Error in Calculation

    A Cabbit Chibi production.

    Notes: Divergence after volume nine of the manga. Which means... _*SPOILERS!*_ Read at your own risk. You have been warned.

    Spoiler warning: The last thing I need is to be yelled at for not making it clear enough. Here thar be _*SPOILERS!!!!*_

    Disclaimer: Love Hina belongs to TV Tokyo and Ken Akamatsu.

    ---------------------------

    Hot. Too hot. Heavy. Something hot and heavy. This one should be obvious; he _was_, after all, a Toudai student. Well. Kind of.

    But for some reason, his mind was having a hard time keeping a solid grip on the situation, and he kept cycling around that system of hot, heavy, uncomfortable, not seeing a path of escape.

    "Ugh," he managed, before succumbing to a dizzying whirlpool of jumbled images.

    ***

    "If two people in love go to Toudai... they'll find happiness."

    "If it really works... let's go to Toudai together, okay?"

    "When we grow up, we'll definitely meet at Toudai again!"

    "It's a promise!"

    ***

    Elsewhere, wandering about the inn in her preferred customary tipsy haze, Konno Mitsune sought idly for something to do. Or more appropriately, someone to bother. No matter that it was only just after noon, and she'd skipped lunch in favor of a light drink.

    Shinobu was safely ensconced in her domain, firmly making sure that chores got done, and that dinner would be ready when it was supposed to be. Mitsune had a strong suspicion that attempting to bother the girl would result in the loss of one very precious bottle of sake.

    Naru was busy studying with Mutsumi in her room near Haruka's, and Mitsune already knew of the Otohime girl's ability to down liquor -- nearly enough to rival her own. Not wanting to risk that, she removed Naru and Mutsumi from her mental list of people she could bother.

    Well, that left two people, Motoko, and Keitaro. But Motoko was away from Hinata-Sou, and Keitaro was deathly ill. Not, of course, that anyone was worried.

    No mere illness could hope to destroy Keitaro. He had proven himself to be invincible to the point that Naru expected him to attempt a jump onto a moving airplane, not to mention the times he had gotten stabbed in the head, beaten, mauled, and so on. It had taken a full-sized building collapsing on him to even break his leg.

    Why, the only living person with anything approaching Keitaro's constitution was Seta, and he had managed to demonstrate how badly that resilience was needed not long ago, in his courtship of Haruka. Surely he was durable enough to withstand some taunting while he was under the influences of a severe cold.

    Settled on her course of action, Mitsune zeroed in on Keitaro's room, not entirely surprised to see Shinobu chatting with a bleary eyed and confused Keitaro. The Toudai student mumbled something nonsensical about 'Liddo-kun' around a mouthful of soup, as Shinobu spoon-fed it too him.

    Mitsune leaned against the doorway, smiling brightly, and hiding her bottle of sake behind her with her free hand. "Hey, Shinobu-chan, taking care of your boyfriend?"

    The girl colored suddenly, dropping the spoon and spilling its contents on Keitaro. She brought her fists up to her face and shook her head back and forth quickly. "It's not like that! It's -- It's -- It's --" The stuttering may have continued, but Shinobu's eyes fell upon Keitaro's clock, and she leapt to her feet, inadvertently knocking the owner of said timepiece over and into his bowl of soup -- face first. The schoolgirl babbled incoherently to herself as she dashed towards the kitchen, her extremities reduced to agitated blurs. "Eeeee!" A moment later a confused, "Urashima-sempai," negotiated its way free of the jumbled noises, leaving Keitaro alone with Mitsune.

    Mitsune blinked. While nothing new, it was still odd to watch. Shrugging, she approached Keitaro, still facedown in his soup-bowl. "Blurbl," he commented.

    Snorting, Mitsune prodded his shoulder. "You okay, Keitaro?"

    "Blarblurb," he opined, before sitting up slowly and groping blindly for the towel that Shinobu had left for him. Wiping his face off, he groaned. "I feel horrible..." He slumped back into his bed, dropping the towel on a pile of dirtied washrags that Shinobu had been using to keep his forehead cool. He moaned weakly, "Uuuh... I should be studying for classes... I'm never going to get anywhere like this..."

    Mitsune winked, proffering the sake bottle towards Keitaro. "Working isn't that bad, Urashima. And you should be getting better, not studying." She giggled, taking back the ignored bottle and chiding, "You'll never get better if you push yourself..."

    The prone boy grunted absently, pulling his blanket tighter about himself and ignoring the spilled soup.

    Mitsune made a 'tsk'ing noise, and wiped at it with the abandoned towel for a moment. "You should take better care of yourself, Urashima. You wouldn't want to die and leave behind a hurt girl, would you?"

    Cracking one eye slightly open, Keitaro groaned, "Who?"

    Mitsune clasped her hands to her chest dramatically, not missing the way Keitaro's eyes followed the resultant secondary motions. "Oh," she cried out, "whatever would I do without you, Keitaro my love?"

    The recipient of such supposed love blinked twice warily, then shook his head, removing his glasses and pulling his blanket all the way up to his nose. "'Snot funny," he mumbled through the thick cloth.

    Mitsune dropped her pose, pausing only to partake briefly of her liquor. "Well," she commented, "you know I was just kidding. But you should take care of yourself." She frowned suddenly, offering the bottle to Keitaro again. "You sure you don't want some? Clear that cold right up..."

    He groaned, shaking his head and letting his eyes drift shut. "No... I'm real tired..."

    The woman pouted, feeling deprived. "Hey, how about I read you a story, like last time?"

