Disclaimer: I do now own anything even remotely related to Love Hina intellectual property, Any and all chapters I may or may not write also do not claim any ownership on my part of any Love Hina Intellectual property.

Ok, it should be obvious where this fanfiction takes off and I'm using Manga continuity.


"I'll completely destroy your dormitory!" Kanako had heard enough, it was her that loved Keitaro most of all. None of these juvenile, dysfunctional children could hope to understand the depth of feeling she held for her brother. Hewas the one who had defended her when they were young and played with her when the other children had only contempt and fear to offer. Keitaro had never understood why she never cared. She had no need of friends. She had him. Friends, Naru had seemed like a friend, she had defended Kanako from the other residents. The only person, who had ever done that, was him.

Kanako drew the detonator out from her sleeve, determined to end the farce. The others stared at her in disbelief, unable to understand how she could destroy their home. This way was best; she would splinter the Hinata Sou family so that when Keitaro returned he would have nowhere to stay. She would take him home and away from these girls who would use him for his kindness.

"Stop Kanako!" Naru's voice rang out too late. There was an audible click as Kanako's finger detonated the explosive that would destroy Hinata Sou, the source of her brother's grief. She had spun to watch the demolition of the Inn when a white van came speeding up the hill to her right, sailed up over her head and crashed into the cart where she had placed the explosives. There was a massive concussion and for Kanako Urashima, all was dark.


Kanako's eyes were gummed with grit and seemed determined to remain closed. Persevering, she managed to open her left eye and sat up or rather, tried to. What little vision she had spun as excruciating pain sprang up her left side. Her head hurt, badly. She lay down again and took stock of her condition. Extensive martial arts training had gifted her with endurance beyond the norm, but it seemed that whatever force had thrown her nearly twenty meters, had been somewhat less than considerate of this fact. She was not badly injured, at least not to the point of incapacitation. Apart from her skull, the pain that she felt seemed to be more muscular than anything else.

Beams of wood blocked her view of the sky as she prepared herself for a second attempt at sitting up. While holding her head carefully with her right hand she used her left to force her torso upwards into a sitting position. Kanako leant back against what she now recognized as the interior wall of the changing room and looked out through the gaping hole across what remained of Hinata Sou's hot springs.

It was nighttime, the moonlight cut thin shards of radiance through the steam that rose lazily from the water. Kanako looked about for the other residents, the confrontation far from her mind as her eyes scanned the devastated area. Palings lay scattered outward from the center of the explosion. It would take a lot of cleaning to get the hot springs useable again, Kanako noted with satisfaction. She took a certain childish pleasure in the destruction as echoes of her earlier rage surfaced. Kanako's eyes were drawn directly ahead towards where she had been standing when the button had been pressed.

That was where the damage was most severe. Little remained of the food cart that she and Naru had used to covertly reenter the Inn, a sign here, what was left of a wheel there. It was to be expected really, there had been enough packed explosives packed into that cart to take out the Inn nearly three times over. But something was wrong, her eyes widened as she looked up and strove to find any signs of damage on the main building. Hinata Sou stood tall and majestic, almost gleaming in the moonlight. A testament to the skill of my workers, she thought ruefully, but surely there had to be some damage. Her gaze dropped as she remembered her last sight before being knocked unconscious. She had not imagined the white van that had driven up the hill. It lay on its side. Kanako stood slowly, holding her head as periodic flashes of pain returned. Kanako walked around the water and picked her way carefully through the debris while making her way towards the center of the explosion.

The Van had obviously been in better shape, all of the lights were shattered and the windows had cracks spidering across the glass. The passenger side sliding door had been blown inward from the force of the explosion, it had been the van that had absorbed the majority of the blast and spared Hinata Sou from destruction. Kanako wondered what had become of the driver, whoever's in there is probably in worse shape than that door. Deciding to check after the health of the driver, Kanako walked around the vehicle, searching for an entry point. With all of the windows cracked and passenger doors either out of reach or on the underside, it looked as though the back would have to do

Fortunately, the two loading doors were intact. As Kanako knelt to force them open, a groan came from within the ill-fated vehicle and for the first time since she had woken up, Kanako was worried. The van itself had sustained a great deal of damage in the blast, she dreaded to think what had happened to the driver. For ultimately it was her fault that he or she had been injured, as they undoubtedly were. Judging simply by the distance that the vehicle had been thrown it seemed impossible that anyone, even with her advantages could have escaped unharmed. She managed to force the left door open and peered apprehensively into the darkened gloom within.

