Love Hina – Blind Love
Fanfic
Chapter Five –
Haruka looks around at the girls. "I should've known. The first time we have a man visit Hinata-sou, and the lot of you can't keep your hands off him. It looks like I'm going to have to hire some security for Keitaro." she says. "I suggest everyone keep their hands AND lips to themselves so Keitaro can recover a bit and have a chance to eat. He IS hungry, you know."
Kitsune, her mouth open to reply, gets a stern glance from Haruka.
"What?" the Fox says, a wicked gleam in her eye. "Ah wasn't going to say anything."
Friday afternoon, the manager's room
After Haruka gets the girls to settle back onto their respective cushions, she and Hikari revive the semi-conscious Keitaro, cleaning the blood from his face while they are at it.
"Now that everyone is back in their place," Haruka eyes Kitsune, who is attempting to inch closer to the young man. Kitsune scoots back, smiling innocently. "I suggest we all have our meal."
"Itadakimasu!" everyone says and starts eating. More than one set of jealous eyes are on Shinobu as she assists Keitaro with his meal.
"H-here you go, Sempai. I shall serve you. Open wide." Shinobu says as she feeds some pepper beef to the man beside her. (I'm so happy!)
Chewing on the food, Keitaro exclaims "This is delicious!" He opens his mouth for another bite.
Shinobu selects a small rice ball next. Chewing it and licking his lips, Keitaro says "I must have died and gone to heaven! This rice is perfect, Shinobu-chan!" Again he opens his mouth for another serving as Shinobu thinks (Sempai likes my cooking! Sempai likes my cooking. I just might pee my panties! Again!)
Suddenly Keitaro screams as wasabi sauce (the green kind) is dripped on to his tongue. "Aaaaargh! Wather! I need wather! My mouph! Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Keitaro fans his mouth until Shinobu grabs his wrist and presses a glass of water into his good hand. Downing the liquid in one gulp, Keitaro sighs in relief.
The girls all stare at Haruka, who is still holding a jar of wasabi in her hand. "Now Keitaro, you're blind, not paralyzed. And you are old enough to feed yourself. Shinobu will just make sure you don't lose anything from your tray. She's the cook, not your nanny."
Keitaro rubs the back of his neck and gives everyone a lop-sided smile, "Well, can you blame me? After all, I am hungry, and I've only got one arm to work with right now."
"B-But Haruka-san, I don't mind feeding Sempai, really. It's no bother at all, I can manage." Shinobu says, blushing (Sempai's nanny? Oh I could die happy if I were his nanny!)
"No, Shinobu. You just assist Keitaro, and enjoy your own meal."
"Hai! Of course, Haruka-san." Shinobu reluctantly settles herself in front of her tray and begins eating, not noticing the glares she is receiving from the other residents. Casting various glances, they think to themselves.
Mutsumi, glancing at Shinobu and then Keitaro; (Oh my, Shinobu-chan is the bold one! I wonder if Kei-kun would like some of my melons as a snack!)
Kitsune, glancing at Shinobu and smiling slightly; (That lucky little thang! Ah'm so jealous.)
Naru, glancing at Keitaro, annoyance and good humor warring for bragging rights on her face; (Ooooh! You'd think that baka couldn't do anything for….ha ha, he's got a piece of rice on his cheek. That's so cute!)
Motoko, glancing at Keitaro's cheek, a hungry look passing over her face before being replaced by surprise and then calmness; (I desire that rice grain! WHAT AM I THINKING?... I must not think about it! I must NOT think about it!)
Su, eyeing Motoko's tray wantonly, her fingers twitching; (I wonders if Motokos is gonna eats her dessert!)
After half an hour of polite conversation, everyone finishes their meal. Haruka tells the girls to take their trays out, and go ahead with whatever they were doing and let her talk to Keitaro.
Hikari takes her leave, "I shall return to the clinic. If you need anything, Keitaro, have Haruka or one of the girls contact me." Bowing, the doctor leaves.
As the girls follow her out the door, Haruka walks over to the desk and retrieves a folder from the drawer and places it on the desk. Moving to sit beside Keitaro, she decides to see how he is holding up.
