Set before the final chapter of book 14 ie: in the four years before the wedding.
Motoko: 18
Koichi: 18
Shinobu and Su: 16
Naru: 20
Kitsune: 21
Keitaro: 23
Mutsumi: 24
Prologue: Reunited"Can't you ever be serious!", Motoko yelled at the black-clad form perched upon the flat of her blade. This proved her earlier assumptions about the new house guest. Firstly he was a Ki adept, and judging by the lack of noticeable weight on the blade, he must be exerting an incredible amount of spiritual strength to achieve a form of semi-levitation.
Secondly he was clearly a fool. As impressive as his little manoeuvre was, he had dropped his own blade in the process, leaving him unarmed and a simple wrist-flick away from a sound stabbing.
"Hmmmm", he said, putting a finger to his chin as if genuinely considering her earlier outburst, before smiling lopsidedly and replying, "Nope, guess not".
"Grrrhhhh!" she raged in spite of herself, this man surpassed the Keitaro of the early days in terms of annoyance, talented but cocky to a fault.
Throwing form aside she hurled him bodily to the ground using his 'perch'.
"Hey!" he complained, his grin never slipping even as he impacted "wasn't that a little sloppy for you?"
Motoko's eyebrow twitched dangerously even as another idea slipped into her opponent's mind. Perhaps Kitsune was right, perhaps he really was a masochist, but he figured: What the hell.
"Not that I mind", he said casually, resting on his elbows even as his survival instinct caught wind of his intention and screamed a heart felt: Flee you fool! You know not your peril!.
"You know how I love it when you get rough with me Motoko-chan", he finished with his best smile.
Tsurko would have been proud of the fear inducing demon-glare her younger sister gave her upstart of an opponent.
"Err", he said showing uncertainty for the first time since the fight began, while his survival instinct hung it's figurative head and wept, giving him a pretty clear idea what was coming next.
"Hey, I think I may have-"
"Silence! Boulder cutting blade!"
I suppose I should explain how this moment arrived. To do that we must travel three weeks into the past. Not a large leap, but certainly a significant one…well, you'll understand.
A gentle breeze carries whimsically over a large, red roofed building, it's gentleness carrying the rambunctious sounds within to the world outside. Strange how many of these noises centred around a cry of "Pervert!", followed by an almost female scream, but the wind didn't mind. It didn't even really mind the rapidly moving, airborne dorm manager that disturbed it's lazy meandering as he seemingly attempted human powered flight, sans any means of staying aloft.
This rather strange encounter did however alter its path, sending it into a downward spiral and through the nearest sakura tree, gathering a few blossoms in its wake as it struggled to maintain momentum.
These petals danced excitedly on the breeze, revelling in their unexpected freedom as the wound their way down the stairs of the Hinata Sou.
The playful dance of one such petal came to an abrupt halt as it was snagged from the air by a hand partially covered by black material.
The owner of the hand turned the petal over between his fingers before releasing it to return to it's brethren.
Just like the old woman said, he smiled a lopsided grin, one that faded slightly as he looked at the stairs before him.
"Wow, she really wasn't kidding about these stairs either", he sweat-dropped, starting up the seemingly endless steps.
A few minutes and a minor sweat storm later he had reached the top. Jeez it's hot he groused mentally, then again he was wearing all black in this freakish heat wave, that probably didn't help, in fact he thought he may be dehydrated, he was almost sure he saw a man fly by over head a few minutes ago and that didn't bode well. Then again what were his choices he thought sheepishly, remembering the exact contents of the duffle bag he had slung over one shoulder…. All of it black….
Maybe his sister was right, maybe he did need to think about expanding his wardrobe a tad.
He stopped at the head of the stairs to gaze in awe at the building before him. It was like some fairytale mansion, it was huge and enchanting at once.
"Cool", he said giving the building a low whistle of approval.
Stepping up to the front door and sliding it aside, he couldn't help but think So quiet, I think I'll like it here.
Kitsune awoke groggily. Then again, there weren't many other ways one can awake having drunk enough sake to kill anyone else. The dorms resident fox yawned lazily and sprawled amongst her already twisted covers while peering around blurrily for a clock.
12:00am
She was shocked, what the hell was she doing up so early! She had heard that this time existed, but always thought it a myth.
