Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ Great White Hunter: Keitaro ❯ GWH:K Promises, Promises ( Chapter 4 )

GWH:K Chapter 4

Promises, Promises

 

 

Things around the Hinata sou did not improve, unfortunately. The other girls were somewhat more reserved towards him after his treatment of Naru. They could see he might say something equally harsh to any one of them and fear of such a rejection gnawed at them. The Wa of the Hinata sou was again harmed. Ironically, Keitaro felt considerably better having said his peace to Naru. He felt a bit guilty that he'd made her cry, but he knew in his heart that she'd done the same thing to him for four straight years. Shinobu and Su were the least affected by Naru's tears, and Mutsumi seemed surprisingly satisfied.

 

Two days after his talk with Naru, Haruka gave him a lift to the doctor's office and they removed his staples. He looked like Frankenstein, only pinker. There were 138 staples total. There was also a metal plate holding his shoulderblade together and numb spot on his neck from damaged nerves. The sonographer examined the inside of his leg and the other wounds internally, using penetrating soundwaves. The doctor stood by, pointing to various spots and trying different angles. He looked pleased.

 

“Yes, you're making a fine recovery, all things considered. Your infection is cleared and your T-cell count is returning to normal levels. How's your appetite?” asked the doctor.

 

“It's good. One of my residents is a chef and she feeds us well.” They'd wallpapered the room with a children's theme, some Miyazaki print.

 

“And your hot spring?” he asked, noting his prior answer on a his chart.

 

“Big and comfortable. I spend around 40 minutes in there at a time. It really relaxes my muscles. It's nearly as good as the physical therapy.”

 

“Good, good. From what I can see, your muscles in your calf have fully recovered and the membrane sheathes around the fibers are regrown. Please start taking walks, easy ones to start with. If you can transition from crutches to a cane, do so. The sooner you can recover normal walking gait, the better you'll recover. I'm really quite amazed at how well you've recovered. Truly a tribute to the human spirit,” he added.

 

Keitaro nodded at that, thinking about regaining some mobility. Maybe he could walk around the apartments a bit first, then down the steps, then out into the town as he got stronger. If he felt weak, there was always the Teahouse for a break or some help. Haruka would probably like to see him more. And lately, he'd been wanting her advice.

 

“Haruka, is it okay if I drop by the teahouse when its not busy, to talk?” he asked. She eyed him carefully.

 

“Trouble with the girls?” she guessed. He sighed, nodding assent.

 

“I could use your wisdom, Haruka. Things have gotten… complicated,” he finished.

 

“So I heard. I hope you're not going to argue justification for what you said to Naru,” she stated pointedly. She kept her eyes on the road as traffic was weaving around a bit through a busy section of town before they'd get to the quieter roads heading to the Hinata district.

 

“I have misgivings about that,” he admitted. “It doesn't make it any less true.”

 

“There's a big difference between truth and kindness, Keitaro,” she pointed out, turning into the Hinata district's narrow streets. The ancient town council waved at them through the fog.

 

“Dreams end. New dreams begin. Questions are answered,” they said one after another through the open window. Keitaro would be startled at their comments if he wasn't so used to them by now.

 

“Indeed,” agreed Haruka. A question that had been gnawing at him for more than a year occurred to him then, an important question. He opened his mouth to ask then thought better of it, waiting for the van to stop an intersection before asking.

 

“Haruka? Do you know who my promise girl is?”

 

She froze, head turning slowly to gaze at him. “Is there any particular reason you're asking me that, Keitaro?” she said very carefully. She looked tense and was suddenly sweating. She fumbled for a cigarette and lit it, taking a long drag from her cancer stick.

 

“Well, for the last year I'd been wondering, as you're only 7 years older than me and you were here back then too, you might happen to know. I suspect grandma Hina would know too, but she's not here to ask.” Haruka looked thoughful and somewhat disturbed, but said nothing as he waited. She pulled up to her shop and parked outside it, the streets being too narrow for garages, and the town far too old anyway.

 

“This is gonna take a while. You'd better come in with me so we can talk,” she said, finishing the cigarette with a long drag, blowing toxic smoke into the air in a stream. It curled a moment, then vanished as it was caught by the wind, as if it never existed.

 

“I knew when you moved back here there was a chance you'd ask this question. I've been amused at just how long you've taken to get around to it. Yes, I know who your promise girl is. Why do you want to know? And why now?” she asked, fixing a pot of tea for their table. The blinds were drawn, which made it feel both comfortable and spooky.

 

“Naru accused me of betraying her trust because I'm going to Todai for my promise girl. Two years ago, I told her I was willing to forget about the promise and go there for her, but she wouldn't let me. She said it would be wrong of me to deny that promise. I got into Todai. I'm there. But I don't know if I've met my promise girl or not. I need to know,” he said. She looked very carefully, studying him as he spoke.

