'The Hands of a Man'
Disclaimer: Ken Akamatsu wrote 'Love Hina' and he owns the rights. I wrote this tale for fun and seek no re-dress from it.
Writer's notes: I have read too many stories about Urashima Keitaro as weak and a very shy man, who was not that much on the ball, so to speak. To that end, I wanted to produce a different characterization of Ken Akamatsu's main protagonist from Love Hina.
This version of Keitaro will be older than in either the anime or the manga (age 24). Some of the changes to his character will be: He is bright, articulate, strong, and afraid of absolutely nothing. Along with this, our protagonist is 1.83-meters (6') tall and weighs in at 90-kilos (197-lbs.) of solid muscle. In addition, he is a workaholic, noticeably quiet, willing to meet any challenge head on and someone who will not put up with crap from anybody. But like the 'Keitaro' we know, he will still be friendly, loyal to his friends and tenants, one to keep his promises religiously and works on projects until he has finished that task in a prompt manner.
Japanese sur-/family names are always first.
Added writer notes: Kitsune will be somewhat changed, as she works hard with Haruka, falls extremely hard for Keitaro at first sight and is a successful author/columnist.
Motoko will be the most OOC, as she has had a crush on Keitaro since she was a little girl and has grown into quite a beautiful young woman.
Likewise, Haruka, Tsuruko and Naru will have the biggest changes since they are gay in this story.
I will add new characters for continuity, as they will enhance the main storyline.
Our story begins in the spring, just after the new school year has started. So that means early April after the Sakura-blossoms have come and gone.
-Chapter 1: Introductions-
On the roof deck of the Hinata manse was sixteen-year-old Aoyama Motoko. As such, she was out there on this bright sunny morning going through her traditional Katas with an ancient Katana named Shi-sui (Japanese for: still water). Workouts such as these always left her with lots of energy and kept her in great shape. Tall, graceful, and exceptionally beautiful, this young warrior has always dressed in a traditional manner which also covered her incredibly beautiful body. Second-in-line to inherit the Shinmeiryu Dojo and Aoyama Clan properties in Kyoto, she had moved here mainly because of political disputes within her clan. However, she has stayed in touch with her older sister, as her mother has recently been a bit distant.
Before heading out for school each day, and even on the weekends, Motoko rose out of bed early each morning. Being very fastidious about perfecting her daily katas with a Katana, she was extremely zealous about her workouts, almost to the point that you could set your watch by her.
Nevertheless, most of the time Motoko usually discovered that she was not always the first one up and moving about. All she had to do was take one whiff of the wonderful breakfast that one of her housemates was cooking. The wondrous aromas which emanated from the old manse's kitchen sometimes interfered with her meditation, which it did when she tried to center herself.
Uncharacteristically for her, Motoko giggled when she heard her stomach growl. It worsened the trouble she had reaching the proper mind frame for focusing on this beautiful morning. That being said, nothing distracted her concentration as much as the noise from a large helicopter, whose roaring twin engines and whirling rotors were quite loud as it passed overhead.
Looking up, Motoko saw the large aircraft with a cargo net suspended underneath by a heavy-duty cable as it carried a square-bottomed load to wherever it was going.
'Nothing like the JSDF to unsettle one's morning,' thought the teenage Kendoka.
With her morning meditation already shot, Motoko got up off the deck, gathered her belongings and hurried down to shower before breakfast.
Having left, she missed seeing the aircraft drop its load in the back of the property.
-Forty-five minutes later-
"That is the second time this morning," said Maehara Shinobu aloud as she looked out the kitchen window. The petite chef felt the vibrations of the large army helicopter once again as it went over her home. Meaning nothing to her, she just dismissed this as just another training event by the JSDF. Only thirteen-years-old, the petite miss was a culinary genius and domestic wizard. In reality, this seemingly shy eighth-grade student was the heart and soul of this generation of Hinata residents. Without her, the place would look like the pigsty that it was before she moved in. In lieu of rent, she performed most of the chores around the Hinata, willingly and with great skill.
Right now, she just waited for her housemates to come down for breakfast.
-Third time, forty-five minutes later-
"Hey, that is a Boeing CH-47D 'Chinook'. I wonder if it is yummy?" asked a wide-eyed fifteen-year-old foreign-born Princess by the name of Kaolla Su who hailed from the island nation of MolMol in the Indian Ocean. Along with three of her housemates, she too experienced the noise and vibrations generated by the flying behemoth which flew overhead as it had already twice before on this warm and sunny morning. "The navigator must be using the Hinata as a reference point because it had banked off a little when it flew over us," she added offhandedly while stepping out onto the front courtyard to join her housemates.
The quartet quickly descended the ancient stone steps to the bottom of the hill, so that they all could catch their tram to school.
