Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ Great White Hunter: Keitaro ❯ GWH:K Great Northern Expedition ( Chapter 10 )

GWH:K Chapter 10

Great Northern Expedition

 

 

A crash, a smash, the roar of an engine, an explosion, screeching rubber, another smash and out tumbled a figure with a bleeding head.

 

“Seta, are you sure we aren't related?” asked Keitaro, helping his mentor from the van. He'd been waiting at the top of the steps for most of the morning, knowing Seta would be along soon enough. The sun had felt good, and the air from the sea was delicious.

 

“I'm sure, Part Timer. I must say I envy your quick healing, though. These constant head wounds make me feel a bit off, you know?” he chuckled uneasily, scalp bleeding profusely. Seta lit a cigarette before wiping off the blood. He had his priorities.

 

“So, any final comments on the expedition? Was it a settlement?” asked Keitaro, getting back on the subject of this visit.

 

“Maybe just a trading outpost. While there are some artifacts there, it looks like the Great Turtle Civilization didn't go that far west. I'm interested in testing your theory on that site in Kamchatka. You do have good instincts for this Keitaro,” added Seta. He looked better now.

 

“Will the Dean approve hiring Su and Kitsune for the trip? And can we get approval from the Russian authorities to be there?”

 

“I got a call from the Dean earlier today. It seems the Kingdom of Molmol made a donation to the department. Once they worked out the foreign exchange… well funding won't be a problem anymore as long as we keep the scale small. So yeah, we can hire them. I think the Dean would insist on hiring Su. But why do you need two girls? Isn't that a bit much?” teased Seta.

 

“Would you like me to come with you while you invite Haruka?” suggested Keitaro gently. Seta winced.

 

“Yeah, about that…” he began.

 

“You really should invite her. If you want any hope of a future with my cousin, you need to start spending more time. Be a Man, Seta,” Keitaro advised. Seta winced.

 

“Coming from you, Part Timer, that's advice not to be taken lightly. Are you sure you're up for an expedition so soon? We could always wait until next year. Snow will start falling there in a month,” he said.

 

“All the more reason to go now. I'll take my fishing pole. I've read they have salmon.”

 

“And grizzly bears to eat the salmon too. I have something from the trip to Kenya. After what happened to you, someone donated some old safari rifles to the department. They saw you on TV, in that BBC story, and I guess you won some sympathy. Speaking of which, you have a little mail.”

 

Seta dragged out a heavy sack stuffed with postcards and letters. Keitaro's jaw dropped. The bag weighed 50 kilos. “Would you give me a hand with the others,” puffed Seta.

 

 

 

“Wow, Keitaro. You sure got a lot of people to feel sorry for you,” said Kaolla Su. She was reading letter after letter. They were paper clipping letters to envelopes to keep track of where they came from, the whole crew of girls involved. Haruka had joined them, puffing on a cigarette and eyeing Seta speculatively. He'd made his offer. She hadn't hit him. Maybe that was a good sign, though Keitaro. Seta looked nervous and Haruka looked secretly pleased about that. They'd had a few private words out of earshot and her mood had changed to this.

 

So far there were four piles. One of purely fan mail and condolences for his injuries, which were most of the letters and cards. These came from all over the world. The BBC was worldwide. A small pile of hate mail by radical animal rights activists. Su was cackling over those, planning retaliation. There was an even smaller pile requests for interviews, ghost writers who wanted rights to his story (which earned some laughter from Motoko. He assured her she'd get first dibs if she wanted them. Motoko was touched.), and medical bills and official correspondence from the government in Kenya. Most of that was already paid for by Grandma Hina. One of these was very curious. It was an offer by the Masai tribe to ship him the pelt of the lion. Their tribal government rep, with backing by the Japanese Embassy and the Molmol Embassy had pushed for an exception to the usual destruction of wild animal parts to stop illicit trade. Rather than suffer even more scandal for their backward thinking on self defense, the Kenyan government had relented. They were shipping him the pelt, tanned and taxidermied, with official papers. There was also a semi-private thank you from the Masai Chief, with a more courteous explanation of the politics there. That left Keitaro feeling better about things.

 

“Good going, Part Timer. Looks like you're on your way to a more successful career in Archaeology,” he chuckled. “I was never good at the political side of things.”

