A/N: To whom ever I managed to piss off and has cursed my life, I'm sorry for whatever it was that I did. Now please pull back the curse, I can't afford all these damn bills to repair my car. Anywho, enjoy this everyone.

Love Hina: Healing Hearts

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

Chapter Nineteen: Rescue and Betrayal, Conclusion

Sora was breathing heavily now. This girl, Hotaru, was different than from when she had faced her before. She was surer of her moves, more confident, more experienced, and most certainly more powerful. She rolled to the side and barely brought her staff up in time to block her attacker's counter movement.

Hotaru was also out of breath, though not nearly as bad as Sora. She brought Enten up and cut Sora lightly at the shoulder. She then followed by bringing Hikari from above and the metal clang rang out as Kunpuu blocked. Hotaru smiled slightly, and let her chi flow out into the gap in Sora's middle defense. She watched as Sora hurtled backwards as the flames threatened to consume her.

That was when the roof began to crumble. Both girls looked up to see a figure in black racing towards the center of the grounds.

"Kenji!" Sora yelled in shock as she recognized his ki.

"Onii-chan!" Hotaru screamed at the same moment.

The girls exchanged glances.

Sora took a step back. "You can't be…"

Hotaru smirked and allowed her rei a little bit of slack. She had discovered that while her ki and chi were controllable, her rei was as wild as real flames. A little freedom could be too much if she wasn't careful. "That's right…onee-chan." Hotaru's hair and eye's began to glow with a red orange color. "But we can discuss that later, right now onii-chan needs my help."

A ring of fire erupted around Sora and created a cage of flames. "What are you going to do?" Sora demanded, with a slight trace of fear in her voice.

Hotaru walked up to, and through, the flames. "For now, just keep you here out of his way." She stepped back and began to follow her brother. "This isn't settled between us. You and I are family, at least by blood, so onii-chan probably won't let me kill you for what you did to us at the Hinata-sou." Her eyes glinted menacingly. "But you hurt my other family, so I'm going to make you wish I could."

Sora shivered despite her heated prison. She tested her cage bars with her staff, in seconds the staff was too hot to hold with out the use of her gloves. She narrowed her eyes on Hotaru's fleeing form. "Alright imouto, just remember the old adage. Play with fire…"

---

Keitaro faced off against his mystery opponent once again. The last of the clan's normal foot soldiers were quickly being taken care of by Motoko and Kanako. He could sense the other coming quickly towards them, especially Ken and Hotaru. Keitaro smiled, they must have found Shinobu and were ready to leave. He ducked to the side as his opponent renewed the battle.

His grim expression returned as he landed a strong punch to the belly of his attacker. "I didn't want to hurt you, but it's clear that I have no choice now." He dodged another attack and brought his sword high in a two handed grip. "You fight as though you feel no pain, no emotion of any kind, for that I am sorry. You must be ready to fall to pieces after the blows we've traded." He brought his blade down. "Hopefully, this will put an end to the pain that must be holding you." He turned as he heard a whistling sound at the same moment that his opponent turned. They both rushed out of the blast range as Ken's final sleep bomb exploded where they stood a moment earlier.

Ken landed beside Keitaro's prone form. "You alive?"

Keitaro stood and glared at the hooded man. "No thanks to that little stunt!"

Ken nodded. "Good, keep the others at bay."

Keitaro grabbed Ken's shoulder. "Hold it! What the hell…"

Ken roughly shook his friend's grip. "Just stay back…this is going to be tricky."

Keitaro watched as Ken walked away. "His voice…was that fear?"

---

Ken walked up toward the other figure in black. "Are you in there?"

The woman stood slowly, and brought her sword to the ready.

Ken shook his head. "I know you're in there. Remember, that is your name after all. Remember everything he tried to take from you, it's still there, I can hear it."

The woman charged, but she was slower this time.

Ken easily dodged. "Remember, please." He grabbed the woman's wrist and applied a small amount of pressure causing her to drop the sword. "Please, come back."

She fought his grip and managed to pull away. She stared at this man uncertainly now.

Ken put it all on the line. He pulled back his ki and his chi until his eyes no longer glowed black and white. He pulled back his hood, and smiled as he heard the woman gasp upon seeing his face. "See? I knew you were still in there somewhere." He reached out and tried to grab the woman's hood.

She shied away from his reach.

