Sorry for taking so long on this, I just read the entire manga in the past three days (I managed to get all 14 volumes for free) anyway, I guess this is what you call...a filler chapter? It shouldn't be very interesting, I haven't gotten into the serious stuff yet, anyway, read and enjoy, and I apologize in advance if this chapter is boring.
Oh, and please review when you're finished!, I LOVE reviews, good or bad, big or small, it lets me see how I'm doing, and if you give suggestions I just might use them! Feel free to e-mail me too, if you're not too keen on having your opinions open to the public.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Unbreakable Blades and Broken Arms
[Hinata-sou]
"So...what exactly are we going to do with it?" asked a curious Naru, her and the rest of the Hinata-sou residents were sitting cross legged in a circle, all of their eyes on the object in the center of their circle, the Hina Blade.
It was that same blade sitting there, looking like any other normal katana, that had led to so much destruction the other day, all of the Hinata-sou residents sat, pondering what to do with the dark sword.
"If we put it away again, we might forget about it, then someone may find it again later and who knows what would happen?" said Keitaro, the Kanrinin, or resident manager of Hinata-sou, it was this 20 year old ronin who had nearly murdered all of the other residents of Hinata-sou while under the possession of that wicked blade.
"We could melt it down! I can make a new Mecha Tama out of it!!" yelled Su, as she bounced around the room, unable to sit still for long, despite her appearance of a normal 13 year old girl who's had too much sugar, she was really a mechanical genius.
"That's hardly enough metal for you to make a new Mecha Tama, besides, what if it possesses the Mecha Tama!?" objected Naru, "we don't need a crazy mechanized turtle trying to blow everything up!"
"Urashima has a point, as does Naru-senpai, I have sealed the demon, so we don't have to worry about it possessing anyone now, but in the future the seal may be broken, and using the metal of such a blade as this probably would result in...how did you put it? 'A crazy mechanized turtle trying to blow everything up.'" said Motoko, both of her eyes were closed and she was in her traditional clothing today, "Although melting it down is a good idea...."
"You can't melt it down." said Haruka as calm as can be, her arms crossed, her eyes closed and an unlit cigarette haning from the corner of her mouth, everyone looked at her.
"Ano...Haruka-san, what do you mean we can't melt it down?" a small, shy voice asked before anyone else could overreact and ask the same question with more vehemance.
"I mean exactly that, you can't melt it down...the blade is indestructable..." stated Haruka, still calm as ever, all the other, however, cfreaked out at this.
"EHH!?!? INDESTRUCTABLE!?" they all said at once, crowding around the woman, who nodded calmly, "It's been passed down through the Urashima family for generations, it couldn't be completely sealed, however, but a strong person, both physically and mentally could wield it without fear of being possessed."
Keitaro's head drooped, No wonder it possessed me... he thought to himself grimly, no one noticed this, though as they were all looking at Haruka, who had yet to open her eyes or even unfold her arms.
"The blade can't be indestructable!" protested Motoko, picking up the dark blade, "Su, start warming up your furnace!" she said, Su rushed out of the room, "Roger!" everyone was hot on her heels, everyone except for Haruka, the woman sighed and stood up, "Those kids...I swear..." she then proceeded to follow at her own pace.
Su was next to a huge furnace in the corner of her room, why she kept it there, no one knew, Kaolla Su had always been a mystery to the Hinata-sou residents for a long time and they have long since stopped trying to figure her out.
The furnace was a blaze and Su stood next to it, "Behold! My Mega Dragons Breath Furnace!!" exclaimed Su proudly, then she took a spare wrench and tossed it into the open furnace door, it melted before it fell, everyone in the room could feel the heat of the flames, no matter how far back they stood, the young mechanical expert held up a pair of ordinary looking tongs.
"These are the only things that can go in there without melting, but even then for only about a minute before it starts to melt!" Su took out a pair of thick gloves and put on a heavy duty welding mask, she let Motoko place the sword in the tongs.
"Will this work?" asked Naru, who was standing far from the furnace, it was deathly hot, "That thing could probably burn through metal from NASA, of course it will work!" said Keitaro who was standing next to her.
Haruka walked in then and immediately fanned herself as she felt the heat, she went and stood next to Motoko, who was halfway across the room, closest to the furnace accept for Su, who was wearing some sort of protection suit.
Su placed the sword into the furnace and shut the door, so everyone could cool off a bit before they got the sword, "How long should I leave it in there?" she asked, directing the question to no one in particular.
Haruka was the first to answer, "overnight...so you can see for yourself that it is indeed, indestructable." Su looked to Haruka, "I would, but due to the fact that it's so hot, it would melt down, I can leave it in there for about an hour, any more and the furnace will melt down."
