Love Hina – Power of the Heart
Fanfic by Steven Biggs
Chapter Two – Revelation
Friday Noon.
With just a glance, Haruka chases the young girls away from Keitaro. Motoko, hesitant at first, assists her and they carry him into Hinata-sou. After placing him on the couch, Haruka asks Motoko to bring some tea. Haruka looks at Keitaro for a few moments and then holds a hand above his body. Sensing that his chi has returned to its normal, almost imperceptible level, she lets her breathing slow. Motoko returns and sets the tray on the table.
"Motoko-chan, do you feel anything from him?"
She closes her eyes and concentrates. After a few seconds, she nods her head.
"His chi seems no different from a normal person that has not had any formal training. In fact, it is much weaker than I expected."
"What do you sense from me?"
"Your chi is strong, yet firmly controlled. I had thought that was due to your being a very self-disciplined person. I assume now that you have had some rigorous training to hide your true level."
"That's right. Every woman in our family that displays the ability is taught from an early age to control it. It took me over ten years to finally reach the level of control I have today. Keitaro mastered his control in three days."
Motoko steps backwards.
"Three days? That is impossible! No one can control their chi to that extent without years, no, a lifetime of training under a Master!"
"Keitaro never received any training."
Motoko falls into the chair.
"Spirits preserve me! How can that be?"
Haruka sits in the other chair and lights a cigarette. After a few puffs, she begins to speak.
"Keitaro didn't show any signs of the ability when he was born, and since he is a male, no one thought to do a thorough check. He first revealed his power when he was five years old, and has kept it mostly in check ever since the incident."
"What incident was that? What transpired?"
Haruka points to a painting on the wall.
"Have you ever looked at that?"
"Yes, it is Hinata-sou."
"Do you notice anything strange?"
"I can see that there is a structure in the painting that does not exist on the grounds today. Su-chan asked Granny Hina about it once and was told that it burned down fifteen years ago."
Haruka shakes her head.
"It didn't burn down. Keitaro destroyed it. Granny Hina and I both witnessed what happened. I still have nightmares from what I saw."
"But, how could a child wield such power?"
"Our ability usually stays dormant until some event first triggers it. No one can say what the trigger will be. For me, it was being lost in a cave. I was terrified because it was so dark. When they found me, I was huddled against a wall with boulders all around me. I had kept striking the wall in my fear until it shattered. Other triggers can be physical pain, strong emotions, or an attack. To this day, I really don't like going underground."
Motoko bows her head, understanding what fear can do to a person.
"What triggered the power in your nephew?"
Before she can answer, screams echo from the front of the Inn. They move to the broken doorway and see the rest of the residents staring at their damaged home. Naru runs up to them.
"Haruka-san! What happened?"
Su picks up some debris and watches as it crumbled in her fingers.
"Whoa, this place is totally trash-binned!"
Kitsune, her eyes wide, looks around in circles.
"Are ya'll okay? Did a typhoon hit while we were at the airport?"
Haruka motions for them to come inside.
"It's good that you're all here. Now I won't have to tell this story twice."
As they begin to enter, they see a young girl reach the top of the steps. She holds her hands to her mouth as see looks around. Haruka calls her over.
"You're the Maehara's kid, aren't you?"
"Y-yes, I'm Maehara Shinobu. Are you Urashima Haruka-san? What happened to Hinata-sou?"
"We had . . . a little accident."
"My mother said that you wanted to talk to me about being your new cook."
"Sorry about the mess. I was hoping to give you a tryout today, but. . ."
Shinobu holds her backpack out.
"I have some snacks that I made. Couldn't you try them?"
Su leaps over and sticks her hand in Shinobu's bag.
"What-cha got? I'm so hungry that I could eat a horse-n-buggy!"
"Aaauuuuu! Please, there's lots for everyone!"
Keitaro staggers to the opening holding a hand to his head, and walks past the girls.
"Wow, I have an awful headache!"
He trips in the rubble and drags Shinobu's skirt down as he falls. Blood trickles from his nose as he looks up at her teddy-bear panties.