    A mixed jumble of nonsensical noises was her response, though she thought that she could make out a 'last time' in the murmur. "Awww..." she pouted, taking another swig of her drink as Keitaro's blanket rose past his eyes. "Are you hiding from me?" she cooed, wondering at the boy, and unmindful of her increasing state of intoxication. "Hehehe... you can trust big sister Mitsune..."

    ***

    Hot. Heavy... but soft. Very soft.

    "If two people in love go to Toudai... they'll find happiness."

    There was something -- a sharp pain? -- or was that... He was too confused to tell for certain, mired as he was in the thick miasma of confused images.

    "If it really works... let's go to Toudai together, okay?"

    A face swam into his from the distance. Naru's... But it wasn't Naru...

    "When we grow up, we'll definitely meet at Toudai again!"

    Then Naru's face was gone, swept to one side and replaced by a new one -- this one Mutsumi's. But it couldn't have been her -- she said as much herself...

    "It's a promise!"

    But he wasn't even sure who he was talking to, as Mutsumi briefly blended back into Naru, then the pair vanished, leaving a third face behind, but one he couldn't reconcile completely with Naru _or_ Mutsumi...

    And it was still too hot. But nice.

    ***

    Mitsune woke; feeling the all-too-familiar resurgence of bile and accompanying headache that heralded waking after imbibing heavily. "Ooog," she managed, able to sense that the oncoming hangover would be a bad one. "Joy," she mumbled.

    A wave of nausea and faint pain swept through her. A hand rose to her head, patting it softly, and managing to ease the pain somewhat. She stretched, the patting hand falling to one side, as a soft snore escaped --

    Mitsune sat up. Fast. Which proved to be a mistake, as her protesting brain, still recovering from what it had considered a near-lethal dosage of alcohol, promptly tried to flood the entire range of her senses with pain.

    She clenched her teeth together, wishing she had Keitaro's tolerance to the adverse. Seeing that it was time to take stock of the situation, she searched for the nearest source of alcohol.

    Salvation was close at hand, but she paused before imbibing again, and reconsidered the situation. Setting the bottle aside for the moment, she rose unsteadily, and retrieved her missing articles of clothing. A quick physical inventory of herself revealed more than she really wanted to know -- enough to ignore the pain as her brain conceded that a _little_ shock was appropriate for the situation.

    Setting her bottle down, she threw the blanket back over Keitaro, and crept over towards his underwear drawer, not trusting the short distance down the hall over the inherent... secrecy... of the secret passages throughout Hinata-Sou.

    ***

    Keitaro woke to Shinobu's prodding at his shoulder, and halfway sat up before sinking back to the futon and groaning. "Ugh. I feel horrible..."

    Shinobu's eyes were bright with worry, as she asked in a hushed voice, "Do you want anything, Urashima-sempai?"

    He shook his head, sighing. "No... thank you, Shinobu-chan. I'll manage." He gave the weak approximation of a smile, and straightened up slowly, falling back to the bed as he noticed that his pajamas had come nearly completely off. He dismissed it as tossing and turning in his sleep, and shrugged away the worry.

    Shinobu's eyes remained firmly glued to Keitaro, however, pinning him to his futon. "Sempai?"

    "Um," he began, clearing his throat. "Can you leave me alone for a moment, Shinobu-chan? I think I need to go..." he trailed off, the covers pulled up to his chin.

    The girl nodded slowly, rising and gliding to the door in an easy motion. "Dinner will be ready soon, Sempai. Do you want to try eating something solid, or just soup?"

    Keitaro winced as his stomach made a gurgling noise. "Something solid, Shinobu-chan...."

    She nodded again, disappearing and closing the door behind her.

    Climbing to his feet, Keitaro's eyes bugged out at what he saw. "Oh no," he whispered, grabbing his fallen boxers, and using them as a crude washcloth to clean himself. While he wasn't a forerunner in the field of medicine and biological sciences, he knew that blood was generally a bad sign. Especially _there_.

    Swallowing nervously, he cleaned himself off, wrapped himself in a robe, and crept towards the private bath that the other tenants afforded him. Pausing for a moment to think things through, he grabbed a clean change of clothes, and hid the bloodstained underwear and bedclothes with his other dirty laundry.

    ***

    Shinobu watched Keitaro trudge down the hall towards his bath, as somber and devoid of life as if the Angel of Death itself accompanied him. Sighing, she crept into his room, resolving to help him until he got better -- maybe a pleasant surprise like doing his laundry.

    She smiled at the thought of Keitaro thanking her for the kindness after his recovery, and the love that might blossom... she _had_ sworn to pursue him harder, and if this would get him, she would be all too willing to do it. Even if it meant washing... washing... She giggled slightly, her face red at the mere thought of handling his underwear.

    Rounding up his clothing while he was away from his room, she grabbed his blanket, replacing it with a clean one after flipping the futon over. Every little bit to help...

    Humming contentedly to herself, she waved to Suu and Sarah, running down the corridor happily in pursuit of the flying hot spring turtle. The pair of girls waved back, while Tamago managed to emit a single, "Myu!" before the trio disappeared around the corner.

    Whistling quietly, Shinobu wandered into the washroom, setting down her laundry basket and smiling cheerfully at Mitsune, who was just finishing washing some of her own laundry. The woman seemed even paler than Shinobu generally expected her to be. "Kitsune-san? Is everything okay?"

    The woman jerked upright, startled, and bit her tongue. "Eh... Nothing to worry about, Shinobu-chan.... Just trying to clean up a little mess I made." Standing up, she stuffed her laundry into a spare basket, and began to trudge towards the balcony set aside for drying clothes. "Nothing important...."