Haruka nodded and proceeded to exit the room, "Then I'll be back in an hour." she said simply, walking away, everyone watched her go, she seemed quite confident that the infernal thing was indestructable.
"Ano...senpai...what are we going to do if it really IS indestructable?" Shinobu asked, Keitaro turned to her and scratched the back of his head, "Well...Aunt Haruka--" he was quickly cut off as the door swung open, "It's Haruka!!" yelled Haruka to her nephew, before smacking him upside the head, "Aunt Haruka makes me sound old.." she stated simply, Keitaro rubbed his head "Well...you said that if you were strong, you could control the demon..." he turned to Motoko, "Motoko-chan, maybe you could use the sword? I mean you're a strong warrior, and you DID seal it off in the first place...it only makes sense that you'd be able to hold it in place."
"Hmph! That infernal sword? I have no doubt that I could hold it, but I don't want some demon sword!" protested Motoko, "Then why don't you train Keitaro until he's strong enough to use it himself?" said Haruka, everyone nodded in agreement at this plan.
"Yeah Motoko, you could train him, and he'll be an even better fighter!" said Kitsune
"And maybe he could spar with you, to hone your skills" added Haruka
"B-but the Shinmeiryuu training ways are a closely gaurded secret!" protested Motoko once more, "You don't have to teach him the Shinmeiryuu, just basic fighting skills, it doesn't even need to be with a sword, it's just to give him the experience and strength he needs to use the Hina Blade." Said Haruka.
"Hey, I'll be a good student! and you've always said what a weakling I am, so this is a chance to change that!" added in Keitaro.
Motoko nodded and sighed, "Yes, I suppose you're right, you could use a little training to hone that technique of yours.." Haruka nodded, "But you'll have to carry the Hina Blade while Keitaro trains, it's protector in a way, you're the only one strong enoough." the older lady stated.
"But what about you? Weren't you the one that held off Keitaro while I explained my plan to Naru?" Motoko asked, not wanting a demon sword at all, it would put shame to her name and heritage, the Shinmeiryuu was designed to destroy and seal demons, not use them.
Haruka gave a smile, "That's only because I know the technique, I can concentrate my power as an Urashima to some degree, but I've gone through little training, I don't have enough experience to wield such a thing...and I'm a little old for training anymore."
Everyone in the room stared at Haruka like she was on drugs, she had never...EVER, admitted that she was too old for anything, "What? It's true." she said calmly, Motoko grumbled a "fine" as Haruka walked away, stopping at the door "then it's settled, you'll be the gaurdian of the sword until Keitaro is skilled enough to use it" she stated then walked out, closing the door behind her.
Later, everyone decided to relax a bit until the furnace was done doing it's work, everyone, that is, except for Naru and Keitaro, who were both in Naru's room, studying dilligently, they hadn't said a word to each other since they began studying, but they were hardly getting anything done, it was summer, they didn't really need to study at all, "Ne, Narusegawa?" asked Keitaro, closing his book, "Hm?" she looked up from the work she was doing.
"I never really got a chance to properly thank you for stopping me..." he scratched the back of his head, she closed her book, "It really isn't me you should thank, Motoko did all the work." she said simply.
"Yeah...I suppose so...but you were a crucial part, if you didn't do what you did, I probably would have ended up killing everyone at Hinata-sou, Motoko told me that she didn't know how much longer she could have held off." he said, he stretched out, his muscles somewhat sore from sitting in one position for too long.
"Ne, that reminds me," said Naru, "Why could you attack everyone else, but not me? I mean, I'm sure you were fighting not to harm anyone at all, but you fought for me the hardest...how come?"
He looked suprised at this question and chuckled nervously, "Well uh.." he looked down to the floor, his hand on the back of his head, his eyes turned from cheerful to serious, "I umm..just couldn't imagine life without you.." it was her turn to be suprised, "Keitaro.." he looked back up at her, his eyes soft, "Narusegawa....I...I..."
Naru's eyes betrayed that she was touched at his words, she prepared herself for his words, knowing what he would say, knowing what she would say back.
"Keitaro!! Naru!!" came Su's voice as she burst through the door, completely ruining the mood, the two blushed and looked away from each other He...he was about to... thought Naru, That's Hinata-sou for you... thought Keitaro "Come on, Keitaro, Naru, let's go! The furnace is done with the sword!" yelled Su excitedly, he grabbed them and pulled them both to their feet and dragged them over to her room.
