A/N: Working sucks. Don't get me wrong; I have fun where I work…most of the time, but the whole concept of working to get money bugs the hell out of me. There should be a system or something that just gives money to slackers like myself who don't want to spend the whole summer working. Yeah, I know what you're all thinking, but a guy can dream. Anyway, that's the reason this chapter took so long to get up; I was working a lot.

To walkswithwraiths and M.Blade: Thanks much for the support with the beta reading! I decided to wait on the second half of what I was going to do here for the next chapter. It just felt rushed and I want to work it a bit more before posting.

I guess that's it for now. Hope you all enjoy! And please review!

Love Hina: Healing Hearts

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters. Love Hina is Ken Akamatsu's.

Chapter Seventeen: Rescue and Betrayal

A man sat alone atop a cliff, and stared down into the valley. At the far edge of the valley was a cave. Just before that cave was a ring of men, all wielding weapons. That cave was where he needed to be.

He ran through the plan again in his head, it hadn't changed since he had reviewed it four seconds ago, but the repetition would help to keep his mind clear if things became to heated in the excitement of what would happen next. He stood and pulled on the small leather strap beneath his trench coat. He felt the secondary straps tighten about the weapons concealed within the leather coat. He could not risk the sound of his tools clinking against one another to reveal him as he neared his targets.

He made his way down the cliff quickly and cautiously, making certain to always stay concealed within the shadows. A difficult task indeed, seeing as there was a full moon this night. None-the-less, in moments he was on the valley floor and darting through the forest brush along the edge of the clearing. There were a few defenses along the perimeter, but they were easily side stepped. In minutes he was within striking distance of the sentries.

He flexed his gloved hands, feeling the blades within the protective fabric extended. He made sure not to allow the one-inch blades that now rested at the end of each of his fingers to scrape against the others. He snuck up silently behind the first guard and drew a line across the man's jugular. The assassin caught his victim as he fell and dragged him back into the shadows of the forest. He watched a moment as his victim clawed at his own throat, trying to force oxygen to his lungs. He had no desire to see this man's futile attempts, and turned to approach his next target.

At last he entered the cave. Noting the hard stone of the floor he removed his shoes so as not to give away his position. He padded silently down the corridor navigating the way effortlessly despite the fact that there were no lights, either electric or otherwise. As he moved deeper into the cave, he offered a silent prayer for the souls of the twelve men who would not be returning home to their families this night.

---

Ken somehow managed to open his eyes, but that was about it. He hurt everywhere. Even keeping his eyes open was painful, but he managed to do that because he could watch the blue haired goddess that was now tending to his wounds. "I really screwed up this time, didn't I, Shinobu?"

The girl didn't say anything, but simply changed his bandages.

Ken nodded, and immediately regretted doing so as lightening bolts of pain bounced through his brain. "Yeah, I suppose I did. Tried to do right by you all, and still ended up putting you all in danger."

The girl turned away and returned with fresh bandages and iodine.

Ken winced as the antiseptic entered his cuts. He roused what little ki and chi he had left at the moment and directed it towards hastening his recovery. He sighed as his wounds began to heal at a much faster pace than they had before. "I wish I could have foreseen Amaya's raid. I know it's no excuse for my actions, but I didn't see that attack coming until it was already here."

"You knew that this was going to happen?" Shinobu asked in perfect English.

Ken sat upright as much as his body would allow. He watched as Shinobu's mid length blue hair grew nearly a foot in a second and turned black to the point it was nearly purple. Her pale skin darkened as though she had spent her life living at the beach. Her violet eyes darkened as shade further. "Nyamo?" He questioned aloud and unbelieving.

That was when it all came back to him.

"Shinobu!"

Ken sprang to his feet despite the cries of protest issued by his muscles.

Nyamo gently pushed him back down. "You're in no condition to go anywhere right now."

Ken turned to her. "You don't understand, the longer that Shinobu is with them the more danger she is in!"

Nyamo blinked as Ken addressed her in English. "I see you understand me, that will make this easier." She watched as Ken tried to stand again, and again pushed him back. "What do you intend to do?"