A shape lay partially illuminated by the moonlight. To Kanako it looked as though the passenger side door had blown inward and crushed the driver against the interior wall. She could not imagine how this person had managed to find their way there before the crash, but she did not ponder it for long before the figure stirred once more.

After ducking into the van itself, she crawled on all fours towards the driver and managed to lever what remained of the sliding door off them. Kanako sat back for a moment to catch her breath, her headache was mostly gone now but she still felt somewhat disconnected from her body, probably just a minor concussion. She ruefully rubbed her forehead before her attention was drawn back to the mysterious person that lay in front of her. She could not quite make out his or her face in the darkness, yet there was something about it that drew her attention. Kanako leant down for a closer look, forgetting for a moment that she was the cause of its plight, intent only on discovering the identity of this unlucky stranger.

It was only for a moment, a moment that Kanako wished ever afterwards to be undone. The figure had tossed its head as if to shake off an unseen nightmare when the moonlight partially illuminated its terrifyingly familiar features. Struck dumb by what she saw, Kanako could only stare in mute disbelief as the enormity of what she had done crashed down upon her. Her strength giving out, she fell back against the doors and, half turning, she scrabbled desperately against the ground seeking to pull herself out and away from the dreadful revelation that lay injured behind her.


It was nearly 5 hours later, in the chill hours between midnight and dawn when the others managed to drag themselves up into wakefulness and out from underneath the debris to find her. She lay half on her side, arms outstretched, hands half clawing at the ground. Tears had forged silvery paths down her ravaged face, shallow breathing the only indication that she slept the sleep of the living. Naru knelt by her and brushed the hair from her face, shocked by the position that Kanako lay in. It seemed as though she had been trying to escape something, an exercise in futility if the expression on her face was anything to judge by.

Naru straightened and looked around at the others, they were a sorry lot. Su, Shinobu and Sara leant upon each other in a daze, still not entirely understanding the events of the past day. Motoko stood tall, her sword in her hand, prepared to deal with whatever would come and Kitsune, she leant against a nearby tree still shaking her head to remove the fog of sleep. Motoko strode over, "Naru, the van…perhaps we should..?" she cut off lamely, her eyes more questioning than her words. Naru nodded silently then both she and Motoko stepped over towards the van.

Motoko was the first to enter, she brusquely forced both doors open and ducked inside, hiding worry behind her usual stoic demeanor. Naru watched her go in, still numb from the afternoon's events. "My god…" Motoko's quiet indrawn breath was enough to break Naru from her reverie and she stepped within. Sadly for Naru, It is often that which is most swiftly observed whose details stay in our mind the longest. This moment, much to her distress proved to be no exception.

As Naru raised her head from ducking inside, her memory forever froze the damaged interior of the van. The white half-light given by the moon partially revealing Motoko, eyes wide and hands covering her mouth, staring down in horror at the broken, bloodied form of Keitaro Urashima.


Motoko Aoyama was tired. Trudging up the corridor to her room, she sighed and felt a great weight upon her shoulders. There will be little sleep for anyone this night, the thought depressed her, sleep was exactly what they all needed. Yet forcing everyone to home and rest seemed likely to paint her as one of the chief devils in this, horrible drama that had unfolded.

Forcing her mind out of its reverie, she slid open the door to her room and stepped inside. Motoko stared dully at its contents, what had seemed like the proper environment for a warrior of her standing now appeared a pale mockery of the code in which she had been brought up in. She felt worthy of neither it nor its trappings. Like the others, Motoko had looked forward to Keitaro's return and now, to picture him as he was, lying quietly in the hospital bed, starkly outlined against the pale linen with his breath rasping through tubes, served only to highlight the kind of malicious influence that they had all wrought upon his life.

His time at Hinata Sou had been one catastrophe after another, injury after injury, inflicted in retribution for what later had seemed petty and insignificant accidents. Yet still he had smiled at them, eyes warm, forgiving all that they had... No. Day was the time for recrimination and guilt, at night both served only to pierce the spirit while preventing rest. That is what she had been taught.

Motoko blinked slowly and noticed a square, flat package lying just inside the door. It must have been placed there by Haruka the day before, and never noticed in the commotion. Bending down, she picked up the parcel. Brown butcher's paper covered the package, and string was wrapped around it to hold it closed. Motoko turned the package over to check the sender, Aoyama Tsuruko.

What would Tsuruko send me? Her distress momentarily forgotten, Motoko leant her bokken against the door frame, grasped the package in both hands and shook it experimentally, there was no response. Settling herself down, back to the wall, she tore the string from the parcel and began to unwrap it.

