A/N: Just a side note here. I am ommiting that business with the Urashima blade being possessed… It sort of defeats the whole purpose of giving it to Motoko and… Yeah, it just seemed really stupid to me. It's fanfiction, I'm allowed liberties.

Chapter 17: Pieces

Keitaro and Motoko sat in Tsuruko's huge room, determined to earn Motoko's way back into the school of swordsmanship.

"You two will have until sundown to defeat me. If you cannot, you will marry Keitaro on the spot, do you understand sister?"

"Yes, sister."

Keitaro couldn't help but be impressed with Motoko's dedication. He knew that regardless of how she felt about him, she didn't really want to marry him and definitely not because of something like this, but she didn't show a trace of fear.

"Very well, then let it begin."

"Keitaro!" Motoko called to signal their immediate attack.

Of course, Tsuruko would expect them to move forward, but they expected what she didn't know what that Keitaro had been training in aikido. Almost all Urashima martial artists practiced jujitsu, and so if Tsuruko had prepared for him at all, that would've been what she was preparing for.

Sure enough she moved forward, presenting a completely offensive stance. Keitaro tried very hard not to grin. For months, Motoko had been teaching him how to battle exactly that stance. However, he couldn't give out his secret just yet. They had to wait for the right moment. If they didn't, even with that ace in their sleeve, they could still lose. He struck back, mixing jujitsu with Taekwondo, and almost immediately got blasted onto his ass.

But that move did give Motoko an opening. She slid right into a melee range and hammered down on her with the Urashima blade. This was something else Tsuruko wouldn't expect. She'd trained Motoko to be an expert in spirit attacks, and hardly ever actually battle it out in straight melee combat.

"Very impressive, but still slow!" shouted Tsuruko, blasting Motoko away.

Keitaro sprinted forward as she finished the strike, and grabbed her wrists while the blade was pointed at the ground, and twisted it as hard as he could. He heard something snap and she dropped the blade for a second before picking it up in her off-hand.

"What the fuck?!" Keitaro exclaimed before he was sent skidding across the ground to join Motoko.

"You two cannot beat me that easily!" Tsuruko called to them.

"She's tough," he said to Motoko. "We don't have much more time, so we've got to move."

"Alright. She'll be weaker now, since she can't use the blade properly, but she's no less dangerous, so stay on your guard and remember your stance."

"Right… Move!"

They split from each other and circled around to attack from opposing ends. Keitaro attacking from behind, while Motoko moved to tackle Tsuruko directly. There was an explosion of lightning as the two kendo girls collided. Motoko was sent skidding backwards and her sister moved forward to pin her to the ground.

Keitaro ran as fast as he could and slid on the ground when he was about six inches from Tsuruko. He punched her hard in the shin and slid between her legs to stand between the two sisters.

"Ok, that was really cool!" he said, impressed with himself.

"Keitaro there really is a better place and time!" shouted Motoko, getting to her feet.

Now the older sister pressed the offensive. However, this is was Keitaro was waiting for, and dodged every strike perfectly. As she tried to cleave his head in, He sidestepped her and struck three times rapidly, hitting her face and sternum. Motoko swung hard at the flat the her sister's blade, knocking it out of her hand.

"What on earth?" Tsuruko started to asked before Keitaro solidly planted his foot in her stomach. She fell to the floor and Motoko held the Urashima blade to the back of her older sister's neck, breathing heavily.

"You are beaten sister!"

Tsuruko laughed suddenly and nodded, causing Motoko to let her up. Keitaro fetched some bandages and a sling for the wrested they'd broken, happy that he didn't have to keep fighting that girl. He was winded and still could feel his heart beating at a thousand miles an hour.

"I must say Urashima, I was very impressed by you. I thought most of your line practiced in jujitsu?"

"Most of us do, but Motoko realized that stance was all wrong for me, and trained me in aikido. She's a genius!"

Motoko blushed furiously, trying to hide her face. Keitaro laughed softly at this. It was actually really cute, seeing her flustered like that.

"Well, he made much greater strides than I expected of him. It was his plan for me to use a regular style of swordsmanship instead of our family techniques."

"Ah, very wise of you Urashima. It really is a shame my sister isn't marrying you. I have no doubt your children would be very strong."

"And that's long past the point this conversation needs to stop happening!" said Keitaro quickly. "So Motoko gets to stay and practice her sword skill still, right?"

"Absolutely," said Tsuruko. "If this is what the Hina apartments are doing for her, I couldn't see her taken from them. Besides I think she'd miss everyone too much if I took her."

"And she'd never be Motoko without her swordsmanship."

Keitaro sat next to Motoko throwing his arm around her briefly.

"Well sister," said Tsuruko after putting her arm in the sling. "I wish you well, I will be sure to tell my husband what happened here today. Take care of yourself, my little sister."

"Goodbye, sister."

Then the older samurai turned around, walking away solidly. Keitaro waited until she was long out of sight before speaking.

"That was awesome!" he practically shouted. "You were all wham and bam, and then your sister was all whoosh! And I was all 'not today' and broke her wrist!"