"So, what do you think of the girls, Keitaro? An interesting bunch, aren't they?" she asks, her cigarette bouncing in her mouth as she suppresses a laugh.
Keitaro smiles as he adjusts his legs beneath him. "That's putting it mildly. But, they all seem like nice people, even if some of them would rip my head off given a choice. I guess things stay pretty lively around here, huh?" he laughs.
"Not like those mope-around-all-day people back at the Institute, right?" Haruka asks.
Keitaro leans back a bit, a serious but sad look on his face, replaced by a smile as he talks. "Not at all like them. Even though I had my backside handed to me in a sling today, so to speak, I'd take being here at Hinata-sou any day to living at the Institute. Besides, here, it feels like…like…" Keitaro leans forward, his face blushing slightly.
"What is it?" Haruka encourages him to continue.
Sighing, he says, "It's like I feel, home again." A tear drops from Keitaro's eye. His smile droops as he continues. "Ever since…ever since the accident, I've felt like I no longer had a home anymore. Being here, where I spent so much time playing and having fun as a child being around you and Granny, I….I" Keitaro sputters to a stop, unable to speak past the lump in his throat. Tears fall freely down his cheeks as Haruka pulls him into a hug.
Giving in to his emotions for the first time since his parent's deaths, Keitaro softly cries into Haruka's shoulder. She strokes his back, speaking words of comfort and consolation to him. "Let it go, Kei, let it all go. I miss them, too. I'm here, Kei, I'm here. Let it go. It's alright, I'm here." Haruka softly re-lives her pain at the loss of her brother and sister-in-law as she holds her nephew's sob-racked body.
After nearly ten minutes, Keitaro, his sobs ended, slowly pulls back from Haruka's embrace. Removing his glasses, he wipes his face with the back of his hand. In a voice rough from crying, "Thanks, Haruka. I guess I really needed that."
Pulling a handkerchief from her pocket, Haruka wipes Keitaro's face, drying his tears. "It was bound to happen sooner or later, Kei. You never really accepted what happened until just now. How do you feel?" she asks, concern for her nephew obvious in her voice.
Wryly, Keitaro smiles at her. "Tired. But a lot better than I have in months. That took a lot out of me." Words become action, and he tries to stifle a mighty yawn, but fails.
Haruka takes his hand and leads him over to the futon. "You rest for a while, Kei. I'll come back up in a few hours to get you for dinner." Going over to his backpack, Haruka finds a pair of pajamas and soft-soled slippers, which she places in Keitaro's hand. "I'll slip in later and grab your clothes and get Shinobu to wash them for you. You change and get some sleep." Patting him on the head, Haruka lets herself out of the room.
Keitaro's private outpouring of grief was heard by one resident of Hinata-sou. With her hands tightly wrapped around her shoulders to stop them shaking, she quietly takes off down the hallway, unseen by Haruka as she leaves the manager's room.
…..
As Keitaro lays there, half awake, half asleep, power which he can neither sense nor control, and which is formed clean and pure by his compassion for others, has risen once again from the depths of his being, strengthening his body and healing his injuries. It is an ability that lays dormant and untapped, but always rises in times of his need. An ability that didn't manifest itself until he reached puberty, so it was not in time to prevent what happened fifteen years ago.
His thoughts drifting from one to another, Keitaro sleepily goes over the day's events. As he remembers standing at the hot springs and being attacked, his half-awake mind imagines himself at Hinata-sou, but not as he is now.
It is fifteen years ago. He is five years old, and is spending the summer with his Granny Hina and her daughter, his aunt Haruka, who is only a few years older than him. The two children are playing hide-and-go-seek, alternately taking turns hiding and seeking. It is Keitaro's third turn to hide.
Unable to find a suitable place inside the inn where Haruka can't find him in under a minute (he is very careful not to enter any of the unused guest rooms), Keitaro decides to hide outside somewhere. His small footsteps lead him to the upper deck, where he sees that, if he jumps from the rail, he can get up on the roof. Thinking Haruka will never think to look for him up there, he climbs on the rail.
