Hey, everyone! Here it is, the final chapter of 'Moving forward'. I know a lot of you have been waiting a while for this one. So here it is. I wanna thank everyone for their great reviews and support. Love Hina is owned by Ken Akamatsu, Xebec, Bandai and so forth. Enjoy!
Moving Forward
Chapter 3
A cool wind poured in through a small opening in the window. The breeze gently blew down and moved Motoko's silky raven hair over Keitaro's cheek. Motoko's eyes slowly opened to see Keitaro's sleeping face. She allowed herself a content sigh as she looked over his facial features. 'So serene' she thought. Gently, she moved in and gave him a light kiss. Keitaro's eyes slowly opened and he looked at Motoko. Smiling a tender smile, he quietly said,
"Hey, there."
"Hey, yourself." She whispered with a matching smile, while she gently stroked his hair. "How did you sleep?"
"I slept great." He replied.
"The bad dreams didn't come back?" Motoko asked as she moved the bangs back from his forehead.
"Nope, not once." He sleepily replied.
"I'm so glad." She said.
Motoko took a deep breath as she sat up and then slowly exhaled in a yawn, stretching her arms out wide. Glancing over at the clock on the table, she suddenly became aware of what time it was.
"Hey, we'd better get up, Keitaro. It's already 9am." She said, standing up.
Keitaro, still groggy, groaned "Mmnn, just a little longer. I haven't slept this well in a while."
Motoko knelt down and kissed him on the cheek. With a smile she said,
"You are too adorable for words…"
Keitaro, anticipating what was coming next, thought, 'Uh-oh.'
"…But that does not mean I'm going to let you sleep all day! Good samurai seize the new day with whole-hearted enthusiasm!" She exclaimed, standing tall and pointing to the bright world outside the window.
Still clinging to his covers, Keitaro playfully said,
"But I'm still just a novice. I haven't learned that lesson yet."
"Oh, come on, Keitaro. You've been learning from me for years. Not to mention all you've learned from Seta." She said, pulling away his covers.
"Okay. You're right, you're right." He said putting his hands up in surrender.
"Come on, I'll make us some breakfast." She said with a laugh, as she walked into the kitchen area.
Keitaro sat up, shook his head and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He stood up, found his glasses on a nearby table and looked out the window to see sunlight shining from the eastern sky. Pink sakura petals slowly fell like snowflakes from the tree outside. He then turned his attention to Motoko who was in the kitchen, preparing white rice, miso soup and soybeans. All the while, carrying a cheerful smile on her face as she sang a quiet sweet melody to herself.
As Keitaro watched her, he thought,
'Wow, I don't think I've ever seen her like this before. She seems so happy and her voice sounds so sweet. And when did she become such a good cook? Maybe she's been taking lessons from Shinobu. Come to think of it, I have seen them together more often.'
Continuing to watch her, he smiled and said to himself, "It doesn't get much better than this."
"Breakfast is ready!" Motoko said as she set the food down on the table.
"Wow, this looks great!" Keitaro said as they both sat down.
They both put their hands together and said in unison, "Itadakimasu!" Then, they picked up their chopsticks and began to eat.
"You know, its great that we found a suite with a kitchen. This sort of thing is very rare in Kyoto." Motoko said, looking around.
"Yeah. This hotel looks fairly new and there might be some Western influence in the design." He said, looking around as well.
Motoko nodded in response as she took a sip from her miso.
"Yeah, we sure were lucky." He said as he began to eat some more rice.
"Oh look, you've got some rice stuck to your cheek. Let me get it." She said, reaching over.
"Uh, sure." He said as she took the rice and ate it.
"Might as well not waste it, right?" she said.
"Yeah, you're right. Heh heh." He said.
Keitaro took a sip of the miso and said, "Wow, this is really good."
"You think so? I've been getting some tips from Shinobu." She said.
"I thought so. Now you can add culinary skills to the rest of your amazing talents." He said.
"Oh, I'm not that great. I just give it my best, that's all." She said, reaching for the soybeans.
"Even so, I can live life happy if I could come home every day to someone who cooks like this." He said.
Motoko was a little startled by his comment and only after the fact did Keitaro realize he slipped up.
"W-What? What do you mean by that?" Motoko said, forming a slight blush.
"Uh, that is, nothing. Just spouting out nonsense." He said, stumbling over his own words.
"Well…okay then." Motoko said curiously as a little bit of suspicion surfaced in her but then she decided to set it aside for now.
Breakfast was finished and the dishes were clean on the counter. After washing her face and brushing her teeth, Motoko sat down on the couch and began brushing her hair. Then Keitaro went in to the bathroom to wash up.
