Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina or anything associated with it.
'...' will be thoughts.
"..." will be spoken word.
--
On a train fast approaching the city, a young girl stood, eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to all around her. This caught the attention of one middle-aged man, whom nonchalantely made his way over to her. He grinned at his luck. After not having fair game for weeks, he would enjoy this..."snack". His hand wandered away, slowly approaching the girl...until another hand fiercely grabbed his wrist. Following the hand's owner, his eyes met with the girl's, who glowered with righteous fury.
It wasn't often that Motoko would go on training trips with her family, but when she did, she came out of them immeasurably stronger. Whether being around her family made her strive to be better, or just having them nearby to reassure her, she would always increase her fighting ability many times over. However, this recent trip was based upon techniques and skills. Motoko was strong, sure, but she knew approxiamtly ten moves, seven of them based on sword combat. Her family had decided that much of her training would be spent on increasing her repetoire.
She learned a number of techniques, but the one she trained the most in was the art of inner sight. She saw the number of opportunities she could utilize this technique, and studied it for most of the trip. According to the family scroll, one's true inner self is almost unhindered by the mind. Inside one's head, oneself's image is untainted by lies and rumors. You can see one for who they truly are, as well as their intentions for immediate matters.
It is not without fault, however, as Motoko just now learned. She was so disgusted with this man's...image, that she very nearly started to throw up on the train. Having already caught the attention of several passerbys, it was already evident that the man would pay for his transgression. Her mind was elsewhere, though. She had plans for this skill, and tonight would be the perfect time.
--
As Keitaro cleaned the hallway, he couldn't shake this feeling that...something was going to happen. Some kind of weird premonition? He shook off the thought and continued. He wanted to finish before dinner so he could get some studying in before 10:00. Turning a corner, he sped off with the rag. 'I should really invest in a mop...'
--
As Motoko opened the door, she was almost immediately greeted by a flying Molmolian. With a new living necklace swinging on her, she made her way to her room, talking idly with Koalla. It was quite a surprise when Keitaro turned the corner and slammed into the two.
CRASH!
Koalla went flying a few feet back, and Motoko fell over, landing on Keitaro. Koalla rolled a bit, returning over to the two rather quickly. "Ha ha ha! That was great, Keitaro! Do it again!" Motoko was not as pleased. "Urashima! Will your perverted actions never cease!?" Crawling backwards, Keitaro let forth now very familiar apologies and phrases before sailing off into the wild blue yonder. "Aww, Motoko! I wanted to have some more fun!" Motoko sheathed her sword and faced Koalla. "You do not need to participate in any 'fun' with that lecher." Koalla pouted and went off to her room.
Continung to her room, Motoko quietly entered and placed her belongings in her closet. She then proceeded to light some incense and do some meditation techniques to sharpen her spatial awareness. It was particulary useful for her new skill, and she wanted to be on top of her game tonight. She would NOT be caught off-guard inside that pervert's mind!
--
As Mitsune lounged in her room, she contemplated which vintage to drink tonight. She had quite a collection and choosing was always a challenge. They were all good!
Scanning her cabinent, she eyed one particular bottle. 'Oh yeah. Kei got this for me a while ago. Heh, he can be pretty sweet.' Taking the bottle in her hands, she studied the label. It was a pretty rare bottle, nearly two hundred years old. 'I still don't know how he got this. I'm going to have to ask him about that later. Hehe.'
Suddenly, the air cooled down a bit, and the room was filled with the sound of shattering glass. Looking confused, Mitsune looked at her collection. 'Everything looks fine...so what...' Looking down at her hands, she saw the two-hundred-year-old bottle...sporting a single crack. Running from the tip to the very bottom.
'Well...that's...ominous...'
--
Shinobu placed the pan on the burner and and went off to tell everyone to come down for dinner. Barring any extreme delays, the dish wouldn't have enough time to burn. Naru and Mitsune both voiced their intentions and headed downstairs. Koalla had overheard her - from an entire floor away - and proceeded to vault down the stairs to the dinner table. Motoko took a bit longer, but had also started off to the dining room. Keitaro...
...was nowhere to be found. Until he opened the front door, anyways. Spying everyone near the kitchen, he made his way over and grabbed a seat. As Shinobu grabbed the pan and finished prepping the dinner, Keitaro couldn't help but notice that Motoko was glaring at him pretty intently. Shifting nervously in his seat, he quietly said his thanks and served himself. All throughout dinner, he was kept under a careful eye. This did not go unnoticed.
"What's wrong Motoko? Did Keitaro do something again?" Naru, as per usual, did not sound pleased. Motoko faltered for a bit, having been imagining just what she would encounter within the manager's mind. "No. I just...require his help later. Is that okay, Urashima?" Having seemingly been absolved of whatever he had been mentally accused of, Keitaro simply smiled. "Yeah, of course!" Mitsune didn't miss a beat. "I wonder what kind of help you require that only our dear manager can help you with, hmm?"
"Mitsune!"
"Kitsune!"
"W-what?!"
A flurry of blushes and outbursts accompanied the remainder of the dinner.