"Three, Two, One, Zero. Ready or not, here I come!" Haruka calls out, running for the door. Keitaro didn't realize that Haruka, who has lived in the inn all her life, can tell whenever the front doors are opened, so she knows her nephew headed that way. She races outside, planning on catching Keitaro hiding in a bush, or maybe near the hot springs (although they had both promised to stay out of the water without an adult around, that didn't mean they couldn't be near it, so they reasoned.)
After a short leap that put his heart in his throat, Keitaro crawls on his hands and knees to the peak of the roof. Clinging to it as he catches his breath, his eyes behold the grounds of Hinata-sou, and the entire city, spread out below him. Any fears forgotten, he raises himself to his feet and walks to the end of the building.
"It's wonderful!' He thinks "You can see everything from here!" Awestruck, he slowly turns in a circle, taking in the sights, smells, and sounds around him. The game forgotten for the moment, Keitaro spreads his arms at some birds flying just overhead. "Hi! Hello birdies!" He calls out to them, never having been so close to birds in flight.
(It's like I'm in the sky! Like I'm flying!) Keitaro hums a happy tune as he watches the birds fly off towards the river. Turning, he slowly rotates, his glance raised to the sky. His foot slips, just before he hears his aunt yelling "Keitaro, look out for the edge!"
Near the hot springs, Haruka hears Keitaro greeting to the birds and looks up to see her nephew, hands outstretched, head up, stepping dangerously close to the end of the building. A moment too late, she sees him lose his footing as she calls out "Keitaro, look out for the edge!"
His scream tears through the afternoon stillness as Keitaro slips, falling down the slope. Desperately, he tries to grab something, anything, to slow himself down. But nothing on the slanted roof give him any object to grasp, and, gaining speed, he slides off the building, his body tumbling through the air.
Haruka's screams mix with his. Keitaro's last sight, as his body cart wheels through the air, is of the rocks surrounding the hot springs rising to meet him.
…..
Keitaro sits up in his futon, sweat pouring off his body, his breath rapid and shallow. (Kami-sama! I haven't had that dream in ages!) His hand on his chest, he wills his racing heart to calm and his breathing to ease as he lies back onto his pillow. Letting thoughts of peace and serenity flow through his mind, he achieves a reasonable state of calmness. After a few minutes, thoroughly exhausted, he drifts to sleep.
Later that afternoon:
Haruka, realizing that she needs to get some errands run, finds Shinobu in the common room and asks if she'd collect Keitaro's clothes and please wash them.
"Hai, I'd be happy to help, Haruka-san." Shinobu says, anxious to meet the young man again.
"Alright. But be very quiet. Keitaro is sleeping right now, and the last thing he needs is to be scared out of his wits by someone 'accidentally' falling on him, again." Haruka smirks, looking slyly at the young girl.
Shinobu blushes "B-but, it WAS an accident, I-I tripped on my cushion!" she explains, while secretly wondering (How does she know these things?)
Smiling, she replies, "I know THAT was an accident, Shinobu. I'm just saying don't go having another 'accident' while he's sleeping. He's still healing from his injuries, and you wouldn't want to fall on his broken arm again, would you?"
"Oh, no! I wouldn't want to hurt Sempai! You're right, Haruka-san. I'll be very careful." Shinobu bows her understanding to the older woman.
"Good. I should be back in two or three hours. Did you already have anything planned for dinner tonight?"
"No, Haruka-san. I was going to ask Mutsumi-san for some melons to make a dessert, though." Shinobu says, casting a quick glance at the ceiling, which does not go unnoticed by Haruka.
"Hmm. Well, in case you're interested, Keitaro is fond of pork fried rice, beef bowls, vegetable stew, and sukiyaki." Haruka says, looking at Shinobu's face.
"Good! Then I shall prepare what Sempai lik…Aaauuuuu!" Shinobu blushes three shades of red. "How did you know I was wondering what Sempai's favorite food are?"
Slyly winking at her, she replies "Lucky guess, I guess. Just don't go making all those dishes at once. Even with Su's help, I don't think we could finish off that much cooking in one evening." Waving as she heads for the door, she reminds her "Don't forget; clothes washed and NO glomping the unconscious, mysterious stranger upstairs while he's asleep." Haruka slips her shoes on and departs the inn.