After a little while, the two were fully dressed and ready for another full day of touring Kyoto. As Keitaro straightened his shirt, Motoko stood in the middle of the room looking through a Kyoto travel guide. Keitaro walked up to her, slipped his arm around her waist, gave her a kiss on the cheek and looked at the book with her.
"You know, I've lived here most of my life, but I've never really paid much attention to everything around me in terms of site seeing." She said.
"Yeah, you'd be surprised what kinds of great places you'll find in your own town. So where should we go first? This place looks nice for lunch." He said, pointing to a restaurant at the bottom of the page.
"Well, before we do anything, we have to visit my grandmother. She lives right here in Kyoto. I promised her I would visit." She said, softly leaning her shoulder to his chest.
"Sure, we can do that. And after that we can probably head for Kyoto tower." He said.
"Okay and when we're done with that, it'll probably be around noon or 1pm so we can head to that restaurant you pointed out. Oh! And after that I would really like to head to Kyoto Municipal Zoo. That looks really interesting to me." She said with a hint of excitement as they both continued to look over all their options.
"Yeah, that looks good to me too. I'd also like to hit the Imura Art Museum too, if we can." He said.
"Very nice. Then we can probably finish our day off with a walk through the Botanical Gardens." She said.
"Wow, I couldn't have picked a better place for it." Keitaro said to himself.
"Huh? What did you say, hon?" Motoko asked, looking back at Keitaro.
Forming a blush, Keitaro quickly diverted the subject, "What? Uh, nothing. Oh, doesn't this place look nice too?" He pointed to a Ramen stand on one of the main streets.
"Uh, yeah. It does." She said, looking at him curiously and then at the place he pointed out.
The two of them made sure they had everything they needed. They each grabbed a bottled water for themselves from the fridge and were out the door. Motoko's Grandmother had always been a homebody and doesn't travel very much. She lives within a mile of their hotel, so the two decided to walk it. It was a beautiful, sunny day with a now warm breeze blowing in from the SouthEast. The breeze moved through Motoko's silky, jet-black hair, causing her to straighten it with her fingers now and then as they walked hand in hand.
After about twenty minutes of walking and taking in the sites that surrounded them, they arrived at the apartment building in which Motoko's Grandmother lives.
They walked up to the main door and next to it were several buttons connected to the intercom system. Next to one button was the name, 'Aoyama Megumi'. Motoko pressed the button and after a short moment an old woman's voice came over the intercom.
"Hello? Who's there?" An older woman's voice asked.
"It's me, Grandma. It's Motoko. I've brought someone with me." She said.
"Oh, Motoko. I'm so glad you're here. Sure, bring your friend with you. Both of you, come on up." Grandma said.
Immediately a buzzing noise came from the door next to them and they both walked in. After climbing the steps to the second floor, Motoko walked up and knocked on door '201'. The door opened and inside was an older lady, the same height as Keitaro with long, straight silver hair and a big smile.
"Grandma!" Motoko said, giving her Grandmother a big hug.
"Oh, it's so good to see you again, my dear Motoko." Grandma said, hugging her back.
Motoko pulled back and took Keitaro by the arm, bringing him closer.
"Grandma, I'd like to introduce my boyfriend, Keitaro Urashima." She said, holding onto his arm in a loving way.
"Hello, it's very nice to meet you." Keitaro said, taking a bow.
"My goodness, I never thought I'd see the day that little Motoko-chan would grow up and find herself such a handsome man." She said with a smile.
"Grandmaaa." Motoko whined, embarrassed.
"Oh dear me. Where are my manners? Come in, come in!" Grandma said, gesturing them to come inside.
Grandma closed the door behind them and bid them to sit down in the living room in front of the coffee table.
"I'll just make us some tea. Will green tea be alright?" Grandma asked as the two eased into the sofa together.
"Yes. Thank you." They said in unison.
A few minutes went by and then tea was served with a few cakes on the side.
"Thank you, very much" the two said as they picked up their tea.
"So, tell me Keitaro. How long have you known my Motoko-chan?" Grandma asked him, before taking a sip of her tea.
Keitaro took Motoko's hand in his and said, "Well, ma'am, I met Motoko when I first came to Hinata House a couple years ago. Of course she didn't really like me that much at first. We sort of, um, started off on the wrong foot." He said.
"It's alright, Keitaro. You don't have to be so formal. Just call me 'Grandma'." She said.
"Oh, okay. Grandma, then." He said, now able to relax a little bit more.
"So. How did you two become so close then?" Grandma asked.
Motoko formed a pleasant smile as she reminisced.
