Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ Picking Up the Pieces ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Ken Akamatsu and his affiliates do. This is a piece made purely for the love and enjoyment of the series.

 

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Shinobu shuffled around her managers' room, searching for the basic necessities that he would need for a protracted stay at the teahouse. She wasn't sure what was going to happen now, but she knew that she had to help her manger in what little ways she could.

 

She thought back to last night, a small shiver running down her spine as she did so. Never in her life had she ever seen anyone so emotionless, so utterly empty before in her life. It was almost as if all the will to go on had suddenly drained out of him. She suppressed the tears forming at the corners of her eyes, “Sempai, I hope you get better soon.”

 

She had already visited Mitsunes' room and gathered her things. Now the only thing she had left to get was the specific item that Haruka had told her to get. She knew exactly where it was, even before Haruka had told her where it was. It was one of the few closely guarded secrets she kept for Keitaro. A few months ago, she had accidentally walked in on him drawing, and when he noticed her had scrambled to throw it into that particular drawer.

 

Crossing the remaining distance between herself and the drawer, Shinobu drew in a deep breath for courage. She hesitated but for a moment before pulling the drawer open to reveal the worn leather cover of an old sketchpad. It was a special thing to see, knowing that it belonged to Keitaro and to know she had been trusted with bringing it safely to him. Gently and with all the care she could find in her heart, she picked it up and clutched it to her chest. She sank to her knees, the gravity of what was going on suddenly becoming too much for her. It almost felt as if the sketchpad it self was drawing her to the ground. Her tears formed in her eyes again as she sat there, worry and sadness over her sempai's pain. Not knowing what else to do, she clutched the pad tighter and wept softly in the darkness of his room.

 

“Shinobu, what are you doing in Urashima's room?”

 

The young girl spun to look at the voice in the door, not even hiding her tears anymore. Blinking away some tears, she saw the figure of Motoko standing there, a hand on her katana. Shinobu felt a fire of anger beginning to be stoked under the sadness she felt. This was not her fault she knew, but Motoko's and Naru's. If they had not pushed and punished and beaten Keitaro so much, then he would never have had his soul shattered the way he did. Between the tears, Shinobu fixed a harsh glare at Motoko, “Why do you want to know?”

 

The young samurai, a little shocked at the harshness in the normally shy girls' voice, looked at her with a little hurt in her eyes, “I'm just curious why you would be in the room of a pervert.”

 

Shinobu surged to her feet, “Why do you call him names like that Motoko? Why?”

 

The raven haired swordswoman took an instinctive step backwards. She had never see anything like this out of Shinobu before, and it was beginning to strike an uneasy chord in her, “My honor prevents me from lying, Shinobu. It is a disgrace to even…”

 

“To hell with your honor,” the yell had surprised even Shinobu, not knowing where both the courage to say these things and the anger to say such things came from. She bore a deathly glare into Motoko, “Quite hiding behind lies and excuses. Your honor is only of use to you when you feel like hiding your own short comings!”

 

A little worried, Motoko reflexively gripped the hilt of her sword, “What is wrong with you, Shinobu? This is not like you to behave in this manner.”

 

All thoughts of what could possibly happen to her set aside, Shinobu took a few steps towards Motoko, “Only that I'm finally standing up for Keitaro! I'm only sad that it took something like this to happen before I did!”

 

Motoko looked at the little girl with a mix of bewilderment and fright in her eyes, “What? What has happened to Urashima?”

 

The young girl was almost face to face as best she could manage with the raven haired woman, “What do you care? Weren't you the one who was the strongest opposition to his staying here? Didn't want a `perverted male' ruining your sanctuary?”

 

The wood of the wall behind her told Motoko that she was out of room to run away from the azure haired girls' tirade, “Y-yes, I was. But he eventually proved that he was useful around the Hinata Inn, and I…”

 

“You what?” Shinobu said coldly, the tears streaming down out of her eyes. She had long ago lost her will to hold back the dam of anger she had let loose on the swordswoman. She glared holes through Motoko, “Thought that he would make a nice slave and a great practice dummy for your techniques and Naru's punches? Is that what you thought?”

