I guess I'm really getting back to my angst roots from Fictionpress on this story. My penname is 'The negotiator' on that site, by the way. Anyway, I really hope you enjoy this chapter and please let me know what you think, seeing as I'm leaping into new territory with the storyline. Love Hina is owned and created by Ken Akamatsu.

You Have Me

Chapter 5

Keitaro awoke at 10am. He didn't get much sleep the night before, on account of his heart constantly speeding up and slowing down. Something unknown was flowing through him, causing a strong reaction that seemed to come and go. He was finally able to fall into steady sleep at 4am. It was around then that his body seemed to calm down enough for him to lose consciousness.

But while it was happening, Keitaro was scared. The uneven beating of his heart frightened him so deeply, he wondered if he would even last the night. He feared his fast beating heart would finally give out and stop. He did wake up, though, on this beautiful Sunday morning. And he thanked God that he did. He sat up in his futon and looked at the ray of sunlight pouring in through the crack in the sliding doors that lead out to his small balcony.

Keitaro stood up. He expected to feel weak from last night's bombardment, but he was not. He felt fine. He walked over and opened the sliding doors all the way, allowing all the light to shine in. It hurt his eyes for a few moments. Then his eyes became focused on Kaolla Su dancing about in the yard below with her newly invented Mecha-Tama 9.3 flying circles around her. This sort of sight would usually bring an amused smile to his face, but for some reason, today it did not. He didn't dwell on this realization for very long, reminding himself that there are more important things to be done.

He turned and walked out of the room, leaving his glasses sitting on his desk, which have laid there, untouched since yesterday. He walked down the hallway and into the bathroom. He turned on the faucet and let it run until the water was warm enough. Then he cupped his hands under it and splashed the water on his face, washing away the sweat he had accumulated through the night. He then wetted his hair and slicked it back, as is his new style.

After a change of clothes, he walked down the stairs and ran through the things in his head that he wants to accomplish today. He needed to pick up some repair supplies from the shopping district as well as start those repairs as soon as he gets home.

Motoko walked through the front lobby with her kendo uniform on, having just finished her training out back. Then she noticed Keitaro coming down the steps from the upstairs. A bright smile came over her as she quickly ran over to him.

"Good morning, Sweetheart." She said to him.

Then she noticed how pale he was. It was the type of white a person gains only if they've lived underground for two years. She noticed the icy-purple coloration under his eyes. His eyes themselves, instead of being their usual warm brown, were black, like onyx.

"Did you sleep well, Keitaro? You look terrible."

With an emotionless, narrow-eyed face, he slowly walked by her and said, "No, I didn't."

He stopped at the front door and as he took out his shoes, said, "I didn't sleep well at all. My heart, it…wouldn't stop racing. It was palpitating as well. " He then held his hand on his chest, feeling for his heartbeat, making sure it was still normal.

"My God, are you alright? Maybe we should go see a doctor." She said, going over to him.

"No need. I'm fine now. Besides, there're some things I need to do today. The wall on the second floor has cracks in it. I need to repair it." He said plainly. He kept his eyes down as he put on his shoes.

"Are you sure? Still, just in case, we should-"

"I said I'm fine!"

Motoko stood silent as she looked at him, his voice still ringing in her ears. Keitaro looked up at her and attempted an apologetic response but then turned his head away towards the door and said,

"I'm going out to buy repair supplies. I'll be back later."

She looked down and quietly said, "…alright. Itte irasshai."

"Itte kimasu." He said. Then he walked out and shut the door behind him.

As he descended down the Hinata steps, she thought,

'What was that all about?'

A little later, in the shopping district, the Sunday crowd is at its strongest. People moved to and fro, carrying things they've purchased and keeping their minds on where to shop next. To our right, just up the street, we catch sight of Keitaro, walking out of a supply store with a bucket of plaster mix in his hand and a bag of tools. He looked to his right and then to his left. A music store, a few shops down, caught his eye. 'Well, I do have a little time.' He ducked and weaved through the heavy traffic of busy people, then slipped inside the music store through the automatic sliding doors.

