Aftermath: Loss and Redemption 2

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disclaimer.

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style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>“X” Spoken words

style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>‘X’ Thoughts

style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> 

style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>LIME CONTENT WARNING!!

style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> 

style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>Love Hina

style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> 

style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>Aftermath: Loss and Redemption 2

style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> 

Chapter Two: Information and Issues

style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'> 

style='mso-ansi-language:EN-US'>By: hawker_748

The following
morning, a surreal atmosphere enveloped Hinata House. When the regular
residents roused themselves from slumber, more than one wondered if they hadn’t
simply dreamt that Keitaro and Motoko had returned the day before. Nothing
seemed to have changed, and the idea of them returning after so long seemed
rd, rd, never mind Motoko being pregnant with Keitaro’s child.

When everyone
gathered in the changing room for their morning bath, no one raised the subject
of their return, and the idea of it all being just a strange dream became all
the more likely. All of the girls were chatting amiably, and it looked like it
was just going to be another normal day at the residence.

Until everyone went outside and
discovered Tsuruko enjoying an early soak in the hot springs. The sight of her
lounging in the hot water shattered any lingering hopes that the return had all
been their imagination, and forced everyone to realize that life at Hinata
House had once again been turned upside down.

As everyone stood there staring,
Tsuruko casually stood up, stretched, proving that beauty ran in the Aoyama
family line, picked up a towel, and headed for the exit. As she passed the
residents, who were standing there with their mouths open, looking like freshly
landed fish, Tsuruko bid everyone “Good morning!”

Mutsumi quickly returned the
greeting, followed by Su and Sarah. After a moment, Shinobu bid her “good mng” ng”
as well. Tsuruko nodded in response, and walked into the changing area to get
dressed. She either didn’t notice, or just didn’t care, that Naru and Kitsune
were both staring daggers at her as she walked by them.

‘How dare she!’ Naru thought
silently as she immersed herself up to her chin. ‘She admits to destroying my
relationship with Keitaro, and then she just stays around like she owns the
place!’ Naru was gripped by a feeling of impotent rage, for she couldn’t really
do anything to Tsuruko without further upsetting her relationship with Keitaro
and Motoko. Even if that hadn’t been a factor, Tsuruko was out of her weight
class regardless.

The emotionally scarred young
woman was experiencing a tempest of emotions; anger at Tsuruko’s meddling,
sadness at being reminded yet again of the loss of Keitaro to Motoko, regret at
her hostility towards them the day before, and finally, hope that she’d be able
to work things out in the end. Their return had opened old wounds that she’d
thought were healed over, as well as making a few new ones. But she didn’t want
to stay angry at them, only Tsuruko was deserving of that. Keitaro and Motoko
had been friends, and maybe they could be again, but Tsuruko was fair game.

Stewing, in both senses of the
word, physically and emotionally, Kitsune’s thoughts weren’t as charitable as
Naru’s. Unlike her, Kitsune blamed all of the Aoyama for Naru’s slide into
depression after Keitaro had made his choice. While she no longer considered
him to be the devil incarnate, being civil to him was an exercise in restraint.
She wanted to lash out at him, make him and Motoko hurt the way Naru had been,
but she was reluctantly following her friends’ request to be civil, at least
for now. ‘Hell, maybe I’ll even try to make up with them as well,’ she thought.
‘But probably not.’

For Kitsune, the only person
whose feelings mattered to her in this situation was Naru. She didn’t give a
rat’s ass what the others felt like, and she believed that she’d be angry at
Tsuruko, Motoko, and Keitaro for the rest of her life. ‘But Naru would like it
if I was on good terms with them again.’ She sighed in frustration as she
struggled to balance her friends’ wishes with her own feelings. ‘I’ll try for
your sake Naru, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.’ Kitsune spent the rest of her
time in the bath trying to convince herself to open up to the Aoyamas, but she
wasn’t certain how successful she would be in this endeavour.

As she relaxed in the hot spring,
Mutsumis’ main point of concern was that all of the residents would get along,
and that nothing would interfere with Motokos’ pregnancy. Although she hadn’t
shown anything on her face, she was deeply troubled by the disharmony that now
permeated Hinata House, and she felt that she had to do whatever was necessary to
eliminate it. ‘The best way to do that,’ she reasoned, ‘would be to try to help
Kei-kun, Motoko-chan, and Naru-san get along.’ But she didn’t know how to do
that. She decided to just think about it for a while, and when she came up with
a plan, she’d put it into action.

While feeling the hot water work
out the kinks from sleeping, Shinobu briefly recalled her unrequited love for
Keitaro, and how difficult a decision it had been to let him go. Objectively,
she had known that she never had a chance with him, but hope springs eternal,
especially in first crushes. The pain she had felt in accepting his loss had
been replaced by fond memories of the time that she’d had with him, and how he
had always tried to be there for her, even though he hadn’t felt for her the
way she’d felt for him.