 

Motoko cringed at her words, knowing that at some point in the past she had likened Keitaro to those words. She averted here eyes from the shaking girl, unable to respond. She knew she had stained her honor, and for more than a year had maintained that she was only protecting the other residents from his twisted attempts. Shinobu, trembling in rage, turned back around and hauled up the bags she had gathered and stormed past her. She stopped briefly at the stairs, “You're sister would be ashamed, Motoko. I know I am.”

 

With those words left lingering in the air, Shinobu walked down the stairs and out the front door without another word. As she neared the steps up to the Inn, she tried to steady her breathing, knowing that she had worked her self into a near frenzy with her outburst. As she neared the teashop, she felt more tears rolling down her cheeks at the pain she just caused.

 

“I know I hurt her, but it's a small price to pay for the amount of pain she has caused Keitaro.”

 

She shuddered a little at that thought. Her words were the truth, but now she felt guilt at having said them to Motoko regardless. She just could not stay mad at anyone, but for some reason, the situation with her sempai had struck a chord in her and now she was determined to see that no one else caused him harm.

 

As she entered the dimly lit room of the teashop, she saw Haruka leaning up against a counter looking at an old photograph. She gently set the items down on a nearby bench, “Haruka? I brought what you wanted me to.”

 

Shaken from her musings over the photo, Haruka looked up to see a flushed and red eye Shinobu with the bags of clothes and such she had asked for. Haruka crossed the distance calmly and placed a hand on the young girls' shoulder, “Thanks, kid.”

 

Emotionally drained and exhausted, Shinobu very nearly collapsed into a nearby seat as Haruka eased her down. Shinobu gave a sad look up to her, “Sorry, Haruka. I guess my run in with Motoko was a bit too much for me to handle.”

 

Knowing that now was not the time to be worried about that, Haruka offered a small smile to the girl, “S'kay, Shinobu. Just have a seat and rest for now. I'm still waiting on Mitsune to get back from her errand.”

 

“Okay,” Shinobu responded, resting her head on the table in front of her. As Haruka stood and walked back to the counter, Shinobu looked at the wood grain and sighed, “Haruka?”

 

Stopping, she looked back at the young girl, “Hmm?”

 

Shinobu scratched at the wood a little, “Is Keitaro going to leave for good now?”

 

Haruka stood there, chewing on her lip for a moment, “Not for good, I don't think, but at least for a little while until he sorts a few things out.”

 

A tear threatened to roll down her cheek, “Can I go with him?”

 

Although she almost chuckled, Haruka reined it in, “I don't think so, kiddo. Mitsune's going with him and I think that right now, you should probably focus on your school. It would be the best thing right now.”

 

The young girl sighed dejectedly, “Oh. I see.”

 

A friendly hand rested on her shoulder, “Hey, Keitaro doesn't want to see you suffer in school because of him. Mitsune's only going because she's got her own issues to deal with regarding him. Besides, I'll need you're help around here running things when he leaves.”

 

Shinobu nodded slowly, realizing that she was right, “Alright. I'll stay for Keitaro.”

 

Haruka smiled lightly, “For Keitaro.”

 

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It had taken her nearly an hour to find the address that Haruka had given her, but Mitsune had indeed found it. The place was located on the outskirts of town, but it was there. As she looked at the outside she wondered how a man who dealt in herbal medicine was connected to Haruka.

 

“Now isn't the time for that. You have a job to do, remember?”

 

She nodded her head, as if to reassure herself and went inside the old wooden building. Once inside, her nose was assaulted by all the different kinds of odors and aromas of the different medicines. She forced back a tear that had formed from the strength of the odor as she looked around the front room. The walls were lined with shelving of all sorts, each one containing numerous amounts of herbs and such that could be used as an alternative to regular pharmaceuticals. The only other person she noticed in here was the man behind the counter.