Ken turned away.

"As I thought." Nyamo turned to find a fresh bandage for the cuts on Ken's shoulder. She blinked as she saw they were already beginning to scar over. "That's creepy."

Ken rotated his shoulder, eliciting a series of pops and crunches that made his caretaker shudder. "I see what you mean…" He stood, more sure of himself this time. "I can track them, but I can't do much more than that, yet." He tightened his fist. "But I'll be recovered enough by tonight."

The door to Ken's room slid open and Keitaro entered. "I doubt that, but it's good to see you up and about." He turned and glanced in the direction of the living room. "I managed to convince the others to wait downstairs…but they want an explanation." Keitaro paused. "Frankly, so do I. You haven't exactly been straight with me either."

Ken nodded sadly. "Lead the way K-man. Time to face the music."

They made their way slowly to the living room. Keitaro entered first, followed by Ken, and lastly Nyamo. The other tenants all focused there attention on Ken.

"Everyone…"

That was all Ken managed to say before Moriko leapt out of her chair and slapped Ken across the face. "How could you?"

Ken watched in silence as the tears ran down her face before she ran off. He hung his head in shame. He knew he should go after her, try to explain himself to her, but he felt like a fraud and knew she would see him for what he was. The jolt of a second blow to the face roused him from his thoughts.

"That was for lying to us all." Naru hissed as she prepared a second attack. "And this is for getting Shinobu mixed into all of this!" She hit Ken again as hard as she could. "And this is for locking me in the damn closet while we were under attack!"

Ken caught the third punch as it came towards him; he looked up to see the look of shock on Naru's face. "I'll accept the first two as punishment, but if you don't understand the reason I put you in that closet, well…Naru-san no baka."

Naru fumed and struck out with her free hand. She gasped as he nimbly dodged her attack and watched as his fist raced toward her belly. "No!"

Ken stopped his attack mere millimeters from her body. "The Avatars won't stop because of your condition." He softened his expression. "I was just trying to make sure that the both of you were safe."

"Condition?" Kitsune asked.

"Both?" Wondered Keitaro.

"How did you know?" Naru asked as she backed down her attack from Ken.

Ken smiled. "I can hear the music."

"Music?"

Kanako nodded her head. "That explains the recent weight gain. It would appear that I will be an aunt soon." She turned to Ken. "Boy or girl?"

"Don't you dare tell her!" Naru yelled as she helped Keitaro, who had fainted after hearing the news, to his feet. "And what was that crack about weight gain?!"

"Aren't we all forgetting the real reason we're here?" Asked Haruka as she lit her cigarette. "We did just our asses kicked and Shinobu is missing."

Hotaru stood up and walked over to her brother. "I just need to see one thing first before we start in on all that." She stood in front of her brother and looked at him intently. "I can sense you now."

Ken blinked in slight surprise, then nodded. "The awakening of you rei has raised your level of skill far beyond my own." He smiled. "I knew it would only be a matter of time before you surpassed me."

"Very touching." Haruka commented dryly. "Now can we move on?"

Motoko stared at Ken intently. "I, for one, would like an explanation from you."

Ken nodded. "You all do, I just wish I knew where to begin…"

"How about with who you really are?" Motoko prompted.

Ken smiled. "If only I knew…I can tell you who I was, but to be honest I'm not sure who I am at this point."

Motoko stood and drew the Hina Blade. "Enough with the double talk! Tell us the truth."

Ken looked about the room, and saw that the other had similar looks of determination on their faces, and sighed. "Hai, Ashura Kenji is the name I was born with. I am the second son of Ashura Kyouaku, leader of the Ashura Clan. I also once went by the title of the Avatar of Spirit." He paused and let that information sink into everyone's thoughts.

Hotaru was the first to react. "Then I'm an Avatar too, right?"

Ken nodded. "Of fire."

"Then you are our enemy." Stated Seta as he began to move forward.

Haruka gently restrained him. "Even if he is, was, an Avatar he saved you from a painful death in the water Avatar's steam attack, so we owe him at least the benefit of the doubt."