Because of her acceptance of the
futility of a relationship with him, she’d had an easier time than Naru after
Keitaro had left. It had hurt for a while, but with time, and some talking with
Naru, the pain had eventually gone away, and Shinobu had grown up a little as a
result. She was glad to see Keitaro and Motoko again, thrilled that they were
expecting a child, and unlike Naru, she hadn’t had any relapses of her feelings
for him. He was now like an old friend that she hadn’t seen for a long time,
and the love she felt for him was the love for an older brother.

Koalla Su and Sarah McDougal were
both glad to have Keitaro back, although Sarah wouldn’t have admitted it under
torture. They both felt that things had gone dull after Keitaro and Motoko had
left, and wititaritaro back, their favourite ‘playmate’ had returned. While
they had both worked hard trying to raise Naru’s spirit after the young couple
had left, she wasn’t as much fun as Keitaro. Besides, you could hit him with
anything and he’d just get back up again. Having a toy that bordered on
indestructible was every child’s dream.

After everyone was
finished with their ruminations in the bath, they all got dressed and went down
to the kitchen. Shinobu was the first to enter the kitchen and she stopped cold
upon discovering that Tsuruko was putting on the finishing touches on
breakfast. Not knowing what else to do, she sat down at the table and waited to
be served.

Naru and Kitsune
arrived in the dining room and were taken aback at the sight of Tsuruko setting
food on the table, and Shinobu sitting down, looking like she wasn’t sure what
to do. Gradually, they took their seats, noticing that there were settings for
everyone, and waited. Mutsumi, Su, and Sarah didn’t even raise an eyebrow at
the sight of Tsuruko preparing breakfast, they just took it in stride.

Kitsune took a bite
of her meal and was annoyed by the fact that it was quite good, almost on par
with Shinobu’s, which meant she couldn’t even complain about the quality. As
they all sat there eating, gently probing Tsuruko about what Motoko had been
like when she was younger, and answering her questions about Keitaro, they all
wondered where the two of them were.

XXX

Keitaro and Motoko were currently
still in bed and in each others arms, enjoying the rest after the hectic times
that they’d had the day and night before. Motoko woke up first, and she
experienced the same emotions that she’d become accustomed to when she awoke in
Keitaro’s arms. Love, security, comfort, and closeness were all feelings that
she was accustomed to having, and she was always thankful that Keitaro had
chosen her. But on this morning, like the previous weeks mornings, another
feeling was making its presence known, nausea.

Motoko swallowed once heavily,
all of the while feeling her stomach churn in a way that was by now
depressingly familiar. She sat up abruptly, waking Keitaro in the process, and
making an effort to hold on until the nausea passed. Feeling the gorge rise in
her throat, she realized she’d failed once again. She grabbed her hakama
hurriedly, put it on like a robe, and bolted out of the door in a mad dash for
the bathroom. Keitaro, who had snapped awake as soon as he’d realized what was
happening, threw on his own hakama and followed closely behind.

With seconds to spare Motoko made
it to the bathroom, dropped to her knees, lifted the lid and like many, many
expectant mothers before her, underwent the experience known as ‘morning
sickness’. As she knelt there, vomiting and silently cursing the reproductive
system that proscribed such indignities onto its participants, she noticed that
once again Keitaro had followed her into the bathroom and was holding her hair
up for her so that none fell into the bowl. Finally, after what felt like an
eternity, the heaving stopped and Motoko gratefully accepted the glass of water
that Keitaro handed her. She took a sip, rinsed out her mouth and spat the
water into the bowl, repeating twice in an attempt to purge the foul taste from
her mouth. She then stood up and took a look at herself in the mirror, dismayed
at the bedraggled face that she saw there.

“Feeling better now, Mo-chan?”
Keitaro asked softly.

Motoko gave her husband a look
that was half annoyance and half misery. “Why is it that only mothers go
through this?” she asked bleakly.

“Because they’re the ones
carrying the baby?” Keitaro replied in a weak attempt at levity.

Keitaro’s attempt to raise her
spirits succeeded enough that she didn’t clout him upside the head for that
remark. With a sickly smile she said, “God, I’m hideous aren’t I? I’m a mess!”

Keitaro took hold of Motoko’s
shoulders, pulled her into an embrace, and in a soothing voice replied, “No
Mo-chan, you’re beautiful. You’re just going through something very big right
now.”

“I know, I know. Doesn’t make it
any more enjoyable.”

“Do you want to see a doctor
today? It’d probably be a good idea to start seeing one regularly, just to be
sure.”

Motoko considered what Keitaro
had suggested for a few moments before replying, “You’re probably right.” She
then pulled herself partially out of his embrace, looked down into his eyes and
asked, “Will you still me me when I look like I’ve swallowed a watermelon?”

