The front door to Hinata Sou swung open as both Keitaro and Lamba exit the dorms.
"Alright, we're gonna go pick up a few things for dinner", Keitaro told the other tenants.
"Very well darling", Motoko told him since Tsuruko watched them from behind.
The Aoyama family watched as the two identical people walked down the flight of steps. Once they were out of eye sight, Motoko and her sister re-entered the building. From a second story window, Naru continued to stare out into space where Keitaro and Lamba once were.
"Keitaro", she repeated his name in her head.
It would be a good hour before she moved from her spot. In the mean time, all she could do was let her mind wander back and forth between Keitaro, and her own emotions.
The train ride with Lamba had gone smoothly. The foreigner asked questions from time to time, and Keitaro did his best to answer them. Inside the supermarket, Lamba helped his accomplice pick out the better produce.
"Well, I think this will be enough for dinner tonight. What do you think Lamba?"
"I think perhaps we should gather some more squash. It will mix better with the curry", Lamba told Keitaro.
"Well, if you think so", Keitaro said agreeing with him.
As both searched for the better vegetables, Lamba asked the other young man a question.
"Keitaro, what do you really think of Motoko and Su?"
"What do you mean", Keitaro asked Lamba Lu.
"It seems that you and Motoko have a...How can I say this without sounding offensive?...A strained relationship."
"Uh-oh", Keitaro thought in his psyche, "He's on to something. I gotta shake him off the trail."
"Well, dating and marriage is still kinda new to us; And I don't want to rush things either."
"I see", Lamba said as if he was taking mental notes. "If you don't mind me asking, what involvement do you have with Su?"
Keitaro was dumbfounded without an answer. He wasn't sure of what to say, and he felt like he was walking on a snare trap.
"You and Su have a friendly relationship", Lamba explained to Keitaro. "You spend a lot of time studying together. I apologize in advance if I offend you for asking this, but are you planning to leave Motoko for Su?"
Keitaro was suddenly thrown in an intense struggle of relief, stress, confusion, and pure idiocy.
He waved his hand no as Keitaro explained, "NONONO, that's not it! That's not it at all! I'm only Su's tutor, that's all! I'm just trying to teach her honest!"
"Oh, I see", Lamba bowed to Keitaro. "I apologize for my suspicions and offenses."
"No it's okay", Keitaro reassured Lamba Lu. "You have my word Lamba, I would never try to harm your sisters."
"Thank you Keitaro. For that, I am relieved", Lamba held his hand out for Keitaro to shake it.
Keitaro followed the motion and shook Lamba Lu's hand. The grip was strong, almost too strong for Keitaro. Lamba didn't notice that Keitaro was quick to pull his hand away, or the small wince of pain in Keitaro's face.
"He's got a mean grip", Keitaro took a mental note. "I wouldn't want to fight him any time soon."
Back at the dorms, everyone had gathered in the attic, better know as "The Hideout." The other girls surrounded a small candle light as they remained in a hushed chitchat. Even Tama, Kuro, and Skinny were present and accounted for.
"Motoko are ya feelin alright", Kitsune said as she patted Motoko on the back.
"No, the tension is starting to get to me. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up."
"What's wrong Motoko", Kanako asked out of concern. "Is Keitaro beginning to break?"
"No, Keitaro has shown no signs of saying anything", Motoko explained. It's just that my sister has been pressuring us both to get closer together."
"What are we going to do", Shinobu asked. "If Motoko gets in trouble, then Keitaro will be in trouble too. Then without Keitaro, Su will have to go home."
"Just calm down everyone", Naru said to everyone. "We just have to hold out a bit longer. They've been here for a week already, so they're bound to leave soon."
Motoko took a deep breath.
"You're right", Motoko stated. "It's only for a few days more, we can hold out that long. As much as I hate deceiving others, I can't tell the truth that my engagement is a lie, and that Keitaro isn't a real tutor for Su. We just have to hold out for a little while longer."
"That little while ends here."
Everyone froze in fear as they heard Amalla's voice. Following the sound of the voice, they all looked back up to the ceiling. To everyone's horror, both Amalla and Tsuruko stood upside down on the ceiling with no tools or equipment.
"I thought something was a miss", Tsuruko said as she slowly unsheathed her sword. "My first suspicion was that Keitaro was blackmailing my sister. In the end, it was my sister who was deceiving both Keitaro and I."
"Aww, wait sister, let me explain", Motoko pleaded.
