Density and Perception Pt 6

Previously:

…Motoko watches as her ki attack manages to pekt Keitaro a few meters from the rock he would've landed on…

…Keitaro feels pain shoot up his leg as it makes contact with the ground first…

…Blackness ensues…

Disclaimer: I'm sorry, this is not the number for Ken Akamatsu, who created LH, Please redial now.

(Don't own LH, )

(Note: This chapter may seem a bit rushed at first… but it'll even out.)

An Honorable Love

In the hospital, Motoko sat accompanied by Haruka. Keitaro was in surgery, had been for over an hour. Motoko sat looking at the floor thinking.

Immediately after the accident, Motoko had called Haruka to explain what happened and she in turned had called the paramedics. After the hospital going entourage had left. Hawklyn had gone to the toolshed and started fixing up a simple rope fence for the time being, acting on both Motoko's and Haruka's wishes. Kitsune had stayed back with Su and Shinobu who would over to visit later in the day.

Motoko had gone back to Hinata at Haruka's urging to compose and talk to the others about how Keitaro was faring.

She was in the living area with the other residents, attempting to explain his condition to them.

"Right now, he is awake, doctors say he'll be able to come back in a few days."

Shinobu looked a bit forlorn as Motoko glanced at her, feeling trhe same anguish that Motoko had felt the night before, nearly the same anyway. Considering that Motoko had seen what happened and Shinobu had not. "Can we go see him?"

Motoko sighed and nodded, "Yes we may-"

The phone rang, causing Kitsune to hustle over to answer it. "Moshi Moshi…… Oh, hi Naru, how are you?…… That's good. Listen, there's been some excitement here lately… Yeah, Keitaro's in the hospital with a broken leg."

"Nani? How did it happen?"

"Apparently, he was on the roof with Motoko, helping her practice. Not sure what happened, but he fell off the roof."

"I'm coming back tomorrow." The sound of a dial tone filled Kitsune's mind. Hanging up, She sighed and walked out to where the others were,

"Naru's coming back tomorrow."

The reactions were varied. Motoko simply nodded as if that were what had been expected. "Well, I better get back to the hospital, check up on Keitaro."

Before then, she went to her room and grabbed her notebook, thinking it might help her pass the time at the hospital. Along the way down the stairs, she thought of what she'd written the previous day, and how much Keitaro had impacted her life. She'd never admit that to any of her housemates, for the simple reason that she didn't trust them enough. This specifically brought thoughts of Kitsune to mind, and how she'd do anything to blackmail anyone.

Motoko led the group down the steps and toward the hospital, still lost in thought among the conversations. Simply too focused on thinking and what was ahead of her to listen to what was behind her. She thought over the past few days.

Keitaro reading a poem to them at dinner, nearly confessing his love for Naru and yet tearing into her at the same time for all the abuse she heaped on him. Everyone knew that Keitaro was enthralled with Naru, and with Naru's cloudburst of tears as he read the finishing lines… Well, one could only guess at what his words meant to her.

Then there was yesterday, where Naru had left for Kyoto for no one really knew how long. Motoko herself had written up her feelings for him in the book she carried. She didn't know whether she would read it to him when he was asleep or later when he was awake and they were alone. She shook her head gently to clear her thoughts as she came to the hospital.

Leading the pack of Hinatans to Keitaro's room, Motoko paused to greet Haruka, "Haruka-san, is he awake?"

Haruka nodded silently and returned to reading one of those magaizines the hospital provides to kill time with.

Motoko nodded and stepped inside Keitaro's room, the rest of the group following her. She heard Shinobu gasp out behind her as Motoko took one of the few chairs in the room.

"Oh sempai." Shinobu went to Keitaro's side as he smiled and turned toward the voice, brightening as he saw Shinobu.

"Hey Shinobu, How are you?" He smiled and squeezed her hand a little.

