. I've been getting close to her for some time, but the last few days opened my eyes." Seeing the face of his youngest tenant falling, Keitaro searched for words of solace but found none.
"Shinobu, please don't hate me. I've waited my whole life for this, and I just had to try. I've already been too late once; I couldn't let a chance pass me again." Looking at Mutsumi, Shinobu tried and failed to find any anger towards the sweet-tempered Okinawan. In the end she settled on a saddened sigh, and a nod.
"Yeah. I can't say you didn't give me my chance." Drinking the last of her tea, the girl straightened up, determined to take the news with her head held high. "But don't wait too long to tell the others. They deserve to know, especially Naru and……Motoko……"
"I must concur with Shinobu-chan on this matter." Tsuruko agreed, olive gaze calm but firm. "Far be it for me to make such a decision for you, Keitaro-san. But a decision was needed in order to allow people to lead their lives with their eyes open." Breaking out into a half-smile, the pregnant woman drained her own cup and set it to one side. "I will not deny I hoped my sister may have found her life partner in you, but I can see you care deeply for one another, and hence I wish you only the very best."
"Thank you Shinobu, Tsuruko-san." Keitaro answered, sliding an arm around Mutsumi and tightening his grip slightly. One of the things the man valued highly was Shinobu's friendship, and that he would still have it was a great relief. "We'll let everyone know at dinner."
"Very well." Easing with a grace unbecoming someone with the dimensions of a small house, Tsuruko paused at the threshold. "I will see you at dinner. Until then." The three watched as she slipped from the room, before Shinobu took a quick breath.
"Actually..." Taking in the position her two close friends were in, the girl swallowed past the lump in her throat before continuing. "There is something I'd like to talk to you about, Kei. It's about Su……"
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On the roof it was cold, the first few specks of snow drifting down and precluding what was to come, in the same way that sixteen bars of piano music may proceed an epic rock ballad. Amongst the heralding flakes Motoko sat in her usual meditative position, seemingly ignorant of the fact she was the centrepiece of a snow-globe that was about to be vigorously shaken. To anyone watching it would appear that, in fact, all was well if her normally tranquil expression wasn't marred by the faintest hint of a frown. The girl had to admit the disquiet she had awoken with had not eased, if anything it had grown substantially. While she had not gone so far as to investigate where Keitaro had been that very morning, she instinctively knew the choices were sparse. In fact, they totalled two, Naru, Sara and Su not being likely suspects.
Well, Su maybe, but no-one had seen her for days. Motoko didn't think it likely that the little Molmolian would randomly surface and spirit the Kanrinin away to her room at present. It wouldn't be the first time, but the mood just wasn't right for a random kidnapping. Sara just wouldn't be interested, being too young for some reasons and too old for others. Naru……
Just no.
One of two, then. One of them would probably prove to be harmless, and not change anything.
The other option would most definitely change something.
Motoko didn't want to consider it.
Hence she had spent much of the afternoon studying, which she may as well have done blindfolded given how much (or little, for those who like their glasses half-empty) she actually remembered. Following much frustration she had eventually thrown her books down, and retired to the roof in order to meditate, to find some form of focus.
This wasn't going well either.
Every time she felt like she was nearing some form of balance, the present would pop back into her mind. It also didn't help that she instinctively reached out to the Ki of the Hinata Sou whenever she meditated, and would then hurriedly snap off the connection soon as it was made. The woven strands of life energy she gained from the old house and its occupants were normally welcome and comforting as an old blanket, even if they had been turbulent of late. But today…..
Today she was scared. Scared in case she found a change, one that could confirm her suspicions.
Shifting her numbed legs beneath her and opening her olive eyes, the ronin sighed. It had taken her a long time to admit that Keitaro was not, in fact, a vile lecherous pervert who was the embodiment of everything dirty and shameful that polluted the male half of the human race. Once that hurdle was crossed, it had taken far less time for her to see what others had seen (and some refused to acknowledge). That the man was kind-hearted and well meaning, and also possessed an indefinable spark which drew people to him like the proverbial moth to the proverbial flame.
The surprise turned to appreciation, and then to……well, something a lot more than appreciation. Motoko didn't know if it was love but it swelled and blossomed whenever the man was near, and screamed in agony at the very thought that it may go unanswered.
Actually, agony was not quite a strong enough word for the aching hollowness that currently occupied the girl's chest.
