Hey everyone. Here's chapter 2 of my newest Keitaro/Motoko story. I hope you like it and let me know what you think. Love Hina is owned by Ken Akamatsu, Xebec, Bandai, yadda-yadda. Enjoy!

You Have Me

Chapter 2

As the hot sun beat down on Keitaro's back as he continuously swung the pick-ax in his hands into the tough, unyielding dirt, one thought kept going through his head.

'Man, is this torture really worth the Field Study Credits for Tokyo U?'

Then he let out a groan as he rested his heavy tool for a few moments. He stood in a pit about 6 feet deep and 30 feet wide. As he wiped the sweat from his brow, he heard Seta's voice come from the edge of the pit.

"Hey, Part-timer! Oh, good idea. I was just about to ask you to take a break." Seta said, stepping down and balancing himself as he carefully slid down to where Keitaro was.

"Hey, Seta. Are you sure we're supposed to find something here? I've been at this for two and a half hours now. I haven't found anything yet." Keitaro said, leaning on his pick-ax.

"Well, according to my research, the Silver Mirror of Princess Mayumi should be at this exact spot. The Mirror, which dates back to the 16th century when Kyoto was capital of Japan, was Princess Mayumi's most beloved possession. And it's said to have contained magical powers, which could maintain youth indefinitely." Seta said.

"You really think that's true?" Keitaro asked.

"Who knows? I just want to find it so I can get back to Tokyo University as soon as possible." Seta said with a shrug.

"Yeah, me too." Keitaro agreed.

"Oh! I forgot. Here." Seta reached into his lab coat pocket and pulled out a cold soda and handed it to Keitaro.

"Wow! Thanks." Keitaro said as he took it, removed the cap and took a big gulp.

Seta took out a soda as well. "Don't worry, Part-timer. In three days, our two weeks will be up and we'll be out of here with or without the Mirror."

They both sat down and enjoyed their sodas as well as the temporary shade given to them by a small cloud moving under the sun. It was a little past noon. Keitaro had been on this dig for about a week and a half. He and Seta have been switching back and forth on digging duty in 3 hour shifts. They've been doing this every day from 8am to 6pm. In the first week, it rained for 3 days straight, followed by 4 days of mild weather. Now, for the past 4 days it's been like this: Sunny, hot and dry.

Keitaro calls home on a regular basis and talks to Motoko almost every day. Each time, she sounds more eager to see him home safely and soon. They talk about what they did during their days and how much they miss eachother. The only thing Keitaro has been reluctant to tell Motoko is how much his bad dreams have flared up since his arrival in Kyoto. Each night he's lucky to get, at most, five or six hours of sleep. Every moment of sleep, he sees the golden eyed creature. It taunts him, begs him, pushes him, screams at him, and laughs at him. Every night it's the same thing. Keitaro has come close to taking sleeping pills, many times, just to get a full night's sleep. But he's afraid that'll only make the dreams even longer.

After finishing his soda, Seta stood up and said,

"How about we switch off early, Keitaro? You're looking a little beat."

Keitaro set his soda down, lifted up his pick-ax and said,

"No, I'm fine. I can make it another half hour."

Seta looked him over and with a shrug said,

"Alright, then. If you feel you can hold out that long, I'll see you in a half an hour."

Seta then climbed out and disappeared over the edge. Keitaro lifted his pick up high.

"Okay! It's back to work!" He said to himself, enthusiastically.

After a while of swinging his pick into the hard earth, Keitaro heard a knock as he felt the pick-ax hit something that wasn't dirt.

'Could it be? Mayumi's Mirror?' He quickly set down the pick and began to move away the loose dirt with his hands. Something wooden was exposed. As he cleared away more and more earth, he saw that it was a knife with a wooden hilt inside a wooden sheath. Something was written on the sheath, but he could barely make it out, it being partly dirty and partly faded. He tried his best to read it.

'Hmm. Forbidden something something spirit Ichiro Akume. Okay, I'm assuming that last part is someone's name. But what do the words 'forbidden' and 'spirit' have to do with this person Akume, whoever they are. Anyway, I'd better show this to Seta. I'm sure he'd be more than interested to see what I've found. Hey, I wonder what condition the blade is in.'

