Konno Mitsune perked. "Lum-chan's friends are here?"
"Hai," Urashima Karumi said, nodding. The would-be reporter and the tōshi sister of the landlord were relaxing in the hot springs; to ensure they enjoyed some privacy, Karumi had activated a series of ki-charged blood wards around the springs. And while Mitsune certainly wouldn't mind a little floor-show right now, she knew that others wouldn't appreciate being forced to participate in same. Chief amongst them was Karumi's own brother…which was something that, when she had FINALLY clued into what drove a man like Urashima Keitarō, had driver Mitsune to tears. Then turn around to drive herself to change some of her more annoying personal habits. "Kamen-chan and Damasu-chan were ab-b-ble to p-p-persuad-d-de B-b-Bent-t-ten-san and-d-d Ran-san t-t-to b-b-become sist-t-ters. Mienai-chan is work-k-king on Oyuk-k-ki-sama, b-b-but no b-b-bod-d-dy-swap-p-p yet." She then smirked. "I d-d-do not-t-t envy At-t-taru-kun."
Mitsune laughed. "Yeah," she breathed out as she leaned back against a rock. "Sex is wonderful, but there is such a thing as TOO MUCH sex!"
Karumi looked shocked. "There IS?!"
Both of them laughed, and then Keitarō's sister slipped an arm around her lover's shoulder to draw Mitsune closer to her. The would-be reporter could only purr with delight as she felt her lover's feelings for her surge through her skin and flood her nervous system with such fuzzy warmth, it made Mitsune feel like a kid again. However long ago was that, the woman known more commonly by the nickname "Fox" mused to herself as she tilted her head to capture the tōshi's kiss on her lips.
Sensing Mitsune's disquiet about her own early childhood — like many of the others that now lived in the Hinata-sō, she hadn't truly the best of upbringings…though as the only daughter of a rather wealthy businessman, she had enjoyed a much more luxurious lifestyle than someone like Maehara Shinobu — Karumi sighed as she pulled the younger woman (physically) closer to her. They hadn't progressed their relationship to the bond-mate stage, though they were planning on it; Karumi had experienced her "time of the month" — the Avalonian euphemism for the surge of emotions and the accompanying physical reaction encountering someone she wanted to spend the rest of her life with — when she had met Mitsune for the first time after her awakening two months ago (arranged by Moroboshi Hiromi)…and when Mitsune herself had become an Avalonian three weeks before, her body and soul had reciprocated those feelings with a passion that had actually frightened her at first…
"Oh, man…"
"Be at ease, Mitsune. Allow your soul to adjust to your body."
Hearing that frightfully-cold voice, the would-be reporter shuddered — an understandable feeling given how ruthlessly logical Moroboshi Negako was — as she opened her eyes, and then she blinked as she found herself staring at the ceiling of her own apartment. As her vision slightly hazed as her mind's ability to sense the Te'a — she had been warned about this — kicked in, she then breathed out. "Oh, man…that was SO weird…" she breathed out before hearing footfalls…
…and then her eyes focused on a woman who was now staring at her with a face that was quite red with embarrassment and shyness. Recognising the first of Keitarō's genetic twins — to learn about the Avalonians and how easy it was for one to become a "sister" had blown Mitsune away — the just-transformed Mitsune blinked a couple of times…before her breath caught in her throat as she actually heard her own heart pump loudly in her ears. "Karumi-…chan…" she whispered as her own cheeks suddenly reddened, her brown eyes tearing with a mixture of fright and delight as all her memories of this woman began replaying in her own mind.
Especially the times Karumi had bathed in the hot springs.
Bathed…
Oh…
Oh, gods…
What's happening to me?! Mitsune thought out…
…before her lips were totally devoured by Karumi's. Such made the would-be reporter's eyes go VERY wide for a moment before the softness of that kiss surged through the faint resistance to actually being kissed by a GIRL faded…
"You ac-c-ct-t-tually had-d-d me worried there…"
«Think your words,» Mitsune immediately thought out. «Don't say them.»
