Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ Legacy ❯ Chapter 35

“Are you feeling better now, Haru?” asked Keitaro, offering his cousin and first lover a glass of cool, fresh water. Haru nodded her thanks, setting aside her legal pad and clipboard. Kanako joined the two, who were sitting under an old Japanese maple tree near the back of the walled-in estate proper that the Hinata House sat in. Back this far, between the Annex and the back wall, it was almost a separate estate.

 

“I'm fine,” Haru smiled at him.

 

“So, what are you thinking of for the Annex?” asked Kanako, a flicker-fast glance at Haruka accompanying the question. Haruka took a long pull of water from her glass before handing her pad to the other girl. Kanako swiftly turned the page, since the first one was a simple diagram of the area, measurements noted and a basic grid-layout of the terrain. Being an archeologist has given her unexpected skills in other fields, thought Kanako absently.

 

On the second page, a pencil-sketch of a possible idea was roughly drawn. Kanako studied it for a moment, then turned the page. The third one had a more detailed sketching - again, in pencil - of the Annex and a second, smaller, building attached with a covered walkway. Another page, and she was looking at a three-quarter overhead view of the Annex. Looking closer, she noticed that the main building was connected to two smaller buildings, a new wall creating yet another buffer between the Annex and the main Hinata House. She also spotted something of interest.

 

“Haruka, you have a hot spring drawn here,” noted the girl. Haruka nodded.

 

“I know,” she said.

 

“But, the spring is down at the Hinata,” Keitaro pointed out. Haruka shook her head.

 

“Actually, the spring head is up here, and the water is piped to the spring at the Hinata,” Haruka said. “Granny told me about it years ago,” she shrugged. “Look closely at that small clearing over there,” she said, pointing. Keitaro looked closer. It took him a moment, but he spotted the tell-tale signs of man-made structures under the ground.

 

“Wow, I never noticed that,” he admitted. “What's down there?”

 

“A nearly-finished natural stone bath, with the spring head capped with the piping to carry the water to the Hinata,” Haruka said. “It won't be that hard to dig it back out, finish the stonework, seal it all up, and have the original spring back in action,” she smiled.

 

“Why was it covered over?” wondered Kanako. Haruka hummed.

 

“When the Annex was abandoned, the spring was left unfinished because it is part of the Annex,” Haruka answered her. Kanako didn't miss that the answer told her nothing.

 

“Probably because it is haunted, too, right?” guessed Keitaro, chuckling a little. Haruka shrugged.

 

“Could be,” she said. “But, Keitaro,” she said, turning to look at him squarely, “have you ever felt threatened when you are in the Annex? Or nervous?” He frowned.

 

“Now that you mention it, no,” he said. “It feels kind of…lonely, though,” he thought aloud. Haruka glanced at Kanako.

 

“I never much liked the Annex,” she said quietly. “But I didn't feel threatened when I have gone in there,” she added. “Why?”

 

“I'll tell you later,” Haruka said, picking up her glass of water again. “What do you think of my sketches?” she asked the pair. Kanako shrugged.

 

“I'm not an architect,” she said, “but it does look nice,” she said, handing the clipboard to Keitaro. The young man studied the rough drawings.

 

“Well, this will be a lot cozier than the Hinata,” he said. “Probably be easier to keep up, too,” he added. Haruka nodded.

 

“Well, it's a house, not a dorm or inn,” she said softly, a hand ghosting across her lower stomach. “Our house,” she murmured.

 

“What did you say?” wondered Keitaro, not having heard her clearly.

 

“Nothing,” Haruka smiled at him. “I want to get opinions on the ideas I have from the rest of you, before I finalize anything,” she went on, denying her lover the chance to pursue the issue. “I also have to find some of the plans that mom left behind,” she recalled. She had kept some of the sketches her mother had made when she was working on the Annex as keepsakes, and knew she had them carefully tucked away somewhere, but now she had reason to dig them up.

 

The early-afternoon sun was warm, a cool breeze slipped over the walls, gently cooling the heat, and the shade of the maple tree and the soft grass they sat on made the seldom-visited part of the estate seem like heaven. Stretching her arms, Haruka grinned as she scooted a little closer to Keitaro, leaning her head on his shoulder comfortably. Humming in contentment, she snuggled in for a short rest. On his opposite side, Kanako did the same thing, cuddling up to her lover. Draping his arms around the shoulders of the girls, Keitaro carefully settled back, his back against the trunk of the tree, enjoying the feeling of having both arms full of girl.