Kitsune groped blindly for the bottle she had left near her bed last night, she needed to steady her nerves after this shock.
Her hands found only air.
There was a mischievous giggle from nearby, even without cracking one slit like eye she knew who that laugh belonged to.
She looked up and sure enough, there was Su, Kitsune's prize bottle of Sake in hand and a wide grin plastered over her face.
So I get to be her play mate today huh?, Kitsune thought irritably, Oh goody
With Su's favourite plaything, Motoko attending her first classes at Tokyo U along with Naru, Keitaro and Mutsumi, and with Shinobu presumably out and Sara AWOL with Seta and Haruka, it seemed the energetic young girl was bored and looking for some fun, meaning she had Kitsune's Sake and intended for a lengthy chase to ensue before it was returned.
Kitsune knew from experience that even if she ignored her, Su would just scamper around her room until she found something that would rouse her.
"Hey Su", Kitsune said casually, using the same voice she always used to blindside Motoko and Naru, "I thought you'd be at school?"
"Nah", the foreign girl replied happily, tucking the bottle under one arm and grinning wider, "We had the day off, repairs or something".
Kitsune had no doubt that those repairs were linked to the noises coming from Kaolla's room a few days ago in someway.
"Uh-huh, say, I was just-"
Kitsune made a dive for Su and the bottle.
Su squealed happily as she hopped over the older girl with practiced ease and took off laughing down the hallway.
"Damn it Su", Kitsune muttered, unaware of her own grin, "Give me back that bottle!"
The black-clad young man dumped his duffle bag and other, possession on the couch and looked around idly. Nice enough setup, a little plain compared to the outside of the building but still pretty.
"Hello?" he called, waiting for an answer and receiving none before trying again but louder.
Still no answer.
Perhaps I should look around?
'look around an all girls dorm', part of his brain enquired sarcastically.
Sure, who knows what interesting things I might see, he thought with a smirk
'I have nothing to do with this', his brain replied, but then again, when did it ever.
Smiling at his own candour, he took a step toward the stairs, instinct telling him the most interesting things would be up there.
He wasn't disappointed.
As he approached the stairs he heard a crash, followed by a yelp…. And was that someone blowing a raspberry?
"Damn it Su!"
"Phfffft!"
He look up curiously as the banister above him creaked dangerously, to see a tanned girl with brilliant blond hair, vibrant green eyes and an infectious grin descending toward him rapidly, clutching a large bottle of sake.
He opened his arms casually, catching her before she struck the ground.
"Omphhh" he said, staggering slightly, this girl was heavy for one so small and slender looking.
"Huh?", she said, as if confused as to why she hadn't hit the ground yet, "Oh, hi!"
"Hey", he said, slightly confused by her cheerful outburst, she'd just fallen from a flight of stairs, why was she so happy?
"Are you here to play with me?", she asked hopefully, "Got anything to eat?"
He was momentarily taken aback as she began to sniff his clothes while remaining in his arms.
"I got you now you little-", a voice from the top of the stairs cut off abruptly and he looked up to discover the source. A busty young woman with sandy brown hair cropped short, slit-like eyes and an expression that flickered from angry to shocked to amused in seconds.
"Well, well", she said, leaning on the banister and grinning in a sexy manner, "Su, you never said you had a boyfriend"
"Hi, guys", a new voice called from behind him before he could respond to that rather strange assumption, "I'm home, I… Oh my"
The black-clad boy turned around, the girl apparently named Su, still in his arms and looking for concealed produce, to find a conservative, if cutely dressed, blue haired girl, probably about Su's age, standing motionless in the hallway, grocery bags under each arm, and a look of confusion on her pretty face.
"Hi Shinobu!", Su called out, having only just noticed her friend.
"What do you think of my new boyfriend? Ain't he a cutie?", she said ruffling his messy black hair and wrapping her arms around him.
"What?", he and Shinobu asked at once, both sounding a little shocked by her statement.
"Look", he said, trying to pry the girl loose with a surprising lack of success, "I know I caught you and all, but that's not what they mean when say 'Picking up girls'".
"Really?", Su asked as if this really were news to her.
"Yeah, 'fraid so", he said assuming she was making a joke.
