AN: (Peeks around nervously) I'm sorry for the late update last time, don't kill me!

Well, I think my normal readers are starting to hate me for my update speed slowing down. But I do promise to have each chapter be filled with great content to make up for the speed. Hope you all enjoy!

As always, Love Hina and its characters belong to Ken Akamatsu, original characters are created by me and may be used with permission.

For Love and Honor

Chapter 9: The snow maiden

Yuki stood quietly on the balcony of the Hinata-Sou, watching the snow fall around her. To any outsider the scene could only be described as magic, as not a flake of snow touched her, nor did she seem bothered by the cold, as she wore only a white sweater over a matching dress.

Truly, the younger Urashima was at home in the element of her namesake.

Hearing someone approaching from the steps, Yuki calmly turned and watched as the person came to view. A mixture of surprise and happiness crossed her face, and she quickly ran up to embrace the visitor happily.

"My favorite Aunt in the whole world..." Yuki laughed as she pulled away from the hug. "How've you been?" The woman simply giggled happily, her long brown hair has begun showing strands of grey, but were nearly invisible unless you purposely looked for them. Even at double of Yuki's age, the woman's cheerful attitude and shapely figure still turned heads. Wearing a thick winter coat over a green and brown dress, she smiled as if it was a sunny summer day.

Mutsumi Otohime, best friend and mentor to the younger Urashima, had arrived at the Hinata-Sou to join in the Christmas celebrations...

"Good morning to you too, Yuki." The Okinawa native smiled. "I see you still like the snow very much..." She then joined Yuki in silence for a moment as they watched the snow fall, before continuing. "Two years already... It's been so long..."

"Hey, none of that on the holidays." Yuki smiled, shoving the anemic playfully. "I do what Big brother says - Revere the past, but live for the future..." She then spread her arms wide and smiled, the flakes of snow swirling around her. "...I've been happy ever since."

"Good advice, like the ones Motoko always gave." Mutsumi smiled, then blinked. "Speaking of which, where is Sho? I expected him to..." She then paused and looked up and over her shoulder to see the landlord looking down at her, smiling behind a sea of jet black hair. He wore a large and thick winter coat, which seemed to make him appear even taller and bulkier. "Well now..." Mutsumi giggled. "...I leave you alone for two years, and you've become all grown up!"

"Hello Aunt Mutsumi." Sho smiled, leaning down to hug her. "It's good to see you again."

"I'm jealous of you two." Mutsumi smiled, linking her hands through the siblings' arms with a cheerful smile. "You've both inherited your parents' good looks and charms, I'm surprised suitors haven't been stalking you two!"

"Big brother's already taken, actually." Yuki smiled, and Sho was about to scold her when the trio heard an uproar of laughter inside the dorm, causing the landlord to frown and the women to blink in surprise.

"What now...?" Sho muttered.

"...And then, I decided to mix in a glob of wasabi into his sake when he wasn't looking!" More uproaring laughter came as the Urashima siblings walked into the living room. "You should've seen the look on his face!" Sho raised an eyebrow in amusement as he watched the two women in the living room laugh again before one of them turned to the siblings.

Nearly silver blond hair was cropped short, and the woman's brown eyes were nearly squinted close with a mischievous smile on her face. Though she wore a large sweater and jeans, it's clear that she kept her body fit and attractive through excercise of some sorts. While there was enough sake bottles around to indicate she drank enough to knock out a party of eight, the only sign of intoxication she showed was a slight flush on her cheeks.

Mitsune Konno, or known as "Kitsune" to her friends, smiled widely as she saw the siblings. Hopping off the couch, she hugged the younger Urashima close before eyeing her up and down.

"Look at you!" Kitsune smiled. "Sarah was right when she said you looked like a princess!" Seeing Yuki smile at her compliments, the fox trickster grinned. "So, I bet you've nailed yourself a handsome boyfriend, right?" Surprised at seeing the young woman shake her head, her grin returned with a vengence. "Well, if you're interested... After Christmas I can take you to some strip bars to meet some 'well endowed' men, hmm?" She chuckled as Yuki stared at her with a shocked look before moving on.

"Well now, aren't you something girls die for?" Kitsune grinned, and laughed as Sho picked her off her feet for a hug before setting her down. "Say kid, think you can do me a favor? I'll even throw in a copy of my next book for free before it hits the stores..." Kitsune smiled at the landlord before taking a swig from yet another sake bottle.

