Disclaimer: I own no part of Love Hina, but Sean and... um...

Yeah, yeah, I know; that last one wasn't my best, but let's see if I can do better this time.

Chapter LI: Off the Beaten Path

The door to Motoko's room opened and Naru entered, carrying the girl who inhabited said room. Following close behind was a procession of mourners, who sat in a circle around the former swordswoman's futon as she was laid upon it. It was that one word that everyone just couldn't bring themselves to believe: former. For as long as they've known her, Motoko has been a strong warrior--in fact, her skills with the sword has always meant the world to her, but that all changed that fateful morning when her older sister happened to show up. The crazy series of events that followed left her with a broken sword and a heart to match. Sure, physically, she was alright, but emotionally and spiritually, she was a complete wreck.

Ever since that encounter, Motoko had a blank look on her face. It seemed as though she was dead to the world, and what she said in that span only supported that theory: "My life is over." She hasn't said a word since. Those around her refused to accept the possibility that she had actually given up on life, but they had no other alternative at this point.

"Is she going to pull through?" Mutsumi asked. How or why she had remained silent up until now was anyone's guess.

"It's not like she's fighting cancer, Mutsumi," Kitsune said.

"She might as well be," Shinobu muttered, barely able to keep her tears inside. "In one day, she has lost everything; her way of life, her family, her sword--"

"On that note," Keitaro said, holding what was left of Motoko's weapon. "What should we do with this?"

"We could have it buried with her," Kitsune said.

"Now's not the time!" Naru said. "We have to think of some way to get her out of her depression. Anybody got any ideas?"

"Food's always good!" Suu chimed in.

"Eating doesn't solve everything, you know," Kitsune said.

"It couldn't hurt," Suu muttered.

"If only Sean was here," Shinobu said. "He'd know what to do."

"Hey, why isn't he here?" Mutsumi asked. "Shouldn't he be here helping us try to console Motoko?"

"Last I saw him, he was off running after Tsuruko," Keitaro said.

"What good is that going to do?" Naru asked. "She beat Motoko without breaking a sweat. What does Sean hope to accomplish?"

"Who knows what goes through that guy's mind?" Kitsune asked to nobody in particular.

"I must be out of my mind," Sean said to himself. "I mean me, chasing after someone who could kill me faster than I can blink? That's just plain stupid!" When Tsuruko left after she had finished humiliating her little sister, he rushed off after her (after making a quick stop to get dressed). After twenty-five minutes, he found himself in the middle of downtown; he had long since lost sight of his target. "Why am I even doing this, anyway? What am I going to do if I actually find her, give her a lecture on family values or something? I really need to think through my actions more. Oh well, I've gone too far to turn back now."

Sean continued on his way, looking high and low for any sign of Tsuruko. As he passed by an alley, something grabbed him and yanked him in. "Hey, what're you--" Sean started to say until he recognized who it was.

"Why do you follow me?" Tsuruko asked. Sean could tell from the look on her face that she was all business; and so was he.

"I think you know damn well why," Sean said, suddenly fearing no man--or woman. "You had no right to do what you did to your own sister."

"I have every right," Tsuruko calmly said. "She has brought dishonor to her name."

"Maybe so, but you have no idea what she's been through lately."

"I'm listening."

"A while back, we took a vacation in my hometown. Early on in our stay, Motoko met someone."

"So she has gotten over her hatred of men," Tsuruko said.

"She has. Over the next month, they spent most of their free time together, but they knew the time would come that we'd have to come back here; they haven't seen each other since. From that point on, I noticed a slow decline in her abilities. She misses him greatly and without any assurance that she'll ever see him again, she has lost all focus. What you did could only make things worse for her; there's no telling what she might do now that you've basically destroyed what little self-confidence she had left!" Keep in mind, Sean in unaware of Motoko's catatonic state back home. "Besides, if anyone should be punished for what has happened this morning, it should be me, as I was the one who started the lie in the first place."

"You must care for Motoko a great deal if you're willing to do all this."

"You have no idea."

"Well, there is one way to restore Motoko's lost honor. Come to the God's Cry School in Kyoto; if you and Motoko can defeat me, I will reinstate her."

"Thank you. I'll let her know right away."

"However," Tsuruko said before Sean could leave. "If you fail…"

"There had to be a catch," Sean thought.

"…you will have to live up to your lie."

"You don't mean--"

"That's right. You and Motoko will be married."