"The time for explaining is over", Amalla said as she brought her flute to her lips.
A small tune played as Tsuruko's crane Shippu multiplied by the dozens. Before long, the ceiling was full of birds ready for an aerial attack.
"Meow", Kuro yelped in fear.
"Myu", Tama squeaked in anticipation.
"ANGRY BIRDS", Skinny yelled as the birds dove nose first into the birds penetrated the floor, and the girls did their best to avoid the onslaught. Su pulled out a laser rifle from one of the storage boxes. The girl blaster a hole through the floor with the heavy-duty weapon.
"C'mon everyone", through the hole.
Everyone dove through the newly made escape way. Once they were all out, Amalla and Tsuruko leapt down from their perches.
"How long should we let them run for", Amalla asked.
"They've had plenty of time to run. I shall handle Motoko myself. I trust that you can handle your sister as well.
"No problem", Amalla said in confidence.
The sun was starting to set now. Shopping had taken a little onger than Keitaro had intended, and Lamba decided to do a little sight-seeing. As Lamba looked through the window to a shop, Keitaro heard a noise in his pocket that sounded a lot like the song, "Sakura Saku." He searched through his pants and pulled out a comlink. It was only for military purposes, but the ring tone told him that it was Skinny on the opposite end.
"Hello", Keitaro spoke into the device.
"BOSS, IT'S SKINNY! yOU GOTTA GET BACK HER NOW, THEY KNOW!
"They know", Keitaro asked confused. "Skinny what are you talking about? Who knows?"
"SU AND MOTOKO'S SISTERS, THEY KNOW IT'S ALL A SHAM! THE BEAST IS LOOSE BOSS!
In the background, a small explosion crumbled the wall behind Skinny.
"WHAT", Keitaro exclaimed now concerned.
He took a look at Lamba to make sure he wasn't listening in on the conversation.
"THEY KNOW BOSS! THE JIG IS UP!"
Skinny moved out-of-the-way, to avoid being trampled by a screaming Sarah.
"BOSS THIS PLAN HAS OFFICIALLY HIT THE FAN! MOTOKO AND SU DON'T STAND A CHANCE AGAINST THEIR SISTERS!"
Loud thunder roared as Amalla summoned a rainstorm with her flute.
"IT'S RAINING IN THE HOUSE BOSS! IT'S RAINING IN THE HOUSE! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE, OTHERWISE WE WON'T EVEN MAKE IT TO DINNER TIME!"
Keitaro was breathing hard from what Skinny was telling him
"I'm coming Skinny, just hang in there", Keitaro said as he hung up the device.
"Are we going home now", Amalla asked as he stood directly behind Keitaro.
"Uhh, yes, yes we are", Keitaro shakily said as he tried to think of a way to ditch Lamba. "We have to hurry! Follow me!"
Keitaro took off sprinting in another direction as Lamba followed behind him.
"I could just try to outrun him", Keitaro thought, "But he would just meet me back at the dorms. I've gotta keep him out-of-the-way until I can get back home."
Keitaro kept on running until he found an answer to his problem.
"Quick Lamba, onto the subway", Keitaro yelled to Lamba.
He let the foreigner go on ahead of him onto the monorail. As Lamba Lu stepped onto the transportation train, other people shuffled onto the subway as well. Lamba turned back around to see that Keitaro hadn't entered yet. Keitaro looked back to his darker mimic before the door closed on them.
"Keitaro, what is the meaning of this", Lamba asked before the monorail began to drive off. Keitaro watched as the machine sped down the tunnel before making his way to the surface.
"There's one problem down, now to the next one."
Lucky for him, there was a taxi that waited for another customer.
"To the Hinata Dorms pronto! Here's an extra fifty if you can get me there while ignoring the speed limits!"
"My pleasure Sir", The taxi driver said before speeding off with Keitaro.
In the dorms, Skinny, Kuro, and Tama hid under the couch as different screams of terror, and explosives blasted through the rooms.
"What are we going to do, Meow", Kuro said to Skinny.
"Just wait until Boss gets here. He'll know what to do."
Skinny looked from under the couch to Tsuruko and Motoko as their swords clashed upon each other. Tsuruko had her younger sister backed in a corner. It would have been a death sentence if Su's Tama Droid hadn't created an exit way through the wall. Motoko jumped through the exit way, and soon Tsuruko chased after her. The new exit lead to outside where Su held off her older sibling with a different array of metal turtles. Despite the advanced arsenal Su possessed, Amalla's abilities surpassed the Tama Droids. Using only a flute and foreign magic, Amalla was able to change the weather to her advantage.