"I'm sorry! It was an accident!"
Naru instantly leaps over and punts him over the top of the Inn.
"You PERVERT! Get your hands off her! What do you think you're doing?"
Motoko looks from Naru, to Haruka, to where Keitaro disappeared, and then back to Haruka.
"I do not understand. Why did he not raise his defense when Naru-sempai attacked him?"
Haruka adjusts her cigarette holder.
"I'll explain that too. Let's go find Keitaro. With his luck, he probably landed in the hot spring."
As they pull Keitaro out of the water, Naru looks at Haruka.
"Who is this man anyway?"
"This is Urashima Keitaro, my nephew. Starting today, he'll be the manager and owner of Hinata-sou."
"WHAT?"
"I knew Granny Hina wouldn't tell you about it. She really likes surprises. She decided on Keitaro as your new manager months ago."
Keitaro raises his head.
"Uh, Haruka-san, I. . ."
She slaps his head to shut him up.
"Don't interrupt your aunt. There is something about Keitaro that all of you should know."
Naru crosses her arms.
"You mean that he really is a pervert? We already know that!"
Keitaro raises his head again.
"I was framed! I'm innocent I tell you! Haruka-obasan, tell. . . "
She pulls out a paper fan and smacks him back to the ground.
"That's Haruka-san! Let's go inside and sit down. This will take a while to explain."
Keitaro sits up and looks at his aunt.
"Haruka-san, I'd rather you didn't tell anyone about that."
"I think that it'll be harder on everyone if we don't tell them."
Keitaro finally nods his head and they enter the Inn.
"Okay Haruka-san. Let them decide if they want to let some kind of a monster into their home."
"You aren't a monster! You are Urashima Keitaro."
He bows his head as he sits heavily in a chair.
"I know. I'm sorry Haruka-san. If they have to know, I'd rather be the one to tell them."
The girls slowly take the other seats in the common room. Haruka looks at Shinobu.
"Why don't you pass out those snacks you brought? I'll bring some tea."
When they are all settled, Keitaro takes a deep breath and begins his story.
Fifteen Years Ago. . .
Keitaro chases the moving van across the bridge, stretching his hand out to the girl leaning out of the window. She calls to him.
"Kei-kun! Bye-bye!"
"No! Don't go!"
Her final words echo as the van pulls away.
"Promise me you'll go to Toudai!! We'll see each other there when we grow up!"
Keitaro trips and falls to the road. When he looks up, the van disappears into the mists. He stands in the middle of the bridge for many minutes, tears streaming down his face. Before he turns to make his way back, he whispers.
"I promise. Bye-bye."
Keitaro slowly walks back to his grandmother's Inn. Another young girl, the Liddo-kun doll that the departing girl gave to her in her hands, watches quietly from the end of the bridge. As Keitaro walks past her, he wipes the tears from his cheeks and gives her a weak smile. She runs over, kicks him in the shin, and hits him over the head with her doll before running off. Keitaro sits against a lamppost, sobs wracking his small body.
Another girl about thirteen years old walks over and sits next to him. Gently, she wraps her arm over his shoulders.
"What's wrong, Keitaro?"
He sniffs back his tears and looks up at her face.
"She's gone, Haruka-san! She's really gone!"
Haruka reaches into her pocket and pulls out a box of candy.
"Do you want a chocolate cigarette? It's the one with caramel inside."
He sniffs again.
"That's okay, I don't smoke."
She takes his hand and helps him stand up.
"Let's go to the park. That always makes you happy."
"O-okay."
As they reach the small park, they see a man and woman talking to Granny Hina. They each shake her hand and then enter a car. She waves as it pulls away. Keitaro sees the young girl stand up in the back seat, still holding her Liddo-kun. As the car turns the corner, she manages a small wave to Keitaro. He runs over and grabs his grandmother's sleeve.
"They're just gone shopping, right Granny Hina! They'll come back!"
She looks down at his tear-stained face.
"I'm afraid not, Keitaro-kun. Your little friend is all better, so her parents are taking her back home."
