Authors Note: In my haste to publish this chapter, I left out some important details that may otherwise confuse certain readers new to the Love Hina canon. This story takes place in about the 7 th or 9th volume of the Love Hina manga by Japanese manga-ka, Ken Akamatsu. In summary: Tsuruko, Motoko's sister, arrives at the Hinata-sou to take her back home to the Gods Cry School in order to take it over. Motoko, feeling herself not ready to take on such a heavy burden and responsibility, lies to her sister and tell her that Keitaro and she are secretly engaged to be married! The ruse appears to work at first, but then Tsuruko finds out, engages Motoko in battle, and defeats her, rejecting her as the heir to the school. Her spirit crushed, she then attempts to live a normal life as a woman, doing all sorts of housework around the dorm, which only serves to aggravate the other girls, as her methods leave something to be desired. Tsuruko appears out of nowhere and approaches Keitaro with an interesting proposition: To help Motoko defeat her. If they do not, he must take responsibility for his part in the ruse, and "make Motoko a woman." In other words, should they fail, he has to marry her. So Keitaro gives Motoko his family's ancient sword, "Hina – The Ominous Blade," and they take off to Kyoto to do battle with the elder Aoyama. Our story begins in the midst of the battle where a serious divergence in the time-line is about to occur…
Love Hina – Of Kanrinrins and Kendo
Chapter 1 – Tearful Union
SMASH!
Pain. Indescribable pain coursed through Motoko's body as Tsuruko slammed her against a massive piece of bedrock that struck out of the earth, her eyes almost appearing possessed; a wicked grin was plastered on her face.
"You aren't even trying! Do you wish for me to end this right now?" She cocked her head questioningly. Motoko couldn't muster a response as her sister's hand was tightly squeezing her neck and holding her down. The most she could force out was a weak gasp.
Her grip tightened, "Mark my words, you will carry the shame you are about to experience…all the way to your grave!" adding, "Prepare yourself!"
Motoko shuddered…is this how it would end? Both dishonored and killed before ever experiencing life's greatest moments? What about the inheritance of the family school? Children?
…Love?
Her thoughts fluttered momentarily onto the man who had offered to help her in her battle against her sister, inwardly sighing. A single lone tear rolled down her cheek.
Urashima. Goodbye.
"HOLD ON, MOTOKO!"
"Ehh?" she blinked.
All of a sudden, she was whisked out of her sister's grip in a flash, Keitaro clutching her tightly and flinging a handful of Koalla Su's handy dandy mini-bombs in Tsuruko's direction. No description would do justice to the look of dumbfounded surprise on her face.
Explosions rocked the ground as Keitaro came to a stop, hobbling on his cast, and grinning, "Cool save, huh? Su Fed-Ex'ed a whole case of those babies!"
Motoko flushed, feeling the grip of his arm and the warmth of his body so close to hers.
"Ahh," was the only thought she could register at the moment as he placed her down.
Naru looked on, flustered and visibly unnerved by their closeness, growling inwardly.
The clouds of smoke surrounding Tsuruko parted, and there she stood, unblemished, an aura blanketing her body, "Fu fu fu…NOW it's beginning to get interesting!"
Keitaro flailed, tears of panic streaming from his eyes, "How high is that lady's hit point level!"
"Ahem."
He turned around to face an annoyed Narusegawa staring at him jealously, "Don't you think…you're trying just a BIT too hard? You DO have a broken leg, after all." Keitaro could almost swear she was pouting a bit.
"Huh?" was all he responded with, confused.
She got in his face, frowning and blushing, "Did something happen last night between you and Motoko? It's soooo obvious."
Keitaro couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was she getting jealous…and NOW of all times! "Now really isn't the best time to talk about this!" he protested.
She jumped forward, fuming and grasping the hilt of the cursed Hina sword strapped to his back, "There you go trying to act all macho! If you want to beat her so much, instead of bombs, go chop her head off with your sword!"
"Eeep! NO! Don't touch that!" he yelled, not quick enough to stop her.
A visible change took place on Naru's face, her eyes widening, "This…power…" she muttered, the sword shaking in her hand.
An evil aura sprang from the blade and engulfed her, changing her entire countenance. Her eyes turned jet black with a white glow where the pupils should have been.
