AN: Up and at them, thanks for reading!
As always, Love Hina and its characters belong to Ken Akamatsu.
Lineages
Chapter 7: Life
Taking a slow and deep breath, Kanako assumed a different fighting stance and became as still as a statue. Despite the fact that the winds were particularly harsh this morning, her body was as unyielding as the mountains. After a long moment in her stance, she relaxed and sat herself down onto the balcony of the Hinata Sou into a meditative stance, her long black hair spilling out like a waterfall cascading down her back.
Breathing heavily, Motoko struggled to her feet as she winced at feeling the various bumps and bruises all over her body. Likewise, Keitaro peeled away from where he was imbedded into the nearby railing and groaned as his body refused to listen to his mental commands. Both were far too tired and beaten to wield their bokkens, which laid just before the still form of Kanako.
"You've improved considerably, sister..." Motoko managed a grin, before wincing again in pain and sitting down hard. "Both in skill and strength, it would seem..."
"I still don't get it..." Keitaro winced as well, moving inch by inch to finally lean upright against the mauled railings. "How can she spar with us so well, when she's..."
"When I'm what, Keitaro?" Kanako smiled as she looked up, her eyes covered with a silk blindfold.
7 days before...
"You want me to make a what...?" Kaolla blinked, tilting her head with a confused look.
"A practice dummy that can handle high impacts." Motoko replied. While the swordswoman was uncomfortable with asking the foreign inventor for favors that have potential to turn into disasters, she had no one else to turn to.
"Hmm..." Kaolla spun in circles on the newly polished floor until she came to a stop naturally. "High impacts, so you want something that can take a beating like Keitaro?" The swordswoman opened her mouth to reply, then thought it as a decent comparison and nodded in agreement.
As the hyperactive inventor zoomed off to plot her latest invention, Kanako raised an eyebrow at seeing her enthusiasm, and frowned at Motoko. "I hope you didn't ask her to create a doomsday device..." Motoko merely brushed her off, and the two headed off towards the balcony for their morning training.
"Urgh..." Keitaro's shoulders slumped, having been unable to soak in anything from his English textbook. Standing up slowly, he winced at the ache in his body at studying through the night and into the morning for the mock exam and stretched, elicting a series of pops from his protesting body. With a dragging groan not unlike a zombie's, he slowly made his way towards the balcony for fresh air when...
"Hiyas Keitaro!"
Freezing in fear, the landlord slowly peeked over his shoulder and expected to be attacked by some freak invention from Kaolla. He was surprised, however, by her calm expression of joy as she wheeled an object covered by a tarp by him. 'Should I, or shouldn't I...?' Keitaro thought quickly, then decided his curiosity would be worth limiting the damage done to the dorm, provided he can survive the answer.
"This?" Kaolla blinked at Keitaro's question, and smiled. "Motoko asked me to build her a training dummy!" Wincing internally, he decided to follow and make sure she didn't tear the whole place down...
Naru and Kitsune lounged at the living room sofa as the resident slacker was watching yet another horse race she had bet on, while the Toudai aspirant was taking a break from her studies to talk with her best friend...
"You must be pretty confident with your books, if you're down here instead of studying with Keitaro..." Kitsune mused with a smile, as she took a sip from a sake bottle. With a 'Hmph,' Naru surprised the resident slacker by taking the bottle out of her hand and taking a long drag from it before passing it back.
"I've given up hope on that idiot!" Naru grumbled, her cheeks slightly flushed from the alcohol. "All he does everyday is go and train with Motoko and Kanako..." She then flung her hands up in exasperation. "He's going to become a soon fourth time ronin, and he doesn't even care!" She then snatched the sake bottle again and resumed chugging.
Kitsune quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? Sounds like someone's jealous..." This made Naru spew in mid-drink, and threatened to use the bottle as an improvised club.
"Who the hell would be jealous for someone like him?" Naru huffed. "The guy's a no good pervert, can't even pass an exam even if his life depended on it, and..." Her rant was cut short as a loud explosion was heard, followed immediately with the whole dorm rocking for several moments.
