Disclaimer: Come on. If you really want me to say definitively that I am not a Japanese male by the name of Ken Akamatsu...fine. I am not a Japanese male by the name of Ken Akamatsu and I hereby forfeit all claims to the ownership of Love Hina.



A/N: As Akujin so insightfully pointed out, Kitsune is probably not the first person to pop into someone's mind when the term "trusted confidante" comes to mind. There is a reason for this!!! Also...I realized that I have some chapters formatted differently than others, and though I know it isn't a big deal, it's driving me crazy...so I'm gonna try to fix that soon.


Emetic Overflowing

Motoko walked briskly down the hallway in the quiet of a decidedly typical Sunday morning. Typical, save for the fact that the house was almost empty. Keitaro and Naru had taken Shinobu, Kaolla Su, and Sarah on a shopping trip, and Mutsumi, who had apparently just shown up in the middle of the night, was gone, kami knows where. Kitsune was, presumably, still esconced in her room, sleeping off the effects of a Saturday night spent in normal Kitsune style. Motoko herself had been awake for a few hours now, but she had decided to have pity on Kitsune until now. Any sound made an unnatural contrast to the peaceful silence enveloping the home, so Motoko moved silently until she was at Kitsune's door. Taking a deep breath for courage, she felt the speed of her heart slow down as if by magic, and the strange feeling moving around in her chest dissipate. Reaching out, she grasped the edge of the sliding door and moved it out of the way as silently as possible. Barely able to avoid gasping in surprise, she took in the scene before her.



The only way to describe the appearance of Kitsune's room even close to adequately was that it looked as if Jackson Pollock had snuck in, gone through a supply of alcohol roughly equivalent to all of Saudi Arabia's natural oil reserves, and then went into vast orgiastic bouts of artistic movement involving copious amounts of clothes and bottles of alcohol. Articles of clothing lay about everywhere, hanging from dressers, on the floor, and against all odds, stuck to the ceiling. Motoko couldn't prevent herself from making a grimace of distaste, and she could only wince even further when a breeze laden with the odor of raw alcohol assailed her, to her detriment in this case, finely tuned sense of smell. Bravely weathering the assault mounted on her senses, Motoko stalked silently into Kitsune's room, deftly sidestepping piles of clothing and empty liquor bottles. Kitsune lay sprawled out on the bed, limbs askew at wild angles. Still quietly, Motoko settled into a cross legged meditative pose and regarded Kitsune, whose eyes appeared to be wide open, gazing at the ceiling. Deciding to risk it, Motoko spoke.



"Kitsune. I would like it if you could spare sometime for us to talk."



The prone form on the bed jerked up in surprise, head swerving around violently in all directions, causing Motoko to blush slightly as she realized that Kitsune was clad only in her underwear.



"Kami! How the heck d'ya sneak in here so damn quietly?! Can't anybody knock?," Kitsune's eyes focused on Motoko. "...oh hey, Motoko, why didn't you say you were looking for a little fun? I'm game if you are...and I'm actually sober..hehe."



Motoko's visage transformed from a light pink to a full on crimson hue. Looking briefly at Kitsune's curvaceous body, which currently left her imagination with little work to do, leaving her extremely dry in the throat, she glanced away quickly. Looking about the room desperately for some sort of relief or escape from the situation, which Kitsune, judging from her trademark foxy grin, was enjoying immensely, her eyes fell upon a large wooden tub sitting in the corner of Kitsune's room. It was filled to the brim with a clear liquid, which Motoko assumed was water. Without even thinking, she crossed over to the tub and dunked her head in, thinking to refresh herself and get rid of the incessant flustered feeling within herself.



Kitsune's sultry laughter filled the air in abundance as the raw, powerful smell rushed to attack Motoko viciously. Alcohol sprayed everywhere, rushing into Motoko's mouth, nose, and drenching her dark hair. Immediately, she jerked back, coughing and spluttering after ingesting a large mouthful of some extremely potent alcoholic beverage. Kitsune grinned and slid out of her bed, perfectly sober and alert, to sit on the floor.



