Ok, I don't own Love Hina no matter how much I wish I did. Ken Akamatsu does, lucky bastard, and I'm not getting any money for this so hopefully he won't send his squad of evil hit-lawyers to strip my financial person to the bones like a cow in the Amazon. ; Anyways, this here is the second installment, and I hope you enjoyed the first. Please continue to review, as I'm always looking for helpful criticism.
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Chapter 2 - Two Returns, Joy and Sorrow
Hinata House Girl's Dormitory, 9:30 A.M.
At the base of the steps leading up to the girl's dorm a figure out of the past stood, clad in a kendo uniform with a sword sheathed at its waist. It looked up, and suddenly it became clear that this visitor was a woman, and a beautiful one at that. As her black hair streamed out behind her in a sudden breeze, she thought to herself, well, I'm back… Aoyama Motoko began to climb the stairs.
At the top, she saw the house she spent the best years of her life in. As the memories came flooding back, she smiled, wondering how much had changed. Walking in the door, she looked around, stunned to see that the place was just as she last remembered seeing it. Then she turned, sensing someone standing on the stairs. The woman walking down the stairs was someone she hasn't seen in years. As the person came grumbling about restocking the teahouse, Motoko mischievously smiled and bowed low.
"Hello, I would like to rent a room please," she said, remaining bowed. The other woman stopped and turned, looking at her. As Motoko straightened up, smiling, a grin lit up the other woman's face, and she turned and shouted up the stairs: "Su! Shinobu! Everyone! Quick, Motoko's back!" Then she turned back and looked at Motoko. "Well, girl, you've grown up even more since you left here! Hehe, I've been reading your books…"
Motoko blushed, looking down. "Thank you, Konno-san, I'm surprised you would read something like historical fiction, but-" Kitsune grinned even wider.
"No, no, no, I meant those other books..." She trailed off, leaving it at that and winking. Motoko's blush grew even more furious, and she hastened to stammer a reply.
"K-konno-san, I'd forgotten you know my penname... Please, don't-" Her protestations were cut short by Kitsune.
"Tell anyone, yeah, yeah, I know, I've heard it a thousand times. I'll only tell if you call me by my surname again. Not that there's anyone here who doesn't know! You're a good writer, though. Uh oh, here they come…" She trailed off as a commotion came rapidly nearer from up the stairs. Suddenly, a girl with spiky white hair came rocketing down the stairs, closely followed by another, younger, blonde girl. They both launched themselves at Motoko, apparently aiming to maim. The one with white hair jumped up and wrapped herself around Motoko's neck, while the blonde one latched onto her sleeve.
"Motoko-chan! Motoko-chan's back! Whatcha bring me?"
"Yeah, kendo-girl, whatcha bring us?"
Motoko laughed out loud, smiling brightly. "It's good to see you guys too, Su, Sarah! Here, I brought you this," she said, holding out two wrapped boxes. Su tore hers open and found a bunch of bananas and a new techno-toy to revamp. Sarah opened hers even more violently, and found a bunch of candies and a strange archaeological artifact.
"Yaay! Bananas!" Su shouted.
"What's this weird thing…?" muttered Sarah, trying to hide her smile.
Suddenly, from the kitchen, another girl, this one with blue-tinted hair appeared. "Motoko-chan…?" she said, a smile lighting up her face.
"Shinobu!" called Motoko. "It's great to see you again!" From the back of the house, three more people walked up. "You too, Kanako! It's good to see that you're still landlord."
"Of course I am," stated the dark-looking girl with a thin smile. "Who else would oniichan entrust it to?"
"Who else indeed? And you, Ema! You've grown much more beautiful while I was gone!"
The newest girl to Hinata House blushed, looking down. "Thank you," she said. "I've been feeling much better about my studies lately, and think I'll be able to make it into Toudai when the time comes!"
"That's fantastic, Ema-chan!" She then looked at the last arrival. "Mutsumi-chan, I hope you're well! How is your graduate school work?"