With a quiet sigh that dissipated instantly in the wind, Motoko brushed a few icy flakes from her raven-black kimono, allowing herself to think about what might be. She had sworn her loyalty to Keitaro, and was more than content to follow the pledge to the end. In fact, the girl was comforted by the thought that she was still indebted to her Kanrinin. It meant she wouldn't be discarded thoughtlessly, that she would have a place in his life no matter what.
Yet…..
Was that really enough any more?
She'd said as such to her sister, to Mitsune in a rare moment of translucency and even to herself time after time, determined to believe it was the honest truth. Now she wasn't sure. The thought of being alone was as shattering as ever, but the idea of living with the yawning emptiness that sat just above her abdomen wasn't much more appealing.
So what to do then?
Clouded green eyes followed the path of a single snowflake amidst the chaotic paths woven by its brothers, eyes honed to see reality both outside and within, eyes suddenly missing their focus. The young woman knew there were endless paths before her, leading in every direction imaginable. Academia, literature, the martial arts. Yet none of them were lit, each one trailing off into the darkness and whatever was contained in its shrouded depths.
Motoko knew there would be no light until there was knowledge of one fact. So it was the slim figure once more settled with legs folded and palms resting in her lap, closed eyelids not denying her sight as she searched through the strands of life which made up the household, hoping dearly to find them unchanged.
It was the work of moments for her finely tuned senses to detect the truth. The sense of joy, the red string bonding two who until today were unbound.
Slowly she opened her eyes once more, unheeding of the slick fluid trailing from them both.
It was true. And the dream was suddenly over.
The one who had found her focus, after so long living in ignorance, was suddenly lost once again.
As the chasm that now occupied her chest threatened to swallow her whole, the woman who embodied control and reticence did the only thing she felt she could.
Throw her head into her hands, and weep as the snow fell around her unabated.
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She was sweaty, and tired. The strings of the hammock were beginning to cut into her back, and she couldn't say for sure how long it had been since she'd slept in her real bed. Quite literally peeling a yellow (and yellowing further) sock from her foot and holding it in vague proximity to her nose, Kaolla winced as the smell of week-old cheddar wafted into her nostrils without her even taking a sniff. Yes, it had been too long since she'd done, well, anything. Other than eat bananas, drink water and answer nature's inevitable calls all she'd done for an indeterminate amount of time was work.
Now, the Hinata-Sou's resident genius was known for her ability to be single minded. It was true that she could only truly focus on one thing at any one time. The problem was, the actual amount of time she usually focussed on a single task or object was in the order of milliseconds. To devote her attention to one project for any longer than ten minutes at a time was unheard of.
The girl would be the first to admit that it didn't agree with her. She had a headache, a stomach ache and the ache to set fire to something, anything. Whether it be the piles of trashed paper, the failed Mecha-Tamas littering her room like pebbles on a beach or just the Hinata-sou as a whole Su didn't know. All she did know was she was well and truly sick of doing what she was doing.
But continue she would, until her work was done.
At some point hours had blurred into days, and still she seemed not an inch closer to her goal. Every time she felt fit to throw her hands up and quit, the image of another friend laying face-down and unconscious swam before her eyes, and another sketch was forcing itself through her leaden fingers without a conscious thought.
Kaolla had had no idea that reality would be such an utter bastard to live with.
Peering at the blueprint currently occupying the pad in her hands, the girl felt a momentary flicker of delight at what appeared to be a successful design until her cut-glass-sharp mind noted one of her calculations was a factor of ten out. An amendment and a few sums later the idea joined the ever-increasing junk pile, accompanied by a few choice words that would make Mitsune's eyes open wide. Scowling darkly, the tan-skinned princess threw what remained of her notebook into the air and drew a very dangerous looking object she'd pocketed from a Mecha-Tama she'd dismantled a few days ago.
The pull of a trigger, a flash of light and ashes showered the girl like confetti.
It was the fourth notebook to meet such a fate, and on each occasion the therapeutic value lessened that bit more. Hence she was still in a seriously bad mood, and as Keitaro was about to find out, surprising Kaolla Su when she was in a huff was potentially a terminally bad idea.
"Hard day?" An instant after opening his mouth the man found himself staring down the barrel of a rather large gun, the end of which glowed ominously half a centimetre from his nose.
