Preliminary Notes: This story is a sequel to my previous work, Forever and a Day (FAAD). If you haven't read that, some of the references and events happening here might not make sense. This story is based on the manga version of the story and (along with FAAD) takes place about a year after the marriage of Keitaro and Naru.

Chapter 1: Homecoming

The return of a couple to their home after a series of misadventures is often portrayed in anime and manga as happy music and waiting friends gathering around laughing and embracing as the credits roll. Then there was the reality.

Keitaro, smiling, carried Naru's luggage up the steps, wondering what sort of reception they might receive. Naru followed behind, trepidatiously, also wondering what sort of reception they might receive. They went up, five steps before they could see the landing. Four steps… three… two. Naru trembled slightly. Just remember not to overreact if they're still mad, she told herself. One step. They took the last step…

…to discover an annoyed Sara sweeping the walk under the supervision of an irate Haruka.

"You're sixteen now, dammit!" Haruka snapped. "If you don't want to go to college, then you better start thinking about what you're gonna do when you graduate. Because you're sure as hell not getting through life by being a NEEF."

"That's NEET!"

"I don't care if you think it's 'neat.' You're not doing it!"

"Don't use slang when you don't know what it means! It makes you look like an old lady!"

"WHAT!?"

"Erm…" Naru sweatdropped, turning to Keitaro. "Should we wait and come back when there's no fighting going on?"

"If we wait for that, we might never get in." He patted her shoulder. "Should we go up?" He paused as he saw Naru cringe slightly and moved behind him. Oh, right… he told himself. Her last encounter with the others didn't end well. In fact, it led to her running to Nagasaki. "Well, I don't want to make decisions without you. So if you have any worries here, I want to work with you, not to try to solve them for you."

Naru sighed. "I can't keep running away from my fears. I need to face the others. I'm just afraid because I keep imagining worst case scenarios."

Keitaro nodded. "I see. I hope it won't come to that. When I left to go after you, they were worried about you, after all. But if it does, they'll answer to me. So you should be safe."

Naru hugged him. "Shall we go then?" She had a determined expression.

"Let's." Keitaro smiled, but noticed she remained a step behind him. He decided not to push it. Hopefully, she'll soon see things are safe. He strode up the final steps, prepared to greet Haruka and Sara. Suddenly a massive shape loomed in front of them.

"UNIDENTIFIED INTRUDERS ON PREMISES. IDENTIFY YOURSELVES. YOU HAVE 20 SECONDS TO COMPLY," the Mechatama intoned.

Keitaro and Naru shared a startled look. "What…?" Naru gasped.

"IDENTITY YOURSELVES. YOU NOW HAVE 15 SECONDS TO COMPLY."

"Umm… Keitaro and Naru Urashima." Keitaro said, hesitantly.

Haruka stepped forward. "Su! What the hell are you doing?" Behind her, Sara dove for cover.

"YOU NOW HAVE 10 SECONDS TO COMPLY." Missile pods dropped from the Mechatama. Laser sights targeted their foreheads.

"Keitaro and Naru!" Keitaro said, frantically.

Klaxons began to sound. "YOU NOW HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO COMPLY… FOUR… THREE…"

Keitaro moved to shield Naru. "Run! Save yourself and the baby."

If she wasn't having a baby, she would have stayed. But he was right. There was another life to worry about. Unfortunately, her foot slipped and she sat down on the step, hard. She grunted in pain, struggling to get back to her feet. But she realized it was too late. "I love you Keitaro!" Naru whispered.

"TWO…"

"I love you too." He put his hand on her abdomen. "I love our baby too."

"ONE…"

There was a blur as a human size object crashed into the Mechatama, knocking it over and shorting it out. That was followed by the rest of the Hinata girls rushing out.

"Thank you, Motoko," Mutsumi said as Motoko bowed and brushed her hands off. Turning to the pile of broken robot, Mutsumi said, exasperated, "Su? What did I ask you about using Mechatama near Naru?"

Su poked her head out from under the pile and, looking like a student caught unprepared for a pop quiz, pondered for a moment. "Umm, not to?"

Mutsumi sighed. "So why did you use Mechatama?"

Su smiled. "To keep Naru-yan safe!"

Mutsumi nodded. "Haruka-san?" She gestured to Su.

Haruka strode over and smacked Su with the harisen. "How in the hell was that safe?"

Mutsumi hurried over to Naru and checked her over for injuries. "Are you hurt?" She saw no injuries on Naru and knew that at this stage, the uterus was still safely behind the pelvic bone so the likelihood of injury to the baby was small. But if the girls didn't learn to stop fooling around, Naru could get hit hard enough to cause a miscarriage when she was further along.

"No, just my rear end is sore."

"Wow, Kitsune smirked. You two must have been busy last night!"

Haruka smacked her with the harisen too. "Knock it off! There are minors and Shinobu here!"

"Hey!" Shinobu protested, bright red.

Turning back to Keitaro and Naru, Haruka smiled. "Welcome home. I'm glad to see you two came back together."