Inside was a framed print, a reproduction of some forgotten artist's work. A wind-tossed tableau of sea and storm raged in the centre of the frame and such was the talent of the nameless artist, that when Motoko looked closely, it seemed as though she could see the crests of the waves foaming white in the chill wind. There was something about the scene that drew the eye and captured her attention. Motoko found it difficult to tear her sight from it and, when she succeeded, chilled muscles and blurred vision forcefully reminded her that she had not slept in over twenty-four hours. Standing then, and after placing the picture on her desk, she dressed for bed.

As she lay there in the darkness, Motoko's thoughts turned to the other residents. In the end, she had taken it upon herself to take the others home and ensure that they rested. Su and Sara have been uncharacteristically quiet, both were normally filled with energy and cheer, and while it was understandable that both were subdued, it was generally accepted that little could dent Su's irrepressibly bright personality. Motoko found it worrying.

Naru had stood in the doorway of the room, wanting to escape what she saw in the quiet body that lay within. She had seemed numb when Motoko had taken her arm and led her out quietly out into the corridor. Motoko suspected that Naru, like herself, was reminded of all the times that they had been responsible for his injuries. Now that his much vaunted invulnerability seemed to be failing, perhaps Naru was considering the part that she had played in setting Keitaro on the road that led him to that hospital bed.

The worst of all had been Kanako. She saw herself as responsible for her brother's plight and had embarked upon a course of mental self-flagellation. Inconsolable, she had barely responded when spoken to, and had sat staring blindly at the man whose side she refused to leave. On arrival back at Hinata Sou, Motoko had literally forced her and the rest of the other residents to their beds.

Staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep, Motoko's thoughts inevitably returned to Hinata Sou's ill-fated manager. That smile, it had brightened her day and stirred unfamiliar, unwelcome feelings in her deepest heart. Love had seemed to her something that happened only to other people, yet unlooked for it was determined to batter down every wall that she had built. Then, just when she was becoming used to the idea that yes, she did feel something for that perverted, clumsy man. He had gone away to America, her chances for exploring this previously unknown part of herself had gone with him, and on his return…. Motoko groaned quietly, so much for rest.

These thoughts had occupied her since the day they had all seen Keitaro off at the airport. She had spent hours searching for a suitable going away gift, alone, for it would not do to have the others suspect what lay beneath her swiftly shredding veneer of indifference. Motoko had entered store after store, looking for that one gift that would suitably express her feelings at his absence, not knowing whether this was right, or whether he would be more interested in that. In the end, lacking confidence, she had turned back to what she knew best and given him a set of protective charms from the temple at Kyoto. While they were valuable it had just seemed so...so impersonal, that was something that had never bothered her before. She now felt the need to grow beyond a warrior and show Keitaro and the rest of the world exactly what kind of woman she could be.

Shaking off these thoughts, she turned her head slightly and the print caught her gaze once again. It was oddly visible through the darkness and Motoko could almost see the waves crashing down on that lonely deserted beach. She had always loved the beach. When visiting relatives in the summer she had often fallen asleep out on the porch in the sun, overlooking the ocean. She could nearly hear the waves again, the crickets chirping under the house, the wind blowing across the sand, Motoko's eyelids dipped languidly. The waves shifted slowly, crashing in time with remembered sound. She could feel the sun on her face and hear the ocean ahead of her, the breeze blowing her long lustrous hair as she walked hand in hand with, Motoko smiled lazily as her eyes closed, Keitaro. Yes, It was a nice dream.


The tree that the stranger sat in shook slightly, blighted leaves rustling, mirroring his own reaction to the wave of almost sensual pleasure that engulfed him. It had been so long, too long really, since he had manifested in this way. It was all so, visceral. The eyes in his borrowed face lost focus slightly as he looked inward. So, the first had been caught by his lure. He would retrieve her later but for now… His eyes shifted to the window that he sat facing and, with thin lips curled into a rictus of a smile, the stranger waited. Seemingly unaware of the small white ball held tightly in his right hand, being worried at, turning over and over.
Staring up at the ceiling in her room, Shinobu lay in her bed surrounded by stuffed animals. Tears stained her cheeks as she cried, cried for her injured sempai and cried for her affection that he had unknowingly discarded. The resentment, which had been growing in her for weeks, threatened to boil over. Her anger at Naru's treatment of Keitaro, her frustration that no matter how hard she tried, he would not see her as what she wanted to be, his confidant, his friend, his love, all rose in her until she could almost choke. There was nothing she could do but weep at the hopelessness of her situation. While clutching a stuffed bear to her chest, Shinobu quietly cried herself to sleep.
Shinobu winced as a resounding crash sounded through the Inn. Keitaro and Naru were fighting again, it seemed that their relationship of months was finally hitting critical mass. Sitting up in her bed, Shinobu knew, in the strange way that one does in dreams, that the two's relationship would not last much longer, she was filled with a sense of anticipation and did not know why.

