Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ Legacy ❯ ALTERNATE EPILOG ( Chapter 71 )

Epilog (Alternate)

 

Keitaro grunted, twisting around so he was on his stomach. Fumbling desperately as he flailed with arms and legs, he managed to find the haft of his tool, the lanyard around his wrist helping significantly. Grasping the rubber grip, he swung the tool hard, hearing a screeching crunch as the blade sank into the ice. After another few more meters, he stopped. “Hah!” he panted, swallowing. “Nyamo! You ok?” he yelled back up the sheet of ice and snow.

 

“Keitaro,” came her voice from up on the narrow ledge they had been following.

 

“I'm fine,” he assured her, kicking with his boots. “Give me a minute, and I'll be back up there,” he added, feeling the crampons finally bite. Now with traction, he pulled the second ice axe from the side of his pack, secured the lanyard to his left wrist using his teeth, then took a solid grip on the haft. Cautiously rising, Keitaro sank the axe in his left hand into the ice and snow above the other, tugged to make sure it had a good bite, then began the process of grinding his way back up to the narrow ledge where Nyamo waited.

 

As he climbed back up from his inadvertent trip down the ice sheet, he reflected on how things had changed for him. Of course, he mused, the more they change, the more they stay the same. He found himself smiling as he worked his way back up to where his Nyamo-chan waited.

 

Since the Hinata crew had come back from Molmol, things had been changing swiftly. Nyamo had not come back with them, silently shaking her head when they asked her to come back. She had - in her own way - promised to visit them shortly. As they were heading for the airport, they had seen her wave to them from her small boat, which was making for the open ocean, a small pile of supplies in the boat.

 

On the flight home, the group had slept a fair amount, Keitaro more than the girls. They had arrived well past sundown, and most of the group had gone straight to bed after a relatively short soak in the springs. The next morning, it was business as usual, save that Shinobu, Kanako, Kaolla and Motoko had their Todai entrance exams to take. The group had been a little concerned about Kaolla, given her tendencies.

 

The others had not been idle, either. Once the four had hurried off, the rest of the group had gotten busy as well. Kanako and Haruka found that Granny Hina had not been kidding. Even before they had seen off their harem sisters, Haruka's phone had rang, and a few minutes later, Kanako's phone rang. Granny Hina smirked at the two before pulling her patented vanishing act. Tsuruko and Naru had taken care of the remains of breakfast while Keitaro and Kitsune worked through the messages that had been left during their absence.

 

By late afternoon, the four were back, three of them feeling confident that they had done good on the exam. Kaolla, however, was a special case. As usual, she had grown bored, and as the stunned examiners had watched, she had used her test paper, a calculator's parts, two paper clips and a bit of technology she had in her skirt pocket to make a crude MechaTama Mark One. The semi-autonomous weapon had nearly immediately demolished three desks and was chasing the examiners around, firing pieces of eraser at them from a fully-automatic machinegun as Kaolla giggled, delighted. The rampage had ended when Motoko cut the device in half with a single blow, using her pencil in place of a sword.

 

Kaolla had pouted, but the examiners - once they had calmed down a little - had rushed out of the room, returning a few minutes later with four or five lab-coat-wearing senior instructors. The group had whisked the destroyed MechaTama Mark One unit and Kaolla out of the room. When the other three girls finished their exams, they had rushed to find Kaolla. She was talking with a bunch of professors about electro-mechanical engineering theory. Seeing her wives, she had grinned at them and told them that `these people have asked me to be their queen!'. This had made the professors hasten to clarify things. They were offering Kaolla a complete scholarship to Todai, provided that she become a member of the engineering school and work in their labs. Motoko had smirked, asking them if they could afford the repair bill.

 

Motoko herself had been approached as she was leaving the school. The head of the school's sports association had wanted to talk to her about the kendo and fencing program. Apparently, her use of a pencil as a sword and the razor-clean bisecting of Kaolla's robot from half a room away had impressed them. Of course, the kendo coach for the nationally-ranked team that the school hosted had recalled a certain dark-haired high-school girl by the name of Aoyama who had once temped in the dojo; and who had defeated the entire team without even breaking a sweat before quitting, disgusted, it would seem, with how `weak' and `undisciplined' the team was.

