Disclaimer: Ken Akamatsu owns Lova Hina and all associated characters, places and events. I use them for entertainment purposes without permission or intent to profit.
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"Blackmailed Into Love"
'Part II: Pale Moonlight'
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'
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Even though Motoko slept, curled up on her futon and bundled up beneath her blanket, she didn't rest that night. Her mind, her body and her soul were all in a conflicting turmoil. Her mind was demanding answers as to why she had even written such things in the first place; her body, it wanted to go to Urashima's room and start 'researching' for her next story; and her soul seemed to be almost as though it were smiling sweetly at both mind and body while knowing something which they did not. Motoko knew none of this; she only knew that when she awoke the next morning, it felt as though she hadn't slept at all that night, she still felt so physically tired and emotionally exhausted. The feeling reminded her of the aftermath of some of her most hard-fought kendo tournaments, only without the sense of satisfaction and victory that normally accompanied it.
Looking out the window of her room, as dawn began to light up the sky, she mentally damned Urashima for doing this to her. Ever since he had first arrived at the Hinatasou, he had been damaging her purity of purpose; distracting her, troubling her mind, keeping her from focusing on the sword in the manner which she had done before his appearance. And now, now he had even intruded upon her methods by which she attempted to exorcise that trouble from her mind, holding them over her as blackmail with the threat of her family's being informed. The combination of shock that he had discovered them and fear that he might reveal them had caused her to react submissively and it disgusted her now that she had regathered her wits about her.
By the time faint light had grown to morning sun, Motoko had reached a firm conclusion. This state of affairs could not be allowed to continue. She would have to act decisively to deal with Urashima before he could do anything and reestablish herself in the upper echelons of the Hinatasou's hierarchy. If he could put her in such a threatening position, she was concerned for what he could do to the other girls without her in a place to protect them; especially the younger ones. Granny Hina and Haruka-san were blinded by their blood relation, but Motoko knew that perverts could be found anywhere, everywhere, and action must always be taken against them. She had no intention of allowing herself or anyone under her protection to wind up like her sister; corrupted and fallen because of a male's perversion. The only question was how and when to act...
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That same morning, in another room, Keitaro lay in bed with his fingers knit together behind his head, idly looking at the ceiling and thinking about what it would be like to have a mirror hanging over his bed, just for fun. Most of his thoughts, however, were elsewhere. He had seen it a dozen times since coming to the Hinatasou; flustered to defensive to aggressive was the triple play, just like in baseball. The night before he had flustered Motoko more than she had ever been flustered before, he was sure. She'd probably spent most of the night getting defensive, or would spend the day doing so if she hadn't already, then she'd start turning aggressive. The problem was that, since she'd been more flustered than ever before, it would probably also lead to her becoming more aggressive than she ever had before as well.
Aggression was one thing. Contrary to popular belief, he knew how to show aggression; he and aggression were old friends. They'd met years ago and got together every now and again when his parents tried to make him break his promise or Kanako decided to try and have 'adopted' take precedence over 'sister'. But it was a cold aggression; firm, quiet, reasonable and completely unyielding. What Motoko, and Narusagawa, and even Kitsune at times all practiced was blind aggression; there was a difference. Blind aggression was hot, wild, dangerous, it could not tell friend from foe from innocent. Blind aggression was as dangerous to the aggressor as to the target and anyone else caught up in it; and any thing, like the Hinatasou itself. And while, except for perhaps Shinobu in whom he saw something of himself, he had little true attachment to any of the tenants, he had a great deal of attachment to the survival and wellbeing of the Hinatasou; it was his family's legacy, moreso than his parents' sweets shop would ever be. None of the tenants, or even his family, knew or suspected - or, maybe, even understand - what he would do to protect that legacy. If that meant he had to destroy Motoko, or any of the other tenants, or even sacrifice his own family's respect for him, he could learn to live with that... because he could live with that... because the Hinatasou, his family's legacy, would live.