 

She has seen some large people before, but this man was most certainly the biggest she had ever seen. His head nearly reached the ceiling, with him standing at what she guessed had to be nearly seven feet tall. His balding head and several weeks beard growth on his chin did not help ease her slightly mounting fear of this tower of a man. Nor did it help that this man mostly likely could pick her up and use her as a toothpick, or so she judged by the massive size of his arms. As of the moment, he was well into a cigar, with the smoke billowing around him making him that much more intimidating.

 

Finally noticing he had a customer in the store, his gruff voice filled the small space, “Hello, Miss. How can I help ya?”

 

Frightened by the sound of his voice, she jumped a little, “Oh! Geez, you scared me.”

 

He shrugged a little, “Sorry `bout that. Didn't mean to frighten you little lady.”

 

“No, it's alright,” Mitsune said, starting to gather the courage to step up to the counter, “I guess I'm just on edge right now.”

 

The man nodded his head, “I have something that could help you with that, if you're interested?”

 

She shook her head, “No, but thanks. I'm actually here to pick up something else, mister…”

 

“Please, drop the formalities,” he said waving his hand to silence her, “Just call me Nobu. Nobu Yamanagi.”

 

“Um, sure,” Mitsune said, still unsure of herself around this tank of a man. She gently pulled out the slip of paper that Haruka had given her, “I was actually sent to pick up a package that someone said they left here in your care.”

 

Nobu looked at the woman in front of him with a questioning glance, “Hate to tell ya this, but I don't have any packages for no one here. Ya might try the post office, though.”

 

Her shoulders slumped at his words. She had hoped she'd gotten the address right, but maybe not. She sighed, and muttered silently to herself, “Geez, Haruka. You think you could have given me the right place?”

 

Just as she was turning to leave, Nobu stopped her, “Wait. Did you just say Haruka?”

 

Mitsune stopped and looked back at him, “Yeah. She's the one that sent me to find this package, wherever it is.”

 

The big man chuckled deeply, taking a big puff of his cigar, “Wondered when that little squirt was gonna come pick it up. Shame she didn't come in person, though.”

 

Mitsune halted in her tracks when she heard that, “Wait, you know Haruka?”

 

“Oh yeah. That little package of trouble and me go way back,” He said, lifting a portion of the counter out of the way, “Come on back. I know what package you're after.”

 

Cautiously, she shifted to head behind the counter to follow the man. It was almost comical to watch him squeeze through the normal sized door, but she kept her laughter in check. Kami above only knew what this man could do if he was mad.

 

Stepping into the back room, Nobu led the way through the storage racks and into his small cramped office. He set about spinning the dial on an old safe, “Yeah, Haruka is, or at least was, one of the most adventurous women I've ever known in my lifetime. Hell, I can't tell ya the number of times she pulled my ass out of the fire.”

 

Mitsune looked at him quizzically, “She saved you?”

 

He spared a glance at her, a smile on his face, “Funny, isn't it?”

 

After a minute or so, the safe door opened and Nobu reached inside. He pulled a long, brown wrapped package from inside and handed it over to Mitsune, “Just curious why she needed this now. Thought she owned that teashop of hers?”

 

She bit her lip, her own pain still barely under control, “It's not for Haruka. Not really.”

 

The man looked at her with a questioning gaze, then nodded his head, “Her nephew, huh?”

 

Mitsune sighed, holding back a few tears, “Yeah.”

 

Silence descended on the two as they remained there waiting for the other to speak. Nobu coughed a little to break the tension, “Guy must be in pretty bad straits to need that.”

 

“Um, Nobu,” Mitsune started, looking down at the package in her hands, “What exactly is in here that Haruka wanted?”

 

The behemoth of a man shrugged his shoulders, “Beats me. Never told me what was in the damn thing either. Then again, with it being Haruka who gave it to me, I didn't want to know. Don't ask don't tell, you know?”