"To be perfectly honest, I utterly despised him at first, mostly because of the fact that he was a man, managing an all girls dormitory. I strongly felt that it wasn't a man's place to do so. But after a while, I saw the type of person he really was. I noticed steadily that he was kind and thoughtful. A bit of a klutz, sure. Slowly but surely, we became good friends." Motoko said, placing her hand over his.
"Yes, and then I finally told her how I really felt about her. I was so relieved to see that she felt the same way." Keitaro said, then meeting eyes with Motoko.
Grandma nodded patiently as she listened.
"That's so wonderful, dear. I'm so happy for you both." Grandma said, as the two gave a nod and a smile.
"I just wonder what your father will think, Motoko dear." Grandma said before taking another sip of her tea.
"Erk!" Motoko sounded. At the mention of her Father, her eyes widened as she suddenly froze, holding a surprised look on her face.
"You know how disapproving he can be." Grandma said.
"Ooooooooooh, yes I do." Motoko said, hanging her head with a depressed sigh.
"Uh, should I be worried, Motoko?" Keitaro asked, now a little uneasy.
"No, it's just that Father can be a little hard-headed." Motoko said.
"My son, Kenji, is Motoko's father. Kenji is the head of the Gods' Cry School in which Motoko has honed her skills and he is Master of the Shin-Kami Ryu style." Grandma said.
"Shin…Kami…Ryu?" Keitaro said with a nervous swallow.
"Both Motoko and her Father have a very strong will, you see. And those two wills tend to…conflict sometimes." Grandma said.
"Even though Father and I do have our disagreements, I know he's just looking out for me because he loves me and only wants the best for me. So don't worry about it, Keitaro." Motoko said.
"Well, if you say so, Motoko." Keitaro said, still uneasy.
Grandma set her teacup down and said, "It certainly is wonderful outside. Perfect weather for your visit here. I'm sure you've planned so much to do." Grandma said looking out her window from the sofa.
"Yes, it's so nice out, we walked the whole way." Motoko said.
Everyone finished their tea and cake as they continued a little longer with the pleasant conversation.
Grandma looked up her clock on the wall and said,
"Well, I'm sure you two have plenty to do today. It's already 10:30am. You two should best get going."
"Oh! You're right, Grandma. We should get going." Motoko said, giving Keitaro's right leg a few quick pats as she stood up.
All of them walked to the apartment door. Motoko gave her grandmother a hug. Then Grandma gave Keitaro a hug and kissed him on the cheek.
"Now, both of you take care now, don't be afraid to visit, and most important of all, take care of eachother." Grandma said, as she opened the door.
"We will, Grandma." They both said with a smile.
They waved their good-byes and the two of them were back on their journey through Kyoto.
Outside, it had gotten warmer since when they went in. It felt so pleasant, allowing the fresh spring air to blow against them. They decided to hold off on Kyoto Tower until after lunch. The Zoo was located just across town and they found their way there with no problems. It was warm enough, so most of the animals were out in the open air.
"Look, Keitaro! The tigers are over here!" Motoko called out as she ran to the railing of the large tiger pen. The pen was very spacious as was most all of the animal pens. The Zoo did very well in imitating a grassy plain of India for the tigers.
"Wow!" He said, running up next to her. "There's Bengal Tigers. Oh! And look, there's a white tiger right over there!"
"He looks so beautiful." She said, as she looked on.
The white tiger was at the far end of the pen, lying down on the grass under the shade of a tree as it contently watched the other tigers. Motoko gently folded her fingers with Keitaro's as they both took in the site of the animals as they walked about inside their pens and cages. Eventually they came to the doors of the reptile house. By his arm, Keitaro sensed Motoko tense up and then stop.
"What's wrong, Motoko?" Keitaro asked.
"This is the Reptile house. So, t-there might be t-turtles inside, right?" Motoko said nervously.
"Oh, that's right. You're afraid of turtles. I'm sorry, Motoko. I did really want to see the Komodo Dragon they have on display. It's alright, we can move on to the bird cages."
"No, no. If you really want to see the Dragon, I can bear it for a little while." Motoko said, gaining back some courage.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. I'll be fine as long as we're not in there for long." She said.
"Okay, then here we go." He said as he opened the door for her.
Inside were glass cases to their left and to their right, containing Anacondas, Chameleons, Vipers, Tree frogs and Geckos.
"Hmm, this one looks interesting." She said, walking up to and looking at a Green Tree Python slithering up a thick branch.
"Hey, take a look at this one, Keitaro." She said, walking up to the Egyptian Cobra case.