"Oh, it's you Keitaros." Su acknowledged, lowering her weapon in understanding. She hadn't been expecting company with her security countermeasures at full force, but after everything that had taken place the girl had exempted her Kanrinin from anything potentially harmful. And since almost all of her countermeasures were potentially harmful there was little to stop him simply walking straight in.
"What's going on, Su-chan?" Gazing at the scene surrounding him, Keitaro nudged a piece of discarded machinery with his foot, jumping back in alarm when it emitted a plume of black smoke. "Why have you broken down all of your machines?"
"To make them work."
"Make them work?" The bespectacled man echoed, brown eyes wide with surprise. "They worked just fine if I remember rightly. Usually against me."
"But where's the point in that?" Su muttered, sitting morosely on her hammock and letting her legs dangle aimlessly over the side.
"When did the point ever matter?"
"When I realised there might be one." Gesturing with a sweeping hand at the destruction surrounding her, the girl sighed in frustration. "None of them could have saved Mitsune if she'd been even sicker; none of them are good for anything that matters. I just want to make something useful, something that could help if it happened again."
"I see." Keitaro said, taking a seat beside her and surveying the wreckage himself. "I take it things aren't going well."
"Nope." Su stated simply, fingers flexing in frustration. "Nothing works at all, it's just one huge disaster after another." Her voice and face blank, the girl betrayed her anxiety by leaning instinctively into Keitaro and clutching his arm tightly.
"Su-chan, you should stop." Blinking in surprise the Molmolian peered up at her visitor.
"But Keitaros, it's important. It could be anyone next time……" The man replied by shaking his head, staring at the mess with calm eyes.
"That's what the emergency services are for." Sensing Su about to protest, Keitaro continued quickly. "Look, it takes an awfully long time to make something that does a job day-in, day-out. There are a million and one things that need to be considered, and the people who design things like ambulances are specialists. You're just not…..capable of doing it, Su-chan."
The diminutive girl's light eyes seemed to dim noticeably, face dipping forwards to stare at the seemingly useless hands now curled in her lap. "You know, I honestly thought….. I could help. Make a difference for once. Looks like I'll never be able to make anything worth making." She muttered, unfamiliar dejection settling around her shoulders like a leaden shawl.
"What do you mean?" The obvious puzzlement in Keitaro's voice drew her head back up, to see brown eyes regarding her with something approaching disbelief. "You can make a world of difference!"
"But you said….."
"I didn't really explain properly. You're not a girl who deals with practicalities –" Seeing Su about to jump in, the man held up a hand to silence her. "-But look at what you can do. You're capable of making things no-one else can, of defying logic and as many laws of physics as you can get your hands on! You're brilliant, Su-chan." Keitaro finished, an odd sort of pride ringing clear in his voice.
At that moment, Su did something she'd probably never done before.
Blush.
"W-well, thanks." Feeling an odd light-headedness and the urge to play with her fingers (something she later researched and understood to be an emotion known as 'bashfulness') the girl managed to stutter out a question. "But it's still useless really….."
"Then let someone else use it. You could make a huge difference if you sold some of these designs. A huge profit too, but that's another story." Shifting his weight so Su could lean against him more easily, Keitaro pointed at one of the few intact mechas still remaining. "Like the fuel cell on that model. It'd be revolutionary. And I'm not even going to go into the anti-gravity and propulsion systems." Feeling a little more on even ground, the young girl chuckled lightly, waving a dismissive hand.
"Ah, that's last month's model Keitaros. That's a dinosaur. My new one is twice as smooth with half the noise." Snorting quietly, the man beside her shook his head.
"That's just what I mean. Let people who specialise in the mundane get their hands on that and make it work every day. You should just go on doing the impossible." Eyeing the armaments bristling from the machine warily, Keitaro swallowed before adding a corollary. "I'm not saying you should let everything loose, but the bits that aren't used for blowing things up could be really useful."
"I don't know, I don't want any of this used for bad stuff." Su admitted.
"Well, there's always the risk. Governments are always fighting to tip the balance of power, so there's always going to be weapons of war." Keitaro agreed, nodding. "But I don't think your technology will change that if it's made widely available. Then no-one will have an advantage they could exploit, and think of what good it could do."
The pair puzzled over the dilemma for a short while, before the tan figure shrugged.
"Well, I guess I could give them some of my older stuff, and keep the really neat new kit to myself. Then I'll always have the advantage if I needed it." The girl finished cheerily, broad grin back in its rightful place. "Plus it'll keep me in bananas for life."