 

When Kitsune came looking for the three, she found them sleeping peacefully together under the tree, all three smiling softly in their sleep. Silently watching the three for a minute, Kitsune felt a small sting of jealousy at what she was seeing. They are really family, she thought. While she wouldn't claim to know the exacts of the complicated family history of the three, she knew that what she was seeing was something she wanted to be a part of; badly.

 

“Kitsune?” came a voice from behind her, blinking, she turned to see Amalla approaching. Looking back, she saw Haruka and Kanako looking at her, though Keitaro slept on. Her lips twitched. He did do a lot of work this morning, she gloated to herself.

 

-

 

“Man! I'm glad that's over with,” sighed Akiko, exiting the classroom. Shinobu was just behind her, digging into her schoolbag.

 

“Yeah,” replied the girl absently, withdrawing her cell phone. Glancing at the screen, she switched it back to ring mode, having put it on vibrate before beginning her finals. Akiko could tell that Shinobu was distracted and only half-listening to her just from the tone of her friend's voice.

 

“Shinobu,” chided Akiko. Blinking, Shinobu focused on her friend.

 

“What?” asked the slight girl innocently.

 

“Nothing,” smiled Akiko. Shinobu had finished her test a good half hour before the rest of the class had. She knew this because Shinobu had been smiling softly as she worked on the test, and a half hour before the time was up, she had put her pencil aside and started going back through the test, nodding to herself minutely as she turned pages slowly. “So, next stop for you is Todai,” predicted Akiko.

 

“We don't know yet,” Shinobu said automatically. “And I still have to pass the entrance exam,” she reminded her friend. Akiko scoffed at that.

 

“With your grades? I would already be moving into the dorm if I were in your shoes, Shinobu-chan,” she disagreed. “Well, maybe not, considering…” grinned the girl.

 

“I like where I live now,” Shinobu shrugged indifferently. “Speaking of the finals, how did you do?” she asked directly, falling into step beside Akiko as they exited the classroom block. Akiko offered her friend a weak smile.

 

“I'll graduate, at least,” she said. Shinobu's expression remained firm.

 

“That's not good enough,” the girl replied crisply. “You reviewed the cards I made for you? And looked over the formulas before finals began, right?” prodded Shinobu.

 

“Yeah,” Akiko sighed. Her friend was relentless, she knew, and had no plans to stop short of Akiko getting into a good college. “It was a little easier than I thought, actually,” mused the other girl. “Either that, or I did a lot worse than I think I did,” she offered.

 

“The finals weren't that hard,” shrugged Shinobu. Akiko didn't answer that aloud. Maybe not for someone who has been cramming for Todai with three Todai sempais helping her for the last three years, no, she thought. “Did you talk with the guidance councilor about Keio or Sawa University?”

 

“Um, well…” Akiko glanced away from Shinobu.

 

Shinobu sighed. “I thought you would try that,” she said, once more digging into her neatly-organized school bag. “So, I did it for you,” smiled Shinobu, handing her two packets, one with the crest of Keio University and the other bearing the emblem of Sawa University. “Come on,” Shinobu said, taking Akiko's wrist in her hand when the girl reluctantly accepted the forms from her, “I'll help you fill them out,” offered the dark-haired girl, leading Akiko toward the stone bench they usually ate lunch on.

 

“I…!” Akiko didn't get any further.

 

“You need to go to university, Akiko,” stated Shinobu. “If you don't, you will be stuck with whatever menial job you can find, or find yourself without any options but being a housewife.”

 

“What's wrong with that?” challenged Akiko, “isn't that what you want to be? With Keitaro?” Shinobu didn't answer until they were within sight of the bench.

 

“What I want and what you want are not the same thing, Akiko,” said the girl, her voice soft. “I…won't be able to be his wife,” she added, “though I will stay by his side. Part of that,” Shinobu moved on before Akiko could break into her speech, “means that I will need to have something of value to share; something that is mine to contribute to the whole. I have chosen to pursue that in my own way. You need to pursue your own goals in the way you believe best for you, Akiko,” admonished Shinobu.

 

“And if I want to be a housewife?” repeated Akiko. Shinobu looked her in the eyes. Akiko found herself fidgeting under the steady, strong gaze of her close friend.

 

“I don't believe that is what you want,” stated the stronger of the two. “If it was, you would be looking for your target like most of the other lazy girls in this school. You aren't. So, I believe you want more than to be some man's care giver.”

