Keitaro Urashima was in a panic. This in itself was nothing exceptional, after all – Keitaro Urashima was nearly always in a panic. One might even say that "panic" was pretty much Keitaro's default state of being, or at least his one noticeable character trait, even to the point where people who barely knew him referred to him in casual conversation as "That really nervous guy with the glasses". No, what made this particular case of panic exceptional was that not only was it shared by the person in front of him, but that the person in front of him was the one person he was certain would never panic. Her name was Tsuruko Aoyama and her terrified words were practically spitting in Keitaro's face.

"Urashima-san!" the beautiful swordswoman screamed as she held the panicking young man by the collar, "What exactly happened between Motoko-han and Narusegawa?"

Keitaro's mind reeled – he was still confused, caught up almost in a state of dreaming with the events that had transpired in the last few hours. He had dueled alongside Motoko against Tsuruko and had lost – badly. As a result the pair had been forced into a sham marriage that Keitaro had initially assumed was just a bad joke on behalf of Tsurukuo and almost certainly illegal. After all, this was modern day Japan – things like this just didn't happen. Why was everyone taking this so seriously? Especially Narusegawa ….

Keitaro gulped and looked deep into Tsuruko's eyes. The fear there was real. He tried to calm down and recall the events that had just transpired.

"It was right after the ceremony at the shrine. We were all together…"

LHLHLHLHLHLH

Naru Narusegawa stomped across the neatly pedicured lawn outside of the Aoyama family shrine. The anger seething off her body was palpable and if Keitaro hadn't known better he would have assumed the smaller woman was leaving visible craters as she smashed her way towards him.

"You idiot!" Naru screamed at Keitaro, "How could you possibly go through with this? What were you thinking!"

These were both reasonable questions and Keitaro didn't really have the presence of mind to answer them, for as concerned as he was about the fact that the woman he loved probably hated him right now, he was just as concerned about the young girl next to him who had just spent the last thirty minutes staring off into space.

"Naru, please! Motoko-chan is shock right now. We have to figure out some way to help her!" pleaded Keitaro.

The former "samurai girl" and renown kendoka, Motoko Aoyama hadn't really taken the news that she was now "Motoko Urashima" all that well. In fact, it seemed that her sanity had pretty much all but rejected the idea and in the process decided to shut down all higher forms of thought, expressions of emotion and voluntary muscle and nervous responses. For the better part of the last hour she had done nothing except stare listlessly off into the distance while Keitaro futilely attempted to get some sort of response out of her.

Naru was inches from Keitaro's face at this point. Her normally flawless white skin was ruddy with stress and anger and she bellowed, "Help her?! Are you serious?! THAT'S WHAT CAUSED THIS PROBLEM YOU IDIOT!"

Keitaro flinched at this. Naru was right – his incessant compulsion to help first and think later was the primary factor behind why he had just married a minor who could barely tolerate him while the woman he loved was now screaming in his face. His Aunt Haruka was always warning him about the risks of being a soft hearted idiot and Keitaro ruefully lamented that his aunt had never been so absolutely right. This situation was a complete mess and every time he stepped in to make it "better" it had steadily gotten worse. He needed to calm down and he needed Naru to calm down as well, if they could all just put their heads together then they might be able to figure this out.

"Naru," whined Keitaro, "It's not like this marriage is legal. Even if it is, we can just get it annulled." Keitaro took one long look at the girl sitting next to him and sighed, "And shouldn't we be more worried about Motoko-chan? She's just been kicked out of her family!"

Keitaro's words, rather than placating Narusegawa, seemed to only inflame her anger. She moved her attention from Keitaro and instead stood directly in front of the immobile Motoko, lowering her face so that her eyes met the younger girls dead on.

"And you! What do you have to say for yourself? This all started because you had to go and lie to your sister!" The anger in Naru's voice was tinged with acid. It was clear that she was looking for some sort of apology from the other girl but instead was just met with the same placid and uncaring face that Motoko had been wearing ever since she was pronounced to be Keitaro's wife.

"Well? Are you going to answer me?" growled Naru as she shook the Motoko by the shoulders.