Smiling warmly in response,
Keitaro said, “Yes. Like I said, I’ll always love you, I promise. Do you feel
up to breakfast?”

“Yes, I feel better now. I’m
actually quite hungry.”

“Of course, you’re eating for
two.”

“That’s true. Let’s get cleaned
up after we eat, okay Kei-kun?”

“That’s fine with me Mo-chan.”

XXX

Back at the breakfast table,
everyone had heard Motoko’s uncharacteristically heavy footfalls during her
sprint for the bathroom, and most had grimaced in disgust at the sound of her
purging her stomach.

“What’s going on up there?” asked
Sarah, a concerned look on her face.

“Morning sickness,” Mutsumi
replied casually.

“What’s that?” asked Su
curiously.

Naru pursed her lips as she
considered how to answer that. She then replied, “When a woman is going to have
a baby, they throw up a lot during the first months of the pregnancy.” This
seemed to satisfy Sarah and Su, and the two of them resumed eating.

Realizing that this was going to
be a regular occurrence for the next little while, the others made an effort to
keep eating as well. When Keitaro and Motoko entered the dining room a few
moments later, their appearance was unusual enough that it took most of the
residents by surprise.

During the time that they had
trained together, Keitard Mod Motoko had almost always worn identical kendo
outfits, and were always impeccable in their appearance. The sight of the two
of them in old shorts and t-shirts, with bleary eyes and ‘bed-head’ came as a
complete surprise to everyone. Their completely ragged appearance caused
Shinobu to blurt out, “What, what happened to you two?”

“We. Hate. Mornings.” The two of
them replied in unison.

More than a little worried by the
fact that her younger sister more resembled a ghoul than a human, Tsuruko
asked, “Shouldn’t you two be practicing?”

“We practice after breakfast
now,” replied Motoko, taking a seat at the table, with Keitaro sitting next to
her a second later. Mutsumi passed the both of them a plate that they both
accepted with grateful nods and then started to eat.

Deciding that the time and the
circumstances were ripe for teasing, Kitsune remarked, “You know, the two of
you don’t seem to be so motivated to practice anymore. Is it possible that your
skills are slipping Motoko?”

With chopsticks paused halfway to
her mouth, Motoko looked straight at Kitsune. For a brief second her eyes
narrowed and flashed menacingly, before a smile that didn’t come close to her
eyes appeared on her features. When she responded, her voice was sweet, but
dangerous to the core; a blade dipped in maple syrup. “OUR skills are quite
sufficient, Kitsune. Would you like a demonstration?”

Kitsune was shaken by the sheer
level of threat in that friendly sounding offer. It also angered her, and she
was about to reply when Naru subtly shook her head at her and frowned
disapprovingly. Remembering her promise to be civil, Kitsune bit back her
reply, put her head down, and resumed eating.

“She may have a valid point,”
interjected Tsuruko. “You always used to get up early to train when you were
growing up.”

“Yes, I remember,” replied
Motoko. “But over the last year or so, I’ve noticed that we both started doing
better when we extended our training at night, rather than getting up early.
When you sleep later you feel more rested, and you’re better able to learn.”

Tsuruko considered that for a few
moments before responding with, “That seems to make sense, and you did say that
Keitaro was doing quite well.”

Keitaro’s ego grew a little upon
hearing that comment.

“If someone as uncoordinated as
Keitaro could do that well, perhaps there’s some truth to that theory,” Tsuruko
continued.

With an almost audible ‘hiss’,
Keitaro’s ego was deflated once again.

Any further comments were aborted
when Tama-chan, who had been resting on Mutsumi’s shoulder, took to the air and
ended up landing on Motoko’s shoulder. All of the regular residents froze,
waiting for Motokos’ normal display of panic whenever Tama-chan came too close
to her. But this time, something unexpected happened. Motoko not only started
tickling Tama-chan under the chin, she even picked up a morsel of food to hand
feed the hot springs turtle.

The collective surprise was
captured perfectly by Sarah, who cried out, “What’s goin’ on? You always used
to freak out when you saw turtles.”

Motoko briefly took
her attention away from feeding Tama-chan and replied, “I guess you could say
I’ve learned to… appreciate… flying turtles.”

Keitaro found that his cheeks
were warm at that comment.

“Yeah, I heard,” Kitsune muttered
under her breath.

“I beg your pardon?” asked
Mutsumi.

“Nothing! Nothing at all!” babbled
Kitsune, who was blushing so heavily she looked like she’d fallen asleep in a
tanning booth.

A pregnant pause followed
Kitsune’s remark until Naru, who didn’t want to do anything that would widen
the gulf between her and her former friends, made an obvious, almost desperate
attempt to change the subject. “Is everything all right Motoko? You sounded
terrible up there.”