"Ka ka kak," she cackled in an otherworldly voice.
Keitaro and Motoko both gasped in horror, "Oh my GOD! Look at her eyes!" cried a panicked Urashima.
"Why did you let her grab your sword?" Motoko chastised him, "Now we have to put HER down, too!"
"It's not like I did it on purpose!" he objected, flailing his arms in outrage.
Tsuruko stopped her advance on the pair and watched the transformation taking place, "I recognize that sword! It's the legendary ominous blade known as 'Hina' that plunged the city of Kyoto into the sea!" Her eyes furrowed, "It took the COMBINED STRENGTH of the Gods' Cry school to seal it away!"
The pair's countenance froze in shock and dumbfounded dread.
"We're screwed!" they shouted in unison. Keitaro felt that if there had been anything in his bladder, he would have lost it at this moment.
Meanwhile, Naru's eyes became like swirls and her body appeared to pulsate like gelatin. A wicked voice gurgled upwards from her throat, "Ahh, yessss…never been in a female's body before…it feels goooood…"
"Gyaaaaaah!" exclaimed Aoyoma and Urashima, tears flying out of their eyes in dismay.
"Take that!" the Naru-demon leaped forward, sword pointed outward in attack. The two narrowly avoided the assault as rock exploded behind them, flinging them away, "Yaaaaaah!"
"Fu fu fu…the sword must be leeching the girl's life force in order to expand its dark power," Tsuruko called out, not that anyone within shouting distance could have heard her among the rocketing explosions of dirt, rock and debris. She continued, leaping to a steady place on the turf, "Lucky for us, it's squandering any power that's gained, giving me time to gain the advantage." She readied her sword, positioning herself in a battle stance. Her eyes focused on Motoko, who was deftly avoiding huge chunks of bedrock. She frowned in concern, "Oh, Motoko."
Something was approaching.
Her eyes darted upwards to see the demon-possessed Narusegawa bearing down on her from above, sword flung back to strike. Deftly, she furrowed her brow, staying her arm until it was close enough. Swinging upward, she knocked the sword out of Naru's grasp, flinging it away, and in a second slash down, knocked Naru backwards with the hilt of her blade.
"Gah?" Naru blinked, as her eyes began to change to normal, and was flung headfirst into the hard ground, "Oof!"
Tsuruko turned on her heel and gave attention to the cursed sword falling rapidly through the air. She drew her hand back, and immediately began to charge her chi, sending electrical forces coursing through her blade. She suddenly thrust out her arm, lobbing a wave of powerful, pulsating energy towards 'Hina.' She roared out the name of her attack, trumpeting above all the din:
"CUTTING DEMON SWORD! SECOND FORM!"
A wave of light engulfed the immediate area. There wasn't a shred of ground, vegetation, or person within a quarter-mile that did not get bathed in the attack's awesome, cosmic glow. Keitaro and Motoko shielded their faces, utterly blinded by the luminosity.
'Hina' clattered to the ground, utterly motionless and silent.
Motoko rubbed her eyes, the present area now back to normal, "T-the sword! It's been sealed!"
Keitaro bumbled around in a daze, eyes swirling and partially blinded by the intense white light, "Gaaaah…where is everyone?" He slipped and cracked his skull on a jutting rock. However, Keitaro, being Keitaro, was quite unfazed by the splitting headache received.
Motoko rushed over to her older sister, excited, "Onee-san! You did it! I—"
A cold flash of steel sliced the air, and Motoko was suddenly on the wrong end of a sharp, steel blade inches from her neck. She froze mid-step.
Tsuruko glared at her with a mixture of anger and disappointment, "Admit your defeat, Motoko-chan. You have brought shame and honor on yourself and to your family with your lies and," she added, "you almost unleashed a terrible evil on the world."
Motoko gasped, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. She looked back at her sister like a deer caught in headlights, "I-I…"
"You are not fit to carry on the Gods' Cry School. You are hereby banished from the grounds." Tsuruko hilted the blade and walked away, adding, "Your marriage ceremony to Urashima-san will begin immediately."
Motoko fell to her knees, staring in the distance, watching her sister's receding figure wane into the distance.
Keitaro sat up, rubbing his head, "W-what happened? Did we win?" He looked around for any possible signs of a victory, but all he saw was a wasteland devoid of any living vegetation.
