Chapter 5

Trials of the Soul Part 2

Disclaimer: I don't own this series or any other series. I am just floating an idea. I am making no money, nor plan to, off this venture. If you think of suing me over this, then grow up.

I would like to first personally thank all of those reviewing my stories. I enjoy reading your comments, and try to correct the grammatical errors I miss with my final read-through as well as my spell checkers. The suggestions you all make will help make this story better for everyone to enjoy, as well as allow my to fix some plot holes I may unintentionally leave.

The ideas I placed at the end of the last chapter were not things I was thinking of adding to this one, they were ideas for separate stories. I find that if I let thinks sit for a while in my head; I can play them out farther. Plus by trying and keeping my chapters between 2500 and 3000 words, it helps keep me from making the story slide out of control, turning a diamond to a pile of shit.

Special note: Please read the bottom letter. I am trying to gauge a response on if I should expand my workload.

Words done in bold like this are the spoken words of the Hina sword. For the moment, I will not give it the ability for inner monologue.

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The once quiet sounds in the forests outside of Hinata were gone; now replaced with the sounds of Urashima Keitaro, performing the sword attacks that the sword itself had taught him. Despite how much ki was demanded by each attack, he continued to press on.

"I am stronger than I was before." Keitaro landed from a high jump, slashing a boulder in half.

"I am faster than I was before." He then made several sharp cuts with his sword, causing a dead tree to turn into nothing more than kindling.

"I am more balanced than I was before." He followed up the attack on the tree by performing several mid-air flips.

But she still will defeat you.

Keitaro stood for a moment, screaming into the winds. No matter how much he had improved his speed, no matter how much stronger he got, the sword always said that Tsuruko would still defeat him. At first, he thought it was the swords idea of encouragement. But now, it seemed as if the sword was mocking him. And to be honest, he was tired of it. "Then show me how she could beat me."

As you wish.

Keitaro's eyes blurred for a moment, making him think that he must be severely exhausted. But when they refocused, he saw Tsuruko standing before him, sword drawn.

"I'll get you this time!"

He raced towards her, swearing that he could see her smile. As he leapt into the air, he heard her call out her attack, "Evil Cutting Attack!"

Keitaro watched as the ki wave hit him, the image of Tsuruko gone before he even touched the ground. "What the hell was that? Where'd she go?"

She was never here, it was an illusion created by me to prove my point.

He was tired of riddles now. "Explain, now!"

You may have improved greatly these last few hours, tapping into strengths you never knew you had. But the fuel for your attacks will be your undoing. The Evil Cutting Attack does not work on demons only; it can work on humans as well. If the human has an impure soul, if they fight for a dark purpose, then the Evil Cutting Wave can be just as deadly to them as any weapon, more so because you do not suffer. You would merely have your spirit entombed inside of me, once again returning the imbalance that made me a weapon of destruction. Is that what you want?

Keitaro collapsed to the ground, tears welling up from his eyes. "No, I don't want that. I just want everything back to the way it was. I want everyone to be happy. I want everyone to be as they were."

Then that must be your fuel; that must be what you are fighting for. Instead, you have been fighting for revenge against Tsuruko, for what she did, for defeating her sister twice and forcing a marriage between you two; for making all of the girls of Hinatasou cry.

You and only you can decide what will fuel your attacks. Only you can decide whether you will fight with honor, or fight as nothing more than a thug, scared someone stronger will come along and knock you down. Once you start down that path, there will be no turning back. What is your decision?

Keitaro stood up, the tears no longer falling from his eyes. He held the sword in front of him, but closed his eyes. In his mind, he could see them all. Motoko, Naru, Shinobu, Mitsune, Mutsumi, Kaolla, all of you have given me the strength to go on before. I ask for your help once again. Help me become better, so that I can help return you to happier times, so that I can return you all to the smiles I have grown to love, so that I can protect the people that I love the most in this world; help me protect my family!

