Akamatsuverse Let Them Eat Cake [LH]

[Lord Raa]

I might let this one go out for adoption.


@@@@@




Let Them Eat Cake


By Lord Raa


@@@@@


Disclaim-me-do: It’s a corner.


This fic idea was sort of turned into a challenge for me. We’ll see if I can write something without smut or ecchi moments.


@@@@@


A young Keitaro Urashima looked up at his father as the exhausted man slumped into his favourite chair.

“Papa, why are you so tired?” the bespectacled child asked innocently.

“Keitaro-chan, your father is tired because he worked hard today at the bakery,” Mrs. Urashima answered with a smile. “It’s because he’s such a good baker that people want to eat what he makes. And because he’s so good, people come from afar to eat it.”

“Thank you, Hitomi-chan,” Ichiro Urashima smiled warmly at his wife. “So, would you want to be baker like me, Keitaro?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna be the best baker in the world so you don’t have to work so hard, Papa!” the small boy promised.

The parents felt a surge of joy as their four year old son had declared an interest in continuing the family business.

“Well then, Keitaro-chan, perhaps we should start training you in the morning?” Hitomi asked.

“Can we?” Keitaro asked, turning into a bouncing ball of enthusiastic energy.

“Well, if you’re good and go to bed now, then I think we can have the first lesson tomorrow…”


@@@@@


Several years later, a nineteen year old Keitaro Urashima was sitting at his parent’s house flicking through the mail that had built up during his travels.

“Hey, this is from Toudai! ‘Dear Mr. Urashima, we are pleased to offer you a place on the Culinary Arts course for the coming academic year.’”

Keitaro blinked, pinched his arm and reread the letter he’d been sent.

“SCORE!” he yelled.

“What is it, Onii-chan?” Kanako asked as she descended the stairs.

“I’ve been accepted into Toudai! I’m a Tokyo University student!” the young man declared as he started his happy dance.

“I’m so happy for you!” the adopted daughter of the Urashima family smiled as she embraced the bespectacled youth.

“Yeah, now I’m a step closer to being the best baker in the world! People will flock from far and wide to taste my culinary delights!”

A cough sounded from the doorway. “Well, if Great Baker Keitaro has stopped being Great Baka Keitaro, perhaps he could show some affection to his mother?”

Keitaro spun round to see his mother smiling proudly at her children. “I’m going to Toudai! I’m one step closer to my goal, Mum!”

“I know, I overheard you,” Hitomi Urashima deadpanned. Her neutral expression quickly changed into a warm smile. “I’m proud of you, son. Now, give your poor, old mother a hug.”

“What? You’re not old, Mum!” the Toudai student insisted as he embraced his mother.

“You’ve become quite the charmer, haven’t you?” the Urashima matriarch chuckled. “That reminds me, your Aunt Haruka wants to speak with you as soon as possible; it’s something to do with your grandmother’s inn.”

“Ok. Perhaps she could visit later this evening? I can give her the good news.”


@@@@@


Keitaro looked at his visiting aunt with a less than pleased look on his face.

“But how can I run the inn when I’m attending Toudai? And didn’t you say that it’s an all girls’ dorm now? They’re not going to be happy with a man there!”

“It’s not up to me, Keitaro!” the smoker replied testily. “It’s your grandmother: she wants to take an extended holiday. Besides, it’s not like I can spare the time to run the dorm, I do have my own business to run, you know.”

“Sorry, Au- Haruka-san,” the apprentice baker apologised with a wince. He just remembered that she didn’t like it when we he called her “aunt”. “But I can’t look after a dorm – I don’t know the first thing about managing things like that.”

Keitaro reached for his cup of tea. “Besides, it all sounds a bit creepy: one man watching over a load of girls.”

“…” Hitomi blinked. ‘Oh no, all that cooking and cleaning has made Keitaro gay!’ “Don’t you like girls, Keitaro?”

“I do, Mum, it’s just that, well, I’ve never had much luck with girls,” the bespectacled young man admitted. He sipped his tea to hide his blush. ‘I hope they don’t ask about me still being a virgin…’

“I understand Keitaro’s position,” Ichiro said for the first time in the conversation. “He needs a chance to interact with girls in a more social setting. While the landlord/tenant relationship isn’t the best way for him to find a girlfriend, I think him moving out would make things easier for him to talk to girls.”

“Not that we want to get rid of you, Keitaro” Hitomi added quickly. “Yes, I can see how bringing your girlfriend home when you live with your parents isn’t going to help your relationship.”

“Will you at least visit everyone at the inn? That way we can see how they feel about you managing the place,” Haruka suggested.

“Yeah,” Keitaro nodded.

“You might find that you like one of them. Romantically speaking, that is,” Mrs. Urashima hinted hopefully.

