Love Hina: Limit Break
by Bug-chan
Chapter 2
11 reviews were more than enough to get my ass in gear and to write another chapter. Oh, do not worry, I haven't abandoned "Manlier Side", it's just that I've been writing, and erasing, it because it sounded either too mushy or too rehashed from the previous chapters. Now, let the curtains rise.
The residents of Hinata Inn waited. In front of where they were sitting stood a door with a red light that lighted the phrase "Operation in Progress" in bright red. The air hung with an air of anxiety and fear as everyone took turns pacing back and forth in nervousness or crying and calming down.
FLASHBACK
Double doors slammed open as a paramedics-flanked, stretcher-ridden Urashima Keitaro burst through into the emergency room.
"We have a giant laceration across patient's chest, roughly six inches long. Vital signs are minimal but patient is still stable. No possible heart or artery damage," a medic yelled as another smoothly stuck an IV into Keitaro's arm and a third relayed the information. Suddenly the bandages placed around his chest sported a growing red puddle. "Correction! Vital signs are fluctuating wildly! Chest injury is bleeding! Heart or artery damage is probable!"
"Prep the operation room and get the surgeon on call! We have a possible heart or artery rupture, stat!" another medic relayed the information over on his portable communicator. Immediately behind him trailed the girls with anxiety written all over them, who stopped right outside the double doors and watched helplessly as he went into, drowning into the shouts of medical terms being thrown all over the place to take care of him.
In Motoko's eyes, all she saw was his stretcher and a black void around him. As the stretcher ran into the room, it seemed like he was being swallowed by the void. 'No,' she thought, panicking. 'Urashima...is going away...' She gripped her sword tightly. 'no no no no No No NO NO NO NO NO NO!' she screamed and unsheathed her sword. Naru noticed her sword unsheathed and feared the worst.
"Motoko, get a grip of yourself!" she yelled and tried to restrain the enraged girl.
"NO! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HIM AWAY!!!!!!" she screamed and tried to run into the room. Kitsune turned in shock and like Naru tried to restrain her. Both girls went to Motoko's sides and grabbed with all their might her shoulders. "LET ME GO!!!" Motoko frantically struggled against her binds, still seeing the shrinking image of Keitaro and his stretcher. Finally, the stretcher fully disappeared and Motoko went limp against Naru's and Kitsune's arms. "He's gone..." she whispered, dropping her sword lifelessly and collapsing to her knees. Seconds later, wet droplets hit the floor, apparently coming from her eyes. "He's gone, and I killed him."
"No you didn't. He's not dead," Naru whispered in encouragement. Deep inside, however, she couldn't help but let worry eat away at her. 'What if he is? No, for her sake and everyone else, I must not worry. I must be optimistic.'
"He's dead! I have innocent blood on my hands! I must redeem myself!" she yelled and let herself loose, She gripped her katana and turned it around, intending to stab herself with it. "Urashima, take this as an apology," she said. Naru and Kitsune immediately jumped for the sword and a tussle ensued as Motoko tried to stab herself and the other two tried to keep her from doing it. Miraculously, a doctor happened to come by and noticed the "swordfight".
"Doctor, please calm that woman down! She's delirious!" Shinobu pleaded, pointing at Motoko. He immediately ran into the nearby storage area, took out a tranquilizer and gave a shot on Motoko's arm.
"Motoko, stop this right now!" the two girls yelled, not noticing the shot and still struggling. Unknown to any of those three girls, the constant shifting of the blade gave them all sorts of surface cuts on their arms and hands.
'Ugh, why am I feeling drowsy?' she thought, feeling the fatigue from the unknowingly administered anesthetic. 'No! I mustn't!' she steeled herself but couldn't stop the growing drowsiness. 'No! For Urashima's sake, I must do it!' It did nothing but only bring more drowsiness. She increased her efforts to let loose but it only made her even more tired. 'Urashima...' she trailed before falling over, sound asleep. Naru and Kitsune finally let go of her and kicked the sword from her grasp, relieved that they were still alive.
The doctor, relieved that the battle was over, looked at Naru and Kitsune. "Are you two-" he started and noticed the various cuts on their arms. "I'll be right back," he ran off to the same medical cabinet and brought out rolls of bandage. The two girls looked at him with curiosity, still not registering the cuts on their arms. "This is going to hurt a bit so bear with me," he warned and took one of Naru's arms and started wrapping around a wound.