"Whoa."
"Ow, ow, ow," moaned Naru, sitting up in a corner away from the other two, "What the hell hit me? Keitaro, you are in SO much trouble." She glanced up, eyes widened like saucers to the scene before her, "Uhh, whoa…what'd I miss?"
sob, sob, sob
Keitaro blinked and noticed that Aoyoma was face down on the hard ground, body shaking silently. He rushed over to her side and kneeled down beside her, "Motoko! Are you ok? What happen—gack!"
Motoko threw her arms around Keitaro, squeezing him tightly and shuddering into his chest, "Keeiitarroooo…" she wailed.
"Ack! M-motoko, don't cry! Everythin' will be all right, you'll…you'll see!" he attempted a confident laugh and was trying to be overly positive like usually, but found himself not believing his own lines.
"I…uh, I guess we lost, huh?"
She choked in response, digging her head closer into him.
Earlier in the week, when they had been alone in his room, Motoko had done the same thing, perhaps a little less passionately than now, and she requested that he hold her. However, now, she was too choked up to even utter a syllable, let alone a simple request. It was unspoken; something demanded by her mood and her body language, she absolutely needed someone to hold her. Someone to let her know they'd be there for her…
She wanted that someone to be Keitaro Urashima.
Unlike earlier, he found himself wrapping his arms around her without a second thought, and holding her head against his chest. She sobbed until there were no more tears…
Naru, off by herself, could only stare quietly, aware of what had happened…and what this loss meant to them all…especially Keitaro and herself. She turned away from the scene, her own tears becoming her only sustenance.
The wind cooed silently, filling the awkward silence.
Marriages are typically the happiest thing to happen to a young couple, ready to start their own lives together. You rarely see a bride who isn't crying tears of joy when that priest pronounces the life-long bond with their husband-to-be complete.
Motoko Aoyoma's tears were of a different kind, however. Tears of bitterness and regret blanketed her face as the priest finished the ceremony. The loss of everything and the heavy burden she had to bear from the deceptions she told her sister had almost provoked her into a state of shock.
Keitaro, meanwhile, had an extremely sad countenance. He had always thought and hoped that the bride standing across from him holding his hand would be Naru, not the crazy kendo girl who had hated him from day one as landlord of the Hinata-sou. He looked around the stage where the ceremony was performed, and didn't see Naru anywhere. He couldn't exactly blame her. Their relationship, in the instance of a second, had been snapped in half. He had never even heard her answer his proclamation of love. He leaned on the crutch under his right arm. His foot hurt like hell, and his head was pounding from the sudden meeting of good rich earth and human skull.
In the meantime, Tsuruko had given the invitees ample time to arrive at the school to attend the proceedings. The residents of the Hinata-sou had thought it was a bad joke, but Kitsune, not wanting to give up the chance at free booze normally associated with a wedding reception, convinced them to all go along with it.
"I'll bet Keitaro will do some sneaky little underhanded trick at the last minute and, like, I dunno, pull a grenade out and shove it down Tsuruko's gi or something," she reasoned with the others.
If anything else, a good show was guaranteed, especially if Naru attempted to go psycho and stop the wedding by beating the living daylights out of their landlord. Everyone would win!
However, after realizing that no such rescue was due in coming, Kitsune was unusually somber, her usual tightly shut eyes opened in sadness. Even the thought of free sake didn't comfort her in the least. Most depressing of all was that Naru was nowhere to be seen. That didn't sound good. She was afraid that the antennae-girl might do something rash, like commit seppuku, throw herself off a cliff, or blow herself (and Keitaro) up with that previously mentioned grenade…As much as she would deny it to infinity, Kitsune was aware how Naru felt.
Tsuruko had insisted on a Shinto-style wedding, but she did arrange for a few mixed-in western traditions.
The priest indicated that it was time to exchange rings. The two did so without a word.
A shrine maiden came forward and placed a small wooden stand with three san-san-kudo cups on it between the couple. Keitaro reluctantly took the top-most cup that the shrine maiden then filled with saké. He carefully took sips of 3 equal portions, each spaced by about 3-5 seconds between, at which time the cup was empty.