-Last time, about an hour later-
The owner of the Hinata Tea Shoppe, which was situated at the bottom of Hinata Hill, stepped out the backdoor to catch her breath after the early morning rush. The proprietor of the place was one Urashima Haruka, who along with her assistant Konno Mitsune aka 'Kitsune', had turned the place into a raging success. The Shoppe was a gift from her grandmother which she had received as her inheritance after graduating from Tokyo University.
On this lovely morning, she was glad that she had quit smoking after getting her master's degree in business. Inhaling cigarettes as she used to, it had almost affected her health. A little meditation with help from the family Martial Arts, a couple of anger management classes and a large punching bag later, she had finally kicked the habit. Plus, there was also some encouragement and good-natured cajoling from someone special down in Kyoto had also helped.
"Shit, again!" growled the Urashima woman.
The same type of helicopter once more soared low over the Hinata.
Almost anything sets her off in the early morning before she has had her first cup of coffee.
"The fucking JSDF must be doing some big things around here to fly over a small town like this that many times, eh Haruka?" queried Kitsune who came out of the back of the shop just in time to see the aircraft fly overhead.
"Maybe, Kit," Haruka said after the noise of the helicopter faded off into the distance, "Although, I would have heard if something were up around here."
After a few minutes, one of the wait staff came out to see Haruka and said that a customer needed to know the prices on some of tea blends that the shop sold, so both women knew their short break was over.
-Elsewhere, later that same morning-
The traffic on the main highway into the western part of Kanagawa Prefecture just outside of Yokohama was almost non-existent at this time of day.
'Good thing I could get all of my stuff moved as I did, or it would be kind of tough transporting the big shit,' mused one Urashima Keitaro.
Seated behind the wheel of a brand-new Nissan Titan© crew-cab pick-up truck imported from the USA, Keitaro drove out to his new home and had more than a few people staring at him because of it. Not too many people drove that kind of vehicle here in Japan. Normally, the vehicle had its steering wheel on the left side and an automatic transmission. But being from a wealthy family allowed it to be custom made with the steering on the right and a standard 5-speed transmission with four-wheel drive for winter.
Ignoring the stares, he continued onto his destination as the morning sun climbed higher in the sky.
The vehicle he drove was a graduation gift from his father, who had almost bought him a BMW or a Porsche for his graduation gift instead. Knowing better, the elder Urashima understood that his son had no use for a high-performance sports car in his line of work. Such was the extent of Keitaro's thinking.
As an extremely practical young man, Keitaro was by nature a workaholic. Not allowing his grandmother or mother to assign him any assistants or people to do any work for him, Keitaro told them that he would decide where or when any help might be needed. Finishing his education at twenty-four, he earned two master's degrees from Tokyo University. A very prestigious accomplishment in itself, as he had finished both programs early. It especially helped that Keitaro has an active eidetic memory which allowed him to anticipate what his next moves might be. The truck he drove however was more in-line with his personality as he could now store more of his personal items in the rear cargo area.
On the seat next to him on his left, was his dual undergraduate Degree in Mechanical and Applied Engineering. Behind that in the stack sat a tin of expensive ground coffee that was a gift from his mother, along with his favorite work jacket. Having taken those two courses of study, he wanted to learn about the theories behind the practicality of how everything worked and how people could design or build such magnificent structures. It was just how his mind worked.
"Just glad that that is over with so I can get back to working with my hands again," Keitaro whispered as he could not wait to flex his muscles working as was his want. His studies had been extremely demanding, so he did not have much time for that over the past two years.Though he kept at it whenever possible during breaks in classes.
Not really in need of a job since he was the Urashima clan heir, Keitaro could concentrate on what he wanted from here on out. The reason he could do so, Keitaro had just received the opportunity of a lifetime. The family solicitors sent him a letter saying that his grandmother had ceded a substantial amount of money and land to him. Not only the old Hinata manse, which made him smile, but quite a few other valuable properties that were situated around Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto, and Niigata. With his legacy secured, Keitaro was now going to make the Hinata, and its environs, his home.
Knowing that the old family manse was in dire need of a major overhaul, he drove on looking forward to the challenge.
Outside of Chigasaki, (Writer's Note: real city SW of Yokohama and Tokyo) he turned off to get onto the main road that led him towards his destination.
Crossing a familiar bridge before entering Hinata City proper, Keitaro looked over to see the well-worn building that was his cousin Haruka's Tea Shoppe at the base of his new home.
Nearing the end of his journey, Keitaro pulled into the parking lot aside his cousin Haruka's place and stopped near the front door.
"Shit, this place is going to need some major renovations, and soon by the look of it," said Keitaro as he stepped out of his pickup. Making a few quick mental notes about the exterior condition of the old place, Keitaro shook his head.