Keitaro grabbed hold of the hilt and sheath and tried to pull out the blade as hard as he could. It just wouldn't budge. He tried at it again and again. After taking a few breaths he said, "Okay, one more time." He gave one last pull with everything he had and the blade finally became free. He held the blade out in the sun. It was a straight blade and terribly corroded. There was no shine at all through the brown and red colored rust. The blade's surface had scrapes, gouges, and dents in it.

'Jeez, what caused this kind of damage? It certainly wasn't age.' He said, as he looked it over. Then, as he touched the blade with his finger, he felt something very strange come over him. He felt disoriented and then his eyes went glassy. After a while, Seta showed up at the edge of the pit above him.

"Time to switch off, Part-timer! So, did you find anything?"

Keitaro, his eyes still blank and facing away from Seta, quickly slipped the knife into his belt under his shirt. Then he slowly turned around and said in a mono-toned voice,

"No, I didn't find anything. The pick is all yours, Seta."

Seta slid down next to Keitaro and said,

"You alright, Keitaro? You're looking a little white."

Keitaro simply walked by him and said,

"No, I'm fine." Keitaro then slowly climbed out and walked back to the archeology tent.

Watching him the whole way, Seta picked up the ax and said,

"That boy needs to get more fluids in him or something. He does not look good at all." Seta then turned around and started swinging away.

Back at the tent, Keitaro sat down at the wooden table, which was covered with the numerous things they had found so far in digs all around this area. There were fine bowls and plates from previous eras. Even clay pots with beautifully detailed painted figures on them. After a few minutes of staring blankly into the void, Keitaro snapped out of it. He looked around and said,

"Oh, that was weird. What was I doing again? Oh, the pottery." He said, looking down at the table. He then started cleaning the dirt from the fine crafted clay pieces in front of him.

Later that evening, Keitaro walked into his hotel room after a long hard day and the couple drinks at the local tavern with Seta. He set down his bag of tools and laid down on his bed with a tired sigh. A few minutes went by as he stared up at the white ceiling. Then he sat up, took off his shirt and tossed it on the floor. It was then that he noticed the knife still tucked in his belt.

"Hey, this is that knife that I found. Did Seta let me have this? Hmm, he must have."

Keitaro took it out, removed the knife from its sheath and looked at the blade, turning it over and over in the lamplight. He ran his finger over the rough, course texture of the blade's surface. The wood still had traces of lacquer polish on it, but most of it had been flaked away. As he continued to look it over, he couldn't really determine what time period it was from, seeing as many eras produced a similar if not the same type of knife. And he still lacked the knowledge to tell the eras apart when it came to these things.

'The wood of the hilt and sheath are still in pretty good shape, but the blade is completely ruined. I don't know what I'm going to do with it. But if it's mine to keep, I'm sure I can do something with it. If I keep the knife in its cover and polish the wood, maybe I could display it.'

Keitaro set the knife on the lamp table next to him. He let out a yawn as he looked over at his electric clock, which he brought with him from home. It read 9:01pm. He reached over, switched off the light and fell back on the bed. Within moments he was asleep and for the first time in a long time, he was not terrorized by nightmares.

Three days later, the dig was finished. Keitaro and Seta had found many rare and strange things, but unfortunately not one of them was Princess Mayumi's Mirror. As the two of them stepped up to the platform, awaiting their train, they realized there was still a few minutes until their train arrives.

"Thanks for all your help, Keitaro. You did a really good job on this trip. You may become a great archeologist yet." Seta said, as he lit up a cigarette.

"Oh, no. Thank you, Seta. I really needed these credits. Besides, it was kinda fun making lots of new discoveries." Keitaro said.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. It's been a few years since I've had a dig in Kyoto. Let me tell you. My last time here, the assistant that I brought with me wasn't quite as skilled at cleaning pottery as you are. But she sure was great company." Seta said, drifting off as if recalling sweet memories.

"It sounds like she made quite an impression on you." Keitaro said.

"Yeah, Haru- Uh! I mean yes. She, uh, certainly did." Seta said, catching himself and stumbling over his own words. Keitaro gave him a curious and suspicious look. Then after a few seconds, he decided it was nothing.

They both heard an announcement come over the PA system and within moments, their train pulled into the station. They both climbed onto the train and their luggage was loaded. Keitaro sat down at his seat and as he looked out the window, he thought of Motoko and how much he can't wait to see her. Slowly the train pulled out of the station and then speedily pushed on toward Hinata.