    Shinobu frowned, setting down the bundle of Keitaro's clothing. "Ooh..." she chastised herself, "I nearly forgot to take care of dinner!" Making a mental note to finish Keitaro's laundry later, she tucked the basket in a corner where it wouldn't be disturbed, then traipsed towards the kitchen.

    Motoko was waiting at the table, the coldly beautiful swordswoman frowning absently. "Is something wrong, Motoko-san?" Shinobu queried.

    Blinking, Motoko shook her head. "I suppose it's nothing... I do, however, feel something is amiss. I simply cannot place it. I'm sure it's not important." So saying, she shook her head again, still frowning, and wandered away.

    Shinobu dismissed it, turning her attention instead to the battleground that _she_ ruled, and Motoko did not. The culinary battleground. "Something good for Urashima-sempai..." she mused aloud.

    ***

    Motoko set her sword against the wall near the door, already having her laundry gathered. She glanced out furtively, sighing in relief when Shinobu and Suu were seen in the distance, still pursuing Tamago. As long as the turtle was not near, her laundry could be washed in relative safety.

    She frowned thoughtfully, not looking as she grabbed the basket and set about washing.

    Blinking in surprise, she removed the first article from the basket, more than a little startled to see a bloodstain on...

    She was on her feet in a second, able to ascertain that the clothing was not hers. Such bloodstains on feminine undergarments happened from time to time, but... "Urashima?" she said wonderingly. Blood on his clothing? Just how ill _was_ he?

    The swordswoman poked through his clothing for a moment, trying to gauge where he was wounded, then paled suddenly. "Urashima," she said again, a faint note of respect and worry in her voice. Glaring decisively at the bloodied garment, she intoned, "I must tell the others quickly."

    ***

    Mitsune sat uneasily, finding it more comfortable than walking at the moment, along with the other assembled tenants -- sans Keitaro -- in the impromptu meeting. Suu was 'on guard' for Keitaro in the hallway, along with Sarah.

    Motoko stared at the assembled women for a moment, Mutsumi and Naru having returned from their studies, and wanting to visit with Keitaro to see if he was feeling better. Mutsumi offered her typical blank smile, while Naru's expression was closer to apprehensive worry.

    Shinobu simply looked confused, and Haruka was apparently busy with Seta, and thusly absent. Clearing her throat, Motoko held up a piece of cloth. "This is Urashima's," she stated simply.

    At the ensuing silence, she glanced over, making doubly that sure she was holding his boxer shorts. Coloring slightly, but maintaining her control, she flipped the underwear around, revealing the bloodstain.

    "Ahem," she coughed. "This is Urashima's, and it appears he's worse off than we thought."

    Complete silence fell, as everyone stared at the bloodstained boxers. Mitsune wisely chose to remain silent, simply paling, and edging towards the door.

    "Oh, my," commented Mutsumi. "We'd better ask him to make out his will!"

    Naru stuttered for a long moment, one finger stabbing repeatedly towards the garment in Motoko's hands. "But-- but-- but-- but--" Swallowing, she cut herself off, and stared gloomily at the article. "Oh, no..."

    Shinobu's eyes widened to their maximum extent, before they simply rolled upwards, and she swooned, luckily landing on Mutsumi, who had collapsed on the floor a few moments prior. Motoko nodded solemnly, and opened her mouth to say more, but was silenced by a loud, "Keitaro!" from the hallway, Suu's evident warning cry. The cry was echoed a moment later by a loud 'thump', and Keitaro slid into the room on his face, still wearing his robe.

    "Ow!" He groaned, climbing to his feet and wearing an apologetic expression. "Sorry, everyone..." Looking pale and drained, and not able to manage even his traditional smile, he turned and trudged back towards his room, escorted by a slowly drifting Tamago.

    Clearing her throat, Motoko retrieved Keitaro's boxers from behind her back, flushing more deeply at them. "At any rate, I'm worried about Urashima."

    Mutsumi sat up suddenly, dislodging Shinobu and waking the fallen girl. "I know!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "We can ease his last moments on earth!" So saying, she stood, and began to march towards Keitaro's room.

    Overcoming her apprehension, Naru interposed herself between Mutsumi and the hallway. "Now wait just a minute!" Breathing deeply to restrain herself, she gestured towards Keitaro's room.  "That's silly, Otohime-san. Let's do the sensible thing, and take him to a doctor."

    Shinobu nodded emphatically, moving towards the phone. "I'll call one now!"

    In short order, the ailing Urashima was rushed -- protesting -- to the hospital.

    ***

    "Well, sensei?" Naru asked expectantly. "What... what's wrong?"

    The man in question, lean, thin, and with a very short mop of straggly hair, sighed, holding his clipboard in front of him as he spoke in an authoritative tone. "Miss, I'm sure this is going to come as a surprise to you, but according to the test results, I'm afraid that the analysis is..."

    He paused, biting his lip and glancing at the assembled girls. "Yes?" Motoko urged. "What?"

    "Pregnant," the doctor concluded.

    The assembled girls stared blankly, excepting Mitsune, who simply fell out of her seat, shivering and shaking her head quickly.

    "Um, Takada-sensei?" Mutsumi breached the silence. "How did Keitaro-kun get a baby?" Mitsune twitched violently.

    This garnered a raised eyebrow, and the doctor explained, "Funny you should ask, you see... um... oh, shoot. Wrong chart. Sorry about that. Keitaro, you said?"

    "Urashima!" Naru yelled. "Urashima Keitaro!"

