Love Hina

Chapter 4

Reflections of the Soul Part 1

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.

Same great story, now with half the cussing.

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.

If you like, please review, as well as let me know of any spelling errors. I will then re-upload this chapter when I do my next upload.

If you like, check out my other stories.

I find that if I let things 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.

I also plan to start sending these out to have someone else proofread them before I post them. Volunteers are welcome.

Also, it may be a while before my next update. I just lost my father Monday, and need to deal with that first. Thank you for your patience.

Now, on with the show.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Cheers!" each of the three said as they both drank straight from there individual bottles of sake. Both Keitaro and Kitsune drank a good portion from their bottles, while Naru only was able to get a few gulps of the liquid before she had to stop, the burning in her throat making her cough.

"Lightweight," said Keitaro a little laugh to his voice.

"What did you call me?!" exclaimed Naru.

Kitsune decided to chime in, hoping to prevent her friend from doing something stupid. "He meant that you were only able to drink a little, while the rest of us downed a good fifth our bottles. Hell, Keitaro is on his third, I'm about ready to finish my second; you just need to catch up. Got to give it that good ole Tokyo U try." She held her bottle up to her friend, a fox smile on her face.

They began to drink again, when Keitaro busted out laughing. "What's so funny?" asked Nara, almost wondering if he was going to laugh at her again.

"Just the situation," he said. "I mean, who would've thought that I would ever be in the same room as two beautiful women, not related to me, sharing a drink, talking about nothing in general. I mean, I am doing it now and I still find it hard to believe."

He started laughing again, soon followed by Kitsune. Naru, finally feeling the effects of the alcohol, began to laugh as well, the joke finally getting to her.

"Keitaro, sorry to bring down the mood, but I need to ask you something." Kitsune finished her bottle quickly, placing it down and grabbing two more, which she rolled one towards Keitaro. He's gonna need that after I start talking. "Why did you tell us everything, and I don't just mean about the curse? I mean the scars on your arms and what the extent of Rei's injuries was."

Keitaro looked at the both of them before quickly finishing his bottle. He sat it down, quickly opening the other. "Because you deserved to know, you needed to know."

"But isn't that stuff sorta personal." Mitsune took another swig. Look at me; I'm caring about invading someone's privacy. Man, when did I end up in the Twilight Zone?

"Not really." Keitaro said after pounding back a third of his bottle, his face becoming slightly flushed, and showing he was fast approaching his own alcohol tolerance limit. "Mom and Dad taught me to never hold anything back, never hide any detail about yourself. Why should I hide anything from anyone?"

He looked at his bottle, trying to decide if he should down the rest of it, or hold off till he finished his explanation. The later was decided to be his course of action. "My family always wanted to know if I was feeling upset, like I might snap at any moment." He looked at his left arm; five scars ran along the inside of his wrist. "Every time I did it, they always told me not to lose hope. After a while, I came to see them as a reminder of what I had been through, as well as a reminder of what I've been forced to do against my will."

He held the bottle closer to his lips. "Besides, it shows how far I'm willing to go to help a girl retain her honor."

Naru was looking at him, not really finding it surprising he was talking about this. She had heard the speech downstairs, but didn't seem bothered by the fact he had tried to kill himself. She herself had thought about it once when her father passed away. (AN: I think this was the one) "But what about the broken pelvis thing? No offense, but it almost sounded like bragging."

Kitsune started to laugh. "I've never heard a girl brag that a guy was so good, doctors had to set bones back into place."

Keitaro looked at the two, laughing a little at their comments. "Nah, I just needed you to know how far it can go. Warnings tend to discourage thrill seekers."

Kitsune started laughing again. "Hell, anyone might be like that after a day straight."

Keitaro looked at her, some sadness on his face. "It was actually about two hours at a time, followed by five minute periods where I was calm enough to try and free her."

"WHAT!?" chimed both girls, both as flushed from the alcohol as from the comment Keitaro just made.

Keitaro finished the rest of the bottle, setting it on the ground and began to wobble it around, trying to distract himself from what he was about to say. "The demon only goes for about two hours, and then rests for about five minutes. For that small window, I'm completely human, no ill will, no perverse thoughts, I can hold the hand of anyone, feel the comfort of human closeness. But after that, it all starts over again. During that day, I spent those times trying to get Rei free, followed by trying to keep her alive afterwards. I saw the discoloration, tried to keep the swelling down until my folks arrived to take her to the hospital."

