96Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina.
-oOoOoOo-
Naru had left a coffee shop, taking a break from getting the supplies for her study group in Kyoto. She was going there the next day. She had visited Keitaro a few days ago in the hospital. On one hand, she was glad that nothing happened. On the other hand, she was annoyed that nothing happened.
'I'm kinda glad that he stayed in bed and didn't try stand up. Chances are that he'd accidentally grope me. I don't want to be banned from a hospital because of a reflex that I've picked up around him..' Naru thought as she sipped a mocha latte she had just bought. 'Maybe I need to leave for a little bit, if that's the first thing that comes to mind...'
She began to walk back to the Hinata, but she soon stopped by a clothing store. She walked up to the store window to look at a mannequin. It was wearing a strapless blue dress that gradually got darker as it went down to the gown. The evening gloves were as dark blue as the bottom of the gown.
"Ahhh, what a dress... perhaps I should save up for it..." Naru muttered to herself. She looked at the price tag. She grimaced a little and said, "Or maybe I should ask Su if she can make a dress making machine..."
She then heard someone loudly say, "ZanmashÅ Ni-no-Tachi!"
As she turned around, she felt a whoosh of air pass her by and the sounds of a cellphone hitting the ground. Behind her was a man who was shocked that his pants were now in tatters and was trying to keep them on himself. On the ground besides him was a Flip-cellphone, broken in half. Naru noticed that the Cellphone had a camera.
"Pervert!" Naru shouted as she began to back away from the man.
"Sir, phones are useful, but should never be used to violate a lady's privacy," A woman's voice said. As the man ran away, Naru looked around and saw a woman dressed in a hakama similar to Motoko's. She even was putting her bokken back at her side in the same way.
'Huh.. Wonder if she knows Motoko?' Naru thought as she neared the woman. The woman seemed to notice the attention that Naru was giving her, as the woman faced her.
"Excuse me, miss, but do you know where the Hinata Sou is located?" The woman asked. Naru paused and pointed at herself. The woman nodded with a smile.
"A-A-A few blocks that way. Why do you ask?" Naru answered, pointing in the direction of the Inn.
"Thank you for telling me where it is. As for my reason to go there, I plan to visit family," The woman said in a pleasant tone, before she turned to start heading to the Hinata.
The woman paused when Naru asked, "Is it Motoko?"
The woman slowly turned and asked in a wary tone, "How do you know her?"
"I'm both friends with her and a fellow tenant," Naru answered, getting nervous from the woman's stare that seemed to pierce her. She started to calm down when the woman smiled at her.
"Well, I'm Motoko's older sister, Tsuruko," The woman replied.
"I'm Naru Narusegawa," Naru said back.
"Well, Ms. Narusegawa, if it is not too much trouble, will you accompany me?" Tsuruko asked.
"Sure. I was heading there anyways," Naru answered with a smile.
"So how has my Imouto-chan been?" Tsuruko asked as she walked with Naru. Tsuruko looked down a little and her smile gained a sad edge as she muttered, "After she moved to the Hinata, she stopped contacting me."
Naru was about to comment when she thought, 'I haven't talked to my family much after moving to the Hinata as well...'
"She's been doing alright, but how was she when she still lived with you?," Naru asked before drinking a bit more of her mocha latte.
"Oh, she looked up to me to the point where I think she was afraid of me," Tsuruko replied. "One day, she decided to avoid me as much as possible. I don't know what caused the change in her... I suppose it might have had something to do with my husband... Motoko never seemed to like him."
Naru looked at the ground as she thought, 'Huh... that explains a little bit about Motoko...'
Tsuruko then looked at Naru and asked, "But enough about that. Tell me a bit about yourself."
Naru looked at Tsuruko with pride slowly growing on her face.
"My friends and I finally gotten into Todai! I've barely been in a day and so many clubs have been going after me and I was approached by this year's 'Miss Todai' scout," Naru said, smiling at her good fortune.
"And what about your friends who also gotten into Todai?" Tsuruko asked.
"Well, Mutsumi's probably the happiest she's ever been, though if it weren't for her forgetfulness, she'd probably been in Todai a few years ago. It was her childhood dream to go to Todai," Naru answered before taking another sip of her mocha.
"And what about your other friends?" Tsuruko asked. Naru paused for a second.