"She, she's leaving too?"
Granny Hina kneels and places her hands on his shoulders.
"Yes, I am afraid so. You see, because you were so nice to her, it helped her get a lot better. You should be glad. You are a special child, so kind and unselfish."
Tears flow down his cheeks again.
"Make them come back! Make them come back, Granny Hina!"
"I am so sorry child. Sometimes, people leave, no matter how much you want them to stay."
"But, they're my friends! Friends never leave friends! Never!"
She hugs him close.
"It's the time for them to go home. You wouldn't want them to not go home, would you?"
"I don't understand! Why can't you make them stay?"
"I'm sorry. That is beyond what I can do Keitaro. If I could, I would do anything in the world for you."
He pushes away from her and wipes his eyes. He points up the hill with a shaking arm and screams.
"Why can't we all live at Hinata-sou forever? We'll be happy at Hinata-sou!"
Keitaro runs down the road. At the steps leading to the inn he turns. He clenches his small fists and screams again, but his voice takes on an unusual quality as it echoes across the grounds.
"Why? Why? WHY?"
As he disappears up the steps, Granny Hina's hands unconsciously reach up and grip her shoulders.
"Oh my dear god!"
Haruka tugs at her sleeve.
"Granny Hina, why does Keitaro feel like that?"
She turns and looks at her.
"You sense it also. This cannot be happening. Keitaro cannot possess the ability."
Haruka raises her hands to her mouth.
"He, he's not gonna be like I was in the c-c-cave. Is he?"
"It should be impossible, but I cannot be mistaken. He has the power also. Come Haruka-kun! We must not let him hurt himself!"
They sprint up the steps hand in hand. As they reach the top, they spot Keitaro running around the right side of the inn. Quickly following, they chase him to the closed winter wing.
He runs around to the back of the building and stops as his eyes spot something. On the wall are three names written in a child's handwriting. Just yesterday, Keitaro and his two friends snuck back here and scratched their names in the wooden panels with a stolen kitchen knife. He reads the names and the inscription below them.
"Kei Mu-mu and Na-na 3 friends 4-ever"
Below that is another inscription that Na-na made him write.
"and Liddo-kun, too"
Keitaro falls to his knees and scratches at the panel, trying to pry it off.
"They can't go! Why? WHY?"
Granny Hina and Haruka run around the corner. Haruka tries to pull free and run to him, but Granny Hina locks a grip like steel on her wrist.
"No child! Stay back. He is about to let the power go!"
As they watch, Keitaro's small fingers tear into the panel like it was a piece of tissue. He opens his hands and watches the shattered pieces of wood drop to the ground, the inscription destroyed. His tiny shoulders shudder as tears burst anew from his eyes.
"NO! NO! NOOOOOOO!"
Granny Hina drags Haruka away from the building. They take cover behind a tree as the first visible tendrils of Keitaro's power start to swirl around him. Haruka watches with wide eyes.
"He's stronger than you, Granny Hina."
She presses Haruka against the tree and wraps her arms around it.
"Hold on child. He has only just begun to release the power, and I cannot see then end of it!"
In a cool, dark place, a voice speaks.
"Pain. He is in pain."
The walls of the building begin to shake and the wind whips through the trees. Keitaro pounds his tiny fists to the stone walkway, shattering it.
"Such pain, it is unbearable for him."
Keitaro leans back and screams. His voice is deafening and it shatters the windows of the building. In the darkness, the voice speaks again.
"He promised to save me one day. I can not stay here while he is in danger."
In her dark room, Moe decides. She leaves her wooden body and follows the waves of torment to Keitaro.
"I must save him."
Keitaro stands and raises his hands to the sky. The vortex spins tighter around him and tears though the structure, ripping beams and columns from the ground. The walls give way and the entire edifice collapses on top of him. An instant later, debris erupts as if blasted from the earth. Keitaro clenches his fists once more and the remainder of the building implodes, sending shards rocketing into the sky. Unseen, Moe reaches him and attempts to wrap her invisible arms around him. Keitaro opens his eyes.