"Okay," Sean said after a moment of thought. "I'll talk to Motoko about it."

"I look forward to your arrival." Tsuruko watched Sean leave, a look of slight curiosity in her eyes. "There's something about this man," she thought. "I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's definitely more to him than meets the eye."

"What am I going to do?" Sean thought. "I mean, I know Motoko would jump at the chance to go back to being the warrior she once was, but is she willing to take such a risk to do it?" He recalled memories of the good times Motoko and Jimmy had together, and realized he was in the same boat. "For that matter, am I? If we lose, we'll be forced to marry; Shinobu and I may never see eye to eye again. Also, the odds aren't exactly in our favor. I don't think we even came close to seeing what Tsuruko's really capable of, not to mention Motoko not being at 100% lately. Then again, from the way things are looking right now, her depression may only get worse. Do I really want to see her like that? Sure, we may not stand a chance against Tsuruko, but even if we lose, at least she'll be with someone who cares about her, ever if it isn't who she'd want it to be. But still, Shinobu… and then there's Jimmy… damn it, why do I have to make decisions like this?!"

That's how Sean's entire trip home went; with him weighing the pros and cons of each course of action. When he got back to Hinata-Sou, he was no closer to a final decision than when he started. Despite this, he was grateful to be there, as he could finally express his thoughts to someone who would be affected by the outcome besides himself. Opening the front door, he found Naru there, waiting for him. "And just where have you been for the last forty-five minutes?" she asked.

"Was it really that long?" Sean said, looking at his watch for the first time since he left. "I was out chasing Tsuruko across town and back. Where's Motoko?"

"She's in her room, but--"

"Thanks," Sean said as he started heading in that direction, but he quickly found his path blocked by Naru.

"You shouldn't go up there."

"Why not? I need to talk to her."

"You don't know what's happened since you left."

"And you're not going to let me find out? I understand that the events of this morning took its toll on her."

"That's putting it lightly."

"As I was saying, I'm only trying to help. Now, I've got a lot on my mind right now, and I'm not exactly in the mood to start an argument with you. So, are you going to get out of my way, or will I have to do it for you?"

Knowing that openly confronting Sean was never a wise thing to do, Naru stepped aside, but she did follow him up to Motoko room, where they saw her seated on her futon, her knees pressed up against her chest. She had changed out of her towel (or what was left of it) and into some regular clothes. All the others were still in the room. "Well," Naru said. "At least she's moving now. That's an improvement."

"Not really," Kitsune said.

"We've had to stop her from committing suicide five times now," Shinobu said.

"And she still hasn't said a word since we brought her up here," Keitaro said.

"Looks like I have my work cut out for me," Sean thought as he made his way to Motoko's side. "Has she been like this the whole time?" he asked, noticing the blank look on Motoko's face.

"Ever since she got her butt kicked by her sister," Kitsune said.

"And we haven't been able to snap her out of it," Mutsumi added.

"Let me give it a try." Sean turned to the troubled ex-swordswoman. "Motoko?" She made a glance at him; the only sign the she knew he was even there. "I had a talk with Tsuruko. There's a way she'll let you come back to the school."

"I have to defeat her, right?" Motoko asked flatly.

"Sean's got her talking already!" Suu cheered.

"Actually it'll be a team effort," Sean said, ignoring the energetic foreigner. "You and me against her, but it's not as simple as that."

"What could be simpler than that?" Kitsune asked. "You two beat her, Motoko gets her life as a warrior back, everything gets back to normal."

"Because of what'll happen if we fail, that what!"

"And what's that?" Mutsumi asked.

Sean shut his eyes tight; a clear sign that he didn't like what he was about to say. "The lie I started wouldn't be a lie anymore."

Shinobu's eyes grew wide. "You don't mean--"

"Yeah, there's going to be a wedding."

All color left Shinobu's face. "You can't be serious, can you?!"

"Those were Tsuruko's terms; somehow, I doubt they're up for debate."

Just the thought of seeing Sean and Motoko as husband and wife was enough to bring Shinobu to tears. "Don't worry, Shinobu," Naru said. "Everything's going to be alright."

"I couldn't stand it if Sean was forced to marry someone else," Shinobu sobbed.

"Don't bother thinking about it." Everyone turned their attention to Motoko. "I'm not going."

"You're what?" Sean asked.

"There's no way I can beat my sister."