    Cowed, the man flipped through the pages on his clipboard nervously, not noticing as Keitaro walked into the room behind him. "Other than one... exotic symptom, all that your friend has is a very severe case of the flu. He's not pregnant." Mitsune twitched once more, shuddering from her spot on the floor.

    "Pregnant?" Keitaro asked, rubbing at his nose and sniffling.

    Twitching a final time, Mitsune leapt to her feet and tore out of the clinic, screaming, "Noooo!"

    Keitaro scratched the back of his head, coughing. "What was that about?" he mumbled.

    The doctor glanced at him, shrugging. "Who knows? I've got a prescription for you, though. Fill this out, take it twice a day, and you should be better within a few days."

    ***

    Returning to Hinata-Sou, Keitaro was faced with a new problem:

    He was going to live.

    This was a problem because, for whatever reason, all of the girls knew everything about his medical condition. Namely, however it had happened, something resulting in a pair of bloodstained boxers. The embarrassment was extreme -- Haruka had laughed herself sick, nearly choking on her cigarette when Motoko explained the events that led up to him being carted off to a hospital.

    He pulled his blanket up further, leaving nothing but the very top of his head poking out.

    "Hey!" a voice called out to him. "Time to eat something, Keitaro. How about some soup?"

    Keitaro peeked out from underneath the blanket, looking at Naru as she sat on the floor by his futon, watching him expectantly. "No soup," he muttered. "I'm hoping to get worse and die."

    Naru rolled her eyes, seizing him firmly and propping him upright without his cooperation. "Oh come on," she mumbled, "it's not _that_ bad."

    Grudgingly giving into her insistent attitude, Keitaro accepted the soup bowl. "Okay," he sighed.

    Naru checked her watch, and frowned. "Sorry, Keitaro, I have to go -- take care of yourself while I'm gone."

    He sighed again, setting the soup bowl down and retreating back inside his blanket as Naru left. "Not fair," he grumped.

    Hearing footsteps nearby the you man sat up again, gloomily awaiting the inevitable mocking.

    Mitsune was the first to arrive, glancing around her and closing the door after she entered. Keitaro coughed, fumbling for some tissues and waving halfheartedly. "Hey, Keitaro," Mitsune said, seeming much more subdued from her normal demeanor.

    "Hey," he said, sighing. "What are you here for?"

    She winced, looking away. "Oh, well, I, uh, that is, you see... about yesterday, Keitaro."

    "What about it?" he asked, face reddening at the memories again.

    "Er... you know... I just wanted to say that it's the kind of thing that can happen sometimes, if you're careless."

    Keitaro stared at her blankly. "What?" he managed after a moment. "They think it might be a bladder infection. Or maybe it was a kidney stone. Or something. It hasn't happened again."

    The woman spent a long moment frozen stock still, simply staring at him. "Um, yeah. And, uh, if you were more careful, that probably never would have happened. Yeah."

    Shaking his head, Keitaro spotted a discarded bottle in the corner of his room. He squinted at it blearily. "Did you leave a bottle of sake here?" he asked.

    "What? Me? No! I mean, uh, yeah, of course, I just came to pick that up, yeah!" Mitsune snatched the bottle, trying -- and failing -- to laugh casually. "Well, gotta go, Kei-kun!" So saying, the woman took a hearty swig from the bottle, grinned, and fled, swiftly closing the door behind her.

    Keitaro shook his head, settling into his futon to rest.

    ***

    Outside of Keitaro's room, Mitsune spat the sake out over the railing of the deck, glaring at the bottle mistrustfully. Sighing, she marched to the kitchen and disposed of it while Shinobu was absent, likely working on her homework.

    Still rattled from the previous day's mistakes, and the very real threat of... something she wasn't entirely prepared for... she wandered back to her room, and collapsed onto her own futon. "Ugh," she moaned.

    Plans slowly percolated in her head. First and foremost, she'd need to take a test to find out if she was...

    Shuddering, she forced herself to acknowledge the word. Pregnant.

    "Bleah," she mumbled.

    She'd need to take a test to find out. Of course, from what she knew, it would take a while to show up if it _was_ the case.

    Further decisions would need to wait until she found out decisively. But planning for either eventuality would never hurt.

    ***

    Some two weeks after the flu was finally defeated and gone, Keitaro took a moment to lean on the balcony railing and muse over the issue. He hadn't thought about it till that precise minute, but that was the nature of illness, he supposed. That and the fact that the embarrassment of the... well, he wasn't sure what it was, but it hadn't happened again, and no one else had brought it up. One way or another, the embarrassment was fading.

    He simply never realized how nice it was to be healthy until afterwards. Smiling broadly, he raised his arms over his head, stretching, and enjoying the faint scent of hot water and sakura on the chill breeze.

    A faint cry caught his attention, and he lowered his arms, glancing about curiously. Mutsumi and Naru would be coming over later -- they needed to study, and agreed to study with him. While he wasn't in the class, or any class at the moment, studying would probably give him an advantage when he finally began.

    But the cry wasn't from either of the pair; instead it was from Mitsune, who capered happily down the hallway opposite the balcony, waving a sheet of paper victoriously. Curious, he called out, "Mitsune, what's going on?"

    Freezing solid, the woman turned to look at him, hurriedly shoving the paper behind her back, as though he could read it from that distance. "Uh, nothing!" she responded. "Nothing at all!"

    Mutsumi and Naru approached from around the corner of the main building, and both stopped behind Mitsune, examining the woman.

    "Ara?" Mutsumi exclaimed. "You got a bad mark, Kitsune-san? Did you fail a test?"