Before he went inside, Keitaro took a deep breath because it has been a couple of years since he was last here. Hoping that Haruka would not be too angry with him since he had not called her since New Year's, the man steeled himself for the possible 'shit storm' as he reached for the door handle.
-Inside-
Out on the main floor, Kitsune had just finished clearing a table whose former occupant had left her with his phone number.
After tossing the paper with the number into the trash, Kitsune looked up and saw the most perfect specimen of a man that she has ever seen enter the front door. Dropping her table rag, Kitsune stopped working as her mouth had literally fallen open. What did she see? Before her stood a tall, muscular young man with bulging biceps, a narrow waist with what might be a washboard torso underneath his tee shirt, he was also slim-hipped and stood on powerful looking legs. To top it all off, he has a well-combed mop of jet-black hair, which to her made him seem to be an absolute god-like example of what a man should look like. Gob-smacked, Kitsune along with every other woman in the shop could only drool over the young man that had just walked in. With a slight smile, nothing seemed to bother him with all the attention he was garnering.
"Kei-kun!" rang out the familiar voice of Haruka from the kitchen.
It woke Kitsune and the others out of their reverie.
The young man smiled as Haruka strode into the main room.
However, she surprised everyone by swatting his arm with a paper fan that she kept in her apron.
After that bit of silliness, the two hugged each other warmly.
"Kei-kun, you silly baka," said Haruka hugging him again as tears fell from her eyes, "you had better have a damn good reason why you have not bothered to call or e-mail me at all in the last four months? I ought to kick the living shit out of you ignoring me for so long."
As someone had just cleared a now empty booth over in the corner, she gestured for them to sit there so that they could talk.
"Gomen'nasai, Haru Nee-chan," Keitaro said with a sheepish smile.
With a nod in reply to him, she wanted to hear what he had to say to her.
Keitaro placed one of his huge calloused-over hands onto one of Haruka's, and then continued, "You more than anyone should know how I get when I am concentrating on something. It seems like I forget about the rest of the world sometimes. I wanted to get my master's degree so that you would be proud of me."
"How can you say that, Kei-kun?" asked Haruka who smiled and gave him a dubious look, "I have always been proud of you. Shit, I practically raised you because your Kaa-san and Tou-san were always so busy with the clan's commercial real estate business. Why would I not be proud of you? Shit, everything you have ever done I have taken pride in."
Smiling at her exaggeration, he knew how much she watched him and all the fun they used to have together.
"Yeah. I know, Haru-nee," said Keitaro in a quiet voice, "But I am here to stay now, because Hina Obaa-san has finally ceded the Hinata property to me."
"Good, I am glad to hear that because we have a lot to catch up on," said Haruka who spied Kitsune as she headed their way, "and Reiji-kun will be happy to hear that as well."
After a few moments, Kitsune sat next to Haruka and placed her chin in her hands. Even without a formal introduction, she could not keep her eyes off him. Because as strange as it may seem, Konno Mitsune, aka the 'Fox', due to how her eyes were when they were not fully opened, stared at the man seated across from her. In a world of her own right now, she ignored the conversation between the two cousins. Usually catching the eye of a man first, Kitsune could be a bit of a flirt because she was an extremely striking woman… However, no one, and I mean no one, had ever captured her attention as fast as the handsome stranger who had just walked in and had seated himself across from Haruka.
"Kitsune! Earth to Kitsune, over," said a smiling Haruka who looked at the woman seated next to her. Then, she realized that Kitsune had just fallen victim to her cousin's natural charm. Not having received a response from the Fox, Haruka gently prodded her until she jumped back into this plain of existence.
Laughter from Haruka while Keitaro just sat there with a slightly amused look on his face.
"Wha….? What is it, Haruka?" asked the ash-blonde who shook her head trying to compose herself after previously failing.
Greatly amused, Haruka used her thumb to point at Keitaro.
"Gomen, sweetie," she said with a Kansai drawl while extending her hand, "I am Konno Mitsune, but you can call me Kitsune."
"It is my pleasure, Kitsune," said Keitaro matter of fact as he understood from her accent that she was from probably from Osaka, "You may call me Keitaro."
With a warm smile now, he kindly took her hand.
Even though her wits had returned, all she could do was to simply nod her head. Seeming like an unknown strength or power shot right up her arm as their skin made contact. It had just about overwhelmed her. His huge, calloused-over hand had a rough texture to it, but he was also very gentle. Kitsune's only thought was, 'I am so wet,' after receiving a tingle from him. In her many experiences, this was something new that had never happened before. This beautiful woman, this charmer who had in the past entranced many men and women with just her looks alone, had in turn just fallen extremely hard for a man she met mere moments before.