Keitaro was getting worried and tried to intercede. "Naru, don't you think that's…"

"SHUT UP!" screamed Naru as she raised her fist over her head. Keitaro flinched and closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable "Naru-punch" that surprisingly never came. Instead he heard the sound of hand meeting face as Naru's temper finally got the better of her and she slapped Motoko clean across the side of her mouth.

"Say something Aoyama!" she screamed at the reeling swordswoman.

It seemed that the physical confrontation finally knocked something loose inside Motoko as she reached her hand up to her face and then turned her eyes back to Naru. Her next words were quiet, but clear, not quite a whisper.

"It's Urashima now, Narusegawa."

Keitaro could practically hear the springs inside Naru's head snap and in a panic he launched himself in between the two women before the situation could escalate any further. It took a great deal of effort, but he was eventually able to separate them to what he considered a "safe" distance, or at least one where they would not be able to immediately start killing each other.

"Motoko-chan, don't worry. We can get the marriage annulled," he said over his shoulder as he pushed Naru a bit further away, leaving one hand up in the air in an attempt to ward her off from going at the obviously still shocked Motoko.

Motoko stood up and took a long look at her two friends. She knew that they loved each other and in part that was why the situation was so painful for everyone involved. She didn't feel any hatred at Narusegawa for striking her, after all – she was right. It was her lies and foolishness that had lead them all to this point. Keitaro was just being Keitaro. He would always help any of the girls at the Hinata-sou and Motoko had simply taken advantage of this. This too hurt Motoko, because if she was truthful to herself, there was a small, but firm part of her that had feelings for the kind hearted manager. She was ashamed to consider how she had abused his gentle nature for her own selfish whims, which made her decision on what to do next somewhat easier than it might have been.

"There's no need," Motoko pronounced calmly.

Both Keitaro and Naru paused at this. A look of concern passed across Naru's face, but it was quickly replaced by one of anger.

"What do you mean by that Motoko? Are you planning to stay married to my boyf… I mean, Keitaro?" asked Naru. She had recovered slightly from her almost accidental slip-up in regards to her feelings about Keitaro, but the tone of her voice betrayed her somewhat.

Motoko sighed and took one last look at her friends. This was going to be hard, but it was the only option left to her. After all, Tsuruko had taken her weapons, so even a samurai's death was beyond her reach. Still, it was better than being in a loveless marriage, or even the alternative, being cast out and alone with no family and no honor.

"Don't worry. I will go and visit my father now," she said in a solemn voice.

LHLHLHLHLHLH

"And then she said, 'I will go and visit my father now' and left," said Keitaro as he finished relating the previous events to Tsuruko.

"Otosan…" mumbled Tsuruko as she released her grip on Keitaro.

Keitaro stepped back and smoothed out his clothes. Tsuruko's behaviour was bothering him, after all, wasn't she the one who had set up the ridiculous rules for this duel in the first place? If she was really upset at how Motoko was taking this, couldn't she just call it off? Keitaro was actually a hairs breadth away from giving the elder Aoyama sister a piece of his mind when unexpectedly she grabbed his arm and started pulling him away from the shine.

"Wait!" Keitaro objected. His leg was injured and he was barely able to hobble along at the brisk space Tsuruko was demanding. "Where are we going?"

Tsuruko tightened her grip on Keitaro's wrist and continued pulling him.

"Our father is dead Urashima-san. Do you understand? Our father is dead!"

To his credit, Keitaro didn't falter under the horrible implications of that statement. Instead he gritted his teeth and set his jaw against the pain in his leg as he increased the speed at which he was moving with Tsuruko. It was perhaps one of his finer attributes – when a friend was in danger, there was very little Keitaro Urashima wouldn't do to help them.

"Why would she do this Tsuruko-san? This is crazy!" said Keitaro as the two of them made their way through a copse of trees towards the back of the family compound.

"It's because she doesn't want to stand between you and Narusegawa-san," replied Tsuruko. The moon had finally risen in the sky and the rocky landscape of the mountainous compound was list in a pale light.

Keitaro angrily pulled his arm away from Tsuruko and glared at her. He had reached his limit over the absurdity of this sham marriage.