"Well, there's really only one other friend that's going to Todai for now. While he also gotten into Todai, he broke his leg on the first day... He's really unlucky..." Naru said. "Then again, Keitaro always been unlucky. It kinda seems like the only bit of luck he's had was when Granny Hina made him the manager of the Hinata..."
"Any reason why she did?" Tsuruko asked.
"Probably because he's her grandson," Naru answered with a slight shrug.
Tsuruko had a look of surprise on her face for a moment. After a few moments, she rubbed her chin and muttered, "Well, that's interesting..."
"What is?" Naru asked, eventually curious at what Tsuruko was muttering about.
"Oh, merely that Granny Hina promised that she would help curb Motoko's temper. I had no idea that she was going to use her grandson to do so," Tsuruko answered with slight chuckle.
"Huh... That does seem interesting..." Naru muttered before she took another sip of her Mocha.
The rest of the journey back was silent.
-oOo-
"So that is the Hinata..." Tsuruko commented as she and Naru reached the top of the stairs. She looked at Naru and asked, "So what room does my Imouto-chan reside in?"
"Uh, room 302..." Naru answered.
"Thank you, Narusegawa," Tsuruko answered before she began to walk quicker. Naru was doing her best to follow after. Once inside, Tsuruko passed by Kitsune.
When Naru passed by her, Kitsune asked, "Who's the older Motoko, Naru?"
"I am Tsuruko Aoyama. I am Motoko's sister," Tsuruko answered before Naru had a chance to.
"So you're Motoko's sister? Kinda funny she never mentioned you..." Kitsune muttered as she and Naru followed Tsuruko, who was wandering towards Motoko's room.
"She has some issues with me." Tsuruko said as she tried to open Motoko's door. She discovered it was locked or barred. "Is there any locks on the door?"
"Not that I know of..." Kitsune replied. "Maybe a latch..."
Before anyone could say anything, a feminine moan came from Motoko's room.
'Motoko!' Naru thought as imagines of Motoko tripping and hurting herself on the sword she liked to carry around.
'Almost sounds like a woman, but not quite...' Tsuruko thought as she rubbed her chin.
'Oho! I think we may have stumbled onto something private!' Kitsune thought with a smirk.
Naru then forced the door open, ripping the little latch that was keeping the door closed off the frame.
Inside, Motoko was wearing a Nurse cosplay costume while sitting on Keitaro's lap as she was making out with him. Due to the almost- passed-out expression on Keitaro, Tsuruko knew that it had been Keitaro who had moaned. When Motoko heard the slam of the door being forced opened, she stopped and looked behind her. After a few seconds passed without him feeling Motoko's lips, Keitaro slowly opened his eyes to see why and began to whimper once he saw a shocked Kitsune and Naru, as well as someone that looked like an older Motoko.
"Ane-ue! What are- What are you doing here!" Motoko exclaimed, once she had gotten over her shock at seeing Tsuruko.
Tsuruko smiled as she covered her mouth. "Seeing something that I shouldn't have, but has made me proud of you at the same time. Fufufu."
Tsuruko then closed the door and turned around, but remained standing in front of it. She observed that Naru's shocked look was slowly turning into that of sorrow.
"So Motoko's made a move on him... Huh... Didn't see that coming... Sure I joked about it, but that's all it was..." Kitsune muttered, shaking her head a little bit in disbelief. She then began to smile. "This makes things very interesting..."
"Wha... .But... how..." Naru muttered. She then ran into her room, saying, "I need to get ready for my study group tomorrow!"
"Is everything alright with ms. Narusegawa?" Tsuruko asked.
"I thought she was alright, but I guess her playing with Keitaro's emotions sorta backfired..." Kitsune answered. "Wanna knock and ask Keitaro to come out and explain himself?
"I suspect that there is no need, as both will be leaving the room shortly," Tsuruko answered.
-oOo-
"Motoko? Is everything alright? You're worrying me since that woman showed up..." Keitaro asked, as Motoko was still facing the door. Her silence and the fact she seemed to remain still as a statue was worrying him. He tilted his head a little as he muttered, "You called her sister. Are you two related?"
Motoko didn't hear him as her thoughts were growing more panicked. Her eyes focused on the door as she thought, 'Sister has come to take me back home and away from my Keitaro... I must figure out a way for us to stay together...'
Her eyes looked over at Shisui. 'Perhaps we can make out for the final time before... No... She would enter the moment we start...'