    Mitsune whirled, stuffing the paper into a pocket, then waving her hands quickly. "It's nothing!" she yelped. "It's nothing at all!"

    "A test?" Keitaro wasn't entirely aware of crossing the distance between himself and the three women, but Mutsumi and Naru stared at him with expressions bordering on shock, and Mitsune leapt away as though he had sprung from a shadow. "Mitsune! I never knew you were trying to get into a college all this time! Why didn't you tell us!"

    "No, no," the woman protested. "That's not it at--"

    "Ah! Are you going to go to Toudai with Kei-kun and Naru-chan?" Mutsumi asked happily, offering an encouraging smile.

    "No, I mean, I, uh--" Mitsune managed, quickly being overridden again by Keitaro.

    Keitaro shushed her, grinning happily, "Mitsune! You should have told us, come on, we'll do everything in our power to make sure you get a good result on that test next time!"

    "Noooo! No! I don't _want_ a good result on this test!"

    That brought Keitaro, Naru, and Mutsumi up short.

    After a moment of silence, while Mitsune sweated nervously that she might have given too much away, Keitaro asked, "What kind of test would you want to fail?"

    "Maybe a really bad college?" Mutsumi asked. "I know! Kitsune-san wanted to fail so she wouldn't have to go to a bad college!"

    Keitaro frowned. "That doesn't make a lot of sense," he noted. "What was it, Mitsune?"

    "Nothing," she said, backing away. "Um, I have to go, and uh, well, go. Bye!"

    There was a long moment of silence as the three watched Mitsune hurriedly dash away.

    "Well," Naru commented, "that was interesting."

    "Ara, Kei-kun, are you going to help Kitsune-san get into Toudai?" Mutsumi queried sweetly.

    Keitaro blinked, considering. "Well," he said, "I suppose I could. But... well, I guess I don't have anything else to do with my time. I mean, I was considering... Well, yeah. Why not? I'll ask her if she's interested."

    Naru smiled at that. "Good, then you'll be in great condition to be a Toudai student when next year comes around!" she assured him.

    "Yeah, that's true," he allowed. "I'll ask her about it, actually. You two might as well study without me -- I'm not taking the class yet anyway."

    "Don't try anything perverted with Mitsune," Naru warned, a good-natured smile betraying that she only meant it as a joke.

    ***

    Mitsune winced, realizing how obvious it was that she had been hiding something. "Ugh," she managed. "I'll just pretend it never happened. Maybe they will, too."

    She nodded to herself in confirmation, and shredded the paper in her hands to illegibility. No reason to leave _that_ bit of evidence lying around where it could cause her trouble.

    A knock sounded from her door, and she hung her head, carefully stowing the scraps of paper in the trash bucket near her bedside. More thorough disposal would have to wait until things were smoothed over.

    "Yes?" she asked warily, sliding the door open a crack.

    Keitaro stood on the opposite side of the same door, smiling at her hopefully. "Mitsune?" he asked. "Do you... do you have a minute?"

    Sighing, she nodded, sliding her door open and taking a seat in her own bed, watching him expectantly.

    He stood a short distance away, glancing around her room for a moment before allowing his eyes to settle on her. "Um... Are you interested in going to college?"

    Mitsune rolled her eyes. The entire thing was just so stupid. "No, of course not," she said. "I was... er... I mean..." She paused, considering her options. In the inn, more appropriately a _dorm_, really, school and tests were what people thought of more than anything else. Of course, they were entrance exams, not... pregnancy tests... Mitsune shuddered at that. That was a responsibility that she _really_ didn't want.

    Steeling herself, she feigned guilt. "Okay," she admitted obliquely. "You caught me. But my grades in school were never really that great, so I wasn't sure if I could make it in. And I failed the test..." she trailed off there. How to continue the lie? Why did she want to fail to get in?

    "So," Keitaro managed, sounding deeply thoughtful, "your parents give you money to stay here while you study, and as long as you don't get into school, they'll keep taking care of you, but once you get into school, you're not sure you can make it?"

    "Er..." Mitsune furrowed her brow in thought. It wasn't a very good lie, but if it was logical to Keitaro, it might be good enough... "Yeah, that's it exactly."

    "Not a problem!" Keitaro proclaimed confidently. "I'll help you study, and we'll make sure that you get into a good school -- heck, maybe you can even make it into Todai! -- and then you won't have to worry! With me, and Naru, and Otohime-chan to study with, you'll have no problem!"

    "Uh... well, I'm already working, Keitaro, I don't know if I can go to school," she mumbled. "I mean, how am I supposed to manage that?"

    "Not a problem," Keitaro continued, waving a hand dismissively. "That's what your parents are sending you money for, right?"

    Mitsune mentally berated herself. "Well, actually, you see..."

    "They aren't giving you enough?" Keitaro asked warily.

    "Yes," Mitsune confirmed, nodding.

    "Okay," Keitaro said seriously, drawing a pad of paper from one pocket, along with a pencil. "Let's see here... Now, first off, studying is cheap; it's the materials that cost. Luckily, I have all the supplies you'll need to study. I think I see a problem with you taking the practice tests, since they might conflict with your work schedule... so we'll have to make sure we get all those dates in advance."

    "But--"

    "Next, your other expenses should be covered by the rent on the dorm, and that's only..." he paused, scribbling some numbers down and muttering to himself. Tamago took advantage of the pause to flutter into the room, landing squarely atop Keitaro's head and studying the notepad intently. "Well, that shouldn't be a huge problem. If it is, I have a little bit of money to spare, and I think that Haruka would be understanding, since you're trying to study _and_ work."