Now it was Motoko's turn. Keitaro handed her the cup, blushing profusely, both from embarrassment and the rice wine going straight to his head. The shrine maiden then filled the cup for her, at which time the bride-to-be repeated Keitaro's actions, taking 3 carefully timed sips until it was gone. She let out a sudden gasp of air from the strength of the stuff. She then proceeded to place it on the stand, and took another cup, which the maiden filled again, and repeated the drinking procedure before handing it to Keitaro. He finished it just as before and placed the cup down again. Finally, the 3rd cup was handled and the procedure began all over again as the first time.
This was it.
Shinobu was all tears, hiding her face behind her hands, sobbing quietly. All of her dreams and wishes about being with her sempai were dashed like so much chaff in the wind.
Su and Sarah seemed sort of perplexed at the whole thing, but even they understood this wasn't exactly an occasion where you dropped kicked the landlord in the head. This was too serious, depressing and…well, boring.
Haruka thoughtfully chewed on the edge of her cigarette, still wearing her café apron, eyes revealing no hint of emotion as per the usual. Her face was tightened up a bit in a grimace, but no one could tell if that was due to the situation at hand or bad gas.
Mutsumi as usual, had no idea what was going on. She always put on her best smile when Keitaro was involved. She made sure to take plenty of watermelons for the occasion, in case it was a happy one. Tama-chan perched on her head, tiny turtle eyes looking somehow forlorn.
"Myuuuh."
Tsuruko, still dressed in her white gi and red hakama, sat in the front row (along with the rest of her clan) hand on her katana in the case that one of them tried to make a break for it. Justice would be enacted in either case.
The priest, in English, spoke up, "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."
Keitaro and Motoko both looked up at the same time at each other, faces red. A kiss in a Shinto ritual! Tsuruko was obviously behind this. This was like a mockery of their attempted "fake" kiss in front of her back at the Hinata-sou, which started this whole damn thing.
"Damn you, onee-san!" thought the blushing bride-to-be.
"Is this really what you're supposed to do in a Shinto wedding?" Keitaro thought, posing the question to himself. He scratched the back of his head quizzically.
The Hinata-sou residents murmured amongst themselves at this development, but otherwise said nothing.
Hundreds of thoughts rushed through the couple's minds in the span of a few seconds.
"Well," Motoko sighed inwardly, "there's no fighting Tsuruko over this. Time to eat humble pie. I guess my lips ARE cursed." She looked straight into Keitaro's eyes.
Perhaps, she thought, this wouldn't be so bad. He was really very sweet when it came down to it, and kind. Sure, he was a clumsy fool, and a complete pervert, but she was pretty sure she could beat it out of him. And he DID seem to care about her welfare. He had tried to help her in her darkest hour, even if they had been soundly defeated.
…and, she had to reluctantly admit, he WAS sort of cute.
Still, she hesitated.
Keitaro glanced down at Tsuruko sitting in the front seat. She nodded at him to do the duty…or else. He sweatdropped and pulled at his haori-hakama (black wedding kimono) nervously.
Naru, he thought. I'm so sorry. I wanted something so different from this…I guess that promise is going to go to waste…goodbye future. Goodbye Tokyo U.
…goodbye, Naru.
He glanced back at Motoko's big, doleful eyes, "She's pretty cute, I guess," he thought introspectively, "…and pretty nice when she isn't trying to kill me. Maybe she'll beat me up less from now on," he wondered. His mind flashed back to when she was trying to be 'helpful' around the house and wore Kitsune's maid uniform. She put her all into it just like everything else she did. He did find that somewhat attractive.
And he had failed her…after convincing her to try again. And again. And again.
"I suppose my overwhelming cheerfulness and optimistic attitude won't save us now," he sighed inwardly.
He also hesitated.
After a moment of awkward silence, they nodded slightly at each other in agreement and moved closer to each other dutifully. They both closed their eyes.
Urashima? Of all people in the world, it was this pervert?
Motoko? The violent kendo girl who hated his guts?
All of the couple's reservations melted away as their lips melted into each other's, sealing their lifelong bond.
There was no cheer, no tossing of confetti, or clapping of hands. The moment was rather sobering. Cicada's chirped in the distance.
Motoko ran through a range of emotions. He was so close…and so warm. His breath was hot and his lips were soft. A tingle of pleasure ran up and down her spine. She suddenly didn't care who was watching, or how embarrassed she was to be kissing this idiot.
