Love Hina: New Dreams and New Promises

Ch 2

The New Promise

Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina in any form or fashion I only own this fic idea.

Keitaro slowly made his ascent to consciousness. It wasn't till he opened his eyes that he recalled last night's events. He raised his arms to see if it was true. The thick bandages confirmed what his memories told him. He groaned and laid his arm back down. He was about to close his eyes when he noticed something off to his right. Turning his head slightly he saw Tsuruko sitting with her back to the wall sound asleep.

She looked so peaceful he couldn't help but smile. He pulled himself out from under the blankets and stood. Wincing at the daily pain inflicted from stretching old scars and sore muscles. Turning he gathered the blanket and placed it about the sleeping Tsuruko. Seeing how he was still dressed in the clothes he had on yesterday he moved quietly to the door and moved outside.

Once outside he wasn't sure where to go. So he began to wonder around. He passed through the garden once more and paused near the bench where he had revealed the scars to his future wife. Continuing on he heard a rhythmic banging of metal and curious he began to move in that direction. He rounded the last corner and saw a young woman working a chunk of metal. She turned and placed the metal in vat of water and as the cloud of steam erupted Keitaro found himself moving closer to the weapon's smith.


Santsu was also approaching the weapon smith but for a specific reason. She saw Keitaro watching the young woman work and decided to see how he was feeling this morning. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder and had to try and suppress a laugh as he jumped. The weapon smith however had no compulsion and laughed as Keitaro settled back down.

"Santsu I am wondering since my little episode last night I assume that I am to wed your daughter tonight am I correct in assuming this?"

Santsu nodded. "Yes that is one reason why I am glad you are here according to the ritual my daughter will have to be wed as a normal woman and her husband to be has to be adorned as a samurai. I was going to ask Mishko here if we had any armor for you to wear."

Keitaro looked up a Santsu. "I have a suit of armor left to me by my grandfather if you want I can send for it. It may be a little old so I might need to have it fixed up a bit."

Santsu smiled. "That would be excellent. Now then why don't we go to breakfast and let our friend here get back to work." Mishko laughed and waved to Keitaro as they walked away.

Santsu was enjoying her walk with Keitaro. He was telling her how he enjoyed watching the smith work. Then to her surprise he stopped walking.

"Santsu do you think someday Tsuruko may come to love me or will she hate me her entire life because she is married to someone as worthless as me?"

Santsu was taken aback. She knew he might ask such a question but to hear him now was too much for her. Reaching out she cupped his cheek in her hands.

"Why must you think of yourself so negatively? You are always putting yourself down constantly making yourself look bad. Why must you do that?"

Keitaro looked into her eyes and she felt her heart break at the pain and sadness deep within his eyes. "Because that is what I believe. All of my life I have tried to do what was right and all I received was pain. Every time I tried to get close to a girl all I received was pain. I have spent all of my life on my own." His voice she realizes is filled with hate and rage.

"I had no support from anybody except for Haruka, Grandma Hina, and my little sister Kanako. Without them I would have cracked long ago. I didn't even have anybody to go to for help." His voice breaks as tears began to fall. "I have been alone all of my life. Just once I would like to know what love feels like. I want to know what it is like to hold someone and be loved by them."

Before Keitaro could react he found himself wrapped in a warm hug. For the first time he knows what it felt like to be cared for. Santsu held him close as he cried. She felt the tears fall as she herself cried with him. To have seen a young man grow without warmth or love his entire life was shocking, but for this same young man to grow up only loving the people around him never hating never holding a grudge only to bear the pain he felt day in and day out without complaint. She cried for the young man.

Keitaro cried into her shoulder he felt safe for the first time he felt safe and loved. Here he could bear all of his wounds to be healed. Here he could find peace and love, and maybe he could find it with his soon to be wife as well.


Naru was out of breath as she stumbled along behind Motoko.

"Motoko, where are we going so early in the morning?"

Motoko didn't answer she only pointed at the cluster of building visible down the road.

"Is that where we are going Motoko?" Naru asked.

"Yes Naru-sempai that is the God's fury school. We should hurry or we may miss him when he leaves to teach his other students." Motoko stated simply as she moved.

