Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina.

-oOoOoOo-

Tsuruko was heading to a guest room that Keitaro had prepared for her when Motoko appeared.

"What kind of test will you have us go through?" Motoko asked.

"I still have to decide, but I will do my best to be fair," Tsuruko answered.

"I love Keitaro. I will do anything for him,"Motoko answered, trying to look strong.

On a whim, Tsuruko asked, "Including giving up your memories?"

Motoko blinked and took a step back as she asked, "W-What?"

"Perhaps I know a technique that will erase your memories of being an Aoyama and anything to do with the school. Would you give those up to stay with him? You would even get the rare chance to fall in love with him again, as those memories too would be erased," Tsuruko asked, taking a step forward.

"I-I need time to think about it. I-I probably would reject it, as it wouldn't be me with Keitaro," Motoko quickly said as she took another step back. Too bad for her, Tsuruko was keeping pace.

"As do I about your test. So please do not rush me, or the memory loss will be your only option," Tsuruko replied.

"So you do have such a terrible-" Motoko uttered, her eyes widening in fear.

"Perhaps. Perhaps not," Tsuruko answered. She stopped and headed into her room. "Good night."

Tsuruko held her room's door as she added, "So concentrate on your classes for tomorrow. We will talk more about the test that evening."

Tsuruko then closed the door. Motoko sighed before she headed to her room.

-o-

The Next day…

After breakfast, Keitaro was studying for his classes in the tea shop. At the moment, Tsuruko was sitting at a nearby table.

He recalled his talk with Motoko.

"Keitaro, should my sister decide to spend time with you, try to find out whatever she might be planning for her test," Motoko said as she hugged him. "I tried and she…. Well, offered a horrible alternative to the test."

"I'll do my best, Motoko," Keitaro answered as he felt up her back. "But what did she offer you?"

"Nothing you should care about," Motoko replied.

Keitaro was doing his best to discreetly look at Tsuruko as he perused his books. At the moment, all she was doing was meditating and drinking tea.

Naturally, either he was bad at it or Tsuruko had the uncanny ability to know who was looking at her.

Probably both, considering his luck.

"Urashima-san, what are you doing?" Tsuruko asked with a grin. "While my choice in clothes may be outdated, I do not think they are an example of Ancient history."

Keitaro fumbling around in a panic was an amusing sight for Tsuruko, except when he tossed his book up in the air and it hit his head…

"Urashima-San, Are you alright?" Tsuruko asked as she walked over to Keitaro, who was cradling his head.

Other than a large bump on his head and his still-healing leg, Keitaro was unharmed. "Yeah… I'm sorry for worrying you."

Keitaro couldn't help but blush, as she stood over him in a concerned way.

"It's alright. You're worried for Motoko," Tsuruko replied. She sat across from him and said,"I am too, but not in the way you are. As an older sibling yourself, you should understand the worry that I do."

Remembering Kanako and making a note to find out what was going on with her, Keitaro nodded. "So… what do you want to know about Motoko?"

"You already told me much. When I learned you were the Hinata's landlord, I briefly wondered how you were able to survive. I mean, the last I saw Motoko, she seemed willing to kill any man if she felt like she could get away from it!" Tsuruko said, gesturing towards Keitaro. "I first thought you were a skilled warrior to both survive and win her heart.. But it was more like a combination of being able to survive anything, luck, and kindness."

Keitaro rubbed the back of his head as he chuckled, "Wow… I guess that means we might pass your test much easier than we thought!"

"Ah…. that… The both of you to cease trying to spy on me and discover what test," Tsuruko replied. Now she stood looming over him, scaring Keitaro a little. "Any test I might come up with will be finalized when we three are in Kyoto tomorrow, when you and Motoko tell our parents about your engagement. That way, I could have our parents help me plan about how the two of you can earn theirs and my approval."

Keitaro gulped as cold fear went down his spine.

"I do hope you also plan on telling your parents, Keitaro," Haruka said as she suddenly appeared and refilled Tsuruko's cup.

"Ah, should he pass my test, that will be when they have their formal engagement ceremony!" Tsuruko said as she walked back to her table.