"Moe-chan! Don't, you'll be hurt!"
Moe touches him and screams. Keitaro's anguish changes to fear and he struggles to save his one remaining friend. Grasping his power, he pits his will against forces he does not comprehend. Heedless of the danger, he forces the power down, containing it in his small form. A silent explosion rocks the ground, sending him tumbling into the nearby forest. Within his mind, Moe smiles at his unselfish courage.
"I shall protect you. I will dim your memories so that you may bear the pain. And I shall await the day when you fulfill your promise."
. . .
Keitaro looks up from his glass of tea.
"I don't remember much after that. Haruka-san and Granny Hina carried me the manager's room and the women in my family with the ability came to study me. I was here for two months before they let me go back home. The power slipped out only once during that time, but. . ."
Motoko leans forward.
"What happened? Was anyone injured?"
Haruka shakes her head.
"No one was hurt. It was a mixed blessing that day. We discovered a way to stop Keitaro from getting too far out of control. All we needed to do was let him see a naked female. We don't know why it works, but it sure does the trick."
Naru looks at her.
"You called it a mixed blessing. What do you mean?"
"I'd rather not say."
Keitaro laughs.
"When I started to lose control, it knocked a window open and I saw a naked girl. You'd never guess how shocked I was. I'd never seen a girl without her clothes before."
Su jumps on the coffee table.
"Ya mean that Keitaro saw someone's girly-berries?"
Kitsune leans back and giggles.
"Wouldn't it be hilarious if it had been ya'll, Haruka-san?"
Haruka blushes and turns her head.
"I don't want to talk about it!"
Shinobu whimpers.
"Keitaro-san saw his own aunt naked? Aaauuuuu!"
Naru looks at Haruka.
"Did you, I mean when he lost it today. You didn't. . ."
Haruka shakes her head.
"Not on your life! I found someone else to assist me."
"But, the only other person here was Motoko-chan. Haruka-san! You didn't!"
Everyone turns to Motoko. She blushes and grabs her glass of tea.
"I do not want to talk about it!"
End of Chapter Two.
Fanfic by Steven Biggs
Chapter Two – Revelation
Friday Noon.
With just a glance, Haruka chases the young girls away from Keitaro. Motoko, hesitant at first, assists her and they carry him into Hinata-sou. After placing him on the couch, Haruka asks Motoko to bring some tea. Haruka looks at Keitaro for a few moments and then holds a hand above his body. Sensing that his chi has returned to its normal, almost imperceptible level, she lets her breathing slow. Motoko returns and sets the tray on the table.
"Motoko-chan, do you feel anything from him?"
She closes her eyes and concentrates. After a few seconds, she nods her head.
"His chi seems no different from a normal person that has not had any formal training. In fact, it is much weaker than I expected."
"What do you sense from me?"
"Your chi is strong, yet firmly controlled. I had thought that was due to your being a very self-disciplined person. I assume now that you have had some rigorous training to hide your true level."
"That's right. Every woman in our family that displays the ability is taught from an early age to control it. It took me over ten years to finally reach the level of control I have today. Keitaro mastered his control in three days."
Motoko steps backwards.
"Three days? That is impossible! No one can control their chi to that extent without years, no, a lifetime of training under a Master!"
"Keitaro never received any training."
Motoko falls into the chair.
"Spirits preserve me! How can that be?"
Haruka sits in the other chair and lights a cigarette. After a few puffs, she begins to speak.
"Keitaro didn't show any signs of the ability when he was born, and since he is a male, no one thought to do a thorough check. He first revealed his power when he was five years old, and has kept it mostly in check ever since the incident."
"What incident was that? What transpired?"
Haruka points to a painting on the wall.
"Have you ever looked at that?"
"Yes, it is Hinata-sou."
"Do you notice anything strange?"
"I can see that there is a structure in the painting that does not exist on the grounds today. Su-chan asked Granny Hina about it once and was told that it burned down fifteen years ago."
Haruka shakes her head.
"It didn't burn down. Keitaro destroyed it. Granny Hina and I both witnessed what happened. I still have nightmares from what I saw."
