Keitaro rushed into the hot springs. Normally he would have been a little more careful, but it was too early, wasn't it, for somebody to be up? Much too early for anybody to want to use the hot springs. So, he simply rushed through the changing room into the hot springs, missing a crucial point.

There, in the corner, folded neatly was a set of clothing that could only belong to one person.

Motoko…

Slowly walking in the morning sunlight, a boy, about 15 from the looks of him, was thinking about the night before. He hadn't really gotten much sleep and he was tired. Not that this wasn't normal for him, but it's not like anybody noticed. He had nobody to notice.

He walked slowly; with each passing step he asked the same question.

"Should I go again tonight?"

He wasn't sure; he never really had had the necessary resolve to ask somebody for help. He had always relied on himself, and that was how he liked it…but what do you do when relying on yourself isn't enough? He wasn't sure.

Turmoil inside his mind, peaceful nature surrounding him, the troubled teen sighed.

"At least," he thought, "my problems haven't affected my surroundings yet."

He loved this path through the park. The wondrous sight of the oaks surrounding him, the wildlife that played without a care, the peaceful flowers that shined in the morning light, and best of all, the lake he had stopped at.

This beautiful lake was one of the last of its kind. The water was crystal clear and the fish that lived inside seemed to keep it that way. Free from pollutants, the lake had represented what he had always wanted. But to reach that state, he still had a long way to go.

Turning, he began to walk home feeling better than before. Feeling happier about himself. That is, until the peace was broken by a fall. A fall from the sky, a fall of such magnitude that it left a crater on the ground the approximate size of the small lake that was formed next to it.

Finally, as the dust settled, a pair of shadows was revealed to be sprawled in the center of the crater. A pair of shadows, that if you stared at them long enough, you might realize was actually two humans that had apparently run into a bit of a dilemma. And that dilemma a was…

Survival.

Twelve Minutes Earlier

Laughing, Keitaro rushed into the hot springs, unaware of the danger. He was too busy enjoying the company that Tama gave. She didn't judge him. She didn't pressure him. And most importantly, she didn't punish him. A true friend to spend time with. Also a very old friend. So old that, in fact, he couldn't even remember how long they had been friends. He had known Tama since he was very little.

Tama floated around his head as he practically skipped to the supply closet that he kept in the corner of the grounds occupied by the springs, to make them easier to clean. He entered the closet for a second only to reemerge from the room with a brush so he could begin work on the cleaning of the hot springs.

Tama plopped on his head for a second and let out a loud, "MYAH!"

"Now, now Tama" replied Keitaro, almost teasingly, "isn't it about time for your bath?"

Tama let her head bob as Keitaro gently lifted her off his head and placed her in the water. He let his eyes linger for a few seconds while she enjoyed the water, raising his gaze slightly as something caught his gaze.

"Shit," he thought.

"m-Motoko," he said, "I sw-… I mean I didn't mean to se-… I… I'm sorry!"

Motoko was the picture of evil. An aura of red surrounded him and as he watched, the aura only got larger at his protests.

"Shit," he thought again.

"Urashima…" she replied to his ramblings in a low, gravely voice. Her long ebony hair kept her face in shadow and denied him access to see her expression.

"Shit," he thought one last time as he dove for cover as Motoko reached for her sword, which years of martial arts had taught her to always keep close. The last thing on his mind was as she dove for her sword, she revealed herself fully to him. The foremost thing on his mind was instead avoiding the unavoidable pain that was to follow her reaching her sword.

"Motoko!" he cried out from a less than safe position of hiding, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to come here when you were here! I didn't know! I was only going to-"

"Enough of your lies, Urashima! You are like all other males I have met. You think only of your sick perverted desires. You came to peek at me and then you lie to me? You do not deserve to be the manager of this dormitory!"

"Whaat," he thought, "What gives her the right to assume I came to peek at her? I will admit she is not bad looking, but her attitude leaves much to be desired. In fact, I don't think I would peek on her even if I were perverted! She doesn't deserve that kind of acknowledgement! What makes her think she is worth my time?"

"Please…" he said, looking at her, examining her now visible face for any trace of mercy.

"Die Urashima," she said, her voice now dulled to a point of monotone. "You don't deserve to live."

Boulder Cutting Blade

The attack name rang out as the burst of Chi carried Keitaro up into the sky, far beyond what any normal human could continue watching without the aid of some kind of binoculars.

Immediately turning away from the sight of the man sent to his doom, Motoko slipped back into the water to finish her bath without any further interruptions.

"Why…?" The question rang in Keitaro's head as he came to a slow in his ascent and began his descent. Why?

As his velocity increased, he stopped asking why and began thinking more violent thoughts. He didn't have to put up with this! He had the right to defend his honor, RIGHT? But even as the increased velocity fueled his anger, he knew that he could never hurt anyone, above all the Hinata girls. As much as he hated it, he supposed he would always have to rely on others to stand up for him.

This troubled him deeper than he cared to admit.

Suddenly something caught his eye. Down on the ground, directly in his current trajectory, was a teenage boy.

"I'm going to hit him," thought Keitaro sadly, "and I think I'm going to kill him…"

A grimace decorated his face as he neared his target. There was nothing he could do but pray. Pray that the child would forgive him when the time came. Then the moment came.

The impact caused a rather large crater to appear in the ground. As the smoke cleared, any onlooker would have seen two shadows lingering at the bottom of the hole. Slowly one of the shadows rose and checked its surroundings. Leaning over the other shadow, the now standing black blob touched its neck to find a pulse.

Slowly withdrawing its hand, the shadow reclined at the edge of the crater and waited. Before slipping into sleep, the shadow had only one thought.

"This is one bad start for such a long day…"
Time is of the essence, I am terrible at punctuality. I write when I feel like it and not a second before. I hoped you enjoyed the second chapter, but since I only got one review on my first one, I kind of feel discouraged. I would love it if you would write in the review column, but you don't have to if you don't want to. Reviewing only makes me update faster.

Just to clear something up, in my fic, Keitaro has had Tama since he first made his promise. How he got Tama I will leave to be answered later. Finally, to all of those wondering, no I don't have any definite pairings for Keitaro yet. I could always use some help though, since this is my first Fic. Thanks!

A lesser man there never was, than the man who takes a gift, but never returns one.

-B