Grateful for the opportunity to
bypass Kitsune’s intemperate remark, Motoko replied, “It’s just morning
sickness, I believe. It wasn’t much fun.”

“Yeah,” Su piped up. “You sounded
like Keitaro the first time you made him run!”

“Su!” Shinobu cried out, looking
slightly ill at the present topic of converon.

“I’m still going to have to live
with it for a while,” Motoko remarked resignedly.

“How are you feeling
Motoko-chan?” inquired Mutsumi, her usual good cheer firmly in place.

“Excited… and scared.”

“You’re scared Motoko?” asked Su
curiously. “I thought you were only afraid of turtles.”

“Terrified actually,” replied
Motoko. “This, this is the biggest thing I’ve ever done, I’m mortified of doing
something wrong.”

“Nobody’s perfect Motoko,”
Kitsune interjected. Her expression darkened as she found herself replaying
unpleasant memories. “Especially most parents,” she added quietly.

“You won’t be doing it alone,”
Keitaro said softly, tenderly squeezing Motoko’s hand. “I’ll be with you every
step of the way.”

“Then why weren’t you throwing
up?!” snapped Motoko. A stricken look came over her as she realized what she’d
just said. “I’m sorry Keitaro! I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s okay,” he replied
sincerely. “You’re under a lot of stress, I understand. Believe me, I wish I
could do more for you than pro sup support.”

A look of gratitude replaced the
stricken look on Motoko’s face. With a tangible level of thanks in her voice,
she said “Thank you for being so understanding.”

“It’s nothing, I’m nervous too.
The first time I hold our son in my hands I’ll probably-”

“Daughter,” interrupted Motoko.

“I beg your pardon?”

“I’m going to have a beautiful
baby girl,” Motoko replied confidently, rubbing her stomach gently and smiling
beatifically. “I can feel it.”

An indulgent look came over
Keitaro’s face and he patiently replied, “Sorry Mo-chan, but I’m certain that
we’re going to have a strong, healthy son.”

“Kei-kun,” Motoko responded
sweetly, “I’m the one carrying her, she’s a girl.”

“Mo-chan, it’s the man who
determines the sex of the baby. He’s a boy,” he insisted.

“She’s a girl, Kei-kun,” Motoko
replied forcefully.

“He’s a boy!” Keitaro snapped
back.

“Girl!”

“Boy!”

By now, all other conversations
at the table had ceased, as everyone started watching the argument in a state
of incredulous disbelief. Keitaro and Motoko were raising their voices at each
other, their ‘discussion’ reminding the residents of the verbal sparring that
Keitaro and Naru used to do.

Things came to a head when Motoko
stood up suddenly, drew her sword, despite the fact she hadn’t been carrying it
and had no place to conceal it, and levelled it at Keitaro. “I challenge you to
a duel! If I win, the baby will be a girl. If you win, it will be a boy.” The
twinkle in her eye belied her tone of voice.

Keitaro looked into his wife’s
eyes, saw the glint of amusement, and knew that he wasn’t going to back out of
this one. “I accept,” he replied, a gleam appearing in his own eyes.

“That doesn’t even make any
sense!” shouted an exasperated Kitsune.

Motoko was beyond hearing. “Annex
roof,” she declared with a smirk, to which Keitaro nodded, and the two of them
headed out of the dining room, leaving the stunned residents and an amused
Tsuruko behind. After a few moments of complete silence, Tsuruko stood up and
walked towards the door, closely followed by Mutsumi.

“Um, where are you two going?”
Shinobu asked hesitantly.

“To watch,” the two of them
replied, sounding as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

The prospect of Keitaro and
Motoko duelling caused Su and Sarah’s eyes to light up, and the two of them
zipped out of the kitchen, leaving turbulence in the air behind them as they
ran. Shinobu, more concerned about Motoko somehow hurting herself or the baby,
followed a moment later, but nowhere near as fast. Naru and Kitsune looked at
each other, shrugged in a ‘why not?’ manner, and made their way to the roof.

After a few moments, all of the
residents made it to the roof and discovered that the duel was now underway.
The sharp ringing of steel striking steel reverberated through the air as the
Aoyamas took ‘domestic discussion’ to a whole other level. Or more accurately,
Motoko was making all the arguments, via her blade, while Keitaro was
desperately trying to defend himself. Motoko was circling around Keitaro,
almost toying with him when she struck, while Keitaro did everything he could
to deflect her blade.

Motoko owned this battle, and the
observers noted that Keitaro was so busy mounting a defence that he hadn’t been
able to go on the attack at all. Still, the most experienced warrior present
was impressed by Keitaro’s ability and improvement. From what she’d observed,
Keitaro would probably be able to hold his own against a lesser opponent, or
even Motoko, if she held back a little. “Good show Keitaro,” Tsuruko remarked
to herself.

Because she’d been standing so
close to Tsuruko, Shinobu was the only one to hear her admission. “What do you
mean? Sempai’s losing.”