"Awww", she pouted.
"If you're not here for Su", Shinobu asked in a timid voice, "Then what are you doing here?"
"Yeah, this is a girls dorm unfortunately sugar", the fox eyed girl called out from above, "Are you a friend of Keitaro?"
"Not exactly", he said, "I'm Koichi Sagura, I….erm, are you going to let go of me now?"
"Nope", Su replied simply, going back to searching him for food.
"….I see", he said for lack of anything better to say, "Ok, anyway, yeah, I'm Koichi, I'll be-"
The door slide aside again and a tall woman with porcelain skin and silky raven hair walked in, her 'Angel' t-shirt at odds with the rather demonic expression on her face when she spotted Koichi and Su.
"I felt something out of place as I approached", she said cautiously, walking in front of Shinobu slowly, her eyes never leading Koichi's face, "Would someone care to explain why there is a man I don't recognise standing here with his hands all over my best friend".
"He was picking me up", Su piped up, missing Koichi's look of horror at her misunderstanding of his last explanation.
"Now wait just a damn minute kiddo", he began, but it seemed that the raven-haired girl had heard all she required.
"Dragon Fist!", she shouted, lunging at the newcomer.
Her fist mere inches from his face, Koichi threw Su aside, her death grip suddenly absent and tried to dodge. He was a fraction of a second to late, instead he only managed to take some of the sting out of the blow as it connected with his face, dumping him unceremoniously on his ass.
"Ow!", he said, rubbing his jaw, "Hey that hurt!"
"That was the idea", she replied, hiding her shock that he was still conscious
"Yeah, it's great to see you again to Motoko"
"I should…. What did you say?"
For the next few minutes, no one spoke.
"You…know Motoko-sempai?", Shinobu asked confused.
"Hey, is he your boyfriend?", Su asked her friend curiously, not flinching at the death glare she received in return.
"No", she spat, turning her attention back to where Koichi sat, grumbling as he massaged his jaw, "How do you claim to know me?"
Koichi looked at her disbelievingly, "You're pulling my leg right?"
Motoko, peered closer at his face, trying to match it to any of her peers at Tokyo U but only drawing a blank, "I assure you I am not, I have never met you before".
Koichi looked taken aback for a moment, "Well that's a downer… you're sure you don't remember me?"
"I don't forget a face"
"I think you have"
"You don't know me, you're mistaken", Motoko said, her patience at this strange boy's insistence growing thin.
"Really?"
"Really?", she growled angrily while the other girls watched bemused.
"Turtle"
Motoko shuddered involuntarily, causing Koichi to grin lopsidedly in triumph.
"Ha", he beamed, "I knew it was you"
"What's going on here?" Kitsune asked frowning and rubbing her still sore head.
"Well the long and short of it is I'm your new housemate", Koichi said, dusting himself off and standing before offering his hand to Motoko, "Put 'er there roomy"
This time the full force of Motoko's blow landed and Koichi saw stars before everything went black.
Shinobu looked nervously at the sword Motoko was holding. Motoko plus a deadly weapon always made her nervous, but this time it wasn't her blade, the Hina, given to her by Keitaro, it had been on to the couch next to a duffle bag that had Koichi's name on it. The Katana was resting in a sheath decorated with snake skin just like its pommel, a small gold chain attached at the pommel end and about three inches down the scabbard.
Koichi himself was lain out on the other couch, a happy-go-lucky grin still stuck to his face. Shinobu looked him over carefully. He was dressed in a square-neck black, long-sleeve t-shirt whose sleeves angled to a point over the top of his hands and were attached to his mid digit by a black plastic ring. Black jeans and combat boots finished the rather monotone ensemble.
He didn't look very dangerous, but then again, these days neither did Motoko.
"You really don't know him Motoko-sempai?", Shinobu asked looking away from his goofy grin and messy hair at her Sempai.
"No Shinobu", the older girl said, tapping the blade thoughtfully against her palm, "But I am curious to know how he seems to know about me".
"Could be you have a stalker", Kitsune offered helpfully, taking a pull from her recently recovered Sake. Su had given it up after Koichi had been knocked out, claiming she had something better to play with…namely the unconscious Mr.Sagura. It was her prodding him with a stick that had prompted Shinobu to suggest moving him onto the couch.
