A/N: Thanks for all the reviews/support so far guys, it means a lot. Couple of points to address, this is not a self-insert fic. I don't know why people assume that as soon as you introduce a new character they must be the author in disguise but let me make it very clear, THIS IS NOT A SELF-INSERT, you feeling me people? Spiffy

Cheshirecat5: read, also you don't consider reckless impulsiveness a character flaw? Koichi's backstory will come up soon, so that'll deal with his insecurities etc, k

(Final note, only Kitsune and Motoko have any interest in him)

Chapter three: Dates and Secrets: Part I

Motoko sat on the roof of Hinata house in her training Gi, sword forgotten at her side, just watching the sunset.

Beautiful, she thought, tipping her head in appreciation.

"You're…beautiful" Those words had been echoing around her head for nearly a week now. They were the words she heard when she went to sleep, and those that tickled her memory and warmed her heart every time she talked to the Hinata Sou's latest addition. Motoko was no longer the naïve young woman she had been when she first moved here. She recognised the feeling stirring in her breast even if they came as somewhat of a shock to her. The only man she had ever been interested in was Keitaro so she knew she was no expert, but still… Surely it meant something when you dreamed of sea grey eyes three nights in a row…right? Motoko shook her head. Who would have thought it, Motoko Aoyama sitting, gazing at the sunset, her mind full of thoughts of a young man. She chuckled. If someone had even joked about it before, she would have cut them down where they stood. Standing, she retrieved her sword from its sheave and dropped lightly onto the deck of the laundry area to resume her practice, each swing slowly emptying her mind, bringing her closer to the inner peace preached by the Gods Cry School. As her smooth swipes banished distraction, she was left with only one image. Happy sea grey eyes.

Koichi was stunned. Never in his life had he ever seen anything so plainly outrageous, so impossible, and he had seen some strange things in his life, and lived under the same roof as Kaolla Su.

"Please tell me you can see this too", he choked out. Keitaro looked up from where he was scrubbing the stony surface of the Hot Spring, his gaze following Koichi's line of sight, trying to figure out what had so startled the younger man.

"See what?", he asked confused.

"That", Koichi said, pointing at the turtle hovering not a meter from his face.

"That's just Tama-chan", Keitaro said as if stating the obvious, "She's our mascot as it were. My friend Mutsumi gave her to us, she used to be hers".

"She's flying", Koichi stated, feeling dumb just having said it.

"Yeah, she does that", Keitaro replied, his mind and attention already back on his work.

"Yeah, she does that", Koichi mentally mimicked, And that's not the least bit odd to you? He looked back up, just to assure himself he hadn't gone mad and started hallucinating, but no matter how many times he looked away and looked back, the turtle was still there, and still hovering. "Myuh", the turtle greeted him good naturedly, cocking its head to the side and raising a flipper.

"Uh… yeah, hey", he said waving back slowly. Motoko would freak if she could see this, he thought, chuckling slightly at the mental image. Motoko had been deathly afraid of turtles for as long as he could remember.

"Hey there, less daydreaming, more working", Keitaro snapped him out of his memories, smiling at the irony of that statement. The number of times Naru or one of the other girls had said something similar…

"Oops, gomen", Koichi said, turning his focus back to the stiff bristled brush he was holding, forgotten in one hand, and resuming his own scrubbing.

"Sempai?", a quiet voice called from the entrance to the baths.

"Over here Shinobu-chan", Keitaro called without looking up, waving his hand to help her locate him. The blue haired girl smiled as she found him, her light yellow dress swaying as she jogged over to them, the ice inside the glasses she carried tinkling with each movement.

"I know it's growing dark, but it's still hot, I thought you two might want something cool to drink", she said, offering the glasses of iced water out for the two men. Both accepted gratefully.

"Thanks Shinobu-chan, I needed that", Keitaro said, downing all but the ice-cubes in a few seconds.

"Ditto, thanks a lot cutie", Koichi said handing the blushing girl back his and Keitaro's glasses.

"It's ok", she said looking at her feet, "I have to go get started on diner sempai"

"Ok", Keitaro replied, "we'll be done in time, I promise" Shinobu nodded once and went back inside, stopping at the entrance briefly to cast one last glance back at Keitaro before heading in. Koichi chuckled to himself as he watched this. "What? What's funny?", Keitaro asked, cocking his head to the side to look at his assistant.