Karumi smiled as she moved to rub her nose against the side of her lover's neck, an action which made Mitsune's whole body shiver with delight as the tōshi's wonderful hands began to gently play with her lover's remarkable assets. Karumi — after her re-birth in this life as the eighteenth reincarnation of Tōgai Shisai — had spent some time with Hiromi learning all the basics of Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū, including that particular martial art school's tantric forms, grouped together under the title "Gojūni Sanji," the Fifty-two Temples in the Mountains. Remembering the first time she had made love to Karumi after her own "body-swap," Mitsune shuddered; with just a touch and a little application of ki in the right places, the would-be reporter had been turned to mush by the tōshi. That had caused both Naru and Motoko to freak out when they had seen their friend openly clean her lover's tonsils with her tongue a day later in the living room…but being a tōshi — and being a girl, too — meant that Karumi was both willing and able to put Keitarō's normal tormentors down with a ferocity that neither girl had ever experienced before from ANY of the Urashima Clan.
Pity those two just can't understand how much Kei-kun cares for them, how much he was willing to allow them to keep doing that to him, the would-be reporter mused to herself as she rested her head on Karumi's shoulder. Not to mention blames himself every time something goes wrong with either of them. Look what he did when Tsuruko came around and tried to drag her back to Kyōto to take over the dōjō. Kei-kun went along with Motoko-chan when she told Tsuruko that she was engaged to him…and he actually LET Taiko-chan go to town on Tsuruko when she wrecked Motoko-chan's sword. A giggle before she leaned in to kiss Karumi. And after what Negako said to her…
Just before the Second Tag Race…
"Ane-ue…"
"Calm yourself, Motoko. If Tsuruko cannot understand how much harm she has unleashed on you by forcing you to embrace your 'duty' so early in your life, she will be made to understand what she has done wrong. Be satisfied with that."
Hearing that voice, Motoko turned to stare wide-eyed at Negako before turning to gaze once more on the shrieking magpie that had — until a half-minute ago — had been her elder sister Tsuruko. As the others who lived at the Hinata-sō all gaped at the sheer level of magical power and skill that Keitarō's other genetic twin Taeko had just demonstrated, the kanrinin himself took a deep breath. "Does it have to be THIS harsh, Negako-san?" he asked as he stared at the grandmaster of Saikō Jinseijutsu-ryū.
The magpie — who had collapsed head-first to the floor after Taiko had changed Tsuruko with a wave of her hand — dizzily looked up at the man who had pretended to be her future brother-in-law. She then froze on hearing the voice of the being that she — like Motoko — had been conditioned to view of as the darkest of all Kami in many childhood bedtime stories. "For someone as well-trained and well-experienced as Tsuruko is, Keitarō, she lacks the necessary empathy to understand that different people develop at different rates. And that Motoko was nowhere close to being ready to assume the mantle of leadership of the Shinmei Aoyama-ryū." Her dark eyes then focused on Tsuruko, which made the retired Shinmei-ryū heiress wince. "I will inform His Majesty of this situation, Tsuruko. I doubt he will be pleased at how callous those who have willingly served his predecessors in the past have evolved." A sigh. "I believe I will have no choice but to request other families who consider themselves students in the Shinmei-ryū for their assistance when the time comes to move in on Phentax Twelve."
Motoko and the transformed Tsuruko jerked on hearing THAT statement, both of them shivering at the thought of involving the Son of Heaven himself in their family's affairs. Standing nearby, Hiromi then sighed. "Onē-sama, what is the name of that bright girl who currently attends the Mahora Academy that practices Shinmei-ryū? She's one of Kaede-san's friends. One of her classmates, I believe…"
"Sakurazaki Setsuna," Motoko immediately answered, and then she gasped on realising that she had actually answered a question from a being that she feared almost as much as she feared Moroboshi Negako! Quickly composing herself, she took a deep breath. "She is part-hanyō, though." As Negako gazed tranquilly at her, the younger Aoyama then caught herself, realizing that THIS being wouldn't care at all about things like THAT. "She also has sworn herself to protect Konoe Konoka-sama. She's the granddaughter of the headmaster of Mahora and the daughter of the leader of His Majesty's Magical Commandery of Kansai. I doubt she'll leave Konoka-sama's side."