Eyes lighting up at the bribe being thrown at him, Sho smiled back. "Sure Auntie, what do you need?"

"Well..." Kitsune smiled, tracing a finger along his chest coyly and drawing a raised eyebrow from him. "I figured it's the holidays and all, so I was wondering... Maybe you can help me relieve some stress, get warm and cozy... You know?" She then laughed as Sho's face showed that of utter shock and disbelief from the suggestion, and went back to the couch.

"That's cruel, Kitsune." Sarah shook her head with a smile from the other couch. "He's half your age, for crying out loud..."

"Yeah, but it doesn't stop me from toying with them a little." Kitsune grinned shamelessly, before a knock was heard at the front door, to which everyone turned to look at the landlord.

"Remind me why I'm here again?"

"Humor me, Sho invited you. The least you could do is honor how well his father treated you and pay a visit."

"I hate it when you use psychology on me, you know that?" The two figures chuckled as the door opened, and both looked up at the towering figure of Sho. The landlord had instantly recognized Mei, but was studying her companion more closely.

The woman almost resembled Mei in many ways, with her nearly matching long auburn hair and brown eyes. She wore a long red and white furred coat in honor of the holiday being celebrated, but most people would've easily mistaken the two for twins. Sho, however, noticed the slightly more mature look in her eyes, as well as the slight height difference between the two.

Naru Narusegawa, the late landlord's best friend and one-time study partner, looked up at Sho with surprise.

"Hello ladies." Sho smiled. "Going to stare all day, Aunt Naru, or coming in?" Shaking off her surprise, the older woman smiled and gave the landlord a hug before entering, greeting the others cheerfully as Sho took their coats to hang in the closet. After receiving a hug from Yuki as well, the two auburn haired siblings sat with Kitsune and Sarah while the Urashimas busied themselves around the dorm.

"It's so... Strange." Naru mused, tapping a finger to her chin in thought. "Those two are so..."

"...So much like their folks, but better?" Kitsune finished for her old friend, grinning. "I'm with you on that one, neither of them seem to have taken up their bad habits..." She was interrupted by the sound of a pan connecting with something solid, followed shortly by Sho running away from the kitchen, being chased by an irate Shinobu.

"Say what you want, he's still a dork." Sarah commented, and the rest laughed in agreement.

Opening the front door, Yuki blinked as she looked up at the face of the visitor, then smiled in recognition as she bowed respectfully. Standing beside Emi, Motoko smiled and returned the bow, before the two embraced each other happily. Once inside, the two swordswomen handed their coats off to Sho, and moved to sit with the others in the living room.

"You've become quite the lovely lady, Yuki." Motoko smiled at the younger Urashima, who smiled back and bowed at her compliment. "I'm sure your parents would be proud of you two..." The elder swordswoman smiled as Sho also joined the group, standing behind his sister and putting a hand around her shoulder gently. "...And you would take well to protect her from perverts, young one!"

"Of course, Sensei." Sho smiled. "By the way, the balcony is ready, if you and Emi are..."

"Ah, of course..." Motoko smiled. "It's been so long since I last celebrated Christmas here, I've almost forgotten about that..."

"What Mom meant, is that she's gotten rusty over the years." Emi cut in with a taunting grin, causing everyone present to laugh and pay more attention to the mother/daughter's friendly rivalry.

"Rusty, you say?" Motoko raised an eyebrow at her daughter with a smile. "Pride is the downfall of many a samurai, daughter."

"So's old age, from what I've heard..." Emi replied with the same grin, causing even more laughter as the group moved as one towards the direction of the balcony. Blinking in surprise, Sarah and Mei looked at each other with confused looks, as they were the only two left in the room.

"Did we just miss something?" Mei asked.

"You will, if you two don't head towards the balcony." The two turned to see Haruka standing at the door, along with Kanako and Raina. The three carried what appears to be party favors and various types of ingredients requested by the master chefs for their cooking. "Looks like they're getting ready for ice sculpting again..." Haruka commented, puffing out a cloud of smoke.

"Ice...Sculpting?" Sarah blinked.