"Nothing much,", Koichi grinned, "But that young girl has a huge crush on you". Keitaro put too much pressure on his hand held brush and it slid rapidly along the slick rock, dumping him square on his face. "Wha- Why would you say something like that?" he asked, checking his nose to make sure it's not broke.

"Oh come on, I've seen the way she acts around you, always lowering her gaze and blushing all the time, only looking directly at you when she thinks you're not looking"

"Oh that", Keitaro said dismissively, "Shinobu's just very shy, she's like that with everyone". Koichi sweat-dropped as the manager resumed his work, surely this guy couldn't be that dense. The younger man shrugged and resumed his work. After a few minutes something about that conversation with Shinobu began to bug him.

"Urashima-san", he said slowly, "Did Shinobu say that she was fixing diner again?"

"Uh-huh" "But hasn't she done that every night I've been here? All the chores are rotational right? So why is it she's doing all the cooking?"

"Because out of all of us she's the only one who likes to cook, and more importantly, is the only one that really can. Although never tell Motoko and Naru I said that, I like life to much", the former Ronin said, scratching the back of his head nervously, "Besides which, would you eat something Su made?". Despite having never eaten any of Kaolla's cooking, Koichi still found himself shuddering uncontrollably at the thought. "Exactly", Keitaro said with a knowing smile, "And as for Kitsune…well, actually, come to think of it I've never tasted anything she made, but I don't think she'd handle all that work to well. But Shinobu likes what she does, it's the one area where she can share her creative talent with the rest of us…"

"Have ever told her that?", Koichi asked

"Yeah, why?"

"Nothing", the other boy said with a rueful shake of the head. You give her compliments like that it's no wonder she has a crush on you, he thought resuming his work again.

Koichi sighed as he finished yet another amazing meal courtesy of Chef Maehara, making sure he didn't have anything stuck to his face. Conversation around the table was lively and upbeat, a welcome change to his early experiences at this very table. It had been a week since he had arrived here and things had improved greatly. Motoko was no longer avoiding him, in fact they had had several pleasant chats about everything from minor events like Su's latest experiment gone wrong, to how she was fairing with her life as a Tokyo U student. Koichi kept hoping that every time they talked she'd bring up the topic of their promise, but she hadn't so far. Maybe she was just looking for the perfect moment, that was all he could hope for, he had decided that he'd give it time before trying to bring it up himself.

Naru had lowered her hostility levels tremendously as soon as Motoko accepted him, taking her friend's change of attitude as an unspoken 'ok' on his status within the household, her relaxed posture seeming to lower Keitaro's nervousness as well.

Those two are almost perfectly in sync with each other, Koichi thought a little enviously. May one day he could experience that himself.

Su was the same as ever, though thankfully he had managed to persuade her to leave her weapons behind when she wanted to play, something she had pouted about but ultimately excepted when he proved an excellent playmate, tough, durable, sneaky and with plenty of stamina. The others would get exhausted just watching them. Unfortunately Su's definition of a toy and a weapon differed from most peoples, the number of times he had been shocked by her version of a taser being the proof. She's also scared the hell out of him a few nights ago when, in the middle of the night, she had climbed into bed with him and attempted to break him in two with what he later learned was supposed to be a hug. No one had told him about Su's dislike of sleeping alone, and her tendency to wonder in search of a sleeping buddy, an honour usually reserved for Motoko that he had somehow 'won'.

Despite that minor trauma, things were going swimmingly… all with the minor exception of Kitsune. Ever since returning from Tokyo she had been avoiding him, and the grey-eyed boy was beginning to think he had done something to really upset her in someway. At first he had thought it just coincidence when he didn't see her for a few days. That had rapidly turned to worry and concern when she continued to avoid him, even going so far as to walk the other way when she saw him in the hallway.

Stealing a glance at her now, the slit-eyed woman seemed fine, she was teasing Naru about her lesser, ahem, development, even going so far as to try and make Keitaro judge between them. However throughout the entire meal she had not so much as looked at him the whole time.

Maybe I went to far in Tokyo, he thought ruefully. He had been acting on impulse again, and once more it had backfired. Hecould almost hear his Sister's resigned "Oh Oni-chan", and see her shaking her head at her elder and supposedly more mature brother's antics.

He made a decision to talk to her next time he had the chance, preferably away from a crowd; he didn't want bravado taking control again.

Picking up his dishes and handing them to Shinobu with the customary compliments, he headed toward his room. He needed to plan out his day tomorrow. It was a Sunday, so he should have plenty of time to talk to her, right?

Motoko finished her meal as Koichi left the table, a thoughtful expression on his face.