 

While the group waited for the results, they had a critical task before them. That was the matter of Mei Narusegawa. Naru was still stressed about what had happened between her and her sister, and the others wanted to see that last bit of the `old Naru' laid to rest as well. Calling a family meeting, they had discussed their options. Kanako had - unsurprisingly - presented a file for the group. It was a detailed dossier on Mei. Kanako had found her school, scouted the area, composed briefs on the people she associated with, checked into her private and school lives, obtained copies of her school records, finances and even her medical files. Clearly, Kanako had been looking at this issue for a while.

 

It had been decided that Shinobu, Keitaro, Motoko and Kanako would go with Naru to see Mei. Shinobu and Keitaro would be the contact team, who would actually speak with Mei first, to see if she was willing to speak to Naru. Motoko and Kanako were going as `insurance', though neither would say exactly what they meant by that. Naru had been hesitant to go, yet seemed to long to do so. Haruka had stepped in decisively, telling them that they would go tomorrow.

 

So, the next day, they had traveled to the other side of Tokyo, into the suburbs, and found Mei's school. It had been built like a European town, having virtually no Japanese influence on the architecture or design. Dominating the vista was the biggest tree any of the Hinata group had ever seen. Kanako had led the group to a café, parked Naru at a somewhat secluded table and then handed Keitaro a phone number. Dialing it, he had found himself talking to Mei.

 

In short order, he and Shinobu were talking with Naru's sister a short distance from the café. Mei had arrived looking like they had always seen her, hair up in her familiar twin-bun arrangement, wearing the school uniform. Before Keitaro could even launch into his `sales pitch', she had gotten right to the point, asking if Naru had managed to gain control over her rage. It was obvious that she had found out that Naru had gone to see the doctor, though it was also clear that she didn't know if it had worked or not. Shinobu had stepped in at that point, assuring her that Naru was practically a whole new person.

 

Shinobu watched Mei very carefully. Apparently making some sort of decision, Shinobu had moved closer to Mei, whispering in her ear for a long several seconds. Mei had blinked, then gasped, then lit up like a light bulb, squealing happily. Before they knew it, they were at the café, Mei hugging Naru tightly. Naru, nearly crying in relief, hugged Mei back. Sensing that the two had some important things to discuss, the others had given them some room; and some privacy.

 

Mei had a surprise of her own, as it turned out. The restraining order, she had confessed to Naru, had been a fake. In response to Naru's questions, she had told her big sister that after the incident, she had made some decisions, and came up with the idea after calling Granny Hina. Granny Hina, it turned out, just happened to have a restraining order she could use as a template. She couldn't, Mei had told Naru, bring herself to file a real report with the police, since she wanted her Naru-nee back more than she cared about some bruises.

 

About an hour into it, a blonde woman had come looking for Mei, and the group had been introduced to Mei's sempai at the school, one Takane T. Goodman, first year high schooler. She had reminded Mei of some club function they had, and excused herself. Shortly after she left, a group of girls and a lone male had come through the café, pausing to talk to Naru. It had surprised Keitaro to see Kanako and Motoko move between the group and their group. Once more, Mei introduced them.

 

This time, the group was in the same club as she and her sempai, Takane. They met Asuna, Konoka, Setsuna, Fei Ku and Negi. The Hinata crew was certain that there were others in the club, and that Mei believed that they were near-by, but for some reason, they couldn't quite put their finger on the strange undercurrent they felt from the group. After a brief exchange with Mei about someone named `Eva-chan', they had excused themselves, Motoko and Kanako watching the group leave with intense focus. Keitaro had asked what was wrong, but both his wives had shaken their heads and said only that something was `off' about the group, Motoko commenting on the covered sword the girl named Setsuna had carried, and Kanako's attention had been on the Chinese girl, Fei Ku.

 

With Mei and Naru's relationship mending, the group had turned their attention to the plans for the Annex and Tea Shop. In short order, the group had hammered out a plan, and broken up into work parties, beginning the groundwork for the transition from the Hinata to their private home. Tsuruko and Motoko headed up the dojo project, while Kitsune, Mutsumi and Haruka handed the Tea Shop. Everyone was on the Annex project, though Kanako was the chief planner and organizer for all the projects.

 

Realizing that there was a lot of yard-work and landscaping to be done, the girls had commanded their slaves to appear and work. And so, Keitaro's two friends found themselves laboring away every spare moment, digging tree stumps out, clear-cutting long-since-overgrown gardens and rose trees, removing fallen material from the Annex, and generally busting their ass for nearly no money. Still, they had insisted that it was ok when Keitaro apologized for the amount of work they were doing. Getting to see Keitaro's girls in skimpy clothes more than made up for it; plus they were terrified that if they angered the girls, their remains would never be found.