The last woman smiled and covered her mouth with her hand. Tama, the hot springs turtle on her head, imitated the gesture. "Oh, my studies are just fine. The biology of watermelons is just so fascinating! We hope to be able to get a doughnut shaped one soon. The closest we've gotten is a disc." She beamed, apparently not noticing the sweat drops that had appeared on everyone's heads.
"Well, anyways, everyone come here, I've got gifts for you all!" Motoko called out, opening her luggage and pulling out several packages.
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Some time later, while Shinobu prepared lunch, the residents of the Hinata House got down to some catching up.
"So, Motoko, what happened? I thought you were staying in Kyoto with your family as head of the Shinmei school? What brings you back here?" Kitsune asked. "Aren't things going well?"
Motoko shook her head, smiling. "Things are going just fine. While my sister can still best me in the sword, I can certainly beat her in a contest of intelligence now. I feel wonderful, having the best of both worlds with my sword and my schooling."
"How about your writing…?" Kitsune asked, with a mischievous glint in her eye. She was already buzzed, having brought out several bottles of sake to celebrate Motoko's return.
Blushing, Motoko stammered "K-kitsune, I thought we weren't going to talk about that?"
"Aw come on, everyone here knows about it, hon!" And indeed, from Mutsumi's smile behind her hand to Kanako's glare over the subject matter, everyone had an expression written on their faces that clearly showed they knew. Even Tama looked suspiciously like she was grinning, and made a point of flying over to Motoko, who swatted at her until she went away.
"Well, the… novels…," Motoko mumbled.
"Romance novels!" Kitsune triumphantly declared, grinning the whole time. "Most of them about a lovelorn female warrior on a search for true love! Though ya know, I've noticed a little pattern going with the people your main characters wind up getting together with. Aren't they a little... similar?" Looking around the room, Motoko quickly realized that the fox girl was hardly the only one to have seen this accidental trend. Su and Sarah were both grinning like demons, Shinobu was looking a little twitchy, and Kanako... well, Motoko decided that tonight she'd make sure she kept her sword by her bed.
Motoko coughed, trying to remain serious despite her beet red face. "Ahem, yes, those novels. Fictional novels. About people who don't exist in reality. At all. They are going well. As I'm sure you all know, though, that's no my main venue, more of a hobby on the side. In fact, I finished that particular series a year or so after Keitaro and Naru married." Ignoring Kitsune's downcast expression at being deprived of her mischief, Motoko went on. "I've written several series, and my publisher is very interested in my latest. Fortunately, my sister and mother are willing to help enough with the Shinmei school at home that I can focus on my writing when I need to from time to time. But enough about me, what about the rest of you? How has everything been going here?"
The conversation then took on more normal tones, and the good-hearted chatter continued for several hours. Some time around noon Shinobu got up and began making lunch. The conversation was just dying down when the phone rang, and Kitsune got up to answer it. Halfway to the phone, though, she realized the cordless was missing from its base. Then the phone stopped ringing. In the following quiet, Shinobu could be heard in the kitchen.
"Seta-san?" She said.
"Hey, my dad's on the phone!" shouted Sara, scrambling for the next nearest one. Kitsune grabbed her by the back of the shirt and pulled her back, shushing her.
In the kitchen, there was a pause followed by Shinobu blurting out, "what! Sempai!" Instantly, everyone in the living room poured into the kitchen. Shinobu's voice disappeared in the cacophony that followed, and by the time they all managed to get into the small room she was hanging up the phone. She turned, and they saw that she was pale.
"What's going on? Are Keitaro and Naru coming back?"
"Yay! Keitaro!"
"Alright, Dad and the dork're coming back! Someone to pummel!"
"Oh my, is Kei-kun returning?"
Slowly, Shinobu shook her head. "No, I mean, yes, sempai is returning tomorrow, but… Naru-sempai isn't! And Sempai's hurt! Seta-san said he'd tell us when he got here…" She trailed off, clearly worried. Everyone went quiet, until Kitsune reached over and ruffled Shinobu's hair.