"Maybe not by yourself, but if we work together, we may actually stand a chance!"

"There's no point. My skills with the sword aren't what they used to be; you said so yourself. You shouldn't risk throwing your relationship with Shinobu away for my sake."

"And I won't let you lose sight of your dreams just because I screwed up! Besides, what would Jimmy think if he saw you like this?"

That question struck a very sensitive nerve, making Sean wish he had never asked it. "You just had to bring that up, didn't you?" Kitsune asked as everyone watched Motoko fall into a deeper stupor than before. "Now we're back to square one!" Sean didn't give a response; instead, he got up and walked toward the PlayStation in the far corner of the room. "Hey, I'm talkin' to you!"

"Can it!" Sean yelled back, catching everyone off guard. Within moments of touching the game system, he dissolved. About thirty seconds later, he reappeared, sword in hand.

"Hey," Naru said. "What are you--" Suddenly, it clicked in her head. "You're not going to fight Motoko's sister on your own, are you?!"

"Aw darn, you figured it out," Sean said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "And to think, I was so trying to keep it a secret."

"There's no way you can beat Tsuruko!" Shinobu cried.

"How do you know?" Sean asked as he headed for the door, but quickly found his girlfriend barring his path.

"NO!" Shinobu screamed. "I WON'T LET YOU DO THIS!!"

"Listen," Sean said. "I was the one who got us in this mess in the first place, so let me at least try and get us out."

"Please," Shinobu said, tears still falling down her face. "Don't do this. If you were to lose, I'd never forgive you."

"Then I'll just have to win, won't I?" Sean gave everyone a smile, a wink and a thumbs up. "See ya!" He took a small hop, then passed through the floor.

"Hey, wait--!" Shinobu called out, but it was too late; he was already gone.

"I really hope he knows what he's doing," Naru said, a look of concern on her face.

"Hey, c'mon, y'all!" Kitsune said. "He can do it, we just have to have faith in him, that's all!"

"That's easy for you to say," Keitaro muttered. "Just think about what's at stake here: The lives of three people are hanging on the outcome of one battle."

"So? If you recall, he was involved in a fight where we all could have died!"

"Then you also remember that he needed all of our help to win," Naru commented.

"Um, well…" Kitsune didn't know who to respond, seeing how her little pep talk didn't help as much as she had hoped.

Sean's train ride to Kyoto was very uneventful. He opted to take the hard route, as opposed to using his magic to get there, so as not to attract attention; if not from the general public, than from his opponent. If Tsuruko was anything like her younger sister, she would have sensed him coming from a mile away; hell, she still might. Plus, not having to concentrate on being his own transportation gave him the time to think of possible ways to succeed in the daunting task that was defeating Tsuruko.

By the time he arrived in Kyoto, it was already early afternoon, and it took another hour (and asking for directions about half a dozen times) to find the God's Cry School. As he stepped through the front gate, he saw his fate standing in the open courtyard before him.

"So you showed up after all," Tsuruko said. "And where is my dear sister and your soon-to be wife?"

"Don't let her get to you," Sean thought, knowing how easy it was to do just that. "Well, thanks in part to you, Motoko is in no condition to fight anyone, much less her own sister."

"And yet, you intend to take me on, even by yourself."

"Yeah, I must be either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid."

"One of your friends said that you, quote, 'got skills'. Is there truth to this?"

"You might say that," Sean said. He hoped that keeping his magical abilities hidden for the time being might give him an edge. "I have been training with her for some time now. I haven't learned any of the ki techniques or anything, just the basic stuff."

"Then how do you expect to defeat me?"

"I've got a trick or two up my sleeve."

"Might be interesting to see what he came up with," Tsuruko thought.

"Well, shall we--hmm?" Tsuruko watched as Sean glanced to his left, his hand slowly reaching into his pocket…

"I really don't think we should be doing this," Shinobu said.

"It's a bit late for that," Kitsune said.

"Shh," Suu said. "I'm trying to listen." The young technical genius had sent one of her spy planes after Sean to monitor his progress and now, everyone (including Motoko) was in the living room watching the feed on television. Right now, they could see the two combatants and heard the entire conversation up to this point.

"Looks like he's really going through with it," Naru said.

"Who knew the fight would be televised?" Mutsumi asked, getting some funny looks.

"Um, anyway," Kitsune said. "What do you think the chances are of Sean actually beating her?"