Ken, however, pushed forward. "Please, come back to us." He grasped her and pulled back her hood. "Shinobu." Her eyes were hollow and lifeless. The spark that had captivated Ken when he first met her was gone. Then he noticed that she was crying. "No, it's just hidden." He remembered. He reached out and gently caressed her face. "Come back Shionbu-chan." He leaned in and gently kissed her.

Shinobu blinked her eyes, and realized that she was kissing Ken. She pulled back after a moment. "Ano, where am I?"

Ken smiled and shook his head. "Doesn't matter now, let's just get you home." He caught her as she stumbled. "It's ok Shinobu, just rest now."

Shinobu nodded. "I am kind of tired, and sore too."

Ken picked her up and cradled her in his arms, and began to walk towards the cave he had first entered from. By the time he was at the cave, Shinobu was asleep. He could feel the others watching him as they followed, he'd have to explain later to them. He smiled weakly. "That is if they don't kill me first…"

---

Once back at the Hinata-sou the girls opted to crash rather than interrogate Ken. Naru watched as Ken had cleaned and dressed Shinobu's wounds from her time as the "black fighter". She had been ready to object when she felt that some of Shinobu's injuries were a bit to private to be cared for by a man, but Naru realized that in the same situation, she would want Keitaro tending to her rather than one of the girls. At last she walked in from the doorway where she stood and kneeled next to Shinobu's sleeping form, directly opposite from Ken. "You really love her, don't you?"

Ken nodded as he brushed a stray hair from Shinobu's face. "More than I ever thought I was capable of." He frowned. "All this pain she's in now… is my fault."

Naru was a bit surprised that Ken actually shed a few tears. She had always seen him as being a kidder with no worries, seeing him vulnerable was a bit strange. She smiled despite this. "She looks like she's sleeping peacefully, I don't think she's in pain."

Ken nodded, but remained silent.

Naru looked out the window. "She cares about you too."

Ken nodded. "That is why this is so much more painful, she trusted me, and I failed her."

Naru stood and walked around to where Ken sat. "You didn't fail her, in fact in the big scheme of things…" She pressed something into his palm. "I'd say you kept and even bigger promise." She walked out of the room. "Don't think that I'm going soft, because after I get some sleep I'm going to rip your head off for the stunt you pulled before along with the others."

Ken nodded and smiled. "I never doubted that." He glanced down at the object in his hand, and smiled. He sat back and pressed his back against the wall. He watched Shinobu for a time. Before long, her easy, rhythmic, breathing had lulled him into a deep sleep as well.

---

Ken'ichi drew his long katana and sliced the roots and vines that held his youngest sibling to the ground. He shoved the young boy roughly with his foot. "Wake up. We have work to do."

Saburo stood and rubbed his jaw. "Moriko…that bitch. I'm going to enjoy killing her, I don't care what father says!"

Beneath his hood Ken'ichi smiled. He quickly hid his joy and did a very convincing impersonation of someone who was upset. "Father will not have a say, I'm afraid."

Saburo blinked. "Nani?"

Ken'ichi nodded. "Kenji was here, he killed father."

Saburo stumbled back. "He can't have!"

"He has." Ken'ichi moved towards the door. "We must find our sisters."

They quickly freed Amaya of her restraints and informed her of their father's demise as well.

"I won't lie and say I'm sad that the old man is dead, but he deserved better than to die at the hands of that traitor." Amaya stated as she headed towards where Sora was still held captive.

Sora was sweating quite profusely now. She had been in this fire cage for hours now and was tired of it. "When I get my hands on her…" she panted. Suddenly a fire hose was turned on and Sora was hit full force with the blast of water.

"Heads up!" Amaya teased. "Oh right, the warning is supposed to come before the water hits you. Sorry, I always forget things like that."

Sora growled and the winds in the damaged hallway spun quicker. She smiled as Amaya yelled from the small grains of sand and debris that were cutting her body like razors. "My winds alone may not be able to kill you sister, but the things that get caught within them certainly can!" Sora toppled to the ground as the floor beneath her began to quake. "Jihibiki…" she murmured.

Ken'ichi stepped forward and sheathed his katana. "Save you energy, you will need it soon." He turned to Saburo. "Fill her in on what has happened, I must address the clan." He left his three siblings to discuss what they may, and smiled. He walked out to the common grounds and took in the sight of his kinsmen in various states of injury. He closed his eyes and his chi began to flow. He smiled as the earth beneath his feet responded. He opened his eyes and watched as his chi began to slowly attach to each member of the clan.