'That's right… I haven't talked to my parents in a long time… What would they think of Motoko? Would they accept her or not?' Keitaro thought.

Haruka noted that Keitaro was staring in Tsuruko's direction, but was deep in thought. Deciding to have some fun, Haruka asked with a grin, "Staring at your possible sister-in-law's behind, Keitaro? What would Motoko think?"

Keitaro began to panic once more. "No-no-no! I was just thinking about the last time I talked with mom and dad!"

"Ah, so you weren't thinking about seducing me to get an easy test?" Tsuruko asked as she sat down. "Perhaps I should-"

"No!" Keitaro cried out as he looked even more panicked.

Both Haruka and Tsuruko laughed.

"I can see why Motoko likes him," Tsuruko said before she drank some tea. "He's easy to wind up like that."

"Nah, that's why Kitsune likes him. Motoko likes him because he's nice and persistent, but she might like teasing him once they're together," Haruka replied. "So… Kyoto tomorrow. Keitaro, you gonna see your parents before meeting Motoko's?"

Keitaro blinked before he said in a bit of a nervous downer tone," No… Just in case we don't pass Tsuruko's test."

"You really shouldn't be so down on yourself, Keitaro. I mean, it's not like you're gonna die. All she might do is smack you into a coma and you waking up to a Motoko-less life," Haruka replied as she poured a cup of Tea for Keitaro. When he slumped in depression, Haruka stared at him for a few moments before she said, "...Yeah, probably shouldn't have said that."

"I agree," Tsuruko answered with a nod.

"Still better than Kanako's reaction," Haruka muttered. When Tsuruko looked at her, Haruka said, "His little sister. Has a big thing for him. Also into bondage. But enough of that."

Looking over at Keitaro, Tsuruko saw that he was still in a slump. He even had a depression cloud over his head. She asked, "So… what next?"

"Well…" Haruka asked as she rubbed her chin and looked away. "You gonna take it easy on him because of his injuries?"

Tsuruko shook her head. "From what I've heard, he's practically immortal. So no."

Haruka shrugged before she walked off.

"So…" Tsuruko said before she quickly finished off her tea. "Care to help me shop, Urashima-san? I still am new to this area and I do wish to to learn more about my possible brother-in-law."

After a few moments, Keitaro nodded.

-o-

Tsuruko mostly bought some knick knacks, various foodstuff, and a few items that had a hot springs motif. After they left a clothing store, "You know… You know more about my sister, but I know nearly nothing about your sister. Is there anything you could tell me about her?"

"Well… she took to the Urashima arts rather fast, according to Haruka…" Keitaro answered as he followed after Tsuruko. "And she had a fondness for ropes and tying things up."

"Like you?" Tsuruko asked. When a blushing Keitaro refused to look her in the eyes, she couldn't help but laugh. "Oh my! I apologize, but it just seems funny!"

"Yeah… I guess…" Keitaro muttered as they reached an intersection. As they crossed, a truck suddenly sped up. When Keitaro noticed it, he screamed.

However, in mere moments, Tsuruko stood between him and the truck. In a single swipe, she cut the truck in half, saving Keitaro.

As Keitaro was catching his breath and calming down, he had mixed feelings of Tsuruko and how she saved him.

Tsuruko looked back at Keitaro with concern as she asked, "Are you alright, Urashima-san?"

"Y-yeah…" Keitaro muttered as he began to rush over to the other side of the crosswalk. Tsuruko followed after him.

Just as Keitaro got on the sidewalk, Tsuruko hugged him from behind. His mind ran wild.

I nearly died. Tsuruko saved me by cutting a truck in half. Motoko's never moved that fast. Tsuruko's hugging me, has big boobs, and isn't wearing a bra. She moved really fast to save me. Oh my god, if the test is a fight against her, we don't stand a chance!

"Urashima-san, what are you thinking of?" Tsuruko asked. She leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "Is there something I can do to help you relax?

Keitaro shook himself free of Tsuruko's hug. He looked back and said, "I thank you for saving me, Tsuruko-san, but I won't betray Motoko, no matter what."

Tsuruko smiled as she replied, "That's good, Urashima-san, but how is going to a park and waiting until you're up to shop more betraying my sister?"