"What are you--OW!" Naru yelled, looking at her arm. She noticed the amount of slices all over her arm and quickly lifted her other arm to look, which she regretted doing. Kitsune followed suit and winced. A few minutes later, the doctor moved on to her other arm and wrapped up the wounds. After making sure that they were properly done, he followed suit with Kitsune's arms. He then got up.
"You two are quite lucky. You've only suffered surface wounds and none of your major blood vessels were touched. It will be painful tonight but it'll get better tomorrow and there will be no scars to worry over," the doctor said calmly. He then noticed Motoko's sleeping form. "Her anesthesia will wear out in twelve hours. Until then, she'll be sleeping like a baby. I hope whoever you are waiting for will be fine and I bid you good night." Everyone thanked him for his efforts and he walked away. The two girls picked up Motoko and placed her across a few chairs flat on her back, with her head resting on Shinobu's lap, and sat and waited.
END FLASHBACK
As Hour 10 ticked by, the girls' anxieties grew. No one uttered a word and silence reigned as four pairs of eyes locked on the door, expecting it to burst open any time soon.
'Please...let him pull through...'
Suddenly, the red light went off and everyone except Shinobu got up to await the results. Even though they knew it wasn't going to happen, they all wished that Keitaro would burst out with his ever-present smile and even trip and do something clumsy or perverted. The doors opened and a different doctor wearing green surgery clothes with a name tag saying "Izuchi" came out and removed his surgical mask. Five pairs of eyes now locked on him, silently asking THE question.
Dr. Izuchi looked at a clipboard momentarily before addressing the girls. "Urashima-san has a ruptured artery and a rib cage almost on the point of breaking apart." All the girls' expressions turned to that of shock. "Fortunately, they are all repairable but they will take time to heal." The shock slightly relieved itself but still existed. As he finished saying that, a stretcher rolled out of the operating room and the girls approached it as it stopped. What they saw was heart-wrenching.
Keitaro lied there, eyes closed and without glasses. His mouth was slightly open, obviously breathing. In stark contrast to the peaceful and clean face, his body was a war zone. It took the girls all their willpower not to turn away and burst into tears when they noticed numerous bandages all over his chest and abdomen, most of them around his chest than anywhere else. Below his abdomen was covered by a blanket, which the girls were thankful for; they didn't know how much more of a bandaged Keitaro they could take. Then, as if on cue, the nurses took Keitaro and the girls looked back at Dr. Izuchi.
"Can we visit him?" Naru asked, trying to keep her voice even. Kitsune placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping to comfort her and maybe herself in the process.
"I'm sorry, Urashima-san will have to stay in the intensive care unit for the next few days until his condition improves. Besides, he will be sedated so he won't be awake until he moves out of the ICU," he said. Naru's gaze went down and Izuchi noticed her depression. "Do not worry, Urashima-san is an extraordinary fellow. He should be able to stabilize quite quickly."
"Thank you, doctor," Kitsune said and took Naru into a hug. The doctor nodded and walked away, leaving the girls alone. A subdued Suu slowly approached them and the two girls took her into the group hug as they softly whimpered.
"Keitaro..."
"Keitaro..."
"Oni-san..."
"Sempai..."
They silently decided to head back to the Inn, with Naru carrying Motoko. The group wordlessly arrived and each went to her respective rooms. Naru brought Motoko to her room, lightly placed her on a futon and covered her up. She quietly walked out of the room, closing the door behind her, and walked towards her room. 'I should go by Keitaro's room,' she decided and changed course. She approached the door that had a sign saying "Manager's room" above it and slightly hesitated. She then grabbed the door handle and walked in.
"You decided to join us?" Naru looked in shock, noticing Kitsune, Shinobu and Suu sitting in the kotatsu, each in her own side. The pensive air did not provide any incentive for the four of them to talk as they simply remembered all their moments, group or individual, each girl shared with him. Memories of Keitaro being Naru-punched here and there were often more prominent than anything else between the four girls. Naru's head dipped, realizing the amount of pain she dealt him on an everyday basis. She looked up to see a pensive Suu and Shinobu and a wanly smiling Kitsune.
