(Disclaimer: It's on the first chapter, deal with it

(Disclaimer: It's on the first chapter, deal with it. Thank you again for all the attention and the reviews, the good and the bad, it only encourages me to put out higher and higher quality work, please enjoy chapter 4)

Apologies Made

The onsen of Hinata-sou was lit only by the dim and distant glow of the half moon as it lazily drifted across the sky. Other than the sound of the length of bamboo as it struck the rocks once more after emptying the water it had been filled with from the slow flowing stream, the large bathing area was quiet. After a few minutes a sound of a board moving filled the air as a well hidden panel on the side of the building slowly moved to the side just enough for a small mirror at the end of a stick to be lowered, after slowly turning around exposing the total view of the hot spring the panel opened up even more and a lone male figure exited the now exposed hole.

Reaching back inside he then picked up a long handled brush and a bucket before closing the hole enough so it would not be noticed before quietly sneaking over to the facets and filling the bucket with water and soap. As the bucket filled Keitaro Urashima nervously looked around in all directions, the last thing he wanted right now were any more surprises, especially after nearly being caught in the hallway this afternoon by one of the tenants he least wanted to see. Turning the water off he then proceeded to clean the spacious bathing area.

Several minutes passed and Keitaro continued to keep an eye and ear open for any potential and unwanted intruders. As he made his way around the pool of hot water he would stop long enough to open and close several hiding places he had set up in case he needed to use one, after all he needed to be careful and always have one handy for an emergency escape. To simplify things he had taken to outright avoiding every one of the tenants as well as his aunt for as long as he could, but with their persistence as well as how much of a show they were putting on trying to find him there was so much temptation that there were times he found himself thinking about simply going back to them. He almost did when they put together that birthday party for him, he was so sorely tempted and had he not strengthened himself he would have fallen back into their clutches. But every time he found himself giving into the desire he willed himself to remember the cruel and humiliating mistreatment he had suffered at their hands and used those memories to act as a kind of safety net.

Moving to the next area of the onsen to be cleaned he closed one hiding place and opening another as he did his mind wandered back to earlier that day. He had carefully planned his schedule so that he could avoid everyone as much as possible while doing his chores, some things they hadn't made easy like fixing anything that was broken, but he had found that easy to over come with a little glue and how the place had been built. Another problem he had encountered was sleeping, he knew that if he slept in his old room that eventually they would barge in and find him, so he eventually moved his stuff out and into one of the hidden rooms next to the one Mo-chan was in, effectively cutting off any chance of being found without them going through the tunnels first.

Sighing Keitaro took a break and looked up at the inn, most particularly the third floor. 'I can't believe how close I came to being caught today, that was too close for comfort. If I had been even a split second later in closing the panel Motoko would have had me in her grasp.' Keitaro thought to himself. 'I need to be more careful than that, usually Motoko would train longer than that, but now I have to be extra careful cleaning that floor because they might start posting guards there too.' Keitaro again sighed remembering the many troubles he had run into while trying to keep the inn from falling into disrepair.

Avoiding the girls was getting to be hard because of the number of guards they would post and how thorough they were in how they would do it, he figured it would only be a matter of time before they started using permanent surveillance cameras to try and find him. He was tempted to borrow one of Su's stealth suits but was afraid that she had some kind of tracker for just such an occasion. Keitaro looked up and watched as a familiar green and yellow creature came flying his way, once it was within a short distance of him the familiar friend stopped and offered its own greeting.

"Mu." Tama said while raising one of her flippers.

"Hello Tama, nice to see you too." After giving her a treat from his shirt pocket the rare hot spring turtle settled on his head and proceeded to let him work.

Tama seemed to know what was going on and would avoid him if she was being used to try and find him. But other than that the happy turtle would always find him and try to keep him company, unlike the others she was the only female in the entire inn that no matter how hard he tried he never could seem to get away from. Shinobu was easy to avoid, even though he felt bad for avoiding her the way he did, Kitune the second easiest due to her inherent laziness. Su and Sarah were next on his list because they mostly thought of finding him as more of a game than anything else. Motoko was difficult to avoid, but predictable in her methods of searching and even though it was still hard to avoid her he had come up with a system that nearly guaranteed him a swift getaway.

Naru was the hardest to avoid, she was hell bent on finding him and her methods of searching were unpredictable and thorough, to make matters worse he couldn't bring the safety the tunnels gave him to the school with him, so far keeping an eye on her and moving around the class room so he was always opposite her while using his classmates as cover had done the trick but he knew that would only last for so long. Thankfully Mutsumi was an understanding person and would often times help him to escape by either distracting Naru or helping him get away.