"You know, 'Toko, you look even sexier soaked in alcohol." The foxlike woman patted the floor beside her, indicating that Motoko should sit. Still spluttering and dripping liquid, the young warrior trod unhappily to sink bonelessly next to Kitsune.



"Kitsune...there is a tub of insanely strong alcohol in the corner of your room." Mentally, Motoko winced. 'Kami, I've attained a talent for stating the patently obvious.'



"Yup, I sure do!" Kitsune grinned, unrepentant as always.



"Perhaps I should rephrase. Why is there a tub of insanely strong alcohol in the corner of your room." Flicking sodden strand of dark hair out of her face, she made it a statement, not a question.



"Well...I'll tell ya Motoko. Last night, I was hangin' front of the old tube, flippin' through the channels, and I get to this special on liver cirrhosis. Now, you know better'n most people that I don't take stock in things of that sort as a rule, but this got me scared as all hell, 'Toko." Kitsune was completely serious now, all the mischief of just a few moments ago completely vanished. Her eyes were wide open and contemplative. They were a vivid shade of hazel-ed brown that seized Motoko's attention in wonder. Being able to see the rare sight of Kitsune's eyes, in deep contemplation no less, was a rarity, even for Motoko. "I'm still young, Motoko, but the way I've been living...it's been fun, but how long can it ever last? After askin' myself that question last night, I came to a conclusion and decided to kick the habit. There wasn't a sink though, so I just dumped it all in that tub. Didn't think you'd go and dump your head in it though."



"It is completely my fault, I should not have merely assumed the tub's contents. I'll tell you what, Kitsune. Let me dry off and we will carry the tub out and dispose of it." Motoko was glad of her friend's decision and she knew that just leaving that infernal tub sitting in Kitsune's room would be a temptation only the strongest could resist, and Kitsune's personality admittedly fell more towards "pleasure whore" than "stoic ascetic".



"Really? Gotta tell ya, 'Toko, you are a real life saver. I tried carrying that damn thing out last night, couldn't budge it. But with your strong arms..." She trailed off, running her hand slowly down Motoko's arm, bursting into laughter as she watched Motoko's face turn a brilliant scarlet once again. "'Toko, you gotta relax! Y'know I'm just playing around with you. Let me get you a towel er somethin'."



Motoko stayed slumped on the floor as Kitsune rose. Rummaging through veritable mountains of dirty laundry for what seemed like hours, it appeared as if a towel was not to be found. Kitsune threw a blouse on her bed and let out a huff of air. Motoko was about to tell Kitsune to just forget it, that she could carry the stuff out now and take a shower later, when Kitsune abruptly went to the closet and jerked it open.



"A-ha! Gotcha!" With a triumphant grin, Kitsune brandished a clean, dry, towel in the air briefly before bringing it to Motoko. "Sorry about the wait. Haven't been to that closet in...must be..oh, months now."



If it hadn't been so strange, Motoko would have been tempted to laugh, but as it was, she wasn't sure whether or not to nod and smile or to cry piteously. In the end, she chose neither of the two aforementioned options, but instead chose to take the towel, dry her hair off, and then do what she said she would. So, after toweling off her dark hair, she tossed the textured cloth, which was from the Sapporo convention now that she looked at it closely, onto the accumulating pile of clothing on Kitsune's bed. "There, I think that will suffice for now. Shall we go?"



"Yeah, let's get this show on the road, buddy. Y'know, just thought I'd mention it, that alcohol really does nice things to your hair, it's all nice and glossy."



"I am somewhat dubious about the effects of alcohol on hair, Kitsune. You take this side and I'll grab the other." Having reached the round, wooden vessel, Motoko took a secure grip on the grained wood and waited for Kitsune to do the same. Once they both were ready, the tub was hoisted into the air. After some initial readjustment due to Motoko's height and Kitsune's lower strength, the two women reached a height level and weight distribution that would allow them to get the storage contained moving without spilling everything. Inching slowly over the rough terrain of clothes and bottles they began to move out from the corner of the room, trying not to disturb the liquid inside the tub. The progress was smooth and uneventful until Kitsune's foot met an empty sake bottle. The round surface didn't allow Kitsune to catch her balance, instead, the bottle rolled, causing Kitsune's foot to shoot into the air with the momentum of it. What happened next was like it came straight out of a low grade comedic movie.



