Love Hina: Healing Hearts

Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina, so please don't sue. I have no money to give to you.

Chapter Three: Another One?

She pulled her trench coat tighter around her lithe frame. She hated the cool fall weather, and standing hidden in the forest was not her idea of fun, but she followed orders. Know thy enemy; it was the first rule that he had taught them all, but now one had left them. Still, he didn't seem worried. He said he had faced them before, and was ready now to finish the job. So why did she feel so nervous? When she had been nervous in the past she had turned to him, but he was gone now. Even after their training, he had remained so kind to everyone, but then the incident occurred. After that he was gone, they hadn't heard from him since, but maybe they had found him now. She shook the thought away. He couldn't come home. He wouldn't allow it, not without heavy punishment. As much as she missed him, she didn't want to see him hurt any more than he already had been. She forced her mind back to the task at hand. She was here for surveillance reasons, not to daydream. She gripped her dagger, his dagger, tightly and returned her attention to the dojo. The wind gusted against her once again. She hated Kyoto in the fall.

***

Motoko stepped out the front door of Hinata-sou with Ken a few steps behind. Behind him the rest of the household followed.

"I take it that this is your battleground of choice?" Ken asked with a small smile.

Motoko spun and unsheathed her sword. "Indeed. Are you ready?"

Ken nodded and bowed to her. "Ladies first."

Motoko felt her lip twitch slightly. She charged forward and slashed through him with a powerful follow through. Then Ken disappeared from view. She searched the grounds, but he was hidden well, then she saw where the others were looking. She brought her katana forward again to reveal Ken couched on the blade.

Ken waved at Motoko. "Lovely weather we're having, ne?"

Motoko clenched her jaw and allowed a low growl to escape. "Get…off…my…sword!" She gave the katana a powerful swing and sent Ken flying across the yard.

Ken flipped through the air and landed softly on his feet. He placed his hands in his jacket pockets. "You don't have much of a sense of humor do you?"

"I thought we were here for a duel." Motoko replied angrily. "Now fight me seriously!"  She charged him again and let fly a ferocious barrage of attacks.

Ken dodge back and forth with no effort at all.

The raven-haired warrior halted her attack and stepped back, breathing heavily. She stared down her opponent; he showed no signs of exertion at all. She did however notice two things. The first was that he was singing, it was soft, but present none the less. As irritating as it was that her opponent was singing during the battle, it wasn't what made her nervous. She was nervous because she could not sense his ki. In her training, she had learned to read ki; it was like seeing a rainbow on a white canvas, clearly visible. She had also learned how to hide her ki from others, but that left a void, like a single white blotch on a black background. Your opponent would not know your true strength, but they were still visible. But with Ken, it was white on white, nothing noticeable at all.

"We done already?" called Ken

"I'll show you!" Replied Motoko. "Secret Technique! Rock Splitting Sword!" Her ki blast raced toward Ken with amazing speed. Motoko felt a smile spread across her face, this match was hers!

Ken stood his ground, just as the blast was about to collide, it simple dissipated and vanished. Ken gave her an amused smile. "Well, that killed a few seconds. Anything else?"

Motoko stood speechless. She jumped in surprise a Ken appeared behind her. She felt the tips of his fingers tap gently at the back of her neck.

"If I strike here and now, you'd be totally incapacitated." Ken informed her.

Motoko realized what Ken was trying to do, but she still wasn't happy about this. "Alright already. I surrender. You win. You can stay."

Hotaru ran over and jumped up to hug her brother.

Ken turned to the others. "That is, if it's alright with the rest of you."

Everyone nodded.

Keitaro opened the door and motioned everyone back inside. "Welcome to Hinata-sou you two."

***

Shinobu walked slowly up the steps to the roof, her mind occupied with everything and nothing all at once. She had been spending a lot of time up here lately she realized. There was something about being on the roof that she enjoyed. It made her feel peaceful. She hopped over the deck railing and climbed onto the roof. As she climbed higher she realized that someone else was already there.

Ken turned slightly as he heard someone walking up behind him. "Oh, konbawa, Maehara-san."

Shinobu blushed at the way he addressed her. "Please just call me Shinobu. Everyone else does."

Ken nodded. "Alright. Did you want to be alone up here? I can leave if you'd like."

Shinobu shook her head. "Iie, please don't leave because of me." She smiled warmly. "To be honest, I wouldn't mind having some company up here for a change."

