Density and Perceptions PT 8

Previously:

…Until the recently installed PA system blared to life. Shinobu's voice sounding like thunder as she spoke. "Hello, Chef Shinobu here to inform you all that dinner is ready. Tonight there is a special seating arrangement due to a couple poetic presentations after dinner, so please be aware of that upon your arrival in the dining room. At any rate, come down to eat." The PA clicked off, leaving a startled Landlord to assemble his thoughts and crutches to assist in his travel to the table. Hoping for a quiet evening tonight.

Unknown to him, fate had other plans…

Disclaimer: Don't own LH or any other copyrighted stuff that may be used in this fic.

(Note: Can you feel the tension yet?

Godsbane: Yes, a story is good when it just leaves you hanging in midair several yards away from a cliff. Course, that's my intent. Anyway. On with it…)

I'll Take the Tension Steak, Well Done

There is something to be said about dinner music, particularly the music that emenated from the speakers. A low mourning type of music, not that Keitaro paid it all that much attention as he focused primarily on getting down the stairs. He saw Hawklyn standing at the table as he slowly made his way into the dining room.

ka-thunk

Hawklyn turned to greet the landlord as he hobbled into the room. "Keitaro-san… You sit right there at the head of the table…" He trailed off as Keitaro sat down and shinobu came from the kitchen with a load of steaming food. "May I assist you Shinobu? It would please to help."

Shinobu smiled and nodded, "Sure Sempai." She gestured for him to follow her into the kitchen as first Kitsune then Naru appeared.

Kitsune came down with Naru behind her only to stop at the odd arrangement that was the seating for tonight. "So where do I sit?"

Naru eyed the table, then sat down where she usually would, save for Keitaro to her right, it would be absolutely normal. "Beside me I guess." Naru muttered as she fingered the folded paper that was now in her lap as both Hawklyn and Shinobu carried more food to the table.

Keitaro inhaled the alluring scents before him, "Mmmm, smells wonderful Shinobu."

Shinobu blushed and stuttered in reply, "T-thank you S-sempai." Before seeking shelter in the kitchen to recover her composure.

Hawklyn had placed the final large dish and finally took a seat at the other end of the table. He prepared himself for a good meal, inclining his head toward Keitaro a bit, "So, you ready rediscover real food Keitaro?" He asked with a small smile.

"Yes, very much so Hawklyn-san, especially with Shinobu's cooking."

Shinobu, who was coming back to the dining table with the last of the foodstuffs, blushed crimson at the compliment, but still placed the final dishes and went to her own seat that was to the right of Keitaro. No one got the chance to comment as they heard some footfalls of the last two residents approach.

Time is relative to different people. Yet, in Hinata Sou, time slowed down as Su raced to her seat from where she had been behind Motoko.

Keitaro noted the sudden stiffening of Naru's face as she glanced behind him, towards Motoko. He briefly wondered what was going on and hoped that he would survive the experience. He suddenly wondered if coming down had been a good idea.

Kitsune noticed her friend go tense as Motoko came into the room. She wondered why her long time friend was upset at Motoko. Naru had been rather moody all day, but judging by how Hawklyn was acting, she had a feeling that she'd find out later.

Shinobu was clearly perplexed by today's events. First, Hawklyn had talked to her about 3 hours earlier about dinner and poetry. Second, Naru had been acting really strange ever since she got back, and third, the room atmosphere had seemed to take a dive towards the lower temperatures when Motoko had come into the room. She decided, upon seeing Naru's coldness toward Motoko, that she would eventually know what occurred.

Su had noticed that Motoko's demeanor had been a bit distracted ever since she had come back with Keitaro. She tried to get Motoko to play with her a bit, but she sensed that it still hadn't helped much and had left her alone for a while before dinner. However, her mind was on the food in front of her, and not on the dipping temperature of the room atmosphere.

Motoko could almost sense Naru's hostility from the moment she stepped off the stairs, yet she fought against herself to keep any emotion from appearing as she walked in the room and to her seat between Su and Shinobu. Not having to glance at Naru, Motoko knew why the room seemed colder now. Naru and herself were about to be interlocked into a battle neither of which knew the outcome would be. She took her seat and gazed at Naru, allowing for a very briefly moment, her expression to twist into a ghost of a snarl before retaining the seeming expressionless mask she usually wore. However, her eyes locked with Naru's for perhaps ten seconds.

In that brief amount of time, one could almost see the eruption of world war three with nuclear missiles, lasers, whips, maces and other weapons between them. Otherwise stated, if looks could kill, everyone at the table would have been incinerated just for their proximity to the combatants.

Hawklyn clear his throat as the temperature was nearing the bottom of the freezing scale. "Ok… Shinobu, pass the steak please."