Tsuruko looked down at Shinobu
and smiled warmly. “Shinobu, do you observe how fast Motoko is attacking?”

Shinobu returned her attention
back to the battle. Without looking back at Tsuruko she replied, “She’s like a
whirlwind.”

“Correct. Now think, how fast
must Keitaro move to defend himself?”

Shinobu scrutinized the sword
battle for a few more moments before she realized what Tsuruko was getting at.
“Hey, you’re right, sempai IS blocking all her strikes!”

Her exclamation caused the other
residents to belatedly notice that Keitaro had gotten much faster in a year.
Mutsumi made an additional observation and raised a question to Tsuruko. “Why
isn’t Kei-kun moving more?”

“I would guess to
compensate for his lack of coordination. The less he moves the better.”

As it happened, Tsuruko’s
assumption was the right one. While Keitaro had gotten better at handling the
sword, he had not made as much of an improvement on his footwork. He’d
eventually come to the realization that his best strategy was to stay in one
place and use a purely defensive style, and hope that Motoko would get
careless. On the rare occasions that it happened, he’d go for broke and press
an attack. On even fewer occasions, when fortune was smiling upon him, he’d
managed to defeat Motoko, but he could count the number of times on one hand
and still have fingers left over.

But today would prove not to be
one of those times. While pivoting to face the whirling dervish that was
Motoko, Keitaro’s feet got tangled up, and he fell on his ass. Motoko rushed
forward to press the advantage, bringing her sword down in an overhead strike
which Keitaro was just able to block. As they held their position, neither
sword moving, held there only by Keitaro’s strength, Motoko asked him sweetly,
“Do you yield?”

“N, no…” he gasped out, the
exertion on his face testament to the effort he was making to stop Motoko’s
sword. While he was breathing hard, he was far from being exhausted. He looked
like he’d be able to go on much longer, the fact he was effectively pinned down
not withstanding.

“Finish him!” chortled Sarah.

“Excuse me! This isn’t a video
game!” Keitaro shrieked, while struggling to keep Motoko’s blade from finishing
it’s journey.

“You’re no fun,” Sarah pouted.

Motoko kept up the pressure for a
few more secondeforefore she eased up and placed her weapon back into its
scabbard. “Well, it seems that we will have a beautiful daughter, right
Kei-kun?” Motoko asked sweetly. For his part, Keitaro merely grumbled a
response. She then held out her hand and helped Keitaro back to his feet. “Well
sister, what do you think of my favourite student?”

Applauding politely, Tsuruko
replied, “I have to admit, I’m impressed. You’ve both done well in a year.”

“Thank you, but I couldn’t have
done it if Kei-kun hadn’t worked as hard as he did.” Motoko beamed at her
husband as she made the comment, causing him to blush in an ‘aw, shucks’
manner.

“If you’d needed to get back into
our school, that would have been enough. More than enough,” Tsuruko remarked
truthfully.

Bowing in response to the high
praise, Motoko repeated her thanks to her sister. She then looked at Kitsune
and asked sweetly, this time without any undercurrent of menace, “Do you still
believe our skills are lacking?”

Uncomfortable at being put on the
spot, Kitsune responded, “No, no. Sorry, just a bit of a joke.”

Motoko took that at face value,
before she turned to Keitaro and declared, “That was a pretty good practice,
but I think it’s time for a bath now. Would you care to join me Kei-kun?”

“Of course.”

An ember of latent jealousy in
Naru flared up spectacularly. “Hey! You two can’t take a bath together!”

“Why not?” Motoko asked plainly.

“Because… because…” Naru trailed
off. ‘Because I still love your husband, and I wish that I could be the one
bathing with him.’ “You’re right, there’s no reason you can’t,” Naru continued
in a resigned air. But in one last show of defiance she stalked up to Motoko
and quietly hissed, “But don’t do anything perverted in our bath!”

Motoko appeared to be taken
aback. “We would never do such a thing in the bath,” she replied indignantly.
Mrs. Aoyama then smirked and added, “We’ve found that it’s far more fun to do
that AFTER the bath.” She found Naru’s rattled expression to be most
entertaining. The young swordswoman then took Keitaro’s offered hand,
intertwined her fingers with his, and the two of them headed for the springs.

As she watched the two of them
walk away, Naru found herself silently cursing the continuing feelings she was
having for Keitaro, as well as a bit of regret that things hadn’t worked out
between the two of them. ‘This may be harder than I expected,’ she silently
contemplated. Dealing with her loss had been easy when he wasn’t there, but
seeing him again had dredged up bittersweet memories. ‘Am I going to have to
get over him yet again? Oh well, maybe the third time’s the charm,’ she thought
to herself with gallows humour.

XXX

“Ooohh, Kei-kun…,” cooed Motoko.