"That's just absurd! This isn't a real marriage and even if it was, we'll just get it annulled! This is not the Edo period Tsuruko-san!" he spat at her.

Tsuruko grabbed him by the shirt again and pulled him close to her.

"To the Aoyama clan it might as well be!" she snarled at Keitaro as her otherwise delicate features contorted in anger. It took a great deal of effort, but the kendoka managed to calm herself enough to continue in a firm, but still urgent voice.

"Urashima-san, you need to understand that Motoko-han was going to be disowned because she lied to get out of her family obligation. I interceded on her behalf in order to prevent this and presented her with two options that would satisfy the clan - either best me in an honor duel, or to make the lie into the truth."

Tsuruko paused for a moment, letting the words sink into Keitaro's otherwise dense skull.

"If you were to annul your marriage what do you think would happen to Motoko-han? Do you think the clan would welcome her back with open arms? She can never be an Aoyama again, and if she can't be an Urashima either, then what does that leave her?"

"B-b-but…" Keitaro started to stammer. His mind was racing, trying to comprehend everything that Tsuruko was telling him. It sounded like madness to him, to disown their own family member over something so trivial. Keitaro himself was such a mess and a failure that he was certain that if the Urashima's had similar practices he would have been left in a cardboard box by the side of the road sometime before he could crawl.

"Urashima! There's no time!" Tsuruko barked as she continued racing up the hill with Keitaro following as close as his injured leg would allow.

"Look! There, on the hill!" she pointed with a shaking arm.

Keitaro looked up as he continued to race forward up the path. On the summit of the hill overlooking the back of the Aoyama estate was a ghost gowned in pure white, or as Keitaro knew, a young bride in her wedding kimono.

"Motoko!" both of them shouted out as they continued in their desperate race to prevent a certain tragedy.

The ghost paused for a moment, her foot precariously close to the edge of a several hundred foot drop down the mountain side. Keitaro was certain he saw her entire body shake and convulse and he felt his heart leap into his chest in fear. She was so close, so terribly close to death and while he didn't know what he could do to stop it, he had to try something!

"Motoko please don't do this!" he screamed at her, he was closer now, so close he could almost grab her.

The voice that came back was iron cold and raspy but with a tint of sorrow so deep that Keitaro could barely place it as Motoko's own.

"Urashima… I'm sorry."

And with that Motoko Urashima, formerly Motoko Aoyama, fell forward and into the darkness alone.

Or at least, that's what she had planned.

Instead, what actually happened is a certain inept and clumsy manager lodged his foot on a obvious tree root and tumbled right off the cliff after her leaving a stunned Tsuruko to scream out in agony and grief.

LHLHLHLHLHLH

Keitaro Urashima was a man who knew pain in all of its delicious flavors and varieties – emotional, physical, even meta-physical, however he wasn't prepared for the agony that greeted him as his consciousness slowly rose from the darkness that had been harboring it for the last two weeks.

At first he had actually tried to scream, but then found out that curiously he couldn't make a noise above a very dry and painful croak. His throat actually felt like it was on fire and he tried to move his hand up to massage it but quickly realized that variety of tubes and gauze wrappings were in the way.

"Where the hell am I?" he thought to himself as he tried to focus his eyes to no avail. He wasn't sure if it was because of the ringing pain in his head or his astigmatism, but he could barely make out the fact that he appeared to be in a hospital bed of some sorts. Hell, there was a television playing in the back ground somewhere and he couldn't make out the sound over the ringing in his ears. Whatever had happened to him was major, way more than anything he'd suffered in the past.

"What did happen to me?"

He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. He remembered chasing Tsuruko through the back lot of the Aoyama compound. He remembered seeing Motoko, forlorn and deathly, teetering on the precipice of the summit. He remembered reaching for her… and then nothing. Try as he might, he couldn't remember anything that happened after the moment he began to fall.