"Oh yeah, Haru-nee," said Keitaro apologetically to his cousin, "Sorry about the helicopter flights earlier this morning. A good friend of mine, Hanabi Matsuo-san helped me as he flew in my heaviest tools and equipment setting them down onto the back of Hinata Hill. His family owns a helicopter charter business over in Kamakura. They just bought a couple of surplus US choppers from the JSDF, so I helped my friend repair and modernize them. To say thanks, he flew all of my belongings out here free-of-charge. I did not realize that I had accumulated that much over the past couple of years." The latter part of that statement made him feel slightly embarrassed when he said it. (He hated bragging about himself.)
With a slight snicker, Haruka knew from her own past experiences with him that he had a habit of doing things himself and was not one to delegate his work or responsibilities to others.
"I had my larger equipment and toolboxes stored in one of their empty hangars along with some shed kits," he added. "Now that my equipment is up on the hill, Matsuo's newer choppers have place to call home, and so do I."
"I was wondering what-the-hell was going on so early this morning," said Haruka, "If I had known it was you, I would have just said 'that is so typical of the workaholic Kei-kun' the man I have known since he was born." Then turning to the Fox, she said, "Kitsune, this man here (pointing at Keitaro) would get up before anyone else I know and start right in working on something. Also, Keitaro only went to bed when he needed to, or after I would tell him. He would also work until either the point of collapse over his work area; or, when his Tou-san came home and told him to stop for the day. You do not know how many times I had to put him to bed when he was a kid after finding him asleep over something that he had been working on. It was more times than I could remember."
"Yes, Haru-chan. You did," said Keitaro with a warm smile on his face, "and I remember that there were many times you would just lay a blanket over me when I got older. Hey, I just love to keep my hands busy. You know the old saying about life being short and all."
With a hearty laugh, Haruka nodded at those fond memories.
"Oh, and before I forget, Haru-nee," he added, "I am going to head up the old back hunter's road by the old, dilapidated Annex and unpack my equipment. We had dropped off quite a few pallets. Then I also have to organize everything before converting some of the empty storage rooms in the manse's rear cellar for my wood and machine shops."
"Have you had anything to eat this morning, Kei-kun?" asked Haruka remembering how large his large appetite used to be. Especially right before he focused on a new project.
"I am a bit hungry after all of the shit I had to move this morning," he said knowing that she would not allow him to get away without a proper breakfast.
A growling stomach caused some female giggling.
"Kei-kun, you stay right there," said Haruka, who got up and went to get her cook to fix her beloved cousin a big breakfast before he left.
Still staring at him, Kitsune was still all mushy inside. 'Shit, this has never happened to me before,' she thought as her mind had difficulty coalescing back to the present reality. Her shift had not ended yet.
That aside…
"Hey, Kei-kun," said Haruka from the kitchen as she helped the cook, "Did Obaa-chan or her lawyers tell you about the old place?" Haruka hated to put a damper on his growing enthusiasm, but someone must tell him the truth about what their grandmother did to the old place.
A few minutes later, she brought out a big serving tray with many dishes on it for him.
"Yeah. I just hope the girls will not feel put out by what I will be doing to the old place," said Keitaro, again using a matter-of-fact tone as he wolfed down his cousin's food, "Do you have any info on them, Haru-chan? I want to know who I will be dealing with later when I formally introduce myself to them."
Looking a little startled by his tone and nonchalant attitude about people living in his new home, Kitsune did not know what to think.
Having sensed something from the ash-blonde beauty, Keitaro looked at her and said, "Do not worry, Kitsune. I am simply curious as to why my Obaa-san would do something like that to the old manse, so I will not ask you or the others to leave. As a matter-of-fact, I will be staying out at a camp right in the back property during the spring and summer months."
Surprised, Keitaro took aback both women when he said that he would not be living inside the Hinata itself until fall.
"The Hinata is your home now, Kei-kun," said Haruka who stood and went back to her office to get Keitaro the file which had the information he wanted about the residents.
Wondering how he knew that she lived up there, Kitsune was happy to know that Keitaro would be nearby and possibly be available for whatever.
"Hina Baa-chan sent me a preliminary list of the residents who lived up there," said Keitaro after Haruka handed him a manila folder from a larger legal binder, "As of right now, only five rooms are occupied on one side."
"Kitsune, I'm glad to see you live up there," added Keitaro making her feel better. Hearing that statement from him answered any of her remaining doubts.
Due to his unintended use of innuendo, dirty thoughts then came into her mind. Which she would happily allow herself to indulge in when the time was right.
After Keitaro had downed the last of the delicious Miso that Haruka brought out for him, he opened the folder.
Perusing pictures of the residents, he continued, "I see Aoyama Motoko-chan resides there too. She has had a huge crush on me since the time I had helped with the rebuilding of the Aoyama Dojo seven years ago."
'Is he talking about the same Kendo girl?' Kitsune thought. Having known her for the last three years, his description of the young maiden did not sound like the same Motoko to her.