Everyone was already gathered in Su's room, most didn't expect to see the sword after it had been in the furnace that long, Su go her tongs and turned off the furnace, she opened the door using the heay duty gloves and pulled out a fully in tact sword, everyone gasped, somewhat suprised, they were even more suprised when Haruka went over to the sword and picked it up by the blade, pinching the two flat sides with her thumb and fore finger, "just as I thought...not even warm..." she said as she took the saya she brought with her and sheathed the sword, handing it to Motoko, "Here you go, gaurdian, keep it in good hands" the older woman said and left, everyone just looked at the sword, shocked.
~1 Week Later~
The Hinata house shuddered violently as the wave of ki shot past Keitaro and into the side of the building, Motoko was panting, holding the wooden training sword up, ready to attack again, Keitaro stood across from her, only 10 feet away, also panting in a fighting stance, bare handed.
"Why you insist on not using a weapon, I'll never know, Urashima, I told you this was a not a training session, but a duel, yet you still don't take the wooden sword I offered." said Motoko as she regained her breath quickly, "Well, I've lost my tastes for swords after that experience with the Hina Blade" said Keitaro in response, he then ran towards Motoko, already expecting some sort of Ki attack and planning to dodge.
Motoko raised her sword high over her haid, and gathered her Ki, "Shinmeiryuu, ZANGANKEN!" she brought the sword down, time seemed to slow down as the wooden blade came down, Keitaro, smiling, would dodge aside at the last moment, but his plan came to a brief hault as he heard a door slide open behind him and then a voice, "Are you two at it AGAIN!? Yare yare, if you don't quit soon the whole building will be destroyed!" exclaimed Naru.
Motoko couldn't hear her over the rush of ki as her sword came down, time itself seemed to stop as Keitaro thought quickly I can dodge it, but then it'll hit Narusegawa, if I turn to save Narusegawa the ki blast will only seriously hurt us both, Motoko's not kidding around, so...yes, there's only one way! time resumed, Keitaro, instead of dodging like he planned, brought up his right arm to block the downcoming sword, something totally unexpected.
Pain...it coursed through his arm as the wooden sword broke against it, then came the ki, it wasn't quite as powerful as he had interfered with the completion, but it was still powerful enough to be deadly, he summoned up his defensive power subconsciously, that's all that kept his arm...somewhat intact, the blast of ki made his arm shoot back, there was a pop as his shoulder dislocated, then it was over, Keitaro's arm was hanging limply, he was screaming in pain, his arm mangled, Motoko had managed to hit him hard enough with the wooden sword to draw blood.
"Keitaro!" came Naru's voice as she rushed over to the wounded man, Motoko looked at him, stunned, she looked up at Naru, and, being the warrior that she was, saw why he had blocked the sword, the Keitaro fell backwards, passing out from the massive pain, the last thing he saw before darkness took him was a worried Naru, "Keitaro! Keitaro!!"
[Hospital]
Keitaro opened his eyes groggily, he saw Naru leaning over him, smiling, she turned around, "Hey guys, he's coming around!"
Keitaro tried to get up, but felt a stabbing pain in his right arm, he closed his ees and grit his teeth, a pair of hands gently pushed him back down, "Now Keitaro, you're hurt, don't try to move for a bit, okay?" Naru's voice came again, he opened his eyes again to see Naru sitting on the edge of his bed, all the others were crowded at the foot of his bed, "Uhhnn....where am I?" he said, looking around, "The Hospital." said Naru.
"The doctor said your arm was broken in about 14 places!" piped up Su, who held up a wrench, "But don't you worry, I can fix anything that's broken!" and started to approach Keitaro who had a look of pure horror on his face, as did Shinobu.
The others, thankfully came to his rescue and held Su back, "Su! You don't fix an arm with a wrench!" exclaimed Kitsune, taking it from her.
"Ara ara, Kei-kun, what happened to you?" came a very familiar voice, Keitaro turned to the voice, as did everyone else, she was standing next to the bed, opposite Naru, "Mutsumi?? How did you get there?" asked everyone, they didn't hear her come in at all, she looked up in thought "Ano...how DID I get in here?" she said as everyone else fell over.
Naru got up and put a hand behind her head, "I guess that's not very important, now is it?" she said, everyone else got up, "So what DID happen, Keitaro?" asked Kitsune, he was about to say something when Motoko said something, "He made a rash choice and decided to block instead of dodge." she said simply, Keitaro looked at her, "Rash...you try thinking something up in a quarter second" he said, somewhat angry at being called rash, "You could have stood your ground and took the attack full on, you would have survived, and with much less injury, if any at all." the young swordsmaster.