She blushed, averting her eyes as she spoke, "G-good…"

Kitsune interrupted Shinobu, her excitement in seeing the landlord just had to bubble over. "Hey Keitaro," She greeted with a smile, "How ya doin? Oh yeah… Never mind that…" She giggled a bit.

-

Naru was at the train station, waiting for her train as she reehashed the past few days in her mind. She had originally planned to spend at least a week in Kyoto with family, but when she heard of Keitaro being in the hospital. She decided to go back that day.

The train she was waiting for arrived, and she boarded after a few seconds wait, finding a seat and traveling back into thought again.

Why did Keitaro fall? Kitsune had told her that it had happened during a practioce session with Motoko. Kitsune also had commented that Motoko had appeared to be a little more at ease around Keitaro. Which raised warning bells in Naru's mind. Keitaro was hers, he wasn't up for sale or rent, poem or no poem.

Speaking of poems, she was still in shock that Keitaro had taken off the gloves and spoke his mind. Am I really that close to losing him? She wondered as she stared out the windows of the train toward the scenery she'd already memorized long ago.

She was going to stop by the hospital to see him before she headed home, she mused. She just wanted to see him, and perhaps ralk to him if he was awake. She leaned her head against the window and slowly dozed off into a motion induced slumber.

-

Motoko smiled behind the others as she saw them out the door of Keitaro's room. It had been enjoyable for Keitaro to interact with Kitsune and Shinobu for a while. They had filled him in on the goings on around the Hinata Sou, everything from Hawklyn giving ideas to Su about ways to improve the safety of the place to the mundane daily routine.

Motoko closed her eyes and reflected on what Shinobu and Kitsune had relayed. Hawklyn appeared to be an enigma. He would come for meals, sometimes associate and spend time with Su. Then, if he got the urge to or something occurred, he would talked to one of the tenants about whatever under the sun. He seemed to be a good listener, and yet, much of the time, he stayed in his room.

She sighed as looked over at Keitaro, his chest undulating with the rhythm of life, his leg hoisted up within a noose as he layed in the hospital bed. He appeared to be napping at the moment, which encouraged her to take out her notebook and read what she had documented of her thoughts yesterday.

As she read through her own poem, she thought of Keitaro, his kindness, care, the ever forgiving person who never complained about the many beatings he received. She knew though, that he did have limits. Boundaries that had been crossed a couple days ago, and still he forgave, even after the treatment that she and Naru had heaped on him in the past.

She caressed the pages of her notebook lightly, quietly turning them as she reviewed her thoughts and actions of the recent past. With a sighed, she looked up to find Keitaro gazing to her softly.

"Motoko… Come, sit by me please." He requested with a gentle smile, watching she quietly moved closer to him.

"I'd like to thank you for your help last night, and especially today. Helping me around and assisting the nurses and all."

"Ur-Keitaro, enough. You don't need to thank me, consider this to be part of a payment for what I've done to you in the past. You've saved me a couple times, you've helped all of us, sometimes at your own expense or injury." Motoko looked at his hand while she spoke, blushing lightly as she continued.

"You have affected me greatly Keitaro, You're a wonderful person to be around you know, and I appreciate how much you care for all of us." She felt what had to be his fingers touch hers in a slow, reassuring manner. Her cheeks tinting toward a cherry hue as she felt him caress her hand, fighting a small giggle from the sensation.

"You do know," She commented playfully with a gentle smile, "That that does tickle?"

He smirked a bit, then reverted to a smile as he held her hand in his for a time. "W-would you like to know how I wrote that first poem?" He looked toward her as she nodded in reply, Then he looked away in thought and spoke quietly.

"It was while I was reading what Hawklyn asked me to read. I think I must've caused some sort of disturbance to upset Naru as I heard the board sliding away. Next thing I know, I hear a "Keep quiet and don't do anything perverted." And that's when I felt pain around my ear and I blacked out." He looked over at Motoko thoughtfully, "Next thing I know, I'm feeling some soft hands cradling my head while its tended to. Thank you Motoko for your help in that."