Ken returned her smile. "In that case, I'll stick around for a little while longer then." He looked away from her and stared out over the city.

Shinobu sat down a few feet away from him. For a time she too gazed out over the city. She wanted to get to get to know Ken better, but she wasn't sure how to go about doing that. Aside from Keitaro, she really had very little experience talking with boys. She had been asked out once or twice while at school, but she had turned them down because she had become so nervous. She stole a quick glance from the corner of her eye in Ken's direction, and was slightly disappointed to see that he had not moved at all.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Ken asked.

Shinobu startled. "What is?"

Ken pointed out over the city. "The view from up here." He smiled. "I had forgotten what it was like up here."

Shinobu turned her full attention back to Ken. "Have you been here before?"

Ken leaned back slightly and faced Shinobu. "Yeah, back when this place was an inn." He shook his head. "Damn…" he whispered. "That feels like it was a lifetime ago."

"It couldn't have been that long ago." Shinobu offered hopefully. "It's not like you're that old." She watched for his reaction. She had heard such sadness in his voice that she was concerned for him. He smiled at her, but it was a forced smile.

"True enough, only six-teen, but I suppose I'm just a bit jaded." Ken turned his gaze back to the city. "Still, at least this place has some good memories."

Shinobu moved a little closer to Ken. She knew something was bothering him, but she couldn't tell what. She had had many years to practice hiding her feelings, and she could usually tell when someone else was doing the same. "What kind of memories?"

A slight blush rose on Ken's face as he tried to keep his expression neutral. He failed miserably as a small smile appeared. "You promise you won't laugh?"

Shinobu nodded. "Hai."

Ken took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "When I was younger I came here a few times with my…caregivers for vacations. This one summer, I met a girl and became really good friends with her. We used to spend hours playing games together. We even found a little tunnel that lead up here." He patted the roof. "I can't even remember how many nights we fell asleep up here together just from watching the sunset and the stars coming out."

Shinobu watched him with unusually strong intensity. He had been smiling as he told her his story. His voice had been light as well, but it was all gone now. "What happened?" she asked softly.

"We spent a few summers like that, then one year she just stopped coming around." Ken shook his head a bit. "Never found out where she disappeared to either. The old lady would never tell me what happened even." He shook his head as a small, sad smile crossed his lips. "Pretty sad, ne? Getting all depressed over a crush I had when I was six years old."

Shinobu smiled and shook her head. "You'd be surprised what good company you're in. Ask Sempai about it sometime." She paused a moment before she continued. "If you two were such good friends, why didn't you go visit her or try to find her?"

Ken nodded. "I would have, but I didn't know her name."

Shinobu face faulted.

Ken laughed lightly. "That came out wrong. When we first met, she was very shy and wouldn't tell me her name. So I suggested we use a nickname instead. After a while we just used that like it was normal."

"I see." Said Shinobu. "What was her nickname then?"

Ken's smile returned once again. "Dawn. I knew her as Dawn." His smile disappeared once again. "I wonder though, if I had known her real name, I don't think I would have been able to see her anyway."

Shinobu was slightly startled by this statement. "Why is that?" Ken didn't answer her for a few moments, and Shinobu was afraid that she might have said something to offend him. Finally he spoke again.

"Let's just say that my old man didn't approve." Ken's voice was tense and angry. He remained silent after that.

Shinobu also remained silent, unsure of what, if anything, she should say. Luckily for her, Ken seemed to realize Shinobu's predicament.

"So what about you? How come you come up here?" Ken asked.

Shinobu shrugged. "I like it up here. It just makes me feel good to be up here." Shinobu paused a moment. "I know this will sound weird, but it's almost like being up here reminds me of something that I've forgotten."

Ken smiled. "It's not that weird." He looked down at his watch, and then stood up.

"Where are you going?" Shinobu asked.

"I've never lived in a dorm before, but my understanding of it is that everyone has to cook for themselves, so I need to go into town and pick up some groceries." Ken replied.

"Actually, we take turns cooking for each other, but I usually cook most of the time." Shinobu rose as well. "But as long as you're heading into town anyway, maybe we could go together?"

Ken nodded. "Sure, let's go."

They headed down to the second floor where Shinobu retrieved her coat and purse from her room as Ken waited outside. From there they headed toward the large stone steps in front of Hinata-sou. However, once they reached the street Ken started walking in the opposite direction of the grocery store.