“Or more likely, they’ll decide that they don’t want me around. I wouldn’t blame them for that,” the young baker sighed. “The whole thing is a bad idea and it’ll end in tears.”

Standing up, Keitaro stretched. “Anyway, I’m tired, so I’ll catch you in the morning. I’ll get the train in.”

After the Toudai student had left, Haruka turned to her brother. “He’s so focused and confident when it comes to baking and his studies, but when it comes to women, he’s so nervous. What gives?”

“I guess it’s an experience thing,” Hitomi suggested.

Kanako took a sip from her tea before adding: “I don’t think that Onii-chan’s had a girlfriend.”

“But to be a virgin when he’s nearly TWENTY?!” the smoker exclaimed. “What’s up with him? Even if he was gay, he’d have had some action.”

“Do you think you could help him with a girl at the inn?” Mrs. Urashima asked with a hint of desperation. “I’m not saying you should act as matchmaker, but perhaps you could, you know, help things along?”

Haruka scratched the back of her head. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks, Haruka-chan,” Ichiro smiled.

“But I wanted to be Onii-chan’s girlfriend…” Kanako whispered.

“What was that, Kanako-chan?” Hitomi asked.

“N-nothing,” the girl sighed.


@@@@@


The next day, and the newly recruited landlord of the Hinata Sou arrived at the foot of the hill. Keitaro sighed as he realised just how many steps it was to the entrance of the inn.

“Oh well, I suppose that it could be worse,” he said as he worked a crick out of his neck.

Upon his ascent, he hoped that his aunt had remembered to tell the residents about his visit. He shuddered when he recalled the last time someone neglected to inform the appropriate people that he was coming to visit.

‘That was not a good time; I can’t believe I managed to get out of that all girls’ school in one piece. And damn, that Kodachi girl was crazy,’ the young baker mused unhappily.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that Keitaro didn’t realise that he’d climbed to the top of the steps already.

“What? Dang, I can’t let my focus wander like that.” He rang the doorbell. “Hello, is there anybody there?”

“What? Who are you?” a young girl in her hakama and gi asked with a clear disdain in her voice.

“I’m Keitaro Urashima, I’m supposed to be the new landlord, but I’ll understand if you don’t want me here,” the bespectacled youth smiled wanly.

“I see. Well, I suppose that you had better come in then,” the raven haired girl said as she opened the door.

“Thank you,” Keitaro bowed politely.

“Who’s that, Motoko-sempai?” a young girl, barely in her teenage years asked from behind a basket of laundry.

“I’m Keitaro Urashima; I’m Haruka-san’s nephew. Apparently, I’ve been left in charge here while my grandmother takes an extended holiday,” the baker smiled nervously.

“Shinobu-chan, could you put the kettle on? I’ll lead our guest into the room and we can have a proper discussion on this matter,” the older girl said, clearly unhappy with the situation.


@@@@@


When the residents of the inn were seated, Keitaro formally introduced himself.

“Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I can tell you what was vaguely explained to me and then we can go about our separate ways and I can prepare myself for my studies.

“First off, Haruka-san told me that I was to be the new manager/landlord of the inn. While that’s nice and all, I’m going to be occupied with my studies at Toudai.”

“Toudai?” the girls chorused.

“Yeah,” the young man nodded, surprised by the girls’ outburst. “I was invited to, err, join their, um, Culinary Arts course this year. I know I’m not the smartest of guys, but I do know that you don’t just coast through a course in the most prestigious university in the country.”

“Wow, you must be really smart to be invited to Toudai,” Shinobu gushed. She was already developing a bit of a crush on the new manager.

“I didn’t really expect to get on the course,” Keitaro said modestly as he rubbed the back of his head. “Especially since I don’t remember applying...”

“So why do you think you’d be invited on the course?” a voluptuous young woman with short, ash-blonde hair asked.

“Well, I did help out on special bread project a while back, perhaps they thought I had a bigger role than I actually did,” the baker shrugged. “I mean, I was just an assistant on that search for a national bread.”

“You were involved in that?” Shinobu squealed. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m sitting here drinking tea with one of the people that developed Japan’s national bread!”

“Wait, you mean that new Ja-Pan bread that’s nearly always sold out?” Motoko asked, her respect for the polite young man increasing.

Kitsune whistled. “So, you gonna make any money off your work with that?”

“A little, maybe a fifth of a yen off every one sold. But that’s not why I agreed to help them,” Keitaro answered.

“Oh, do you have some sort of dark secret driving you forward until the day you can wreak your vengeance on the raw pastry that killed your parents?” the ash-blonde girl smirked.