"You know, this isn't funny," Naru said.
Kitsune still kept her smile. "It isn't, but think about it. It's true that we've dealt him a lot of physical pain, but sometimes it was somewhat amusing." Before Naru could make a retort, Kitsune continued, "There is no use simply moping around. What's done is done and we can't go back in time and fix it. The most we can do is move on right now. Now I'm not saying that Keitaro's going to die, that will not happen. We should live." She paused and saw three pairs of eyes on her. "We should live for him and his sake. Come on girls, let's hit the sack." She got up, left the room and came back a few minutes later carrying a rolled-up futon in one arm and a pillow in another. The three girls followed suit and a few minutes later, were all sound asleep in Keitaro's room.
In Motoko's room, she rolled over to one side. Her facial expression cringed slightly.
'Where am I?' Motoko looked around her and saw nothing but a black void around her. She took a few cautious steps forward and saw no changes. Then from a distance she heard a voice.
"Hiken! Zanteutsen!" A pale-colored Motoko wearing her training uniform suddenly appeared in front from nowhere and sliced the air, sending air against the normal-looking Motoko. She barely dodged the blast and stared, shocked at her own self in front of her. Her reflection stood there, looking quite angry for some reason; her eyes radiated a fiery look and her blade almost seemed alive.
'Where am I?' she pondered. Her thoughts were cut short as the sword came down again.
"Zan-gan-ken!" Another blast of energy left the sword and this time, Motoko dodged it early enough to prepare herself.
'Who is that? Is that some imposter?' Motoko thought, dodging another blast. 'Is that an evil spirit?' She dodged yet another strike. Moments later, behind the attacking Motoko, various images flashed by. They were all pictures of her striking Keitaro one way or another. It started with her duel against him when he took over as manager.
FLASHBACK
"Urashima! I challenge you to a duel! If you win, I will forget this entire matter. If I win, you will leave Hinata Inn and never set foot again!" Motoko yelled out menacingly while pointing her bokken at a kendo outfit-covered Keitaro.
END FLASHBACK
More images flashed by, consisting of a running and apologizing Keitaro and a closely pursuing Motoko, sword drawn, anger emanated. The slides stopped at another one that seemed of great importance.
FLASHBACK
"You are the source of all my misery! Ever since you stepped into Hinata, there had been nothing but failure for me! My swordsmanship declined and I lost to Seta-san in battle! How am I to keep my promise to my sister?" she demanded as lightning flashed behind her. In front was Keitaro in a tight cocoon from his sleeping bag, shaking and begging for mercy, but she would have none of it. "But I do not worry anymore, for all will end with your death. DIE!"
END FLASHBACK
The slideshow continued, and Motoko stood there baffled. Yet more images flew of more encounters between the two people and it finally stopped for the last time.
FLASHBACK
Keitaro, on one knee, had her blade clasped between his hands while Motoko simply gripped her sword. Everyone around her looked in shock and awe at Keitaro, who somehow defeated her sword technique.
END FLASHBACK
She then came to a realization. 'That is me...in Urashima's mind!' Her revelation made her a prime target and soon she was hit. Motoko tumbled over as the pale Motoko approached her, sword drawn.
"I shall be rid of you. Now, prepare! Final move, Call of the Phoenix!!!" She jumped high, preparing to execute the move, when the downed Motoko had different ideas. She got out of the way as a giant amount of chi came straight down at where she used to be and stood, sword drawn.
"No. I shall be rid of YOU," Motoko said. "Hiken, Zanmaken, Ni-no-tachi!" With all her heart and strength, she sliced and blasted her chi towards her evil alter ego. It made contact and let loose a horrendous scream while creating a giant dust wall. When the dust receded, Motoko saw nothing but shards of clothing and a broken blade at where her evil self used to be. 'I truly hope that this at least is a step towards reconciliation of sorts,' she hoped, satisfied that something was done for his sake. The world brightened up and Motoko soon saw a light above her. She turned her head and noticed a blanket on her and the armor to another side. 'I'm in my room. It was a dream,' she inferred. 'Yet, it seemed so real.' She blinked a few times to make sure she was awake and got out of bed, noticing the bright light coming in from the outside.
A/N - And a chapter is finished. It feels like something's missing, but then again, what the hell. Review folks!