Kitsune stumbled, causing alcohol to slop over both of the women. Motoko tried to steady Kitsune and keep the tub up, resulting in a failure in both aspects. As Kitsune fell, Motoko shot out a hand and caught her before she hit the ground. However, in this process she had apparently forgotten about the tub, thus, it fell from her hand, spraying liquid all over her body and Kitsune's on its path before falling to the floor with a muffled thunk. Hoisting Kitsune to her feet, she took one look at the tub on the floor, one at the liquid all over Kitsune, and then looked down at her own soaked form, and then, overwhelmed by it all, promptly burst into tears. Swatting the tub out of the way, she sank to the carpet once again.



"Hey now, hey now, what's up with the tears, 'Toko? It's just a little alcohol, nothing to dampen your stoic 'I am warrior, hear me roar' spirit...." Kitsune was a little shocked, and more than a little concerned at Motoko's uncharacteristic breakdown. 'Maybe it's the fumes getting to her head, they sure are getting to mine.'



"'Toko, let's get you out of that soaked gi, you're gonna get a cold and get all nauseous from it. Then we can talk about what's troublin' ya, k?" Kitsune kneeled down beside the warrior, reaching over gently to loosen the drenched robe. Peeling it off easily, she threw the sodden article of clothing over her shoulder, not even noticing where it went. After shedding her own freezing wet clothes and throwing them in the same general direction as Motoko's she settled herself across from Motoko, both drying off much more rapidly with the lack of wet clothes.



"All right, hun, what's your poison?" Kitsune asked cheerfully. Motoko's head came up, her eyes meeting Kitsune's. Suddenly, she moved forward, arms going around Kitsune's shoulders, face burying itself into the older woman's chest. 'I could say something' Kitsune thought, 'But somehow I don't think this is the time.' Instead, she placed her arms around Motoko's exposed ribcage. "All right, hun, all right. Tell the old fox what's troubling ya."



"Argh, it has been simply horrible! First I'm in love with my older sister, then I can't stop thinking about her, and now this gods be damned alcohol is clouding my senses so I can't even think straight and now I'm babbling my head off sitting here in my undergarments!" Raising her head to look at Kitsune, she moved to pull back, but Kitsune just flipped Motoko around gently, causing the young warrior to lean against her, and wrapped her arms around Motoko's stomach. It was very comforting, Motoko decided.



"So you're in love with Tsuruko? Great, why aren't you out there trying to snag her?" Kitsune stated this simply, as if it were patently obvious to whoever listened.



"I can't just do that, Kitsune! First of all, there's no reason why she'd ever be interested in someone like me, and second of all, she's my sister!" Motoko blurted out.



"Why not?," Kitsune reasoned, "Love is a connection that surpasses all else, hun. It shouldn't matter if you both happen to come from the same place or not, and I doubt you'll have any trouble with babies born with birth defects. And, who are you kidding, 'Toko, any blind woman could see you've got a hell of a lot to appreciate!"



Motoko simply shook her head at the last part. Sinking back into Kitsune's comforting warmth, she closed her eyes and relaxed. The two woman stayed in comfortable silence for a while, Motoko needed to contemplate Kitsune's advice, and Kitsune wanting to give Motoko a chance to think it over, until a gasp prompted them both to look up to the doorway. Motoko paled to a shade lighter than white, and her dark eyes widened.



"Tsuruko! I did not know you were coming! How long have you been here, ane-ue?" Her mind was racing...how long had she been here?? What had she heard? Then, she realized that she was sitting in the middle of a room, with her clothes off, clad only in her undergarments, which were soaked, with another woman, similarly clad. 'Kami.' "This isn't what it must obviously look like, sister..."



After taking in the initial sight of her little sister surrounded by puddles of alcohol, soaking wet in only a bra and underwear, in arms of another woman no less, Tsuruko was, to say the least, dumbfounded. After her initial expression of shock, however, she was outwardly her usual self. 'Another woman??! As opposed to who, Tsuruko? Yourself?? Have you gone insane?' she blasted herself inwardly, while asking Motoko a simple question, calmly as always. "Pray tell, what, little sister, is it supposed to look like?"