 

“Before I answer, will you tell me if this is going to change how you treat the girls at the Hinata Sou?” she asked, again carefully observing her nephew.

 

“I need to know. Naru and the others deserve that.”

 

“And if one of them is your promise girl?” she asked, dangling the information in front of him like bait.

 

“Then it may make my decision easier,” he finished.

 

“What if it makes things harder?” she asked.

 

“Then it does. I still need to know,” he said.

 

She told him.

 

 

 

Haruka wasn't kidding. Knowing didn't make it any easier. At least she wasn't some stranger. He hobbled around the Hinata district, passing the town council members at their shops. His stomach rumbling finally became too great so he headed up the hill to the inn. That was when he saw the stairs, and considered his exhaustion.

 

“Everybody needs a challenge,” he muttered good-naturedly. There was no sense being upset or moody anymore. The stairs were a series of steps, just like his life leading up to this moment. He'd taken many side journeys but these were steps, indeed. His calf was weak and sore only a third of the way up. He paused and breathed a while before continuing another ten steps, then paused again. Repetition, consideration, contemplation, decision and before he knew it he was at the top. Good smells wafted out of the Hinata sou's kitchen. He hobbled in on his crutches, glad to have them at this point. Boy was he sore. He greeted the empty lobby, then Keitaro entered the kitchen. Shinobu looked up and smiled.

 

“Hi Sempai. How are you feeling? I thought you'd be back earlier,” she said. She was growing more lovely every day. She was going to make someone one hell of a wife.

 

“I took a bit of a walk around town, had to do some thinking,” he explained. “That smells wonderful. What's for dinner?” His stomach rumbled again. She smiled.

 

“I have some gyouza ready if you want some,” she offered, pointing to a wire cooling rack. He picked up a fried dumpling with some clean hashi on the counter and blew on it before taking a bite gingerly. Hot! Burned mouth sting but after a moment it was cool enough to chew. Very nice. Tender meat, some green onion and the slightest hint of minced mushroom.

 

“Are you going to study cooking at Todai?” he asked her. He knew she was scoring well in cram school so would certainly get in her first try.

 

“Well, they call it Culinary Arts and Management, actually, but yes. In spite of my parents' breakup, I do love cooking for you so re-opening the family restaurant does have some appeal to me,” she admitted.

 

Despite being a 17 year old girl, she'd had to grow up surrounded by older women competing for the affections of the boy she'd loved before any of them caught on. Any but Mutsumi, she admitted to herself, anyway. Keitaro was gentle, kind, good natured, and sweet. He was like her Dad before her parents divorced. Nothing ever got him down for long and he always tried his hardest, despite some real obstacles to his success, like mediocre talent for studying and poor grades. Three years he tried to get into Todai and finally succeeded two years ago. Now he was a Junior and had been doing real work in his field, like a graduate student. Yes, Shinobu knew she'd fallen in love with a good man. It broke her heart every time she saw Naru hit him. He was clumsy and oafish at times, but everyone knew that. He was never intentionally mean. And he always treated her with compassion and respect, which just made her love him more. Shinobu was sixteen but she had a grown woman's feelings about him. Waiting and hoping he wouldn't choose year after year as she matured had been nerve-wracking. Lacking Su's magical red-moon change she had to bide her time like any other mortal with a dream. And Su was starting to resemble her adult form more and more of the time. Somehow, something had changed between the gaijin and Keitaro, as if their relationship had firmed up, but in an unexpected way, less romantic and more friendly. It was surprising to the young chef and she wondered what Kaolla was doing, what brought on the change.

 

“There's some salad and rice in the bowl there if you want a small snack. Just don't spoil your dinner. We eat in half an hour, she added. He considered the morsels but settled for a second gyouza instead.

 

“I'm going to take a quick dip in the hot springs,” he said.

 

“You'd better hurry. The others will be coming back from there any time now,” she added to his retreating back. He walked directly to the changing area and found his tub and scrubbing supplies there. The girls were all there, resting, Haruka included. She nodded to her nephew. He scrubbed himself clean, rinsing away the sweat and stink from hiking around town. His scars were still bright pink though the flesh behind them was firming up gradually. Naru frowned at him, moved to leave the springs, then sat back down instead.

 

Kitsune eyed her best friend of many years, wondering what the girl was thinking. Her expressions shifted from anger to depression to glum acceptance to anger again, through a whole flurry of emotions, none of which stayed on her face for more than a few seconds. It looked like the usual doubts at work, warring with her violent side. Kitsune sighed in exasperation.

 

“Shinobu said that dinner would be ready about 15 minutes from now,” Keitaro announced. This broke the deadlock on Naru's internal argument, resignation taking the battle as she rose and headed to the washing area to clean up a bit. The others followed suit minutes later, leaving Keitaro, Haruka, and Kitsune the last in the spring.