She had decided that she wanted to find out if what she was feeling right now really was like the feelings that had started her infatuation with Urashima, and to do that she needed to spend some more time around the cause of these sensations, namely one Koichi Sagura.

This meant Motoko had to do something utterly galling to her, she had to ask a man to spent time with her of her own free will, and she had no idea how to begin.

It didn't help that part of her wondered if this was the same as asking for a date, a prospect that almost rooted her to the spot.

Oh well, she thought as she watched him leave, shoring up her warriors courage, No time like the present.

Standing as smoothly as her suddenly shaky legs would allow, Motoko left the table and walked, while trying to seem hurried, out of the dining area.

As luck would have it, Koichi was sitting in the living area, idly flicking through the TV stations, trying to find something to hold his interest with little success.

He hadn't appeared to notice her entrance, and a large part of her was in favour of fleeing while she still had chance and asking later, but her pride wouldn't allow it. Thus she stood opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water and looking an utter fool.

"Can I help you Motoko?" he asked without looking round, startling her. How had he known she was here? She was sure she had made no noise a normal person should have been able to pick up on.

Wait, she thought, He knew I was here and left me standing in the corner until his own convenience!

Had he looked around and seen her indecision also there would have been nothing that could have saved him, Motoko had come down straight from her training, and so still had her katana with her.

Suppressing her anger, Motoko strode confidently around to face him. Trying not to blush when he looked at her inquisitively and smiled.

"What's up?", he asked

Motoko felt her resolve draining.

"I… that is you see… I…oh how do other women do this…", she muttered, disgusted by her own sudden cowardice.

"You ok Motoko", he said, concern in his voice as he stood and walked over to her.

This close Motoko could have reached out and touched him if she wanted. You're not making this any easier, she thought angrily at him and cursing her suddenly unresponsive body and vocal cords.

"I…ahem, I was just wondering if you were free tomorrow… so you could maybe spend some time with me…just the two of us"

"You mean like a date?", he said looking a little taken aback.

"No!", she said louder and faster than she intended and struggling to recover, "I like to train early on a Sunday morning, while the others are sleeping, it's very peaceful, and I thought you could keep me company…if you wanted to that is".

Oh god, I sounded like a complete airhead, Motoko thought grimly.

"Sure"

"What?"

"I said sure, I'd love to", he repeated with another lopsided smile.

"Oh…good, then I'll come by tomorrow morning then", she said turning away to hide the goofy grin that was making a break for her face.

"Yeah, later Motoko"

"Goodnight", she answered, walking at a somewhat stiff legged gait up the stairs toward her room.

As soon as she was out of sight, Koichi let out a little whoop and punched the air, doing a little victory dance, unaware he was being watched.
Motoko crashed on her futon, mentally exhausted already. She had just done it, she'd asked a boy out for the first time in her life…er, sort of anyway.

Motoko did something that she would be mortifyingly ashamed of when she awoke. She giggled like a schoolgirl.

Later that night, Kitsune lay face down in her pillow, mentally kicking herself.

She had been avoiding Koichi for the past week or so for the most galling reason. She had actually found herself, her, Mitsune Konno, blushing at the mere sight of him.

All it would take was one glance, the memory of his kiss would rear its head and her face lit up like a Christmas tree. So far she had managed to hide it from him, but she suspected he now thought she was avoiding him, which in a sense she was, but not for the reasons he probably believed.

To make matters worse he was three years her junior. There was only one man who had ever effected her this badly, but in his case it was understandable, but Koichi was just a boy…right.

Her mind laughed at her feeble defences, playing the memory of the kiss on a continuous loop in her head.

The fox girl groaned into her pillow, willing sleep, and hopefully a temporary reprieve to come, resolving that she'd do something about this in the morning.

Eventually sleep came, if not the release she had been hoping for.

"So…it's a promise?"

"Yes Koi-kun, I promise", the raven haired young girl said, blushing prettily and tugging at her robes self consciously, "I'll never forget you".

But you did…

A young boy with sea grey eyes watches sadly as the car he is seated in pulls away from the temple grounds, his eyes never leaving where a beautiful woman stands with her hand placed protectively on the shoulder of her younger sister and charge.

Slowly they fade from sight, and the world with them.

"I'll never forget you"

Forget…

Motoko…

"Koichi?", a feminine voice intrudes on his dreams, and a slender hand gently rocked his shoulder.

"Oh god, please Su, be gentle", he whimpered, still half asleep.

