That was why it was so natural to see Shinobu in the kitchen in the morning. She might have matured into a lovely college student that many boys would have loved to date, but she was also a girl who had all but grown up cooking things. Making meals was in her blood, and she rather liked being able to create dishes that people liked.
What was unusual was that she was doing so with a single minded determination that was actually quite scary to watch. It was almost as if she didn't even realize what she was doing, as she was certainly making plenty of food. On the other hand, she wasn't stopping to see if anyone was actually eating, and considering the fact that the sun was still giving the first glorious brightness to the morning, it was quite early to make everything.
Though, oddly enough, Mitsune was awake. Usually the elder woman would still be dragging herself out of bed, but she looked to be almost chipper in her attitude. At the very least, she was cheerful, as she was watching the resident 'chef' of the inn cook, one arm bracing her chin as she grinned at the sight.
"Good morning, both of you," a brightly smiling Naru called out as she got the creases of her blouse sleeves as she entered the kitchen.
"Naru?!" Shinobu yelped, nearly tossing the egg that she was frying into her own face. "G... g... Good morning...."
"Is there something wrong?"
"No, of course not! Why would you think that?"
"It's just...."
"Oh look! I've got to get to this before it burns," Shinobu yelped, rushing her attention to the meal.
"Okay.... What's with her?"
"They've been like that all morning," Mitsune drawled.
"'They'?"
"Yup. Both of them," murmured Kitsune as she glanced down at the other end of the table, letting her grin curve up into a smirk as Naru turned to look.
At the end of the table, regarding her breakfast rather like she would her textbooks before a big test was Ema. There was a definite worry there, and it was clear that she was trying to keep her attention on her food as if she would break down if she didn't. In fact, she didn't even seem to be paying much attention to anything, save for what little she was actually putting in her mouth.
"Ema," the married woman asked, leaning down too look the teen in the face, "are you okay?"
"Wha.... AHHHH!" went a quickly panicking Ema.
"What's the matter?"
"I... that... you.... WAHH!"
Naru straightened back up with a confused look on her face. Seeing as no one would explain what was going on with the two younger girls, she was rather lost as to what to make of it. That bothered her somewhat, but she couldn't see what exactly she should do about it.
Fortunately, the arrival of Motoko did manage to distract her from that, although her smile of welcome was slightly dimmed from the obvious surprise that the raven haired martial artist stopped with. "Good morning to you, Motoko."
"Hello, Naru. It is... nice to see you," Motoko commented, obviously working to keep her voice under control.
"Why thank you. Have you been up long?"
"Since around sunrise."
"That long?"
"Certainly...." the dark haired beauty admitted. "I had some... focus training to work on."
"Sounds intense."
"More of a comfort really."
"Are you feeling well though?" asked a smiling Keitaro as he entered behind the black haired woman.
Nearly yelping as she leapt away from him, Motoko regarded him with wide eyes. "Urashima! How can you ask something like that?!"
"Simple. You had goosebumps on your skin. I could see them just under your collar."
"My... my...."
He leaned in closer to her, peering at Motoko with concern in his eyes. "Are you feeling chilly or something?"
"That's... fine! Close enough!"
"But...."
"I took a cold bath to help clear my head earlier. Helped by meditations. That is all," the kendo practicioner bit out.
"Oh... okay...."
"What is it with you guys today? You're all so tense," Naru muttered.
Mitsune grinned at her old friend. "And you're so relaxed."
"Yes... well, I just had a nice evening."
"I'm sure."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Raising her brows, the tea shop manager just let herself lean back in her chair.
"I don't get how you guys sometimes...."
"Don't look at me. I've been surprised when I can get.... ACK!" yelped Keitaro as a weight slammed into his back. Turning to look over his head, he saw who it was who was clinging to his back. "Su?!"
"Morning, Keitaro!" chirped the dark skinned girl. "You have fun last night?"
He blushed heavily and scratched his nose. "You might say that...."
"Oh, so Naru did taste your thing."
"WHAT?!" went the married couple.
"How can you ask something like that?" Naru choked out.
Kaolla blinked at the married woman. "I was just wondering if it was tasty."
"Ahh...."
"My, my, my.... Still so naughty," Mutsumi giggled as she passed by, carrying two watermelons.
"Will someone please explain what's going on?!"
"It's really quite simple," Mitsune told her old friend.
"And that is?"
"I never figured that you would be a screamer, Naru."
Confusion settled on the married woman's face. "Huh?"
"Perhaps it was because Keitaro here did something very right, but you really should stifle it at night. No matter how much you're enjoying yourself, you don't know who might be within hearing distance."
"What are you.... Oh no. You don't mean that you all...." Naru began, realization stealing across her face.
"What can I say? You're loud."
"So noisy," put in Mutsumi.
"I didn't hear anything," Shinobu weakly, and unconvincingly, protested. "Not me. Nope."
"But you were explaining it...." Kaolla began.
"SU!"
Ema just whimpered, and tried to duck her head so that her flushed features were out of sight.
"See, like I said," Kitsune told the married couple. "'Loud'."
Right then, the husband and wife were wearing matching full on blushes, nervously not looking at anyone in particular.
"I do not to be party to this nonsense," Motoko groused.
Kitsune chuckled. "But you did manage to hear a lot last night."
"That is besides the point!"
"I'd rather say that was the point, but I'll let it be for now. Although...."
"Yes?"
"Looking at that weapon of yours, and seeing how straight and hard it is, I'm beginning to see why you might have gotten interested in kendo. And here I thought that only guys thought about size like that."
It took a moment for Mokoto to understand what the elder woman was insinuating, but when she realized what she meant, she fumbled her practice sword for a moment. Once her instant of panic subsided enough, she held it firmly again, before glaring at Mitsune and going to rush off.
Doing so would have worked better if she hadn't run right into Keitaro, with the two of them landing on the floor, with her on top of him.
"Ow... ow... ow...." Keitaro whispered before looking up at the woman who'd knocked him down. "Are you okay?"
Motoko took only a moment to recognize that she was straddling him, and when she did, her eyes nearly crossed. Flushing mightily, she moved so that she was no longer on him before hurrying out the door.
"Interesting floor show," Mitsune said to no one in particular.
Everyone, save Mutsumi, just scowled at her, while:
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(Posted Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:28)
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