    "But--"

    "The next problem is working out a study schedule that fits with your job. Well, I don't have much else to do myself, so I can probably help you study any time you need, really... Hmm..." He jotted down some last notes, and furrowed his brow thoughtfully. "Okay," he announced. "I just need to know how much your parents send you a month for school, and then I think I can work out everything we need!"

    Mitsune simply stared at Keitaro. He seemed so... in control of the situation. Serious in a way he seldom was about anything other than studying. And, of course, she was still caught in a lie. "Uh... they can only send me five thousand yen a month."

    Keitaro nodded, and scribbled some numbers down, then looked up sharply. "Five thousand yen, Mitsune? That's less than one half your rent!"

    "Er... yeah," she said, not able to meet his eyes. "That's why I have to work."

    "Um... in that case, how much do you make an hour, and how many hours do you work a month?"

    Tiredly, she informed him, "I make about nine hundred yen an hour on average, sometimes less, and I usually work about thirty-five hours a week."

    "How many days?"

    "Usually four, sometimes five," she mumbled. It wasn't something she was exactly proud of.

    "So that works out to about one hundred thirty six thousand and five hundred yen a month," Keitaro mumbled, frowning. "That's much more than you need -- oh, wait, you're probably planning on saving up so that you don't have to work once you get in, right?" Tamago chirped softly, waving a flipper before Keitaro's eyes. He laughed at himself softly, and noted, "Right, and the extra five thousand from your parents. That's a small adjustment." He nodded, tearing off the sheet and handing it to Mitsune. "It's not going to be easy," he admitted. Brightening, he added, "I'll do everything I can to help you out, Mitsune."

    "Er..." she stared at the numbers on the pad. According to the budget that Keitaro had plotted out, she'd be left with almost no spending money, putting the bulk of what she earned into savings. "Um, that... that might work, but it's not going to pay for four years of staying here while I go to college."

    "Not a problem," Keitaro answered, smiling. "You can work on vacations, and... well, since I'm Kanrinin here, I might be able to help out a little bit on that... I'm not really sure, but I can try, at least. We should probably tell Haruka what you're planning, though. An old lady like her probably has a lot of advice!"

    Keitaro's smiling face was smashed into the floor as Haruka entered the room, one foot pinning her nephew down while she gazed at him, perpetually present cigarette hanging loosely from frowning lips. "Hey, Keitaro," she muttered, stepping slightly back and allowing Keitaro to rebound from the blow.

    "Yes, Auntie Haruka?" he asked, looking up and rubbing his nose unhappily.

    "I'm not old," she returned, shooting a gaze that promised more pain were Keitaro not to guard his tongue carefully.

    He looked evasive, and changed the subject, "Uh... right. Um, so do you have advice for Mitsune, since she's planning on going to college now?"

    Haruka's eyebrows rose at that, her gaze shifting from Keitaro to Mitsune. "College?" she asked, keeping most of the surprise out of her voice. "This is new, Mitsune."

    The woman swallowed nervously. Trapped in her own lie, because of a moment of stupidity and getting drunk... "Er... well, yeah. I mean, you know... I, uh, might as well, since poor Urashima here doesn't have anything better to do with his time, having missed the school year... I mean, you know?" Nothing to do now but play along. She could fail the test easily enough, and then she'd simply note that she wasn't cut out for school, and opt to keep on working.

    "I see," Haruka said, narrowing her eyes slightly. "I thought that your parents couldn't afford to send you to college."

    "They can't," Keitaro offered bluntly. "That's why she's working."

    "Oh?" Haruka asked, turning her attention back to Keitaro. "I see. In that case, I suppose that you're trying to see what you can do to help out a struggling tenant, is that right, Kanrinin?"

    "Yes," Keitaro mumbled defiantly. "I mean, it's my job to help out my tenants, right?"

    "Mmm," Haruka noised. "Fine. You two follow me. We can talk finance."

    ***

    Haruka was by no means a foolish woman, outside of her own opinion of herself for dating Seta. Mitsune's behavior was... strange... by her perception. However, Keitaro trusted the girl, despite Haruka's own misgivings.

    Well, in that case she would place responsibility squarely on Keitaro to manage things, after the advice that he seemed to think she would be able to offer. Should Mitsune somehow betray Keitaro's confidences, or the whole thing be an elaborate scheme to play on his emotions for some reason that she couldn't yet fathom... Well, she wasn't an expert at expressing it by any means, but Keitaro was kin, and she'd not hesitate a moment to stand at his side should it become an issue.

    Still, he was an adult, at least, in theory. He should be able to manage himself, and his own life, so she wouldn't interrupt more than was absolutely required. And possibly the occasional body blow to keep Keitaro in line.

    They followed her obediently to her room, where she gestured to the table. Keitaro took an edge of the small square table without hesitation, and Haruka sat to his left, raising an eyebrow as Mitsune sat closer to the corner, favoring the side nearest Keitaro. "Right," she drawled, glancing at Keitaro, and then back to Mitsune. "So, why the sudden change of heart?"

    Mitsune flinched, though the motion was likely far too subtle for Keitaro to even notice, and mumbled, "I decided that I'd given up too soon."

    "That's the spirit!" Keitaro encouraged her. Turning to Haruka, he asked, "What were you going to tell us about finance?"

    Haruka's eyebrow had only dropped for a moment before rising again, this time for Keitaro. "Well, Kanrinin, that means that you have to give her a loan, doesn't it?" she admonished him. It should only take a few moments for the situation to trickle through and reach him.