Speaking of Su, where was she?
"Hey", Su said as if summoned, scrabbling onto the back of the sofa they were all seated on, "Look what I found in Koi-kun's bag"
"Su, you can't just go through someone else's things", Shinobu chided her, deciding not to bother trying to understand why Koichi was suddenly Koi-kun.
"Yeahhhh", Su whined, "But lookie!"
Motoko took the paper from the excitable Mol-Mol princess and skimmed the letter, her eyes growing steadily wider.
Wordlessly she handed the letter to Kitsune, who chuckled as she gave it to Shinobu:
Dear Keitaro and Naru,
How are you two doing, well I hope, well on the way toward a final date for that wedding? But that's not why I'm writing to you. The boy holding this letter is the son of an old friend, I promised her I'd let him board here while he completes his business in Hinata, I know the other girls might not like this, but a promise is a promise, something you two should understand all to well hehehe.
I trust you'll make him feel at home.
Love, Granny HinaShinobu read the letter again, careful to make sure it hadn't been mis-read first time. "I don't understand", she said, looking around for explanation.
"What's to get?", Kitsune said around a toothy grin, "The old woman's done it again. I wonder which one of us he'll go for, my money's on Samurai girl here since he already seems to know her".
Motoko gave the other girl a withering stare which seemed to have no effect, "I highly doubt it Kitsune, besides, he won't be around long if I have any say in it".
The fox girl muttered something about history repeating itself.
Before Motoko could reply she sensed a flare of Ki energy.
"Whowhatwhere?", Koichi said sitting up and looking around in a daze before his eyes settled on Motoko.
"What the hell was that for!… And why am I on the sofa?"
"We put you there after Motoko socked you", Su said hoping the gap between the couches onto his lap, somehow snagging the letter along the way.
"Is this true? Are you coming to live with us?"
"That was the plan", he replied trying to dislodge the energetic Mol-Molian girl and failing.
"No", Motoko said simply, "I refuse to allow this".
Koichi looked hurt again for a second before another grin tugged at his lips, "Well that's not really up to you now is it Motoko-chan?"
Kitsune stepped between them before her friend could kill their upbeat but rather foolish new housemate. If he really knew her, he'd know that getting overly friendly with Motoko, especially if you were male, was not a good idea.
"Hey, hey, how bout we let the landlord sort this out?"
All of the girls gasped in shock. Kitsune the voice of reason?
"What?", she asked
"Nothing Kitsune", Shinobu said, smoothing over the abrupt silence, "I think that's probably a good idea"
"…Fine, I know that Naru will see things my way", Motoko said with a curt nod.
"Yay! Koi-kun's staying", Su cheered, hugging the surprised youth.
"Koi-kun?" he asked
Naru and Keitaro looked over the letter for the third time before looking back up at their scruffy haired guest.
"Well…", Keitaro said, unsure how to proceed.
"Yeah", Naru agreed with her lover's bewilderment, tucking a stray lock of brown hair behind her ear.
"Um, you know this is a girls dorm right?", Keitaro asked, as if needing clarification on that point himself.
"The thought crossed my mind", Koichi answered good naturedly, "But Granny Hina assured me it wouldn't be an issue"
Naru looked over the letter one more time before answering, "I think this is a really bad idea"
"Hey, it's happened before", Keitaro pointed out amicably, "And look how that turned out"
"That's my point", Naru said gravely, but her smile spoiled the effect.
"That was cold", Keitaro said hanging his head.
"Don't be such a baby", she admonished, giving him a reassuring peck on the cheek and taking his hand.
"So… what do we do?"
"What can we do, if Granny Hina promised him… like she said, a promise is a promise, we know that better than most"
"So you're ok with this?"
"Not really, but like you say, it's happened before, besides if he tries anything we all know how order is enforced around here… so I guess he stays".
"Thanks", Koichi said, wondering why Keitaro had shuddered at her last statement, "I think…"
"Welcome to the Hinata Sou", Keitaro said brightly, recovering, "I hope you have an uneventful stay"
"Erm… Thanks?"
End (For Now)
Author Notes
Hey, this is only the prologue to a quirky little idea that's been brewing in the back of my mind, I hope you enjoy it, reviews etc welcome