One of the younger fighters recognized his figure. "Fall to your knees!" He called out to the others. "Lord Ken'ichi graces us with his presence!"

Ken'ichi smiled as the entire clan bowed before him. "Rise my kinsmen and here what I have to say." He paused for dramatic effect, but also to give time to allow his chi to work its way further into the minds of those who stood before him. "My errant brother, the traitor Kenji, returned this night." He waited as the clan murmured. "But he didn't come to admit his guilt and rejoin us as I offered on my fathers behalf. No, he instead slew our father! Our leader, the great Ashura Kyouaku is dead by Kenji's hand!" He shunted his hatred for Kenji over his chi lines and into the minds of every kinsman that he touched.

The crowd rang out as one for Kenji's blood. Screams for his death echoed throughout the valley.

Ken'ichi smiled, but didn't allow his twisted joy to flow into his voice. He instead forced himself to sound even more upset than before. "Though is tears my heart, as the new leader of the clan, I must order this. Kenji knew well the laws of our clan, to betray us is bad enough, but to kill our late leader as well, leaves no other choice than to demand his death!" He smiled sadistically as the crowd responded to his order. "Regain your strength my brothers and sisters! For once we exact our revenge on Kenji, we will take or revenge on the other clans at The Gathering!"

He turned and walked away as his kinsmen cheered his words. Ken'ichi pulled his chi back and walked to his room. Once sure that no one could hear him, he began to laugh openly.

---

Ken sat atop the remainder of the Hinata-sou roof. He had come up with Keitaro to try to fix the place up after the battle, but there was just too much damage. This couldn't be fixed by a simple patch job like when he or Keitaro got punched through the roof. He looked over the roof again. "This is going to need a whole contracting company." He muttered. He stood and began to walk in slow circles.

"So let's go over this again." He wondered aloud. "'Ichi is alive and well, though a complete and total space case from the kid I wanted to emulate growing up. The old man still wants me dead for something I did during the incident. The other Avatars are going to want blood after the beating we gave them, and so will the rest of the clan to a lesser extent." He frowned. "So why haven't they made their move? It's been nearly three days now."

"That frown has been on your face every time I look at you."

Ken turned as Shinobu came up to the roof. "Feeling better?"

Shinobu nodded. "Hai, that thing you did with you ki has made me feel a lot better." She ran her palm across Ken's face. "I just wish I could do something to make you feel better."

Ken smiled. "I'm ok, just thinking too much."

"What about?" She inquired as she sat down.

"Everything." Ken replied, with a slight sadness in his tone.

Shinobu nodded. "I see. Want to talk?"

Ken shook his head and sat down on the roof beside Shinobu. "Nah, I'll just end up going in circles again." He paused as he heard shouts from beneath the holes of the roof. "What's up?"

Shinobu sighed. "Sempai's been on the phone with the insurance company about getting the place repaired, but…this is a bit much for the company to swallow, even with under our 'acts of Su' clause. I don't think that they will pay for the repairs, and that has Sempai upset."

Ken nodded. "I see…" He reached into his pocket and palmed the small object that Naru had given him a few nights earlier. "Shinobu…"

"Ara ara!" Came a voice from the front door. "What has happened here?"

Shinobu jumped to her feet and ran towards the steps. "Mutsumi's back from Okinawa! The shock of seeing Hinata-sou in this condition may kill her for real this time!'

Ken swallowed hard as he heard a thump from the entrance of the Hinata-sou. "Keitaro may want to hold off on trying to get this placed repaired now." He whispered to the empty air. "The Gathering will come quickly now that the heart of the warrior has returned."

---

Sora opened her eyes as her winds died down around her, Kenji's words still in her ears. She nodded to her eldest brother.

The Avatar of Earth, and new leader of the Ashura Clan, rose from his chair and fastened Jihibiki's sheath to his side. He strode confidently to the cave entrance. Once there he unsheathed his blade and raised it high above his head. He smiled as his clan voiced their desire for battle. He sheathed his sword again and stepped into the dark cave. "The first step towards my ultimate victory."

Good? Bad? Other? Tell me what you think. Please?

Name meanings:

Shinobu- to conceal one's (true) self, to endure, to remember, to recollect, and ??? (heh heh, not yet on the last one)

Jihibiki – earth tremor