Lightning struck from above the them due to the summoned black clouds. The electrical currents put the metal turtles at Amalla's disposal. From behind the rocks at the hot springs, Naru, Sarah, Mutsumi, Kanako, and Kitsune watched as the siblings dueled with one another. There was not much they could do to help. The only ones able to challenge one of them would be Kanako, but it was near suicide to get anywhere between them in a fight.
"What do we do now", Sarah asked the others.
"There's nothing we can do now", Kanako said as she analyzed the situation. "This battle is too hectic to enter. If we jump in, we'd only get in the way."
Across the field of battle, Su was running out of Mecha Tama Droids and homing missiles. Motoko was also becoming fatigued, due to trying to counter her sister's power.
"Motoko", Tsuruko called out in a demon like voice. "Youre deception has brought great shame to yourself."
"I know I wronged you sister", Motoko answered as she fended off Tsuruko's blows, "But I only did it to protect myself."
"To protect yourself", Tsuruko repeated, "That's the shameful excuse you use against your family and your tradition!?"
Tsuruko slashed at Motoko, leaving behind a kinetic force that looked like a gust of wind. Motoko dropped to her knees as her sword split in half. The sword was a warriors most precious possession. It symbolized their strength, their pride, their will, and their soul. It was the same sword her sister had given to her so long ago. Ironically enough, Tsuruko was the one to destroy the item. Motoko held her stomach in both pain from the kinetic force, and from the known fact that she had been defeated.
Close by, Su was down to her last two turtle droids. There was little else Su could do since there was no red moon at this time.
"Alright Mecha Tama's, Go", Su called out as the turtle shells opened to launch more missiles.
Amalla's face was calm and steady. She grew bored with this game, as she knew what her sister's toys could do now. Her breath traveled through the flute while her fingers rapidly tapped the slots. The synchronized music summoned a small, short hailstorm. The ice met the missiles head on, and forced the explosives to burst in midair. With a last tune to play, a great gust of wind threw the flying droids off course. The robots spun out of control before crash landing into the Hinata dorms. Su looked to her small control pad, which confirmed that her Mecha Tamas were now annihilated. Amalla removed the small instrument to speak to her younger sister.
"You've been a very bad little sister Su", Amalla scolded her. "It's time for you to come home, even if I have to force you."
The older sibling played her flute again, causing the air around them to spiral and shift.
Not far away, Naru and the others squinted and held onto each other because of the gusting wind. Also nearby was Motoko, who was on her knees in front of her sister.
"You had so much potention Motoko", Tsuruko said, "And you wasted it all on your self-pride."
Tsuruko raised her sword above her head to deliver a crushing blow.
"Now, your judgement befalls on you through my hands."
Motoko held her head low as her finger nails dug deep into the dirt. Her eyes had begun to shed tears, and her sinuses began to sniffle.
"I wasn't a good Shinmei-Ryū swordswoman, or even a descent girlfriend Shinmei-Ryū." Motoko said in defeat. "I couldn't do a thing about either of them."
"YEAH WELL JUST STANDING THERE ISN'T GONNA DO YOU ANY GOOD EITHER", A familiar male voice yelled.
With a slash of her sword, Tsukuro uprooted much of the ground, and created a small explosion.
"Motoko", Naru called out in concern.
Soon concern turned to confusion. The debris died down, only to see both Su and Motoko had disappeared. Everyone looked around, but there was no sign of any of them.
"Boss", Skinny cried in excited relief.
The others traced Skinny's vision to see Keitaro on the tallest rock in the hot springs. Su wrapped her arms and legs securely around Keitaro as she held onto his back. Motoko was surprised to find him carrying her in his arms bridal style.
"Wow, Keitaro is really fast! It felt like being on a roller coaster", Su said with a smile.
"Keitaro, w-why are you here", Motoko asked with a blush.
"I felt something was wrong back home, so I rushed back here as fast as I could."
Keitaro looked back to Tsuruko and Amalla who did not look happy at all. The secret was out, and not much could be done to cool them off. Keitaro was going to have to solve this...peacefully, or forcefully.
I managed to get another chapter in somehow. Sorry I've been slow to update. With this new winter semester in college, I haven't had as much free time as before. Hope you all read, enjoy, and comment.