Naru nodded and followed the fast moving Aoyama.


Tsuruko felt comfortable warm and unconsciously pulled the blanket around herself Santsu smiled as she watched her daughter sleep. Turning she looked at the young man who was standing by her. Keitaro was watching his future wife as she moved slightly under the blanket. His own feelings were at war with himself. The possibility of being loved and the possibility of being hurt again raged back and forth inside his body this constant conflict was very confusing to him.

The three were startled out of their moment of peace by a voice.

"SANTSU!"

Said woman moved to the door and walked out. The booming voice had another consequence as well Keitaro realized as he saw Tsuruko slowly wake up. His mind went into panic mode as he watched the young woman began to stir. Unsure on what to do his body wanted to run and hide his heart wanted to stay and see how she would react to him being there. Still unsure he waited to see what would happen.

Tsuruko was jolted out of her sleep by the booming voice. She opened her eyes expecting to see her father their reprimanding her for sleeping late again. But instead all she saw a very worried looking young man. As her mind completely woke up she noticed that she was sitting on the floor. The memories from the previous night slowly came back to her. She turned to look at the bed and saw it empty of its occupant. Turning back to the young man before her she smiled sweetly when she realized that the blanket wrapped around her was the very blanket used for the bed.

Gripping the blanket she slowly rose to her feet and moved to the bed and placed the blanket back in its place. She turned back to her future husband and as she neared him she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before walking out the door. She heard a loud thump and giggled as she moved back to her room.

Santsu finished talking to her husband and saw her daughter leaving Keitaro's room. As she got closer she to heard the thump and peeking inside she laughed softly as she saw Keitaro picking himself up off the floor. Giving the young man a chance to recover she knocked on the door frame.

Keitaro was expecting something but a kiss on the cheek was not one of them. His entire body had locked up keeping him from flinching away. When she had left his body had relaxed completely causing him to collapse like a rag doll. Mumbling to himself he stood back up and was about to straighten up his room when he heard the knock at the door. Turning he saw the smiling Santsu, but before he could speak she gently took him by the arm and guided him out of the room.

"You had better get cleaned up so you don't scare your wife away." Santsu remarked as she guided towards a small building.

Keitaro only laughed. As she gently shoved him inside, Keitaro's laughter stopped when he saw that he wasn't alone. Several of the other male students were watching him. Placing his hand behind his head he laughed. The other boys shrugged and went about their daily routines of bathing. That is till one of them saw the scars on Keitaro's back when he removed his shirt.

Keitaro realizing that the conversations had stopped turned around and saw the boys staring at him with a varying degree of expression. The younger boys just openly stared in shock at the multitude of scars while the older boy's showed a great deal of respect towards him. Keitaro felt a hand on his shoulder and turning he saw Kioshi staring at him. The unasked question hung in the air, till Keitaro nodded. Kioshi shook his head in disappointment before entering the bath. The rest of the boys glanced about in confusion between Keitaro and the door their master had just exited. Finally they grabbed the varying bathing supplies and dashed out and into the hot spring. Keitaro found that he was alone in the changing room with a sigh he finished undressing and moved out to get cleaned up.


Time seemed to fly by for Keitaro one minute he was getting cleaned up the next Santsu was at his shoulder telling him that someone was there to see him. When the two reached the gate he saw a large crate sitting just inside the door glancing quickly to the person standing next to it he saw. "Aunt Haruka you made it."

Before he could react a small object can flying out of nowhere and hit Keitaro in the forehead. Glancing down Santsu saw the small fan lying on the ground. After picking up the small item she approached the unknown woman. "May I ask who you are?"

Haruka straightened up. My name is Urashima Haruka. I am Keitaro's cousin he only insists on calling me aunt because that was the name he called me when he was little. May I ask who you are and why my cousin needed this armor?"

My name is Aoyama Santsu. I am Tsuruko and Motoko's mother as well as the head of this school. As for the armor it is to be worn by Keitaro when he weds my daughter Tsuruko."

Haruka stared at her and then glanced at Keitaro who by now had joined them. "Keitaro is this true?"

