Chapter eleven (Ending one)

"...What?"

"I really hope I don't have to say that again. I've been working up the nerve for that moment for almost two months, now." Keitaro goggled at her. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, and his eyes were all but popping out of his head. He sat down again, rather quickly. He didn't move. He just stared at her feet, his mouth still moving slightly. "Keitaro-kun?" Motoko put a hand on his shoulder, and knelt in front of him. "I know this must come as a shock to you, but it's been on my mind ever since that night. You see, the women of my family have always been... well, exceptionally fertile, to put not too fine a point on it." She talked, her voice growing in pace until the end, where she abruptly stopped.

"Motoko, what... what are you... are we, sorry, going to do?" Keitaro looked at her. She had difficulty reading him. What was he thinking? She knew she certainly didn't have a plan. Whether she'd been expecting it or not in some corner of her mind, she'd never actually thought about what she might do should this situation arrive.

"Keitaro-kun, I just don't know. I... I don't want to have a baby. I'm not married, and I'm supposed to carry on the Shinmeiryu school in a few years. I have my studies to think of, too! I... this... all my dreams will be impossible if I have a child now, and my family would disown me. They'd see me as a disgrace to the Aoyama name!" Motoko was almost babbling now, and tears were creeping into her voice. She overbalanced in her kneeling position and collapsed onto Keitaro, who embraced her after just a second of hesistation. They remained there for a brief moment, both knowing that something had to be said and neither knowing precisely what. Keitaro broke the silence.

"Motoko-chan, do you... remember the day that N... the day after our first night together?" Motoko nodded, still holding Keitaro tightly. "Well, that day I told you that the blame and the consequences of that night was something to be shared equally between us, ne?" She nodded again, but looked puzzled. Where was this going? "So, no matter how hard this is, we'll make a decision together. You have the final say, I mean, it's your body, but as it stands we really have only two solutions. Three, I suppose, if you count putting the baby up for adoption." Motoko nodded once more, a look of understanding crossing the emotional forest fire that was currently her face. She spoke.

"There are only two. Adoption would feel worse to me then either of the other two. I couldn't feel that child grow inside of me for nine months, then go through the unbelievable pain of labour only to place it into the hands of someone else and never see it again. So, there are two." Keitaro cocked his head to the side and looked at her.

"Well, which of the two do you think should happen?" Motoko gulped. Clouds of uncertainty, a whole bank of them, had suddenly engulfed her; she was irrevocably lost. The easiest

(hardest)

solution loomed in front of her, something vaguely ominous and threatening.

Abortion.

Could she do it? (Could I really... kill something, no, someone that the sweetest thing I've ever felt in my life produced? Someone that is a part of me, and a part of Keitaro?) Motoko shook her head.

"I couldn't..." She said aloud, a tear sliding down her cheek. Keitaro cupped a hand under her chin and turned her face to meet his; open, kind, and loving. Louder, now.

"I couldn't. I couldn't kill someone that we made, Keitaro-kun." Keitaro looked confused for the briefest of moments, and then grew very serious.

"You mean to have the baby, then?"

"Yes, I think I must. I will only do so, however, pending your answer to my next question." Keitaro smiled slightly, and leaned in very close. She could feel his breath; coming quickly, in and out, tickling her sensitive neck.

"Ask, Motoko-chan."

"Will you be this child's father? Will you share an equal part in its upbringing?"

"Of course I will, Motoko-chan. I promised that the responsibilities for that night would fall on us both, and if that includes children, well..." he scratched his head, and suddenly laughed. "Well, that'd be something I didn't expect, but I guess there's no way out of it, ne?" Motoko smiled. Of all the people in the entire world, all two of them at that moment, there was only one who she felt this situation would be made bearable with, and that was Keitaro. Sweet, loving Keitaro. She thanked the spirits silently for such an extraordinary man as him.

She said no more, only drew him close and kissed him on the forehead. They lay back down on to the blanket, still only sky-clad. Motoko lay on top of him, and he wrapped his arms around her waist loosely. They shared heat, and they watched the stars. They both silently hoped that the night would last forever.