Keitaro blushed before he muttered, "Oh… I thought… never mind. Let's just go shop more."

-o-

Motoko walked into the Tea shop and noticed Keitaro holding his head in a panicked frazzle. She ran over and asked, "Keitaro! What's wrong?"

"No-nothing! I-I-I-" Keitaro uttered before he slumped over and said, "I wasn't able to learn much. Just that Tsuruko's not gonna make any final plans until we meet your parents."

Motoko hugged Keitaro in a way that had half of his face in her bosom. "That's still better than I was able to get. Anything else?"

"Not much," Keitaro muttered, once Motoko let him go. "So what now?"

"We eat and then speak with my sister after dinner," Motoko said, looking worried.

-o-

After dinner, the couple met up with Tsuruko in the woods behind the Inn.

Tsuruko was sitting on a large rock and looking at tea cup that looked like a turtle. She looked at Motoko with a gentle smile and asked, "Shall we talk about our day, Imouto?"

Motoko shook her head. "I am here to find out more about your test."

Tsuruko sighed. All of a sudden, her demeanor changed. No longer did she seem like the friendly aloof woman who wanted to spend time with her sister. Now she seemed more like a warrior before an opponent, looking for any weaknesses.

"Though I'll need to go over it with our parents, the test will be a simple one. After we get to the ShinMei-Ryu, your test will be to defeat me in three days," Tsuruko said as she stood up and put the tea cup on the rock.

Both Keitaro and Motoko stiffened in fear.

"But since you two have been training, there is another restriction," Tsuruko said, putting a hand on the handle of her sword. "Motoko is not allowed to use her sword during the test."

"Ane-ue, it's difficult for me to fight you with my blade! Taking it away makes it impossible!" Motoko cried out.

"So you give up?" Tsuruko asked.

"N-No! We will fight you and win!" Keitaro exclaimed.

Tsuruko then focused her attention towards Keitaro. It was different from when Motoko used to glare at him.

When Motoko used to glare at him, it was with a burning hate.

The way Tsuruko looked at him? Like he was a bug and she was determining if she should squish him.

To his credit, he shivered a lot, but didn't back down or look away.

"I do not know if Motoko should follow your example or give up, Urashima-san," Tsuruko said before she headed back to her room.

-o-

In the hallway, Keitaro still was shivering from fear. Once he calmed down, he asked, "So… Since Tsuruko didn't define how we could beat her, could we fight her in a baking match?

Motoko gave him the 'You're an idiot' look. After a few moments, she said, "She and I are swordswomen, from a school of learning how to fight with a sword, with a long history of swordfighting. At what point does that say 'fight me in a bakeoff!'?"

"Well… She never would expect-" Keitaro began before Motoko's glare worsened. He quickly asked, "So what's the plan then?"

"We prepare for tomorrow and hope for the best," Motoko said. "Need any help with packing up?"

Keitaro was about to refuse her, but said, "Alright. Why not? We might not have another chance."

Motoko kissed him in response.

"That condition about your sword really bugs me, though…" Keitaro muttered before he recalled something he was told about. " I do think we might have something that could give us an edge for whatever Tsuruko throws at us, if we need it."

"What is it?" Motoko asked. A thought came to her and she added in an icy tone, "If it is something perverted, like getting me preg-"

"No-no! It's a sword! C'mon with me to the stockroom!" Keitaro said before he headed to his room.

-o-

"Tsuruko said you couldn't use your sword, but nothing about using someone else's sword, right?" Keitaro asked as he was throwing stuff around the room.

"True… I think that might be the case..." Motoko watched Keitaro search around the stockroom for a few minutes before she said, "Keitaro, if you need-"

"Found it!" Keitaro cried out as he held a Katana aloft. His eyes grew glassy as he then said "Wow! This is a great sword! I feel so good! Feel really wood! Wow!"

Rushing over, Motoko yelled, "Wah! Keitaro! A shadow is appearing behind you! It wants to take over your body."

Keitaro wobbled for a moment before Motoko tackled him, knocking the katana out of his hands.

Keitaro grew confused. One moment, he picked up the sword. The next, he was on his back with Motoko's boobs in his face.

