Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ Legacy ❯ EPILOG ( Chapter 70 )

EPILOG:

 

“Hey! Wait up, Nee-chan!” came a call from behind the girl. Turning, she smiled a small smile as she saw who was chasing after her.

 

“Problems?” she asked the young man, ruffling his hair.

 

“Stop that, Nee-chan,” he protested. She just laughed.

 

“Where's your partner in crime?” wondered the girl, absently adjusting her brand-new high school uniform.

 

“She said she had something she needed to take care of,” he said. The high-schooler frowned.

 

“Did she now?” murmured the older girl. “Come with me, Hiro-chan,” ordered his big sister, marching back toward the boys middle school.

 

“Nee-chan, don't call me `-chan'!” protested the boy. “I'm almost in junior high!”

 

“You'll always be my little brother, though, Hiro-chan,” grinned his big sister. Sulking, he followed her back toward his school. As they neared the gate, they could hear a commotion. Sighing, the girl handed her book bag to her little brother. “Go home and tell your mom that I'll be along once I speak to your accomplice,” directed the high schooler.

 

“You're not going to…?” began the boy. Seeing the look on his big sister's face, he gulped. “Y…yes, Nee-chan,” he squeaked, hurrying off. His big sister stretched, smiling, before entering the middle school courtyard. As she expected, a group of bullies had been backed into a corner, a girl in the school uniform was glaring at them.

 

“What's this about, squirt?” she asked, spotting a familiar form huddled by the door to the school. Moving to them, she stroked the hair of the huddled student. “It's ok,” she murmured, “I'm here, kid.” The first-year student looked up at the high schooler, before throwing her arms around her.

 

“Yoko-chan!” sobbed the young girl, hugging her tight. “They…they…killed it!” she sobbed.

 

“It's ok,” Yoko soothed the girl. Turning her head, she looked at the older girl who had backed a half-dozen bullies into a corner of the courtyard. “Still haven't heard what this is about,” noted Yoko.

 

“These idiots killed the class hamster when it was Sayo's turn to take care of it, and the teacher said some really terrible things to her,” explained the middle school girl. “I'm just going to teach them about what it is like being picked on,” smiled the girl eagerly. Yoko sighed. Another day, another sibling causing drama, she thought.

 

Having calmed down Sayo, she moved over to the other girl. Surveying the punks, she shook her head. “Sorry, but you can't,” Yoko decided.

 

“Y…yeah, stupid girl!” the apparent ring-leader of the bullies blustered.

 

“I mean, it would be unfair of her to kick your asses, blockhead,” snapped Yoko. “Rin-chan still hasn't learned control, after all. Last time she got in a fight, she sent three adults to the emergency room,” she paused. “And two of them to the intensive care ward.”

 

The bullies grew paler. “I'll do better this time, Yoko-nee, promise!” she appealed to her big sister. “I can't just let them do that to Sayo-chan,” explained Rin.

 

“Oh! Made it in time!” came an eager voice from the gate to the school. Yoko sighed.

 

“Turn around and go home, Hiachi-kun,” ordered Yoko.

 

“But…!” protested the young man.

 

“I'll tell her you were making bets on your sister's fight again,” threatened Yoko. The young man sighed dejectedly.

 

“You're no fun any more, Yoko-nee,” he complained.

 

“Life's full of disappointments, kid,” came her unsympathetic reply. “Now beat it,” she began. “On second thought, escort Sayo-chan home,” she ordered.

 

“But I was going to…!” protested the young man. He was in junior high, and walking a middle schooler home was uncool.

 

“Did I ask what you thought you were doing?” warned Yoko.

 

“No, Yoko-nee,” he capitulated. “Come on, sis,” he said, collecting the still-sniffling girl and moving toward the gate. “We can get another hamster for your class tomorrow morning on the way to school, ok?” he enticed her. She looked up at him.