"Like me and Kitsune-san had gotten absolutely inebriated and spilled alcohol everywhere in the process and were now about to proceed in a session of wild lovemaking like two cats in heat...," Motoko said, eliciting a muffled laugh from Kitsune that Motoko could feel from the woman's stomach muscles tightening against her back. However, at Tsuruko's stony faced expression, she began to babble. "But that wasn't how it was, honest! Came in this morning to talk, Kitsune not drunk, tub, alcohol....dump...but dropped, broke down, and you..you..."



"Enough, sister. Calm yourself." It was rather hypocritical of her to say, being as underneath her calm visage her innards felt as if they were drumming against the rest of her body, and a strange sensation made her want to eliminate the other woman from the picture. 'Am I jealous? Argh, snap out of it, fool.' "Now try it again, this time intelligibly."



This time, however, instead of Motoko, Kitsune piped up from behind her.



"Motoko came in this morning to have a talk with me. Last night I decided to quit heavy drinking after I saw this intense special on liver cirrhosis. So I took all the alcohol in my room, poured it into that tub on the floor there, and Motoko was kind enough to offer to help me carry it outside, but clumsy old me, lost my balance and the tub flew outta my hands. And that's where we are now. Hi, by the way, I'm Kitsune, I think we've met before although I'm not too sure...the figures all blend together in my head after a while..you must be Tsuruko. It's easy to see that the sexy tall dark warrior look runs in the family. Speaking of sexy, tall dark warriors, about that wild session of lovemaking like two cats in heat, me and Motoko don't do that, not anymore at least-oof!"



Motoko's elbow collided with Kitsune's ribcage, the flesh against flesh producing a dull thwacking noise. She was slightly flushed in the face and couldn't seem to meet Tsuruko's eyes.



"Thank you Kitsune. So, you and Motoko used to be..how do they say it, an item?" She trained her voice to be steadily unconcerned.



"Yeah, we had our good times, but Motoko was always looking for something more, so now we're just friends, and it's fine that way. So, anyway, what brings you to our neck of the Tokyo jungle?"Kitsune relaxed, gently stroking Motoko's arm to calm the tense girl down. It must have worked, because gradually, all the muscles loosened in Motoko's body and she relaxed into Kitsune.



"I came because I have something of vital importance to discuss with Motoko. However, seeing your present condition, may I suggest that first you two take a shower...er..showers and then my sister and I may discuss this matter afterwards?" Cursing herself at her verbal slip, she cleared her throat and waited for a reply. It came simultaneously from the two women sprawled out before her.



"That'd be great." Kitsune and Motoko rose, ready to pay a visit to the hot springs.



Thirty minutes later, Motoko and Tsuruko sat in the privacy of Motoko's room, Motoko freshly cleaned and in a clean robe. They were seated about a table, and cups of steaming tea sat before them. It was, all in all, a very civilized looking event. Pointedly watching the steam rising from the delicate porcelain cup, she broke the silence that had settled over them.



"What did you wish to speak of, Ane-ue?" The steam wreathed in random patterns, and Motoko was picking out scenes of battle and epic wars now.



"The school. We are running out of money, Motoko. In fact, the school is in debt, and I feel as though it is up to us to fix this grievous error."



After getting over the initial shock of Tsuruko's blunt admission, Motoko quickly gathered herself, schooling her features to a calmness mirroring that of her sister's. "I must admit that I do not understand..why did you feel a need to tell me? Merely for the sake of informing, or is there something more?"



'Oh boy, here comes the hard part.' Tsuruko thought. Phrasing the next words carefully, she moved on.



"Yes, part of it is indeed the need to inform all members of the family, but moreover...I desire your assistance in the acquisition of the money." 'There...that was worded rather well...'



Delighted with being presented an opportunity to help her sister, Motoko immediately brightened. "Really? What type of assistance?"