"Slim to none," Motoko said. She was able to recover somewhat over the last few hours. "Against me, he could hardly do better than a draw."

"Uh oh," Naru said. "Something tells me I'm not going to look forward to this."

"Hey, what's the deal?" Suu asked, her eyes never leaving the screen. "Why are they just standing there? Get with the fighting already!"

"Hey, Suu!" Everyone was shocked to hear Sean's voice call out to them. "Why do you have to be so nosy?" Before anyone could react, he spun around to face them. In doing so, he flung something at them and the next thing they knew, the screen went blank.

"Guess we should have seen that one coming," Kitsune said.

"No kidding," Keitaro said.

"Um, Motoko?" Shinobu said. "Did Sean ever use magic in your matches?"

"No, he didn't," Motoko said.

"Then there's still hope after all…"

"No!" Suu cried as she cradled her controller; tears were starting to form in her eyes. "Why do my spy planes always end up broken?!"

"Well, that takes care of them," Sean said as he watched Suu's machine fall out of a tree in a shower of sparks, a dagger buried hilt deep in the camera lens. "I have enough pressure as it is without them looking over my shoulder. A bunch of eavesdroppers, that's all they are."

Meanwhile, Tsuruko looked on in mild interest, somewhat surprised by Sean's speed and accuracy. She couldn't help but think that the knife he used was originally intended for her. "I may have to use some caution," she thought. "There's no telling what else he might be hiding." She'll find out soon enough.

"Well, now that that's out of the way," Sean said, turning back towards his opponent. "Shall we get started?"

"Yes," Tsuruko said, unsheathing her sword; Sean did the same. "Prepare yourself, as this will not be an easy fight."

"You don't have to tell me twice." And so, the battle that would--at least in part--decide the destinies of four people got under way.

Tsuruko was the first to act, charging at Sean, sword raised to strike. For his part, Sean stood his ground, ready to block--or at least try to block--the forthcoming attack, but at the last moment, he sidestepped, making Tsuruko miss by mere inches. He attempted a counterattack, but Tsuruko jumped out of range before he could connect.

"Okay," Tsuruko thought. "Either he had that planned the whole time, or he can think on his feet. Either way, it seems I shouldn't take anything he does for granted." She moved forward again, and this time around, the close combat lasted longer than the last one. Despite this, all strikes delivered were either dodged or blocked. "He's agile," Tsuruko thought. "I'll give him that much. Plus, his defense isn't half bad, but his attacks are sloppy, and that will prove to be his downfall."

"She's toying with me, I know it," Sean thought. "But it can't last forever; I need to beat her to the punch." As soon as he got the chance, he got out of reach of Tsuruko's sword, running out to a distance of twenty feet.

"Are you running away?" Tsuruko asked tauntingly.

"You wish," Sean said. "Come get me; that is, if you're not scared."

"Why that arrogant little…" Tsuruko thought, edging closer to anger. Intending on knocking his ego down a few pegs--among other things--she rushed at him.

"Gotcha," Sean thought as he flicked a finger at her. Even though Tsuruko was still a good ten feet away, she recoiled as though she had been hit right between the eyes, almost falling backwards from her momentum.

"How-- What--" Tsuruko thought, trying to rationalize what had just happened. Just as she was about to advance once more, Sean flicked her in the forehead again. "How is he doing that?" It wasn't until Sean flicked with both hands, hitting the back of her knees, making them give out from under her that realization set in. "It's his energy! He's using his ki to keep me at bay, but how? Neither Motoko nor myself know such techniques." When she regained her balance, she found Sean already upon her and was barely able to put up a defense in time. "Oh no," she said. "If you think you can beat me that quickly, you're sadly mistaken."

"I figured as much," Sean replied.

As the battle waged on, Tsuruko couldn't help but notice that Sean's movements were getting faster and faster. "He's been concealing his true power this whole time," she thought. "I must end this before I get in over my head." At her first opportunity, she put a bit of distance between them. "Let's see how he likes it when I use my abilities on him!" She swung her sword in Sean's direction, sending a wave of ki energy flying at him, but just as it was about to hit, Sean vanished, reappearing right in front of her.

"Hello," Sean said with a grin as he made a quick swipe at Tsuruko.

With a gasp of surprise, Tsuruko was barely able to escape from being struck down, but as she recovered from the shock, she saw that some damage had been done, as there was a slash mark on her gi. "What manner of sorcery do you possess?!" she yelled.