Negako gave a slight nod, those dark orbs softening ever so slightly to indicate that she had approved of Motoko speaking out like that. "I was intending to break the curse Nagi Springfield placed on Evangeline McDowell and allow her to become an Avalonian when an opportunity presented itself. No doubt, given the loyalty all of that group show towards Nagi's son Negi — as Kaede herself described to me — recruiting Setsuna will not be difficult." She then focused on Tsuruko. "Taiko, transform Tsuruko back to human form and return her to her dōjō. Tsuruko, Motoko is under my family's protection and you will not be allowed to strike her from your clan's koseki." As Motoko gasped on hearing that proclamation, the ninjutsu grandmaster then added, "See to it you meditate on the mistakes you have made to date. When you are ready to properly apologise to your sister for your actions, you may then return."
With that, she walked out of the room…
Hopefully, Tsuruko will wake up to what's going on and come back to apologise to Motoko, Mitsune mused to herself. To believe that Kei-kun's not the only one who has screwed-up relatives who don't care for what they do to their kids…
Becoming an Avalonian had been quite an eye-opener for the would-be reporter. On sensing Keitarō for the first time — after she had been given a quick lesson by Negako to understand what the various sensations actually meant — Mitsune had been driven to tears to feel how much LOVE the man had for all of them. That even after all the times all the girls had come down on his head for one reason or another — or in Maehara Shinobu's case, hadn't really done anything to make the others wake up to what they were ultimately doing to the poor man — he still wanted them to feel fully at home here at the Hinata-sō. That had made a weeping Mitsune prostrate herself before him the night of her "body-swap," gladly offering to do ANYTHING — even offer her body to him! — to repay back all the things he had done for her. Fortunately, Keitarō had calmed her down enough to tell her that all was forgiven…though he did state that he wouldn't mind getting the unpaid rent so he could do some equipment improvements to the Hinata-sō. Fortunately for Mitsune, Karumi — whose tactically sharp eye for details could help select the best horses at races run across the nation — pitched in to make sure that all the rent money had been paid up within a week of Mitsune's transformation into an Avalonian…with a tidy nest-egg remaining and now collecting interest in a bank.
And while Naru and Motoko were still being their normally stubborn selves when it came to Keitarō — though now with the Kan'yōgan techniques in play, neither of them had been able to lay a hand on the poor man since the Moroboshi siblings had moved in full-time to the Forbidden Annex — and Kaolla Su was still trying to do anything to get her "Onii-chan" to play with her like he had "done" beforehand, the other residents had accepted all the recent changes at the Hinata-sō without complaint, especially when it came to having another man living here in Moroboshi Ataru. People were always around to help Shinobu and Keitarō with cleaning chores, dinner, laundry and other necessary duties…though with Taiko's magic, the need to seriously splurge on building repairs had been rendered almost mute. Seta Noriyasu's adopted daughter Sarah McDougal had stopped trying to hit Keitarō with things popped out of mallet-space like she had done before — again, the Kan'yōgan had made all of Sarah's efforts at hurting the man useless, even if she used her growing Jiéquándào skills — even if she still called him "dork" and other such nicknames. Fortunately for her, Karumi and Taiko had realised right away that the poor girl was simply starving for love and affection with her adopted father's prolonged absences and had become the young Californian's adopted aunts as soon as they began living full-time at the Hinata-sō. Otohime Mutsumi had — while she was clearly rediscovering her own love for Keitarō — stopped trying to push the man into accepting Naru without forcing the latter to undergo some serious re-thinking of all her habits when it came to the kanrinin. And with the Moroboshi sisters — though deep down, Negako STILL scared the shit of Mitsune! — and the Redet sisters living now with them…with others also soon to join them…
Things are going to be really interesting here, Mitsune mused…
The living room…
"Hey, wage-slaves! We're back!"
Motoko perked on hearing that voice, and then she turned to smile as two people came into the living room from the lobby. "Okaeri nasai, Tariko-san, Taiko-sama," she said as she rose to bow to the just-arrived Moroboshi Tariko and Urashima Taiko. "Tariko-san, Hensō-san's friends just came back. Their sisters came with them. They're in the Annex right now with your brother and sisters." She then shuddered.
Tariko blinked. "Hey! What's wrong?" she said as she moved to place a calming hand on the young kendō-ka's shoulder. "What happened?"
A sigh. "Two tōshi came by, too. Cousins of the ghost your brother dated some time ago. One of them is Ryofu Hōsen, the other Ryomō Shimei. They're in the Annex."