Keitaro opened his eyes, staring in amazement as the sword began to glow a brighter white than ever before. Common sense told him to shield his eyes, protect them from this light. But the light didn't hurt to look at, it made him feel stronger, like he could take on the world and win.

This is your true power Keitaro; this is the true strength you have always had, given form by me. With this strength, nothing can stand in your way; you cannot be defeated now by anyone other than yourself.

Now, go and get something to eat. Even we gods of war need a meal for lunch.

Keitaro laughed, and then slid the sword into its sheath on his back. Gathering his supplies, he headed back for town, to treat himself to a ramen lunch. If he was lucky, that vending cart he saw earlier was still around.

Then, I come back here to learn to control my true power.

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Keitaro sat by the noodle cart, his sword beside him. He downed the noodles slowly, enjoying the mixture of flavors he had ordered with it. I'll have to remember to ask Shinobu about making this blend. This is the best I've had.

They all care for you deeply you know. Each of them loves you.

"And how would you know that?" Keitaro looked around quickly; to make certain no one had seen him talking to himself. Now was not the time to have people thinking that the strange man with glasses and dirty clothes was talking to a sword. The last thing he needed was to be placed in a padded room.

Do not worry, only you can hear me. And I can hear your thoughts, so do not worry about speaking.

To answer your question, for a time, you possessed me without a block to impede me. I read your mind, observed your memories, even the ones you cannot recall. I have seen how each of them looks at you. That is how I know that each of them loves you deeply. You should be grateful for this, for it is a source of great power.

But I failed them.

You did no such thing. None of you were to blame for the situation that befell you. If you allow your self-hatred to continue, then it will hamper your abilities as well. Concentrate on fighting for them, and everything else will fall in place.

While Keitaro was contemplating this, he failed to notice three guys grab his sword and unsheathe it. "Well, well, well. Look what we have here, another samurai wannabe. Nice sword."

Are you hungry? Keitaro looked towards the tall punk who had grabbed his sword, a mean thought crossing his eyes.

Yes.

Take their energy. Do not kill them and do not take their memories. But teach them a lesson.

The swords aura flared out, engulfing the three guys. The tried to shriek in horror, but were paralyzed.

"Just so you idiots know; you shouldn't touch things that don't belong to you."

The three men fell to the ground. Keitaro merely walked over, retrieved his sword, and left; paying the ramen vendor a special thanks for the delicious meal. With that, he left towards the woods again. Was that wrong of me to do that?

No, you used me to defeat an evil menace. Besides, they'll live.

At that thought, Keitaro continued; a small smile plastered across his face.

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Motoko had finally finished placing the books on the shelves in the order she desired. It still looks odd, books for the entrance exams to Tokyo U next to books on meditation, martial arts, demonology, and the others I had collected in my life of training. But at least I am comfortable with this arrangement.

She looked around; she was alone in Keitaro's room; her room; their room. Su had wondered off, probably to build a new weapon to test on Keitaro. Naru had left about half an hour back, either to cry again; as she had done every few minutes since they entered this room, or perhaps to help Shinobu to make lunch.

That just left her, in her room, to finish placing things where she thought they fit, where they belong, where they would bring the most order to her life.

But somehow everything still felt wrong. At first she thought it was because she could not find the sword her sister had given to her, as well as broken during her dual with her here. But it may be back at Kyoto.

No. She knew the reason she was upset, why everything felt wrong; it was because despite being banished from the path of the sword everything in her new room reminded her of it. It all screamed out to her of the reinforcement she had done to herself, to make certain she never wondered from the path. It was all her own doing, and part of the reason why she had always been edgy around Keitaro. He had always been able to see past the façade she had always placed in front of the others, he had been able to see her for what she truly was. And no matter how many times she attacked him for things she thought was his own perverted doing, he never lost faith in her, never lost his friendship with her, never stopped caring for her.