Shinobu tapped his shoulder. "We need to go the other way."

"I know, but I'm parked this way." Ken replied.

Shinobu simply blinked in confusion and followed along. A few moments later she watched as Ken sat astride an impressive looking motorcycle.

Ken smiled as he saw her staring. He extended his hand to her. "Come on."

She took his hand and accepted his help in situating herself behind him. "Ano, where are the handles that I hold on to?"

Ken glance over his shoulder. "There's only one set of handles. If you need to, just use me to help keep your balance, but you should be ok on your own." With that he pulled out into traffic.

Shinobu reacted out of pure instinct and terror to the quick acceleration and wrapped her arms around Ken's waist, holding on to him for dear life. When she finally opened her eyes again, she realized that they weren't traveling nearly as fast as she had originally thought and relaxed a little, but did not let go of Ken. She blushed realizing that this was the closest she had ever been to a boy. She could feel his muscular body beneath his leather jacket and she could smell the scent of his shampoo and…was that aftershave? Despite her initial fear, something felt very right about this situation to Shinobu, almost like a long forgotten memory that was half remembered. Before long they arrived at the supermarket.

Ken parked and helped Shinobu off the bike. "You ok? I thought you were going to snap me in half you were holding on so tight."

Shinobu nodded sheepishly. "I just got startled is all."

Ken nodded and they headed inside. Each grabbed a small hand basket and began walking through the aisles.

"What exactly did you plan on getting?" asked Shinobu.

Ken looked around, seemingly picking things at random. "I don't know, anything that looks good I suppose."

Shinobu sweat dropped. She remembered that the last time she had gone shopping with Naru she had used the same philosophy. Needless to say, meals that week were quite unusual. Still as she looked closer she saw that all the items that Ken selected would seem to tie into each other if put into the proper recipe. She also noted that all his ingredients were the highest quality brands, making them much more expensive than she was used to buying. She held back as Ken rounded the corner and checked her purse for the small envelope that Keitaro gave her every week. Keitaro had decided to leave Shinobu in charge of the grocery money after they had eaten nothing but instant ramen for a week because Kitsune had swindled him out of all his cash. She checked the contents of the envelope and sighed. It would be close, but she should have enough with her.

Ken poked his head around the corner. "Shinobu? You get lost back there?"

The young girl jumped as Ken surprised her and, not wanting to seem worried over money, quickly hid the money envelope. "Gomen nasai. I was daydreaming again."

The boy just smiled. "Nothing wrong with that. I'm just about done here. How about you?"

Shinobu nodded. "Almost, I just need a few more items." They quickly made a few final selections and prepared to check out when Ken doubled back. Shinobu followed after, and was shocked to see him standing before the alcoholic beverages section. "What are you doing?!"

Ken looked up at her in complete confusion. "Nani?"

"You can't buy anything from over here!" Shinobu flailed her arms wildly and only stopped for risk of sending her groceries flying.

Ken smiled, and selected two bottles of sake, before heading for the check out lines.

Shinobu followed behind and unloaded her small basket onto the conveyor belt after Ken. She watched as the cashier, who looked not much older than Ken and herself, question the purchase of the sake. She was doubly surprised as Ken showed him something in his wallet and the sake was rung up. "How did you do that?" she whispered to Ken.

Ken smiled. "I have my ways."

Seeing that she was not going to get a straight answer out of him, she let the conversation drop. She watched as final groceries were scanned and bagged and reached for her money envelope.

The cashier looked at her in confusion as he handed Ken the receipt for the paid order.

Shinobu looked on as Ken grabbed the bags of groceries and headed for the exit.

Seeming to sense that Shinobu was not following after, Ken turned around. "Did you forget something?"

Shinobu shook her head.

Ken shrugged. "Ok, let's go then. I'm starting to get hungry and this food isn't going to cook itself in the bag." Outside, he strapped the few bags into position in the storage bins on his bike and climbed on.

Determined to prove herself unafraid this time, Shinobu seated herself behind him without assistance, and wrapped her arms lightly around his waist.

Ken looked back over his shoulder. "You seem to get the hang of this setup fast. Ready to go?"

Shinobu nodded. "Hai! Let's go!"