"I owe him nothing." Seta began. "Because of him…"

"Because of me Sarah was nearly an orphan." Ken finished.

The others stared at him in shock.

Ken nodded. "I see you remember the fight as well, and the rest of you must now know before we continue any further."

"Know what?" Asked Kitsune in a puzzled tone.

"Eight years ago there was an attack launched by the Ashura Clan to try and preempt the Gathering." Ken paused and looked at the floor. "Keitaro, Naru, Motoko, Sarah, it was in that attack that my brother and I took your families from you."

The room went deathly silent.

"Mother…Father…" Motoko whispered.

"Mama…" Was the mumbled response from Sarah.

"Grandfather…" Keitaro's voice was low.

"Daddy…" Naru whispered.

Ken nodded, but said nothing.

Suddenly, Motoko leapt forward and buried her blade into Ken's shoulder. "You bastard! You killed them!"

Ken didn't move as his blood began to trickle down her sword. "I will accept any punishment you wish to give, but first we must save Shinobu."

"Why should we trust anything you have to say now?" Sarah demanded as she fought against Haruka's restraint.

Haruka took another deep drag of her cigarette. "Because we need him."

Su nodded. "I've been going over the data that my mecha-tamas were able to record of the battle. Ken's the strongest of us all. And being a former Avatar, he has further information that may allow us to discover a weakness to overpower them."

"But how do we know we'll be able to trust anything he says, let alone in battle?" Motoko asked as she pulled her sword from Ken's flesh.

Naru stood up. "I don't think I will ever forgive you for taking my father from me." She faced Ken. "But you tried to keep my child safe, so I'll trust you."

"Atonement." Keitaro stated without warning.

Naru turned. "Nani?"

Keitaro walked over to Ken and stood eye to eye with him. "You told me the other day that you are fighting as a way of atonement, to protect those you've wronged in the past. Is this what you meant?"

Ken nodded.

Keitaro nodded in return. "Alright, what's the next move then?"

Motoko felt her anger rise again. "Urashima! You can't be serious!"

"I am Motoko." The young landlord turned to his tenant and friend. "As the head of the Aoyama Clan, it is your choice what to do now. But I will fight along side Ken." He smiled. "If only for the fact that I don't want to see my friends hurt." He glanced over toward Naru. "Or my child living a life looking over its shoulder for all time."

"Well, that casts my vote." Kanako stated.

"Mine too." Seconded Haruka.

Seta and Sarah also reluctantly agreed. Slowly, the others followed suit.

Ken nodded. "Ok then. I have just one last thing to tend to before I start telling you everything I know." He turned toward the direction in which Moriko had run off, and left the room.

"What's he up to now?" Asked Kanako.

Hotaru sighed. "He needs to make things right with onee-chan."

---

She heard him coming. He wasn't even bothering to mask his presence, so she knew exactly where he was. She also knew that he would let her run if she wanted to, but that would only delay the inevitable. "Just come out already."

Ken separated himself from the shadows. "Gomen nasai imouto."

Moriko didn't turn to face him. "It was bad enough losing you in the incident, then Genseiri's handle began to pulse. I knew then that you were alive, for the last six years I've known but no one would believe me." She turned, her face streaked with tears. "But when I actually find you again, you've changed so much I don't even recognize you, and you don't say a word. How could you do that to me?"

"I am sorry Moriko." Ken took a few steps forward. "When I woke up in the hospital I wasn't sure who I could trust any more." He smiled. "I followed you for a time you know. I wanted to make sure that you and the others were safe. I'm happy to see that you haven't been turned like the others."

Moriko walked towards him until she could see clearly into his eyes. She reached out to touch his face. "You're a completely different person…the surgery must have cost you a fortune to change your appearance this much. It's no wonder I couldn't see you, but the eyes are the same."

Ken smiled. "I had no surgery imouto, this is a reminder left over from the incident."

Moriko blinked. "But how?"

"The only thing I can think of, is it is a gift from mother." Ken suggested. "Her family's gift of transformation must have been latent within me, and the incident triggered it. I haven't been able to return to my normal form since that day."