The bespectacled youth paused until the vixen’s words sank in. “No,” he laughed. “Not quite. I wanted to help my dad out so he wouldn’t be so tired after work. I may have promised that I’d work to be the best baker in Japan. I can’t really remember, that promise was so long ago.”

“Be that as it may, I don’t think that a man would be an appropriate custodian of an all girls’ dormitory,” the raven haired girl opined.

“Yeah, I agree,” Keitaro sighed.

Kitsune shot a glare at Motoko, who added. “Not that I was impugning your character, but people would gossip and…”

“I understand completely,” the Toudai student nodded. “I told Haruka-san that it wasn’t going to work out. Still, at least I got to meet some of her friends.”

Draining his teacup, the young Urashima excused himself and left to make use of the toilet before he returned home.

The girls leant in to discuss the young man who had dropped in.

“Well, I want him to stay, I mean there’s so much I can learn from him,” Shinobu enthused.

“He does seem a decent sort,” Kitsune mused. “And if he’s on a catering course, he’ll need to practice his cooking. Think of the food he’ll be making for us!”

Naru rubbed the bridge of her nose at her friend’s antics. “I suppose you’re right, Kitsune, but what about, I don’t know, the fact that he’s a man at an all girls’ dorm? Aren’t you worried about him being perverted or anything? One of my friends from school had an arranged fiancé move in with her and he was always walking in on her when she was in the bath.”

“That is a valid point,” Motoko nodded in agreement. “Perhaps he could reside with his parents and travel in to maintain the property?”

“That’s a lot of travelling for what is basically a janitor’s job,” the freelance writer shrugged. “I wouldn’t want that if I was in his position.”

There was an explosion, a loud crash and a male voice shouting “WHOA!”

“Su!” the girls chorused when they realised their foreign friend wasn’t taking part of the discussion.


@@@@@


Keitaro blinked in an attempt to bring his spinning world into focus.

“Ow,” he whispered as he regretted moving his head.

“Who are you?” a tanned blonde girl demanded from behind a radio controlled tank.

“I’m Keitaro Urashima, please don’t shout.”

“What’s a Keitaro? Are they tasty?” the girl pressed on with her investigation of the interesting specimen before her.

“Tasty? You want me to make you something tasty? I think I can do that,” Keitaro smiled as he tried to stand up. “Ah! My ankle!”

The Toudai student collapsed into a heap as he clutched at his left ankle in a futile attempt to ease the pain caused by his awkward landing.

“Su, are you alright?” Motoko asked, her martial arts training giving her the speed to reach the scene first. “What happened?”

“I was testing my latest revision for my tank when I saw this strange man here. I remembered what you said about strange men, Motoko, so I blasted him!” Kaolla Su smiled proudly.

“My ankle!” the bespectacled youth whimpered.

“Are you alright, Urashima-san?” Shinobu asked with a blush on her cheeks.

“I landed funny,” Keitaro explained with a pained expression on his face. “I’ll be ok, though. I’m sorry for surprising you like that, Su-san, I just needed to go to the toilet.”

“Toilets? They’re not tasty,” the energetic girl said with shudder. “They’re stinky.”

Shinobu and the other Japanese girls suppressed a giggle at their friend’s comment.

‘Now what am I going to do? Those steps aren’t exactly going to be kind to me,’ Keitaro thought with a sigh. ‘I knew this was going to end badly. At least I haven’t embarrassed myself too much.’

“Motoko-chan, could you help me move Keitaro to somewhere more comfortable?” Kitsune asked as she took hold of the young man’s right arm.

“Yes,” the raven haired girl said after a prompting from Naru. “I’ll take a look at it, too. I do have some experience with strains and sprains.”

“Thank you,” Keitaro smiled through his discomfort. “You’re all good people to be so kind to a stranger.”


@@@@@


Keitaro blushed in embarrassment as Motoko bandaged his injured ankle.

“Is something the matter, Urashima-san?” the kendoist asked, looking up from her task. “Is it too tight?”

“N-no,” the baker replied. “It’s just that…”

“What?”

“It’s nothing, just me being silly,” Keitaro said with a smile. “I’m sorry to bother you like this. I’m not normally this accident prone, honest.”

“I’m sure you’re not. After all, you don’t get invited onto a Culinary Arts course at Toudai if you’re prone to cutting chunks out of your hands,” Kitsune flirted as she took one of the appendages in question. “Ooh, you have nice warm hands, Keitaro.”

“T-thanks,” the baker said nervously as he retrieved his hand. “My teachers tell me that it’s a rare gift in the baking world and that’s why my bread’s better than average.”

“Could you demonstrate your skills for us?” the voluptuous girl asked, tracing a finger along Keitaro’s arm causing him to shiver slightly.

“Kitsune, please allow him to rest,” Motoko chided. “I recall that you seem to require substantial recuperation time after much lighter injuries.”