 

Mitsune nodded her head gently, still pondering over the boxes contents. Nobu took a long drag off his cigar and exhaled slowly, “So just how bad is the squirts nephew?”

 

She tried to fight off the shiver that ran up her spine. Clutching the package a little tighter, Mitsune looked away, “His whole life has gone down the drain in the span of one night.”

 

Nobu leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest, “That bad. Damn.”

 

The woman nodded her head, “I don't think I'll ever get the look on his face out of my head.”

 

Nobu looked up at her, noticing the pain just barely veiled in her eyes. He reached over across the desk and picked up an old, scratched wooden box. Looking back at her, he gave her the box, “Here. Take this with you.”

 

Gingerly taking the box, she looked at him questioningly, “What's in it?”

 

“It's an old family recipe,” Nobu said finally standing back up as the two walked back towards the front of the store, “It'll help get you to sleep. Remember to only use one teaspoon in a teapot though. Otherwise, you'll be out for the better part of a day when you do wake up.”

 

She turned to look at Nobu as she headed towards the door, “Thank you. Keitaro will appreciate all the help.”

 

“Don't worry about it,” he waved his hand in polite dismissal, “Like I said, me and Haruka go way back. I owe her a lot more than she'll ever ask for.”

 

Mitsune smiled slightly as she exited the store, “Again, thank you!”

 

Nobu stood there behind the counter as the girl vanished from his shop. Smiling, he took another long drag off his cigar, “Well, Haruka. Wonder what you have in mind for those two?”

 

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“What are we doing just standing here, Su?”

 

An agitated Sarah stood there, waiting as she watched Su digging through her pile of discarded experiments. A time or two she could have sworn to have seen some of the things she'd set loose on the loser, but could not be for sure. She grumbled discontentedly, “Why aren't we going down there and picking on the dork?”

 

“Because,” Su said, her voice muffled by the mound of metal she was digging through currently. After a moment or two, Su's head reappeared from the pile with a maniacal grin plastered on her face, “I haven't found what I'm looking for yet!”

 

Sarah growled in frustration, “Geez! What the heck are you looking for, anyway?”

 

Su had disappeared back into the pile of parts and pieces, a muffled laugh emanating from her search area, “Something to help Keitaro.”

 

The longer Sarah thought about it, the more she realized that very few of Su's inventions had the desired effect she wanted them to have. A twisted grin began to form on her face as she envisioned the device that was supposed to heal Keitaro, but ultimately sent him soaring into low earth orbit. She rubbed her hands together in glee at the prospects of watching that happen, “Well hurry up already!”

 

It took another half an hour before Su was able to locate it, and as with everything else she had made, had the three eyes of her country emblazoned on the front of it. Su cried triumphantly, “Ah-hah! I found it!”

 

Sarah was delighted, but for an entirely different reason, “Good! Now come on and let's go help the dork!”

 

The pair raced out of her room and tore through the house towards the front door. As they ran by, they barely had time to dodge out of the way of Mutsumi as she entered into the building, “Oh, my! I wonder what has them so excited.”

 

The closer they came to the teashop, the more anxious Sarah got. She was almost laughing out loud at the very image of Keitaro being launched airborne by this device of Su's. She was almost at the door when a hand grabbed her by the arm.

 

“Just what do the two of you think you're doing?”

 

Caught, the two blonde girls looked up at the angry face of Mitsune. They shared a silent look between themselves before looking back up at her. Su smiled as wide as she could, “We were just going to help Keitaro, Kitsune. We were gonna put this device on his head and then turn it on and…”

 

“Both of you go back to the house and stay there.”

 

Su stopped and looked up at Mitsune, the smile gone from her face. Unsure of this new tone, Su continued, “But I have the perfect device to heal him all up and make him better. I just need to put it…”

 

“Su,” Mitsune calmly turned the two girls to face back up the steps, “Keep you're gizmos and gadgets away from Keitaro.”

 

Su and Sarah both shared a look of hurt. Sarah spoke up, “Aww, come on Kitsune. We were just gonna have a bit of fun!”