Shinobu heard the door to Keitaro's room bang open as Naru stomped out. She got up out of her bed, put on a dressing gown and made her way down to the kitchen to fix herself a drink. She hoped that again, Keitaro would see the light and join her for their midnight confessional. It had become a habit that, after Naru had inevitably sent Keitaro soaring through low-flying airspace, he would come trudging back up the hill to the Inn and Shinobu would be there with a cup of tea to warm his hands and heart. She treasured the time they spent alone together, and he had come to trust her implicitly, regularly spilling his heart and asking advice on how to patch up the latest quarrel.

Shinobu set the kettle to boil and sat down at the table, He had become more withdrawn of late, and Shinobu felt something changing. She still held feelings for him of course and hoped that maybe, just maybe, she was replacing Naru in his heart. Guilt had been a problem for Shinobu in the beginning but she had long since lost all sympathy for Naru. A woman who treated her man that poorly did not deserve have him in the first place.

The kettle finished boiling just as Keitaro entered the kitchen; Shinobu looked up from the cups at him and winced slightly at his appearance. Judging by the twigs and leaves caught in his jacket and hair he had landed in a tree somewhere close by. His face wore a soft frown, but he smiled wearily at Shinobu as he took the cup from her hands and sat down across the table from her.

"It was bad tonight…?" Keitaro's head dipped slightly in answer to her question and once again, Shinobu felt an upwelling of sympathy rise from within her. He doesn't want to talk about it, Shinobu smiled at him comfortingly and earned herself an absent half-smile in return. Sitting there quietly, warming their hands with their tea, the two of them shared a comfortingly familiar companionship.

Time passed quickly and the sun was a few hours below dawn when Keitaro stood wearily and helped Shinobu up the stairs. They stopped next to her door and she looked up at his face, its lines seemed to her a map leading to suffering drawn with a pale, flesh coloured pen. As always she regretted letting him go off by himself to face dreams of that horrible woman alone, but it couldn't be helped, she offered what she could, a smile here and a light hug there. Hoping that it all added up for him, and that eventually he'd realize just what he meant to her.

Keitaro looked almost longingly at the door to her room, patted her lightly on the shoulder and thanked her quietly. He had turned to leave when she spoke up "You can you know, if you want to". Shinobu looked down demurely at her feet as she heard him look back over his shoulder, unable to meet his gaze. This was the part of the dream that she hated the most, he would keep walking and she would be left there outside her room, alone. To wake up in her real bed, her real body, and to wring what sleep she could from the remainder of the night, to ask herself why? Why couldn't she be happy even in her dreams?

As caught up in her distress as she was, the first inkling that her dream had taken a different course was when she felt Keitaro's hand on her shoulder. Shinobu looked up in astonishment at his face, and met his tortured gaze. "Shinobu…I …" his mouth worked soundlessly, and Shinobu was struck by the pain in his eyes. Capturing his hand with her own she opened the door to her room with the other and, acting on instinct, she pulled him inside.

Keitaro stopped in the doorway, staring at her. Shinobu almost giggled hysterically, what am I doing? He took his hand from hers and began to pace. Where before he had seemed a dull, lifeless mannequin existing only to absorb what pity she offered, he now strode vigorously back and forth, an almost manic gleam in his eyes. Shinobu heard him muttering under his breath, "Naru…I can't". Sitting down on her bed, Shinobu tried to make sense of the riot of emotions that threatened to drown her.

He had actually come in here with her, always before she had been left standing out there in the corridor, her tear filled eyes staring at his back as he walked away, again. She had pulled him in with her and now...now what? Should she? No, But it was after all only a dream. Her jaw set in the determined expression that the waking Shinobu had never let show; she stood and prepared herself for the next, daring step.

It was not to be however, Keitaro had ceased his pacing and with his resolute expression mirroring her own, had walked quickly over to her. He placed a hand on each of her shoulders and bent down to look at her face, to Shinobu he had never looked more handsome than at that moment.