Keitaro slowly walked down the aisles. Hundreds of CDs were displayed around him, ranging from local to foreign, pop to rock. He stopped and looked closely at one CD. He picked it up and turned it around to look at the back cover. 'This looks interesting.' He then carried the CD with him as he continued to look down the rack of music. He stopped at another one, picked it up and looked at it. 'This one looks good too.' He then took them both to the register and purchased them.

Naru walked through the dining room, carrying a soft drink in one hand and was reading a study guide in the other. As she approached the lobby, she heard the front door open and slide close. She walked into the room and saw Keitaro, leaning down and removing his shoes. As he slid his feet into his house shoes, Naru walked up to him and said,

"Hey, Keitaro. I didn't know you went out." She said. Then she looked at the bags. "What did you buy?"

"Just some repair things." He said, quietly, almost mumbling. Not making eye contact.

"Oh, for the wall on the second floor?" she said.

"Yeah, that's the one." He said, walking past her and towards the stairs.

Naru raised her eyebrow as she watched him go by.

'This is certainly a change in behavior.' She thought.

"Well, okay. Anyway, you look pale, Keitaro. Are you alright?" She said.

"Yes, I'm fine." He replied, almost sounding irritated as he started up the steps.

"Alight. I hope we'll see you at lunch. Shinobu is making Tempura." She said.

"Yeah, sure." He said, indifferently as he continued up the stairs.

"What's with him?" she said to herself as she stood there. Then she dismissed it and continued he walk down her original path.

Keitaro sat down in front of the cracked wall next to his door. Unbeknownst to the rest of the residents, on the other side of the wall was the hole he made with his fist. He opened up the bucket of plaster mix, poured some of the power into a smaller bucket and mixed that with water. He enjoyed this silence. For some reason, he didn't want to be around other people right now. It irritated him. He had no idea why.

When the plaster was ready, Keitaro picked up the spreading knife next to him. Taking a scoop with the knife he then raised it to the cracked wall. At that moment, the tingling feeling returned, sending shivers up and down his spine. Only this time was different. Carefully, he applied the plaster to the cracks. His hand began to move faster. He took more plaster. Faster and faster. His eyes widened in amazement as he watched the speed at which he moved.

Within seconds, all the cracks were filled and the plaster smoothed. He looked down at the spreading knife in his hand. "How did I…" he then looked up at his door. He narrowed his eyes as if trying to figure things out in his head. He picked up the small bucket of wet plaster. Keitaro took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He then disappeared from the hallway. His door flew open, seemingly on its own.

Inside the room was Keitaro, staring at the wall. The hole was completely filled over with fresh plaster. Still looking at the fresh plaster, he dropped the knife in the bucket, which was now empty.

"This…is incredible." He said. Without warning, a sharp pain rose in his chest, followed by a fast and heavy heartbeat. The pain brought him to his knees as he groaned and grasped his chest.

"Aaah. What is this?" he said weakly as he trembled. He fell over on his side and rolled onto his back. "Maybe I pushed my body too hard."

His fast and heavy heartbeat slowly subsided and the pain faded. He cautiously stood up and took a deep breath. He held his hands out in front of him and looked at them. The trembling in them started to recede.

"I have to be more careful. I don't know what these new powers are, but they're not unlimited."

Clouds had moved in a little while ago, making the skies overcast with light grays. It looked as if silver had been evaporated, filling the skies with its dark metallic hue. Motoko leaned over the rail of the large balcony that looked over the back courtyard. A troubled look was on her face as she slowly rotated the diamond ring on her finger. She was worried about Keitaro. She wanted to talk to him, she wanted to be near him, but she was afraid that she would just set off his temper again. She knows this isn't like him. Something has got to be wrong here, but she doesn't know what. What was wrong with him in the lobby this morning? She wanted to help him, but he just pushed her away. Why?