Shinobu, waiting for a few moments after the door closes, hugs herself. (I get to see Sempai again! I want to be very quiet, but I really hope he wakes up and talks to me.) "I hope he'll like pork fried rice for dinner."
"Pork fried rice? Why would you prepare such a basic meal as dinner when we have a guest joining us, Shinobu-chan?" Motoko asks.
"Aaaaiiiieeee! M-Motoko-sempai? Don't s-sneak up on me like that, it's scary!" Shinobu cries, her hands clasped over her chest.
"My apologies, Shinobu-chan. To continue; I was wondering what gave you the idea to prepare pork fried rice for dinner?" Motoko asks, sitting down with her cup of tea, her sword laid across her knees.
Her hands together in front of her, Shinobu lower her head and looks at the sword master. "W-well, Haruka-san mentioned something about Sempai maybe liking pork fried rice, so I thought, that is to say, perhaps he'd..Aaauuuuu!"
Motoko nods her head. "So you thought to prepare something that Urashima prefers, to make his stay here a more pleasant experience?"
"Yes, seeing as so far he…I mean, you and Naru-sempai…I don't mean.."
"Seeing as so far Urashima has been poorly treated by myself and Naru-san. I believe that is what you mean to say, Shinobu-chan."
Shinobu stares at her feet, unable to meet Motoko's eyes. Her knees trembling, she squeaks, "Um, yes."
Sipping her tea, Motoko asks gently, "Shinobu-chan, please, sit before you faint. I am not going to do anything to you."
The young cook sits in a chair across from Motoko, her hands on her lap. "I-I know that, Motoko-sempai. It's just that, well, when you and Naru-sempai almost attacked Sempai again…."
"Be assured that my attack would not have harmed you, Shinobu-chan," Motoko says, not quite sure of it herself, "My skills are not so amateurish that I would accidentally strike an innocent by-stander."
"Ara, she's right, Shinobu. I've never seen Motoko hit anyone she wasn't aiming at. She's really very good at using her techniques. he-he."
"Ack!" Motoko and Shinobu yelp in unison, turning to see Mutsumi sitting in the chair beside them, holding her melon in her hand. Motoko has her sword half-drawn in fright. Shinobu has her knees drawn up to her chin, her eyes big as plates.
"Mutsumi! Where did you come from? Never mind, I should know by now that your ability to approach unnoticed rivals my own, in spite of the fact you have never had any martial arts training." Motoko says, lowering her sword.
"P-Please don't do that, Mutsumi-san! I nearly p-pee'd myself!" Shinobu whispers.
"Oh dear, it's not like I'm trying to be sneaky. I just came in to sit and rest a little because I was feeling faint. Why, just this morning, I sat down while Naru and Kitsune were discussing going out for lunch tomorrow, and I mentioned that I know a wonderful place that serves……oh my, what were we talking about?"
Rolling her eyes, Motoko reminds the melon lady, "Mutsumi-san, we were discussing dinner."
Tilting her head, Mutsumi replies, "Really? I love dinner. Why, just yesterday, I was telling Su how much I love…"
"Mutsumi!" Motoko and Shinobu both halt the Okinawan before she takes off on another topic.
"Shinobu-chan, I shall not dispute your choice of menu for our meal this evening, as Urashima will most likely be leaving before the day is over tomorrow. I believe I can tolerate having a male around that long. Then things can return to normal. It just is not right for a male to be in an all-girl dormitory." Blushing slightly, Motoko rises and bows. "Until dinner then, I shall go to my room and meditate. Call me when the meal is prepared." The sword master heads up the stairs to her room.
"Do you think Motoko likes Kei-kun, Shinobu? She seems a little flustered when she talks about him." Mutsumi wonders.
"I don't think Motoko-sempai is happy having him around. I mean, after what she and Naru-sempai did to him, I guess she might be feeling a little uncomfortable with Sempai around." Shinobu answers.
"But, didn't he forgive them and apologize for coming to the hot springs? That was so sweet of him, don't you think?" Mutsumi says with a wink and a wave as she walks to the kitchen.