    He winced, sighing. "I don't have much money to give a loan with," he noted.

    "Then I suppose if you want to help Mitsune, you're going to have to get a job."

    Each exchange across the table had extracted another flinch from Mitsune, until she toppled backwards, scrambling away from the table. "No!" she yelped, climbing back to a sitting position. "It's already enough trouble, I guess being realistic about it, I'm not going to make it, and I should just give up, right?"

    "Hey!" Keitaro protested. "Don't give up yet! And it's not that big an imposition -- I was... I was thinking of doing something else that would have taken me away from Hinata-Sou for almost a year anyway..."

    Haruka's eyebrow remained raised, as she and Mitsune swiveled in tandem to stare at Keitaro in surprise. "Go somewhere else?" Mitsune asked dumbly, sparing Haruka the effort.

    "Well..." Keitaro fidgeted, then nodded. "I was considering going to America with Seta-san... he was going to teach me more about archeology. But... If you're going to try and get into college, then I plan to stay here instead. And since I'll probably have more free time, working for a little extra money to help you out isn't that bad."

    The young man then managed to actually look suave for a moment, causing Haruka to think of Seta. "Uh-huh," she mumbled around her cigarette. "So you're giving up a chance to study abroad in favor of teaching Mitsune so she can get to college, is that it, Keitaro?"

    He stared at his feet, his suave sureness giving way to stubborn resolve. "Yes," he announced. "I can still study with Seta-san for a little bit -- there are digs around here once in a while, remember -- and I can probably help him with the paperwork that goes along with all of his archeology."

    "Instead of going with Seta."

    "Right," Keitaro said again, nodding.

    "If it keeps you mostly of out of his clutches, I approve," Haruka muttered. "Last thing I need is another Seta running around."

    "Urk," Mitsune noised, eyes having grown wide with surprise.

    "Something you want to add, Mitsune?" Haruka asked, finally allowing her eyebrow to return to its normal level.

    "No," Mitsune said quietly, seeming much more subdued than she habitually was. "I... um... Thank you, Urashima," she mumbled, though Haruka wasn't sure if it was directed at her or Keitaro. "I... I need to go to my room for a while. I have to work later tonight."

    Haruka nodded, watching the woman leave, then turned to look at Keitaro, who was lost in thought. "Is there another reason you wanted to stay here?" she queried him quietly.

    Startled, he looked up at her, frowning. "Well," he said slowly. "I... I want to help her, and there's... it feels like I should be here instead of leaving with Seta-san. I don't know why," he admitted, offering a wry grin. "Just a feeling."

    "So be it," she allowed, nodding. "Where are you going to look for work?"

    He sighed, shaking his head. "I hate working," he grumbled. "Probably I'll see if Seta-san can help me out," he admitted. "I should go look for him, actually."

    Haruka nodded quietly. He seemed to be in control of the situation, at least...

    ***

    Back in her room, hopefully to _remain_ alone again, this time, Mitsune slid the door shut, and staggered to her bed, knees failing as she collapsed across it.

    "Oh, crap," she groaned. "What have I gotten myself into now?"

    Never before had a lie failed her so badly. Of course, it wasn't _her_ lie, it was _Keitaro's_ lie. "Someone's got to teach that boy the fine art of deception," she mumbled to herself.

    Of course, she could simply come out, and refuse to speak about the truth behind the matter... but then she would have betrayed Keitaro. She didn't mind petty deceptions, things that were ultimately more annoying than destructive, but... but something that had changed his mind about leaving for America -- which could have made up for his year missing Todai, and more -- was something she wasn't sure she could ever make up.

    Belatedly, she realized that she had passed up her chance to back down, as surprised as she was by Keitaro's admission. Backing out of the entire affair appealed to her much less -- the truth would hurt Keitaro, probably a lot. It was also telling, in her estimation, that Keitaro hadn't even mentioned that he was considering leaving to Naru. One way or another he felt very powerfully about her going to college, which surprised her to no end.

    Though it shouldn't, she realized. As strongly as he felt about _himself_ getting in...

    Bottom line, she decided, the only way to make it through the entire situation -- as little as she liked it -- was to go through with it. Maybe failing the admissions test to Todai would satisfy him. She knew she wasn't really bright enough to get in, which was the reason she hadn't tried to get into college after high school anyway. But _now_ she owed it to him to at least try, and the worst part of it was that she was going to be working through the entire attempt. "Ugh," she groaned.

    Not to mention the extra five thousand yen a month she had implied. She didn't actually have it, and that would hurt her finances. The only thing she could imagine was to actually go to her parents and ask for that allowance, but her parents didn't have that much to spare, and had less faith in her ability than she did herself. That meant, one way or another, another lie.

    The question was simply who she made it to. To Keitaro, and tell him that her parents had cut her off? That might work -- it might even allow her to try and back out of going to school again, but the more she considered that option, the more the terribly unfamiliar guilt of betraying him gnawed at her.

    To her parents? To convince them that she had a better chance than she did? Five thousand yen wasn't much, it was less than half her rent, even, but...

    The truth? Or maybe just most of the truth. She could tell her parents that she was trying to get into college and that Keitaro was all but guaranteed to get her in... That might work, even if they asked to meet him -- having failed as much as he had, he certainly had the credentials to back up knowing how to get into Todai. And better, he was accepted, at the end.

    But that would definitely entail a meeting. She frowned thoughtfully, and glanced at the clock. She had to get ready to go to work soon. Still, using Keitaro... She winced at that. She was in enough trouble already. She'd ask Keitaro for his help without some other pretense.