"The regular kind," Sean simply replied, still smiling. "This is going better than I thought it would," he thought.

"Why do you use such devious tactics in our battle?" Tsuruko asked.

"Hey, you only said I had to beat you; you never said how." Sean charged at Tsuruko, blade raised to strike, but she easily blocked it, leaving him wide open for a kick to the chest. "So much for my advantage," he thought as he landed flat on his back. He watched on as Tsuruko leaped into the air and the next moment, another wave of energy was streaking towards him. "Uh oh," he said, crossing his arms in front of him.

As she rose higher into the sky, a look of triumph appeared on Tsuruko face when she saw her attack make contact, but it wouldn't take long for her smile to fade and a groan of frustration to escape from her lips.

"Is that all you got?" an unharmed Sean shouted out from beneath his light blue force shield.

"Hardly!" Tsuruko shouted back. At this point, irritation had set in; therefore, she decided to end this fight once and for all. At the apex of her jump, she let out a battle cry and unleashed one of the strongest attacks she had.

As Sean got up, he saw a streak of lightning heading straight for him. "Oh man," he thought. "I can't keep this up forever. I need to do something and fast if I want to come out of this alive, much less beat her." In a spur of the moment decision, he sent some of his energy into his weapon and swung it out just in time to intercept the bolt before it could hit him.

During Tsuruko's descent, she was stunned to see that not only was Sean blocking her attack, but it seemed as though he was trying to redirect it back at her. She felt that she needed to prevent this from happening and, upon landing, was about to try that very thing when her senses picked up on a startling development. "It's actually being drawn inside him," she thought. She would have been worried for her own safety, but hearing Sean scream like he was let her know right away that this wasn't part of the original plan…

By now, almost everyone had recovered from the shock of what they saw during those last few moments of video feed from Suu's spy plane and went on in their daily routines. The only ones who remained in the living room were Motoko and Shinobu; they just continued to stare at the blank television screen, as though it might give them some insight to what was going on in Kyoto. Finally, Shinobu broke the silence. "I'm scared, Motoko," she said. "What if he loses? What will happen to us then?"

"I'm scared too," Motoko said, grabbing the younger girl's hand. "But we have to have faith in him. Knowing him the way we do, win or lose, I know that he'll give it his all."

"I just wish I could be there to cheer him on instead of just sitting here."

"You have the capacity to do that, you know."

"Yes, but if I did, it might be distracting, and that's the last thing I want to do right now." All of a sudden, Shinobu felt pain shoot through her arm. "Uh, Motoko, could you loosen your grip a bit? It's starting to hurt." A quick glance at Motoko's face revealed the reason behind her actions. "What's happening?"

"I can sense him," Motoko said, a look of shock on her face. "For that one brief moment, I could hear him as if he was right here next to us."

"Tell me!" Shinobu said. "Is he winning?!"

Motoko closed her eyes and slowly shook her head. "What I heard was a scream of agony."

"No…" Shinobu broke down, burying her face in Motoko's chest. "He can't lose; he just can't!!"

Motoko started rubbing Shinobu's back, trying to be comforting, but her mind was in a state of unrest as well. "What is going on out there?" she thought, looking back at the television screen. "What could cause such great pain?"

"Damn it!" Inside Sean's subconscious, he angrily slammed a cordless X-Box controller onto the floor (somehow, it stayed in one piece) as warning lights appeared on the control panel. "I knew I should have tried to dodge that last one!" His self-deprecating rant was interrupted when he heard an evil, almost demonic laughter. "No, it can't be." He looked around, but he couldn't see anyone but himself then, without warning, he was kicked hard in the back of the head, sending him skidding along on his stomach a few feet. "Where are you?!" he asked, frantically searching for his assailant, not to no avail. All of a sudden, he felt the same foot make contact with his stomach, making him go on all fours. As he struggled to catch his breath, he spotted a pair of feet right in front of him.

"You're still as weak as ever." In an instant, Sean recognized the voice, but he really wished he hadn't. A hand grabbed his chin and pulled his head up. Is was then that his fears were confirmed, as he stared Shonoko right in the face. "I told you I'd be back," she said, a look of malicious glee on her face. "It was just a matter of time. It's time I finished what I started so long ago."

"No," Sean struggled to say. "You'll never win. I beat you last time, and I'll beat you again!"

"Not likely," Shonoko said. "Last time, it took the effort of all your friends to overwhelm me. Nobody can help you this time. I will not be denied again."