"Don't worry about that guy, he's got the whole invincibility thing going, remember? He'll be fine. I can't be much worse than the time that giant onion fell on him. And Naru's probably just off in a huff somewhere because he did something stupid again." Everyone laughed, and the tension left the room. They all left, chattering happily about Keitaro and what things would be like with him back. Shinobu turned back to her cooking, but her heart just wasn't in it. Finally, with everyone gone, she quietly gave voice to her worry.
"I've never heard Seta-san sound so concerned before, though…"
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As they left the kitchen, Kitsune made a beeline for her room. Motoko followed, and caught her wrist in the hallway.
"You're worried, aren't you?" asked the sword master, though it sounded more like a statement than a question. Kitsune turned around, and nodded, her normally half-closed eyes fully open. "Me too," said Motoko, "I have a bad feeling about this. We should be prepared for the worst, and see to it that everyone else is too."
"Nah, I don't think we should worry them with this. It's probably just the two of us overreacting, and if it is bad news, we can help comfort the others. Don't spoil their mood, ok? They're happy you're here, so let them celebrate while they can." The fox smiled and turned back towards her room.
"You've grown a lot more mature, Kitsune-chan!" Motoko called after her. Kitsune paused a moment, then walked the rest of the way into her room, closing the door after her. Standing a moment, Motoko heard a drawer opened, followed by the glugging of a bottle pouring out sake. Sighing, she turned and went back to the living room, unable to shake the feeling that something terrible had happened, and that the Hinata House would be feeling its effects soon.
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The following day, Seta and Haruka arrived, supporting Keitaro who had insisted he walk rather than be put in a wheelchair. And indeed, it seemed as though he was returning swiftly to health, his usual immortality asserting itself once again. Still, his tired, defeated walk belied his robust nature, and the residents at the Hinata House instantly guessed something was wrong.
"How much you wanna bet she got pissed and ditched him again?" Kitsune asked from the base of the stairs, watching the trio approach. It was raining lightly, and she along with the rest of the girls had an umbrella opened over her head.
Sara grinned, saying, "loser got dumped!"
Kanako remained serious. "It was bound to happen," she said, "their relationship just wasn't stable. She didn't really love him." Her lips turned upwards smugly at this last statement.
The others all smiled and nodded at the lighthearted predictions, knowing well how many times Naru had gotten upset with Keitaro over some moronic little thing and either run off in a huff or sent him on a one way trip to the stratosphere, only to have come running back as soon as someone else got too close or to have him return via the gravity express. Only Motoko was still worried. She had seen the look Keitaro was wearing before... but not here in Hinata. She couldn't place it, though.
Finally, the three returning travelers reached the steps. "Hiya, Keitaro!" yelled Su, jumping onto Keitaro and wrapping her legs around his waist, as A.D.D. as ever. "Whatcha bring me?"
"Myu!" added Tama, flying circles around Keitaro's head.
Startled out of some ruminations, Keitaro looked up and then around behind him at Su. "Oh, Su-chan, sorry..." he said, the brittle brightness in his voice struggling to survive. "I was very... busy this last trip. I wasn't able to bring anything back." He turned his head to look back at the rest of the girls. "Sorry, everyone."
"I-it's alright, Sempai," quavered Shinobu, clearly able to tell something was very wrong. Mistakenly, she followed Kitsune's assumption, saying, "We're sure it must be very difficult..."
Again, Keitaro looked startled out of some thought, then his eyes went unfocused and he said "Yes, it is..."
He's got it bad... thought Kitsune.
"Oh dear," Mutsumi murmured, leaning over to Kitsune. "Do you think Kei-kun is all right?"
"He'll be fine," she replied, "let's just get everyone inside. Alright everyone!" she cried, "how about we go up to the house for some of Shinobu's great cooking and some sake to welcome back our old kanrinrin!"
Everyone cheered, and raced up the stairs, pulling a confused-looking Keitaro behind. Haruka and Seta glanced at each other, and followed. As they reached the top of the steps, Keitaro finally broke free of their grasp, staring up at the dormitory as though he had never seen it before. All the others except Motoko kept running. One by one they slowed and looked behind them, watching Keitaro as he stood in a trance. Suddenly, Motoko knew where she had seen that expression.