Keitaro felt a goofy grin slide across his face and unconsciously he placed his left hand behind his head. "Yes I sorta fell in and well stirred up a lot of trouble."

Santsu placed a hand on Keitaro's shoulder. "Yesterday morning for one reason or another Keitaro found himself in the ladies bath and well the girls were trying to get my oldest daughter to admit something so they stole her towel and ran outside. She pursued them only to let Keitaro see her unclothed and as our custome stipulates if an outsider sees one of our students then they must be wed that day. Keitaro unfortunately decided to try and free my daughter from that obligation last night however we interfered in that plan, and now he is going to see the ritual through to the end."

Haruka sighed. "You know this is going to be no end of trouble for you right Keitaro?"

Keitaro hung his head. "Yeah I know, but none the less I must do what I must do." Sighing, the boy turned and as if a massive weight settled on his shoulders walked slowly away.

Santsu turned to Haruka only to see her looking sadly after her cousin. "What is going to happen to him?" Santsu asked.

Haruka shook her head. "Family problems."

Turning to the crate Santsu knew she was not going to get anything else out of the woman.


Motoko and Naru once again entered the gates to the school. They both looked very pleased with them selves as they went towards the kitchen hall to grab a light snack before the evening festivities.

Keitaro was standing next to the weapons smith as he watched the two girls move to the dinning hall. For some unknown reason he felt very uneasy watching the two happy girls. Shaking his head he returned his gaze to the working smith and watched as she made minor repairs to the armor he was to wear that evening.


Santsu could only smile as she watched Keitaro standing in front of a mirror fidgeting slightly as Kioshi stepped back to se if the young man was suited up properly. Seeing that everything was in order he stepped outside to make sure other things were getting taken care of as well. Santsu remained behind to help Keitaro finish getting ready.

"I still can't believe I am getting married." Keitaro stated mostly to himself. Then realizing that he said it aloud turned to Santsu. "Sorry I just never though I would get married especially to a girl like Tsuruko."

Santsu smiled softly at his hesitation and nervousness she felt the same way when it came time for her to marry Kioshi. Seeing that he was looking at her quizzically she only smiled and took him by the arm as she guided him out the door. "It would be wise not to be late for your own wedding."

As she saw him off she turned to another building nearby, and making her way over to it she was met by her husband. She smiled as she felt his hand grasp hers intertwining their fingers they walked towards their daughters room.

Keitaro was nervous. No that wasn't accurate he wasn't nervous at all.

He was scared to death. Tugging unconsciously at the collar of his armor he watched the small clock ticking away. The other students who were making finally preparations for the ceremony glanced over at him laughing softly as he tried to remain calm and collected. However he wasn't the only one suffering from the last minute jitters

Santsu opened the door and was surprised to see her daughter standing in front of the mirror tugging slightly at her dress. She laughed softly catching the attention of her daughter. "Come now Tsuruko you look beautiful."

"I'm sorry mother I am just nervous. I knew I Was to get married one day but I wasn't expecting this." Tsuruko moved over and sat down on her bed. "What am I supposed to do, I am so scared that I am going to make a mistake."

Santsu walked over and sat next to her daughter. "I understand how it feels. Tsuruko believe me when I say you are not the only one who is nervous. Your husband to be is scared silly as well. Though knowing his life I can't blame him for being scared."

Tsuruko cringed slightly this didn't go unnoticed by her mother. "Tsuruko you have nothing to fear from this young man I believe him to be a kind and caring soul who bears no ill will to anyone and the last thing he would ever think of doing is taking advantage of someone. He may be your husband but I don't think he will use that against you. All he wants is to be loved."

Tsuruko nodded before standing. "It's just that I don't love him, he may be a sweet and caring young man but I just don't feel that way towards him."

Before her mother could answer a bell rung outside Santsu stood. "It is time."