A smile crept to his face at the thought of the girl, she had been more than happy to help him avoid Naru after he explained his desires and reasons to her. She had tried to ask him a few questions about how all this had happened but didn't push them when he gave her vague answers so he could keep what happened between Haruka and himself a secret. The young Okinawan even went so far as to let him escape Naru's traps by either warning him about them or pretending to forget what she was doing. He deeply appreciated what she was doing for him and to show that he had often brought her treats and would talk with her about all sort of things. It was nice to have some one like her to talk with after everything that had happened since he came here, it was almost therapeutic.

Finishing his cleaning Keitaro emptied the bucket into a drain and after gathering his supplies and closing the last hiding spot he re-opened the panel and moved back into the hidden tunnels of Hinata-sou, a faint wood click and the now clean springs being the only sign he was there as once again the piece of bamboo struck a rock after emptying its contents into the pool.

00101101

Haruka was making her way through the nearly pitch black halls keeping her eyes focused straight ahead and angling her flashlight in a way that let her see what was in front of her but limiting how much it lit up, that way if she found another source of light in the distance she could make the appropriate move. She honestly had no idea what her nephews' routine was, but was still determined on finding him. Unlike her nephew Haruka actually knew these tunnels very well, having not only the blue prints but the teachings of her mom and dad on how to figure out exactly where you were made navigating them as easy as the rest of the inn.

Of course she wasn't just searching blindly like the girls would have if they knew he was in here, she was paying attention to the floor. Despite making sure the public Hinata was clean and spotless, her nephew had left the years of dust on the floors of these tunnels and to Harukas trained eye she could read them like an open book.

Very faintly her and Seta along with Keitaro and two other people from when they had been exploring the tunnels, preserved after more than a decade, even though the years had made the tracks barely visible to the eye. Su and Sara's prints from their now abandoned and forgotten attempts to create a useful map were also filling with dust and slowly fading into memory. But she also came across more recent prints, these ones had barely any dust in them marking them as more recent, all of them a testament and further proof of what she already assumed, her nephew was definitely using them to his advantage.

Tracking him down like this almost made her feel like a tiger that had figured out how to get into the rabbits den, sneaking up on its prey, she wondered exactly how and where they would meet, if she would have to chase him into a corner or if she would have to pounce him. Maybe there would be no chase and he would simply surrender the hunt to her, or she could get the drop on him and catch him with little effort if he was going to put up a fight. She shook her head finding herself once again comparing this to how a hunter goes after their prey, it was quickly becoming a common theme in her search as once again her thoughts trailed to how she uses her flashlight. Careful and deliberate as not to give herself away too early like an expert huntress, she imagined he used his in the assumed protection of his hiding place, held out straight as to give him a clear line of sight down the hallway to catch sight of any possible threat to his thin wall of safety, just like an easily startled dear. Shaking her head once again having found herself distracted with thoughts of a non-existent hunt Haruka pressed forward in her quest to find her nephew as this analogy too began to fill her thoughts with unwanted analogies and eventually pulled her back into the thoughts of a hunt.

Even still these thoughts instilled a kind of euphoria that was almost intoxicating and fed primal forces and instincts that lay deep inside of her causing them to well up and claw at her consciousness, desperately trying to get her to give into them, but she adamantly refused, especially since Keitaro still had the advantage of her not knowing even the area he was currently in. That fact lone forced her to drive such things down whenever they surfaced as she carefully stalked through the halls. The way she figured it she should be coming up on the Onsen soon, figuring he was bound to clean it sooner or later and still having her tea shop to run putting time constraints on how long she could look she decided that looking there at night while everyone else was asleep was her best bet.

Reaching the corner Haruka slowly leaned over to look around it and smiled at her luck, blue light was currently filling the hallway as she watched her nephew walk in from it, she had to force herself not to rush up and tackle him on the spot as that would make more noise than she wanted and possibly bring unwanted attention to themselves, instead she would patiently wait for the right time to make her move. Turning off her flashlight she watched as he closed the panel that led to the outside. Ducking her head back just enough so that he wouldn't notice it she waited and watched as he then turned on his own flashlight.

Shining the beam down her direction briefly her heart skipped a beat, but soon after the light turned and she listened as he made his way down the opposite direction. Quietly emerging from her hiding place Haruka was quick to stalk after him, watching his moves carefully as she slowly made her way closer. He turned a corner and shortly after she did the same, keeping him in her sights as he made his way towards the kitchen. Eventually he stopped and reached to pull another panel open, sitting his flashlight aside she knew this was the chance she had been waiting for and quickly approached him while he was distracted with putting his cleaning supplies away inside of the closet the panel opened up into.