Normally the residents would've shrugged the incident off as another of Kaolla's inventions going haywire, but upon hearing Shinobu's scream, the two exchanged worried looks, and scrambled towards the stairs...
It's quiet... and dark.
Wait... why is it still dark...?
Using her senses, Kanako quickly detected Keitaro and Motoko's auras, as they seemed to burn more brightly than an average person's. She then quickly sensed the other residents of the dorm nearby, and all seemed to be in a depressed mood for some reason. Sensing a new presence entering the room, she felt everyone's attention shift to the new arrival.
"Doctor?" Keitaro's voice asked from her immediate right, his voice full of concern.
The new arrival sighed, and Kanako detected that the doctor was male, and about mid-thirties in age. "Miss Kanako is extremely fortunate she was able to keep her eyes, considering the amount of shrapnel we dug out from you..." At this Kanako sat up quickly, but immediately felt nauesated and was laid back gently by Keitaro's hands.
"Why can't I see?" Kanako asked, her mind bordering on panic despite the doctor's words earlier.
"You suffered nerve damage to your eyes, Kanako." The doctor replied calmly, and she felt him gently pull her hands away when she felt bandages covering her eyes. "Though it's only temporary, it's advised that you let them heal over time before using them once more, or you may suffer permanent damage to them."
"How long?" Motoko's voice asked, and the doctor seemed hesitant to answer, knowing the Aoyomas come from a martial background by their uniforms.
"At least a week, though I'd personally recommend a month." At this, the younger Aoyoma nearly leapt out of bed were it not for Keitaro and Motoko holding her down.
"I'm going to be a cripple for a week!" Kanako fumed. "Kami's sake, sister. Just let me perform the three cuts and save me the shame!" She was about to push away the arms holding her down, when she suddenly felt a jab on a pressure point, and heard Motoko apologizing as her senses shut down and forcing her to sleep...
4 days before...
Having returned to the dorm from the hospital, Kanako stubbornly refused assistance from anyone, and relied on her other senses to guide herself around. Though unable to depend on her sight, she still perceived the world through sounds, and identified each of the tenants through their unique auras generated by their chi.
With each step up the stairs, the next step revealed itself to her through the echoes in the woodworks. Kanako made her way towards the balcony, but cursed silently as she accidently bumped into the wall from turning too close to the wall. As she stumbled backwards, she felt someone's hands holding her to prevent a nasty tumble down the stairs.
"Whoa there Kanako, you oka...?" Her instinct kicked in at feeling someone else's hands on her, and Kanako's fist blurred and smashed Keitaro down the flight of stairs in a heap. Flinching in realization at what she had done, she ran quickly to the dorm's balcony, and was nearly in tears by the time she reached the railing.
I can't live like this...! The younger Aoyoma struggled from breaking down, and would've nearly ripped the blindfold off her eyes in frustration. As her hands gripped the silk blindfold, her survival instincts screamed at her to dodge, and in doing so barely avoided a large chi strike from striking her, annhilating the spot were she stood seconds ago.
As she rolled to her feet, Kanako immediately sensed her attacker before her, and clapped her hands together to stop a bokken strike down towards her head. With a kiai shout, she shattered the weapon like a toothpick, but realized too late that the swing directed at her was one-handed, as a second bokken crashed painfully into her stomach, doubling her over in pain.
"Relying on just sight to direct your power sometimes isn't enough, you know this."
"Nice to see you too, sister..." Kanako gasped as she struggled to sit up, and felt the cooling aura of Tsuruko sit across from her. "Are you here to mock my inability to spar against you now?"
"On the contrary. Motoko sent word of what happened, and I hurried over." As Kanako sensed only truth in her sister's words, she sighed and bowed her head. "You know, the ability to be able to accept help and knowing one's limits are also strengths of samurai."
"I know..." Kanako whispered. "I screwed up, didn't I?"
"No, you didn't." She then sensed a smile on Tsuruko's face. "Not yet, at least. Remember that this injury is meant to teach you more than you can realize right this moment..."
"Ah, there you are! Come on, lunch is getting cold!"