"Su? What would she be doing in your room?", the voice asked, this time with an undercurrent of suspicion.

Koichi prised open sleep clogged eyes and eventually forced them into focus, bringing into view a raven-haired beauty with a slight frown marring her porcelain face.

"Huh, Motoko, what are you doing here?", he said around a yawn, his brain reluctantly making the transition from asleep to awake.

"Not so quick witted in the morning are you?", she asked with somewhat of a smirk.

"I'll answer that when I'm awake", he grumbled, massaging his temples with the balls of his fingers to chase off the last vestiges of sleep.

Forget…

Koichi felt his eyes water, could she really not remember?

"Are you ok", Motoko said, almost gasping as he turned a look of absolute destitute on her, his eyes radiating sadness for a split seconded before they seemed to shutdown, his usual smile returning.

"Yeah, just need to get my bearings so to speak… a shirt would probably help too", he said throwing back the covers and padding over to his closet, not noticing Motoko's sudden discomfort as he pulled on a simple black t-shirt and ran his fingers through his hair.

As he went to close the closet, he spotted his sword lying in a corner, dust already accumulating on it.

Maybe I shouldn't have bothered bringing you, he thought, his melancholy returning for a spilt second, The Sword of Two Souls…

Plastering on a carefree grin, Koichi closed the closet and turned to face his guest, "So, where too?".

"I usually start off on the laundry annex and go from there if and as necessary", she answered, shrugging off his earlier mood as a by-product of drowsiness.

"Lead the way"

When they reached their destination, Motoko began a series of stretches and other ritual exercises, while Koichi leaned on the railing, taking in the morning view.

Wanting to breech a silence that already seemed awkward to Motoko, she search for something to say, her mind bringing up something she was curious about.

"Do you practice Kendo, Koichi?", she said, limbering up her calf muscles with a series of stretches.

"Not really", he answered, the curtness of his reply making it clear he was trying to avoid the subject.

"But you carry a blade, surely that's not just some pretentious attempt to promote your image".

Koichi chuckled a little at that, "No. Ok, lets just say I dabble and leave it at that… how about you, how long have you been training".

"Most of my life", she stopped her exercises, frowning at his evasion, "Ever since I was a young girl, living with my elder sister".

"You don't say", he replied, the same sadness she had noticed earlier clear in his voice even if she couldn't see his face.

"I'm considered a Blademaster by some… perhaps if you have an interest I could teach you, you could even use the sword you brought with you", she offered.

"Thank you for the offer, I may just take you up on that one day", he said, still facing away from her, "but I won't be using that sword".

"Why?", she asked stepping over to stand next to him.

"…It's a very special blade", he whispered, as if talking to himself, his long bangs hiding his face from her, "Father says I'm to give it to the woman I intend to be my bride…"

Motoko couldn't think of a reply to that, she had heard of some of the more traditional members of her family giving blades as bridal gifts, but hadn't thought that tradition existed outside of the Clans.

Once more she looked him over with her second sight, the results just the same as last time, he was untrained.

"…Then perhaps, with just practice swords, I would not wish any harm to come to such a valuable blade"

"Yeah", he said, his voice tinged with bitterness, "me neither".

They were both silent again for a while, just watching the cherry blossoms float lazily by.

"So, you said you come here to train", Koichi prompted, his smile back in place as he looked up at her.

Motoko wasn't fooled by his fake front, but didn't know what to do about it, so she nodded and took her usual place in the centre of the deck, taking her blade from its scabbard and assuming a basic guard stance, katana held near the hip, the blade pointing up and away from her body at forty-five degrees.

She preformed a series of basic cuts to limber up, and re-accustom herself to the blade. Any expert knew that one's sword was never the same, each time it was drawn it lost a fraction of a gram in steel, changing the weight in ways anyone but a true master would believe insignificant.

This was true even of the Hina, the possessed blade passed down through the Urashima family and entrusted to her by its heir, Keitaro Urashima. The Ominous Blade carried other risks to the unwary, as the spirit sealed within it would attempt to subdue the will of its wielder if they weren't careful.

Koichi walked around her as she lost herself in her routine, leaping and ducking, pivoting with the grace of a dancer a she fought off imaginary foes, swing the Hina like an extension of her own body.

Koichi sat himself down comfortably on the roof to watch as she ran down her mental list.

Motoko believed he was suitably impressed by her prowess and decided to take her display up to another level.

Focusing her Ki along the sword's edge as she lashed out, Motoko intoned the Gods Cry School's name for her technique as a mental focus to release the accumulated power, "Boulder cutting blade!".