“Yes Mo-chan,” Keitaro replied,
struggling to concentrate on what he was doing.

“Right there, once more…, Aah,
that’s it…,” Any further comments were forgotten as Motoko luxuriated in the
ministrations of Keitaro’s hands.

Keitaro let out a lengthy breath
and tookomenoment to consider the results of his efforts. “You know, sometimes
this is a lot of hard work.”

“You’re the one who suggested
it.”

“What would the others think?”

“That’s unimportant,” Motoko
replied dismissively. “We both enjoy it, it doesn’t matter what the others
think about it. I love that you enjoy washing my hair.”

Keitaro smiled at that. “Did I
rinse all of the shampoo out?”

Motoko slowly ran her hands
through her hair. “Yes, that last bucket did it.”

Their washings complete, the
Aoyamas walked over to the hot spring for a morning soak. Keitaro sat down
first and then Motoko sat down and leaned back against him, her back against
his chest, at which point he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Motoko considered where she was
for a few seconds and smiled to herself as she recalled what would have
happened if Keitaro had tried something like this over a year ago. ‘I would
have tried to kill him, and Naru would have cheerfully helped,’ she mused. She
shook her head in wonderment; it was now inconceivable to her that she had once
acted like that to the man she loved. ‘Well, they sat you always hurt the one
you love, but that was ridiculous.’

After morning sickness, a rather
tense breakfast, and the rooftop battle, Motoko was relishing the chance to
just relax in the bath with her husband. The hot water was calming, and it
soothed muscles that were sore after the activity on the roof. As she lounged
there, feeling Keitaro’s heartbeat next to her, she allowed herself to try to
forget the pregnancy and all its potential difficulties. Keitaro unknowingly
helped her out when he slid his hands up her stomach until they were supporting
her breasts and kissed her on the nape of her neck. “Hmmm, no fooling around in
the bath, remember?” she asked half-heartedly.

“I know, I know, I’m just being
affectionate, that’s all.” Keitaro replied.

“Oh really?” Motoko teased,
reaching down with her right hand, her eyebrows rising when she made a
discovery. “Either you brought your sword into the bath, or you’re real happy
to see me.”

“I told you, damn thing’s got a
mind of its own,” Keitaro replied sheepishly.

“I know. Besides, it’s not like
you’re in the mood every morning.”

“No, that’s your job.”

Motoko playfully smacked Keitaro
for that. “Is there something wrong with me enjoying the physical part of our
marriage?”

“’Enjoy’ isn’t a strong enough
word, but no there isn’t. I always thought it was the husband who was supposed
to be the perpetually aroused partner.”

“Are you disappointed at the way
things are?”

Drawing Motoko closer to him,
Keitaro embraced her tightly and replied, “Not on your life. It’s ‘different’,
not ‘bad’.” In truth, Keitaro was starting to get aroused by the intimacy and
closeness of the situation, but they’d promised not to, and Keitaro was also
thinking about when they’d see the doctor later that afternoon.

About fifteen minutes, and a few
more heart-felt kisses later, the Aoyamas reluctantly got out of the bath and
got dressed. One last deep kiss, and the two of the opened the door and walked
out of the changing room anto nto the hall. Quite unusually, there hadn’t been
a single interruption while they’d bathed, and this was partially due to the
sign on the door that read:

WARNING!

THE AOYAMAS

ARE CURRENTLY
BATHING!

STAY OUT!

A bigger reason for
not being disturbed was the fact that the note had been stuck to the door with
a tanto, thus backing up any implied threats.

Now back in their familiar
outfits, the two of them bid their goodbyes and left for the appointmenth
th
the doctor. Once again, they held hands as they walked, but there was no
conversation, not even small talk, for as they walked they were both lost in
thought, still trying to come to grips with the impending reality that they
would be parents in the not too distant future.

They arrived at the doctors’
office, registered, and while Motoko filled out the myriad selection of forms,
Keitaro tried to pass the time by reading the current magazines. ‘Current’
meaning ‘having been published during the Reagan administration. When news that
was almost two decades old wasn’t able to hold his interest, he ended up
sitting and fidgeting, until the nurse called out, “Motoko Aoyama?”

“Yes?” Motoko replied nervously,
her cramped wrist testament to the sheer volume of paperwork.

Taking the forms, the nurse
continued. “Come with me, the doctill ill be with you shortly.” The nurse then
handed Motoko a specimen jar and said, “Please provide a urine sample, and I’ll
take a blood sample when you are finished.”

“Why?” asked
Keitaro.

“Just routine,” replied the
nurse.

Motoko looked at the specimen
jar, grimaced, and then proceeded into the bathroom. A few minutes later, she
came back out, entered the observation room, and sat down at the table. She
silently lifted up her sleeve and allowed the nurse to take a sample of her
blood. After completing this task, the nurse thanked her, and Keitaro and
Motoko waited for the doctor.