Raising her head, Kanako saw the ever bright aura that belonged to Hinata-sou's landlord before her. She also saw that he hid his worries for her behind his cheerful voice, and smiled slightly at him.
"You're still willing to put up with me, even after everything?"
"I'll live from your punch." Keitaro chuckled, and surprised the younger Aoyoma by helping her to her feet. "Come on, you shouldn't be out here by yourself in the cold, everyone's waiting." Nodding, she held onto his hand as they began heading back inside the dorm when his words finally clicked, and she realized that Tsuruko was no longer there.
What did she mean by what she said, though...? Kanako thought to herself.
2 days before...
Kanako stood silently on a grassy hill overlooking the Hinata-sou, the sleeves of her gi and her long hair flowing with the wind. While she was not the most social person in the dorms, she still felt the pains of being alone - even moreso when she could not see the world with her own eyes. Sighing, the young woman began making her way down the hill, walking through the small forest that surrounded the dorm.
Despite that she trains with her fists on a daily basis, her hands remained flawlessly smooth and pale. Though a few boys at school had taken her blindness as a weakness to be exploited, they quickly found out at their own expense that she and a very protective Motoko were not to be trifled with. In fact, the only male that the two sisters tolerated these days was Keitaro, with whom even Motoko had grudgingly accepted as a genuinely good person...
"Keitaro..." Kanako whispered the landlord's name, and placed a hand on her chest. She always felt happy and comfortable around the landlord, and the mere thought of him brought a warm feeling to her heart that was absent ever since her birth parents passed away. As she came out of the forest, she was surprised to see Keitaro's aura waiting for her at the front entrance of the dorm, but nontheless smiled in greeting as she reached him.
"I'm getting a little better from your training, I actually sensed you coming..." Keitaro chuckled, then held out her hands to give her a cup of warm tea. "Here, it's pretty chilly out here. I made this for you."
Stunned, Kanako stared down at the steaming cup in her hands, then looked up at the landlord. Without a word, she gently set the cup down on the ground, then wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against his chest.
"Kanako...?" Keitaro began, but was silenced by a gentle shake of her head. She knew for certain now that everything the poor landlord has been blamed for was all false, and he was someone who genuinely cared for her...
Someone who she loved dearly.
Kanako remained quiet, content with holding Keitaro close to her. Still surprised by her actions, the landlord slowly put his arms around her as well, and the two held each other as the winds blew leaves around them under the late afternoon sun...
Present day:
"When I'm what, Keitaro?" Kanako smiled as she looked up, her eyes covered with a silk blindfold.
Keitaro smiled and shook his head. "By the way Kanako, why are you still wearing that anyways? It has been a week, you know." This surprised the younger Aoyoma, as she had already grown accustomed to the blindfold. Slowly, she raised her hands and undid the ties to her blindfold, allowing it to fall to the deck before slowly opening her eyes.
Both Motoko and Keitaro stared in surprise, as the once nearly black orbs of Kanako's eyes now had a purprle hue to it. And within the once tempermental and brash glint was now replaced with what seemed to be an endless pool of wisdom waiting to be used. As Kanako's eyes met the landlord's, Tsuruko's voice in her mind asked the same question she asked when she first joined the Shinmei-Ryu.
Do you know your purpose? Though gentle, Tsuruko spoke to her as a sensei would to a student. Have you found your purpose?
I have found it, sister. Kanako finally knew the answer after all the years. I will cherish him...
With a smile, Kanako helped the two to their feet. The two sisters smiled and nodded to each other in respect, while Keitaro's face flushed slightly as he was helped up, which caused Kanako to blush in return as she realized that she held onto his hand for longer than needed after pulling him to his feet.
...And I do love him. Kanako thought with a smile as the group walked back inside the dorm, eager to join the other tenants for another great breakfast by Shinobu...
Like? No like? Please review!
Yes, I know this chapter took far too long... Life unfortunately got in the way of many things, this unfortunately being one of them. But do not fear, for I never abandon my uncompleted works!
Stay tuned, more to come soon, I promise!