"Yeah...but the residual Ki still would have hit Naru, and if I absorbed all of the attack I would probably be a lot more seriously injured than this." Keitaro argued his point, everyone looked at him with new respect, he never used to stand up for himself, "So I took the full blow to the arm instead, besides, I was only 10 feet from you and running, I couldn't stop for long enough to prepare a defense."
"A conscious one, anyway, you forget that you still have that hidden power of yours, that keeps you alive and well even after the most brutal beatings." Said Motoko, crossing her arms, "The fact remains that what you did was rash," she continued, then, in a softer tone, "but I still admire how you would do that to protect others."
Keitaro looked away blushing a bit at this comment, Motoko had never ever complimented him out loud, even after he had gained his abilities as a fighter, "Keitaro, you still didn't tell us exactly what happened." Kitsune said, "Yeah, tell us!" said Su, springing next to Naru, they all crowded around him as he told them what happened, by the end of the story, Naru was blushing again, "You know, you didn't have to do that.." she said, looking to the ground, "I don't think you've felt the full force of one of Motoko's attacks, it was either you'd end up lieing here, or I would, I chose me." Keitaro said simply, causing her to go even more red.
"Come on everyone, let Keitaro get his rest" Haruka's voice came from the door, "The Doctor says he can come home tomorrow." everyone agreed and said their goodbyes to Keitaro, and wished him well, then left one by one, Naru was the last to leave, "Ne, Keitaro...thanks..." she said before rushing out of the room, he just smiled and relaxed.
~Later That Night~
Keitaro tossed and turned, he couldn't sleep at all, "CHIGAU!!!" (NO!!!) he screamed as he sat up, at once pain shot through his arm and he groaned, he reached over for a glass of water and his glasses, the nurse had left him a cup and a pitcher of water, there was no bedpan, as his legs were just fine, he could walk to the nearby bathroom.
Keitaro sighed, he dreamt about being possessed by that blade again, he could still remember it, the slight resistance of the sword passing through Naru's body, her beautiful head looking up at him, her eyes full of tears, asking "Why, Keitaro?" it was like she didn't know that he was possessed, CHIGAU!! NARUSEGAWA!! THE BLADE! IT POSSESSED ME!! she would nod and look back up painfully at him, like she could read his thoughts, "But why...weren't you stronger...why couldn't you fight it? I thought you...loved me..." with that her body fell limp, then he woke up.
Keitaro let tears stream down his face as he drank his water, he shuddered violently at the memory, spilling some water, he really did have a phobia of swords now, he had been having that dream ever since he was possessed by the Hina Blade, I don't want the stupid sword! I don't want it! I won't take it!! I don't care if it's an heirloom!!!! I don't want my nightmare to come true...Narusegawa... he thought to himself, he put his glasses back on the table and finished up the water, placing the glass on the table as well.
He lied on his bed, he could sleep now, he knew the dream wouldn't come back, it was always like this, he dreamt that horrible nightmare up once a night, then drifted off to sleep again What does it mean... he thought, Maybe I'm just paranoid, that's all...but still...I know, I'll go talk to Motoko, she's the expert on this kind of stuff... he thought long about what he would say about Motoko, and eventually drifted off to sleep.
~Next Day~
[Hinata-sou]
"I'm back!" Keitaro said, coming through the door, he found the house empty, "I wonder where everyone is..." he said, looking around the house, no one seemed to be home. Finally he just shrugged and went to his room, figuring that they went shopping or something.
Keitaro opened the door to his room and nearly fell over from shock, "WELCOME HOME, KEITARO!!!!" everyone yelled at the top of their lungs, Naru was hanging upside down from the hole in the cieling, as was Su, everyone else had jumped out from various places like his closet, Shinobu popped up behind him, holding a tray of food.
"To celebrate the home coming of Keitaro, let's party!!" yelled Kitsune, followed by joyous yells from everyone, Su and Naru jumped down from the hole and landed with a thump, "Welcome back Keitaro!" she said once again, smiling.
Keitaro, once recovering from the initial shock and smiled, (cue anime tears) "Wow, thanks so much, everyone, this really means a lot to me." he said, he then walked ovver to the 4 tables pushed together in the center of the room, "Well come on! Let's party!" he said as Shinobu put down the food, there was fun and laughter and drinking and games the entire night long.
Keitaro looked at the joy around him, it was good to be back but... I still have to ask Motoko about that dream...oh, I'll do it tomorrow, no need to make all this joy and hapiness go away he thought as he saw Kitsune sway around, having already chugged 3 bottles of sake, might as well enjoy the party while I can, I have a feeling that I'm not going to like what Motoko's going to say tomorrow he thought before returning to the present and partying with the rest of his friends.