"Yeah, he looks really cool." Keitaro said. He was about to tap on the glass when he noticed a small picture on the glass depicting a man being chased by a snake rearing its fangs. Underneath it said, 'Please don't tap on the glass'
'Well, that would have been stupid.' He thought as he lowered his hand.
"There he is, Keitaro. The Komodo Dragon is right over there." She said, leading him over to the large display case.
"Wow, he looks so cool. I had no idea they could get so big. He must be 8 feet long." Keitaro said, getting close to the glass.
"Yup, these Dragons can get up to 10 feet long and can weigh an average of about 300 lbs." She said, looking closely as well.
"Hey, you seem to know a lot about these guys." Keitaro said.
"I did a paper on them in my first year of high school. They are the largest class of lizard on earth. I guess they sort of fascinate me because they would be the closest thing nature has to a real dragon. I always loved hearing tales of dragons when I was little." She said.
"Is that so? I see. I'm glad we were able to see this then." He said as he took her hand. "Come on, let's see what else they have."
They continued to walk on, looking at the slithering and crawling reptiles. Then, Motoko's attention was turned to a "myu!" that she heard near-by. Sure enough, it was from a turtle tank. More specifically from a small turtle that was pressed up against the glass looking at her with a smile.
"Erk!" She said, as she caught sight of it.
"Uh, oh. You found the turtles." Keitaro said.
"Well, it should be okay, right? I mean they are behind glass." She said taking slow steps toward the turtle case.
"This isn't so bad, huh? I mean, you're perfectly fine with snakes and Geckos and all the other lizards. I wonder why you're so afraid of turtles then." Keitaro said, resting his arm around her shoulders.
"It's just a fear I've had since I was little. I guess it's a stupid fear." She said.
"Well, there are lots of things people can be afraid of. Not all of them make logical sense, I guess." He said, feeling her tensed muscles begin to relax.
Then, another turtle towards the back of the case noticed Motoko and let out a "MYU!". The other turtles noticed her as well and began going "Myu, myu, myu, myu" as they all moved to the front of the case and looked up at Motoko with cute smiles on their faces.
"Wow, they really seem to like you, Motoko." He said, looking at all the turtles in the cage gathering in front of Motoko.
"Yeah, well, they can just stay right where they are. Heh heh." She said, becoming nervous again.
"Come on, there's more to see." Keitaro said.
"Sure."
All the turtles let out a sad "myu" as she walked away.
Next, they went to the birdcages. There, they saw all kinds, ranging from Peacocks and Cranes to Egyptian Condors and North American Hawks. The many songs of the countless birds seemed to merge into one big symphony that seemed pleasing to the ears.
"Hey, Motoko. Doesn't that one look a lot like the bird your sister Tsuruko always has with her." Keitaro said, pointing at the red, cranelike bird with long feathers sitting on a branch.
"Yeah, it does look almost exactly like him. Only Shippu has a brighter color and his tail feathers are a bit longer.
"Yeah. They're beautiful birds. They almost remind me of what a phoenix might look like." Keitaro said.
The two moved on, going from the Giraffes to the Rhinos and Zebras and finally to the Lions. All the while they were also enjoying the many Sakura trees that were in bloom throughout the Zoo. After experiencing all that the Kyoto Municipal Zoo had to offer, the two had grown hungry. So they left the Zoo and went on to have lunch.
For lunch, they had decided on The Kinmata Restaurant, located in the Nakagyo-ku neighborhood. It was a very wonderful experience. The restaurant staff was very warm and friendly and the owner even welcomed them personally. It being an inn as well, they were able to dine in a room that opened up to the small central courtyard, which had a stone garden and a few trees, that reached into the open air. The murals on the sliding doors depicted nightingales perched on bamboo branches. The rose colored wood table they ate at, shined with a mirror like reflection. There were also vases with beautiful Japanese flower arrangements of lavender, violet and ice blue. All of this created a serene and tranquil eating experience.
The food presentation was exquisite. Even the dishes themselves were beautiful. The meal consisted of Deep-fried layered Shiitake mushrooms and scallops, Marinated and grilled Swordfish, and for dessert was Sticky rice cakes wrapped in sweet Azuki bean paste that were decorated with Camellia leaves and accompanied by Green tea. They both agreed it was the best food they had ever tasted.
After they had finished their meals, the owner was more than happy to give them a tour of the inn, explaining it's history and it's dedication to quality dining. After looking around for a little longer, the two decided to be on their way. The owner and the staff gave them their warm good-byes and said to please come back again soon.
