AN: Hey all, I just wanted to say I took a perverse pleasure in all the comments about the cliffhanger from the last chapter. Just imagine if I was like the original writers and it took weeks for me to update! Haha, well enjoy and please review… it sustains me!

Chapter 16: Marriage

"Would you actually marry me?" Motoko asked, looking him in the eye.

Keitaro froze, playing the question over and over in his mind. He was sure he must've misheard. This was Motoko, the kendo girl who didn't really understand love… what was she asking him to marry her for?

"Motoko… are you serious?"

"I am," she responded. "I need to leave behind what I know about swordsmanship… I need to start over."

He kept playing it in his head.

Would you actually marry me?

He pondered what it would be like marrying her. She was actually pretty nice to him now, and they had a lot of the same interests in old Japan, though that might change now. It was hard to say what would stay the same and what wouldn't. Would she still train him in the mornings?

Could he know her like this?

That was a stupid question. She was still Motoko. Sure, she'd been rocked to her core and shaken up, but underneath the layers of pain she was in, she was still Motoko, and he knew Motoko. She was a warrior, and he loved her… even if he wasn't sure it was a romantic one.

He considered how he felt on their time together when they weren't training. She'd become curious and helpful and he always looked forward to their time together. It was one of the times in his life when he was truly happy. With her, there were no complications between them now. It was just a relationship, without Naru's drama. Sure, they had problems, but everyone did, and they at least tried to work through those problems.

"Motoko," he said, leading her to her room. "I know right now you're scared, and you don't know what you want to do. You feel like you've lost who you are, and I can't imagine how you feel. I care about you, and if you honestly feel like marriage will fix something, then I would be given a great honor by that, but I need you to wait and think about it, ok?"

"Why should we wait?"

"I don't want a relationship with you where we just got into it because of this. I want you to be happy, as much as possible. If you did this now, you'd regret it and that would only make you even more miserable. You feel alone right now, and I get that. But I promise you, I'm not going anywhere… ok?"

She nodded.

"Stay with me for a while?"

"Of course."

For a long time he sat there, holding her hand and just letting her cry. Normally, she wouldn't let anyone see her in pain, but this was different. Motoko's very center had been shattered along with Shisui. He knew she needed him here at this moment, just as a stable relationship with someone.

"Thank you for being here for me," she said. "And all the kind things you said. I owe you a debt I cannot pay."

"Stop saying that," he said softly. "I am your friend. I care about you a lot. I don't do things for you so that you'll owe me. I do them because I want to. I want to help you and I want to be there for you just as you need me to be."

"I wish I could help you too," she said.

"You really want to help me? Try and find something that makes you happy, anything. I like Motoko much better when she has a reason to smile. Ok?"

She hugged him tight and then turned away.

"I should probably get some rest," she said.

"Of course, if you need anything, promise me you'll give me a call, ok?"

"I promise."

He closed the door behind him and went out into the springs to recover what was left of Shisui. Carefully, he covered the pieces in a protective bag and left them outside Motoko's room. He honestly had no idea what she would want to do with them. She may want to hold onto them as a reminder, or destroy them to shatter the memory…

He went back to his room and slowly passed out on his bed.

Keitaro awoke at first light out of habit. He glanced around his room, but didn't see Motoko. Not that he expected to. If she ever did want to train again, it wouldn't be so soon. He decided he might as well make some breakfast and head down the stairs, only to see someone in the kitchen.

He had to stare for several long seconds before his brain accepted what he was seeing. It was Motoko, dressed in a maid's outfit, making food.

"M-Motoko?!"

"Keitaro," she said, bowing softly. "I am glad you are awake, what would you like me to prepare?"

"What are you doing?"

"You still like soup, right?"

"Well yes but…"

Motoko hurriedly started preparing soup for him.

"I cannot earn money at the dojo anymore, so I am hoping to earn my keep here. You won't throw me out right?"

"You know I never would!"

She held onto him tight.

"Thank you so much."

"Motoko," he said, kneeling in front of her. "You don't have to do this. Remember what I told you ages ago? I like you. I don't care if you work around here or not, that's my job. I want you to take care of yourself, not us."

"It would be dishonorable for me not to earn my own keep."

"Consider your keep to have been my training in aikido then."

"So you need me to continue your training?"

"No," he said hastily. "Not if you aren't ready to do something like that. Motoko, what I mean is, don't feel pressured to do something you don't like just because of yesterday. You are amazing and I'm more than willing to do whatever it takes for you to be happy, but this isn't you and you know that as well as I do."

"You do not like me like this?"

"That's not what I mean. You are always… good looking. What I mean is I don't want you to be anything else, ok?"

Motoko didn't answer, but went to her room, and closed to the door gently.

"Poor girl," said a voice behind him.