"Motoko!" he uttered aloud with panic. He had almost forgotten about her! Was she okay as well? Did she die? The later thought gnawed at him. Keitaro was fairly certain that he might actually be indestructible, but Motoko on the other hand…

Resolving to do something, Keitaro pulled at the IV drips in his arms and tried to lower the safety bar on his bed so he could get out. However, all this managed to do was set off the alarms attached to the equipment. While he was still feebly struggling with the bed, a pair of nurses hastily entered the room.

"Sir!" one of them exclaimed as she rushed to his side, "Please sit back sir! You've been injured."

Keitaro shook his head and tried to form words with his dry lips, "Motoko… where?" was all he was able to get out.

The other nurse, an older and merrily plump woman took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze as she spoke.

"Your wife is fine sir. She's fine."

Keitaro puzzled for a moment until he remembered that yes, Motoko and him were technically married. He'd correct this misconception on their part later, but for now he was just happy to hear she was alive. He visibly relaxed and the nurses took this as a sign to help ease him back into the bed.

"Thirsty," Keitaro croaked as one of the nurses put a pillow under his head.

"I'll get you something to drink right away," said the younger nurse as she left the room.

The older nurse started reattaching the various tubes to Keitaro, making idle talk while she went about her work.

"You're quite a brave one aren't you?" she said cheerily, "Imagine that – saving your brides life on your wedding night. That'll be a story to tell your children for sure."

Keitaro made a sickly smile at this. He wasn't quite so sure that Motoko was going to be having any children, let alone with him, or that this was a story he was going to be eager to talk about.

There was a slight bustle from outside the door and a voice that Keitaro was certain he recognized.

"He's awake!"

Someone was coming into the room, being pushed in a wheel chair. Keitaro blinked his eyes, trying to will them to come into focus.

"Ah, there she is!" said the older nurse as she turned to the door, "Come for your daily visit, have you?"

"Yes… I heard he's awake, is it true?"

The older nurse paused for a moment and then sighed. "I probably shouldn't do this since he just woke up and we need to get a doctor to examine him properly… but yes he's awake. Come now, I'll help you over to the bed."

Keitaro tried to move his head but found his strength lacking. Now that the panic over Motoko's fate had subsided, he found himself feeling every inch of damage on his body.

"Hello…" came a voice, soft as a whisper. Keitaro tried to gurgle out a response but his throat was still not cooperating. One of the nurses pushed a straw into Keitaro's mouth. He obliged with a long drink of cool water. It helped some.

"Hi there…" Keitaro tilted his head and looked down at the woman sitting next to his bed, confirming what he had suspected.

"Motoko-chan" he finished with a smile. He was genuinely happy to see her.

Her face was banged up, she had bruising, cuts, a black eye and a large bandage wrapped around her head that was causing her otherwise normally lustrous black hair to stick out at odd angles, but she was alive and Keitaro was so relieved that he felt his smile widen to a full out grin.

Keitaro gulped another sip of water and he idly wondered why he had never appreciated the simple act of drinking so much before. He felt Motoko take his hand in a gentle grip.

Clearing his throat some, he began to speak, "Motoko-chan… are you alright?" he asked.

There was a flash of concern on Motoko's face, something almost barely noticeable but she shook it off. She squeezed Keitaro's hand.

"I'm more worried about you," she said with uncharacteristic tenderness as she gazed at Keitaro's face.

Keitaro blinked. There was something about the way that Motoko was looking at him, almost as if she was studying his features for some reason. Out of all the girls at the Hinata-sou, he had never been particularly close to Motoko and despite their recent "forced intimacy" Keitaro was fairly certain they had never progressed to the stage where she was gazing fondly into his eyes.

"I'll be fine… you of all people should know how tough I am."

Keitaro smiled at the end of that sentence, and while it was a pretty corny sentiment he wasn't prepared for the reaction that Motoko had. She looked visibly uncomfortable and she averted her eyes.

"Ah… uh… yes," she offered lamely.

"What's wrong Motoko-chan?" asked Keitaro, his voice thick with concern.

Motoko took a deep breath and lowered her head. It was obvious that she was conflicted about something and Keitaro did his best to reassure her.

"It's okay Motoko-chan, you know you can tell me anything."

Motoko shuddered and Keitaro was certain he heard a deep sob. Slowly, she tilted her head up – her eyes were wet and shining as she looked up meekly at Keitaro.