Less than two minutes later, the
door opened and the doctor, a striking woman in her mid-thirties with bluish
tinted hair walked in. “Sorry to have kept you waiting, I’m Naoko Akagi, your
doctor. I understand that you’re expecting your first child?”

“That’s correct,” replied Motoko.

Dr. Akagi smiled warmly at that.
“Congratulations you two! Now, how can I help you?”

“What’s going to happen?” Keitaro
and Motoko blurted out in unison.

Chuckling slightly, Dr. Akagi
replied, “There’s a lot to explain, I need to ask you some questions. First of
all, how old are you?”

“Nineteen.”

While looking at a clipboard and
making notations on the chart, Dr. Akagi continued her questioning. “Do you
drink?”

“Only socially, maybe Kei-kun and
I would share a bottle of sake, or we’d have some wine with dinner. But I
haven’t taken a drink since I found out I was pregnant.”

Nodding in approval the doctor
continued. “Very good, you mustn’t drink AT ALL during pregnancy. Do you use
any illicit drugs?”

“Absolutely not!” responded
Motoko, insulted at the very suggestion.

“Sorry, please don’t take this
personally, I have to ask,” she apologized. “Do you smoke?”

“No.”

“Are you regularly around people
who smoke?”

“Yes, but Haruka hasn’t smoked
near me since she found out I’m pregnant.”

“Good, good, second hand smoke
isn’t healthy for anyone, especially pregnant women. Do you have any pets?”

A little confused by this question,
Motoko replied, “Um…, yes, a flying turtle.”

Dr. Akagi stopped cold and looked
up at that. “A what?”

“Er, a hot springs turtle,”
interjected Keitaro. “We call it a ‘flying turtle’ because it’s front flippers
are big, they look like wings.”

“I see…”

“Doctor, why did you want to know
about pets?” inquired Motoko.

“It’s cats specifically. Cat
dander can cause respiratory problems in newborns. I always recommend that any
expectant mothers get rid off any pet cats,” explained Dr. Akagi.

“I understand,” replied Motoko.
“Well, there aren’t any cats in the house.”

“Enough of my questions, what
would you two like to know?”

“What, what can I expect?” Motoko
asked nervously.

“You’re six weeks along,
correct?” When Motoko nodded, Dr. Akagi continued. “First of all, you’re
probably experiencing the joy of morning sickness. You’re likely to have that
for the first three months or so.”

“Why?” Motoko asked bleakly. “I
hate having to throw up in the morning.”

“I know, I didn’t like it
either,” Dr. Akagi replied knowingly.

“Oh, you have a child too?”

“Yes, a daughter, Ritsuko. As for
why, there are a few causes; hormone imbalances, too little vitamin B6 or too
little glycogen, that’s one of your bodies natural sugars. As well, emotions or
strong smells can also cause nausea.”

“Is there something I can take?”
Motoko asked hopefully.

Dr. Akagi shook her head. “No, no
medication is recommended. I’d suggest chamomile tea, or dry toast in the
morning. As well, some women find that spearmint aromatherapy eases nausea.
While we’re on the subject of food, you should try to follow a healthy diet
during your pregnancy. Lay-off spicy or rich foods, eat sensibly, follow a
pregnancy diet, and be careful of following cravings. If you have a craving for
something sensible, follow it, but if you’re craving something like
cheeseburgers, try to find a healthier option. Fortunately, the cravings
usually disappear after the forth month.”

“Breast…swelling…?” repeated
Keitaro.

“Yes, as your wife’s pregnancy
continues, her breasts will prepare to manufacture breast milk, and they’ll get
bigger as a result. She may find that she needs to get a bigger bra.”

“But I don’t wear a bra,”
protested Motoko.

“You might end up needing it for
support, as the pregnancogreogresses,” Dr. Akagi replied. “It can help reduce
the possibility of stretch marks forming.”

“What about physical activity?”
asked Keitaro, thinking about their daily exercise regimen.

“Don’t go overboard with it. If
you were healthy before, then exercise shouldn’t be a problem, as long as it
isn’t too strenuous.”

Motoko winced slightly at that.
Her worst fear, that she’d have to start taking it easy when practicing, was
coming true. “Can, can you define ‘strenuous’?”

“Some activities that should be
avoided are sprinting, jogging more than two miles a day, skiing, contact
sports, and any callisthenic activity not designed for pregnancy, such as
anything that uses jumping, lots of bending, sudden changes in direction, that
sort of thing,” the doctor replied.

Motoko sighed in disappointment
as the prospect of a life without kendo, even if it was only temporary, sank
in.

Keitaro, on the other hand,
breathed a sigh of relief that he wouldn’t have to ask Motoko to lay of the
kendo for a while, since the doctor had done it for him.