"Yeah," he responded turning. "If her bitch of a sister hadn't…"

He stopped mid-sentence. For, of course, it was Tsuruko in front of him.

"I see you are taking very good care of my sister."

"Yeah!" he said sharply. "Trying to anyway. It's been a little hard though, considering someone just broke her sword and tried to shatter her spirit!"

"Is that what you think I did?"

"You tried to! What you don't know about Motoko is that she's strong, far stronger than you!"

"I think I disproved that yesterday."

"Only physically! Motoko has greater heart than anyone else alive!"

"Good, then you have no problem filling my request."

Keitaro raised an eyebrow at her.

"What request?"

"I want you and her to try to defeat me together."

"Oh yeah," he said, sarcasm dripping through every letter. "A barely passable martial artist and a kendo girl without a weapon! We wouldn't stand half a chance and you know that! Besides, you're her sister, you ought to be closer to her than I am."

"She has to beat me in order to really open up her heart. She once saw my husband and I when we were kissing. It rocked her a bit."

"Yeah, almost as much as someone breaking her sword and kicking her out of the dojo," he said smarmily.

"So she has to defeat me to regain her swordsmanship. If you refuse you should let her live her life as a normal girl."

"Impossible."

"You refuse?"

"Hell no! But even if Motoko and I can't beat you, which I will die trying if I have to, Motoko isn't normal. She's far better than any normal girl."

"So you do actually love my sister, then?"

"You're damn right I do!" he shouted, surprising himself.

Of course, that didn't mean he meant romantically, but he did harbor a love for the raven-haired girl.

"Alright then, I'll make you a deal. If you and she beat me, then Motoko may re-enter the school however she chooses. If you both lose, you actually have to go through with your little marriage scheme."

"What?"

"You heard me just fine."

"Why would you do this to her?!"

He looked back around at Tsuruko, only to find that the older sister had managed to vanish, practically into the thin air. He briefly wondered if she was a samurai or a ninja, then decided to tell Motoko.

He opened her door slowly and saw her laying on the floor, turned away from the door. Keitaro started some tea and lay on the floor next to her, staring at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry for what I sprung on you, Keitaro," she said. "You don't deserve the trouble I cause."

"I don't care about that," he said. "I like you, Motoko, and I love having you here. I look forward to seeing you every day."

She blushed slightly. Then, she surprised him. Motoko turned over and placed her hand and head on his shoulder, trembling like at the springs.

"Thank you."

He turned to her, placing his hand on top of her's.

"Motoko, I mean what I said earlier about how you were always free to do what you wanted. But you should know, Tsuruko spoke to me today. She says if we both beat her than she'd let you regain your swordsmanship."

"Impossible, I don't have a blade now."

"I wouldn't tell her about this, but there is another sword you are welcome to."

He hadn't told anyone about the Urashima's blade. It was just an old family heirloom, but he'd never used it. It was a classic katana, and supposedly had been used in war thousands of years ago, but it's history was long forgotten. He led the taller girl to his room and pulled the blade out of the floorboards.

"It's a blade handed down through my family," he said, placing it carefully in her hands. "It's no Shisui, but it is sturdy and strong. It has seen battle before and should serve you well."

Motoko blushed furiously as she took the weapon.

"But… Keitaro… for you to give me this… It's something done to bind two families together."

"Your sister says if we don't do this, she'll force us to marry, so I figure either we can be warriors together, or we will have to actually go through with that marriage show we were planning earlier."

"You never even answered my question from earlier," she said, looking at the floor. "Would it really be so horrible?"

"What do you mean?"

"You are going through an awful lot of trouble to avoid marrying me. Would that really be so bad? If it came to that, I mean."

He gently lifted her chin with his hand, placing his other hand on her shoulder.

"Motoko," he whispered. "I would be gifted if that is what happened, but I know you and I know you don't want that. You would never be happy if you were forced to marry someone, anyone."

"But… as far as you and I…"

"If it was what you actually wanted… just you I mean… Well I wouldn't mind us… trying for something like that."

"You mean that?"

"Yeah," he said, leaning closer to her. "Look Motoko, you're still a little young to actually marry, but you're wiser than most elders. You are kind and caring in your own way, and I love that. I care about you deeply and I know you care about me, and the rest of the girls, too. You accept me like I am, not in the way you want me to be. I like you, but I never wanted to force you to chase after a relationship."

"I don't feel forced into this at all… You have confused my thoughts on this for a time now… I don't understand what I'm feeling. I merely know… if I had to be with someone… if I did marry someone… it would be you."

He smiled at her.

"I'll make you deal, ok? Let's knock your sister into the ground first, then we'll see how we feel about… us, alright?'

She nodded, gripping the Urashima blade tightly.

"Let's do this."