Sleep found Motoko quickly, and Keitaro was soon greeted with the deep, regular sound of a sleeping person's breath. Not so for himself, however. The sandman must have decided to go off-duty before putting Keitaro's pinch of sand in his eyes. He inwardly groaned. (What a night. I can't believe I'm going to be a father in just half a year! What am I going to do?! What will the others say? What will Naru—) He stopped. He couldn't deal with that right now. (Maybe... it'll all turn out better than I expect.) He pondered that until the small hours of the morning started to grow long again. When the sun began to creep over the horizon, he finally slept, dreaming of simpler days.

"Kei-kun, did you know that when two people who love each other get into Tokyo University together, they will find eternal happiness?" The small, feminine form in front of him grinned, and then leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. He felt himself go a million shades of red at once. "Let's make it a promise, Kei-kun! We'll get into Tokyo University one day, okay?" It was all he could do to nod. She was so pretty, it made him dizzy to look at her. He leaned forward and grasped her outstretched pinky with his own.

"Yakusoku..." he said shakily, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Yakusoku." Returned she. She kissed him again, and then turned away, noticing something in the distance and beginning to chase after it. He ran in the same direction, but she'd disappeared. Everything had disappeared. What was going on? The sky grew black, the clouds swirled around, and a deep, commanding voice issued from them, saying

"Keitaro? Why are you sleeping on the roof?" He bolted upright, drenched with sweat and not realizing that he was still wearing nothing. He was greeted by a gasp. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, I'll go back downstairs now!" He rubbed his eyes to banish the sleep from them, and caught only the last vision of Shinobu running away. He wondered why she'd ran, until he looked down at himself.

"Oh, hell! I can't believe that, Shinobu's probably feeling so embarassed right now. Why do these things always happen to me?!" He sighed. (Well, at least Motoko probably won't punish me for this one like she usually does. It's as much her fault as it is mine that I was sleeping like that.) Thinking about Motoko put a dreamy half-smile on his face. She was the only thing about life right now that didn't seem like it was out to get him.

Realization hit again. Motoko was going to have his baby. Now everything was against him. He hung his head. He was disgusted with himself for not having been more careful that night. Now, all for want of a little closeness, the girl's life was basically ruined. She would be unable to go to university, at least until the child was grown enough for Motoko to have some time to attend classes. She couldn't inherit her family school anymore, either, and her sister... Keitaro shuddered. Tsuruko was not one to trifle with, and he knew that Motoko was terrified of her. How would she take the news?

Visions of horrible deaths and unspeakable torture popped into view in front of Keitaro's eyes. He watched himself die over and over again until he was jerked from his reverie by a familiar voice.

"Keitaro-kun? You're still here?" He turned towards her, and saw that she was dressed for training. "I saw Shinobu come running down the stairs a moment ago, she seemed like she was pretty upset. Have any idea—" She stopped. Looked at him, closely. Saw the position of the blanket. Then, she did something that didn't make any sense to him at all. She laughed.

"Oh, my. Shinobu got herself an eyeful, I see." Keitaro gaped at her. "What are you looking at me like that for? Oh, I see. You're waiting for your punishment. Well, not this time. I'm the one who put you in that position, after all." She winked at him. He stood up and turned away from her. "Keitaro?"

"Motoko-chan... I think I need to get away from here for a while." She was instantly at his side, looking stern.

"Keitaro, you promised me. You wouldn't run away. Have you already changed your mind?" She looked at him pleadingly. (Keitaro, you can't leave... I don't know how I'll hold together without you here.) He turned to face her.

"I'm not running, Motoko-chan. I just... I can't be here right now. It seems like everything is going wrong. I need to take some time and think about this. Just two days, I swear. I'll take a trip, get some serious mental work done, and I'll come back, ready to face whatever challenges life has in store. Motoko... please?" His eyes, those beautiful eyes, bored into her. Begged her, like a small boy wanting candy. This, however, was far more important than candy.

"Well... I suppose I can understand that. You're to be a father in six months, and you're scared. I'm scared too, Keitaro-kun. I'm absolutely petrified. You can go, you always have that choice, but please come back soon. I don't know if I can hold myself together alone." Keitaro nodded, and drew her into his arms, squeezing her tight.