"Last night I went over many possible methods of earning money. Of course, there was the way of the sword, but you know as well as I that it is not allowed. Then I began to think of talents that we might be able to take advantage of.." Tsuruko trailed off as she saw Motoko picking up on her train of thought. Motoko had always been an intelligent person.

"Tsuruko...you could not be suggesting that..that..not ice skating?" At the grim, almost compassionate look in Tsuruko's eyes, Motoko fell silent, only to speak again moments later. "I left that path behind, Tsuruko, you know it."



"Why?" Tsuruko's simple question startled Motoko, and she was amazed to realize that she didn't have an answer, that she'd never had an answer; the compulsion to leave the world of ice behind was just some qualifier she thought she'd had to go through to be the idyllic warrior. As she framed her mouth to reply, Tsuruko continued talking, forcing her into silence, resigning her to hearing that musical voice. "You need not give up skating just to be a warrior, Motoko. The two can coexist. In fact, it is in my mind that we shall skate together, as a doubles team."



A contemplative silence descended then, as Tsuruko gracefully lifted the no longer steaming, but still warm, tea to her lips. Motoko stared into the still depths of her drink, the liquid acting as a catalyst for her thought. 'I can't skate with Tsuruko! Every touch, every glance of flesh against flesh, it'll be enough to drive me crazy...can't tell her that though...' Searching desperately for an excuse, she lit on her last hope.



"What about your husband? Can he not skate??"



Barely, Tsuruko kept from ejecting the warm tea across the length of Motoko's moderately sized room. Swallowing what remained of the liquid, she cleared her throat.



"We're divorced...it's been..oh, about three months now. Didn't I tell you?" nonchalantly said. 'Of course I didn't tell her. Why didn't I tell her?'



"What?! No, ane-ue, you most certainly neglected to mention it. What happened?" Motoko was concerned, but not for the reason that Tsuruko must have thought 'Oh how wonderful, there goes my excuse...maybe I can divert her attention. Yes, questions.'



"I found him in our bed with another woman."



"Oh, how terrible!"



"Yes, but I am surviving; how could I do anything but? Back to our original issue, neh? Will you or will you not return to the ice with me?" Said the way she said anything, without betraying her emotions, but Motoko saw the pleading, the compelling, in her older sister's face. And now, as always, she couldn't bear to hurt her sister, much less turn her down. 'Kami take it. Don't you do it Motoko...don't you do it..'



"Well if it is important to the school and you, older sister, how could I refuse? Of course I will." 'Gods damn it. What did you do.' Motoko could barely resist the urge to bang her hand into her forehead, but she did, forgetting all when she saw the smile light up her sister's face.



"Thank you, Motoko, I know how hard it is for you to agree to something like this after so long, but I'm confident that this will be a success. I suggest we start practice as soon as possible...How about after your studies tomorrow?" Tsuruko was, very obviously, overjoyed. But once again, not for the reasons that Motoko might have supposed. 'She said she'd do it? For me?'



"Yes, I believe that should work." Inside, the thoughts were racing inside her mind like dogs chasing their tails. It seemed as if things had happened like a whirlwind and now she couldn't quite get a sense of her bearings. "Would you like to stay and perhaps have lunch with me and Kitsune? I'm not confident of when the others will return from their shopping."



"No, I regret having to refuse, but I have many things I need to plan." Tsuruko politely declined, to Motoko's secret relief. She would welcome the chance to look at her sister, but after all that had just happened, she honestly believed that she would not be able to handle it. A breakdown like the one she had had this morning was not far from coming, if anything else happened.



Cloth shifted as Tsuruko stood. Hastily, Motoko rose.



"I must needs go now...will you see me out, little sister?"



"Yes, of course!"



The sisters made their way through the halls, running into Kitsune, who was reading a newspaper, and after Tsuruko had said her farewells to the two residents of Hinata Inn, Motoko watched as the sun struck Tsuruko's elegant form, light illuminating a priceless jewel.





Kitsune stared after her for a while too, before her jaw moved and she made the comment that she'd been dying to let out, before turning quietly and going back into the main house.



"Man, 'Toko, she's almost as much of a babe as you are!"