With that statement, the dining table became a little more hospitable as serving plates and trays circuited about. Even if it was mostly Hawklyn, Kitsune, Su, Shinobu and Keitaro doing the talking, the tension was there, seen in how Naru and Motoko cut their portions of meat and generally acted for the entire meal.

Motoko would stab her pieces of meat with a rare exuberance, intaking her food otherwise normally. All the while gazing spitefully at Naru and dreaming of various torture and combat methods to use as Naru slowly died…

Hawklyn helped Shinobu clear the table aftereach person was finished. Then he decided to press on, looking at the curious faces of those before him. "I did say it was going to be a poetry reading night, so with that in mind… Naru has a poem she would like to share."

Keitaro nodded as Naru stood up, the paper in her fingers, her voice had a diamond edge like quality to it. A tone of which Keitaro was uncertain she'd used on him. He sat there listening…

Naru began, "This poem is called "Treasure is Mine", dedicated to Keitaro." She briefly tried to stare smoldering shafts of steel into Motoko, but had the grace to continue before anyone really noticed.

"Somewhere on an island, there lies a buried treasure. A treasure which can only be uncovered, if the island itself is under your control… The treasure is not unlike love, and the island unto a heart. Circling around this island are two boats, waiting for the time to land…"

Motoko's hands clenched in fury as Naru read her poem aloud. The nerve of that… wench! She thought to herself as she listened.

"However, only one boat will land, leaving the other to go on searching. There is no sign of weakness in either boat, neither will yield to the other… Yet, one must back down from the challenge, but it will not be me."

I was right. Motoko concluded, then stood upwhen Keitaro introduced her for her poem.

Naru finished her poem into a silence that only would've rivaled the silence within a morgue's interior. She took her seat and glared across at Motoko, who seemed to be low on things to say at that point.

Suddenly, Keitaro decided to give the silence a run for the border as he spoke up. "I understand that Motoko also has a poem to share tonight." He trailed off and nodded encouragement to Motoko, who stood up all too eagerly with a fire in her eyes that would have made the sun's corona jealous.

Motoko trembled with barely controlled rage as she began, "This poem is called "My Prince's Heart"…" She too couldn't resist a small glare of malice at the auburn haired lioness, a glare that could kill. However she returned to sanity before the others noticed and kept reading.

"A heart shines out like a fire, burning those who wish to touch. For the fail to read the instructions given, inscribed at the base of the tower… "Only one maiden's heart may enter this tower, after she has conquered her competitors with victory. This is the rule that all must abide, or his heart will not be claimed."

Naru shook with rage, barely able to control herself from leaping up and killing Motoko. You aren't even worth his gaze, you letch. She thought as she partially continued to listen to what Motoko was saying, although her mind was preoccupied with anger and violent endings to a certain kendogirl.

"I have found myself to be worthy of this Prince's heart, who dareth me to a duel of death for him? Any others who claim him but me shall perish, impaled on my sword." Motoko looked over to Naru with boiling disdain and loathing in her voice as she finished her poem with the concluding verse, daring Naru to challenge her. "I love the prince's heart, and wish it to be mine. Therefore the Prince's heart will be mine."

Motoko then remained standing as Naru flew up to her feet and they stared hatefully at eachother. The only sounds being breathing, background music, and the occassional noise of dishes being washed in the kitchen.

Hawklyn swallowed as the tension in the room decided to take a nosedive from cold into hell has frozen over. He looked over to Keitaro and winced at the look he had.

Keitaro's face was etched in astonished fear, he knew that something had happened. Something in fact very important, but he couldn't quite place the emphasis used.

Hawklyn shook his head inwardly and gazed at the younger stupified man in sympathy. I don't envy you. First you get a broken leg. Now you get to experience being the goal in a war. Someone shoot me if I end up like that.

Naru had stood up in order to not feel herself intimidated by Motoko's consistent glare. Even though Motoko was naturally taller, Naru didn't feel like being looked down upon more then she had to be.

Both were shooting death thoughts at each other, one could almost see the deathsquads clashing in the space between the two girls' eyes.

Kitsune was in shock. In her memory, as long as she'd known Naru, Kitsune had never seen Naru act so blatantly blunt before. She glanced between them, noting how rigid their bodies were as they attempted to stare each other to death.

Kitsune focused her thought on Motoko. She'd known Motoko would be a blunt type of person once she admitted her feelings to herself. It was a shocker however that Motoko would openly challenge for dominance a friend that she had known since coming to Hinata Sou. Now, as the death glare match continued into the second minute. Kitsune sensed things were changing.

She looked over at Keitaro, his face still wearing the clothes of shock. She wondered if he realized that he was essentially on a relational auction block of sorts. Perhaps not the best analogy she could think up but it was akin to being a trophy piece in the game of jealousy.