“Sorry for being hungry,” the ash-blonde pouted as she turned her head. Casting a glance back towards Keitaro, she winked.

“…” Keitaro blushed. ‘She’s…flirting with me? But why would she do that?’

Naru rolled her eyes at her best friend’s behaviour, but said nothing.

Shinobu walked in with some tea and snacks on a tray. “I hope that this will be ok, everyone.”

The snacks in question were rather delicious looking and obviously something special that the young chef had worked hard to get ready in such a short space of time.

“Wow, they look extra tasty!” Kaolla declared from her perch. “Don’t mind if I do!”

The hyperactive blonde snagged a piece of fresh dorayaki.

“I’m sure that they’re delicious, Maehara-san,” Keitaro smiled as he took one of the offered treats. He took a bite. “And now I know that they are most delicious. Are these your recipe?”

“It’s my mother’s,” Shinobu answered, her cheeks filling with blood. ‘To think that someone involved with the Ja-pan would like my cooking…’

“You do her proud with your skills,” the baker smiled.

“Hey, he’s right, they are very good,” Kitsune agreed as she stuffed another piece of the sweet treat into her mouth.

“B-but they were for Urashima-san…” the chef mumbled dejectedly.

The visitor heard this and felt something tugging at his heartstrings. ‘I should say something to make her feel better…but what? I know!’

“Thank you for the dorayaki, Maehara-san,” Keitaro said with a bow. “I apologise for not eating more, but I err… don’t want to seem rude.”

Kitsune looked on and suspected that there was more to their guest than he was letting on. “Oh no, you don’t have to worry about that. After all, we would be pretty awful hosts if we were worried about some dorayaki. But since you don’t mind us eating the rest of it, I’ll have another piece.”

“Me too,” Kaolla declared as she swooped in for another. “Hey, Shinobu, can you make banana dorayaki?”

“That’s a good question, would bananas work in dorayaki?” the baker wondered aloud. “They can work in bread as a pudding, but is dorayaki a good match for bananas?”

The Lolita chef blinked at the request. It wasn’t like it was unexpected, Kaolla often asked for bananas to be used in her cooking, but she hadn’t expected Keitaro ask as if he was taking up the challenge. “I don’t know.”

“Maehara-san, may I trouble you for some of your time and the use of your kitchen?” Keitaro asked politely. “I would like to see if I can make some banana dorayaki. This is likely to require several attempts, so it will make a mess.”

“T-that’s ok, I don’t get much chance to experiment with my cooking,” Shinobu blushed. “If I can help, I will.”

“Then it’s settled, we’re going to see if we can make banana dorayaki!” the young man declared as he jumped up off the sofa. He somehow managed to avoid putting any weight on his injured ankle as he posed heroically with his hands outstretched towards the heavens. “Who’s with me?”

Shinobu’s vision was becoming filled with hearts. “I am, Sempai!”

“Me too!” the hyperactive blonde said, her arm reaching up for the ceiling.

“I’m in,” Kitsune added. When Naru and Motoko looked at her in confusion she just shrugged and said, “It’s not like I have anything better to do right now.”

“Well I have. Try not to disturb me while I’m studying,” the light brown haired girl replied before turning on her heel and leaving for her room.

“What about you, Motoko-sempai?”

“My apologies,” the raven haired girl bowed, “but I have to train. I will be on the roof if you need me.”


@@@@@


Keitaro’s skills in the kitchen impressed his hosts greatly. His knowledge of bananas and their properties automatically gave him great standing with Kaolla, though the way the hyperactive blonde was peering over his shoulder was making him feel a little uncomfortable. ‘I better make some small talk, or she’ll start climbing on top of me.’

“So then, Kaolla-san, where are you from?”

“I’m from Molmol,” the princess smiled, “it’s near the International Dateline.”

“You’re a brave person to come all this way on your own,” the baker replied. “So are bananas native to your country?”

The hyperactive girl shook her head. “They were introduced a while ago, but ours are the tastiest bananas in the world! Here!”

Keitaro was a little surprised to have a peeled banana forced into his mouth. Luckily for him, he’d had experience with people trying to get him to taste food at insanely short notice and was able to eat the fruit before it choked him.

“That’s a strong flavour, much stronger than any banana I’ve ever had before. Though, if it’s not too much trouble, could you let me know if you’re planning to do that again? I’ve been able to feed myself for a number of years now,” the bespectacled youth smiled teasingly.

“Sorry,” Kaolla giggled. “It’s just that bananas are great! And I haven’t met anyone around here that likes them as much as you do.”