    And _that_ all boiled down into a lot of favors for a test that she planned to fail. Which meant that unless she wanted to simply be using people for no reason whatsoever, that she would have to actually try to get in.

    She hung her head, sighing unhappily. "I didn't want to be a college student," she moaned.

    ***

    The aged wooden deck beneath his feet was well tended -- enough so that without shoes, he had no fear slivers or catching on an improperly set nail. Were there nails or slivers, well, he was seasoned and well enough trained to avoid them while proceeding with the form.

    The air about him hissed quietly as he brought his blade before him, then to a guard position. He spun, throwing out one arm to push back a non-existent attacker, backing away and sweeping the sword up across as he pulled his other arm back. The attack would easily have upset someone who wasn't expecting to be shoved, and the sword would easily carve through his or her then-opened guard.

    He frowned, wondering how well the maneuver would work in practice. He knew in theory, of course, though he'd seldom had a real chance to use his sword skills of late. A footstep sounded behind him, faint, but present, and he spun, sword extended and missing Keitaro's head by inches as his young protege dropped to the deck, cowering.

    "Ah!" Seta exclaimed, standing down from his offensive stance, and offering a genial smile. "What brings you here, Keitaro? Ready to head to America with me?"

    Keitaro stood up, eyeing the sword for a long moment before answering. "Actually, Seta-san..." he began hesitantly.

    "No, wait, I know!" Seta enthused, nodding. "Grab the sword behind you."

    Confused, Keitaro turned, and retrieved the spare sword as instructed. "Okay, Seta-san," he mumbled, carrying it carelessly. "But I wanted to--"

    "Hah!" Seta yelled, swinging a slow strike towards Keitaro's head. To his credit, the younger man managed to draw the sword and narrowly deflect the blade, stepping out of Seta's range as he did so. "It's okay, Keitaro! You want to learn; I want to sharpen my skills. So tell me what's troubling you!"

    "Seta-san!" Keitaro yelped, narrowly deflecting a thrust that could easily have dismembered him. "I don't want to learn how to use a sword!"

    "Sure you do!" Seta encouraged, absently deflecting a half-hearted strike towards his head as Keitaro belatedly tried to defend himself. "You're going to need to know how to use a sword in America."

    "What? Why!" Keitaro exclaimed, fleeing from a strike that cleft cleanly through the wooden guardrail behind him.

    "Pirates, tomb raiders, enemy archeologists," Seta explained patiently. "And maybe even ravening forest beasts. You need to be ready for that kind of stuff!"

    "Waaaah!" Keitaro cried, dropping the sword and fleeing outright from Seta. "I don't want to go to America!"

    Seta stopped cold, and looked at his protege, cowering in a corner and staring at him with wide eyes. "What?" he asked. "I'm sorry, Keitaro, I think I heard you wrong."

    Climbing to his feet and sighing unhappily, Keitaro explained, "Seta-san... I have to stay here. Mitsune's decided that she's going to go to college, and I'm going to stay behind and help her study for the placement test."

    Fumbling, Seta caught his sword before he dropped it to the wooden deck beneath him. "Oh?" he mumbled, frowning. After a moment, he sheathed his sword, nodding studiously. "Well," he added after a moment, "it's your choice, of course."

    "You're not... mad, are you?"

    "Mad?" Seta asked, scratching the back of his head. "Why would I be mad?"

    "You seemed really excited about taking me to America to study," Keitaro said, staring at the ground apologetically.

    Seta sighed, retrieving the sword that Keitaro had flung away, stuck where it was point first in one of the beams. "I thought you were really excited about it too," he returned. "But if archeology isn't your greatest passion... Well, it's not for everyone. I can understand that."

    "It's not that at all!" Keitaro protested. "It's... I need to help Mitsune! If she didn't need my help, I'd go to America in a heartbeat -- I really _do_ want to learn more about archeology. Remember when we were on the island in the south? That was great, and I learned a lot _and_ enjoyed myself. But I can't just abandon Mitsune when she needs help."

    "I can't blame you for that," Seta said quietly. "I'm disappointed, though. It's... well, there will be other chances, I hope."

    "I hope so to, Seta-san... I really do, but... I have to help Mitsune. If I don't... I don't know. She doesn't seem to think that her chances of getting into Todai are very good."

    "Helping out your friends is important, Keitaro," Seta admitted after a long pause. "It's... I think you made the right choice, honestly. I wish it could be otherwise, but since this is how it's going to be, let's do our best to help out Mitsune so we can go on another expedition in the meantime."

    Keitaro relaxed visibly, obviously reassured to hear Seta's words. "Thank you, Seta-san... I... Since I'm here, is there anything you want me to do for you? I mean... any work I can do while you're gone?"

    The man blinked, somewhat surprised, and shrugged. "I suppose," he allowed. "I think that Yuu -- Er... Takeshi-sensei needs an assistant. Do you think you could work as a teacher's aide?"

    "I might," Keitaro allowed. "It would help since I'm trying to tutor Mitsune."

    "I don't know how well it would pay, but Takeshi-sensei might be able to give you partial credit towards your next semester anyway. Well, let's go talk to him, shall we?"

    Keitaro grinned, nodding happily. "Yes!" he exclaimed. "Now I've actually got a good feeling about this."

    "Heh... Keitaro, do me a favor, will you?"

    "Er... yes, Seta-san?"

    "While I'm in America, can you keep an extra close eye on Sarah?"

    ---------------------------
    Miyah?

    Tell me what you think, please!

    Also, please be sure to send a copy of the e-mail to me, if you C&C publicly! =^_^=

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