"This is incredible." The girl whispered before the next thought hit her. "You know your mother?" Moriko blinked in surprise again. "I never got to meet mine… I know we're all only half-siblings because of father's 'dream' but…" She trailed off. "What's she like?"

Ken smiled. "I've only met her once, while I was helping Seta in Molmol. But she was every bit as beautiful as I had imagined." His smile faded. "Unfortunately, my uncle was not pleased with the implications of my coming home. He gave Seta his permits for the sole purpose of having me leave the country."

"Implications?"

Ken smiled. "He was worried I'd challenge them for the throne."

Moriko shook her head. "I don't understand."

Ken rubbed his cheeks until a slight flush rose on his face and then pulled his hair back. "Heyas!"

Moriko nearly screamed as she looked into a total double of Su. "You're…"

Ken nodded and let his hair fall. "I'm an Ashura, but I'm also a Su. Kaolla is my cousin, but part of the promise I made with my uncle is that I won't tell her. Ever." He shrugged his shoulders. "The old man made a good choice with that one I suppose." He smiled playfully. "Makes sense since there is no family more spirited in the world than the Su's."

Moriko nodded. "And since she is family as well, you will try to protect her." She reached out and touched her brother's chest, instinctively tracing his scars. "Just like you used to protect us."

Now it was Ken's turn to be surprised. "You knew?"

"I could hear it on the leaves every time it happened." She handed her brother his katanas, which she had taken back while he slept before. "What do you say we go kick our father's ass?"

"I'll need a few more hours to recuperate." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "The others are waiting for information on how to take down our siblings." They walked back toward the Hinata-sou. "Want to help?"

---

"Amaya relies primarily on her chi, mind energy, for her attacks." Ken informed them. "Keep her distracted, give her more to think about that she can handle. She'll weaken and you'll be able to wear her down."

Moriko nodded. "Saburo is the complete opposite. He likes to use his body more, and he's impulsive. Goad him into making mistakes and use his own power against him. He'll be the easiest of the Avatars to defeat, as father never completed his training since he always seems to lose control of us eventually."

Ken frowned. "Sora however is a different story. She's the most balanced of the Avatars, and she loves to use strategy as much as she loves brute force. If you can, avoid her like the plague rather than confront her."

The others nodded.

"Alright, that just leaves how to get to the Clan's base." Moriko pulled out a map and laid it out on the table. She tapped the map in three different locations. "Each of these points is a cave that lead to a underground chamber…" She traced her finger along the map. "Here. From there you have to go back above ground. They valley that they use for training is nearly impossible to reach any other way because of either the mountains or the guard posts and traps. Even these points are heavily guarded as is."

The others nodded again, and rose to prepare to leave. They had been in this meeting for two hours now discussing different levels of training and what the might expect if the attacked the Ashura stronghold. It was time now to put everything into motion.

Ken rose and stopped them. "I just want to apologize to everyone."

Motoko glared at him icily. "Save it, we don't care."

Ken smiled sadly. "I don't mean about before." He reached into his pocket. "I mean for this." Without warning he pulled something from his pocket and shattered it against the floor. In seconds, smoke filled the room and dissipated just as quickly. Only Ken was still standing as the rest of the household snored softly.

He went up to his room and pulled open his closet. He changed quickly into his "work clothes", black jeans and a black long sleeve shirt. He tied a black bandana to his head and tucked his hair back into it. He placed his two swords at his hip and slipped into his long, black, leather trench coat. After that he returned to the living room. He smiled as the others slept.

"Gomen nasai minna-san, but this all happened because of me. I used the briefing as a cover so I could recuperate, but this fight is mine. I won't let any of you put yourselves in danger for my sorry sake." He turned away and pulled his hood over his head. "Good bye everyone, I'll make sure that Shinobu comes home, but I don't think I'll be so lucky."

Good? Bad? Other? Drop a note please? Or does no one care anymore?

A/N: Well, chap 18 should be along in a day or two as most was written to be right where this note is. That, and I have the next three days off. So (crosses fingers in hope) perhaps even 19 as well. It will all depend on how life treats me. That said, until the next, live well all!.