 

“Really, nii-chan?” asked the girl. He nodded, smiling. “You're the best, Nii-chan!” she squealed. Yoko smiled slightly. She was just in time to grab Rin as the girl began to edge toward the bullies.

 

“Sorry, kid, I'm not that distracted,” she said, humor coloring her tone as Rin sighed.

 

“But they deserve it!” Rin tried reasoning with her big sister again. “They're always disrupting class, and pushing kids, and flipping skirts and things like that. Can't I just maim them a little?” she asked. Yoko hummed, considering that.

 

“They do seem to be pointless wastes of space, don't they?” she thought out loud. “Decisions, decisions,” sighed Yoko. “Probably better not,” she decided. “Cousin Musashi will be visiting - spar with him instead. Wasting your time on idiots like these will make your skills rust, kid,” smiled Yoko, seeing Rin's dark eyes light up at that tidbit.

 

“Cousin Musashi is visiting?!” Rin demanded. Yoko nodded.

 

“Nationals for his kendo club, though you know how he gets about that,” chuckled Yoko. Rin snickered.

 

“He's only in junior high, but he's fighting in the nationals as a favorite to win, but he can't stand kendo because it's too much like tag,” she recalled. “Well, I can give him a match he'll never forget!” announced Rin, spinning and running off. Yoko shook her head.

 

“Where do you assholes think you're going?” she growled as the bullies started to move. Two swift steps took her into range of them. “Let's make one thing very clear,” she murmured to them, “if you so much as look at my brothers or sisters again, I will tear your nuts off, shove them up your ass, and punt you into Tokyo bay. We clear on this?” she asked, drawing back her arm. Driving her fist forward, she shattered a brick in the wall right beside the leader's head as if it were made of glass and her fist was a sledgehammer. “I said, are we clear?” growled Yoko, pulling her hand back and dusting off the fragments of brick, mortar and dirt. She wasn't bleeding at all.

 

“Y…y…!”

 

“Good. Now fuck off!” snarled Yoko, turning away from them and exiting the school yard. Mutely, the bullies stared at the hole she had punched in the wall, not even realizing that they had all pissed their pants; two of them had shit their drawers as well.

 

-

 

“I'm home!” sang out Yoko, closing the door behind her.

 

“Welcome home, sweetie!” came the voice of one of her mothers. “What happened at school?” asked the mother.

 

“Same old, same old, Mama Shinobu,” Yoko reported. “I dealt with it, though. Shouldn't happen again,” added the eldest of the Urashima children.

 

“Yoko-nee, Yoko-nee! Play! Play!” begged her youngest siblings, scrambling over to her.

 

“Not right now,” Yoko said, hugging and patting heads. “I have some things I have to do, but I will play with you a little later, ok?” she said.

 

“Promise?” asked her youngest sister. Yoko smiled.

 

“Promise, Michie,” she assured her. The group of children - ages between four and six roared off into the house.

 

“Momma Mutsumi back yet?” asked Yoko, accepting the offered tea from Moma Shinobu.

 

“Not yet,” Shinobu said. “Though your cousin arrived ten minutes before Rin-chan got home.”

 

Yoko chuckled. “The dojo will need to be repaired again,” she predicted. Shinobu shrugged.

 

“Not the first time,” she observed. Yoko nodded.

 

“Dad back yet?” she wondered. Shinobu shook her head. “Tomorrow at the earliest. He and Nyamo found another temple in Patagonia,” sighed Shinobu. Yoko knew that sigh. Grinning, she shook her head.

 

“Turtle civilization made it to the Atlantic, then,” she noted. Shinobu nodded. “Look at it this way, Momma Shinobu: if he keeps going east, he'll end up home in no time.”

 

Shinobu considered that. “Well, I guess so,” she allowed. “And we have the Hinata booked for a weekend retreat this Friday through Sunday. I'll need your help,” she recalled.

 

“You got it, Momma Shinobu. Should I round up some of my minons?”

 

“Maybe Rin or one of the older ones, but it shouldn't be that big of a load,” Shinobu replied. Yoko nodded.