Keitaro heard the bell as well and the blood left his face making him look like a mosaic was left in his place. Students filed in and took their seats while Keitaro stood at the small alter. He watched as Motoko and Naru entered and sat near the back of the large room. He once again got that disturbing feeling in his gut that something was wrong. He quickly brushed the feeling aside as he saw Santsu enter. She was wearing a beautiful Kimono and as she moved down the aisle she smiled to reassure Keitaro. Taking her seat she waited patiently until stillness settled over the assembled students. Keitaro felt his jaw reach his ankles Kisohi was making his way down the aisle adorned in his black armor a striking contrast to Tsuruko's kimono. Though it was plain it still radiated a beauty unlike anything Keitaro had seen before. True it was a pure white kimono but to him it was if she was an angel hidden by the small cloud in front of her. He couldn't help but feel the blood race to his face as she let her eyes linger on him. Kisohi guided her to the small alter where he released her so she could turn and face her husband to be he nodded towards Keitaro and then moved back down to join his wife who took his offered hand and intertwined their fingers.

Now facing his wife to be Keitaro couldn't for the life of him remember a moment when he was so excited and terrified at the same time. His attention was drawn to her eyes where her uncertainty was visible along with an excitement of the unknown. Their attention was dragged from each other when an elderly looking woman stepped up to them.

"Keitaro Urashima and Tsuruko Aoyama it is my duty and honor to bind you to each other. Though your hearts and feelings may be directed to others fate has brought you together for reasons that we may never know. Once this ceremony has completed you will be man and wife. However one issue that has not been decided upon is whose family you will follow." She turned to Keitaro. "If you so wish Tsuruko will take your name and become a member of your family or if you wish it you can take the Aoyama name and become a member of our family. Either way the choice is yours I will give you time to consider your choices." She stepped back and began to say few prayers and light the incense.

Keitaro looked back at the young woman by his side. She was watching him she didn't even bother to hide her curiosity. He thought about it but he found he really didn't care that much. True his family would be even more upset with him since he choose not to take their name but all they did was scorn him and made his life hell, but in the few short days he was with the Aoyama's he found what it was like to have a family they had accepted him even if it was not under the most ideal circumstances. He honestly could not decide shrugging he leaned over to Tsuruko. "Would you prefer to keep your family name or change it?"

To say that Tsuruko was shocked didn't do her justice. She nearly jumped from her spot. Seeing her confusion he leaned over further. "I do not care which name I take so I am going to leave the choice. So pick whichever makes you the happiest." With that he sat back up and watched the elder continue with her arrangements.

Keitaro watched out of the corner of his eye he smiled when she glanced back to her parents unsure of what to do but it answered his question on what she would like. When the elder turned back to him he had made his choice. "Well young man have you decided?"

"Yes I have."

She quirked an eyebrow at him and he continued.

"I have decided that I would like to have the honor of bearing the Aoyama name if they are willing to accept me." Tsuruko felt her jaw drop. She had not been expecting this. She reached out and touched his shoulder as if to verify that she hadn't dreamed this up. He turned to her and she saw the conviction and determination in his eyes and realized he was telling the truth.

The elder smiled at Keitaro and looked towards Kioski and Santsu who only nodded their permission. "Very well."

She placed a small dish on the alter separating the two and poured a small amount of sake in it. She picked it up and gave it to Keitaro who drank it down before placing the small dish back in the center. The Elder repeated the process with Tsuruko, but as she placed the cup back on the table there was a loud explosion from outside. Everyone turned looking at the massive cloud of dust rolling across the grounds.

Keitaro was trying to figure out what was going on when he saw a figure emerge from the dust cloud. The figure walked stiffly towards the assembly and out of the corner of his eye he watched Tsuruko pale considerably.

The figure spoke and Keitaro had no trouble hearing the anger in his voice. "So Tsuruko it appears your sister was correct after all you are getting married."

Tsuruko started to stand but he held up his hand to her. "No by all means please finish."

The elder began to pour again as soon as it was full she handed it back to Keitaro who drank. She did the same once more for Tsuruko who hesitated slightly before drinking. The process was repeated a third time and when Tsuruko placed the glass back down she glanced nervously back at the mysterious young man. Who only looked extremely upset then he became enraged when the elder turned to the assembly. "I give you Keitaro and Tsuruko Aoyama."