------------------------------------------
A/N: As I said before, this is a filler chapter, there isn't much here, I'm sorry if you all are dissapointed, but I had a case of minor writers block and...yeah...anyway, please review, even for fillers I want reviews! I love reviews!
Oh, and please review when you're finished!, I LOVE reviews, good or bad, big or small, it lets me see how I'm doing, and if you give suggestions I just might use them! Feel free to e-mail me too, if you're not too keen on having your opinions open to the public.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Unbreakable Blades and Broken Arms
[Hinata-sou]
"So...what exactly are we going to do with it?" asked a curious Naru, her and the rest of the Hinata-sou residents were sitting cross legged in a circle, all of their eyes on the object in the center of their circle, the Hina Blade.
It was that same blade sitting there, looking like any other normal katana, that had led to so much destruction the other day, all of the Hinata-sou residents sat, pondering what to do with the dark sword.
"If we put it away again, we might forget about it, then someone may find it again later and who knows what would happen?" said Keitaro, the Kanrinin, or resident manager of Hinata-sou, it was this 20 year old ronin who had nearly murdered all of the other residents of Hinata-sou while under the possession of that wicked blade.
"We could melt it down! I can make a new Mecha Tama out of it!!" yelled Su, as she bounced around the room, unable to sit still for long, despite her appearance of a normal 13 year old girl who's had too much sugar, she was really a mechanical genius.
"That's hardly enough metal for you to make a new Mecha Tama, besides, what if it possesses the Mecha Tama!?" objected Naru, "we don't need a crazy mechanized turtle trying to blow everything up!"
"Urashima has a point, as does Naru-senpai, I have sealed the demon, so we don't have to worry about it possessing anyone now, but in the future the seal may be broken, and using the metal of such a blade as this probably would result in...how did you put it? 'A crazy mechanized turtle trying to blow everything up.'" said Motoko, both of her eyes were closed and she was in her traditional clothing today, "Although melting it down is a good idea...."
"You can't melt it down." said Haruka as calm as can be, her arms crossed, her eyes closed and an unlit cigarette haning from the corner of her mouth, everyone looked at her.
"Ano...Haruka-san, what do you mean we can't melt it down?" a small, shy voice asked before anyone else could overreact and ask the same question with more vehemance.
"I mean exactly that, you can't melt it down...the blade is indestructable..." stated Haruka, still calm as ever, all the other, however, cfreaked out at this.
"EHH!?!? INDESTRUCTABLE!?" they all said at once, crowding around the woman, who nodded calmly, "It's been passed down through the Urashima family for generations, it couldn't be completely sealed, however, but a strong person, both physically and mentally could wield it without fear of being possessed."
Keitaro's head drooped, No wonder it possessed me... he thought to himself grimly, no one noticed this, though as they were all looking at Haruka, who had yet to open her eyes or even unfold her arms.
"The blade can't be indestructable!" protested Motoko, picking up the dark blade, "Su, start warming up your furnace!" she said, Su rushed out of the room, "Roger!" everyone was hot on her heels, everyone except for Haruka, the woman sighed and stood up, "Those kids...I swear..." she then proceeded to follow at her own pace.
Su was next to a huge furnace in the corner of her room, why she kept it there, no one knew, Kaolla Su had always been a mystery to the Hinata-sou residents for a long time and they have long since stopped trying to figure her out.
The furnace was a blaze and Su stood next to it, "Behold! My Mega Dragons Breath Furnace!!" exclaimed Su proudly, then she took a spare wrench and tossed it into the open furnace door, it melted before it fell, everyone in the room could feel the heat of the flames, no matter how far back they stood, the young mechanical expert held up a pair of ordinary looking tongs.
"These are the only things that can go in there without melting, but even then for only about a minute before it starts to melt!" Su took out a pair of thick gloves and put on a heavy duty welding mask, she let Motoko place the sword in the tongs.
"Will this work?" asked Naru, who was standing far from the furnace, it was deathly hot, "That thing could probably burn through metal from NASA, of course it will work!" said Keitaro who was standing next to her.
Haruka walked in then and immediately fanned herself as she felt the heat, she went and stood next to Motoko, who was halfway across the room, closest to the furnace accept for Su, who was wearing some sort of protection suit.
Su placed the sword into the furnace and shut the door, so everyone could cool off a bit before they got the sword, "How long should I leave it in there?" she asked, directing the question to no one in particular.
Haruka was the first to answer, "overnight...so you can see for yourself that it is indeed, indestructable." Su looked to Haruka, "I would, but due to the fact that it's so hot, it would melt down, I can leave it in there for about an hour, any more and the furnace will melt down."