"When we last went to Kyoto, Haru-nee," said Keitaro as he looked at her, "That girl, though shy as she was, hung around me like a little puppy."
Smiling, he fondly remembered Motoko as a little girl.
With a giggle of her own, Kitsune now had something new to tease the Kendo girl with now.
"Thanks for a great breakfast, Haru-nee," said Keitaro who looked toward the door.
"Heading out?" asked Haruka with a smile. It was an obvious question, and she knew it.
"Yes, I am heading out and going up to start right in," said Keitaro as he pulled a business card out of his shirt pocket and handed it to Haruka, "I will take this folder with me. Please call me when the others get home so I can formally introduce myself to them."
The Fox did a bit of 'rubbernecking' to try and see his number.
Seeing her do that, Haruka laughed as she handed his card to Kitsune.
"Kitsune-san, it has been a pleasure. I look forward to seeing you later," said Keitaro who slid out from the booth and stood.
As he headed out, Kitsune followed him outside of the shop.
Smiling, she stood there in the doorway and finger waved to Keitaro as he climbed into his pick-up. She then fought a wild hair to jump into the truck with him. It would have been enjoyable for her to be with him as he tended to his belongings, and maybe to her as well.
The engine started and some throat-clearing from a smiling Haruka brought Kitsune back to reality.
As she headed back inside, Kitsune's smile grew wider as she would see him later in the day.
Having enjoyed the sight of the gorgeous young woman who worked for Haruka, Keitaro stored away any thoughts about her into the back of his mind as he drove off.
Not for too long though, he hoped…
-Late-morning, back property of Hinata Hill-
On the way over to the old grassy road that led to the back of Hinata Hill, Keitaro had a pleasant memory come to him from when he was a little boy. Showing him how to build birdhouses, his father wanted Keitaro to enjoy doing things with his hands. Afterwards, they would often come back here with Kanako and hang them for the finches, sparrows and swallows that lived up here on the hill. Many times, they would also have lunch or fire up a hibachi set up to cook on, so they could watch the little birds as they enjoyed their new homes. Then, the three of them would also have fun swimming in the freshwater lake by the waterfall that cascaded down from the higher points from behind on Hinata Hill.
There were so many great memories from when he was young.
'Why did I allow the good times in my life to end back then?' he pondered retrospectively as Keitaro missed his younger sister right then.
Frowning before he put those thoughts aside, Keitaro knew that he must deal with that situation as soon as possible too.
For now…
Unloading all the pallets took only a few hours.
Breaking the smaller loads down, he organized all of his equipment by priority, size, where they were going and the time of year that he would be using them. Keitaro arranged the whole lot down to the smallest detail.
Then, there were three tractors that Keitaro needed to unstrap and drive off their pallets. One, which was for construction, had a front-end loader and backhoe. Two, there was a farm-type tractor that he wanted to use for towing his medium-sized loads around. And lastly, he had bought a smaller garden tractor with wide-cutting deck attachments for mowing and light agricultural work.
It was also good that Keitaro a four-wheel stake-sided flatbed trailer along with a heavier capacity low boy ramp trailer to haul all his possessions over to the manse. Or, wherever else they may need to be placed.
With his machine shop equipment loaded onto the lowboy, Keitaro had had it disassembled for aerial transport and packed in smaller loads which he could easily reassemble later. After securing everything, he was ready to move it over to the manse.
Before doing that, there was also his woodworking and metal-shop equipment: horizontal and bench lathes, 3d printers, drill presses, saws, and shop hand tools. These he had secured onto the trailer as well.
They were going to the same place, but in different rooms.
Uncrating some resin sheds of varied sizes, Keitaro quickly assembled them. These would store his two smaller tractors, a couple of small generators, chainsaws, fuel and oil cans, welding equipment, two large and two small capacity air tanks, gardening equipment, masonry, and plumbing supplies, plus a nail-gun and boxes of nails.
Finishing up for now, Keitaro set up his large ripsaw: he assembled the table, cradle, pulleys and placed the drive strap back where the medium tractor could back up and run it. This last machine was of his own design. It was so he did not ever have to buy any lumber. A drying kiln for seasoning wood would be built later for the excess trees that he would cull when he was ready to start in on the Hinata.
Before cleaning himself up, Keitaro stacked away the pallets behind one of the sheds for recycling into something else, or they would be cut up and burned as kindling.
When he had all his possessions stowed and ready to move, Keitaro began to build a camp for his temporary summer home.
Having stopped by his parents' house, he had loaded his camping equipment into the back of the pick-up truck.