 

“Moma Naru around? I got something to ask her,” Yoko asked.

 

“She's out back in the garden. Oh, and aunt Mei is visiting,” Shinobu relayed. Yoko laughed softly.

 

“I'll make sure the little savages behave,” Yoko promised.

 

“Actually, it's you I am more worried about, Yoko-chan,” Shinobu said, giving the eldest child of the house a steady look.

 

“Me? What ever do you mean, Momma Shinobu?” grinned Yoko.

 

“Sometimes I wonder if you aren't Kitsune's child,” sighed the dark-haired heart of their family. Yoko hugged her mom warmly, kissing her cheek.

 

“Hard to tell sometimes, isn't it?” whispered Yoko before slipping away. Moving toward the garden, she ran into another sibling.

 

“Yoko, I need to talk with you about something,” Keiko said quietly.

 

“That's Yoko-san,” lectured Yoko, lightly rapping her sister on the head. Keiko stared at her levelly.

 

“Yes or no, Yoko. Tonight, after the little ones are asleep. By the shrine,” Keiko murmured, her gaze unbending. Yoko considered it.

 

“Yes,” she said, moving past her sibling. “But you better have your homework done before then!”

 

“I finished it before last bell,” Keiko stated. Yoko made a face but didn't say anything.

 

Out in the garden, she found her Momma Naru sitting on the natural stone bench, Aunt Mei beside her, the two talking quietly. Moving closer, she made sure that Momma Naru saw her coming. “Yoko, welcome home,” smiled Naru.

 

“Not interrupting, am I?” she asked, hugging and kissing her Momma Naru. Naru shook her head.

 

“Not at all. Need something?” she asked. Yoko glanced at Mei.

 

“Hello, Aunt Mei,” she said, her lips twitching. Mei gave her a steady look.

 

“Yoko-chan,” she replied cheerfully. “Good to see you again. You've grown a lot since my last visit,” Mei observed. Yoko shrugged.

 

“That happens,” she said. “Anyway, Momma Naru, you remember that Kentaro Sakata guy you knew back in the day?”

 

“Yes, why?” wondered Naru, frowning. Yoko grinned, pulling a folded up page from a magazine from her pocket.

 

“For you,” she said, handing the page to Naru. Naru unfolded it, read it, groaned, then wadded it up. “Idiot,” she sighed.

 

“He did it again?” Mei asked, the grinning Yoko moving toward the Dojo, where the sounds of furious combat issued forth, along with the cheers of her siblings and the select, hand-picked students of her mommas. Looking back, she saw Naru and Mei still talking quietly.

 

It seemed strange to her to hear her mommas talk about the time where Momma Naru was afraid she had somehow driven her sister away. She hadn't been around then, of course, but she had heard the story - in several different flavors - from most of her parents. After her mommas married her father, but before she was born, Naru had gone to talk to her sister, to try and patch things up with her.

 

Naru had arrived at the school Mei was attending with Keitaro, Motoko, Kanako and Shinobu. Keitaro, Kanako and Shinobu had gone looking for Mei while Motoko and Naru waited. Naru was almost a nervous wreck, worrying that Mei might not want to ever see her again. She might have even run off if not for Motoko stopping her. While they waited, they looked around the school her sister was attending. It reminded her of a European town.

 

When Keitaro and Shinobu returned, they had several people with them. Naru only looked for Mei, spotting her sister beside Keitaro, apparently talking to her husband. She didn't realize that her hands were shaking until Motoko put her hand on Naru's, stilling them. Naru rose as Keitaro and the group with him stopped in front of her and Motoko.

 

“Mei, I…” Naru began, before stumbling to a stop, tears in her eyes.

 

“Keitaro told me you came back, Naru,” Mei said, watching Naru carefully. “It looks like he's right. Welcome back, Naru-nee,” she said, hugging Naru. The older, taller sister nearly fainted, clinging to her younger sister, mumbling apologies for what she had done. Mei soothed her. When Naru had calmed down, Mei had a confession of her own.