"I can't..." he whispered. Then louder, his voice hoarse and cracking, "I can't stay here."
"Aw, come on, Keitaro. I know she's gone now, but she'll be back and the-" Kitsune began, but was cut off by Motoko, who held out her hand to stop her, watching Keitaro the whole time. She had seen that expression before in Kyoto, when some of her father's old friends had visited. They were all warriors, many of whom had seen comrades die in battle. One night she had secretly watched as they drank and talked late into the night, recounting old war stories. When they began to talk about friends they had known and loved who had fallen to a bullet or a sword, their eyes had gotten distant, and their faces wore the same expression as Keitaro's did now.
Suddenly, several seconds after Kitsune spoke, Keitaro looked straight at her, saying, "he didn't tell you? Seta-san didn't tell you?"
Seta, who had been standing behind him for some time, said grimly, "I thought it best that you tell them."
There was a moment of silence, and then Shinobu's voice spoke up out of the stunned crowd. "T-tell us what, Sempai?" Motoko watched Keitaro's face go blank in the most horrible manner, and knew what was going to come next. It was still a shock, though when Keitaro actually spoke the words, staring blankly ahead of him, the blood having drained from his face.
"Naru isn't coming back," he said calmly, almost as though he didn't believe the words himself. "She's dead."
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The stunned residents of Hinata House sat in another meeting, this one much more solemn, in the living room. Keitaro had refused to answer any questions, just asking to be alone for a time. He then went off, accompanied by Seta, to find a nearby apartment where he could stay. Haruka, the only one who had had time to accept the news, explained what had happened. The phone call, the flight to the villiage, and airlifting Keitaro to the hospital.
She said that later, Keitaro refused to talk about how she died, but he did mention something about the "Hall of the Phoenix." And in his sleep, she said, he would toss and turn, alternately shouting out "Naru!" and another name, "Kurosawa!" Asking around, though, she couldn't find anything out about anyone named Kurosawa. She had gotten a number of terrified looks, but no information or descriptions. People had just refused to talk about him, except for one old woman who said that while she sympathized, the best thing Haruka could do would be to completely forget she had ever heard anything about that man on that island.
"It looks like Keitaro has continued to follow Seta's path, running into bad situations on accident..." Haruka said, trailing off in contemplation. "I don't know why those two seem to attract so much trouble, but-" Her words were suddenly cut off by a furious scream.
"How can you just be so damn calm about it!" shrieked Kitsune, her perpetual buzz proving incapable of shielding her from the reality of her best friend's death. "Naru is fucking dead, and you're just standing there casually like you're chatting about the weather! How can you be that way!..." Finally breaking off into sobs, Kitsune strode off to get another bottle of sake to try and dull the pain.
Su and Sara just sat glumly, clearly disturbed by Kitsune's outburst, trying to accustom themselves to the idea that Naru would never be coming back. Ema, who had never really known Naru very well except on her occasional visits to Hinata House, was busily trying to comfort everyone, particularly Shinobu who was completely despondent and couldn't even bring herself to cook. Even Mutsumi's eternally cheerful facade was showing signs of stress. She went to get some watermelon for everyone, and came back without dropping anything, forgetting anything, or having a near-death experience.
"I'm terribly worried about Kei-kun," she said. "Should we really be leaving him alone at a time like this?"
The others paused momentarily in their misery and thought, it must be hardest of all on him... and we're sitting here moping while he goes out and finds a place to stay alone... They looked at each other. And we all used to say we loved him. They looked away. We are such heels...
An hour later, when Seta returned, they asked him where Keitaro was staying. As Seta gave them the apartment complex and room number, he smiled and said, "It's good that you're going to keep him company. He's really down right now." They rushed out into the rain, and as Seta watched them go, his smile faded and his face suddenly looked more like its real age rather than the fresh-faced twenty it normally looked. "I certainly don't blame him..." he said quietly to the empty front hall. Haruka came up behind him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Don't worry about all of this for now... Keitaro's in the best of hands, we came to terms with the fact that Naru is... gone while Keitaro was still in the hospital... let's just take some well-earned rest and leave it to Keitaro and the girls now, ok?" Seta turned his head and the next kiss was planted on his lips.