First, up went an army-style tent. It is a large enough to house six soldiers comfortably in the field. Next, he opened a portable bed frame for the inside of his tent and laid an actual mattress on it. Then, in went a footlocker, coat rack, Franklin Stove, a small refrigerator (he would later run a line to it when he headed over to the Hinata. Utilizing one of his generators for the appliances out here seemed a little wasteful to him), his laptop, a military-style clerk's folding desk and stool. The last thing, out of the backseat of his truck, he took an antique American oil lamp that was a gift from his mother. The lamp was one of his most prized possessions and so he placed it on top of his desk.
Grabbing one of his chainsaws, Keitaro gassed and oiled it for use. At that point, he proceeded to cut down a few small trees that were already dead for some instant firewood. Later, he would thin out some of the overgrowth and cut up the dead logs into woodpiles. That would season them for burning during the winter months.
Finding some old slate and medium-sized stones, Keitaro cleared away some grass and laid out a good-sized fire pit about five meters away from his tent. Then as an added measure, he placed a slotted grate over where the fire was so he could do some open-air cooking.
Looking over the entire encampment and storage areas, Keitaro was happy with how fast he had unloaded everything which was quickly stowed away. Taking a short break, there was still his shop equipment to go inside the Hinata and preliminary inspection to do.
Next, Keitaro filled a large camping cooler with some cold spring water and took a drink from it. While swallowing, he was grateful that his clan could truly boast of having some the freshest spring water in all of Japan. Taking a deep breath as he looked at the where to put the cooler, Keitaro set it on a folding table that he had assembled as part of his outdoor kitchen. Enjoying cooking and baking, he had learned these skills from both his parents. Speaking of which, he wanted to call them later before going to bed, so that they would know that he had arrived safely. Kanako would want to know as well.
With just his workshops needing to be set up, Keitaro saw the basement door which led to the lower-level storage areas. It had eight large rooms and was connected to the main house by a stairwell.
Entering, Keitaro picked out two rear storage rooms for his shops and hoped that they would be far enough away from the residents. Wanting his shops, he did not want to interfere with the girls' lives or their daily routines.
Backing his tractor to the loaded trailer, Keitaro connected them together and hooked up the safety chain as well as the rear lights.
Finding a shallow ford in the stream, he drove his tractor across it and parked by the door.
"This door needs to be replaced," he muttered and made a mental note of its condition.
Unlocked, Keitaro opened the door and saw for himself how the rooms were set up. Taking a quick look at the hinges, he saw that they were still in good condition. No rust.
Going back outside, Keitaro then hauled in all of machinery parts that he would reassemble when he was able. Woodworking equipment in one room and machine shop apparatus tools in another.
'At least this back basement still looks decent enough,' he mused after inspecting all six rooms. A notion came to him about how easily he could access all the rooms by knocking out one or two of the walls or adding in a couple of doorways.
"That will work," Keitaro whispered as he went up the inside passageway.
Going upstairs to the second floor where the main junction box was, Keitaro opened the closet and at once knew that he had to replace it before either there was a major blackout up here, or the thing started a fire. Boxes of old fuses were strewn about along with a pair of offsets and a pair of heavy-duty rubber gloves sat in here as well.
Since the manse was old and the wood was dry, it would quickly go up in flames.
'This damned thing should have been replaced long ago,' thought Keitaro with a bit of scorn at how dilapidated, outdated, and dangerous the old fuse box was, 'There is no way in hell that this fucking thing would support any of my power equipment.'
Having gone back downstairs for a moment, Keitaro checked in one of his new shops. Opening a large cardboard box, he pulled out a large brand new high-capacity breaker box, a fire panel and four new chemical extinguishers.
Taking them upstairs, Keitaro placed them in the closet where the old fuse box was and made it a high priority to fix this possible problem first before it started a fire.
Pulling a small well-worn leather covered notebook from his front shirt pocket, Keitaro wrote a few notes in it (not that he needed to mind you).
"0 for 2 so far," whispered Keitaro while he walked down to his grandmother's former bedroom.
Sliding open the traditional door, the first thing he noticed was a hole in the ceiling that had a sheet of plywood covering it over. That needed repair before someone fell through it and got hurt.
Satisfied for now, he stepped out of the room and slid the door closed.
Heading downstairs and out the old backway, he went to clean himself up before meeting his new tenants.
Out the back of his four-door pick-up's cab, Keitaro grabbed some clean clothes and a pair of fresh boxer shorts. The clothes he had on were now dirty and sweat stained.
In need of cooling off, he decided to take a dip in the hill's pristine lake.
Looking around, Keitaro smiled when he realized that many of the birdhouses that he made as a child with his father were still in use.
Stripped naked, he draped his dirty clothes over a low branch and waded out into the cold refreshing water that had always re-invigorated him as a child. Swimming over to a low hanging part of the falls, Keitaro stepped underneath the cascade as the fresh water washed over his head.
'Wow,' he thought, 'this place is all mine.'