"But, how could a child wield such power?"
"Our ability usually stays dormant until some event first triggers it. No one can say what the trigger will be. For me, it was being lost in a cave. I was terrified because it was so dark. When they found me, I was huddled against a wall with boulders all around me. I had kept striking the wall in my fear until it shattered. Other triggers can be physical pain, strong emotions, or an attack. To this day, I really don't like going underground."
Motoko bows her head, understanding what fear can do to a person.
"What triggered the power in your nephew?"
Before she can answer, screams echo from the front of the Inn. They move to the broken doorway and see the rest of the residents staring at their damaged home. Naru runs up to them.
"Haruka-san! What happened?"
Su picks up some debris and watches as it crumbled in her fingers.
"Whoa, this place is totally trash-binned!"
Kitsune, her eyes wide, looks around in circles.
"Are ya'll okay? Did a typhoon hit while we were at the airport?"
Haruka motions for them to come inside.
"It's good that you're all here. Now I won't have to tell this story twice."
As they begin to enter, they see a young girl reach the top of the steps. She holds her hands to her mouth as see looks around. Haruka calls her over.
"You're the Maehara's kid, aren't you?"
"Y-yes, I'm Maehara Shinobu. Are you Urashima Haruka-san? What happened to Hinata-sou?"
"We had . . . a little accident."
"My mother said that you wanted to talk to me about being your new cook."
"Sorry about the mess. I was hoping to give you a tryout today, but. . ."
Shinobu holds her backpack out.
"I have some snacks that I made. Couldn't you try them?"
Su leaps over and sticks her hand in Shinobu's bag.
"What-cha got? I'm so hungry that I could eat a horse-n-buggy!"
"Aaauuuuu! Please, there's lots for everyone!"
Keitaro staggers to the opening holding a hand to his head, and walks past the girls.
"Wow, I have an awful headache!"
He trips in the rubble and drags Shinobu's skirt down as he falls. Blood trickles from his nose as he looks up at her teddy-bear panties.
"I'm sorry! It was an accident!"
Naru instantly leaps over and punts him over the top of the Inn.
"You PERVERT! Get your hands off her! What do you think you're doing?"
Motoko looks from Naru, to Haruka, to where Keitaro disappeared, and then back to Haruka.
"I do not understand. Why did he not raise his defense when Naru-sempai attacked him?"
Haruka adjusts her cigarette holder.
"I'll explain that too. Let's go find Keitaro. With his luck, he probably landed in the hot spring."
As they pull Keitaro out of the water, Naru looks at Haruka.
"Who is this man anyway?"
"This is Urashima Keitaro, my nephew. Starting today, he'll be the manager and owner of Hinata-sou."
"WHAT?"
"I knew Granny Hina wouldn't tell you about it. She really likes surprises. She decided on Keitaro as your new manager months ago."
Keitaro raises his head.
"Uh, Haruka-san, I. . ."
She slaps his head to shut him up.
"Don't interrupt your aunt. There is something about Keitaro that all of you should know."
Naru crosses her arms.
"You mean that he really is a pervert? We already know that!"
Keitaro raises his head again.
"I was framed! I'm innocent I tell you! Haruka-obasan, tell. . . "
She pulls out a paper fan and smacks him back to the ground.
"That's Haruka-san! Let's go inside and sit down. This will take a while to explain."
Keitaro sits up and looks at his aunt.
"Haruka-san, I'd rather you didn't tell anyone about that."
"I think that it'll be harder on everyone if we don't tell them."
Keitaro finally nods his head and they enter the Inn.
"Okay Haruka-san. Let them decide if they want to let some kind of a monster into their home."
"You aren't a monster! You are Urashima Keitaro."
He bows his head as he sits heavily in a chair.
"I know. I'm sorry Haruka-san. If they have to know, I'd rather be the one to tell them."
The girls slowly take the other seats in the common room. Haruka looks at Shinobu.
"Why don't you pass out those snacks you brought? I'll bring some tea."
When they are all settled, Keitaro takes a deep breath and begins his story.