"All right," he said, after they broke off the kiss. "All right."
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The girls arrived at Keitaro's apartment together. After a moment of fighting, Shinobu was finally selected to knock. When Keitaro came to the door, she bowed and presented the covered bowl she carried with her. "Sempai, I prepared you some dinner. W-would you mind if we all ate together, here? W-w-we've been... well, about N-N-Naru-sempai..." She trailed off and looked up, tears trailing from her eyes. The others wiped at their eyes as well, and looked expectantly at Keitaro, holding their own, smaller covered bowls and drinks, including, in Kitsune's case, a couple of large bottles of sake.
For a moment, Keitaro just stared at them as he had stared at Hinata House earlier that day. Then, a wan smile slowly spread across his face. "Of course," he said hoarsely, overcome by emotion, "please, come in."
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Dinner was a solemn affair, accompanied by some forced talk, but mostly completed in silence except for the clinking of chopsticks on bowls. They seemed to huddle miserably, simply drawing comfort from the presence of their fellow mourners. Finally, everyone readied their things to leave, except Kanako who pulled out a futon, apparently from nowhere, and unrolled it in the corner. Everyone stared for a second, until Kitsune, rather drunk, slurred "Wha the Hell d'ya think you're doin, missy?"
"Keeping oniichan company, of course," she replied. "I'm not letting him sleep here alone after such a tragedy." Her tone seemed to suggest that, tragic though Naru's untimely demise was, it was somewhat less tragic for her than for her brother. Suddenly, there was a quick volley of excuses let out rapid-fire and the Hinata House residents all bolted back to the dorm.
By the time they had returned, Keitaro was just finishing getting ready for bed, his futon and Kanako's laid out in the middle of the room next to one another. A few minutes later, the floor of the small apartment was covered in futons, with Motoko being assigned on Keitaro's other side as the only one who would stand a chance at stopping the goth girl should she decide to try something. The others were all clustered as close as possible to Keitaro's sleeping form without actually seeming like they intentionally got that close. Only Kitsune, Shinobu, and Mutsumi refrained from what Kitsune called the "disgustin' display," having had the closest relationships with Naru. They positioned themselves nearer the door in a row, and stayed in their own tight cluster the night through.
The night passed uneventfully, except that when morning came, Su was found clinging to Keitaro's left leg, which was still better than the nightly acrobatics of her childhood years. Also, Shinobu was found missing, but when after a few worried minutes she came back driven by Seta, who had loaded up his van with the breakfast she cooked (put in tightly sealed bowls to protect it from his driving), everyone was happy.
After breakfast, everyone dispersed for the day, Su, Shinobu, and Mutsumi having missed enough class with Motoko and Keitaro's return, and Kanako and Kitsune needing to keep the inn in shape. Ema and Sara, who had unexpectedly become friends in their years together at Hinata House, went to class as well. Only Motoko was left without something to do, but rather than stay and bother Keitaro, she decided to leave him alone and return to Hinata House with the others.
Alone, in his apartment room, Keitaro sat for a while staring at the wall. He thought of the girls from Hinata, and of their kindness, smiling as he did so. Then, his thoughts turned to all the other kindnesses they had showed him... together with Naru. His smile disappeared. Then he got up, pushed aside his futon, and began going through the slow motions of the warm-up martial arts forms Seta had taught him several years and a lifetime ago.
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Aaaaand that's it for chapter two, folks! Hope you liked it better than the first... I think that by going slower and taking my time more with the plot in this one, things were a little more realistic-feeling. But please, don't let me do all the critiquing (sp?) myself! Please, send more reviews! I'm still open to all your constructive criticism and what little praise you may have for me, so go ahead and drop me a review or a direct mail to Vagonnoth at hotmail dot com. (Gah! stupid document editor still driving me nuts... when I write the address normally, it just leaves a blank space. Does anyone out there know why?) Thanks for your time!