Just as he had finished closing the panel, giving himself no room to escape she made her move. Rushing forward she took hold of his upper arms and pushed him against one of the wooden support beams effortlessly. He released a quite humph when he hit and she continued forward until she had him pinned between her body and the wall, it was then that she could have sworn she felt a wave of terror pass through her nephew. Knowing that he might scream and all the tragic tales and stalling that would brink Haruka moved her mouth close to his ear and spoke quietly in precise measured control.

"Don't make a noise because I swear if you do, I will knee you as hard as I can in the one place that counts." It was a deliberate threat meant to keep him quiet so she could talk, licking her lips she tried to continue but found that she couldn't voice the well planned talk she had wanted. 'Damn it what's wrong with me. I had it all planned out too.' She felt her Nephew begin to tremble beneath her and knew that it was now or never, opening her mouth again she decided to wing it.

00011101

To say he was scared was an understatement; he had just barely finished placing the cleaning supplies away in the cabinet when suddenly he found himself pushed against a wooden beam with someone behind him, a very feminine someone. At first he thought it might have been Naru or Motoko who found him because of the fact that he didn't even know they were there until it was too late, he was about to scream out and struggle against whoever it was when she spoke up, each word causing his blood to run cold and his fear to reach new heights.

"Don't make a noise because I swear if you do, I will knee you as hard as I can in the one place that counts." He'd know that voice anywhere, and he helplessly watched as his life flashed before his very eyes.

Fear overwhelmed him as to what she wanted, nothing good came to mind as thoughts of torture, abuse, and even gruesome death filled his head. He had always though that Haruka would come after him to get her revenge for using and disgracing her the way that he did, he was still ashamed about what he had done to her but knew that there was no such thing as restitution for the crime he committed against his own blood relative. He only wished she would be merciful and grant him a quick death.

"Keitaro, we need to have a talk, and I mean right now." Her voice came out and he almost yelped when she spoke, his heart racing so hard it felt like it was about to burst. "Look, about what happened between us." She paused seemingly searching for words to describe her disgust. "I guess I may as well get to the point, I'm sorry for what I said to you." He almost froze, almost didn't believe that he heard what she just said.

"Look, my mind was in a different place when you walked in, and when you spoke, I took it the wrong way. I thought you were leaving me feeling disgusted and disappointed in me so I snapped, said and did things I shouldn't have, and once you were gone I realized just how big of a mistake I had made. I realized that you thought that you had hurt me, and I felt awful for what I did to you." She paused, and a wave of relief washed over him at her words and he could feel her grip on him loosen, taking advantage he turned around to face her and was about to say something when she spoke up again.

"Keitaro, I'd understand it if you continued to do things the way you are right now, I won't stop you or rat you out to the others. But I want you to know that if you ever need someplace to hide, or even just an ear to listen, that I'll be more than happy to help. I know things can never go back to how they were before we slept together, and there is no chance of a relationship between us because of our relation but. But I!" She began to break off, but he still understood what she was getting at.

"Haruka, I understand. I forgi…" Keitaro was suddenly cut off as Haruka firmly shoved her lips against his own.

Keitaro was taken back by the kiss, his eyes widened at her actions, yet he could feel that this was more of a kiss of trust and understanding, not the lust filled kisses they shared a few weeks ago. Yet there was something else hidden underneath, something almost tangible and he almost felt as if it would wash up to the surface but every time it seemed to get close the turbulent sea of the first two emotions seemed to violently drag it back under. He didn't know just how long she had her lips pressed against his but she soon broke the shared contact and took a half step back.

"Thanks, for understanding Keitaro, it means allot to me." As Haruka turned to walk away a deep urge to stop her compelled him to reach out and grab her by the wrist but when she turned to look at him he found himself at a loss for words.

"Hey, um, well." He began to stutter over himself before deciding on something to say. "What I'd like to say is that, well, you know…" he heard a soft chuckle escape her lips.

"Would you like to join me for a cup of tea back at the shop?" Keitaro stopped stumbling and muttering and gave her a nod, a broad smile formed on her lips so fast he almost didn't see it form. "Okay then, follow me."

Picking up his flash light he noticed that Haruka had her own already on, turning his off he then followed her back through the tunnels hoping that they didn't get lost as he sometimes would despite his growing familiarity with these things.

11001010

Haruka woke up and stretched, and allowed a rare smile to gracefully play across her face. Dropping her arms to her lap she decided to give into temptation and leave the shop closed for today, after all she did run it from breakfast to dinner seven days a week on most days of the year without stop so she was entitled to at least one day of laziness. Especially after everything that had been happening lately, of course she was now glad that it was all over, for her at least and she didn't want to ruin the euphoria from last night to be trampled on by dealing with large numbers of people.