Motoko slowly crawled to the sword and stared at it. "It looked like something horrible is sealed in this sword… If we accidentally draw this sword… Only Ane-ue can defeat it! We must never touch this sword!"

When Keitaro didn't answer, Motoko looked down and said, "Keitaro, is every-"

It was then she realized that Keitaro was blushing like mad and was accidentally looking up her skirt, unable to move because Motoko's legs were pinning his arms down.

"Kyah! Pervert!" Motoko cried out as she jumped to the side.

"How am I a pervert?! You crawled over me!" Keitaro yelled as he stood up.

"Force of habit, but you really should have said something!" Motoko yelled back.

"And what of your-" Keitaro began before he remembered the reason why they were there. "Look, we need to have some kind of edge. Can we take the Hina Blade?"

"And risk the Blade running wild?" Motoko spat.

"Look, I saw how scared you were of your sister! I want to make sure she doesn't do that again!" Keitaro spat back. "But if you don't want us to take it, then we can figure something else out."

Motoko looked at the Hina blade. After a few moments, she said, "I'll think about it."

Looking around the room, Motoko asked," Just how many things are in here? How many are cursed or once used to seal evil spirits?"

Keitaro crossed his arms and thought about it before he shrugged and said, "Dunno. That's something you have to ask either Haruka or Granny Hina."

Motoko felt a little numb as the possibility that she and the others might be living in the same building as an unknown number of evil spirits.

"We need to seal up this room and put a warn-" Motoko began before she imagined a scene.

Kitsune and Su were walking be when they saw various signs stating for everyone to stay out of the storage room and to avoid grabbing anything. Pointing towards the door, Kitsune asked,"Hey, Su… Wanna see what fun toys are in there?!"

"Sure! Maybe there's bananas too!" Su exclaimed.

After having Su rip open the door, Kitsune and the molmol inventor entered.

Within moments, they left. Their eyes were glassy and their movements unsteady.

"Kill… kill…. Drink booze…." Kitsune muttered, holding a doll.

"Rampage…. Rampage…. Eat…" Su moaned, wearing a glowing pair of panties on her head.

Motoko shook her head to clear herself of such thoughts. "They wouldn't do that… would they?"

"Who would do what?" Keitaro asked.

"Never you mind," Motoko quickly answered. "But when we get back, we should do a catalogue of the various things here…"

-o-

The next day…

"Keitaro! Let me carry your things!" Motoko said as she was trying to pull Keitaro's suitcase from him. "And let go of mine! You are on crutches!"

"Motoko! I am not that crippled and I need to impress your sister!" Keitaro cried as he pulled back.

"Silence!" Tsuruko yelled as she suddenly appeared behind Motoko and Keitaro, scaring them both. When they looked at her, Tsuruko put her hands on her hips and asked, "We haven't even left the hinata! Do you want me to test you here and now?"

"No…" Keitaro and Motoko muttered, looking ashamed.

"I do offer a solution. Do you wish to hear it?" Tsuruko asked. The couple looked each other for a moment and then gave Tsuruko a nod. Tsuruko clasped her hands together and cheerfully said, "Urashima-san carries everyone's suitcases and Imouto carries him on her back!"

Both Keitaro and Motoko grimaced.

"Or Motoko carries the suitcases," Tsuruko added.

Keitaro grumbled before he handed Motoko his suitcase.

The train trip to the Shinmei-Ryu was quiet. No one spoke much. Motoko and Keitaro instead chose to hold each other's hands and give each other looks of love and worry. The only thing that really bothered Tsuruko was that every so often, she felt an odd presence.

Tsuruko found it a bit cute.

When they arrived at the Shinmei-Ryu, Keitaro began to shiver.

Motoko stood by Keitaro and leaned against him. Keitaro looked at her and stopped shivering. "I'm ready. Are you?"

"No," Motoko said. "But let's go anyways."

-oOoOoOo

Notes from HotelKatz : This fanfic was an idea started by Antimatter of TheFanfictionForums . They are also the planner of this fic.

A huge round of thanks to everybody at TheFanfictionForums for their help.

The memory erase technique was from History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi.

Dunno if Tsuruko knows a version of it or not. Might be a good idea for another fic, though.