 

Akiko, Shinobu's friend, had visited for dinner one night. When she had arrived, she had brought two friends with her. The two were twins, one boy, one girl. Akiko and Shinobu had slipped off to talk, and when she reappeared, she had quietly told Keitaro that the three would be spending the night. Keitaro nodded, not really minding. He himself had ended up in Shinobu's bed, the girl wearing her gold Molmolese body chain. Keitaro had ended up putting four loads in her - three in her tight, hot pussy and one in her mouth. Shinobu had swallowed every last drop eagerly. It was, he had thought both then and now, very nice to fall asleep holding one of his girls close and wake up with her still close against him the next morning.

 

The results from the entrance exam were posted, and Motoko, Kanako and Shinobu got in. Of course the house threw a party, though there was virtually no drinking, since several of his girls were pregnant. But when the roll-call for knocked-up wives was made, there had been some surprises. Haruka, Tsuruko, Naru and Mutsumi were pregnant, and Kaolla claimed she was, though the others were a bit skeptical of that claim, given that she had only had sex a few weeks before. It would turn out that Kitsune was pregnant as well, though at the time she didn't know she was.

 

As the work on the Annex, dojo and Tea Shop progressed, Natsumi Otohime came to visit her daughters. During this visit, Naru noticed that Misses Otohime seemed to be putting on a little weight. The multiple mother had just giggled and assured her it was nothing to be concerned about. The elder Otohime woman had ended up talking with all the girls about having kids, practically giving them a complete course on the matter. She was, they all agreed, supremely qualified for such instructional discourse.

 

Amalla had visited two weeks after Natsuki had gone back to Okinawa. After talking with Kaolla, she had spoken with the other girls, and finally, with Keitaro. She had shared that she would be giving birth in a few months time. Keitaro had congratulated her and Lamba. Amalla had given him a strange sort of fond look before accepting the congratulations. She had also informed him that she looked forward to his visits `home'.

 

For the week that she was there, Keitaro kept finding himself bumping into Amalla all over the place, and twice he ended up in bed with her. Once with her and Kaolla, and once with her and Kitsune. Both times, he didn't get a lot of sleep. Not that he minded, of course.

 

Nyamo had arrived unannounced as usual as Haruka was nearing her due date. She had something she wanted to show him, but Keitaro was worried about leaving his girls alone; especially with so many of them swelling and Haruka nearing delivery. Granny Hina had blown into the Hinata from wherever she had been, assuring him that the girls would be in good care. He had accepted that, and spoken with Kanako about making sure that they kept in touch with him. She had informed him that it was well in hand. The next morning, Natsumi had waved to him as he and Nyamo had headed out.

 

Nyamo had found a temple complex on a tiny island off the northern Chilean coast. After verifying that it was Turtle Civilization, Keitaro had contacted Seta, arranging for some materials and interns to be shifted to the new site. Work on the Pararakelse sites was nearing the end of the main cycle, so there were students and post-grad interns available. For nearly a week, though, he and Nyamo had the island to themselves. Nyamo made full use of that chance.

 

While Keitaro was heading home, he got a message that Haruka had delivered a healthy baby girl. He was officially a father. He had hurried as much as possible, and been introduced to Yoko Urashima. The girls had urged him to hold her, but he was worried he would drop her or some other random accident would occur. Haruka had firmly told him that nothing would happen, and before he knew it, he was holding her. Nothing bad had happened, just as Haruka had said.

 

It surprised him to find that Yoko didn't change much around the Hinata, aside from some small things like diapers. He had made the mistake of asking about formula, and his women had reacted as if he had suggested slow-broiling Yoko over a low fire. Formula, he was snippily informed, was for lesser babies. Granny Hina had cackled at that remark. Natsumi - clearly pregnant herself - had giggled, informing him that breast feeding was the only way to raise a healthy baby. Keitaro wisely never brought up that topic again.

 

Tsuruko had given birth a few weeks later. The girls had decided that they would have their kids at home, since Granny Hina and Natsumi Otohime dismissed hospitals as risks to healthy childbirth. Three of the Aoyama house staff - all women - came to the Hinata. When Tsuruko gave birth to a very healthy boy, the women had nearly rioted in celebration. Clearly, the Aoyama curse was broken by Musashi Aoyama's birth. Bowing to the demands of her family - and no doubt relishing the chance to show off her son - Tsuruko had gone home for a few days. Motoko went with her, clearly in body-guard mode. Hina had smirked, saying she pitied anyone who so much as made Musashi frown.

