No note this time! Enjoy everyone!

Love Hina: Healing Hearts

Disclaimer: You know the drill. Ken Akamatsu own Love Hina, not I. I can only claim the original characters I've created for the story itself.

Chapter Ten: Tests and Tempers

Two men stood facing each other in the dim candle light of the room.

"Why hasn't Saburo reported in?" The taller man began.

The second shook his head. "I don't know, My Lord. He has vanished without a trace."

"Impossible." Replied the first. "His training it not so advanced. He is there somewhere. Find him."

The second man nodded. "I have given the assignment to the Avatar of Wind. She will find him and bring him back."

"She had better." The first spat. "I've had enough of failures from my children, I will tolerate no more."

"Then perhaps I should not tell you this." The second paused.

"What is it?" The first demanded.

"The Avatar of Wood is also missing."

***

"Ok everyone! Pencils down!" Naru called as she entered the dinning room carrying a tray of snacks.

"I think I did well on that one." Motoko took a soda from Naru's tray. "Hey! Put that pencil down Ken!"

Ken looked up blinking in confusion. "Huh?"

Motoko grabbed the pencil from his hand. "You only get an hour on that part of the test. You can't just keep going."

"Oh, right the test…"

Shinobu stretched her arms above her head. "Should we grade them now, or wait?"

Su jumped over the table to where Naru had placed a rather large bunch of bananas. "Now! Now!"

Ken paled. "Maybe we should wait?"

"The Neo Roninz never waits!" Su replied around a mouthful of bananas.

"Oh no!" Ken joked in mock fear. "I've become one of the Neo Roninz!"

Naru laughed. "Well, it's not the most stunning endorsement, but it'll have to do. Now let's see how you did." She reached across the table and snatched Ken's test away.

"Yes." Kanako pulled out her answer guide, and glared at Su. "This time I'll beat your score."

Su just laughed manically.

With the exception of Ken, whose test was still in Naru's possession, everyone began to grade their practice tests.

"Yes!" Su waved her test in the air triumphantly. "A new high score for Su! Ninety-seven! Beat that!"

"Damn it!" Kanako threw her pencil down. "She beat me by three points again."

Ken sweat dropped. "You don't like to lose do you?"

"Do you know of anyone who does?"

"Good point."

"Something must be wrong here." Motoko began checking her answer sheet again.

Su draped her arms over her friend's shoulders. "What did you gets Motokies?"

Motoko slumped in her chair. "I only got an eighty-two."

"That's still above the cut off though isn't it?" Ken asked confused.

Motoko nodded. "Barely."

Ken shrugged. "Still made it. So how'd you do, Shinobu?"

The girl looked close to tears.

Ken put his arm around her. "It's alright…"

Shinobu slammed her test down on the table, laughing. "Take that Su! Ninety-eight percent!"

Su grabbed up the test. "No way!" She scanned the markings. "Ahhh! She did beat me!" She ran from the room. "My alternate reality device must have switched on again!"

Everyone sweat dropped.

"Alternate…" Began Ken.

"Reality…" continued Shinobu.

"Device?" finished Motoko.

It was quickly forgotten as they realized there was one test score left to be announced.

"So how'd Ken do, Naru?" Shinobu asked.

Naru didn't answer right away. "Ano…"

Ken stood up and reached for a soda. "So does anyone feel like heading to the mall or something? We've been cooped up in here a long time now." He took a long gulp of his soda. "Besides, Christmas is right around the corner so even just watching people go crazy in preparation will be fun!"

"I wouldn't mind getting my gift shopping done early this year." Shinobu admitted. "But lets hear your score first."

Ken sweat dropped again. "Oh come on, that's not important!"

Kanako grabbed the back of Ken's head and forcefully lowered it to the table. "Enough stalling."

Naru looked over at Ken completely bewildered. "Did you even understand the test? This is the worst test I've ever seen. Most of the answers aren't even in the blanks, and you have squiggles and lines all over the place."

"The score can't be worse that Keitaro's used to be." Motoko supplied hopefully. "You can always take solace in that." She turned to Naru expectantly.

Naru place the test down on the table. "You got a four."