"After my folks let with her, only my anger towards her friends kept me awake, kept me from slashing my wrists that night. She had managed to tell me about what they did during one of my sane moments. When they came through my window, trying to get their friend, I confronted them, telling them she was in the hospital, and if they didn't leave, I would grab each one of them and show them the same hell they put her through. To be honest, I almost did it just to teach them a lesson."

"When they left, I was so tired I just passed out. My mom found me the next morning, the knife next to my skin." Tears began to form on his face. "Any more liquor Kitsune, I think I'm starting to sober up here."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The morning went well with a few exceptions. Shinobu had gotten up early to make breakfast; an extra spring in her step, showing her emotional high from last night was still strong. She took Keitaro's breakfast to him, noting how happy he was to see her. They talked for a little while, until she had to leave to get ready for school, Keitaro said he would set something up in his room so that he could help her with her homework.

The rest of the girls were downstairs already, an impatient Haruka waiting for them. They walked as fast towards the clinic as possible, considering that Naru and Mitsune were both is bad shape, feeling the aftereffects of their late night drinking with Keitaro. The only bad thing that had happened that morning; aside from Naru and Mitsune making a trip to the bathroom to throw up was Kaolla. Nearly everyone inside the doctor's office face-faulted when she said her now infamous line: "What are birth control pills; are they yummy?"

I should have known she would say something like that, she says that after she hears any new word. But it was funny, especially the looks from the doctors.

After the doctor's appointment, the girls quickly left for their respective schools, while Haruka had to escort a queasy Naru and Mitsune back to the dorms, noticing Keitaro had posted a sign saying he was currently cleaning the springs, warning people to enter at their own peril.

Haruka smiled at the sign. At least he is trying to use a sense of humor. She decided she would talk to him once she got back from the drug store with the new 'supplies' the doctor had prescribed for them. Now I just have to explain what they are supposed to do with them. She had to laugh at that comment, an unusual site for anyone, except for Keitaro.

"I take it the pills are in the bags?"

Haruka looked up quickly to see her nephew, dressed in his cleaning garb, his face slightly sweaty from spending a hard few hours cleaning the hot spring. "Yep, hardly any trouble, though I'll just have to do it again for Kanako and Mutsumi tomorrow."

Keitaro looked down at the ground, unsure if he should ask the question on his mind. "Do you know what grandma meant about my 'two promised girls'? I mean, I know I promised one that we would get into Tokyo U together, but I have no idea about a second one, let alone who she might be."

"Well, it appears Hina knows more than she is willing to let on, but she says Mutsumi is one of them, so hopefully she'll know what the old bat is prattling on about." She took out a cigarette, lighting it. "By the way, should we be expecting that Rei girl anytime soon?"

Keitaro's face paled.

I knew he would try and call her. Hina must have pushed the right buttons to make him risk what little sanity he has on calling that girl. "I'll take that as a yes. Are you sure it was wise to call her?"

"Yeah," Keitaro said. "I needed to settle things with her. Besides, if the old hag is going to throw me in with strangers, it's best to have someone around who will make certain they stay on their toes. Besides, it's not like you can be here 24/7. You have your own life to lead, and I don't want to deprive you of that."

Haruka just stared at him for a moment. "You just figured she'd come here anyway, so you might as well invite her and get it over with."

Keitaro smiled a little, his hand rubbing the back of his head. "A little like that I suppose. But the truth is I was hoping to get my friend back."

Haruka looked away before getting up. "I better be getting back to the tea shop. Just be careful Keitaro, she had a big crush on you before this all happened, who knows what all that time did to it. Just try not to hurt her."

As Haruka left, she never noticed Keitaro staring at the window, a slight frown on his face. I know. She's been hurt too much by me already.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rei hid in the bushes, seeing Keitaro's aunt come out of the house. I can't let her see me, she might not even know I was coming, let alone that Keitaro invited me.