 

“Fun?”

 

The two foreigners froze at the coldness in Mitsunes' voice. They looked up at her, a small amount of fright in their eyes, “You think that hurting him is fun?”

 

Su backpedaled, “But he's always managed to survive anything that comes his way. He can take anything. He's invincible. He's…”

 

“He's hurt, Su,” Mitsune said, stopping the girls arguments clean in their tracks. She gave her a harsh glare, “And not all hurt is physical. He doesn't find it fun when you blow him up, or electrocute him, or fry him, or zap him, or any of the other countless things you've put him through.”

 

Sarah sniggered at watching her partner in crime getting scolded, at least she did until Mitsune fixed her deathly gaze on her, “And you, Sarah. Just because you don't want him near Seta, or to let him feel good about anything and find new ways to get him in trouble does not mean you have the right to do what you want to him. You think he likes being humiliated and degraded on a daily basis by someone who's less than half his age?”

 

Sarah cast her eyes down and harrumphed, “Not like it matters what he thinks anyway, he's just a…”

 

“Sarah MacDougal, you finish that sentence and I swear as Kami as my witness, I will give you the worst spanking you've ever gotten in your life!”

 

The little girls' eyes widened to the size of saucers as she brought her eyes back up to look at Mitsune, “Y-You wouldn't dare do that to me!”

 

Mitsunes' glare at her gave her all the answer she needed, but she took it one step further, “And if that won't be enough, I'll call Seta and tell him everything you've done to Keitaro since day one. And believe me, I've kept a running count of everything you've done. Wonder what he would say to that?”

 

Sarah, knowing she had lost the battle, looked away in mock hurt. Su on the other hand was not willing to let this go. She walked closer to Mitsune, “Please, Kitsune. We…”

 

Su never got to finish her sentence before Mitsune interrupted her, “Both of you go back up those stairs and inside! Now! And do not come back down here again!”

 

Defeat and pain in Su's eyes, she silently began trudging back up the stairs towards the Inn. Sarah followed, throwing a cautious glance back over her shoulder at Mitsune. Once they were out of sight of Mitsune, Sarah groaned in frustration, “This bites. If the dork really wants to sit down there and mope about being rejected, then fine by me.”

 

“You don't get it do you, Sarah?”

 

Sarah looked over at Su cautiously, “What do ya mean?”

 

Su looked at the stairs as they climbed, for once showing the intelligence that she possessed. She stopped and rubbed at her cheek, “I mean, I never thought that he would break like this. Not once did I ever stop and think about what I was doing to him.”

 

The young American looked at her questioningly, “Su, the dork didn't break. He's just hiding. I'm sure that when he finally gets up out of that bad mood, then he'll come up and you can…”

 

Su looked up at Sarah, silencing her with just that one look. Her shoulders shook a little from the pending sobs, “And if he did break, Sarah? What if he never gets out of his bad mood? What then?”

 

For once in her life, Sarah did not have a snappy come back. The pain evident in Su's eyes made her think twice before she opened her mouth to say anything. She had never seen Su cry before. Silence came over the pair, the only sound the calm rustling of the leaves in the wind being heard. Eventually Su tore her gaze away from Sarah, “Come on. Let's go to the Inn. I have to sort my inventions.”

 

The emptiness in her voice told Sarah that they weren't going to be doing anything when they got back. Slowly and unsurely, she followed her friend back up the steps. Absently, Sarah wondered, “What if he really did break? What'll happen to me?”

 

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Her anger at the two blonder haired girls wanting to have “fun” with Keitaro was slowly beginning to drain away. She waited until the two were out of sight before she released a long held sigh. Gently picking up the package and wooden box she had set down in her attempt at stopping the two, Mitsune walked inside the old teashop, “That's one disaster averted and a step in the right direction.”

 

Upon entering the dimly lit teashop, she leaned against the door. Breathing in deeply, Mitsune tried to calm herself, “Geez, this is harder than it seems.”