 

Akiko knew that Shinobu had her pegged. She did want to get married - when she found the right guy. And she did want kids - again, when she found the right man. But she didn't really want to be like her mom and her mom's friends, who stayed cooped up in the house all day, gossiping, doing chores and basically just existing.

 

Funny, how I didn't realize that things could be different until Shinobu began to change. And as she changed, she began to change me, too, reflected Akiko. “I don't know what I want to do for a living,” admitted the girl.

 

“Then, you try several courses your first year, and settle on something that catches your interest,” Shinobu explained. Mutsumi-sempai told me how fun it was to audit classes in other fields, and I have to admit, I am curious about the different areas of study, she thought. She had her major picked out and her minor, but she wanted to try some classes not related to those - just to see a bigger picture. I might even try for a double-major, or double-minor, she thought, a smile flickering across her lips.

 

Akiko sighed. “It doesn't really matter,” she murmured, “we can't afford either of these schools, even if I could get in.” Shinobu smiled a warm smile at her.

 

“Don't be too sure, Akiko,” Shinobu said, leaning in to give her friend a brief hug. “I spoke with Gr…um, a person I know well about your situation, and she told me that if you can get into the school, she will give you a four year, full-ride scholarship - presuming that you maintain passing grades in your classes, of course,” Shinobu nearly bubbled. Akiko stared at her, wide-eyed.

 

“Shinobu!” breathed the girl. “What…? How…? Who…?”

 

“Just someone I know,” Shinobu said. Granny told me that I couldn't tell her who was paying her way until after she graduated, she recalled. Wonder why? Dismissing the thought, she put her hands on Akiko's thin shoulders, gently shaking her friend. “It's a kind of grant thing that she does, so you won't even have a student loan to repay, either!” enthused Shinobu.

 

“Who would possibly do something like that for me?” breathed Akiko. Shinobu patted the girl's cheek, a habit absorbed from certain of her sempais at the Hinata.

 

“Doesn't matter,” dismissed Shinobu. “I trust her, and you can, too. She's a good person,” promised the other girl.

 

“She isn't a Yakuza boss, is she?” wondered the skeptical girl. Shinobu suddenly began to giggle.

 

“Well, not as far as I know,” she managed, still giggling. Though, I wouldn't put such a thing past Granny Hina, she left unsaid. “When you get your degree, I will introduce you to her,” Shinobu dangled the bait. “But right now, we need to get these filled out and get them to the guidance councilor before she leaves for the day,” Shinobu said, guiding her friend down onto the stone bench and settling beside her.

 

Time passed as Shinobu supervised her friend in filling out the forms, suggesting wording and helpfully arranging Akiko's extra-curricular experiences and personal skills into a more attractive presentation. Busy as she was, she didn't notice the person approaching her and Akiko.

 

-

 

Motoko rode the train back toward the Hinata, lost in thought. She had done as Granny Hina had directed, and she could see the importance of the visit, given the circumstances, but she wasn't sure how she felt about reality of what she and the others were facing. I want to be part of this, she thought, but I don't know if I am brave enough to see it through. Even more than wanting to clear her family's past mistakes, Motoko wanted to find herself as a woman, and not just as an Aoyama warrior. Never would I have thought that Shinobu-chan would prove the braver of the two of us, she mused, smiling at the thought of the slim, short girl who had always seemed so shy and meek, but had revealed herself as a fearless, focused woman willing to chase her dreams at any cost. If she can do it, then maybe I can, as well… hoped the tall, proud samurai.

 

Trying to turn her thoughts away from the errand she had been given - and its far-reaching consequences - she found herself absently touching her purse, inside which rested the papers she needed to give to Granny when she got back. And maybe, if she's happy with what she sees, I can speak with Onee-chan and then we can talk with the others about this, the girl thought. Racing ahead, her mind focused on the potential pay-off. Smiling softly, she rubbed her thighs together as tingly heat bloomed between her legs. Ever since the incident in the archeology office with Naru, she had been sure of one thing: she wanted Keitaro to choose her to be his bride. Well, his Japanese bride anyway…

 

Almost guiltily, she looked at the magazine she had bought on an impulse as she headed home. It wasn't like her to buy such a magazine, but when she saw it on the news stand, she had reached for her purse without hesitation - or thought. Now, she found herself peeking at it yet again. If the other girls see me with this, it will likely cause quite a stir, she thought, smiling a little more. A small, but persistent part of her wanted to walk into the Hinata with the magazine brandished like a sword. I won't, she told herself firmly, but it is tempting…

 

Flipping open the magazine, she glanced at the route indicator, seeing where she was so she knew how long she had before her stop. Satisfied, she focused on the magazine. Her warm brown eyes absorbed the glossy photos that filled nearly all the pages, assessing the potential of each outfit. Every few pages, there was a page or two article, related to the photos. Scanning through the articles, she considered the merits of each. Clearly, it will be a traditional ceremony, and that means a traditional kimono, she thought, but I can't help but wonder what I would look like in a Western-style gown. Maybe one like that; or this one, perhaps?