 

Before he knew it, they were moving into the not-quite-finished Annex, and Motoko and Kanako were formally opening the dojo. One of the first things they did was begin instructing Shinobu. Kanako said that Shinobu had a talent for the control of her chi, and might have become the greatest practitioner of the art seen in generations if it weren't for Shinobu's inherent sweet nature. Shinobu, she sighed, was just too nice of a person to reach her full potential. Even so, she learned enough.

 

When a punk had threatened her when she was out in town with Yoko, Shinobu had acted without the tiniest pause or hesitation. When the police arrived, they found the rather fat punk completely stuffed into a trashcan, foaming at the mouth, and severely injured. It had taken the cops a half hour, two grinding wheels and some heavy snips to extract the man from the trashcan, so tightly had he been stuffed into it. Witnesses were no help at all. They could only say that he had accosted a young, small woman holding a baby, and the next thing anyone knew, he was in the trashcan. Whatever had happened, it had happened too fast for anyone to see. The woman and the baby had disappeared into thin air.

 

Naru - as Granny had suggested - had also begun to receive training in the arts of the Urashima. After her child was born, however, she began to show an interest in the Aoyama style. Kanako and Motoko had conferred and decided to see how she did with a Ki-based style, since she demonstrated a greater affinity for that than for Chi focus. Naru had shown promise, though it was almost certain that she would never be a Shinmei-ryu practitioner. When she got pregnant for the second time, she talked with Motoko, and they decided together that what techniques she knew was enough, and aside from maintaining her current skills, she was done with the arts.

 

During the time that the Hinata was undergoing massive repair and upgrade, Keitaro had gone - once more - with Nyamo, who had found another ruin for him to work on. Haruka was pregnant again, as was Tsuruko. Kitsune had her hands full with her son, though she had talked of her next child some. Mutsumi was nearing delivery of her second child, while Naru was lagging behind. Keitaro was accompanied this time by Kaolla, who was on `leave' from Todai while they rebuilt the labs for several engineering departments. The three stopped off at Molmol for a few days. It surprised Keitaro to see how much Lamba's health had deteriorated. Still, Amalla was glad to see him, and Kaolla showered Amalla's son with attention. Amalla and Kaolla both showered Keitaro with affection and attention as well.

 

Seta had arrived at the site Nyamo had found with Sarah in tow, and a girl on his arm. The woman - an undergraduate at an American university - was tight with Sarah, who had rejoiced at seeing Kaolla again. She had been surprised when Kaolla stopped her from treating Keitaro like she used to. Seta had remarked that one or the other of them would have to take some time off to do a speaking tour. Keitaro said he would do it this time, since he wanted to be closer to home for a while. Seta had asked him to give Haruka his regards.

 

The Hinata was opened as a reservation-only inn and meeting house later that year. Shinobu and Kanako shared the running of the place, Kanako on the business side, Shinobu on the service side. The others helped out as necessary or able. Granny Hina was gone again, but she had left a letter for Shinobu. Inside the letter was the title to her family's old restaurant, a check for several million yen, and a business license. Shinobu had happily set about re-opening the restaurant.

 

She hired waitresses and two chefs, personally testing their skill. Once the place had gotten on its feet, she added two prep chefs and began the transformation of the eatery into a four-star class, but non-exclusive place to eat. It very swiftly became the place for those with a taste for incredible food. Shinobu was also very free with sharing the profits from the business with her workers, engendering fierce loyalty from her staff. Repeated attempts from rival businesses in Tokyo failed to entice her staff from her.

 

Kanako had come up with a scheme to help Shinobu, selling these rival restaurants training programs for their staff. The places in town would pay Shinobu to let their staff train at her place, and provide advertising in their own places in exchange for Shinobu not opening a branch inside Tokyo city limits. The irony was that Shinobu had no interest in doing that anyway; but the other businesses didn't know that. Her eatery was important to her because it was her place.

 

The Hinata saw a steady, but un-rushed business. It didn't take more than a couple of initial bookings for companies and groups and even the government to `discover' this place. Cooking that was the equal of anything in the world, privacy, a hot spring, exceptional security and traditional feel made it a prime place for meetings, ceremonies and company retreats. One thing the Hinata was not, was cheap. It was easily one of the most expensive places, but the clients who came never went anywhere else after their first visit.