 

“Mitsune?”

 

Looking up, she saw the form of Shinobu slumped over on a table. Mitsune flashed her a weary smile, “Hey. How are you doing, Shinobu?”

 

Shinobu sat up a little bit, “I'm okay I guess.”

 

“That's good,” responded, standing up and walking over to where she was sitting. Setting the package and box down, she took a seat near Shinobu, “You have any problems while I was running that errand for Haruka?”

 

Shinobu meekly nodded her head, “Yeah. Just one, but I'm not sure what to make of it.”

 

The older of the two gestured for her to continue, “Go on. What happened?”

 

“Well,” Shinobu started, nervously twiddling her fingers. She tried to find a way to tell Mitsune this without making her angry at her too. Settling on the plainest way, Shinobu drew in a breath, “I yelled at Motoko.”

 

Mitsune stopped for a second and looked at Shinobu. This was new, that was for sure. She mentally shook her head, “This whole mess is new.”

 

She was shaken from her thoughts when she heard the quite sobbing of Shinobu. Looking at the young girl in front of her, Mitsune gently reached out and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, “Hey, its okay. Just tell me what happened.”

 

Shinobu wiped away some of the tears already starting to roll down her cheeks, “I was getting yours and Keitaro's things and she caught me in Keitaro's room. She asked me what I was doing in the “perverts” room. That's when I lost it.”

 

Her fists balled in anger and sadness as she recalled the event, “I've never been that angry, Mitsune. Never. I don't know why I yelled at her, even though I know what I was saying was the truth. Now…”

 

Mitsune gently brought her into a friendly embrace, “Its okay. I know how ya feel. I had to yell at Su and Sarah. I feel bad too, but the truth hurts. And we've taken too long to speak up. But we're going to try to fix it as best we can.”

 

The blue haired girl finally erupted in uncontrolled sobbing as Mitsune held her. She did her best to console Shinobu, and after a time she calmed down. Shinobu looked up at her with teary eyes, “Things aren't going to be the same, are they?”

 

Mitsune shook her head gently, “No. I just hope that they'll be for the better.”

 

They both heard the clearing of a throat from across the room and turned to look at Haruka standing there, propped up against the door frame. She offered a light smile for the two of them, “You get that package, Mitsune?”

 

Lifting it up for Haruka to see, she nodded, “Yeah. It's right here.”

 

Haruka crossed the room and took the package from Mitsune, “Thanks, Mitsune. This will definitely be of help soon.”

 

Handing her the wrapped package, Mitsune looked up at the older Urashima, “Just curious, what's in that thing? Nobu said you didn't even tell you.”

 

She chuckled, “This is, or rather was, a big secret for me.”

 

The two Hinata residents looked between each other, than back at Haruka. Shinobu rubbed away some of the tears still left in her eyes, “What secret?”

 

Calmly, Haruka lit another cigarette, “It was money for my wedding day.”

 

Both of the two girls in her presence felt their jaws hit the ground. Mitsune looked at Haruka in shock, “No way?! You were planning on getting married?!”

 

“Yeah,” Haruka said, pausing to take a drag off her cigarette, “What's wrong with planning for that?”

 

Mitsune backpedaled a little bit, “N-nothing! It's just I never knew you were engaged Haruka.”

 

Haruka tapped some of the ash off the end of her cigarette into a nearby ashtray, “Neither did the guy that I was engaged to.”

 

Now it was Shinobu who finally spoke up, “Who was he, Haruka?”

 

Waving a hand dismissively, Haruka turned with the package in hand towards the kitchen, “Doesn't matter now. That was years ago and we have a something more to be concerning ourselves with.”

 

Mitsune and Shinobu shared a look between themselves as Haruka left the room. There was definitely more to this story, but Haruka was right. They had more important matters to deal with right now.