Haruka nodded and proceeded to exit the room, "Then I'll be back in an hour." she said simply, walking away, everyone watched her go, she seemed quite confident that the infernal thing was indestructable.
"Ano...senpai...what are we going to do if it really IS indestructable?" Shinobu asked, Keitaro turned to her and scratched the back of his head, "Well...Aunt Haruka--" he was quickly cut off as the door swung open, "It's Haruka!!" yelled Haruka to her nephew, before smacking him upside the head, "Aunt Haruka makes me sound old.." she stated simply, Keitaro rubbed his head "Well...you said that if you were strong, you could control the demon..." he turned to Motoko, "Motoko-chan, maybe you could use the sword? I mean you're a strong warrior, and you DID seal it off in the first place...it only makes sense that you'd be able to hold it in place."
"Hmph! That infernal sword? I have no doubt that I could hold it, but I don't want some demon sword!" protested Motoko, "Then why don't you train Keitaro until he's strong enough to use it himself?" said Haruka, everyone nodded in agreement at this plan.
"Yeah Motoko, you could train him, and he'll be an even better fighter!" said Kitsune
"And maybe he could spar with you, to hone your skills" added Haruka
"B-but the Shinmeiryuu training ways are a closely gaurded secret!" protested Motoko once more, "You don't have to teach him the Shinmeiryuu, just basic fighting skills, it doesn't even need to be with a sword, it's just to give him the experience and strength he needs to use the Hina Blade." Said Haruka.
"Hey, I'll be a good student! and you've always said what a weakling I am, so this is a chance to change that!" added in Keitaro.
Motoko nodded and sighed, "Yes, I suppose you're right, you could use a little training to hone that technique of yours.." Haruka nodded, "But you'll have to carry the Hina Blade while Keitaro trains, it's protector in a way, you're the only one strong enoough." the older lady stated.
"But what about you? Weren't you the one that held off Keitaro while I explained my plan to Naru?" Motoko asked, not wanting a demon sword at all, it would put shame to her name and heritage, the Shinmeiryuu was designed to destroy and seal demons, not use them.
Haruka gave a smile, "That's only because I know the technique, I can concentrate my power as an Urashima to some degree, but I've gone through little training, I don't have enough experience to wield such a thing...and I'm a little old for training anymore."
Everyone in the room stared at Haruka like she was on drugs, she had never...EVER, admitted that she was too old for anything, "What? It's true." she said calmly, Motoko grumbled a "fine" as Haruka walked away, stopping at the door "then it's settled, you'll be the gaurdian of the sword until Keitaro is skilled enough to use it" she stated then walked out, closing the door behind her.
Later, everyone decided to relax a bit until the furnace was done doing it's work, everyone, that is, except for Naru and Keitaro, who were both in Naru's room, studying dilligently, they hadn't said a word to each other since they began studying, but they were hardly getting anything done, it was summer, they didn't really need to study at all, "Ne, Narusegawa?" asked Keitaro, closing his book, "Hm?" she looked up from the work she was doing.
"I never really got a chance to properly thank you for stopping me..." he scratched the back of his head, she closed her book, "It really isn't me you should thank, Motoko did all the work." she said simply.
"Yeah...I suppose so...but you were a crucial part, if you didn't do what you did, I probably would have ended up killing everyone at Hinata-sou, Motoko told me that she didn't know how much longer she could have held off." he said, he stretched out, his muscles somewhat sore from sitting in one position for too long.
"Ne, that reminds me," said Naru, "Why could you attack everyone else, but not me? I mean, I'm sure you were fighting not to harm anyone at all, but you fought for me the hardest...how come?"
He looked suprised at this question and chuckled nervously, "Well uh.." he looked down to the floor, his hand on the back of his head, his eyes turned from cheerful to serious, "I umm..just couldn't imagine life without you.." it was her turn to be suprised, "Keitaro.." he looked back up at her, his eyes soft, "Narusegawa....I...I..."
Naru's eyes betrayed that she was touched at his words, she prepared herself for his words, knowing what he would say, knowing what she would say back.
"Keitaro!! Naru!!" came Su's voice as she burst through the door, completely ruining the mood, the two blushed and looked away from each other He...he was about to... thought Naru, That's Hinata-sou for you... thought Keitaro "Come on, Keitaro, Naru, let's go! The furnace is done with the sword!" yelled Su excitedly, he grabbed them and pulled them both to their feet and dragged them over to her room.