Next to her was the sound of laundry blowing in the wind. She looked and saw that it was Keitaro's shirts and pants hanging there. She looked back to the courtyard and let out a sigh of frustration as she continued to try and figure out what the problem was and why it came so suddenly. It was only yesterday that they were still sharing affections. What's happened now?

The wind had picked up and moved her hair just a little. Motoko turned and moved her fingers back through her long black hair, letting it fall down again from her shoulders down to her lower back. She looked at the house for a moment and then lowered her eyebrows.

'I will find out what's wrong. I will not give up on us, Keitaro.'

Motoko then walked down the wooden steps and into the house.

Motoko stopped at Keitaro's closed door. She looked at it for a few moments. Then with a deep breath, she gave a knock and opened the door. "Keitaro? Are you here?" She looked around and saw that he was not. Then she looked over on his dresser and saw the Knife displayed there. She walked over to it and took a closer look at it. There was not a speck of dirt on it. The lacquer gloss was completely restored. She reached out, picked up the Knife and held it in her hands.

To her surprise, she didn't get the uncomfortable feeling she had experienced before. She unsheathed it and was shocked to see the blade's condition. It shined and was without a single scratch.

"Keitaro couldn't have restored this on his own, and it's only been a couple days, so he couldn't have taken it to a restoration specialist. It would have taken them weeks to do this kind of work."

She turned the blade over and noticed the writing etched in the wood of the sheath. The Kanji was red, deeply engraved and clear. But it was in such an old dialect, that she could barely make it out.

"Holder…beware. Forbidden…something…contained herein. Spirit…something…Ichiro Akume." She said, out loud. As she held it, she slowly came to a realization.

'You know…Keitaro's abrupt change in behavior started around the same time he brought this knife home. There's got to be a connection. Grandma is very knowledgeable in the old tongues. I'm sure she can decipher this writing. It's just a matter of getting it from Keitaro without upsetting him. In light of his recent behavior, who knows how he'll react.'

She set the Knife back on its pedestal and quietly left Keitaro's room.

Night came. The clouds had cleared away and the full moon was high in the sky, casting its pale blue glow over the land. A cold breeze came from the North-East. Motoko found herself out on the balcony again, in the same way as earlier. The constant breeze gave her a slight chill every now and then. The same worried look was on her face as she looked across the dark courtyard and at the treetops, which seemed to gleam with the moon's soft light. Behind her, she heard footsteps. It was Keitaro. He gave her a glance and then walked over to the clothesline. One by one he started taking down his clothes and dropping them in a basket he had brought with him.

Motoko looked at him. He hadn't shown up for dinner tonight, which caused a little worry among Shinobu and the others. She looked up at the moon and then back at him. Motoko quickly walked over to him. Gently taking his hand, she said,

"Keitaro?"

He looked at her indifferently and said, "Yes? What is it?"

"Could you come over here and stand with me for a moment?" She said, showing him a smile as she pulled him over to the spot by the railing where she had been standing.

She then looked up at the moon. "Look at the moon, Keitaro." She said with a pleasant smile.

Keitaro did as she asked. He looked at it for a moment. Then slowly moved his eyes back to her, as if wondering what she was getting at.

Motoko looked at him with a tender smile and slowly gave his hand a few loving rubs.

"Anata…doesn't this remind you of a special time?" she asked, looking into his eyes.

Keitaro looked at her curiously. He looked back up at the moon and then back at her.

"What are you talking about?" he said.

Motoko felt a tug at her heartstrings as her smile slowly faded.

"Don't…don't you…remember?" She said, unable to believe what she just heard.

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, Motoko." He then pulled his hand from hers and walked away from her.

The look of aching was in her eyes as she watched him go and pick up his basket.

"I'm tired. I'm going to bed now." He said, before starting down the stairs.

Motoko turned away from him and raised her hand to her face as the tears started to roll down her cheeks. Her vision became blurred with the flowing of more tears.

"Have you forgotten?" she whispered. "Have you forgotten…me?"

She continued to cry tears of angst as she stood there in the pale moonlight. All alone.