By herself again, Shinobu stares at the kitchen door, then up the stairs. (That was unusual to say the least!) she thinks to herself. "Sempai? Oh, no! I nearly forgot, I promised Haruka that I'd wash his clothes!" Rushing up the stairs, Shinobu slows as she reaches the door to the manager's office. Knocking gently, she asks "Sempai, are you awake?" After a few seconds, she repeats her question.
Receiving no reply, Shinobu quietly slides the door open a tiny bit and peers in. Keitaro is sleeping on a futon near the desk, his chest rising and falling slowly. Shinobu gulps, not ever having entered a man's room by herself, let alone while he was asleep. Opening the door a little more, she looks around and spots his clothes draped over the chair by the desk.
Tip-toeing across the room, she makes her way to the clothes. She picks the shirt up, and is startled when Keitaro mutters wordlessly in his slumber. Shinobu covers her mouth with the shirt in her hands to smother her gasp of fright. As she stands there, watching Keitaro sigh in his sleep, she smells the odor of his cologne and his body on the shirt.
Her eyes whirl as she stands there, sniffing. (It's just like at lunch. He smells so nice. I would love to do his laundry every day, just to smell his cologne.) Shinobu, lost in the sniffing sensation, didn't hear the footsteps coming to the door.
Seeing the door slightly open, Kitsune peeks in and sees the young cook holding Keitaro's shirt in her hands, then covering her mouth with it as Keitaro says something in his sleep. Her smile grows as Shinobu stands there, breathing in the scent of their temporary guest. "Shinobu, what are ya'll doing alone with Keitaro, as if Ah couldn't guess?" The Fox whispers, a gleam in her eye.
Biting down on the shirt to keep from screaming and waking Keitaro up, Shinobu jumps and spins around, facing Kitsune. "Arph midnfd fgoo amystdfhng….." Looking down to see she has Keitaro's shirt in her mouth, Shinobu pulls it out and holds it behind her back. Speaking again, she whispers, "Aaauuuuu! I didn't do anything, Kitsune-san! Honest! I just came in here to get Sempai's clothes like Haruka-san asked, so that I can wash them for him."
Putting her hands up, Kitsune shushes the girl. "Shhhh, not too loud. Keitaro-san is sleeping." Looking down at his face, Kitsune gasps slightly. "Shinobu, look at his face! The bruises. They…they're gone!" she whispers excitedly while pointing at the young man. "H-how is that possible?"
Shinobu stares in awe at Keitaro. She kneels gently beside him and tenderly touches his left arm. "T-the swelling is gone! But, his arm is broken, isn't it?" she whispers in a tiny voice.
"Shinobu, get the rest of Keitaro-san's clothes and let's go. Ah don't want to have him wake up and hear two strangers talking in his room, do ya'll?"
Nodding, she grabs the other clothes on the chair and follows Kitsune to the laundry room.
As Shinobu places Keitaro's clothes into a washer, adding just the right amount of detergents for such a small load, Kitsune leans against one of the dryers; the fingers of her right hand rubbing her chin as she watches. Shinobu turns to her after starting the washer, and asks "Y-you won't tell anyone I accidentally put Sempai's shirt in my mouth, will you, Kitsune-san?"
As the older girl just stands there smiling wickedly, Shinobu becomes worried. "Y-you wouldn't tell anyone, would you?" she asks nervously.
Relenting, Kitsune replies "Don't ya'll worry, Shinobu. There's nothing for me to tell. You were holding Keitaro's shirt, right? And then, when he mumbled in his sleep, you nearly jumped outta your skin because he frightened you and put…"
"Who frightened Shinobu?" Naru asks, walking into the laundry with a basket of clothes. Having only heard the last part of Kitsune's sentence, she continues, pointing upstairs, a hint of anger in her voice; "Did that person do something again?"
"N-no, no, Naru-sempai! N-nothing happened. It's just, that, ah.."