"Shinobu, I shouldn't…thanks, thanks for everything you've done, Naru it's just", he sighed, "It's just getting to be too much...I" Keitaro shook his head slightly, cutting off that line of thought, Shinobu's eyes widened, was he really going to…?

Releasing her again, he stepped over to her open window and sat down on the sill. He stared directly at her face and drew a deep breath, "I need to get out of here Shinobu, I'm choking, she's choking me. I can't remember the last time that I was happy just to be with her, it's too much now... I need to get away". Tears could bee seen glistening in his eyes as he looked down.

Overcome with pity, Shinobu stepped close and put her arms around him. Then she looked up into his face earnestly and asked, her voice almost breaking "Will you take me with you?". Shock flittered across her sempai's face for a moment before a glorious smile arose. Yes was whispered and Shinobu looked down to hide her own tears before she tightened their embrace and left her dreams behind.


Su sat alone on a tree branch in her room and read. The blinking lights and mechanical whirrs of her inventions were no bother, focused as she was on the book she was reading. It was a medical text, bought months ago in an attempt to discover the secret of one ronin's apparent immortality. Now Su pored over it intently, making notes and sketching diagrams, designing a new physiology for the one who had made Hinata Sou such an enjoyable place to live.

Shock had struck the others at the hospital and they were capable only of staring in horror at their manager's damaged body. They had mistaken her uncharacteristic silence for sadness and depression like their own, yet Su's thoughts had been focused elsewhere. Her prodigiously powerful mind had been already making plans, treating Keitaro's body as simply another machine that needed to be fixed.

Su looked up for a momentary glance at the picture that was tied to the branch above. It showed her upon Keitaro's shoulders with a V-sign for the camera. He was looking off to the right distracted by Naru's incoming fist, no doubt a punishment for carrying innocent, little Su on his shoulders. It was her favorite photo and she kept it here for those times when she slept on her own and woke up cold and shivering. To remind her that she was not alone.

There was a rustling above her head but Su paid it no mind. Her room contained a menagerie of exotic animal species imported around Japan's strict quarantine and it was common for her to be evaluated as a potential late night snack. Fortunately, since the incident with a stolen cache of bananas, Fred the hungry crocodile and a newly invented pulsar rifle, most of her co-inhabitants now kept their distance when she was working, human inn tenants included.

A furry arm bearing a hideous stench reached past her face, paused, then moved up to let its long fingered hand brush her prized photo. Su's hand stopped in the middle of turning a page as she turned her head slowly to gaze at the unfortunate creature that had interrupted her study.

Two enormous blue eyes stared back at her; they were set high in a face that seemed more caricatured than comical. Enormous lips puckered thoughtfully as the creature frowned, then looked over Su's shoulder back at the picture. A second long jointed limb reached around to scratch at an inflamed, hairy posterior as Su continued to stare at the brightly coloured ape. A sudden smile stretched across its cheeks and split the enormous face in two. Brow raised in a jeering expression, the creature snatched at her prized photograph.

The twine holding it in place broke with an audible twang. Su reached for the thief's arm but her habitual dexterity was absent and she overbalanced, then had to clutch tightly at the branch below to keep herself from falling onto the grass. The ape slid smoothly down the tree trunk and bounded over to the door. A swift tug pulled the panel open as the creature looked back over its shoulder at Su. She, with both her arms and legs wrapped tightly around the tree branch, could only look on in amazement as the long-limbed thief made an obscene smacking sound with its lips, smiled hugely at her, and then deliberately smacked its swollen rear-end in her direction.

Su swung down from the branch and dropped lightly to the floor just in time to see the monkey slam the door behind itself. Su swiftly gathered up a few of her more destructive creations before charging out into the corridor after the thief, not pausing even for a moment to consider what the bizarrely rude creature would want with her precious, paper enshrined memory.

Out in the hallway Su paused for a moment and sniffed experimentally, her nose was more sensitive than most and, with the hideous stink that followed it, tracking the creature by smell seemed a very real possibility. It led her down the corridor to the stairwell, to where a window was half-open. An enormous pair of grimy handprints marked it as the exit point for the thief and Su hopped up onto the window ledge and looked out.

The window pointed back towards the hill on which Hinata Sou sat. The moon was dark, barely illuminating the short gap of grass that separated the Inn from the forest that rustled quietly in the chill night breeze. A crackle of twigs from the edge of the trees caught Su's attention, and she whipped up her firearm and sighted down the barrel towards the noise. There was a flash of red and she almost fired, but the monkey was already out of sight and moving deeper into the woods.