--
Motoko set aside some cushions in preparation. She didn't know how long the sight would take, and she would not enjoy having sore legs because she was complacent. As she finished, a timid knock came from her door. "Enter, Urashima." As Keitaro slid the door open slowly, he stuck his head in a bit. "So, what'd you need, Motoko? Something broken?" "Please have a seat, Urashima."
He raised his eyebrows in confusion. Having to sit in Motoko's room could end up in something bad. Several ways to it, too. 'But she did ask...' Walking over to the cushion, he sat crossed-legged and awaited instructions.
Motoko sat across from him and began her plan. Entry was most easily obtained when you had direct eye-contact with your target. "Urashima?" Keitaro looked her dead in the eyes. "Yes?" Sensing her chance, she sent her conciousness straight in front of her and successfully entered Keitaro's mind.
If the pervert's mind on the train almost made her throw up, then Keitaro's mind would make her have numerous illnesses simultaneously and quite embarrassingly, had she not been prepared. All of the mind's she had encountered had been different, though her family had similar aspects between them. For one, all of their walls had the family's clan's symbol adorning them. That man on the train had his...'exploits' instead. But Keitaro...
She wasn't even sure if she could call them walls. They were red and pulsating, almost as if they were...alive. What seemed to be veins jutted out, different ones in other colors. 'They look...organic in nature.' Taking a second to compose herself, she closed her eyes and scanned the area with her awareness. Keitaro's subtle ki was everywhere, though it didn't really try to occupy anything, dispite this being his own mind. 'How odd.'
She began to search his mind, hoping to determine something from the underlying areas of his brain. Locating several prime areas, she was astonished to learn that he was barely even registering the slightest of brain activity. He wasn't even acting on instinct! He was almost as if he was just running on autopilot, doing what needed to be done. What could possibly drive a man to this?
Just then, she sensed a larger area of ki. Seeing this as where Keitaro's conciousness would be, she made her way over to it, her feet squelching on the squishy floor. When she arrived, she was taken aback. There was Keitaro, but he was...different. He was slouched on the ground, slightly hanging from several chains. His hair hung from his head in a disheveled mess, all the way down to his hips. He barely had any clothes, save for the tattered shorts. His skin was scarred, and he was scarcely breathing.
As she approached the sight, she looked at the chains which imprisoned him. Half-expecting them to be seals to his true nature, she was surprised to find labels attached to each one. Every one hung from a link in the chain, and had one or two words upon them. 'Promised Girl...Naru...The Girls...what is this?' Motoko didn't know what to make of this confusing spectacle.
The chains around Keitaro slackened a bit, allowing for a bit of rest for the hanging man. As he tried to stand, however, they tightened once more, regaining their painful grip on his person. Falling to his knees once more, he looked up, revealing dark circles under his eyes as he noticed the foreign presence. Motoko locked eyes with him, unsure how to react. "K...Urashima...what has happened to you?" Keitaro looked her over a few times before speaking. "Who are you?"
"What? It's me, Motoko!" Keitaro looked her over again. "No, you're not Motoko." Motoko looked at him aghast. "What? How can you say such a thing?!" Keitaro looked down again. "Motoko doesn't care about me. Who are you?" Looking at him incredulously, she defended herself. "I care about you!" She faltered for a second before adding "...a-as much as a tenet should care for their landlord!" Keitaro chuckled. "Heh, alright. If you care so much, could you help me get these chains off? They do hurt."
Unsheathing her sword, she looked at the chains, Keitaro in tow, with disdain. She took a quick swipe, shattering the chains into pieces. Keitaro stood, strecthing a bit before walking over to the wall. "Ah, thank you very much. Now maybe I can get my work done." Before she could respond, he placed his hand on the grotesque wall and absorbed himself into it.
The second Keitaro disappeared, Motoko felt a familiar floating sensation. 'How can this be?! I haven't...' She wasn't able to finish the thought as her conciousness was flung out of Keitaro's mind and back into her rightful body. Taking a moment to compose herself, she looked at Keitaro, who was still looking at her. 'I must not have taken very long...' At that moment, Keitaro stood. "I'm sorry Motoko, but I still have a lot to get finished. We'll have to do this another time."
Leaving a baffled Motoko in his wake, Keitaro left and went to his room. Sitting down in a chair, he wrung his hands through his hair and tried to calm the maelstrom that assaulted his head. 'What's with this pain? It hurts even more than when Naru hits me...' Trying to stand so he could grab some aspirin, he wobbled a bit, as the room suddenly started to swirl around him. That, as well as the sudden taste of iron in his mouth brought him to his knees rather quickly.
--
Shinobu scooped an extra portion of rice onto the plate. She was a bit worried that Keitaro didn't get enough to eat at dinner. Through the entire debacle, everyone besides Keitaro had eaten plenty. He had left the plate almost entirely full, which was odd. He usually finished off her meals with gusto, so something must be wrong. Carefully holding the plate, she walked upstairs.
Standing outside his door, she calmed herself a bit before knocking timidly. "S-sempai? I have some food for you..." Not hearing a response, she tried again, knocking a little harder. "Sempai?" Still not garnering a response, she decided to enter. "I-I'm coming in..."
The sound of a shattering plate echoed throughout the inn.
--
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Well, I finished this up, but at the last second I changed what I wanted to do with it. Now I have no clue what I should write. Can I get some help, or some ideas? Help me out please!