"We was just talking about how she nearly wet herself when Keitaro accidentally put his hand in her shirt at lunch. That's all Naru. It was so cute the way she blushed and squeaked, don't ya'll think?" Kitsune interjects, giving Shinobu's cheek a squeeze to play-up her story, saving the young girl from accidentally revealing she had gone into Keitaro's room alone. (Last thing he needs is for Naru or Motoko to go off the deep end again, especially in his condition. Even if it looks like he's half-healed already, that broken arm's gonna take at least a few weeks to mend) she thinks to herself.
"Oh, well, that's over and done with. And don't tease Shinobu about it; it wasn't her fault, you know." The incident forgotten, Naru asks, "So, what's for dinner, Shinobu? Some miso soup and a salad would be nice." Naru sorts her laundry as she talks; colors, delicates, whites, etc. "Or maybe yakitori and steamed rice with vegetables. Yeah, that sounds good. What do you think?"
"Well, Naru-sempai, I was planning on making pork fried rice tonight." Shinobu says, thankful that Kitsune agreed not to say anything about her 'incident' with Keitaro's shirt.
"Pork fried rice? Why on earth would you cook that? If we wanted pork fried rice, we can get it from the beef bowl shop down the street from Haruka's tea house. You're too good of a cook to waste time making fast food." Naru replies, looking up from her sorting.
"I th-thought it might be nice to prepare one of Sempai's favorites tonight, and Haruka told me he like pork fried rice. I mean, he IS a guest, and we should make him feel comfortable while he's here."Shinobu says, her eyes staring at her feet.
Naru pauses, her eyes glancing at the ceiling as if to see the man sleeping upstairs. Her face goes through a quick succession of emotions before she looks back at Shinobu and Kitsune. A kinder look on her face, she says "Well, I suppose that's okay. You're right, he is a guest here. And, we need to stay on Haruka's good side after what happened."
"Don't ya'll mean you and Motoko need to stay on her good side? Far as Ah can remember, it was ya'll two who attacked Keitaro-san. The rest of us are innocent by-standers." Kitsune drawls, her mouth turned up in a fox-like grin.
"Don't remind me! I know what we did!" Naru looks at her hands, "I do feel pretty bad about it, but,…I mean I think maybe…It was all a misunderstanding, okay? Wrong place, wrong time, you know, that kinda stuff. We didn't mean to hurt Keitaro; Motoko and I just wanted to scare him off because we thought he was a stranger." Naru looks at Kitsune and Shinobu with a pleading look in her eyes.
Kitsune steps over and puts a hand on the honey-haired girls' shoulder, "Ah know ya'll didn't meant to hurt Keitaro; it just kinda happened. So, let's just try to give him every reason to see that we are all nice girls deep down. Treat him like a guest until he leaves. Okay, Naru?"
Looking her friend in the eye, Naru smiles and nods her head. "Right! It's the least we can do, seeing how kind Keitaro was to forgive us for everything." Turning, she asks "Shinobu, pork fried rice sounds wonderful. In fact, I'll help you prepare it, as a gesture of good-will towards Haruka's nephew."
Glancing quickly at Kitsune, Shinobu sputters as she raises her hands in front of her, "No, that won't be necessary, Naru-sempai. There's nothing to making that dish, I can manage, no problem. (Oh please, don't insist, Naru-sempai! Sempai is still recovering from his injuries and needs all his strength!) Shinobu prays in her mind. Of course, whatever entity or entities that are in charge of prayer retrieval at that moment had apparently taken a coffee break.
"Oh, I insist, Shinobu. I'll meet you in the kitchen later and we'll decide on what to put into the pork fried rice. Since we want to impress Keitaro, we should make sure it's sweet. I wonder if sugar or honey works best." Naru happily asks, turning back to her sorting.
Kitsune puts a hand to her mouth, thinking (Urph! Poor Keitaro! My stomach spins just thinking about Naru and kitchen in the same sentence. Ah hope ya'lls digestive system works as well as your body at healing, cuz Ah think you're gonna need it!).
Shinobu leaves to check on supplies for preparing dinner, and goes over in her mind where the smelling salts, stomach medicine, and extra buckets are located, so she can be prepared for that evenings foray into Naru's cooking, or what the other girls describe as, behind her back of course, gastronomical toxic waste.