 

“Or good at driving safely,” teased Haruka.

 

“Does that mean you'll be coming with us to Kamchatka, Haruka?” asked Keitaro hopefully. She measured Seta's own hope filled look as he tried to pretend not to care before nodding. His smile lit up the room.

 

“What do you mean `us', Keitaro?” asked Motoko.

 

“The expedition will include Su and Kitsune as well,” explained Keitaro. Motoko's eyebrow twitched. Her head slowly turned to regard Kitsune.

 

“Is that wise?”

 

“I'm their official photographer,” explained Kitsune. Motoko looked only partially satisfied with her explanation, the women's eyes sparking in the room.

 

“And why is Su going with you?” she twitched.

 

“I'm their financial backer!” bounced Su. She leaped, planting her crotch into Keitaro's face, knocking him down. Keitaro's most familiar scent of Su was a hell of a tease, as usual. As she bounded off, he couldn't help commenting: “Are you sure you just want to be friends, Su?”

 

 

 

Kamchatka was interesting. It was 2000 miles north of Hokkaido. They'd come by ship because there were few people and no airports on the volcanic peninsula. Pulling into an inlet for anchorage they watched the steam rising from several peaks, clearly active volcanos. Environmentally, it was like Alaska full of great sea eagles and giant brown bears, low trees and brush. Clouds hovered low, bringing mist and it rained frequently. Not ideal for artifacts other than pottery.

 

Despite the obvious hardships, an aerial survey by helicopter with Seta and Haruka, the girls along, little Su toting a rifle of her own design with the 3 eyes on it, Keitaro in a proper shooting vest and stinking of mosquito repellant with the oiled .375 H&H BRNO magnum cradled against his chest. Haruka and Su had taught him how to shoot it. Haruka had raised an eyebrow at “gun safety” lectures involving the ever-destructive Su, then raised them more as she did it properly. He knew how to operate it now, at least, and how to carry it safely, empty chamber. He'd been deeply embarrassed to seal the end from the weather with a condom but all parties assured him it was correct.

 

“Isn't that kind of… phallic?” asked Keitaro.

 

“Of course it is, Keitaro,” teased Kitsune, breaking out into laughter.

 

“Considering what you've done at the Hinata Sou, how could that possibly be inappropriate?” asked Su sweetly, her own peal of laughter joining Kitsune's.

 

It was a small camp, just the group of them. By agreement, Seta and Haruka shared a tent, dropping all pretense shortly after the expedition began. The ring she wore said volumes and she smiled sometimes now. Kaolla still had problems sleeping at night and demanded Keitaro as her pillow to crush. His health was now good enough to survive this.

 

Kitsune insisted on being in their tent too, as it wasn't safe for a young woman to sleep unattended in a thousand square miles of uninhabited brush. She took the opportunity to flirt with him unrelentingly, though he found himself spending his spare time thinking over the few honest moments they had together.

 

Kitsune was always with a waterproof digital camera, beeping away at Keitaro and Seta as they worked, snapping pictures of the wildlife, the volcanos. There were frequent small earthquakes, which wouldn't be so bad if the ground weren't intensely boggy. They carried radios to communicate and Su had provided one of her portable generators, complete with radiation warning label on the side. The power helped them stay organized. It was so wet that they mostly wore waders and moved in and out of the streams almost constantly. Unfortunately, this put them closer to the bears. If you spotted on, and it spotted you but didn't stare too intently, you could gradually move crossways from it, leaving it behind without running away, which would trigger its instinct to chase. Being chased by half a metric ton of predator was not something they wanted.

 

While in the field, Su was never far away with her rifle, keeping a sharp eye out for bears. They saw many during the mornings and evenings. Thankfully, they changed camp enough to prevent repeat visitors. Near the streams there were many bears fishing for salmon. Thankfully, they ignored the people and focussed on easier prey. Keitaro grew more respectful of the unreliable beasts. One could be peaceable one day and charge the next.

 

“That's what makes them dangerous,” explained Seta. “They're moody. A little indigestion can turn a normally peaceable bear into a killing machine.”

 

Keitaro took a GPS reading, nodding to himself as he examined the digital map. Another toy of Su's, it contained GIS data and aerial photos of the region.