However, Keitaro did have one quite normal problem to deal with, and that was, chilly water usually caused his huge cock to become quite erect. Being much larger than the average Japanese male, he needed to relieve himself as his manhood was painfully stiff. So, Keitaro chose to step out and masturbate behind a small cleft in the hillside. To compound matters even more, Keitaro also thought about his meeting with Kitsune, as she was an extremely beautiful and well put together young woman. Then there was also Mutsumi, Sarah-chan and his sister Kanako, as he missed those three terribly.
After making a big mess on the rocks, he went back for a swim, before getting out to dry off and dressing. Pulling a small snack out from an ice chest, along with a can of cold beer, he sat on the tailgate of his pickup and rested for a few minutes. When he had finished his workday, Keitaro usually ate a large dinner and packed away as many calories as humanly possible. By the looks of his physique, Keitaro had worked all of them off.
BRRR! BRRR!
Picking up his smart phone, he ran his finger across the face and saw that it was Haruka on the line.
"Moshi, moshi. Hi, Haru-nee," he responded.
"Everyone is home now, Kei-kun," she said, "but I have not told them that you are here yet."
"No problem," he responded, "I will meet you out in front of the Hinata in about 30 minutes," and hit the disconnect icon.
Half an hour later…
At the front entrance of the Hinata, Keitaro was waiting for Haruka to come up from her place.
With the Tea Shoppe closed for the evening, he saw meet him alone as Kitsune must be inside already.
"Well, I hope you were not waiting too long for me, Kei-kun," said Haruka as her cousin looked up at the front walls and upper balconies of the ancient building.
"The old place really needs a lot of work, Haru-nee," said Keitaro off-handedly as the two then went inside together. After they changed from shoes into slippers, the cousins stepped into the common room.
"Have a seat, Kei-kun. I will get the girls," said Haruka, who then strode over to the large staircase.
A few seconds later, and after putting her fingers to her mouth, she let out a loud whistle to signal the residents to come downstairs.
Motoko's POV…
In her room up on the third floor, Motoko had just finished her homework. After she closed her laptop, there came the familiar whistle that only Haruka could produce. Loud, shrill, and very piercing, it would easily give you a headache if you ever heard it. When she cut loose, that sound meant that there was a meeting in the common and attendance was always mandatory. The teen Kendoka stood and straightened her Hakama. Checking her Gi, she grabbed her favorite Bokken from the weapons rack, which sat next to the suit of traditional armor, and placed it in her Uwa-obi before going downstairs.
As she walked down the hallway, the warrior maiden suddenly sensed a familiar aura that made her heart leap out a little in joyous anticipation. Her pulse raced faster as she descended the stairs to the main floor. There, Motoko saw her Keitaro-sama seated on a couch in the common room.
Enjoying what she was gazing upon, Motoko usually had a negative opinion of the male half of the species, as the only exception to this rule was her Keitaro-sama.
Centering herself the best way she could, Motoko smiled at Keitaro and went to greet him.
Naru's POV…
Putting on comfortable clothes and looking rather sloppy, a beautiful young woman sat at her Kotatsu with a college study guide in her hand. Ranked second in her high school class after having just started her third year, Naru usually wore her coke-bottle glasses and braids just to make the boys in her class avoid her. In addition, she also has quite a Ki-loaded right hand that was extra insurance against them confessing to her. This young woman was just not into men, as she was yuri. With her girlfriend as a first-year student at Tokyo University, she wanted to concentrate and enter that school just to be with her.As with her taller housemate, Naru had also formed some terribly negative opinions about the other half of the species. Unlike Motoko, she did not know Keitaro yet.
Even though deep in thought, what drew Naru out of her zone was a loud whistle that only Haruka could produce, and she understood that it was time to meet downstairs to the common room.
Having run down the stairs, she spied on Keitaro as he sat there and waited.
"What in the hell is this man doing here at an all-girl's dorm, Haruka-san?" asked the bespectacled brunette.
Just before she could walk up to Keitaro, Naru's rant brought Motoko out of her reverie.
"All men want to do is peep on innocent young girls and molest them with their perverted ways," cried Naru in a brusque manner.
With Haruka and Motoko standing nearby, the temperature in the room suddenly and mysteriously dipped.
Before the young Kendoka could respond to Naru's insult and possibly smack her senseless with the bokken, her close young friend happily scampered in.
Kaolla's POV…
Ensconced in the hallway on the third floor, a certain young Princess enjoyed the late afternoon sun as it came through the hallway windows of the Hinata, Kaolla perused the designs of her latest revision of a flying Mecha-tama. This hyperactive foreign young teen genius had a penchant for creating small turtle-shaped mechanoids and then unleashing them. With a truly maniacal laugh, she did all of this with the wide-eyed wonder and the innocence of a young girl. A loud piercing whistle resonated up the stairs which brought her back to reality. Wrapping up her blueprints, she put everything inside her room and ran down to the common room. That was, after she literally jumped down two flights of stairs barefoot. The blonde, dark-skinned foreign Princess then gazed upon a very handsome man seated on the couch.