Keitaro smiled before turning to his new cooking buddy. “I want to avoid mashing the bananas, as well, that’s more of a baby’s meal. So we’re going to try different methods of preparing them. First up, I’d like to try using the oven to dry out some banana slices.”

“Ok, what shall I do first, Chef?” Shinobu asked.

“I want you and Kaolla-san to peel and slice me some bananas. Five to eight millimetres thick, if you can. You,” the baker said, pointing to Kitsune. “You can stop sipping that sake and line this baking tray with aluminium foil.”

“Hey, it’s not like I’m a drunkard!” the voluptuous woman protested.

“Maybe not, but I want you sober so you can document this for Shinobu-san and anyone else that wants to try this recipe out. After I’ve washed my hands, I’m going to prepare some flour and… hmm, do you have any nutmeg or cinnamon here, Shinobu-san?”

“The spice-rack is over there, Sempai,” the young cook answered.

After the participants had washed up and started their tasks, Keitaro examined the collection of herbs, spices and other seasonings that the young Maehara had in her collection.

“You have a nice rack, Shinobu-san,” he commented as he reached for the nutmeg.

Unfortunately for Keitaro, he said this as Naru and Motoko entered the kitchen.

“WHAT WAS THAT?!” the violent girls chorused angrily.

“You dare to molest Shinobu-chan?!” Motoko growled as she reached for her sword.

The young Urashima was stunned into silence as he slowly turned around from facing the wall.

Naru approached him ready to dispense some summary justice when her best friend stepped between them

“Keitaro hasn’t done anything wrong,” Kitsune said with an amused look on her face. “I mean, look what’s in his hands – a jar of spice.”

“Oh…” the newly arrived girls said in unison.

“My apologies, Urashima-san, I shouldn’t have jumped to such a conclusion. After all, Kitsune is here to supervise matters,” the kendoist added, her head bowed respectfully.

“That’s ok, Aoyama-san. To be honest, it’s one of the reasons why I didn’t want to take this position. It’s not a slur on any of you, but you’d have to be blind not to see this sort of thing happen,” Keitaro said, his hands gesturing in a non-threatening manner.

“‘This sort of thing’?” the ash-blonde girl repeated. “I take it that it’s not the first time people have gotten the wrong end of the stick when you’ve said something?”

“No, unfortunately not,” the baker sighed. “I’m sorry for causing this mess. If you’ll let me wash up, I’ll be on my way.”

“But you have to show me how to make banana dorayaki for Su-chan,” Shinobu said as she felt her first crush leaving her.

The senior residents looked at each other and nodded.

“It’s ok, Keitaro, you can stay,” Kitsune smiled. “You did promise to give us banana dorayaki, didn’t you?”


@@@@@


A short while later, Keitaro removed the first of the dorayaki from the frying pan and put them onto a cooling rack.

He hoped that there was still something left to put in between the sandwiching pancakes – he’d seen how Kaolla had taken an interest in the banana slices he’d prepared in the oven.

When the dorayaki was cool, he started to put some of the smaller slices that had been dried during their time in the oven.

“Hmm, this might not have worked out quite like I planned. Still, let’s give it a go. There, be brutally honest, it’s the only way to know if this is going to work or not,” Keitaro instructed as the Hinata Inn’s first attempt at a banana dorayaki was cut into four pieces and distributed among the project team.

“It’s yummy!” Kaolla declared happily, her portion not touching the sides as of her oesophagus.

“The banana’s not quite right,” Kitsune said after eating her piece. “It’s nice and all, but the texture of the filling is all wrong for dorayaki.”

“Yes, it’s not quite right,” Shinobu agreed. “It’s as if the bananas should have been cooked in the cake mix.”

The baker chewed his piece thoughtfully. “Yes, the filling in dorayaki should be like mortar, this is more like a dry stone wall. I was a little reluctant to puree the bananas in case they ended up a little bit too sticky. Perhaps if we take some of the pieces we oven-cooked and mash them slightly? Not to a puree, but to a slightly lumpy consistency… we might need to add some flour, too.”

Keitaro grabbed a bowl, a tablespoon and a handful of the banana slices. He started to work the fruit pieces into a thick paste. He frowned when he noticed that it was too runny.

“Shinobu-san, could you pass me the bowl of flour?” the Toudai student explained. He showed how the chef the viscosity of the bananas by lifting up the spoon and allowing it to fall away. “As you can see, I need to dry this out a little.”

“Sure thing, Sempai.”

Soon the baker showed why he was asked on the Culinary Arts course. Five minutes later he looked up from his attempt to even out the texture of the puree and avoid large clumps of dry flour. Testing the filling again, Keitaro felt that it was sufficiently thick to not feel like he was making baby food.

“I think we’re ready for attempt number two, don’t you?” he asked with a smile.