"I… don't know…" she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"You idiot, Keitaro!" he thought to now wasn't the best time for him to have pushed the issue, especially considering that Motoko's own feelings had been so tumultuous that she had felt compelled to end her own life. If he was honest with himself, he wasn't quite ready to deal with it either.

Feeling rather lost and more than a little useless about the entire situation Keitaro opted to firmly squeeze Motoko's hand in an effort to reassure her. Unfortunately this gesture seemed to have the opposite effect as Motoko began to softly cry and shake.

"I'm so sorry… Keitaro-san. Everyone says you saved my life, everyone tells me that we're married. I've sat here every day, staring at your face, but…"

Motoko was overcome by another heart wrenching sob.

"But I just can't remember it!" she cried in desperation.

Keitaro tried to move his mouth but found himself flummoxed by Motoko's behaviour. He was so put off by her uncharacteristic expression of raw emotion that he was just barely able to comprehend what it was that she was trying to tell him.

"M-M-Motoko!" he stammered as he flailed around searching for the right words to comfort the crying girl.

Motoko dropped Keitaro's hand and gripped herself tightly, almost as if she was trying to hold her own sadness in. One of the nurses rushed back into the room as her crying has reached a near hysterical state. Finally she wailed in a trembling voice, "How come I can't remember my own husband?"

LHLHLHLHLHLH

"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner Urashima-san," said Tsuruko Aoyama. She was tired, it had been a very long two weeks and her normally stern voice was laced with melancholy and desperation.

She had arrived unfortunately too late to fill Keitaro in on Motoko's condition, but just in time to see a pair of nurses escorting her sister back to her private room in the adjoining suite. While Tsuruko was glad that her younger sister still lived, she wondered if the cost hadn't been too high.

Keitaro groaned from his bed, "I'm not ready for this Tsuruko-san," he complained. It was the truth – he had barely been up more than an hour and his head was still spinning.

Tsuruko sat down next to Keitaro and fixed her eyes on him. She knew that she needed to ask a lot of this young man, but she was both unsure as to how to do it, as well as if she even had the right to do so.

"You saw how she is, right? She can't remember a thing – and not just that night. It's like her memory has been completely erased."

"How did this happen?" asked Keitaro.

Tsuruko shrugged, "No one knows. It could be stress over the… " she paused for a moment, then pressed onward, "Let's not mince words here. Motoko-han tried to kill herself. The doctors don't know this, so they think it's because of a blow she took to the head on the way down."

Keitaro pondered this for a moment, "What do you think Tsuruko-san?"

"I think… my sister would never try to do something like that if she was in her right mind. I think I owe you a great debt Urashima-san. You have saved her – twice now."

Tsuruko hung her head. Although her sister had instigated the strange series of events that had led them to this current situation she knew that her own efforts in attempting to assist Motoko had only made matters worse. It was only by the grace of the severely injured young man before her that Motoko even lived and she was about to ask him to take on a terrible burden.

"Urashima-san, there is another thing…"

Keitaro didn't like the sound of Tsuruko's tone. Something about it nagged at his guts. It was the similar feeling he got when he knew he was going to do poorly on a test for lack of studying – just waiting for the inevitable pain.

"Motoko-han might eventually regain her memory…"

Keitaro interjected, "But?"

Tsuruko sighed. "She will probably never regain the ability to walk."

LHLHLHLHLHLH

Authors Note:

Well now, so that happened. This is my own personal take on several "What if Keitaro and Motoko didn't beat Tsuruko" scenarios that I've seen posted here. I'm trying to do a couple of things, basically – not write Naru completely out of the story (and not bash her either) and not make it completely improbable that Keitaro and Motoko might end up together out of more than just a sense of obligation. We'll see how successful I am with this.

I have a few stories on the go right now that I want to work on, but if this one gets a favourable response I will probably come back to it sooner rather than later.

Edit: I have slightly corrected some issues with the story, mostly spelling mistakes that the checker didn't catch and a few grammar issues. If you guys catch them, please feel free to send me a note to let me know!