Everyone was already gathered in Su's room, most didn't expect to see the sword after it had been in the furnace that long, Su go her tongs and turned off the furnace, she opened the door using the heay duty gloves and pulled out a fully in tact sword, everyone gasped, somewhat suprised, they were even more suprised when Haruka went over to the sword and picked it up by the blade, pinching the two flat sides with her thumb and fore finger, "just as I thought...not even warm..." she said as she took the saya she brought with her and sheathed the sword, handing it to Motoko, "Here you go, gaurdian, keep it in good hands" the older woman said and left, everyone just looked at the sword, shocked.
~1 Week Later~
The Hinata house shuddered violently as the wave of ki shot past Keitaro and into the side of the building, Motoko was panting, holding the wooden training sword up, ready to attack again, Keitaro stood across from her, only 10 feet away, also panting in a fighting stance, bare handed.
"Why you insist on not using a weapon, I'll never know, Urashima, I told you this was a not a training session, but a duel, yet you still don't take the wooden sword I offered." said Motoko as she regained her breath quickly, "Well, I've lost my tastes for swords after that experience with the Hina Blade" said Keitaro in response, he then ran towards Motoko, already expecting some sort of Ki attack and planning to dodge.
Motoko raised her sword high over her haid, and gathered her Ki, "Shinmeiryuu, ZANGANKEN!" she brought the sword down, time seemed to slow down as the wooden blade came down, Keitaro, smiling, would dodge aside at the last moment, but his plan came to a brief hault as he heard a door slide open behind him and then a voice, "Are you two at it AGAIN!? Yare yare, if you don't quit soon the whole building will be destroyed!" exclaimed Naru.
Motoko couldn't hear her over the rush of ki as her sword came down, time itself seemed to stop as Keitaro thought quickly I can dodge it, but then it'll hit Narusegawa, if I turn to save Narusegawa the ki blast will only seriously hurt us both, Motoko's not kidding around, so...yes, there's only one way! time resumed, Keitaro, instead of dodging like he planned, brought up his right arm to block the downcoming sword, something totally unexpected.
Pain...it coursed through his arm as the wooden sword broke against it, then came the ki, it wasn't quite as powerful as he had interfered with the completion, but it was still powerful enough to be deadly, he summoned up his defensive power subconsciously, that's all that kept his arm...somewhat intact, the blast of ki made his arm shoot back, there was a pop as his shoulder dislocated, then it was over, Keitaro's arm was hanging limply, he was screaming in pain, his arm mangled, Motoko had managed to hit him hard enough with the wooden sword to draw blood.
"Keitaro!" came Naru's voice as she rushed over to the wounded man, Motoko looked at him, stunned, she looked up at Naru, and, being the warrior that she was, saw why he had blocked the sword, the Keitaro fell backwards, passing out from the massive pain, the last thing he saw before darkness took him was a worried Naru, "Keitaro! Keitaro!!"
[Hospital]
Keitaro opened his eyes groggily, he saw Naru leaning over him, smiling, she turned around, "Hey guys, he's coming around!"
Keitaro tried to get up, but felt a stabbing pain in his right arm, he closed his ees and grit his teeth, a pair of hands gently pushed him back down, "Now Keitaro, you're hurt, don't try to move for a bit, okay?" Naru's voice came again, he opened his eyes again to see Naru sitting on the edge of his bed, all the others were crowded at the foot of his bed, "Uhhnn....where am I?" he said, looking around, "The Hospital." said Naru.
"The doctor said your arm was broken in about 14 places!" piped up Su, who held up a wrench, "But don't you worry, I can fix anything that's broken!" and started to approach Keitaro who had a look of pure horror on his face, as did Shinobu.
The others, thankfully came to his rescue and held Su back, "Su! You don't fix an arm with a wrench!" exclaimed Kitsune, taking it from her.
"Ara ara, Kei-kun, what happened to you?" came a very familiar voice, Keitaro turned to the voice, as did everyone else, she was standing next to the bed, opposite Naru, "Mutsumi?? How did you get there?" asked everyone, they didn't hear her come in at all, she looked up in thought "Ano...how DID I get in here?" she said as everyone else fell over.
Naru got up and put a hand behind her head, "I guess that's not very important, now is it?" she said, everyone else got up, "So what DID happen, Keitaro?" asked Kitsune, he was about to say something when Motoko said something, "He made a rash choice and decided to block instead of dodge." she said simply, Keitaro looked at her, "Rash...you try thinking something up in a quarter second" he said, somewhat angry at being called rash, "You could have stood your ground and took the attack full on, you would have survived, and with much less injury, if any at all." the young swordsmaster.
"Yeah...but the residual Ki still would have hit Naru, and if I absorbed all of the attack I would probably be a lot more seriously injured than this." Keitaro argued his point, everyone looked at him with new respect, he never used to stand up for himself, "So I took the full blow to the arm instead, besides, I was only 10 feet from you and running, I couldn't stop for long enough to prepare a defense."