“Yay!” the tanned girl cheered as she was handed a piece of experimental cooking. “I like it!”

Keitaro smiled as he realised that Kaolla wasn’t exactly the most objective of judges. He turned to Shinobu. “What do you think, Shinobu-san?”

“It’s more like normal dorayaki, Sempai. But I’m not so sure about all the cinnamon and nutmeg. When you first put them in the oven, we put them in the seasoned flour, but mixing in more seems a bit too much,” the young chef answered.

The Toudai student nodded and turned to Kitsune. “Mitsune-san, what’s your opinion? Too much seasoning? Too little? Too runny? Too thick? Needs more booze?”

“Hmm, a version of this made with sake sounds interesting,” the freelance writer mused. “But to answer your question, I think it’s fine.”

“I like it, too. However, I think that the next time, I’ll err on the side of caution and use plain flour to dry the bananas out. The seasoned flour will work better when it’s cooked slightly rather than them being added after. It needs to work its magic, after all,” Keitaro said with a smile on his face.

Standing up, the baker stretched his legs and slowly rotated his injured ankle. “Well, it seems that I’m well enough to walk, so I’ll be going as soon as we’ve cleaned up here.”

“Do you really have to, Sempai?” asked Shinobu hoping that she’d be able to convince him to stay. “I don’t mind you staying here.”

“I don’t either,” Kitsune added with smile. “Perhaps I could write an article on you? I’m pretty sure that people would want to know about Great Baker Keitaro.”

“… Great Baker Keitaro?” Urashima repeated, unsure of how to react to his potential nickname.

“Yeah, you should stay!” the princess agreed. “You can cook for us and play with me.”

“Careful how you word your response,” a stern voice instructed from the entrance to the kitchen. “I’ve heard about how single men like to play with young girls.”

“Hi Motoko-chan, why don’t you try one of these dorayaki, they’re great,” the ash blonde girl suggested. She gave the secret signal the residents had devised to show that things were all ok.

“…I think I shall sample the offering of this ‘Great Baker Keitaro’,” Motoko said with a small yet genuine smile. ‘Kitsune does seem to know more about men than I do, so perhaps Urashima isn’t too bad a person…’

After the quintet sat down and ate the rest of the dorayaki, Haruka arrived at the Inn and let herself into the kitchen.

“Hi everyone, how’s it going?” the smoker asked, feeling somewhat relieved that her nephew had been accepted by at least some of her friends.

“Au-, err, Haruka-san,” Keitaro nodded in greeting. “Unfortunately, you’ve just missed out on the last of the banana dorayaki.

“Oh well,” Haruka shrugged. “So then, are you going to be managing this place or not? It is what your grandmother wanted, you know.”

The younger Urashima stretched in his seat. “Well, to be honest, I’m not sure what kind of job I’d do, but I’ll give it a go. That is, if you’ll have me.”

Kitsune decided to take charge of the situation. “I think a vote is in order, don’t you. All those in favour raise your hand.”

The residents present and Haruka raised their hands.

Motoko looked at the elder Urashima questioningly. “Haruka-san?”

“I think that Keitaro should take over as manager here. Besides, it was Granny Hina’s decision, you know.”

“…There is that,” the swordswoman mused. “But I know that Naru-sempai isn’t comfortable with a man being here, and I think we should establish some rules.”

¬“Yeah, I think so too,” Kitsune agreed. “What sort of thing did ya have in mind, Motoko-chan?”


@@@@@


A short while later, Keitaro was granted permission to use the hot springs to aid the recovery of his injured ankle.

As he sat on the edge of the bath with his trouser legs rolled up to his knees, the tired young man dangled his legs up to his calf muscles into the hot water.

“Oh, that’s nice.”

“If you think that’s nice, you should try a proper soak, Keitaro,” Haruka Urashima said from behind her nephew.

“Aunt Haruka!” the baker exclaimed as he turned to face the person interrupting him.

“What have I told you about calling me ‘Aunt’, Keitaro?” the stony-faced smoker enquired as she flexed her fist, her knuckles cracking ominously.

“That I shouldn’t,” Keitaro said quickly. “Not that I don’t like your company, it’s just that I thought that I was going to be given some privacy.”

“Well, I suppose that I might be convinced to forgive you if you take over the running of the inn…”

The younger Urashima sighed. While he couldn’t fault his aunt for trying to get him to manage the inn, he knew that it was a bad idea. He also knew that if he complained much more, Haruka would chide him for “whining” and that usually ended up with him being in pain.

“Ok, Haruka-san, I’ll do it, but only because you’ll kick my ass if I don’t,” Keitaro sighed.

“Hey, what kind of woman do you think I am, Mister Urashima?!” the smoker growled playfully.