She moved to the futon, still out from what was supposed to be its first night use by the couple. She pulled her legs up to her chest and looked around. He knew I needed this stuff to make me happy. He told me not to change, to be like I always was. But seeing this stuff hurts. It makes me realize how empty my life was, how many things I had let slip past me, how many things I refused to take part in because 'it was not the path of the warrior to do such things'.

Now look at me. The first time it was taken away from me, I overdid everything, trying to use the same discipline of the warrior to make myself useful in the home. I was so afraid, I even tried to kill myself, and probably would have done so again had Keitaro not told me that he wanted me to live. But now what do I have?

I have great friends, who will support me no matter what I do.

I have a great place to live, where I look forward to waking up everyday.

I have a great...great husband, who will care for me and would gladly do anything I asked of him to make me happy.

And I have yet to tell him how much he means to me. We have been married for little more than a day, and he has done nothing to tread on me, to make me his willing slave. He as much as told me he wanted me to be the way I always was. He proved how much he respected me by holding me after the fight, by trying to talk my sister into returning myself to the school, by holding me on the train, by holding me all night, to prove to me that I would never be alone, never be forgotten, never be a burden to him.

And yet his letters to us; they seem to show a sadness still in him. He still blames himself for the fight, for convincing me to fight again. He still blames himself for my defeat. But he told me he didn't comfort me because he felt guilty, but because he still cared deeply for me, for all of us.

She released her legs, letting them once again touch the ground. But I cannot wallow in self pity. My dear husband will return in a few hours, and I must have this place ready for him; for us.

With that thought, she went towards the closet, to finish placing her clothes in there.

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Shinobu had been about to tell Motoko lunch was ready when she spotted her on the futon, her legs pulled into herself, a look of sadness on her face. Shinobu had recognized that look, it was the same one she had had last night, upon hearing that sempai was married. She had felt betrayed and heartbroken. Though she had long known that she had no chance with him as Naru held his heart, she had never really accepted that he would get married, let alone to Motoko. In her mind, she had always imagined him waiting until she was old enough, beautiful enough to grab his attention.

But that was a childish dream. She looked at Motoko and fought to keep her own tears from falling out. I always knew I had no chance with sempai; it is just hard to accept he was gone so soon, married to someone nobody expected to win his hand.

But this isn't what sempai wanted. He told me last night that if I ever needed him, he would always be there for me, even if he was married now. He wanted me to do my best to cheer up Motoko-sempai. And I will not fail him.

She knocked on the door, noticing that while Motoko was now putting clothes away in the closet, she had a small smile on her face. "Motoko-sempai, lunch is ready."

"Thank you Shinobu." The new wife walked out of the room, closing the door, and followed Shinobu down the hallway to the stairs.

"Shinobu, I know it might be rude of me to ask, but can I assist you in the preparations of dinner tonight?"

Shinobu smiled, glad that she had been given a way to help two people she cared for. "Of course sempai, I would be honored for if you would help."

With that, the two held hands and walked towards the meal. For a brief moment, a small light of hope shined on Hinatasou.

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AN: I was thinking of adding another Love Hina story to my workload, to give me a little more time to work out these character paths, as well as how I want the stories to evolve. So far the only ideas that I have come up with that I can actually see playing out are these:

After all the hits delivered against him by the residents of Hinatasou, it is a fall down the stairs that sends our beloved manager to the hospital. But as Keitaro lies there, at death's door, how will the girls react to the thoughts that their Immortal Keitaro may die. This will be a little darker than what I am doing now.

This one is set after Su's first transformation in the anime series. Amalla managed to get away with Keitaro, instead of confronting the Hina girls. But how far will she go to keep Keitaro for herself. This will hopefully stay in line with the craziness expected for the anime series. (So far this one is in the lead.)

Let me know which you like better after you review the chapter.

If I messed anything up, then let me know including typos.

Any suggestions on how I should continue the story or improve it would also be accepted.