The girls all stared in awe.

"Damn," muttered Kanako. "You really are an idiot." She released Ken, ignoring his glare. "To think that I lost to someone like you."

Shinobu took the test and scanned it. It was a mess, but she knew she had seen patterns like this before. "Well, it's ok. It's not like the real test is for quite a while anyway."

Ken leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "It's not like I plan to take any exams anyway."

Motoko frowned. "That's just a cop out. If you're not good at something you should work at it, not run from it."

"Like the way you…" Ken stopped quickly. He rose and walked out of the room. "Never mind. Excuse me."

Motoko watched as he walked away. "What was that?"

Shinobu followed after Ken. "Slow down!" She grabbed his arm lightly. "Your not going to go to that place in Tokyo again, are you?"

Ken shook his head. "Nah, you made me promise not to go back there. Remember?"

Shinobu nodded. "I guess I did." She paused. "You know, if you're worried about your grades, I'm sure that Sempai would help tutor you."

"I'm sure he would, but I don't need his tutoring." Ken turned and flopped down on the couch. "I just don't like using standardized test forms."

"Nani?"

Ken waved the issue away. "Where is the K-man anyway? He was gone when I woke up this morning."

Shinobu shrugged.

"Oh well. Guess it really doesn't matter." Ken sat up. "So you want to go do something?"

Shinobu nodded. "Do you mind going to the mall? I could finish my gift buying, and then maybe we could go see a movie or something."

Ken nodded. "Sounds like fun."

"Ok," Shinobu turned away. "I just want to change first, ok?"

Ken nodded again.

Shinobu went up to her room and began looking through her closet. She pulled out one of her new outfits, a dark brown skirt with a white shirt. She debated about wearing the matching brown vest, but hung it up again realizing now one would see it anyway with her coat on. She thought back to the other day as she changed.

Ken had no memory of his room being destroyed, or of his sacred ramblings. He had even thought the others were simply playing a joke on him. According to Ken, he had woken up and seen Shinobu and Hotaru slumped against each other fast asleep, and returned them to their beds. When asked about why his room was trashed, he told them he figured that Su had been experimenting again since such destruction was common in her wake and he had awoken with a painful headache. If not for what Shinobu had seen, she might have bought his reasoning.

She made her way back to the lining room and found that Ken was gone. Figuring he had gone to get his bike, she headed toward the back shed. She found him attaching the side cart with a couple of tools. "Is someone else coming as well?"

Ken shook his head. "I just thought it would be a good idea in case we needed the extra space to bring stuff back."

 Shinobu laughed lightly "I hope we won't need that much space. I don't even think I could find that much stuff I'd want to buy."

Ken smiled and stood up. "Well, its there if we need it." He tossed the tools onto the shelf and mounted up. Shinobu climbed behind and they rode off towards the mall.

It didn't take them long to reach their destination. True to Ken's prediction, many people were already there, trying to finish their holiday shopping, and some of the less fortunate were going crazy. Ken parked and the two headed inside.

"So where to now?" Ken asked as he looked over the directory.

Shinobu also looked over the list of stores. "Well, "Foods of the World" is definitely the place to get Su's gift from. And Motoko pointed something out that she liked in that kendo equipment store last time we were here."

Ken tapped the sign. "You ever been here?"

Shinobu glanced at the store he pointed out. "Hot Topic? No, I've never even heard of it. What is it?"

"It's a pretty cool store I found in America last time I was there. You should be able to find something for Kanako there with no trouble."

Shinobu sweat dropped. "Knowing how Kanako is, I'm not sure I'd be able to go into a store time like that."

Ken laughed. "Fair enough, but keep it in mind just in case." He glanced at the list again. "So, what about you?"

"Nani?" Shinobu looked at him confused.

"In what store could a guy find a gift for you?" Ken looked over at her with a playful smile.

Shinobu blushed as she realized what Ken meant. "I don't know. It's really the thought that counts, not the gift itself."

Ken smiled. "All right then."

"What about you?" Shinobu asked. "Where should I look for a gift for you?"