"A conscious one, anyway, you forget that you still have that hidden power of yours, that keeps you alive and well even after the most brutal beatings." Said Motoko, crossing her arms, "The fact remains that what you did was rash," she continued, then, in a softer tone, "but I still admire how you would do that to protect others."
Keitaro looked away blushing a bit at this comment, Motoko had never ever complimented him out loud, even after he had gained his abilities as a fighter, "Keitaro, you still didn't tell us exactly what happened." Kitsune said, "Yeah, tell us!" said Su, springing next to Naru, they all crowded around him as he told them what happened, by the end of the story, Naru was blushing again, "You know, you didn't have to do that.." she said, looking to the ground, "I don't think you've felt the full force of one of Motoko's attacks, it was either you'd end up lieing here, or I would, I chose me." Keitaro said simply, causing her to go even more red.
"Come on everyone, let Keitaro get his rest" Haruka's voice came from the door, "The Doctor says he can come home tomorrow." everyone agreed and said their goodbyes to Keitaro, and wished him well, then left one by one, Naru was the last to leave, "Ne, Keitaro...thanks..." she said before rushing out of the room, he just smiled and relaxed.
~Later That Night~
Keitaro tossed and turned, he couldn't sleep at all, "CHIGAU!!!" (NO!!!) he screamed as he sat up, at once pain shot through his arm and he groaned, he reached over for a glass of water and his glasses, the nurse had left him a cup and a pitcher of water, there was no bedpan, as his legs were just fine, he could walk to the nearby bathroom.
Keitaro sighed, he dreamt about being possessed by that blade again, he could still remember it, the slight resistance of the sword passing through Naru's body, her beautiful head looking up at him, her eyes full of tears, asking "Why, Keitaro?" it was like she didn't know that he was possessed, CHIGAU!! NARUSEGAWA!! THE BLADE! IT POSSESSED ME!! she would nod and look back up painfully at him, like she could read his thoughts, "But why...weren't you stronger...why couldn't you fight it? I thought you...loved me..." with that her body fell limp, then he woke up.
Keitaro let tears stream down his face as he drank his water, he shuddered violently at the memory, spilling some water, he really did have a phobia of swords now, he had been having that dream ever since he was possessed by the Hina Blade, I don't want the stupid sword! I don't want it! I won't take it!! I don't care if it's an heirloom!!!! I don't want my nightmare to come true...Narusegawa... he thought to himself, he put his glasses back on the table and finished up the water, placing the glass on the table as well.
He lied on his bed, he could sleep now, he knew the dream wouldn't come back, it was always like this, he dreamt that horrible nightmare up once a night, then drifted off to sleep again What does it mean... he thought, Maybe I'm just paranoid, that's all...but still...I know, I'll go talk to Motoko, she's the expert on this kind of stuff... he thought long about what he would say about Motoko, and eventually drifted off to sleep.
~Next Day~
[Hinata-sou]
"I'm back!" Keitaro said, coming through the door, he found the house empty, "I wonder where everyone is..." he said, looking around the house, no one seemed to be home. Finally he just shrugged and went to his room, figuring that they went shopping or something.
Keitaro opened the door to his room and nearly fell over from shock, "WELCOME HOME, KEITARO!!!!" everyone yelled at the top of their lungs, Naru was hanging upside down from the hole in the cieling, as was Su, everyone else had jumped out from various places like his closet, Shinobu popped up behind him, holding a tray of food.
"To celebrate the home coming of Keitaro, let's party!!" yelled Kitsune, followed by joyous yells from everyone, Su and Naru jumped down from the hole and landed with a thump, "Welcome back Keitaro!" she said once again, smiling.
Keitaro, once recovering from the initial shock and smiled, (cue anime tears) "Wow, thanks so much, everyone, this really means a lot to me." he said, he then walked ovver to the 4 tables pushed together in the center of the room, "Well come on! Let's party!" he said as Shinobu put down the food, there was fun and laughter and drinking and games the entire night long.
Keitaro looked at the joy around him, it was good to be back but... I still have to ask Motoko about that dream...oh, I'll do it tomorrow, no need to make all this joy and hapiness go away he thought as he saw Kitsune sway around, having already chugged 3 bottles of sake, might as well enjoy the party while I can, I have a feeling that I'm not going to like what Motoko's going to say tomorrow he thought before returning to the present and partying with the rest of his friends.
------------------------------------------
A/N: As I said before, this is a filler chapter, there isn't much here, I'm sorry if you all are dissapointed, but I had a case of minor writers block and...yeah...anyway, please review, even for fillers I want reviews! I love reviews!