Ken turned his vision forward again, and gunned the engine. "Yosh!" He allowed a small smile to turn his lips as he sped through the streets of Hinata as Shinobu tightened her grip around his waist. "Something about this just feels right." He thought to himself silently.

***

Shinobu looked up as the others entered the dinning room. "Hi everyone."

Everyone looked between the young girl sitting at the table and the closed door of the kitchen as the sound and smells of dinner passed through.

"If you're there…" Su pointed at Shinobu. "Than whose in there?"

Naru moved over to open the door to peer inside, but the moment she pushed on it, one pushed back on the other side. "What the?"

"No peeking allowed!" Ken called through the door playfully. "You'll just have to wait until everything is all done!"

Motoko's eyes widened. "He knows how to cook?"

"It certainly smells good enough." Kitsune commented.

"Onii-chan is a really good cook." Hotaru defended her brother.

Su leaned close to the door and breathed in deeply through her nose. "I'm so hungry! I hope he made something spicy! It smells like he did!"

Keitaro sat down at his usual spot. "I guess we'll just have to wait until he's done.

The others took their seats as well.

Kitsune leaned over to Shinobu. "You mean to tell me you let him kick you out of your kitchen?" she teased.

Shinobu blushed slightly. "He asked if he could cook dinner, that's all. He didn't kick me out."

At that moment Ken opened kitchen door wheeling a small cart full of food before him. He had used the old room trays from when the dorm was an inn and had created a visually stunning presentation for the meal he placed before each person. "I don't know if this is up to the standards you guys are used to, but please enjoy.

"Check out this spread!" Admired Kitsune. "You better be careful Shinobu, or Ken may take over your role as our head chef."

"Wow!" Yell Su. "It all looks so good! There's miso, and hiyachi chukka, and ebi-chili, and sekihan and… Is that mabonasu!?" Su stopped talking and began devouring the meal before her.

The others all tasted the cuisine at a slower pace. They all agreed that Ken's culinary talents could rival Shinobu's.

As the others ate, Ken circled the table and poured each a small portion of the sake he purchased. Once everyone had a glass, he raised his own. " I want to thank you all for your generosity. To your health and prosperity."

The other's raised their glasses as well and continued on with dinner.

Ken bowed out and returned to the kitchen.

For some reason she couldn't explain, something nagged at Shinobu and she followed him. "Where are you going?!" She almost demanded.

Ken jumped as he tried to slip out the other door unnoticed. "Kuso." He muttered. He turned and laughed lightly. "I don't suppose you would believe that I forgot an ingredient at the supermarket would you?"

Shinobu shook her head.

Ken's shoulders sagged. "I didn't think so."

"Why would you try to sneak out like that?" She insisted.

Ken sighed. "I have some things I need to see to, but I'm not very good at good-byes. They tend to be final when I have to say them. If I disappear unnoticed, there is always the chance I'll get to come back."

Shinobu frowned. "But you'll come back?"

Ken nodded. "As soon as I can."

Shinobu paused a moment. She knew he was hiding something, but she couldn't nail it down. "Alright, I'll tell the others after you've left."

Ken smiled and nodded his thanks. He headed for the door before turning back a moment. "I enjoyed your company today, I hope we can hang out together again sometime." He turned to leave again and stopped. "By the way, I left made some sakuramochi and left them in the refrigerator for desert if you guys want any."

Shinobu watched as he passed through the door and disappeared down the hallway in total silence. She went back to the dinning room and resumed eating her meal. In the distance, she could hear the faint sound of a motorcycle engine roaring to life and speeding off into the night. "I enjoyed your company today too." She whispered.

Su looked over at her friend. "What did you say Shinobu?"

Shinobu shook her head. "Nothing Su, nothing at all."

A/N: Kind of long I know, sorry, but I hope you enjoyed it. I couldn't fall asleep after working on a paper for my English class, and this just kind of poured out of my head. Good? Bad? Other? Please review and let me know. Until the next, live well everyone. Also, for those of you who aren't familiar with the Japanese language and/or Japanese food here, a list of the translations:

Miso – a type of soup

Hiyachi Chuka – cold ramen noodle dish

Ebi-chili – shrimp with chili sauce

Sekihan – red rice dish

Mabonasu – spicy fried eggplant

Sakuramochi – pink sweet rice cake served as a desert

            The other little words most people know so I won't list them here. However, if I'm wrong in my assumption, let me know and I will list them from here after.