"Yes Keitaro," said Motoko, smiling at him. "I was there too."

"Congratulations," he said, leaning close to her. "I know you wouldn't have been yourself if you couldn't practice swordsmanship anymore."

"You shouldn't be so happy. You forget I have been letting you slack for several days now. I can't believe I let your style get so sloppy!"

She was talking animatedly, but not seriously. Of course, their training sessions would resume, but she wasn't upset at him. He could tell that she was over the moon on the inside, and she was really attempting to connect with him right now, albeit in her own way.

Over the next several days, Keitaro fell into a great groove in life. He would wake up and train with Motoko, work with Seta in the aftertoons and then spend some time with rest of the girls until he and Motoko would study for the Tokyo U exams together. He and the kendo girl were practically inseparable. It wasn't long before Kitsune began spreading the rumor about the two of them. Of course, no one but Naru believed them.

Honestly though, Keitaro wasn't bothered. Motoko and he had been seriously considering something before they'd managed to defeat Tsuruko. He was actually starting to seriously get into the idea of it. However, his personal life was starting to get cluttered.

In addition to training Motoko, Shinobu had requested training to get into Tokyo U once she finished high school. Of course, he couldn't say no. Naru had graciously pointed out he "wasn't doing anything" and Shinobu had been delighted to learn from him, so he was strong armed into helping her.

So his late evenings became and double-tutoring session. This made the days fly by in a blurr. It went from waking to getting ready for bed in the blink of an eye. However, Keitaro noticed something… he was happy!

He wasn't being hit or scolded. He wasn't panicking or trying to justify what he was doing with his life. He was just being happy. After all, Motoko and he were close and he had considered even asking her out once things calmed down, but for now, things were good. Before he even knew it, it was the start of summer again.

"Hey, why don't we study outside tonight?" asked Shinobu. "The weather is great, so it'd be good for us to go out and enjoy instead of all cramming inside Sempai's room."

Keitaro rolled his eyes, but secretly he was pleased Shinobu had come out of her shell so much. She really was growing into a beautiful young woman.

"I like that idea," said Motoko. "It'd be good to be outside without sending Keitaro skidding across the ground."

"You hit me with that damn wind blade!"

"And you didn't plant your feet," she said calmly.

"Whatever, let's go!"

They went outside and Keitaro started explaining the difficult rules of the English language, which he was sure was made intentionally annoying. From that lesson he was about to move onto law, when he heard a loud bang from near the stairway that lead to the apartment. Fearing he knew that sound, Keitaro looked up to see the doom van literally rolling along the top of the trees before colliding with the front door.

"Well my boss is here," he said calmly. "Better go see what's up."

"It scares me that sempai is learning from that man," said Shinobu quietly.

Keitaro went down to see Seta waiting for him, classic head wound already in place. What was new was the fact that his labcoat was also on fire.

"Hey boss!" said Keitaro brightly. "You're on fire by the way."

"Oh, that's not good," said Seta, bright smile in place, and putting it out with a fire extinguisher. "I thought I smelled something back in town. I think I hit an armored truck."

"Of course you did. What are you doing here?"

"Well I'm here for…"

"PAPA!" called Sarah, sprinting for him. "I'm so glad you're back."

"Hey there Sarah, have you been behaving yourself?"

"Yes Papa!"

Lying little brat.

"So Keitaro, where is your aunt at?"

"Haruka, she's in the tea shop! But she ought to be heading this way soon to check on the damage you caused."

"Ah good!"

True to Keitaro's predictions, Haruka showed up at the scene of the carnage, cigarette lit and ready.

"Hey there Seta."

"Haruka," said Seta, very serious all of a sudden. "I just finished my last excavation, and that means I have turned 30 now… as promised I'm here, would you accept this?"

Seta held out a small golden ring, and Keitaro's mind stopped short. He had imagined a lot of things happening between Haruka and Seta, but not this. And of all the answers he expected to hear, it was not what Haruka gave. She punched Seta hard, hard enough to send him skidding across the ground.

"That's sort of pointless now, isn't it?" she asked, her voice calm and steady. "Take this back, I don't want it."

She tossed the ring to him. All in stride, Seta head inside and began making tea, as if it was no big deal what had just happened.

"What… what was that just now?" Keitaro asked.

"Oh, Haruka and I were always close while I was in college. I confessed to her, but I never really got an answer or pursued her, so I promised myself I would come back and be sure to get an answer once I ended up turning thirty. I tried my best to look cool."

"You didn't."

"I wanted it to be romantic."

"It wasn't."

"I thought she might say yes."

"She didn't."

"She is adorable when she gets mad though. Well, it's getting very late. Keitaro would you mind if I stayed here tonight. I can set off in the morning."

"No, of course!"

Little did Keitaro know he would be literally sharing a room with Seta. He liked the older man, really he did, but sometimes… he was just odd. He excused Seta's strange behavior as something that was just a part of him and then let the world of dreams and hopes take him away.

He dreamed of Motoko all night, wondering how things would end up if he proposed going out with her, would it end like Seta and Haruka?