On to Kyoto Tower, a 131 meter-high observatory tower, located opposite of the Kyoto Station building. As it was now the warm months, the all you can eat and drink bar at the tower's base was open, but Motoko and Keitaro didn't take advantage of it, seeing as they had just eaten. The view from the tower was very nice. All of Kyoto was visible as well as the surrounding horizon, which was mostly colored pink with Sakura blossoms. They admired the view for a long time, just looking all around them. After a while they decided to move on to the next thing on their list.
The Kyoto City Rakusai Bamboo Garden was very large and very beautiful. For the walk through, they took their time, taking in the experience. The yellow beams of sunlight peaked through and shined down on the path they walked and then went away again with the movements of the trees. There was a gentle hiss as all the bamboo leaves danced against one another as the warm breeze moved through. The low creaking sound of the trees themselves as they swayed back and forth was peaceful. The walk took them about 20 minutes.
It was 4:45pm. Even though they had seen much so far, they still had plenty of energy. So they kept going, stopping at this shrine and that castle. The two were disappointed to find they could not finish their day with the Botanical gardens, seeing as it closed at 4pm.
They sat and rested for a while on a wooden bench, now feeling the fatigue of their long day. Sunset was a little way off, but getting close nonetheless. Keitaro was racking his brain. He really had his heart set on executing his plan at the gardens. Now he's forced to go to 'Plan B'. Only problem is…He didn't have a 'Plan B'.
'What do I do now?' he thought as he looked over at Motoko. She had a content smile as she rested her hand over Keitaro's. Her eyes followed all the activity going around them. Then, like a foul ball heading toward the stands at a baseball game, it hit him.
"I know the perfect place to go!" Keitaro said, standing up quickly.
"Okay, where to?" She said, standing up as well.
"It's a surprise." He said with a bright smile as he led her down the road.
"A surprise?" she said, wondering what kind of scheme he was concocting.
Keitaro brought her right to the train station. They hopped a train on the Miyazu line and they found some comfortable seats. The train ride was long. All the while, Motoko was curious as to what exactly he had in mind.
'Where is he taking me? Where in Miyazu could he possibly want to go?' she thought as she sat quietly.
Finally the train had arrived at its destination. As soon as the doors opened, Keitaro took Motoko's hand and they ran out of the train station.
"Keitaro, where are you taking me!" She yelled as she did her best to keep up with him.
"Hurry, we might just make it!" He said, leading her down a short street.
Keitaro lead her through a large gate, which said, 'Wakasa Bay National Park'. The sun was just beginning to set. They ran though the park and climbed to the top of a tall hill.
"Phew! We made it." Keitaro said, as they both stopped to catch their breath.
The top of the hill gave a breathtaking view of the sandbar of Miyazu Bay as well as several forest-covered mountains beyond it. The setting sun cast soft reds and yellows across the land. They both fell silent in awe as they watched the incredible view.
"Wow, this is really beautiful, Keitaro." She said, breaking the silence.
"Motoko?" Keitaro turned to Motoko and gently took her hand in his.
"Yes, Keitaro?" she said, taken back by the sudden serious look in his eyes.
"There's…a reason I brought you up here." He paused, took a deep breath and exhaled. He took out a small velvet-covered box from his pocket. He then bent down on one knee before her.
"Keitaro…?"
He opened the box to reveal a white-gold diamond ring. Her heart dropped.
"Motoko Aoyama, I am completely and totally in love with you. So much so, that I cannot possibly imagine living my life without you."
Motoko raised both hands to her face, covering her mouth and nose, as her eyes grew wide. A gasp was heard behind her hands.
"Motoko, will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?" He said, his heart now running a mile a minute.
Motoko's hands slowly fell from her face. She was speechless. As she stared at Keitaro with a look of shock, tears began to form in her eyes.
"Uh! Motoko? Are you alright? Did I say something wrong?" He said, quickly standing up.
Motoko closed her eyes, shedding several tears down her cheeks, as she slowly shook her head 'no'. She then looked at Keitaro with a beaming smile and threw her arms around him.
"Oh, Keitaro! Of course I will! I love you so much!"
Keitaro held her close as he felt such great relief in his heart.
'She said 'Yes'. Oh, thank God she said 'Yes'!' He thought with a great smile.
"I'm so glad, Motoko. So glad." He said, his voice choking with tears of joy.
They embraced with all the love in their hearts. The sun seemed to smile as he began to hide himself behind the thick tree line of the horizon, giving them their privacy in this special moment. A warm wind blew over the waters of the bay and up against them, moving Motoko's long black hair around Keitaro, like angel wings embracing him. They moved back from their embrace slowly. Then their lips met and all the sweet passion within their souls flowed into that one kiss.
"I love you, Keitaro. Always and forever."
"Even after the end of eternity, I'll still keep loving you, Motoko."