"Like you said, it's the thought that counts." Ken reached out and gently took her hand. "But I really don't need any gifts."

Shinobu blushed and gave his had a gentle squeeze. She started to walk towards their first store. "Come on you."

***

"Thank you for agreeing to pick me up from the station Urashima-san."

Keitaro nodded towards the girl who sat in passenger seat of his old van. "It's no problem at all. You're going to be the newest member of the Hinata-sou, so I wanted you to feel comfortable right away. And please call me Keitaro. Urashima-san makes me sound old."

The girl laughed as she brushed a stray black hair from her deep blue eyes. "Very well."

They arrived at the apartments a few minutes later as traffic was very light. Keitaro reached into the back seat to grab the few pieces of luggage that the girl had brought with her.

"No!" The girl cried as she grabbed one bag in particular away from his grasp. "I mean… I'll take this one."

Keitaro blinked in surprise. "Alright." He took the two remaining bags and they began to head up the steps and into the apartments.

"I'm going to kill you Su!" Kanako screamed bloody murder as she chased the other down the hall. "How dare you try your new inventions on me! Look at me! I'm a freak now!"

Su laughed hysterically as she raced away. "It wasn't my giving you pink hair that made you a freak!"

Keitaro groaned. "Somehow, I know this is going to end badly for me…" His eyes grew wide as he saw Su and Kanako, indeed with fuchsia pink hair, round the corner and head straight for him. He dove out of the way to avoid being trampled, but in doing so, he accidentally tackled the new girl.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Naru demanded as she arrived on the scene.

Keitaro looked down to see that his hands were inadvertently resting on the girl's chest. He screamed and pulled his hands away from the blushing girl. "I'm sorry!" He turned to Naru. "Now wait a minute! I can explain!"

"You always have excuses Keitaro!" Motoko rushed into the room with her sword drawn. "Rock Splitting…"

Naru cracked her knuckles and prepared one of her trademark iron fist punches.

Keitaro cringed and braced himself for the coming pain. In that blink of an eye, he heard the sound of a zipper being pulled and felt something move in front of him. A moment later he heard the sound of metal crashing and opened his eyes. The new girl stood before him with a katana in each hand.

"She stopped my attack?" Motoko's whisper matched the disbelief reflected in her eyes.

"And mine too." Naru murmured.

The girl glanced back and forth between the two older tenants. "Step back or face the wrath of my blades. No one will harm this man who has shown me such respect." She nodded as her opponents backed down. She pulled her bag around from where it rested at her back. And placed her sword back to where she had pulled them from, first the white sheathed one, then the black one. "I can already tell things are going to be exciting around here."

***

Ken set down the boxes he was carrying and sat down at the small table. "I didn't realize that getting gifts would be such heavy work."

Shinobu bowed her head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you carry so much stuff."

Ken smiled. "No biggie." He glanced over towards the food vendors. "I'm starved, you want anything?"

Shinobu nodded.

Ken returned a few minutes later with a tray of items from various carts. "Guess I've been hanging around Su a bit to much lately." He laughed nervously. He set down the tray on the table and he and Shinobu both began to dine.

"Did you mean what you said earlier?" Shinobu asked between bites.

Ken paused. "Probably, what did I say?"

Shinobu laid down her chopsticks on the table. "About not taking any exams. You don't plan to finish school at all?"

Ken sighed and rested his fork. "I really don't need to. I already have a job, and I've already put enough away for Hotaru's education and living expenses."

"But don't you want to finish school?" Shinobu pushed on.

Ken leaned back in his seat. "I've thought about it, but I'd never finish."

"Why not?"

"Too much of a drifter, I don't stay in any one spot for very long. Plus I can't afford to risk leaving a paper trail."

"I don't understand." Shinobu shook her head. "It sounds as though you are running away."

Ken sipped at his drink. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"But, if you're living at the dorm, haven't you already left a…what'd you call it, a paper trail?" She insisted.

"I'm not living at the dorm." Ken stated flatly.

"But…"

"Hotaru is living at the dorm." Ken continued. "But, I never filled out a rent agreement for myself, only for her."

Shinobu shook her head. "But, why?"