A nod. "Nozomi's cousins, huh? Well, better go check on them."
With that, Ataru's true twin sister headed out of the living room. Motoko watched her go, and then she turned to stare at Taiko. "What news of the Yonaga?"
The tokkaebi-turned-Avalonian — like her sister Karumi, Taiko looked like a female Keitarō, complete with reading glasses over her eyes; being spiritually Korean, though, Taiko wore traditional hanbok in lieu of Japanese clothing — breathed out. "We traced down a former officer of the unit that was the administrative formation in charge of that ship," she said as she took her seat nearby. "Sadly, he was playing with things he shouldn't have years ago and his brain was nearly destroyed because of it. We did trace down Yonaga's location to somewhere in the land of the Čukči…but that is a piece of territory as large as Korea itself. To locate the ship…"
Motoko hummed. "The Čukči? Eastern Siberia, you mean?"
"Ne," Taiko answered in her native language; even if she spoke Japanese with the same Tōkyō accent her brother possessed, she still used Korean terms of affection and basic titles. "People have been told and the word is getting out now to find them."
The young kendō-ka nodded. While she did feel some resentment and anger over a spell that Taiko had unleashed on her and Naru right before Tsuyoko's visit — said spell would, on triggering when they attacked him, make them experience all the pain that Keitarō had experienced at Naru's and Motoko's hands all at once…though such a spell didn't physically hurt them — she had to admit that the former tokkaebi was a quite nice person when you didn't arouse her anger. Which was an insanely foolish thing to do; when the fireplace poker that had housed the spirit of the tokkaebi then known as T'aeja had been brought back to Japan in the late 1590s and re-forged into the blade known these days as the Yōkatana Hinata, said being had possessed its then-owner, Urashima Tadaoki — a former retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi — and went on a rampage that had nearly burned all of Kyōto to ashes, not to mention wipe out the Imperial family and all their retainers. Had it not been for the intervention of one of the Moroboshi Clan possessing the Saikō Jinseijutsu database within his subconscious mind, T'aeja would have extracted a horrible vengeance on the nation that had nearly razed her own spiritual homeland from Pusan to Paekdu-san; dozens of Shinmei-ryū practitioners — including several of Motoko's own ancestors — had fallen at the possessed Tadaoki's hands before he had been defeated.
In then remembering what Taeko had done to Tsuruko when the former Shinmei-ryū heiress had come to the Hinata-sō to force Motoko back to Kyōto, Motoko tried not to shudder again. Taeko — while being protective of her adopted brother — had her own sense of right and wrong, her own sense of what was proper in life. Such was partially influenced from her being born a tokkaebi, a playful sprite — in a way, the equivalent to a tsukumogami from Japan — who always did ugly things to people who deserved such bad things to happen to them. Partially influenced by the genetics of her new body; the Avalonians were forced by thousands of years of Sagussan DNA to care for the young…and would gladly unleash horrible punishments to those people who would abuse same or abandon their children to cruel fates. And partially because — unlike other members of the Urashima Clan, who wanted the Yōkatana Hinata destroyed or forever sealed away — Keitarō had gladly agreed to Negako's suggestion to allow Taiko to be reborn as his own sister. Such had given him another sibling beyond Karumi who would and did care for him far more than what his parents (who had thrown him out of their house after he failed the Centre Test a second time before he came to the Hinata-sō), adopted sister Kaneko (who wanted to marry him while ignoring his own feelings towards her, which were proper for a big brother towards a younger sister) and his grandmother Hinata (who had given him the manager's position at the Hinata-sō without even warning him that it had been transformed into an all-girl's dorm!) had really been to the man.
There are times I still see him as the spineless, perverted male that I first thought of him as, the kendō-ka mused to herself as she walked into the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. And there are times — especially now that he is effectively shielded from my skills thanks to the Kan'yōgan — that I find myself desiring him in the very same way Lum-san does Moroboshi Ataru! A sigh. Not to mention the times I myself have thought about him, especially after hearing of what happened to him during his training trip, to say anything of learning of his new sisters…!
A cell-phone then chimed off. Reaching into her skirt pocket, she drew out her machine and flipped it open, noting a text message had been written there. Scanning what was there, Motoko gasped. Oh, my…! she breathed out…
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(Posted Sun, 04 Mar 2012 18:30)
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