Fifteen Years Ago. . .
Keitaro chases the moving van across the bridge, stretching his hand out to the girl leaning out of the window. She calls to him.
"Kei-kun! Bye-bye!"
"No! Don't go!"
Her final words echo as the van pulls away.
"Promise me you'll go to Toudai!! We'll see each other there when we grow up!"
Keitaro trips and falls to the road. When he looks up, the van disappears into the mists. He stands in the middle of the bridge for many minutes, tears streaming down his face. Before he turns to make his way back, he whispers.
"I promise. Bye-bye."
Keitaro slowly walks back to his grandmother's Inn. Another young girl, the Liddo-kun doll that the departing girl gave to her in her hands, watches quietly from the end of the bridge. As Keitaro walks past her, he wipes the tears from his cheeks and gives her a weak smile. She runs over, kicks him in the shin, and hits him over the head with her doll before running off. Keitaro sits against a lamppost, sobs wracking his small body.
Another girl about thirteen years old walks over and sits next to him. Gently, she wraps her arm over his shoulders.
"What's wrong, Keitaro?"
He sniffs back his tears and looks up at her face.
"She's gone, Haruka-san! She's really gone!"
Haruka reaches into her pocket and pulls out a box of candy.
"Do you want a chocolate cigarette? It's the one with caramel inside."
He sniffs again.
"That's okay, I don't smoke."
She takes his hand and helps him stand up.
"Let's go to the park. That always makes you happy."
"O-okay."
As they reach the small park, they see a man and woman talking to Granny Hina. They each shake her hand and then enter a car. She waves as it pulls away. Keitaro sees the young girl stand up in the back seat, still holding her Liddo-kun. As the car turns the corner, she manages a small wave to Keitaro. He runs over and grabs his grandmother's sleeve.
"They're just gone shopping, right Granny Hina! They'll come back!"
She looks down at his tear-stained face.
"I'm afraid not, Keitaro-kun. Your little friend is all better, so her parents are taking her back home."
"She, she's leaving too?"
Granny Hina kneels and places her hands on his shoulders.
"Yes, I am afraid so. You see, because you were so nice to her, it helped her get a lot better. You should be glad. You are a special child, so kind and unselfish."
Tears flow down his cheeks again.
"Make them come back! Make them come back, Granny Hina!"
"I am so sorry child. Sometimes, people leave, no matter how much you want them to stay."
"But, they're my friends! Friends never leave friends! Never!"
She hugs him close.
"It's the time for them to go home. You wouldn't want them to not go home, would you?"
"I don't understand! Why can't you make them stay?"
"I'm sorry. That is beyond what I can do Keitaro. If I could, I would do anything in the world for you."
He pushes away from her and wipes his eyes. He points up the hill with a shaking arm and screams.
"Why can't we all live at Hinata-sou forever? We'll be happy at Hinata-sou!"
Keitaro runs down the road. At the steps leading to the inn he turns. He clenches his small fists and screams again, but his voice takes on an unusual quality as it echoes across the grounds.
"Why? Why? WHY?"
As he disappears up the steps, Granny Hina's hands unconsciously reach up and grip her shoulders.
"Oh my dear god!"
Haruka tugs at her sleeve.
"Granny Hina, why does Keitaro feel like that?"
She turns and looks at her.
"You sense it also. This cannot be happening. Keitaro cannot possess the ability."
Haruka raises her hands to her mouth.
"He, he's not gonna be like I was in the c-c-cave. Is he?"
"It should be impossible, but I cannot be mistaken. He has the power also. Come Haruka-kun! We must not let him hurt himself!"
They sprint up the steps hand in hand. As they reach the top, they spot Keitaro running around the right side of the inn. Quickly following, they chase him to the closed winter wing.
He runs around to the back of the building and stops as his eyes spot something. On the wall are three names written in a child's handwriting. Just yesterday, Keitaro and his two friends snuck back here and scratched their names in the wooden panels with a stolen kitchen knife. He reads the names and the inscription below them.