Tsuruko was very nervous her first love was standing there watching her get married to another man she barely knew. Glancing at Keitaro she saw him nodd at her unasked question he gave a gentle push towards the upset man. Tsuruko felt her respect grow for this young man. Her thoughts paused slightly. No not young man he no longer is a young man he is my husband.

She walked slowly up to the infuriated stranger, but as she tried to touch him her hand was slapped aside. "Don't touch me wench!"

Tsuruko felt her heart shudder as tears began to form in her eyes. Kioski stood and made to move to his daughter, but a threatening glare from the stranger stopped him. "Do not interfere, Kioski or the consequences will be fierce."

The stranger turned to the assemble and raised his voice so all could hear. "I am Tamen master of the God's Fury School. Though your school's master decided that this was appropriate they failed to ask for permission from me. As it has always been the school with the strongest leaders shall lead both. I bested Kioski in combat so my word is law. Now then for acting out against the will of the school your punishment will be swift and sever." Motoko had been walking towards Tamen and as she neared him she held out an object in her hand to him.

Tsuruko saw the object and panicked. She ran forward hoping to intercept him but he saw her coming and with a blur of motion backhanded her sending her crashing to the floor. Tsuruko looked back up at him with fire in her eyes and stood up defiantly. Tamen's fury only grew. "You stupid bitch you never knew your place!" He cried drawing back his arm which had started to glow a soft blue as his ki gathered there. Tsuruko saw the punch coming but before she could react something moved in front of her. The was an explosion of ki force as Keitaro was lifted off the ground only to collapse back to the floor where the chest plate of his armor shattered from the force of his blow.

Tsuruko dropped to her knees and grabbed at the broken form of her husband. She never saw Tamen move but her reflexes and sensitivity to everything around here did without thinking she brought her right arm to catch the kick aimed for her head only to feel pain explode through out her arm as the ki powered kick sent her sliding across the ground.

Tamen smirked as he tightened his grip on Tsuruko's sword. "Your actions have proven that you have no place in this school and as such I herby banish you from the Shin Mye Ryu." With that he raised her blade between his hands and snapped it in two. Throwing the broken pieces of her blade at her feet he turned and walked out. Stopping at the door he glanced back one more time. "I want you gone by morning and no healers."

Tsuruko tried to get to her feet but found that she had no strength left. In the span of a few moments her heart had been broken along with her dreams and on top of that she was now banished from the only home she has ever known. She could only cry as her parents moved to her side. The elder who had wed her to her new husband bent down and gently picked up the pieces of her once beloved sword. Kioshi seeing his wife taking care of Tsuruko moved to the still form that was Keitaro. Fearing the worst he gently rolled his son in law over. The monstrous bruise on his stomach was testament to the amount of power Tamen had hit him with. Kioshi was shocked when he realized that Keitaro wasn't unconscious. "Please." Came the hoarse and pained voice.

Kioshi nodded and helped the young man stand aiding him in his walk over to their wives. When they reached Tsuruko's positioin he gently let go of Kioshi and fell painfully to his feet where he bowed to his wife and mother in law. "I'm sorry that I was unable to move faster and prevent him from hurting you." Tsuruko was about to protest but her voice only came out in an anguished cry as Keitaro moved placing his left arm behind her shoulders his right arm in the krook of her knees and stood up. Kioshi and Santsu were surprised not only had he taken a ki powered punch and remained conscious but know he was carrying another person.

Tsuruko was trying to protest but her please fell on deaf ears as he took each shuddering step. Santsu quickly shushed her daughter when Tsuruko began to plead to her to get him to stop hurting himself further. "You would prefer to disohonor your husband who is doing exactly as a husband should."

Tsuruko felt her protests die as she glanced at Keitaro's face and saw only warmth and kindness there. They neared the healer hall and as the healers rushed out they tried to take her from him only to have Santsu and Kioshi tell them to stand down they watched as the young couple walked inside and followed one of the healers to a waiting room. Once there Keitaro saw the small bed and being as careful as possible he placed Tsuruko down seeing that she was safe he promptly fell unconscious to the floor. The last thing he heard before the darkness consume him was his wife calling out to him.