Her eyes looked over at her closet. 'Perhaps we can gather some things, go to the united states and elope in Vegas? We would need to never stop traveling as Tsuruko would never stop chasing after us...'
Looking over at a photo that was taken back during one of the vacations that the Hinata tenants took, she thought, 'Perhaps I could take Su on her offer to take us to Molmol? I'd have to share... No, never going to happen... Perhaps I could ask Kitsu... No, my dignity is still a little bit tarnished from the last time I asked her for help. Naru is out of the question...'
She was shaken out of her thoughts as Keitaro was shaking her. With a little bit of worry in his voice, he asked, "Motoko? Motoko? Please say something!"
"I'm... I'm alright, Keitaro..." Motoko said, brushing his hands away. She then began to stand up as she said, "I... I need to get dressed. I'm sorry our personal time was cut short once again..."
"It's alright, Motoko. You didn't foresee her coming," Keitaro said as he started to stand up.
"Stay here, but don't peek. I don't want you speaking to Tsuruko without me," Motoko said as she headed over to her dresser.
"Alright..." Keitaro said as he spun around to face away from Motoko as she was getting dressed. He even closed his eyes.
After a few moments, she said, "I'm dressed."
He looked back and saw that she was in her Hakama. She had her hand out to help him stand up, so he accepted it.
"Ready?" Keitaro asked, once he was standing up. Due to the fact she slightly pulled her hand away, he let go.
Motoko took a deep breath to steady her nerves. She frowned in a resigned way as she said, "No, but I suspect I might never be. Let's go."
Keitaro tried to smile to cheer her up as he said, "I almost thought you'd suggest that we should run away to another country..."
Motoko let out a brief chuckle before she said, "Sort of. Las Vegas would be the first stop..."
Keitaro gained a concern look as he asked, "Just how scary is your sister?"
"Tsuruko is far more skilled than I. I left the Shinmei-ryu and didn't contact her because I foolishly thought that she weakened herself to be with a man and I sorta walked in on something I was too young to contemplate..." Motoko answered, looking away from Keitaro. His hand brushed against hers, so she held his hand.
"Well, let's face her together..." Keitaro pleaded.
A few moments of silence passed before Motoko said, "...Thanks, this means a lot..."
The two headed to the door and opened it. Tsuruko and Kitsune were waiting for them. Tsuruko had an amused look, but her eyes seemed to be seeking out any potential lies. Kitsune wore a concerned look on her brow.
Tsuruko seemed to hear the door open as she looked back and asked, "Ah, sister, Shall we head to someplace where we can sit down and chat? I'd love to hear you tell me about your boyfriend and how he won your heart!"
"I thought you were going after Naru? So what? Were you playing with her emotion or were you trying to make us all into your pretty little harem?" Kitsune asked, with a slight anger in her voice. The anger was soon replaced with an amused grin as she then asked, "'Cause if it's the latter, I gotta know if Haruka is included."
"It's not like that!" Keitaro and Motoko said at the same time.
"Ah, I see you've reached that stage already, but please calm down. There is no need to explode like that," Tsuruko said. "let's head to the living room and talk there."
"I'd like to, but I gotta see if Naru needs any help..." Kitsune replied, losing the amused tone she had.
"Well, I hope the two of you can join us if you can," Tsuruko said, before leading Motoko and Kitsune away.
As they headed down the stairs, Motoko asked,"Is everything alright with Naru?"
"I think she did not take seeing the two of you in your room well, Sister," Tsuruko answered.
-oOoOoOo-
Author's note -
This fanfic was an idea started by Antimatter of thefanfictionforums. They are also the planner of this fic.
A thanks to chronodekar for pointing out that when a door kept closed by a latch is forced opened, the last thing to get people's attention is the whine of the door. Also for how to better write the part where Tsuruko, Naru, and Kitsune walk in on Motoko and Keitaro. A thanks to Antimatter for helping tone down Naru at certain parts. A thanks to an Anonymous person and EagleCeres of TheFanfictionForums of for pointing out certain parts.
As for my 'Another Blade in a second' fic, it is not cancelled, only on hiatus. I'm still working on it. Admittedly, most of the current work for that fic is coming up with ideas for potential plots. When I get back to really working on it, I'll probably first re-write the chapters before getting to work on new chapters. Nothing major, just changing a few areas that I'm not so proud of.
Edit on June 13, 2015: Thanks to the advice of Wittmann the Tiger Ace's review, I changed how Tsuruko and Motoko greet each other.