 

“You know that restraining order?” she said. Naru slowly nodded. “Well, it was fake,” Mei said, gesturing an apology. Naru blinked.

 

“Fake?” she wondered. Mei nodded.

 

“I didn't want to bring the police into this if I didn't have to,” she said softly. “So, I made a fake one.”

 

“How did you know what one looked like?” wondered Naru. Mei glanced at the crew from the Hinata.

 

“Granny Hina showed me one she had, and we just faked the rest. Didn't she tell you?” Mei wondered. The four from the Hinata traded looks.

 

“Of course not,” sighed Naru. Does Granny ever tell us anything? she asked herself rhetorically. “Anyway, we're…cool, Mei?” Naru asked. Mei hugged her sister.

 

“Very cool, sis,” she confirmed. “Oh! Let me introduce you to my sempai here. This is Takane T. Goodman,” she introduced an older blonde girl. “She is my sempai here, and we are in the same club,” Mei said. The group exchanged greetings and introductions. As Naru and Mei talked, the others drew back a little, to give them privacy. As they made small talk, Motoko's attention was drawn to someone.

 

“Something wrong?” Keitaro asked his wife. Motoko blinked before turning to look at her husband.

 

“Um, no, just thought I saw someone familiar,” she said. Takane turned to look behind her, where Motoko had been looking. Seeing a familiar figure approaching her, she stood.

 

“Setsuna-san,” she said to a shorter, dark-haired girl. The long, slim form the girl carried was familiar to all of the Hinata crew. “Did you need something?” Takane asked.

 

“We're having an unscheduled club meeting tonight. Please be there,” the girl said, her eyes never leaving Motoko's.

 

“Understood,” Takane said.

 

“Be sure that Mei is with you,” the strange girl said, staring steadily at Motoko.

 

“Of course,” Takane replied.

 

“Set-chan!” came a cheerful call. The girl finally looked away from Motoko. Three girls and a young man jogged up to the sword-carrying girl. “There you are! Eva-chan is looking for us! Come on!” the girl urged, grabbing Setsuna's arm. Keitaro saw the other two girls looking at his group. One of them - dressed in a yellow Chinese-style dress - moved a little closer to Keitaro. Kanako almost materialized in front of Keitaro, eyes on the girl.

 

“Please excuse us,” the cheerful girl said, bowing to them before dragging the swordswoman off. The bells-wearing girl and the girl in the yellow dress followed after her. Kanako watched them until they were out of sight, then turned to look at Motoko, who nodded slightly. For the rest of the day, Keitaro and Shinobu couldn't get more than an arms-length away from one or the other; not that they tried.

 

Years later, Yoko had heard some stories about the school Aunt Mei had attended - and still worked at. Her digging around had only made her more curious. Of late, it had become a game she played with Aunt Mei, her trying to pin down her aunt, and her aunt trying to avoid answering her carefully-honed questions. When she had braced Momma Motoko and Momma Kanako about it, they had only said that something about the people Aunt Mei knew was `off'. Neither ever said anything more about it.

 

Reaching the dojo, she slipped past the crowd at the door, finding herself next to her mother. “Hey, mom,” Yoko murmured. Haruka smiled at her.

 

“Been showing off at school again, I hear,” she said, eyes on the war before her. Yoko shrugged.

 

“Object lesson about picking on my little brothers and sisters,” she murmured. “Though some need my protection, and others me to protect their victims.”

 

“Beats being bored, doesn't it?” grinned her mother. Yoko laughed softly. Before her, Rin and her cousin, Musashi, were sparring on the edge of outright warfare. Looking around, she saw many of her numerous siblings and cousins. Growing up as the eldest of the kids had been irritating at times, but she had come to love being part of a huge family. It was fun, and getting funner every day as her younger siblings grew up.

 

Big families are the best, Yoko thought, watching the fight.