A wave of Ki ripped forth, flying from the deck and reducing the cherry blossoms in it's path to ribbons, sending those caught in it's wake into spiralling confusion. Motoko watched, satisfied as the attack dissipated, the expended Ki returning to the ether.

"Now that was cool", Koichi complimented from where he lounged, "Where'd you learn to do that?".

"My Sister showed me", Motoko replied, smiling at the happy memories of the simpler times when it was just her and onee-sama.

If you remember, then why don't you remember me, Koichi thought unhappily.

"So what now?"

"I usually just practice basic forms for a while, a form of active meditation in a sense"

True to her word, Motoko resumed her basic stance and began a simple overhand swipe, stepping into the movement and then stepping back upon completion. She rapidly began to loose track of what was going on around her as she got into the repetitive motion.

"A swing and a miss", a voice called, startling her, and causing the leaf she had been aiming to bisect to drift by unharmed.

Motoko looked round angrily at Koichi, who was pointing over his shoulder with an innocent expression on his face, as if the culprit had just ducked out of sight behind the roof of the Hinata house.

"Baka", Motoko muttered at him, ignoring his grin, and resuming her practice, wondering why she had even bothered to invite this fool up here.

She had just found her rhythm when he called out again.

"Nice form", she blushed slightly at the compliment, "Ass isn't bad either"

Motoko stumbled, spinning in disbelief.

Koichi was looking at the pinnacle of the roof behind him, as if what had been a rather cute joke at first would excuse him from uttering such a vulgar and perverted statement.

He turned around, fear in his eyes as she began to advance.

"Whoa, easy there, it wasn't me!", he said holding his hands up in self-defence, "Motoko, I mean it, I would never-"

"Hentai!", she raged, funnelling her anger down the blade as she swung in his direction, "Rock Splitting Sword!"

"Kyahhhhhh!"

Kitsune was lying in the Hot Springs with Naru, both of them enjoying an early morning dip while the rest of the household presumably slept.

Naru sighed as the warm water seemed to wash away all the subtle aches and pains she hadn't even realised she had, enjoying the quiet.

Wait a minute, quiet? With Kitsune?

Naru opened her eyes to ensure that the fox girl was still in the pool. Kitsune was seated a little way off, her eyes holding a somewhat glazed expression, as if she were staring off into another world.

"Hello? Earth to Kitsune, are you in there?", she teased.

"Hmmmm? Oh, sorry, I didn't catch that last part Naru", the fox girl replied scratching her head.

"That's because I didn't say anything", Naru said, some concern working its way onto her face, Kitsune was unusually out of it today.

"…Yeah, I knew that", her friend replied sheepishly.

"Mitsune, what's wrong?", Naru asked, reverting to her friends given name to show she was worried.

Kitsune grimaced a little before answering; she'd always hated her real name.

"I'm just a little distracted I guess"

"Want to talk about what's bothering you?"

"…I guess…Naru, you know how awkward you felt when you first started to realise how you felt about Keitaro right?"

"Of course", the younger girl replied with a weak smile, her denial was had been the stuff of legends, and when she had finally begun to except her feelings things had become very difficult for her.

"Well I think I may be feeling the same way"

"About Keitaro?", Naru asked, shocked.

"No", Kitsune said glaring, Naru had such a one track mind these days.

"Then who?"

"Naru, who's the only other guy around here?"

"…You mean Koichi?"

"Bingo"

Both girls were quiet for a while.

"But isn't he a little young for you?", Naru was the first to speak.

"Mutsumi was in love with Keitaro, and she's older than him"

"By less than a year", Naru pointed out, rankled a little by the reminder of her friend's former rivalry for her fiancé's affections, deciding to jab back a little, "I never thought of you as the cradle robber type Kitsune".

"Touché", the older girl admitted

"So what are you going to do about it?", Naru pressed.

"I guess I'll talk to him about it later today", Kitsune said with an off hand shrug.

Above them there was a cry of "Pervert!" and a loud crash. Both girls looked at each other, the occurrence only raising an eyebrow.

"Keitaro", they both guessed at once with fond smiles. Of course, they'd be wrong.

---Author Notes---

I've decided to split this chapter into two parts; it's getting a lot longer than I anticipated, sorry for any inconvenience this causes.

A little bit of Koichi's back-story revealed at last, more to come in part two, along with a surprisingly busy week for Koichi.

Till next time, Betweenheavenandhell