Ken paused. "Remember when I said my family was different? Well, things were done, more was said, and like they say 'you can never go home again'."

"You're running from you're family?" Shinobu yelled at him.

Ken reached over and pressed a finger to her lips. "Indoor voice, Shinobu." He sighed. "No, I'm not running from my family, I'm running from my father. He's using them as a way to find me, but I've learned how to keep myself out of sight."

"Who's 'them'?" Shinobu asked.

Ken looked away. "We should start heading back." He stood up, collected his boxes, and began to walk away.

"Hold it!" Shinobu ran after him and blocked his path. "If you're in danger you should tell us! We can help you!"

Ken smiled and wished he had a hand free. "I truly wish that it was that simple Shinobu-chan, but it's not. I have to do this on my own." They walked out to the parking lot, passing a mother and two young children crying over the remains of a broken toy.

"I hate you onii-chan!" Yelled one of the boys.

"Well, I hate you too!" Retorted the second. "I wish you would die!"

"Now stop that you two!" The mother yelled. "I will not tolerate such talk!"

Against his better judgment Ken began to walk towards the family.

Shinobu watched in confusion.

Ken knelt down and reached into one of his bags, when his hands reemerged, he held two toys that made the boys eyes sparkle. "Listen to your okasama, ya? Don't make wishes like that. You'll be real sad if they ever come true." He smiled as the boys nodded and thanked him for the toys. He returned to Shinobu's side after refusing the mother's attempt to pay him for the toys.

Shinobu could see beneath that smile however. "That was very sweet of you to give those toys away like that."

Ken didn't reply. They reached his motorcycle and loaded their parcels into the side cart. Suddenly, the sound of tires squealing and cars crashing was heard in the direction they had just come from. Shinobu and Ken both gasped as they saw a van careening through the parking lot, towards the family of three.

One of the boys had dropped the toy in the street and ran back to pick it up. He now stood frozen in terror as the large van barreled toward him.

"Stay here!" Ken yelled as he jumped on to his bike. He roughly kicked the side cart, the connecting rod snapped as though it were plastic rather than metal, before speeding off.

"Ken!" Yelled Shinobu.

"Come on baby." Ken whispered as he raced towards the child in the street. He gunned the engine again, needing every once of speed he could get. "I'm not going to make it."

The van was now only a few scant meters from the boy.

Ken revved the engine hard and whizzed in front of the van, grabbing the boy in one arm in the nick of time. Once clear of the van's path, he slammed on the brakes to prevent his own crash, barely managing to stay upright and keep the squirming child from being hurt. The mother immediately ran over and took her son from Ken.

"Ken!" Shinobu was running to catch up to him. The look in his eyes terrified her. Ken's entire body was seething with fury. "Ken?"

"He could have killed that kid! I'm going to kill that bastard! He didn't even try to stop!" Ken's tires squealed as he gunned his engine and took off after the van.

"Ken! Wait!" Shinobu tried to stop him, but was too late all she could do was watch as Ken speed off. She turned to see mall security car pull up along side her. She immediately asked them for help.

"Sure thing Shinomu!"

The window rolled down revealing Su and Hotaru, and Shinobu paled. "You guys stole a mall car?!"

"Of course not silly!" Su reached over and pressed something on the dash. The car began to shimmer and was replaced by a very large turtle shaped construct. "Behold, Mecha-Tamago Mark 10!"

Shinobu climbed into the spare seat. "Fine! Just go!"

Su grinned at Hotaru. "You heard the lady!"

Hotaru grinned back. "Turbo thrusters engage!" The turtle sprouted a pair of jets from the tail region and fired up instantly. "Yosh!"

Shinobu screamed as the force of departure pressed her back into her seat and nearly caused her to pass out. A moment later she adjusted and slumped in her chair, her eyes spinning in opposite directions. "I think…I'm going…to be…sick…"

A/N Good? Bad? Other? Drop me a line and let me know. (No, seriously, leave a review. Stop laughing, I know this chap was screwy, but I've got a lot of other stuff to deal with and it will make sense later.) Also, name meaning Saburo – third son. 'Till the next, live well all.