 

It was with mixed feelings that Keitaro was told that Motoko, Shinobu and Kanako were pregnant. Kaolla had told him a month before that she was pregnant - and this time, she was right. Amalla had delivered a daughter six months before, and was pregnant again. Mutsumi was on her fifth kid, Naru her third. Tsuruko was carrying her third, and Haruka was debating names for her third, though she had yet to conceive. Not that any of the girls suffered from lack of chances. It was nearly impossible for Keitaro to sleep alone. And he didn't want to sleep alone ever again.

 

Akiko had revealed to Shinobu that she was pregnant as well, having gotten knocked up about three months before she graduated from Keio university. She had not placed top of her class, but she wasn't bottom, either. No, the girl had held a middle-of-the-pack rank the whole way through. Shinobu had shared with her family that Akiko was in a relationship with both twins, who turned out to have been in a relationship with each other before they met Akiko. Nothing strange there to that group.

 

Kentaro Sakata had ended up as a waiter at the Tea House after repeated court-mandated visits to the doctor. He hadn't changed at all. Kitsune - owner of the Tea Shop and co-manager with Mutsumi - was not as forgiving as Haruka had been, though she had a better sense of humor. And since both of the women were mothers, they had a better idea of how to handle him. It was their stated intent to make grow up or kill him. Naru opinioned that it would be most efficient to just kill him.

 

The family was often busy with their own concerns, Tsuruko and Motoko frequently visiting Kyoto, Mutsumi making frequent trips to Okinawa and the rest handling the businesses and concerns of the family estate. Keitaro spent several months a year working digs, lecturing and being kidnapped by Nyamo, who always seemed to have a knack for finding ruins. The women shared the job of raising the children, with little to no concern to whose kid they were dealing with. As Yoko and the other first-borns grew up, they were given responsibilities in helping to care for and raise their siblings.

 

Yoko Urashima also began instruction in the Urashima style from the time she could barely walk. Musashi Aoyama had also begun instruction in the Aoyama family style at the same time. The two became close friends that often acted more like rivals, though Yoko was not shy about enforcing her status as first-born. When Motoko's first-born Rin came of age, she was instructed in both styles by Motoko and Kanako. Keitaro had wondered if that was a good idea, but the looks he got from his women shut him up, and he didn't bother to question them on it again.

 

Time flew past, and it seemed only days later when Seta had appeared at the gate. With him was a teen-age Sarah, who had filled out and grown up, her ice-blonde hair hanging to her knees in twin tails. She had gone from a bratty, spoiled little girl to a confident, strong, aggressive young woman. Seeing Kaolla with her youngest kid, Sarah had gotten a look in her eyes that Keitaro recognized. Seta had also brought the woman - Aimee - with him. Though, this time, she was his new wife. Haruka had smiled, wished them luck and happiness, and invited them in for dinner.

 

Now, his first-born was a freshman in high school, with her siblings not far behind her, and Keitaro was with Nyamo once more, climbing a treacherous range of mountains in southern Argentina, near the straights. Nyamo had found another ruin. This one would link the Turtle Civilization to both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. As he thought this, Keitaro managed to regain the narrow, slippery train the two were climbing. Nyamo waited for him to catch his breath. Smiling at him, she resumed the lead. Keitaro absently thought that the heavy clothes didn't suit her. I miss those short shorts and tiny top of hers, he thought.

 

Reaching a narrow crack in the mountain, Nyamo wiggled into it, Keitaro behind her. Inside the fissure - which had clearly partially collapsed over time - he found himself looking at the sparse remains of a small settlement. Firing up two lanterns, he set them out to fill the area with what light they could. At the head of the settlement, there was a familiar Turtle idol, though this one showed slightly different design and ornamentation from the ones he had found in the Pacific areas. Another paper, I guess, he thought. And another team!

 

After setting up their modest camp, the two retired for the night, sharing a single sleeping bag inside their tent - something that Nyamo always insisted on. She had always slept with him since the Pararakelse island site, and even now, her skin remained tanned and warm, smelling of coconut oil and sea air. Cuddling up to her warm body, he was reminded once more of Shinobu. Feeling her hands catch his, he found himself pressing his palms to her lower belly. “Ours,” said the girl, smiling warmly at him.

 

“Ours?” he wondered. What does she mean, ours?

 

“Ours, Keitaro,” Nyamo said firmly, smiling warmly at him. Kissing him, she snuggled up close to him. Keitaro settled her comfortably, still wondering what she meant. Our what, though, Nyamo-chan? he wondered, absently rubbing her lower belly. Smiling he recalled how his girls felt when they were pregnant. He blinked, eyes going wide. Does she mean…?...!!

 

END