Su paused for a moment, it now seemed almost certain that the strange, ugly creature wanted her to follow it. It had never seemed intent on making its escape as quickly as possible. The slow deliberate theft of her photo, the jeering smile and the obscene gesture at the door, all seemed designed to inflame her anger and affect her reasoning. Su was supposed to give chase, and she was not entirely sure that she should.

The picture had been stolen and she did care about it a great deal. It stood in her mind as a representation all of the happy times that she had experienced at Hinata Sou. Su could look at it and feel at ease, the golden memories alleviated the periodic loneliness that surfaced at bedtime.

At home in Molmol she had often been alone, the pressures and responsibilities that came with running a kingdom had often kept her mother and father too busy to spend time with their diminutive princess. After a quiet meal at a vast, empty table, she would retire alone to her room and lay in bed, staring out into the darkness. Sometimes if there was enough light, she could see the corner of the large room. When she looked up to where the two walls met the ceiling, the three-way corner would then recede away from her, stretching the room, making it and all of its contents save her, enormous. Su would then huddle in the centre of her bed, dwarfed by its immensity, eyes wide, waiting for morning.

If she were lucky, her brother would be awake and she would sneak out onto the balcony, and then call to him quietly across the dividing lattice wrought with ancient creepers, he would smile to her gently then nod. The nights spent with him were quiet and calm. Curled around him, Su found rest.

Unfortunately, for her, these nightly excursions drew the wrath of her older sister, Amalla. Jealously became a wall between the siblings and it was after one particularly vehement argument that Su, with her parent's consent, traveled to Japan. Hinata Sou had seemed like a safe place to live, each of the tenants with their own idiosyncrasies added colour and life to her existence. It never lasted though, with the setting of the sun her old fears came again. Kitsune had been shocked the first time that Su had snuck into her bedroom and pleaded to stay and had conceded more through pity than anything else. It quickly became a common occurrence and Kitsune was relieved when, with the arrival of Motoko, she could share the sleeping habits of the strong gripped princess with another.

Su's days before Keitaro were spent going to school, doing homework that was much too easy and creating then testing inventions with the assistance of the other residents,

Until that time, Su had never had a true guinea pig for her creations, while Motoko would occasionally indulge in some target practice mostly the other girls avoided Su when she was on the rampage. Keitaro changed that, he was never too busy to spend time with her, and had indulged her shamelessly by providing a ready target for all projectiles, energy or otherwise that came his way. An 'almost' older brother he had been until Motoko had gone on her training camp and had left Su with an unwilling Kitsune to spend the night. Ultimately, she had ended up with Keitaro. His smell, the way he murmured in his sleep, and his habit of blowing snot bubbles all reminded her of her sibling back home and forever cemented him as her substitute older brother.

They had only grown closer since then; Keitaro had treated her exactly as he would a younger sister and Su had wondered at the time whether he had experience in dealing with them. She now knew.

Su had been heart broken when he had left with Seta for America. The other girls had tried to make things the way they were before Keitaro had arrived and Su had gone back to sleeping with Motoko, but it had not been the same. Su had her older brother now and she could not let go of him so easily.

Since the accident and Keitaro's subsequent injuries, she had spent more and more time just staring at the picture. It served as a focus for her, whenever she felt as though she would give in to the grief and tears, a look at the picture would snap her out of her reverie and remind her. She was not alone, she had people to care for who cared for her, and she would be not let one of them slip away while she could help them.

Su's face set into a determined frown, she needed that photo to keep her resolve and she would not let some mangy, flea-bitten monkey take it away from her. Su jumped down from the window ledge and quickly made her way to the edge of the forest. The reek of the creature lingered in the air and seemed to lead her deeper into the woods. Her course was set, she would chase down the beast that would steal her precious memory and give it the beating of its life.

The forest was quiet at ground level and clear of undergrowth; above in the canopy the trees spoke to each other in rustling whispers engendered by the breeze. No signs of wildlife could be seen save a trail of long toed footprints left in the soft, moist soil that lead her onwards. Su spurred herself forward; she would end the chase quickly and return to her bed, leaving the chastised thief to nurse its wounds.

The trail left by the creature was a long one and Su had quickly lost count of the tall looming pines that she had passed, she paused for a moment then looked up. The high trees framed her view. No warm glow from Hinata's streetlights warmed the night sky and the moon was high and cold, not deigning to lower itself and light her way. Su looked around her; she stood in a small glade, surrounded on all sides by trees, her only reference, the trail of footprints leading her onwards, these she followed, uncaring of where they led, as long as the focus of her intent was there.