"That's my Su-chan." Keitaro smiled, patting the girl on her off-white head and receiving another small blush as a result. "Nice to see you back." Again feeling that unfamiliar sensation creeping up on her, Su gave into temptation and simply glomped the man.
"Heya Keitaros. Nice to be back." With her traditional cheek-to-cheek greeting, the girl could almost feel her limbs filling with the fizz which normally occupied them. In addition…..
The deep, almost seismic rumbling of a very hungry stomach caused a big cheesy smile on the young princess' face and a rather large sweatdrop to form on her Kanrinin's brow.
"Hungry, Su-chan?"
"Starvin'! When's dinner?"
"Won't be long." Scooping up an uneaten banana, Keitaro handed it to the girl who proceeded to peel and demolish it in less time than would take most people to say thank-you.
"Ah, better!" She cheered, depositing the skin into her recently ignored compost-condenser system and cracking her knuckles with a sound akin to a steamroller driving across a field of walnuts.
"Glad to hear it." Standing from his place in the hammock, Keitaro stretched carefully, wincing as a vertebra or two audibly re-aligned themselves. "The food will be ready in half-an-hour, I'll ask Shinobu to make extra tonight."
"Ta." The girl replied, already dancing her way around the clearing and cleaning up the mess with her normal vigour.
"See you later."
"Later Keitaros!" Pausing at the doorway, Keitaro smiled as the vivacious girl idly waved a hand over her shoulder before setting to work on re-constructing one of her decommissioned machines. Sliding the door shut he decided to alert the other residents that dinner was on the horizon – if he was going to stand before the firing squad, he'd rather only do it once.
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--
Naru gazed at the bag sat in the corner of her room, puzzling over what to do with its contents. Having half-unpacked, she wasn't sure whether to complete the job and make an effort to settle in or to leave everything where it was to save time packing later.
Taking her honey eyes off the bag, the student looked around her room with little enthusiasm. The walls were bare and the shade of dark cream – not her favourite colour. She had to admit, she missed her peach wallpaper and matching bedclothes. Sara McDougal, however, had firmly laid claim to that room and already patch-worked the walls with posters of anime characters and musicians – Naru doubted the girl could be removed from her new home with a crowbar.
On the other hand, she mused, at least there wasn't a big patch of miss-matched wood in the middle of the floor.
Trying not to focus on that fact too much, the young lady brushed an errant lock of honey hair from her face as she stood and strode over to the window, placing her elbows on the sill as she stared at the scene before her. Funny really, but even the view seemed wrong. It was nice, breathtaking even. To one side forest and mountains clothed in white, piercing the low cloud and vanishing into its murky depths. To the other the long staircase swept clear of snow, beyond which the massive urban sprawl that made up one of the busiest cities on earth huddled beneath the threatening sky. Even so, it wasn't her view. Her view was the one Sara now saw every morning, and to see it from even a slightly different angle just served to remind Naru what she didn't have
Yes, she loved the Hinata-sou, and loved all the people in it, even if some of them didn't share the same sentiments at the present time. But she just wasn't sure if it was her home any more.
Realising time was passing by, the girl pushed herself off the sill and decided to go down for dinner. Keitaro had passed by her door earlier, and even though he hadn't come in Naru could tell that more than just eating was going to happen at the table. It was strange, when she actually listened to what the man had to say, how much more she understood beneath the words. Shame that the realisation had come far too late.
Glancing down at herself, the girl decided that her current garb – a slightly outsized grey sweater and equally bland jogging bottoms – would do the job for now. Strolling towards the lounge without any great rush, Naru mulled over the potential reasons why Keitaro would sound…..nervous.
None of them, from her point of view, were good.
Finally pacing down the last staircase, the student viewed the group already sat at the table with curiosity. It was nice to see Su back, and eating with her usual gusto, although the unhappy look on Shinobu's face suggested the return of her usual appetite didn't sit well with everyone. The violet-eyed girl spared Naru a nod before vanishing back into the kitchen – hardly a warm welcome, but more than she was used to. Sara paused in her food inhalation to splutter 'hey!' before resuming, while Mutsumi avoided her eyes altogether.
Again, not unusual.
Finding herself automatically looking for Mitsune, Naru had to shake herself before taking an empty spot at the table next to Tsuruko. Who, she remembered too late, was very much a factor in what had passed before.