"Two days, Motoko-chan, I promise." She nodded against his chest, and her hair tickled his chin. (She smells different today... Is she wearing perfume?) A disjointed, irrelevant thought shot across his brain like a rogue meteorite. He dismissed it quickly. One more, infinitely more important, piece of information still remained. "When do you think we should... you know, tell the others?" Motoko didn't move from her current position before replying.

"I... I think they deserve to know as soon as possible. I think I shall probably tell them soon after you leave, that way they'll all be cooled down by the time you get back. Also, that way if you don't come back, we can all go and hunt you down." Keitaro stiffened at the word hunt, and she pulled slightly away, revealing her smile. He laughed.

"Motoko-chan... Aishiteru." Her smile grew wider. It was the first time he'd said it first.

"Aishiteru, Keitaro-kun." He pulled away.

"Well, I think I'll leave today. I don't really know where I'll be going, but it won't be all that far. Money's a little tight for traveling at the moment. She nodded.

"Go wherever you feel would serve steady thinking and sober decision-making best." He hugged her again before disappearing down the stairs to his room to pack. She sighed, and began to train on the deck. While practicing, as always occurred, all thoughts and emotions drained from her, and she became merely an engine for her blade. She planned to stay in that state as much as was humanly possible for the next two days.

(hinata city train station, three hours later)

The evening sun bathed the loading area of the train station in a orange-red aura. It soothed the frazzled nerves of Keitaro Urashima as he stood there, looking at the list of departing trains. Nagasaki... Kyoto... Hiroshima... There were a seemingly infinite number of destinations for him to choose from. He sighed. What did it matter, anyway? He wasn't going to enjoy a particular place, he was just going so he could think by himself.

"Ara ara, is that who I think it is?" A voice from behind him caused him to jump, spinning around full-circle in midair. He turned again, this time to look at the source of the voice. He saw a tall, brown-haired woman, curved to no end, staring back at him, her eyes in their trademark half-closed expression of contentment.

"Mutsumi-san! Oh my, what a nice surprise! I've not seen you in ages!" He ran over towards her, meaning to give her a hug, but before he got near her, her eyes went unfocused and she dropped to the floor. "Aiii! Mutsumi!" He ran to her and dragged her over to bench, lying her down. He was used to her and her fainting spells, but they always gave him the creeps anyway. After a few moments, she opened her eyes again.

"Ara ara... I fainted again, didn't I?" Keitaro nodded. "Ah well, nothing new there, ne? What are you doing at the train station, Urashima-kun? Going on a trip with Naru again?" She smiled. Keitaro sweatdropped.

"Actually, no. Something... Something happened between Naru and I. We're no longer together." Mutsumi's eyes opened wide in surprise.

"Ara ara, that is sad news, Urashima-kun. Well, if you're not going on a trip, then why don't you come with me to Okinawa? I'm going home for the weekend to see my mother, and I'm sure she'd love to have you as a guest." Mutsumi looked at him expectantly, her hands clasped just above her ample breasts. (Well, it would be nice to have someone who's not a resident of the Hinata-sou to talk to about this...)

"Sure, Mutsumi-san. I can come for a couple of days, anyway. This was only going to be a weekend away for me.

"Oh, lovely!" Mutsumi clapped her hands, then leaned up and kissed Keitaro's cheek. He reddened slightly, but nothing compared to the nosebleeds he used to get from that. Perhaps... Perhaps Motoko had changed that part of him, as well as some of the others. "Urashima-kun, come this way. I'm going to hire a boat to take me home, and the place is just a few kilometres walk that way. Mutsumi pointed away from the train station, in an easterly direction. Keitaro nodded, rose, and the two began walking. After awhile, Keitaro said to her:

"Mutsumi-san... I need your help with something."

End chapter eleven (Ending one)

((Well, here we are. I decided to use Mutsumi somehow in this fic, but as I got Keitaro to the train station, this just seemed to come out of nowhere. I think it fits fairly well, but who can honestly criticize their own work? :P
Give me your opinion! Review, please! :D))