@@@@@


Outside the bathing area, Naru Narusegawa frowned as she heard her suspicions confirmed.

“That man is a pervert! To think that he’d try something like that with a family member…” the Toudai aspirant growled angrily. “I can’t let Haruka-san be defiled by a pervert while I can still do something about it!”

Making her decision to punish the clearly guilty man, Naru charged into the bathing area and booted the young baker into the hot water.

“HA! Take that you pervert!” she laughed. “Take your deviancy elsewhere!”

“Naru-chan,” Haruka said with a sickly sweet tone that hinted that violence was imminent. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Saving you from that pervert, what’s it look like? He didn’t touch you did he?”

“No, but there’s something I wanted to ask you. Is it funny when people push others into water?”

Naru looked blankly at the smoking woman. “What do you mean?”

“This,” Haruka said flatly.

Seconds later, Miss Narusegawa was in the hot water spluttering.

“Not so funny when it happens to you, is it?” the teashop proprietor scolded. “Now get out of there so Keitaro doesn’t have a nosebleed when he sees how your clothes are clinging to you.”

Blushing, Naru did as she was told and made a shame-filled journey back to her room so she could put on some dry clothes.

Haruka shook her head. “You can come up now, Keitaro.”

A series of bubbles was the response she got.

“Keitaro, if I have to dive in there, you better be hurt.”

Suddenly, Keitaro shot out of the water. “Sorry, Haruka-san, it’s just that I needed to find my glasses.”

“Oh, well, come on, I’ll see what dry clothes I can get you. You don’t mind wearing a dress, do you?”

The baker looked rather pointedly at his aunt. “I’m sorry, could you say that again?”

“Don’t worry, Keitaro, I’ve got a few t-shirts, you may have to go commando in a pair of shorts though,” Haruka smiled reassuringly. “Come on, it’s not like you could pass for a girl anyway.”


@@@@@


Keitaro sat grumpily in the common room. He wasn’t too happy about the latest turn of events on his visit. Sure, he expected there to be resistance to him taking over as manager – there was some from himself! But surely his dunking in the hot springs was unwarranted.

Sighing, the baker removed his glasses and ran his fingers through his still damp hair. It was then that Shinobu entered the room with a basket of clothing.

“As soon as my clothes are dry, I’m heading home. Haruka-san’s friends are nice and all, but this is not worth the hassle, sorry Grandma.”

“B-b-b-but Sempai!” the young girl stammered. “You can’t leave.”

Fumbling for his glasses, Keitaro looked around to see a tearful Shinobu.

“What? I’m sorry, Shinobu-san, but I just can’t stay here. I know I put the sign out in front of the baths, but Naru came charging in regardless. What if I’d been taking a proper bath instead of just resting my ankle? She would have barged in on a naked man. If I barged in on one of you, I’d be branded a pervert forever.”

“But Naru-sempai said it was a misunderstanding.”

“I know. Accidents and misunderstandings do happen,” the man in the slightly feminine clothing sighed. “I’m not angry with Naru; I just don’t want this sort of thing to happen on a regular basis. I don’t think that my body can take it.”

Shinobu looked rather downcast until Keitaro felt that he had to do something to comfort the girl.

“Look, how about this, Shinobu-san: I’ll go home as soon as all my clothes are ready and then I’ll start moving in tomorrow as a fresh start.”

“Y-you mean it?” the Lolita chef asked in a hope filled voice.

The baker nodded. “Yes I do, Shinobu-san.”


@@@@@


To be continued…?

(Reposted to remove encoding issues)

 

[EagleCeres]

Let Them Eat Cake

Good stuff as always Raa.

I was curious if and when you would give the Gureito Baka... er... Baker some time in the sun.

Hope to read more!

 

[Ordo]

Let Them Eat Cake

Not a bad start, though I'm going to have to see more to be sure. The set up is different enough to keep things interesting, and I like that Keitaro has a focus. I will wait for more before saying anything else though.

 

[image]

Let Them Eat Cake

Nice to see an alt Keitaro. They are a dying breed. Is this a crossover with that Japanese Bread manga? Because that comic was nuts. It's interesting to see differing interactions with characters but I really have to wonder what Akumatsu was thinking when he created Naru, she's way to broken for the series she's in.

 

[Lord Raa]

Let Them Eat Cake

Since this wasn't slagged off until my ears started to bleed, you can have what I managed for the second chapter.

This is where I ran out of ideas/inspiration/motivation.

@@@@@



Let Them Eat Cake


By Lord Raa


@@@@@


Disclaim-me-do: Blasting forth in three-part harmony!

This fic idea was sort of turned into a challenge for me. We’ll see if I can write something without smut or ecchi moments.


@@@@@


Part Two


@@@@@


Keitaro opened the door to his parents’ house and announced his return.