Similarly, Keitaro went through many of the same sensations. He had been kissed a couple of times before by Mutsumi and, more recently, was given an especially pleasurable good-luck kiss from Naru before taking their final exam…
…but this was different. It was a first kiss…an inexperienced first kiss for a girl who had never known a man before; awkward, but probing and gentle.
They parted from each other, staring into each other's eyes…their opinion of each other somewhat altered in that one instant.
Tsuruko nodded sadly. Motoko-chan's honor debt was repaid. Now that she was no longer a swordswoman, she must learn to be simply…a woman. And Urashima wasn't exactly an unkind, treacherous oaf, regardless of the part he played in deceiving her. He had done it to preserve her sister's happiness, regardless of the means used to retain it. That would be useful and good as the retainer of Motoko's welfare.
The priest came forward, "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Urashima." They both faced the crowd and bowed on their knees, blushing profusely.
The crowd was silent. It had really happened. No last minute rescue or tons of explosions followed by a Mecha Tama-chan rush. It was a rather ordinary and unremarkable wedding ceremony.
"Uhh, Su…what does this mean for us?" Sarah whispered in Koalla's ear.
"Twice the big brothers and sisters to have fun with?" she quipped back, grinning.
"Excccelleeent." Sarah rubbed her hands together, smirking, "I call dibs on the dork."
"Semmmpaaaaiiii…." sobbed little, timid Shinobu quietly to herself.
"Hrm…" Haruka muttered to herself. "One less rent check to collect." She tapped the ash from her cig onto the ground.
"I think I need some of that free booze," Kitsune murmured, rubbing her chin, one free eye open.
The reception afterwards was a bit more upbeat. The shock was still there, of course, but some of it had begun to sink in for the 'happy' couple and the Hinata-sou residents.
Kitsune was, of course, binging on as much alcohol as her liver could possibly handle, and began to start hitting on the young shrine priests much to their chagrin.
Motoko was talking to Su and Sarah, who were peppering her with all kinds of questions, such as what exactly a 'betrothal' was, and "was it good to eat?" Motoko was still somewhat distraught over the whole thing, but found enough time to entertain the two youngsters.
Mutsumi was busy consoling a bawling Shinobu. "Oh me, oh my…" she cooed, as she stroked the schoolgirl's head gently.
Naru was still nowhere to be found.
Keitaro found himself at the edge of a table away from the others, nursing a glass of saké. He wasn't sure how to deal with his tenants regarding all of this, and wasn't sure he wanted to. Sure enough, someone sought him out anyway.
"Ehhh, the man of the hour! hic!"
"Hey Kitsune," he responded, looking away, the saké on her breath a tad overpowering. Her face was beet red.
She took his hand and started vigorously shaking it, a bit TOO overeagerly, as she was completely plastered, "Congudulatshon, Keitaro-kuuun! I'm SOOOOO proud ofya!" He attempted to take his arm back, but she was pumping it back and forth so fast, he couldn't release her grip.
"Uhh, thanks," he responded, blushing.
She finally let go, deftly took his palm and slapped a small envelope into it, "Here, it's a giff. hic!"
He examined the envelope closely, "You didn't manage to fit another 10-yen candy in here, did you?"
Kitsune's head tilted back, and she guffawed loudly, drawing attention from everyone in the vicinity.
"Thash a good one, Keitaru!" She got close to his face and began to whisper, "Heeey…so, what moves are you gonna try to get Motoko in the sack tonight, eh? Nudge nudge, wink wink." She nudged his arm and winked at best as she could under the circumstances to make her point clear. It looked more like her eyes were twitching uncontrollably.
The contents of Keitaro's mouth were spewed all over the premises.
"W-what!" he gulped, taking off his glasses and absentmindedly cleaning them with a corner of his kimono, "Kitsune, cut it out!"
The fox girl suddenly spotted a young shrine priest across the way and pointed towards him, grabbing Keitaro in a headlock, "Hey! Hey, hey, hey! Ya think he'd like a good time!"
"Uhh, sure?" Keitaro sheepishly responded, trying to free himself once again.
"Thanksh, man! Yer the beshtsh frend a gurl could eva haf!" She let him go, slapped him soundly (some might say harshly) on the back, and proceeded to stalk off drunkenly towards her quarry.
