Legal BS:
I do not own, nor shall I ever own Love Hina, or any other anime for that matter. Which is a damned shame, because that would be great. Anyway please don't sue me, I like my money how it is, mine. However little there may be.
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Love by the Sword
Chapter Three
'Scheming and Soul's Scars'
All members of the Shinmeiryu know very well their code of honour. A code which states, if one should make a promise or undertake a task, there are but two outcomes. Success in the task, or death in it's pursuit.
Motoko Aoyoma was now striving with all her worth to fulfil her silent vow to Keitaro. A vow to save him from the darkness that now enveloped his once bright soul. However try as she might, all she could come up with were quick fixes. Parties, camping trips, holidays, special treatment, hell, shed even considered asking Kitsune to knock his block off. Speculate as she might however, she knew full well that none of these plans would stop the gangrenous spread of depression through Keitaro.
The lack of solutions infuriated and saddened her. All she could think of was the despairing look on Keitaro's face the day Naru had left. A look that was now hidden by a mask wearing a clumsy smile.
"Naru" she thought angrily. A name that had hardly been uttered since that fateful day, due to the feelings of seething resentment it conjured within the residents of Hinata-sou.
As bad as that day had been for their lovesick landlord, it had also been a harsh slap in the face for the other residents. In one brutally quick moment, their quasi family had been grievously damaged. 'That girl' as she had come to be known, had since then made no effort to contact the remaining tenants. Even Kitsune, her best friend, had had no contact from her. Or at least none she was willing to acknowledge.
As Motoko unwittingly re-acquainted herself with the sad events of the last few months she did not notice Shinobu's entrance to her room until she tapped her tense shoulder.
"Oh, Shinobu, what can I help you with?" Motoko asked, slightly startled.
"There's a phone call for you downstairs." The young girl replied quickly and politely.
"Thankyou Shinobu, I'll be down presently." With that, Motoko rose and followed Shinobu downstairs. As she followed, she couldn't help but think of how the young girl must be suffering through all this. She cared for Keitaro deeply, as well as for the rest of the residents. The events of the past months had indeed taken their toll on the little mother. While she was still polite and friendly, a little bit of the warmth in her smile had faded. These thoughts made Motoko even more disappointed in her failure to find a solution.
Motoko completed her graceful and thought full descent down the stairs and lifted the phone's receiver.
"Hello? Motoko Aoyoma speaking."
"Motoko! It's good to hear your voice again!"
"Sister?" Motoko replied slightly startled. Mostly due to the fact that a phone call from Tsuruko meant she was in trouble, and a lot of it.
"It most certainly is." Tsuruko replied in a typically shipper demeanour " How have you been?"
The two sisters then proceeded to run through the usual 'How's the family's' and such. However once these were dispensed with, an uncomfortable silence fell between the two siblings.
"Sister?"
"Yes Motoko?"
"Why did you call?"
"Do I need a reason to call my little sister?" Tsuruko enquired, slightly affronted.
"No," Motoko replied hastily, "but for us to converse by phone rather than by letter, is usually an indication that something is amiss."
"There is no point trying to hide anything from you sister, you grow more observant with each passing day." Tsuruko replied after a slight pause. "I rang because I am concerned."
"Concerned regarding what?"
"Concerned regarding you dear sister," Tsuruko stated seriously. "Your letters of late have hinted at an unhappiness, no matter how you try to hide it." Tsuruko's demeanour had changed from serious to caring. "What troubles you so?"
"It is not I, who is troubled," Motoko replied softly "or at least not directly. It's Keitaro."
"Ah." Tsuruko stated softly "I take it his heart has still not mended from the 'incident'.
Tsuruko had been surprised to find that her sister had sent her an extra letter that fortnight. Even more surprising was the letters appearance. Instead of the small precise forms she had grown accustomed to finding in Motoko's letters, she found rushed and messy characters. It seemed that the letter had been heavily rushed. Once she began to read she soon began to understand why. Motoko relayed on pen and paper the chaos of that morning, her feeling of anger and disbelief mixing with a recollection of events into a mess of ink and sweat.
By the end of the letter Tsuruko herself was on the cusp of a murderous rage. For all of her teasing and intimidations, she was deeply fond of Hinata-sou's young manager. She knew unquestionably that he could not have done anything to warrant or provoke that kind of brutality. He was simply too good a person. She didn't quite remember how she had stopped herself hunting down Narusegawa and punishing her for such an atrocity. However she was quite sure that it involved an enormous amount of indiscriminate destruction.
Motoko finished retelling the tragic events of the last months to her sister, as well as her promise to help Keitaro. Finally stating near tears "I just don't know what to do for him."
"I know sister," Tsuruko replied softly. "It's a difficult situation for all involved." The only advice I can give you is that he won't be able to fully heal while still at Hinata-sou. The memories are too close and too plentiful.
It was then that a plan began to form in the elder Aoyama's head.
"Motoko?" Tsuruko asked quickly, "Is Keitaro currently attending prep school at he moment?"
"No" Motoko replied sadly "it's holidays at the moment, but with all that's happened I doubt if Keitaro will even try for Tokyo U next year. Why?"
Tsuruko's mind raced plotting and planning at a hundred miles an hour.
"Motoko," Tsuruko stated sternly " I want yourself and Keitaro on the next train to Kyoto. If Keitaro's soul cannot be mended in Hinata, then we shall do it here"
Apon hearing those words Motoko's eyes lit up like two burning suns.
"Yes!" she replied, a giant smile gracing her beautiful face as Tsuruko began running through the specifics of their sea change.
Damn, only a thousand words, seems like a lot more when your scribbling them down at 3 in the morning. I really wish my brain could get creative at about 7pm. Anyway, thanks again to everyone who reviewed, I know it's been a bloody long time between updates and I'm sorry. Please keep reviewing and I'll definitely have the next chapter out within the next week or so. If I don't just scream and yell until I do.
-Azrael3300