 

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Much later that evening, Haruka sat alone in the candle lit room staring at an old photograph of herself and a few of her “friends”. She chuckled as she looked at it, remembering all the old times that they had gotten into and subsequently out of. She almost laughed at the length of Nobus' hair back then. Not once in her entire life did she ever feel more at home than when she was working with that rough and gruff bunch. She sighed sadly, knowing that those times were behind her, “But the good times had to end some time, I guess.”

 

Setting the photo down, she looked over at the phone that sat nearby. She almost hated to call him, but it was urgent and she needed to call in another favor to really pull this off. Sipping on a mug of tea she had brewed, Haruka recalled her earlier conversation with Keitaro.

 

At first, he had been reluctant to leave the Inn on an indefinite trip. Even with Mitsune and Shinobu both saying that it was a good idea, it took nearly half an hour to convince him that the Inn had survived for many years before he was even born without him there before he would agree to go. After that battle, Mitsune had to fight her own battle to get him to let her go with him. In the end, his kind and forgiving nature finally won out and he again agreed to have her along with him. Though still sick, he would take the offer when he was better. Haruka only hoped that that was sooner rather than later.

 

Shuffling through the old box of memories in front of her, Haruka searched for his number. She finally found it under another old photo of her and Nobu facing each other down over the neck of a bottle of Tijuana's best. Picking up the receiver and dialing the number, she only prayed he wasn't drunk from the day before. It took a few rings, but eventually the other line clicked on. A low groaning sound was heard from the other end, “This had better either be a gorgeous woman or a record company saying they want to sign with them.”

 

Haruka chuckled lightly, “Sorry to burst your bubble, Nick.”

 

“Haruka,” the other voice said, recognizing her voice, “That you?”

 

“Yeah,” she said, settling back into her seat, “It's me.”

 

Nick took a minute to respond, “Two things Haruka. Why are you calling me at two in the freaking morning, and secondly is this gonna cost me?”

 

“You never change, Nick,” Haruka laughed a little, “But to answer your questions, I'm calling in a favor, and it might require you to put a couple people up for an indefinite amount of time.”

 

It took him a minute to respond, but groaned a little at the answers, “What's going on over in that part of the world that's got you calling in a favor?”

 

Haruka paused for a minute, gathering the courage, “My nephew. He's hit a rough patch. Wondering if he and a friend could come out that way and stay with you until he can piece himself back together?”

 

Again another long pause, this time making Haruka anxious. Eventually he sighed over the line, “How bad is this rough patch of his?'

 

“Life altering.”

 

“Damn,” Nick grunted, “That bad. Well, hell.”

 

“Nick,” Haruka said, leaning back up against the table top, “You know I wouldn't call in a favor without this being a life or death situation. I'm asking you here, can you do this for me?”

 

He sighed again, “You know, I hate it when you play that card.”

 

“Oh,” she said, feigning ignorance, “And what card is that?”

 

He chuckled lightly, “The one where you play on my will to help others.”

 

Haruka smiled lightly, “So that means you'll do it?”

 

“Yeah. I'll do it. Besides, answering yes will get me back to sleep sooner.”

 

She smiled in earnest now, thanking whatever higher power was up there, “Thanks, Nick. You really came through for me.”

 

“Think nothing of it,” he said, his smile almost showing in his voice, “A friend in need and all that.”

 

Sighing in relief, Haruka pulled out a cigarette, “Again, thanks. I'll call when they get on the plane headed that way so you'll have some warning. Right now he's staying put because he's sick, but within the week he'll be headed that way.”

 

“Alright,” she heard him respond, “I'll keep my eyes and ears open for `em then.”

 

Inhaling deeply from the cigarette, Haruka nodded, “Alright. You take care, Nick.”

 

“You too, Haruka.”

 

After she heard the click signaling the end of the call, Haruka replaced the receiver. With that out of the way, all that was left was for Keitaro to get better. Sipping her tea and letting the relaxing aroma of the cigarette fill her nostrils, Haruka wondered just where this road would lead to. She chuckled to herself, “Guess we'll find out where this road goes soon enough. But for now, it's really out of our hands. Kami help him.”