"Ah, Naru-san. Kind of you to join us." The normally slim figure said cheerfully, so cheerfully that it caused the girl to start sweating. "I trust you are well?"
"Uhmm, yeah….."
"Good." Tsuruko smiled, giving Naru a Look. The Look said 'I know you're uncomfortable, and I know you know you're uncomfortable. And I like that you're uncomfortable because if you're uncomfortable it means you've finally taken your head from your backside and taken a sniff of fresh air. But I won't set your mind at rest because I want you to taste a bit of your own medicine, and oh yes, there's a heck of a lot more where this came from if you even think of crossing the line again.'
It's surprising how much one look can say, really.
Tearing her eyes away, Naru instead focussed on the figure sitting to the other side of Tsuruko, who didn't seem the least bit interested in her dinner. Or anything else, to be honest. Motoko sat statuesque, olive irises resting heavily on the table. If the girl was aware she was being studied, she showed no indication of the fact.
"I'd leave her alone. She's been like that for a few hours." Letting her attention return to the older Aoyama, Naru was surprised to find a hint of sympathy on her face.
"But why?" The sympathy deepened, and Naru couldn't help but feel like it was no longer being directed at Motoko.
"I feel you may understand soon enough."
"Wha-"
"Oh, hi Naru-san." Keitaro interrupted, nudging his way through the kitchen door hefting a rather large steaming bowl full of chicken ramen. Setting it down in the centre of the table and watching Su and Sara turn their attention from the starter to the main course; Keitaro took his seat between Mutsumi and Su. Slightly closer to one than the other, Naru noted, before hurriedly squashing the suspicion before it could take hold. Suspicions had cost her far too much already, after all.
The dinner as eaten in relative silence – two of those present were too busy eating, and with Motoko apparently brooding and Shinobu equally quiet (although being sat beside Naru didn't exactly encourage conversation). Before desert, however, Keitaro stood and held his hands up to those at the table. As there was little noise anyway it made little difference in that respect, but he was instantly and obviously the centre of attention.
"Okay, two things. One, I'm glad to say I've been informed Mitsune should be moving out of high-dependency tomorrow. Hopefully that means we'll all get to pay her a visit." He added, glancing at Su and Sara. Su nodded eagerly, Sara kept on eating. With a half-smile the Kanrinin returned his focus to the group as a whole. "Two, well, I have something to tell you…..." As Naru watched, Keitaro almost seemed to glance at her and Motoko, speech obviously faltering.
"……Yes?" Tsuruko prompted politely, sipping at her tea.
"Well, that is, I…….we……" Briefly, the man's eyes flickered down at Mutsumi as if asking for help. With a tiny nod the gentle Okinawan made to stand, and out of the corner of her eye Naru saw movement.
It was Motoko, and she was clutching her hands together to keep them from moving while her bottom lip was in danger of being bitten in half. Slowly, and with growing dread, the honey-haired student returned her attention to the pair now stood together as two and two began to make four.
"Kei and I have been talking, and realise we have come to love one other. So as of today, we're together." She stated simply, fingers entwining with those of the man beside her.
Around the table, the reactions were mixed. Su and Sara cheered raucously, the former sparing a sympathetic look to Shinobu who sat stoically in resigned silence. Tsuruko merely nodded comfortably while beside her Motoko smiled a particular kind of smile, seemingly ignorant that her lip was starting to ooze with crimson fluid.
In the middle of them all, Naru sat with her mouth ajar, looking directly into the eyes of the man opposite. For a moment there was the tiniest hint of remorse in the gaze, something that quickly dissolved until all that remained was honest happiness, eager anticipation of his new future. While the pair linked their arms and re-took their seats to serve dessert and answer a barrage of questions from Sara, Naru's honey eyes still stared blankly into space. Yes, it was already over, and the girl had started reconciling the fact. But to see her two best friends together, and so clearly happy……
If someone had asked her weeks ago how she would feel if something like this happened, after scoffing at the very idea the girl would probably have gone off on a tirade lasting at least twenty minutes. But in truth, now that she was watching Mutsumi comfortably embracing what once was hers, one word was all she needed.
Numb.
Numb while she ate dessert and tried to ignore the happy couple, numb while she bathed alone that night, numb when she climbed into the unfamiliar bed and tried to sleep.
Just numb.
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That's all for now.
Chapter 21 is already well under way, hopefully will be a little quicker!
'Til next time.
Nodoka Miyazawa.