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before continuing, "Then I read some more about how I should express my emotions and decided to write a poem on his laptop…" He briefly gazed down the length of his body toward the foot of the bed. "I didn't know Hawklyn would have me read it out loud at dinner, but he encouraged me to do so, saying it would be theraputic." He sighed again, "I didn't think Naru would take it so hard…"

-

At the station, Naru had just gotten off and began her walk toward the hospital. She was a bit upset with Keitaro, not that she could really blame him fully, as she couldn't help but know that in some respects, he was right about her. She looked up and saw the hospital ahead.

-

Motoko opened up her notebook as she spoke, "Urashima-san, you've helped me to see a lot more then what I had been seeing. You've opened my eyes to accept that I can be both a woman and a warrior. Yet to me, the way of the sword is my first calling…" She trailed off, looking into the notebook nervously, then she began speaking again. "I would like to follow your courageous example and read to you a poem that I wrote, if I may?"

Keitaro nodded, wide eyed, his face shrouded in a veil of faint embarrassment. "Go ahead."

Motoko took a deep breath and started reading, dividing looking in her notebook with gazing up at him as his face became ever more so shocked at the kind words he was hearing.

-

Meanwhile, Naru had just gotten up to the floor where Keitaro was and was looking for his room.

Voices…

Walking on.

Voices…

Walking on.

Motoko's voice…

Walking on, wait a minute, Motoko's voice?! She backed up to listen, noticing that she was outside Keitaro's room. She started to open the wider and stopped, her ears focusing on Motoko's voice. It looked like she was reading something to him…

"…know how I feel about him, Even tho I try to deny that I do have these thoughts…"

Motoko seemed to be telling him her feelings. Even as a burst of anger erupted within her, she managed to keep a lid on her temper and listen.

"…My heart comes back undaunted, Presenting my mind with a gourmet of Him… I can't resist my own heart, Especially at night in dreams. Where the flame grows into a fire, Brightening day by day for him…"

NO MOTOKO! He's mine you hear me? MINE! Naru thought with trembling anger. How dare she try to steal him from her! Naru was so lost in thoughts of anger that she never noticed that Motoko had noticed her standing there, but when she did. Naru glared at her for all she was worth and then turned to go.

Motoko kept reading until she was done, not letting the brief glimpse of Naru startle her reading. She would reflect on what she had seen later on. She returned her focus to Keitaro as she finished her poem.

"So Keitaro, what do you think of it?"

Keitaro was still in a bit of shock at the depth of the poem, "That was really good Motoko, I loved it. Whoever the guy is must be a very lucky person indeed."

Motoko slapped her forehead mentally and forced herself to be calm. He's still quite the dense one I see. Sigh… "Keitaro, that was about you," She stated, gazing into his eyes and subsequently finding herself wishing for a streetmap within the dark depths of his visage. "I love you Keitaro."

They smiled at eachother, Keitaro having found himself tongue twistered while his mind grappled and pondered the situation he was in. "I should get some sleep now Motoko, rest well." With that, he dozed off into a restful sleep.

Which left Motoko aware that she was now free to ponder upon the events of earlier.

Mainly, Naru's appearance.

In reflection, she realized that Naru had in fact been glaring daggers at her during the time she was reading to Keitaro. Motoko considered it an awesome feat to have kept reading while Naru was at the door, It had been a tremendous statement to Naru, she realized then. That she had effectively challenged Naru for Keitaro's affections. Motoko had put her heart beside Naru's where Keitaro was concerned.

Motoko's eyes widened in realization of what she had done in retrospect, then she smiled.

In love there is sometimes war. You must fight for your heart and your honor. She would not back down from this challenge. Her claim had been placed and she swore to guard that claim with her life.

(A/N: Apologies that it took me over the weekend to finish this chapter. The first part was really hard for me to get and I apologize if its not as smoothly written as it could be. Also, I'm only focusing on Motoko, Naru and Keitaro for right now. Makes it easier for me to write at the moment. Also, if there's any spelling errors, let me know. RnR please.)