 

“Do you need help with that, Kei-chan?” she asked, turning away from the brush. There was a sudden rustle and a huge brown shape burst towards the girl. Keitaro reacted without thinking, racking a round in the big rifle and snapping off a shot into the beast. It stumbled to a halt and Su rolled aside in fear, her rifle sparking and forgotten. The roar in his ears from the blast matched that of the great bear. Blood wept on its shoulder. He remembered what he'd been told, then worked the bold, dropping the sizzling brass into the stream, aiming carefully, then fired. The bear dropped, shaking the ground. Su? He racked the action once more and watched the bear carefully, approaching, worried about Su, but more worried it wasn't dead. Wounded predators were highly dangerous. His shoulder hurt from the massive recoil. His ears rang from the blasts.

 

“Su? Are you okay, sweetie?” he asked, fearful of taking his eyes off the bear.

 

“Yy-y-yeah. Scared. I-I-is it d-d-dead?” she stuttered out, adrenaline shock and the cold water leaving her very shaken. Her rifle was dead, electronics destroyed by water. A design flaw that in this case could have gotten her killed. The second princess noted this intellectually even as she shivered from fear. Keitaro looked so… HOT as he crept up on the huge bear. Su stood up from the muddy stream water. Keitaro, finger on the trigger, safety off, poked the bears lolling head with his rifle muzzle, bits of sizzling rubber still stuck there from the rubber band. It didn't move. Keitaro poked it once more before stepping back, clicking the safety back on.

 

“Are you hurt? It didn't get you?” he repeated, ears still ringing. He finally turned his attention to the young woman who'd so carefully guarded him for the last week in this wild place.

 

“I'm okay. Thank you for saving me Keitaro,” she said, very distraught. “Its dead, right?”

 

“Yes,” he admitted. “I feel bad. I think you startled it and it attacked for that reason. I couldn't take a chance on it hurting you, and it's a wild bear so wouldn't have reacted to a shot in the air. I knew that already. I had to kill it to save you, Kaolla-chan.” Keitaro was shaking now. The radio in his vest squawked. She took it from him while he kept his eyes on the bear.

 

“Come in, Keitaro. We heard gunfire. Are you okay? Please respond, over,” said the hissing voice of Haruka. They were on the nearby ridge with field glasses, seeking artifacts and signs of manmade construction in the tangle of brush.

 

“This is Kaolla, we're okay. A bear attacked. Its dead. No injuries, over.”

 

“Do you need assistance?” asked Haruka.

 

“Yeah, I think we need the helicopter to get the carcass to camp,” she added. “Over.”

 

“We'll be there shortly, homing on your beacon.”

 

And they were. A sling was fitted as Seta hovered overhead and they lifted off with the bear dangling and spraying a little blood into the marsh and braided glacial streams. The weather was turning cold and wetter than ever. Su huddled under a blanket, leaning against Keitaro.

 

In camp, Kitsune photographed the bear while Su bathed and changed clothes. Haruka smirked as she and Seta handled teaching Keitaro how to skin and butcher the animal.

 

“Are we really gonna eat that?” asked Kitsune, a little green behind the lens of her camera.

 

“Not all at once, I assure you,” teased Seta. Haruka laughed, smoking as she worked with a short broad knife.

 

“Where did all this stuff come from?” asked Keitaro, seeing various skinning supplies and tarps to keep the blowing rain off as the three of them worked. Two full coolers and plastic bags. Su set to making sure there was enough ice to cool off the meat so it wouldn't rot. Kitsune and one of the camp workers from the ship helped with the stove as meat was marinated and grilled in small chunks.

 

“I had a suspicion there would be another incident,” admitted Seta.

 

“Why not bear steaks?” asked Keitaro.

 

“Its too tough to eat. Besides, there are parasites in the meat. You're better off with small chunks you can marinate and cook properly than risk parasitic infection,” explained Seta.

 

“Have you done this before?” asked Keitaro, curious.

 

“Once in British Columbia on an expedition a black bear came after Sarah. Haruka killed that one.”

 

“You wanna tell him, dear?” asked Seta of his fiancee, hands covered in blood. She nodded, working carefully.