 

“I think Naru want's to talk to you after dinner, Keitaro,” Kitsune finally announced after a long internal debate.

 

“How about you, Kitsune?” he asked.

 

“How about me what, Keitaro?” she replied, still somewhat cross with him but less certain of her feelings on the subject.

 

“Do you want to talk to me too?” he asked.

 

“Yeah, I suppose I do. After Naru. C'mon, hop out and rinse off or you'll miss dinner,” she added, taking his hand and leading him out of the water.

 

Haruka observed the two speculatively; wondering just what Keitaro would do with the information he now possessed. Dinner would probably be very interesting, she decided.

 

 

 

Dinner was delicious. In addition to gyouza fried dumplings, special green tea, and the usual favorites, there was curried melon, pepper crusted sole in a delicate sauce, and salad with fresh grated daikon radish. In spite of the emotional turmoil since Keitaro's return, the food was marvelous and they forgot their troubles as they ate. Even Su, usually a terrifying vacuum cleaner of food, slowed down to savor their meals lately. Shinobu smiled proudly to all the compliments.

 

“Keitaro?” asked Motoko when she finished her meal, quietly belching approval as is polite in Japanese culture. “How did your visit to the doctor go?”

 

“Other than removing my stitches, he said that I'm healing well and wants me to walk around more, without straining myself,” he answered. She nodded.

 

“Did he talk about the need for counseling or meditation following survival of life threatening trauma?” she asked very carefully. All noise at the table ceased.

 

“No, he didn't. Do you think I should?” he replied carefully, observing her cooly downcast eyes and reserved demeanor.

 

“It is not unreasonable to be somewhat shaken up after suffering such a brutal experience. It might even affect your relationships in life,” she added. The girls looked tense and thoughtful, agreement finally showing in their faces. That alone told him there was truth to it.

 

“I see. Do you have a recommendation?” he asked, accepting defeat. Maybe he WAS too gung ho about his feelings. Doubt surfaced and clung to the raft of his memories of the attack.

 

“If you're willing to join me on the roof before dawn I can discuss such things with you. It IS part of the Shinmei-ryu. A warrior who is afraid to fight from fear or too ready to fight in compensation is in need of healing. We have our secret techniques,” she stated.

 

“Fine. What time should we meet? Dawn?” he asked.

 

“A little before. I'll wake you at the appropriate time, Keitaro-san,” she answered quietly. Su regarded Naru with vague disappointment showing on her face. Mutsumi slowly chewed at the curried Melon, regarding the others in her quiet smiling way.

 

“Then it's settled,” he said.

 

Dinner broke up then and all the girls went their respective ways, except Naru and Keitaro. He waited for her to say something but she finally huffed and gestured for him to follow her upstairs to her room, the site of many of their efforts at studying.

 

“This is like Trigonometry,” she began.

 

“How is it like Trig?” asked a highly confused Keitaro.

 

“Don't interrupt!” she snarled, instantly regretting her violent outburst. “Sorry. This is hard to say. Bear with me, Keitaro-kun.” He nodded that she should continue, taking a seat at her kotatsu. She pulled their old study guide from her bookshelf and opened it to a bookmark.

 

“Do you remember this math problem?” she asked, turning the book so he could see. It was covered with handwritten scrawls of Naru's girly writing. He dug through his memories, finally recalling the moment.

 

“Yes. I couldn't understand and you spent two and a half hours explaining it to me. You were fit to be tied by the end, but you never quit. You wanted me to get it,” he said, looking up from the book and his memories to observe her face.

 

“I wouldn't give up on you Keitaro. I never gave up, all those years. Do you understand?” she said, face hopeful. And he did understand. He nodded.

 

“Yes, I do,” he answered. She loved him. But this didn't answer his other question.

 

“It isn't fair to expect me to change four years of bad habits… like hitting you,” she barely spoke the last. “It is going to take time to change my behavior. I know you've waited a long time for me to change. Can you wait a bit longer?” she pleaded with him, face hopeful.

 

“I don't know anymore, Naru. I think Motoko is right. I have my own emotional problems from this attack. More than my body was injured. I'm sorry I hurt you. But I can't spend the rest of my life as a victim. So what are you going to do?” he asked.

 

“I've been talking to the girls and I began group therapy for domestic violence yesterday. You scared me Keitaro. I don't want to lose you after I… we just got you back,” she admitted. He nodded approval. Understanding and dealing with her behavior would help.

 

“I can't promise I'll still be single by the time you finish but you need to do this for yourself,” he said.

 

“Otherwise I might treat someone like I treated you, Kei-kun,” she finished. She scooted to his side and they held each other quietly for a long time.

 

END PART 4