As she looked again at his face, she frowned, because it looked like he was under the spell of confusion as well about what had just taken place. To face the facts, she would still have to say that he was pretty dense.

Hawklyn shook his head a bit at the situation. Jealousy will ruin them all. Contemptable dotards. He looked at Keitaro again, who just seemed to be awakening from his stupor.

Keitaro's voice cut through the still building tension of the room, "What just happened here?"

That statement was followed by both Hawklyn's and Kitsune's heads hitting the table to disbelief. For some reason however, Keitaro's statement did not reach the ears of Those-Who-Were-Focused-on-More- Important-Things. Mainly the premature death of the other through the not-so-discernable method of eye contact.

Hawklyn recovered first and strove to give Keitaro at least a partial answer to the recently posed question. "What I believed happened Keitaro-san, is that both Naru and Motoko are vying for the priveledge of being your future wife. You're the prince Motoko sees and the treasure that Naru speaks of…" Hawklyn trailed off allowing someone else to speak while studying the two girls standing.

Motoko looked fearsome. Her eyes her glinted in a dark angry horizon of boiling hate. The face was set in a mask of stone hard rage, her lips were curled back in an expression that mostly came across as a compromise between a sneer and a snarl. She was clenching and unclenching her fists in succession as she remained immobily locked in place with white hot rage.

Naru looked not too unlike the devil with a bad hair day. However her face was pretty much a clone color of her hair. Red. Her eyes were also slitted into a glare that would have made The Hulk look like a tooth fairy. It appeared by Naru's stance that she was very willing to send Motoko on a free round the world tour with her fist.

Keitaro decided to move, "Um girls, if you'll excuse me-"

First Naru's then Motoko's hands clamped down on each of his shoulders, "You aren't leaving till this is settled."

"Yes, the harlot is correct, your presence is appreciated." Motoko's voice grated through the air.

Keitaro sighed, frustrated. "Then why do I feel like there's a battle about to occur?"

"Because there is, and forget about trying to compromise. There isn't room anymore for any compromise."

smack!

Too fast to really tell. Motoko had slapped Naru over Keitaro's head and Naru was holding hand to her stinging cheek, partially in shock.

"That tears it kendogirl." Naru's smoldering eyes turned into a full fledged inferno, seemingly trying to burn Motoko where she stood.

"Bring it." Taunted Motoko rather uncharacteristically, but she was high on adrenaline. Her hand tightened around her sword hilt, hesitating to draw it within close range of so many others. She slowly moved away from Keitaro, facing Naru as she moved, trying to be ready for when Naru attacked.

The two combatants got closer together as the whole room watched spellbound fascination. Later, all of the witnesses would agree that had Motoko drawn her sword, Naru would have no chance in hell.

Then Naru moved forward and backhanded Motoko viciously, then forehanded her across her other cheek in such a fashion as to leave nailmarks on Motoko's left cheek. To which Motoko grabbed her aggressive wrist and then socked Naru in the face, sending Naru stumbling backward into the table.

At that point, both Hawklyn and Kitsune decided that that was enough for the night as Naru rebounded from the table and tried to bodyslam Motoko into the wall. Motoko however, stepped aside, aimed a punch for her solar plexus and tried to accelerate Naru's flight, sending her crashing into the next room.

Motoko tried to follow the path of Naru but at that point various others had other ideas and restrained her while shouting, "Enough! That's enough you two! Calm down, both of you, please!"

Motoko nodded drunkenly as hands guided her to a chair, not caring to speak as the voices droned on.

Naru meanwhile, had been thrown nearly headfirst into a couch that was in the living room. Luckily, she had managed to avoid any injuries more serious then a black eye and several bruises. She slowly calmed herself down after hearing the shouts that basically announced the fight had been called off. Yes… For now I rest… Tomorrow she dies. She thought as Kitsune came to assist her up the stairs to her room.

"Are you alright Motoko?" Keitaro asked, gently holding her head back so he could examine her face for the extent of injuries. She looked a bit beat up with a little blood dripping from a cheek wound from where Naru had used her nails as part of the slap. She also sported a black eye and moaned groggily as a clean and wet cloth trailed over her wounded cheek.

"You need to rest Motoko-chan." Keitaro stated concernedly, helping her to stand up, "I'll take you to your room."

Oddly enough, Motoko didn't even raise an objection over Keitaro's assistance.

(A/N: Yes, its supposed to be left incomplete. Uncertain as to what next chapter will be… In the morning, should they have school or should it be no school? If you wish to have the next day be a school day, I can integrate some scenes out of the Manga #9 where Naru goes off on a school trip to kyoto and Tsuruko appears that afternoon. The vacation scenario and continue with the fight, but with continued fight scene. Should it be like it was in the dreams? With death or first injury or what? I'd like to know what you think, please, RnR.)