"Don't be so sure. I've gotten stronger since we last met."

Shonoko just continued to smile. "You think you're the only one?"

Meanwhile, on the outside, Sean was screaming uncontrollably. He had long since dropped his sword, dropped down onto his knees and was clutching his head.

Tsuruko just stood there, watching his torment. "It seems that his attempt to use my attack against me has backfired," she thought. "And now, what he tried to deflect is threatening to tear him apart, mind and body. She slowly approached Sean's body, which coursed with lightning every so often, but she stopped in her tracks when his screaming formed into coherent words.

"NO!! I WILL NOT LET YOU CONTROL ME AGAIN!!"

"Control?!" Tsuruko blurted out. Sean's outburst only made her more curious as to what was going on. Deepening her focus, she soon saw that what Sean was experiencing rose the phrase "battle of wits" to a whole new level; and that it was one with more at stake than her own. "Somehow, my energy formed itself into a sentient being in Sean's mind and they are fighting for domination of his body." Upon realizing this, she decided to stay back and simply observe the fight, since it would have been dishonorable to strike someone when he is clearly incapable of defending himself, not to mention the fact that he would have been effectively outnumbered.

Sean yelped in pain as he hit the wall back first, landing on his hands and knees. "Okay," he said. "I'm hurt now."

"It's like I told you before," Shonoko said. "Without your friends around to help you, you're nothing."

"You're one to talk," Sean muttered.

"What are you talking about? I don't need friends to make me powerful."

"Maybe that's because you don't have any," Sean shot back. "Egomaniacal bitch."

Shonoko lifted Sean up by the throat and held him against the wall. "When will you ever learn to keep your trap shut?!"

"When I'm dead."

"I can easily arrange that." Shonoko tightened her grip on Sean's neck.

As hard as he tried, Sean was unable to get free and it didn't take long to start having difficulty breathing. "Damn it," he thought. "If I don't do something quick, I'm done for. I need to figure out some way to catch her off-guard… that's it! She'd never see that coming in a million years!"

Shonoko raised an eyebrow as Sean moved his hands from her wrists to her temples. "What is this idiot up to?" she thought. All of a sudden, a jolt of pain pulsed through her brain, but it only lasted a moment before it faded. "Is that it?!" She asked, unable to keep from laughing. "You are pathetic!" She was laughing so hard at that moment, she was unaware of Sean moving forward with step two of his plan of attack; or rather, moving her forward.

Shonoko's eyes grew wide and her face turned a bright shade of red when she suddenly found Sean's lips pressed against her own. To say that she was dumbstruck would not have done her justice in the least. When Sean released her from the lip lock a few moments later, she found herself unable to speak, so Sean did it for her.

"So long," Sean said, an evil grin on his face.

"What?" Suddenly, the pain returned to Shonoko's head; this time with a greater intensity and for a much longer duration.

"Never underestimate me," Sean said. The sound of Shonoko's gut-wrenching screams was music to his ears.

Tsuruko sensed a change in Sean's aura. From what she could tell, the foreign energy was fading rapidly, but the overall amount stayed the same. "So his tactic was a success after all," she thought as she prepared herself for her battle to resume when her opponent stood back up, but found herself unable to stifle a gasp when he opened his eyes to reveal that they were glowing a deep blue.

"Your turn," Sean said. Slowly, he raised an arm, pointing two fingers right at Tsuruko's head. "Time to end this. YAAA!!!" An immense bolt of pale blue lightning shot out of his outstretched arm. When he heard Tsuruko yelp in pain, he allowed himself a smile, figuring he had this fight won, but when his attack ended, he saw he was sadly mistaken.

"You're right," Tsuruko said, her hand covering her badly burnt left ear; besides that and the gaping hole in her hair, she appeared to have escaped unharmed. "It is time to end this."

Sean's arms hung loosely at his sides as he watched Tsuruko leap high into the sky in preparation for what should be the final blow. "That's it," he thought. "I have nothing left." He closed his eyes, awaiting his forthcoming defeat. "Shinobu, Motoko, everyone, I'm sorry; I have failed you all."

End of Chapter LI

Have I really lost or do I have one last trick up my sleeve? Find out next time! Please R&R! (Let's see; a fight with Tsuruko, an evil spirit threatening to wreak havok and disaster averted by a single kiss. Gee, am I original or what?)