"Someone new here at the Hinata, all I want to know is he yummy and can he be my playmate?" asked Kaolla Su in rapid succession.
Kitsune's POV…
Still deep in thought about having met Haruka's cousin earlier in the day, the Fox went through her closet. Kitsune wanted to find something a little less appropriate to wear when she went to meet Keitaro again. In her life, no one had ever smitten her before as he had. Previously, she had thought that her former boyfriend was a stud, but he was nothing like the man that she saw seated across from her in the booth that morning. Moreover, she just loved how he radiated such confidence and had a good sense of himself. It also helped that he was rich, smart and had a 'killer' body. The 'six-pack' torso outlined by his tee shirt made the ash-blonde drool. It caused her to fantasize about him as he held her in those magnificent arms of his before she touched him all over.
'I wonder if he is packing too,' thought the Fox while wiping the drool from her mouth.
Hearing Haruka's loud whistling from downstairs, she almost started to freak because she had not picked out anything special. Sizing up her luscious body in the closet's full-length mirror, she quickly decided that what she had on would catch his eye. After another moment or so, Kitsune headed out to catch herself a new man.
A further interruption in Motoko's greeting came in the form of the ash-blonde bombshell who made her presence known in the common room.
Not dressed for work, Kitsune sauntered over and sat on the couch in the spot that Motoko had picked out for herself.
In an almost audible whimper from the tall teen, any actual casual greeting from her would have to wait until later.
From over by the staircase, Haruka said in a loud voice, "Naru-chan, knock that shit off right now. You will be in a hell of a lot of trouble with me if you ever refer to my cousin, and your new Ōya-san here, as a pervert ever again."
Everyone looked at Naru as she blanched, and from that moment on, she knew to keep her mouth shut.
No one ever wanted to antagonize Haruka or be on her shit list.
Coming back over to the common room, a shyly smiling petite teenager followed close behind the now former housemother.
Shinobu's POV…
There must be some magic in this old place thought a petite bluenette as she prepared dinner. To keep the foreign Princess out of her hair, she gave Kaolla a small bundle of bananas.
After she had moved in, having smart Senpais in residence helped with her grades, as she was near the top of her class now. Nevertheless, that was only the surface of how things were in her life. The thing was, after her parents' divorce, the two still sniped at each other and sometimes included her as they continued to bitch. Unbeknownst to her, Shinobu's life was about to take a drastic turn for the better.
When she had heard the piercing whistle from Haruka, it signaled some meeting or other, and so there everyone was.
With it quiet now, it began…
As he stood up and stepped over to the end of the room, Keitaro took a good look at everyone.
Two pair of eyes just drooled at this specimen of a man before them. Two others wondered who he was, and the final one would wait until the picture became clearer.
Taking a seat on an empty loveseat, Haruka just smiled at her cousin.
"Generally, I am a man of very few words, as I believe in letting my actions speak for me instead. There are just a few things I have to say before we formally introduce ourselves to each other. First, my name is Urashima Keitaro. I am the new owner of the Hinata, and all its surrounding property save only the Tea Shoppe. Second, until I have a full handle on the living situation here, I will be staying at a camp that I have set up outside in the back until the end of the summer. Third, I will be making big improvements and modernizing this place, because frankly, it really needs it. For sure, I will be replacing the old fuse box with a new more modern breaker box in a few days before we have a housefire. Also, if I am working outside in the onsen or anywhere else on the property, be extremely careful because this place needs a lot of cleaning too. I mean to restore the Hinata to its former glory. Lastly, and until further notice, the office will be wherever I am. Usually, I tend to work exceedingly long hours, and it is my wish not to wake anyone after they have gone to bed. If you need me, just want to talk or you want to help me out here, I am going to set up a radio system and post my cell number. Oh yes, and there is one more thing (a pause), I am converting the old storage rooms in the cellar into workshops. I will be using them mostly during the day, so if you want to see me, need something fixed or want something made, come see me down there."
Finishing as abruptly as he had started, Keitaro sat down between Kitsune and Motoko.
Kaolla's eyes lit up when he mentioned the word, workshops.
All three smiled at him.
"Why are you being so modest, Kei-kun?" asked Haruka teasingly, "Mina, the man before you had recently received his master's degree in engineering from Tokyo University. Plus, he graduated at the top of his class with dual degrees. (Looking at him.) I had to call your Tou-san to find out what you have been doing since you were not forthcoming with me."
"WHAT?"
-End of Chapter-