Keitaro beamed and Naru smiled shyly, seeing the smiles, grateful that they didn't seem angry with her. She nervously cleared her throat. "Everyone, I think I need to say I'm-"

"Welcome back!" everybody shouted, catching the couple in a group hug.

Almost everyone. As the chaos subsided, Naru noticed the absence of two. Looking up, she saw Motoko and Shinobu standing aside, looking down, shifting their feet with discomfort. She sighed. On one hand, she was still somewhat annoyed that they had pursued her husband. On the other… that story she heard at the Nagasaki church about forgiving the lesser debt stuck in her mind. Well, I did slap Shinobu and insult Motoko. I should tell them I'm sorry. Cautiously, she walked over and bowed. "Motoko, Shinobu, I- I'm…"

Motoko and Shinobu simultaneously dropped to their knees, placing their hands in front of them, and touched their heads to the ground. "Urashima Naru-sama," Motoko said, "what we have done was shameful. We do not deserve forgiveness, but we are so sorry!"

"I'm s-so s-sorry, Naru-senpai," Shinobu sobbed, unable to match Motoko's eloquence.

Dogeza? Naru was shocked, and slightly appalled. I don't want my friends to humiliate themselves like this! Gently she knelt down to them and, forgetting her own hurts, embraced them, hoping this wouldn't violate some part of Motoko's samurai code. "Hey, Hey… Shinobu-chan, Motoko-chan… please. You don't need to do this. We all did things this past week that we're ashamed of. I'm sorry for what I did. But you're still my friends, and I want us to stay that way. Can we all forgive each other?"

They stared at her, bewildered.

"R-Really?" Shinobu asked hopefully, relief in her voice. "Do you really mean it?"

"Of course, Shinobu! I'm so sorry I slapped you. Motoko, I'm sorry I insulted you. We were friends for so long. I don't want it to be wrecked by what I did to you."

What you did to us? Motoko thought. What about what I did to you? I could never forgive you if you did that to me! I have no right to accept your forgiveness. The realization that she treated a friend like an enemy and pursued a married man ate at her. She remained into the dogeza position, whispering, "Makotoni moushiwake gozaimasen deshita, Urashima-sama."

Naru sweatdropped. She was not of any samurai lineage and didn't know of any special formulas to use in forgiving her if the ones she was taught growing up weren't going to cut it. She also recalled a couple of times when Motoko offered to commit seppuku in overreacting. She was an adult now, but still…. So, feeling like she was defusing a bomb, Naru put her arm around Motoko and gently whispered, "It is all right, please don't worry Motoko-chan."

Motoko sighed. If I don't respond to her, she'll become upset. I can't have that. Slowly, she raised her head. "Thank you, Urashima-sama. I don't deserve it." I know you mean it, but I can't forgive myself.

Before Naru could say any more, the mob swept them up into more group hugs. Keitaro pushed his way through to shield her from getting knocked over in the chaos.

"Is everything all right between you?" he asked, concerned.

"I think so," she said, smiling. I hope so, anyway. Motoko was hard to read when she was acting stoic.

Keitaro smiled. "That's a relief," he said, putting his arm around her waist.

Haruka clapped her hands for attention. "These two have had a long trip. Let's give them a little time to rest and refresh themselves before we swamp them with questions."

Keitaro shrugged. "Actually I'm doing pretty w-" he stopped as Naru stepped on his foot.

"I thought we should finish what we started in the hot springs the night before last," she whispered.

"Ah," Keitaro said, shifting his stance. "I guess I could stand to get cleaned up. It has been a long time… Er, since we started the trip."

Naru began pulling him to the dorms, then stopped. "Oh, Kitsune? About that thing you got for me at the tea house?"

"I packed it in your suitcase when we moved Keitaro's things up to your room," she said with a smirk.

"Thing?" Keitaro asked as Naru dragged him to the stairs.

"You'll see," Naru promised.

Next Chapter: You Have to Have a Plan

Author Notes:

Forever and a Day (FAAD) was completed before I began publishing chapters here. Barriers is more of a work in progress. Part of it will deal with issues I decided to remove from FAAD to prevent it from becoming overlong (some of you were asking "what about X?" I do have ideas and plans). Other parts will involve "what happens next." While Keitaro and Naru have begun the road of healing their relationship, the rest of the residents still have issues to work out.

Mutsumi is finishing her degree in medicine. But I have no such training. Please do not use my Googling of medical information in the place of a real doctor.

"There are minors and Shinobu here!": If this was done in Japanese, I'd probably have her say "There are Shoujo and Shojo here." But Japanese puns are hard.

I interpret Shinobu's character as being relieved and grateful with Naru wanting to let things go. I think Motoko would have a harder time letting go of feeling she acted dishonorably. As an adult, I think she'd stop offering to commit seppuku at the drop of a hat, but she'd still be a bit overboard in response.

I hope nobody thinks I'm "Motoko bashing." I'm just trying to get across how seriously she takes her remorse.

Motoko's apology roughly translates as "There were no excuses for my actions, I am totally responsible for what I have done and am sincerely apologetic."

"Urashima-sama." -sama implies a higher status of the addressee. Motoko is A) acknowledging that Naru is undisputedly Keitaro's wife and B) is humbling herself in her address.