It was a while before she noticed the long tendrils of mist curling through the trees and about her feet. Su paid it little mind, she had often looked out on overcast days to see the hill behind Hinata Sou wreathed in cloud. She must have been nearing the summit. A rustle in the trees ahead brought her weapon up as she squinted to see its cause through the trees and fog. A small pebble came soaring out of the brush and caught her in the middle of her forehead and she jumped backwards, startled. There was silence for a moment before a heckling, bestial laugh came echoing out of the trees. Su's eyes flared in anger before she thumbed the sight on her weapon to an infrared mode.

The red outline of a bow-legged figure stood out against the cool blues and greens of the forest. A white-hot area could be seen facing Su; the face of the creature shifted and rippled as it laughed at her and a hand could be seen waving in the air clutching something with finger lines of heat across it. The picture, her picture. Su let loose a round that drew a sharp red line across her sight that should have hit the revoltingly cavorting figure in front of her. Unfortunately, the creature leapt out of the way and loped out of range with its awkward gait, disappearing from the sight of both Su's eyes and her technology. She lowered the weapon and continued on her way.

The mist grew thicker as she walked, feeling its way blindly between trees and branches and reached down to brush clammy fingers across Su's face. She stopped again, unsure of her direction and looked up. Where previously the black night sky had shone, there was nothing but grey, obscuring fog. Su looked around and began to panic; there was no longer any sign of the creature she had been following. The mist surrounded her and it was getting thicker; fear rose suddenly in her throat and she almost choked before she stamped it down. Reason was her best tool in this situation. All thoughts of the thief had fled her mind and she now concentrated on finding a way out of the mist. Her best chance, she decided, was to find a place to rest and wait for morning to banish the cloud. Su remembered seeing on television that the forecast for the next few days was for warm and dry weather. She should be safe if she just waited for dawn.

Su held both arms out in front of her and walked forwards, looking for a tree to rest against. She found instead a smooth large smooth rock and, after moving her hands around it; she found that it sat between a fallen log and another smaller rock. Su carefully turned around and sat down on the thick blanket of pine needles with her back to the larger stone. She was grateful for the level ground that made her position, if not comfortable, at least bearable.

Level, the word rung in her mind for a moment before the thought made itself fully known. In all of the time that she spent walking through the woods, chasing the creature, she had never once walked up or down a slope.She had never climbed the hill behind Hinata Sou and she had never reached an altitude where rain clouds could form. Su fought down the rising panic again as she thought furiously, there were no large bodies of water in this direction relative to Hinata Sou to account for the condensation. The mist was not natural. The thought frightened her terribly. After all that she had gone through in the past week, Kanako's threatened eviction, Keitaro's injury, lack of sleep, the stealing of her picture and now being lost in an unnaturally mist bound forest, her mind just froze. She could not deal with any more surprises. With shivering limbs, she gathered her weapons close by. While chill from the rock behind her sunk slowly into Su's bones, she stared out into the quiet, grey gloom and waited for morning.


Over four hours ago, Naru had sat down at her kotatsu with the intention of studying, hoping perhaps, that it would take her mind off Keitaro's current condition. It had turned out to be a hopelessly optimistic wish. Now she sat slumped forward, her head in her hands, staring down blindly at the notebooks and pens that lay scattered about the table.

Her hair hung unbrushed about her face, in the past few days she had possessed neither the time nor the inclination to take care of her appearance. It seemed a trivial concern now. An expression of misery twisted her attractive face as she tried with all of her might to remember happier times.

Naru had never realized how integral a part Keitaro had played in the formation of her happiness. Overall, she had seen his departure for America as a good thing, a chance to return Hinata Sou back to what it was and to forget about one pervert's lecherous behavior. Life at Hinata Sou after Keitaro's departure had not been what she had expected at all.

While there had been no obvious signs of unhappiness, it had showed in the small things. Shinobu would occasionally turn away unsmiling, too quickly after a morning greeting and Su had spent more and more time alone in her room, appearing only for meals. Kitsune had also isolated herself more from the other tenants, drinking alone at night in her room, surfacing at noon the next day with a headache for some half-hearted teasing before disappearing again. Rather than a close-knit group of friends, everyone was reverting to pre-Keitaro days and becoming more a collection of individuals who just happened to share chores and a home. She too, had missed the bumbling fool who was always stumbling over himself to apologise and, for the first time in years, Naru had felt lonely.