As soon as Haruka was down the stairs, Rei came out, looking at the large house. It is a beautiful place. But I guess even a prison doesn't need bars if the punishment is enough. I just wish I could help Kei more than I can.

She knocked on the door, but after waiting for several minutes, tried it and found it unlocked. "Hello, anyone here?"

"Hey Rei."

She turned towards the hallway, seeing Keitaro standing there with two trays of food. Her initial impulse to rush towards him and hold him was quickly silenced after the first step. "Long time no see. Is the food for me?"

"Nope, I got two sick residents who thought they could hold more liquor than me. Yours is in the dining room, I'll be back down after I check on the patients. Relax."

She watched him head upstairs, noticing how his eyes were. He is still sad. I know he looked happy to see me, but his eyes say he is still sad. She went to the dining room and sat down at the farthest side of the table, noticing another meal across from her. Oh well, I hope I can get him back to the way he used to be.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Come...in."

Keitaro slowly entered Naru's room, first making certain she was in her bed on the other side. He was glad to see her window open, hoping that it would help keep the smell from her trashcan; its new contents added this morning as well as a few minutes before Keitaro had entered, from filling the whole floor with the smell of vomit. "I thought you might need a soft meal for your stomach." He set a tray down on her dresser, hoping she was in a good enough shape to make it over and get it after he left.

"Why are you so cheerful this morning, you should be puking up your guts just like me and Kitsune." It was true as far as she was concerned. She hadn't nearly drunk as much as those two had, she barely managed to finish off one bottle, let alone get through a quarter of the next one before Kitsune had to help her out of the room. It was rare for Kitsune to wake up with a hangover that strong. But here was Keitaro, looking like he hadn't even touched a drop of alcohol last night.

He laughed a little. "I showed you last night, remember?"

She shook her head slightly, indicating she had no idea what he was talking about; immediately regretting it as a wave of dizziness smacked her in the head.

He smiled. "Let me remind you. You said you must have had too much to drink because it looked like I was inside a red sphere. I told you, it was because I can make the zone visible if I had enough liquor, but doing so burns off some of the liquor."

She looked at him, her face a little more angry. "What the hell does alcohol have to do with making your zone visible!?"

"Like I can explain why it does what it does. All I know is that if I start doing it, it burns the alcohol out of my system; the longer the field is visible, the quicker I become sober. Unless of course you would like another drinking contest tonight for a demonstration."

She was about to retort, when she placed her hand over her mouth, trying to keep herself from puking again. When she finally had her stomach under control, she saw that Keitaro was gone. Damn him. I swear the pervert is doing this to mess with me. Making his field visible, like I would have forgotten something like that. He probably waited till Kitsune and I left and then threw up everything.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"She didn't believe it, huh?" Mitsune was in her bed, the covers about the only thing covering her. She looked out towards her door to see Keitaro sitting there, a tray before him.

"Nope, she thought I was lying to her."

Mitsune smiled a little. "Just like Naru, learn something interesting, but too drunk to keep it in her had for very long."

Keitaro just stared down, shaking his head. "Besides, if I was the perverted type, I'd be wondering why you're not covering yourself up."

Mitsune looked down at herself, realizing how much she was truly showing the new landlord. "Hey, the view isn't free, pay up." She extended her hand out, reverting her face to her characteristic fox smirk.

Keitaro laughed a little. "OK, I'll take a few hundred yen off your rent, but don't make this a habit. I am but a simple man after all."

"Only a few hundred?" She looked down, placing a frown on her face.

"Fine, if you can keep yourself clothed for the rest of the month, half off."

"Deal," she said, bringing the sheets back up to cover herself. If you can't play off perversion, play off modesty.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I didn't know my cooking was that bad?" He had come back downstairs to find Rei playing with her food, her light blue hair covering her eyes.

She looked up at him, her brown eyes wide. "Nope, I was just waiting for my friend for ten minutes to deliver food to two sick ladies."

Keitaro cringed a little. Damn, I didn't know I took that long, let alone she would wait for me before eating. "Sorry, had to chat with them. You'd think they'd never had a hangover before."

She smiled a little, motioning for him to sit down and join her. Guess it's time to get my old friend back. And who knows, if he can get cured, maybe I can get my old crush back as well.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.