"Kei Mu-mu and Na-na 3 friends 4-ever"
Below that is another inscription that Na-na made him write.
"and Liddo-kun, too"
Keitaro falls to his knees and scratches at the panel, trying to pry it off.
"They can't go! Why? WHY?"
Granny Hina and Haruka run around the corner. Haruka tries to pull free and run to him, but Granny Hina locks a grip like steel on her wrist.
"No child! Stay back. He is about to let the power go!"
As they watch, Keitaro's small fingers tear into the panel like it was a piece of tissue. He opens his hands and watches the shattered pieces of wood drop to the ground, the inscription destroyed. His tiny shoulders shudder as tears burst anew from his eyes.
"NO! NO! NOOOOOOO!"
Granny Hina drags Haruka away from the building. They take cover behind a tree as the first visible tendrils of Keitaro's power start to swirl around him. Haruka watches with wide eyes.
"He's stronger than you, Granny Hina."
She presses Haruka against the tree and wraps her arms around it.
"Hold on child. He has only just begun to release the power, and I cannot see then end of it!"
In a cool, dark place, a voice speaks.
"Pain. He is in pain."
The walls of the building begin to shake and the wind whips through the trees. Keitaro pounds his tiny fists to the stone walkway, shattering it.
"Such pain, it is unbearable for him."
Keitaro leans back and screams. His voice is deafening and it shatters the windows of the building. In the darkness, the voice speaks again.
"He promised to save me one day. I can not stay here while he is in danger."
In her dark room, Moe decides. She leaves her wooden body and follows the waves of torment to Keitaro.
"I must save him."
Keitaro stands and raises his hands to the sky. The vortex spins tighter around him and tears though the structure, ripping beams and columns from the ground. The walls give way and the entire edifice collapses on top of him. An instant later, debris erupts as if blasted from the earth. Keitaro clenches his fists once more and the remainder of the building implodes, sending shards rocketing into the sky. Unseen, Moe reaches him and attempts to wrap her invisible arms around him. Keitaro opens his eyes.
"Moe-chan! Don't, you'll be hurt!"
Moe touches him and screams. Keitaro's anguish changes to fear and he struggles to save his one remaining friend. Grasping his power, he pits his will against forces he does not comprehend. Heedless of the danger, he forces the power down, containing it in his small form. A silent explosion rocks the ground, sending him tumbling into the nearby forest. Within his mind, Moe smiles at his unselfish courage.
"I shall protect you. I will dim your memories so that you may bear the pain. And I shall await the day when you fulfill your promise."
. . .
Keitaro looks up from his glass of tea.
"I don't remember much after that. Haruka-san and Granny Hina carried me the manager's room and the women in my family with the ability came to study me. I was here for two months before they let me go back home. The power slipped out only once during that time, but. . ."
Motoko leans forward.
"What happened? Was anyone injured?"
Haruka shakes her head.
"No one was hurt. It was a mixed blessing that day. We discovered a way to stop Keitaro from getting too far out of control. All we needed to do was let him see a naked female. We don't know why it works, but it sure does the trick."
Naru looks at her.
"You called it a mixed blessing. What do you mean?"
"I'd rather not say."
Keitaro laughs.
"When I started to lose control, it knocked a window open and I saw a naked girl. You'd never guess how shocked I was. I'd never seen a girl without her clothes before."
Su jumps on the coffee table.
"Ya mean that Keitaro saw someone's girly-berries?"
Kitsune leans back and giggles.
"Wouldn't it be hilarious if it had been ya'll, Haruka-san?"
Haruka blushes and turns her head.
"I don't want to talk about it!"
Shinobu whimpers.
"Keitaro-san saw his own aunt naked? Aaauuuuu!"
Naru looks at Haruka.
"Did you, I mean when he lost it today. You didn't. . ."
Haruka shakes her head.
"Not on your life! I found someone else to assist me."
"But, the only other person here was Motoko-chan. Haruka-san! You didn't!"
Everyone turns to Motoko. She blushes and grabs her glass of tea.
"I do not want to talk about it!"
End of Chapter Two.