Yuki stood calmly in the middle of the balcony, watching the snow fall around her. She then looked over her shoulder and saw Sho waiting at the top of the stairway, who gave her a nod of reassurance. Smiling, Yuki nodded back and spread her arms towards the sky as if greeting old friends. She then began mouthing a silent chant, and slowly the calm snowfall came to a deadstop, before the flakes began spiralling around her, gathering in speed and coldness...

As Mei reached the rest of the gathered crowd, she noticed that everyone was waiting just inside the dorm from the doorway leading to the balcony. She then also noticed that what was once a gentle snowfall had turned into a raging blizzard outside, to where she could see the snow shoot by fiercely from the screen doors. Looking around, she suddenly gasped as she noticed the Urashima siblings weren't present among the people.

"Where are they?" The Toudai professor asked, and was shocked as several of the bystanders pointed outside nonchalantly. Worried for the siblings' health, she reached for the door...

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Kanako commented, but nontheless Mei opened the door and was about to step out when she bit back a yelp and stumbled back, nursing her hand which felt burnt from the biting cold outside. "Told you..." Shaking her head, the dark haired woman closed the door, then examined Mei's hand. "It's well below freezing out there, you're lucky you didn't get frostbite..."

"But... Are they going to be okay out there?" Sarah asked, a rare moment of concern shown on her face.

"Of course!" Raina exclaimed with a smile. "Yuki's actually out there creating that little show, comes from my side of the family, after all..." She chuckled and continued. "She's used to it, it's no big deal. Sho, however..." She tapped her foot, watching the blizzard for a moment. "It could be raining meteors out there for all it's concerned, but I don't think any of us will be able to pull him away from his sister..." She then turned to the crowd with a smile. "Besides, we know from experience the Urashima men can take a beating and keep going, right?" This earned a small laugh and nods of agreement from everyone.

"Well, looks like we're ready for the show..." Emi smiled, as everyone noticed that the blizzard had stopped as suddenly as it started, reverting back to the gentle snowfall, as one the group filed out of the dorm and climbed the steps leading to the balcony...

"Oops..." Yuki smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head, and everyone swore for a moment they saw a splitting image of Keitaro and Mutsumi when they did something foolish. "I think I made it a bit too big this year..." Everyone then turned and sweatdroped as they saw a cube of ice which would fill up a small container truck in the middle of the balcony.

"It's not a problem, child." Motoko smiled and patted the younger Urashima's head. "Sho?" The landlord appeared beside the elder swordswoman, seemingly unfazed by the blizzard earlier. "Be a dear and split it in two evenly for us?" Bowing, Sho walked over to examine the ice block while Sarah and Mei walked up to the Shinmei-Ryu swordmasters with bewildered looks.

"Hold on, you want the dork to do what?!" Sarah asked. "That block has to be at least several metres thick!"

"Not to mention how cold it has to be!" Mei added. "You can't just..." She was interrupted as with a sudden roar, Sho connected with a vicious chop to the side of the ice block with his hand. Seconds later, a loud cracking sound was heard as the block split roughly through the middle. Then before astonished eyes, the landlord calmly strode to one end of the block and delivered a kick, the friction from the impact sliding half of the ice away a good five feet before stopping.

"Well done, nephew." Kanako smiled, as the crowd applauded in amazement. "Looks like my lessons weren't a waste of time, hmm?" Smiling proudly, Sho bowed to both his mentors before joining the crowd, watching on as the swordmasters stood before their individual blocks.

"Think you'll actually win?" Emi smiled at her mother, drawing Shisui from the sheath in preparation.

"I still have a few tricks..." Motoko smiled back at her daughter, as she also drew her katana...

After a quick lunch, everyone went off to their own activities. The Shinmei- Ryu swordmasters continued work on their ice sculptures, eager to prove their skills. Shinobu and Natsumi busied themselves in the kitchen, preparing what would be expected to be the dinner of a lifetime. Everyone else assisted in hanging up decorations and lighting around the dorm, save for Yuki and Mei, who were merely watching from outside the front of the dorm.

The Toudai professor shuddered from the cold, even though she wore multiple layers of clothing under a thick long coat, and had a scarf wrapped tightly to prevent the chill going down her collar. She then peeked over and frowned as she realized that not only was the younger Urashima sibling wearing less than half of what she was wearing and showed no signs of being cold, but she also noticed that the falling snow seemed to avoid her altogether, even without using her powers.