“Ah, Keitaro,” Hitomi Urashima smiled at her son, “how did it go with Haruka and her friends?”

“I decided to take up the position. But I get the feeling that it’ll be much harder work than anyone thought,” the bespectacled youth smiled. He yawned. “Sorry, but I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m dead on my feet here and I said that I’ll move in tomorrow. Good night, Mom.”

“Good night, Keitaro.”


@@@@@


Shinobu took her place after serving up the evening meal in the Hinata Sou.

“I spoke with Keitaro-sempai before he left,” she said as her friends started to tuck into the food.

“Oh, what did he decide? Is he going to be the manager?” asked Kitsune.

The other residents turned to the chef, intent on finding out the answers.

“He said that he would,” the young girl said with and audible “but” in her voice.

Kaolla, however, didn’t pick up on that. “Yay! Keitaro will be able to cook lots of yummy things for us!”

“What aren’t you telling us, Shinobu-chan?” the ash-blonde pondered silently as she chewed her rice.


@@@@@


When the morning arrived, Keitaro yawned loudly as he switched off the shrill beeping that emanated from his alarm clock.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he took a moment to mentally run through his itinerary for the day.

“Right, first I need to take some clothes, some of my books, maybe the portable CD player and some music. I’ll give this thing a week and if it doesn’t pan out, I’ll move back here with no hard feelings.”

With his course of action decided, he started to pack a week’s worth of clothes for his latest trial of life.


@@@@@


Upon arriving at the Hinata Sou at mid-morning, Keitaro was greeted by Shinobu and Kaolla.

“Sempai, I’m glad that you’ve decided to help look after the inn,” Shinobu smiled.

“Yeah,” the blonde agreed. “When can you make some more of that banana dorayaki? That was really tasty.”

“Well, I was hoping to get settled in,” Keitaro smiled. “But I suppose that I could whip something up for this evening’s dessert…”

“Yay!” Kaolla cheered as she danced around the slightly overwhelmed baker. “Let me help you with your bags!”

“That’s ok,” Keitaro protested. “I can manage them by myself.”

The blonde waved off his attempt at chivalry and grabbed his luggage. “Hey, you’re bags are really light for someone who’s moving in!”

The Toudai-bound baker winced. “About that…”

“What about it?” Shinobu asked. “Y-you are staying, aren’t you?”

“I am, but I decided to give it a week. If it’s not working out after a week, I’ll move back in with my parents. That way no-one comes away upset,” Keitaro reasoned.

“Well, in that case, I’ll just have to make sure that it works out!” Kaolla declared. “Now, what room are you going to be staying in?”

“I don’t know. It’s been so long since I was here. Where’s the manager’s room?”

“I’ll show you, Sempai,” Shinobu smiled.


@@@@@


Kitsune looked at the list of rules that had been drawn up by the residents of the Inn. While the welfare of her friends was of paramount importance, she didn’t want Keitaro to feel like a pariah.

“These seem reasonable,” she mused as she ran through each item.

“Hi there,” Keitaro said as he knocked on the door to the common room.

“Hi there, Keitaro,” the ash-blonde smiled. “So, are you ready for your orientation?”

“I guess so,” the baker shrugged. “Where did you want to start?”

Kitsune smiled as she gestured to the room they were in. “This is the common room; it’s where we watch TV, hang out – that sort of thing.”

Keitaro nodded as he was led around the Inn by the short-haired girl.


@@@@@


If anyone has ideas, I'm listening. If someone wants to take over this, then say so. We can discuss things here or via private communication, whichever you prefer.

 

[ThreadWeaver]

Let Them Eat Cake

Nice to see this one back, Raa. Looking forward to some more of this.

 

[Lord Raa]

Let Them Eat Cake

Nice to see this one back, Raa. Looking forward to some more of this.

Yeah.... I don't actually know when I'll get around to writing more of this one.

I haven't been motivated to write anything over the past week or so. Been feeling a bit down lately and I'm not sure if it's me being silly or if there is genuinely something significant that I need to change in my life.

If that makes any sense.

 

[ThreadWeaver]

Let Them Eat Cake

Nice to see this one back, Raa.? Looking forward to some more of this.

Yeah.... I don't actually know when I'll get around to writing more of this one.

I haven't been motivated to write anything over the past week or so. Been feeling a bit down lately and I'm not sure if it's me being silly or if there is genuinely something significant that I need to change in my life.

If that makes any sense.

It makes perfect sense.

And while I'll be the first to admit it's easier said than done, don't let "the downs" get into a spiral. The farther you go down, the farther you have to claw out. Yes, that is from experience.

 

[zeebee1]

Let Them Eat Cake

I think there's a difference between several years later and fifteen years later.