Standing up she slipped on a robe before walking downstairs to her tea shop, passing by a booth where a pair of empty tea cups, the silent proof that she did in fact have a conversation with her elusive and emotionally distraught nephew as memories filled her thoughts for her to savor like some foreign delicacy. It felt awkward at first, so they had just talked about what was going on in their lives, she had let him know that Shinobu was worrying herself sick over him and he agreed to meet her at the teahouse to reassure her that he was alright. He had mentioned how Mutsumi had been helping him escape Naru and she made a joke about his love life, she had begun thinking it to be a mistake when he said the sweetest thing imaginable to her little joke.

'Well, who knows about me and Mutsumi, but whoever I end up with there's definitely one girl that I'll never forget about." He said it with one of his ear to ear infectious smiles and almost assumed it was the promised girl until he had said that it was her.

She had been so happy she had grabbed him and kissed him without any inhibitions, from there things took their natural progression until they wound up in her bed again, not that she minded since she had been secretly hoping for another shot at having him. She had always seen how kind and caring he was and secretly wanted him for herself, what woman in their right mind wouldn't, but the fact of their relationship as Aunt and Nephew had always put her on the other side of the fence, where the grass was less than green.

Until that night three weeks ago she could only have dreamt of the things she was doing with him now, but she knew that until she had rebuilt some of the more delicate bonds they had shared tat she needed o tread carefully. After what happened last time she felt as if she had ruined her only chance at him. He only proved her wrong by showing what a precious a person he is by giving another opportunity at her dream to be with him, even though she felt that she didn't deserve it. Placing a closed for the day sign in the window Haruka proceeded to go back up the stairs, back to the lovable warm lump that was in her bed and perform any number if not all the dirty things that ran through her head. Half way up the stairs she yawned and was greeted by a very terrible taste in her mouth.

"Blech, I swear when I catch the cat that crapped in my mouth I'm gonna kill it." Haruka grumbled bringing a smile to her face at the joke she had heard while overseas with Seta.

Instead of going straight back to her bed for round two Haruka instead stopped in at her bathroom and brushed her teeth. After several minutes she finished off with some mouth wash and spit the fluid down the sink, her mouth now free of the raunchy, rancid flavor that infested every corner and crevice of her mouth. Placing the toothbrush and other stuff back she opened the medicine cabinet and her gaze fell on an unpleasant surprise that drug up a very bad memory. Picking it up Haruka stared at the otherwise innocent looking bottle like it was the plague; she couldn't believe that she had kept it after all the trouble it caused last time as once again it reminded her that she had used no protection with her nephew. It brought up all her thoughts about the very strong possibility of getting pregnant along with everything good and bad that would bring to the two of them.

Closing the medicine cabinets mirror the image of her nephew standing behind her was reflected in the silver lined glass. Studying him briefly she could tell from his face the many emotions that swirled and swam underneath and almost instantly she knew what he was thinking and just how deep the worries over what was about to happen next ran. They were filling his kind and tender heart with fear, shame, rejection and disappointment and after what happened last time they had done this she didn't blame him in the least. Taking one more look at the bottle in full consideration of all the possibilities plus the emotional state of the man that stood behind her Haruka weighed her decisions and found one that she didn't regret it in the slightest.

Before he could speak she slowly and dramatically raised the hand, holding the bottle of pills out to her side and dropped them into the nearby trashcan, Keitaros shocked look was priceless, but not as priceless as his reaction to what she did next. Turning around she allowed the front of her robe to open up in a way that it framed her fully revealed body to his gaze as she leaned her back against the sink with a mischievous grin escaped from deep within her. His jaw looked like it was about to fall off and she had to keep herself from laughing at the look of absolute shock he held while using the time he spent ogling her up and down to steady herself for her next words.

"So, wanna take a shower?" She already knew the answer but wanted to hear him say it, she didn't have to wait long before he nodded his head eagerly at the invitation, soon after she slid up to give him a deep meaningful kiss while closing the door to the bathroom to keep out prying eyes.

(I don't want to hear any complaints about the left out tea shop conversation scene, I did that on purpose to add a sort of dramatic element and add texture to the chapter. It's only one of many plot elements I've used to give this story a deep feel as well as amuse myself so I'm entertained enough to write more, lets see if you can find all the different otherwise meaningless or comical elements I've used in this story. Other than that I'm glad to hear that all of you enjoy my work and sincerely hope you found this one just as enjoyable than the rest, this being the first chapter written in a year, lets hope if doesn't take me a year to write and post chapter number 5.)