 

“Keitaro, I checked the trail of that bear. There were berry bushes in the brush by where it was crouching. None of them were eaten. It wasn't surprised. It was hunting Kaolla Su. You did the right thing. If you hadn't, it would have killed her, possibly you too. And this animal was completely healthy. No signs of weakness, health problems, or even hunger. There's quite a few salmon in its stomach. It meant to eat you.” There was a gasp from the gaijin princess. Keitaro looked at the girl, seeing the fear in her eyes. She'd need comfort that night. Kitsune met Keitaro's gaze and nodded understanding.

 

“Thank you for telling me that, Haruka-san. I'm glad.” One of the sailors loaded up the motor launch with meat and various boxes, then roared off. The crew on the ship would eat well tonight and for the next couple weeks. Seta spread tannin on the inside of the bearskin. The head was removed, frozen solid.

 

They drank a little booze and ate sizzling bear meat together that afternoon. Keitaro kept an arm around Kaolla Su until her smile came back. She eventually did her impression of the bear attacking and Keitaro being manly. She and Kitsune got all big-eyed at him before bursting back into laughter. Haruka and Seta called it a night early, leaving him with the girls. They retired to his tent, cuddling against him before drifting off to sleep.

 

At some point in the night, Keitaro woke, with a strange feeling. Kaolla was rubbing against him, and she wasn't wearing any clothes. And neither was he. They slept on an air mattress, which was easier to pack than a futon. The tent was lit very gently by the moon, finally out from the ever-present clouds. The rain had stopped, if only for a little while.

 

“Su?” he whispered, concerned. His voice sounded loud in the tent. Her rubbing increased in its intensity. He felt her wetness against him, furred yet slippery and very hot. She wasn't a child anymore, he reminded himself. And he remembered her look as she stood in that stream. He stroked her sides and clasped her tighter. She whimpered, breathing faster. Keitaro heard Kitsune's breathing change. Su moved faster, then her hand snaked down between, wiggled him into just the right spot and shoved, biting his shoulder. He felt something besides her envelopment. Without a pause, she rocked against him hard.

 

“Why do I find myself on the bottom all the time?” wondered Keitaro silently. Then he was lost to the sensations of Kaolla Su claiming her first mate. Kitsune's hand found his as he clenched the sheets beneath him. The couple finally shuddered their release in shivering silence. Kitsune rolled over, an arm over them both. They regarded each other without malice or jealousy in the near darkness. Kaolla slowly dismounted. She dragged Kitsune's protesting knee over him and he found himself beneath his Promise Girl.

 

“There's no time for denial, anymore, Kitsune. Give in to your desire,” ordered Kaolla Su. She kissed her cheek and positioned him against her friend's opening. There was no denial she was ready. She paused for a second, then moved onto him. Short strokes lead to longer ones and she gradually had him deep in her.

 

“Yes!” she hissed then bent and furiously kissed him. Keitaro returned her kiss with as much passion as he could muster. Thanks to Su, he was stronger now and lasted much longer within Kitsune. Her heavy breasts rubbed against him through her nighty, its skirt around her waist. He gripped her narrow shoulders and moaned at the pleasure. She shuddered above him, moving faster, twisting, clenching around him. Did he love her? Yes. Did he love her most? Not a question for the moment. She came above him with a high shriek: “YES!! YES!! OOOH YES!!”

 

Keitaro came then and faded into sleep as he came down from it. The three of them snuggled together under their sweaty blankets.

 

“I hope things work out for them,” said Haruka, held in Seta's arms. They'd had their own night of activity, though more discreetly. “I don't envy the complexity that boy faces when he wakes up tomorrow.”

 

“Let tomorrow worry about tomorrow, beloved,” murmured Seta. They drifted off to sleep.

 

 

 

“Well, I haven't found a single artifact of turtle culture here. The environment just isn't conducive to archaeology. There's plenty of places for them to be, but the sedimentation rate is so high it's a needle in a haystack to find it. As lucky as you are, Keitaro, you didn't find anything. I think this trip is a bust. Lets pack it up before the storm gets here,” recommended Seta. The group agreed and they spent the rest of the day breaking down the camp and ferrying it back to the boat. Keitaro stood holding the hands of both his latest lovers, staring at the space their bed had laid, remembering in fondness. He kissed each and they left together.