 

Studying the pictures, she found herself imagining herself and the other girls in the various outfits. She began to decide which of the pictured dresses and gowns would suit each girl. This mini-skirted gown would look perfect on Shinobu-chan, given her slim build and balanced measurements, while this full gown would only work with Mutsumi, given how…endowed she is, Motoko thought. Kitsune would probably choose the gown with the indecent neckline and slitted skirt. Naru is a little harder to fit, and I can't picture Kanako or Haruka in any of these, she frowned slightly. I wonder if that is because I do not know them well enough to predict something like this, or is it because I do not think either would look comfortable in such gowns? wondered Motoko.

 

Flipping the magazine closed, she stared at the high-gloss cover photo, her frown fading as a small smile overcame her lips, her mind wandering back to Keitaro. As she imaged their wedding night, her smile became more a leer than anything else. I am certain that I will have an incredible wedding night, she thought, her pussy drooling at the memory of Keitaro's hard cock. It may be a very unusual one, but I know he will make me a happy woman, gloated the woman to herself. It occurred to her about then that she had made a dangerous assumption in that Keitaro had more than one choice before him. “But, it will be Keitaro or no one,” she murmured softly.

 

“What was that about Keitaro?” came a voice from beside her. Blinking, she turned to see that the two friends of Keitaro were next to her. What were their names again? she wondered. Ah. Yes. Haitani and Shirai, the perverted losers, she recalled.

 

“What are you two doing here?” she asked, her tone clipped and distant. Keitaro's friends or not, they were unwelcome to the girls of the Hinata; and to her and Naru especially. I may have once thought these two and Keitaro to be the same, but while he proved to be far more than I had imaged he could be, these two have proven to be exactly as I first saw them: perverted, lazy, rude and undisciplined, thought the warrior distastefully.

 

“It's a train,” shrugged Haitani. “What were you saying about Keitaro?” he asked again.

 

“Nothing that concerns the likes of you,” she said, her tone colder than before.

 

“You're looking at a bridal magazine!” blurted out Shirai, spotting the carelessly-exposed magazine. Haitani gasped.

 

Hissing, Motoko hurriedly rolled the magazine up so the cover couldn't be seen, even as she blushed. Damn it! she thought, both embarrassed and angry. Shooting a furious glare at the pair, she bared her teeth. “What concern of yours is it what I choose to read?!” snarled the woman.

 

“She said it would be Keitaro or no one, didn't she?” whispered Haitani to his cohort. Shirai nodded swiftly. Motoko's lips peeled back from her teeth at being ignored by the two oafs.

 

“Ignore me, will you?” breathed the samurai girl, gathering her Ki for a strike even as she gripped the rolled up magazine as if it were a sword hilt.

 

“She's going to marry Keitaro!” the two exclaimed together, shock on their faces. Motoko's face burned crimson, her gathered Ki dissipating.

 

“I…I am not,” she denied, turning her head away from the two. This is bad! she thought frantically. Of all people, why these two?! babbled the dismayed girl. “Naru is his girlfriend,” she reminded them a bit hastily.

 

“But you and he have been close of late, while Narusegawa has never been that close to him,” countered Haitani. “And he was kissing his aunt on the train, too…” Motoko's eye began to twitch.

 

“You have been sticking your nose in our private matters, then?” she asked, her Ki pooling again. “How…unfortunate for you,” she purred, raising her rolled-up bridal magazine. Blinking away their thoughts, the two realized who it was before them; and what she was capable of when provoked.

 

“M…mercy!” pleaded Shirai. First Keitaro's aunt, now Motoko-san?! How unlucky!

 

“Spare us!” begged Haitani, falling to his knees before her. Where is that baka Keitaro when we need him?!

 

Motoko gave the two a thin, cold smile. “No mercy,” she pronounced, her feet shifting as she assumed her striking stance, “and no survivors, either,” added the girl, her eyes dancing with evil anticipation.