"She really gets into celebrations, doesn't she?" he moaned to himself, straightening himself up.
"Kei-kuuuun…" lilted Mutsumi as she approached him, cheerful as ever, hands placed together in the peaceful, serene pose she had adopted.
"Oh…hi, Mutsumi," he smiled back as best as he could muster.
"Oh, Kei-kun. I'm so happy for you! Not that I really understand what's going on, but you and Motoko-san just seemed soooo happy!"
"Uhh, Mutsumi, I just got MARRIED," Keitaro sweat dropped. Was she REALLY that dense?
"Ohhhhh, is that what happened? I had my suspicions, but I didn't want to jump to any conclusions," she perked, smiling widely.
Keitaro promptly fell over in disbelief.
"Anyway, I've brought a gift for you!" she smiled, suddenly dropping an armload of watermelons in his hands.
"Urrk! T-thanks, Mutsumi," he muttered as he strained under the weight of the overwhelming produce.
Motoko finally got the girls to go and bother the others, and walked off on her own for a bit, behind a nearby cherry tree. She leaned against it, sighing deeply and looking at a small cluster of clouds.
"It's amazing how much has occurred in such a short time." She ran a hand through her hair and sighed again, "Narusegawa-sempai…I didn't mean for this to happen. Please don't hate me, but…"
She touched her lips, the memory of her first real kiss, however ceremonial it may have been, still fresh in her memory. She replayed it a few more times in her mind, and couldn't help blushing, remarking, "It was so…nice…"
"Hi, Motoko."
The ex-swordswoman spun around at the sound of the voice. It wasn't like Motoko to be taken by surprise like that. "Of course, considering my failure earlier," she thought later, "I must already be really off my game."
"N-naru-sempai!"
To her surprise, Naru came out from behind another tree, dressed in the same butterfly shirt and skirt she had been wearing earlier during the match. She didn't seem angry, or sad, or even weepy. Motoko went as far to glance down at her hands to see if she was wielding a dagger or an Uzi.
But no, she was just smiling gently. She stepped closer and walked around her in a circle, examining Motoko's shiromuku (Shinto wedding dress). She stopped when she had made a complete circuit and smiled widely, "You make a beautiful bride, Motoko."
"T-thank you," the new Mrs. Urashima stammered, blushing and looking towards the ground.
Naru giggled and stared at the ground, running her left foot in a circle; she seemed to have something on her mind.
"Naru-sempai…p-please don't hate me," Motoko bowed deeply at the waist, frowning.
Naru gave her a wan smile, and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I don't hate you, Motoko…and I can't hate that silly fool, either." She ran a hand through her long hair, continuing, "Frankly, I didn't think it was gonna work between us anyway."
"Or at least, that's what you're telling yourself," Motoko thought sadly to herself, but said nothing in response, remaining bowed.
Naru turned around at stared at the horizon where the sun was slowly beginning to set; she stayed quiet for several seconds before speaking up again, "Hey, Motoko…?"
"Yes, Naru-sempai?" Motoko looked up from her stooped position.
"Can you do me a favor, and promise me something?"
"A-anything I can do to help!" she blurted in response.
Naru turned back around, winking and pointing a finger to her cheek, "Would you please take care of Keitaro for me?"
Motoko blushed profusely, but nonetheless bowed deeply again in respect, eyes shut, "O-of course! I'll keep him in line!"
Naru pleated her skirt absentmindedly, "He's an idiot, of course. He needs all the support he can get, and…" she suddenly spun around on her heel, "…don't you dare let him give up on Tokyo U! He still owes me a promise!"
Her eyes at this point were buckling under the weight of her tears. She sniffed and turned away, walking back into the wood, "I'm going back home to my parents' for awhile. Don't tell the others," she looked back over her shoulder, "Please? I don't want anyone to see me like this right now…and I don't think I could stand being at the dorm anyway."
Mrs. Urashima was taken aback, but nodded sadly, "Yes. I won't tell Urashima or anyone else."
Naru smiled that wan smile of hers again and continued on her way, "I'm so glad that someone like you is watching over him…Urashima-chan."
Motoko watched her disappear into the denseness of the surrounding forest.
"I promise, Naru."
To Be Continued…