The shock of Keitaro's return and subsequent injury had affected Naru deeply, She, like the others, had been eagerly anticipating his arrival; partially with the hope that he would resolve the 'Kanako situation' but mostly because he was the unknowing catalyst that held them all together.

The image of him lying there, inhumanely pale surrounded by beeping, mechanical benefactors was seared into her mind. It was not so much the fact of his injury that rocked her the most but the sudden reversal of his invulnerability. She was used to seeing him bounce back almost instantly from any misfortune, ready to apologise and forgive.

Naru tried desperately to drag her mind away from thoughts of Keitaro, but she could not. To her, the sudden reversal and Keitaro's comatose state made him seem truly dead to her mind. She could not accept a possibility of recovery; it had all happened too quickly and had seemed too final.

Naru felt herself becoming drowsy; she had not slept since the accident because she knew that behind closed eyes she would see only one thing; His eyes rolled up into his head with blood streaming from a cut above his left eye, his chest rising and falling slowly, the only sign of life.

She could almost see him there sitting across from her, a meditative frown pulling his brow down, at odds with the gentle smile he always wore when he didn't think she was looking. She looked away again, unable to accept what she saw in his eyes, she wasn't worth it. Naru heard a rustle and a ready rebuff rose to her lips but went unspoken.

Keitaro was glaring at her accusingly with streamers of blood running down his cheeks, he shook his head slowly and was suddenly three paces back from the table, still sitting and still looking at her. Naru stared back in horror; he was leaving her. A million feelings and a million thoughts rose all at once, yet all but one went unheard. Her arms came up and she stretched them out towards him, again he was further away, receding more quickly now, still staring at her, his face blank. Her hands clutched futilely at the empty air seeking to draw him back but he was much too far above and away from her now. Her arms and head felt leaden as she struggled to stand, to chase after him. "Don't leave me Keitaro..." was murmured through parched lips as her ankle caught on the kotatsu then she tripped and fell. Fell down into a shadowy well of darkness, down and away from Keitaro and his warm, red glow.


A cold hand caught Naru's head before it hit the tatami and the stranger lowered her gently to the floor. He knelt beside her and paused for a moment to give his starving eyes time to take in every detail. This one was also quite beautiful; the thought pleased him as he lightly brushed Naru's hair with the back of his hand; enamored as he was of its beauty and its real solidity he almost lost himself in contemplation before a presence called for his attention; he spoke to the empty air beside him, "Yes, they've been dealt with. Are you sure? If she finds out the consequences could be…." He paused and listened to the silent reply, then nodded wordlessly and turned his attention back to Naru.

The stranger gathered her up in both arms and stood. His gaze turned inward as he summoned his true nature then spun and, trailing falsehood and illusion in his wake, he left Hinata Sou.


Akina hated the late shift at the hospital, that time of night the only ones coming in were either critical or crazies. Doctors were tired, nurses more so, everyone was tense while trying to do their jobs with a minimum of fuss, trying to keep on their feet until the next group came in so that they could stumble home to their beds, sleep, then do it all over again.

The automatic doors opened and a woman entered the foyer. She stopped and looked in Akina's direction then set her shoulders and strode over purposefully. The woman was quite tall; an ankle-length brown skirt matched a simple, white blouse that the woman wore. Her hair was shoulder length and russet brown. Akina did her best to think of an appropriate pickup line before she was knocked almost senseless by a pair of beautiful brown eyes.

"I'm looking for a patient, I heard that he was at this hospital" the woman's voice was melodiously low but fraught with tension. Akina's eyes watered a little in sympathy as the expression on that beautiful face became suddenly very sad. Akina was overcome by a need to help the poor woman; she would do anything to see a smile on that face.

"What is the person's name ma'am?" Visiting hours were well and truly over, but exceptions could be made in emergencies, and Akina was quite willing to make this case an exception.

"His name is Keitaro Urashima" The gorgeous voice grew husky for a moment as the woman cleared sudden tears from her eyes.

Suddenly jealous, Akina spoke up before she could think; "What is your relation to the patient ma'am?".

An unexpectedly shy smile revealed small, pearl-white teeth. "I am his wife".


Woops, I just realised that I've written a chapter consisting almost entirely of cliff hangers. It's mostly just setup at the moment, I am aiming to answer all questions that have arisen and will arise.

Also, please review it lets me know how I'm going as well as point out things I may have missed during my own internal editing.

Just letting me know what you think is great as well. ;)