"Absolutely amazing..." Mei smiled, drawing Yuki's attention. "Who would've thought your mother named you for something other than your hair color?" Blinking, the younger Urashima laughed and shrugged, and the Toudai professor thought for a moment that a halo of snow had formed over her head.

"Always the sharp eye, Mei." Yuki smiled, then nodded. "Mom knew that I would inherit her powers... That's how I got my name." She then kicked up a bit of snow, and Mei watched in amazement as they formed into small doves which took flight before turning into falling flakes again. "You're the only person other than Big brother who knows the truth behind my name, even Dad thought it was because of my hair..."

Smiling, the two women watched on as the tenants and friends scrambled around the dorm with decorations.The two occasionally giving directions to the crew when they hung something the wrong way, or to give suggestions on the placement of lighting. Annoyed, Sarah flung a snowball down at Yuki from the top of the roof, complaining about the amount of work she was doing. Grinning, the Younger Urashima lightly stomped her foot down, and Mei stared in shock as the section of the roof Sarah was standing on created a minature avalanche, washing the American off in a sea of white powder...

Night came swiftly as everyone gathered for the fabulous feast created by the two master chefs, and everyone showered Natsumi and Shinobu with compliments at seeing the variety of food prepared. Soon everyone was enjoying the feast, and amongst the friends and laughter, Haruka clinked her glass lightly with her fork, drawing everyone's attention.

"It's always been tradition for the landlord to address the tenants at the Christmas dinner." The elder Urashima then smiled at Yuki and Sho. "So which one of you will honor us with a speech?" Blinking, the younger sibling looked towards her brother, and everyone cheered as Sho shrugged and rose with a smile.

"Over the years, I've learned that there's many things I'm thankful for during the holidays..." Sho began. "I'm very thankful to be surrounded by my Aunts and mentors..." Many of the older women smiled. "As well as friends and loved ones..." The landlord smiled at Emi, who smiled back with a faint blush. "And of course, I'm thankful to have the greatest sister one could ask for." The comment drew a warm smile from Yuki, as Sho cleared his throat before continuing.

"It was foolish of me to try and pull away from everything close to me, but I thank each and everyone of you for pulling me back to the real world." He raised his glass with a smile, to which everyone did as well. "And so, as landlord of the Hinata-Sou, I'd like to thank each of you for being here tonight, and to extend my hand in friendship for the years to come." Everyone cheered and drank along with the landlord, who settled back as everyone resumed the feast.

"So, darling..." Kitsune nudged Sho with a mischeivous grin. "...You going to 'extend' anything else in friendship to your girlfriend over there?" The landlord choked on his food as Emi nearly spewed out her drink in shock, as everyone else stared at Kitsune with shocked looks.

"Kitsune!" Everyone exclaimed, to which the writer merely laughed and slammed back another cup of sake...

Seeing that everyone else has turned in for the night, Sho walked silently through the halls in near complete darkness. His movements making no sound as he made his way down the stairs to the living room, wearing his dark trenchcoat and a dark scarf. He then opened the front door and stepped out, again making no sounds as he closed the door.

Yuki stood in the open, watching the moon quietly as the snow fell around her. She wore the same simple white sweater over her white dress, looking every bit the angelic figure with her long white hair flowing gently in the wind. Turning, she smiled as Sho walked up to her. The two siblings looked up at the moon for a long moment, admiring the view.

Quietly, Sho looked down at his sister. "Do you really have to go?" He asked. "I wish you could stay with us for once through Christmas..."

"You know I would love to be with everyone here, especially you." Yuki replied with a sad smile. "But you know I have to go..." Nodding in understanding, the two siblings embraced each other for a long moment.

"Come back soon..." Sho smiled, pulling away from her reluctantly.

"Of course." Yuki smiled. "I'm only gone until it stops snowing, expect me back soon!" Nodding, the landlord watched as his sister waved at him cheerfully, before a gust of wind blew between them. As he watched, her form seemed to turn into the same snow around them, and disappeared along the wind's current.

Smiling slightly, Sho slowly made his way back inside the dorm. A small trail of ice and snow drifted in a small halo around the Hinata-Sou, before flying off and disappearing into the night...

Like? No like? Please review!

Ooh, didn't expect that, eh? Once again, apoligies for taking longer than usual. Hope you enjoy, as more is on the way!