Thinking about exercise caused
Motoko to suddenly consider something else she and Keitaro did that could be
considered strenuous. “What about sex?” she blurted out before she could stop
herself.

“What about it?” asked Dr. Akagi.
“Sex during pregnancy can be even more enjoyable than before. There’s no
pressure to produce a child, no worrying about protection, you can both just
enjoy it.”

“But, can’t it harm the baby?”
asked Keitaro.

“Absolutely not,” answered the
doctor. “That being said however, if it causes pain or bleeding, you should
stop and come to see me. In some rare cases, sex during the entire pregnancy is
impossible, but only in a small number of cases,” she continued reassuringly.

 endiendif]>

The Aoyamas both considered the
prospect of year without lovemaking and cringed in perfect synchronization.

“That’s depressing,” admitted
Motoko. “I feel like I need a hot bath after hearing that.”

“No, you don’t,” interjected Dr.
Akagi suddenly. “Warm baths only when you’re pregnant, anything over 100
degrees Fahrenheit can harm the fetus.”

“But, but we have a hot spring,”
stammered Keitaro.

“Then stay the hell out of it,”
the doctor replied. “From now until the birth, warm baths or showers only.”

Motoko looked almost as stricken
at this notion as she’d been with the possibility of a year of chastity.
Sensing her disappointment, Keitaro told her, “I’ll quit using it too. If you
can’t use it, I won’t either.” Motoko found that she was unable to reply to
that heartfelt gesture, so she simply reached over and embraced him.

“These are just the physical
effects,” Dr. Akagi added. “The mental effects can be even more difficult. The
hormone influences can cause mood swings, and you have to be willing to forgive
each other’s snappiness at times. But seeing you two, I’m certain you’ll be
able to get through this together.”

“It’s just…we’ve been through a
lot together. I was hoping that this would be an easier time for us,” Keitaro
replied softly.

“You’ll do fine, all first time
parents are nervous,” the doctor said reassuringly. “Listen, I’ll give you some
pamphlets, you should also get a few books for expectant parents, and come back
to see me in a month. You’ll have a better ide the then, and you’ll know what’s
coming. But if you think something’s wrong, don’t hesitate to see me, and I’ll
try to make sure that everything will be fine.”

“Thank you Dr. Akagi,” Motoko
responded gratefully. “We’ll see you then.” With that Motoko and Keitaro got up
and walked out of the room, confirmed the next appointment with the
receptionist, and exited the clinic.

The two of them walked in
silence, arm in arm, until Motoko asked, “Kei-kun, would you mind if I picked
up some of those books myself? I think I need a little time alone, to consider
what the doctor said.”

“No, I don’t mind,” responded
Keitaro. “Will you be all right?”

Motoko gave her husband a bemused
smile. “I’m pregnant, not made of glass. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay Mo-chan, I’ll see you
later. Love you.”

“I love you too, Kei-kun.” She
kissed him goodbye and went on her way.

Keitaro watched Motoko walk away
for a few moments before he turned around and resumed walking back to Hinata
House. Walking through the city, he took note of his surroundings and was
surprised at his disappointment that nothing had really changed in his absence.
There were a few new shops here and there, but by in large everything had
stayed the same. He supposed that it should be comforting that nothing had
really changed, but it made him feel out of sync, as he had experienced a
dramatic shift while he was away.

As he mulled over these thoughts,
Keitaro continued his journey back to Hinata House. Quicker than he expected,
Keitaro found himself at the bottom of the stairs of the house, and he realized
that he was hesitant to climb them alone. Knowing that he would have to get
used to living back here, he forced himself to go up and re-enter the
residence. “I’m back,” he called out to no one in particular.

“Hello Keitaro,” replied Kitsune
from her spot on the couch. She looked up and noticed that he was alone.
“Where’s Motoko?”

Remembering Kitsune’s hostility
from the day before, Keitaro replied, “She wanted some time alone to take care
of some things.”

Kitsune recalled what Naru had
told her about her attempts to make peace with the Aoyamas and decided that
perhaps it was a good time to talk to him. ‘No time like the present,’ she
thought grimly. “Can I, can I talk to you Keitaro? In private?”

“Sure,” Keitaro replied. His tone
made it obvious that he wasn’t that enthusiastic about it. “Where?”

“Your room, I guess.”

Keitaro couldn’t think of any
reason to object to her choice, so he nodded and gestured with his head for her
to follow him. The two of them went up the stairs and entered his room, Keitaro
making sure that the door was closed behind him.

“Would you like some tea?” he
offered, making an attempt to be a gracious host.

“No,” Kitsune replied. She took a
few seconds to figure out how to begin, before she decided to just cut to the
chase, being mindful of not being too hostile. “Why did you two come back?”

Keitaro sighed and rubbed the
bridge of his nose. He hadn’t expected this to be pleasant, and he felt some
perverse satisfaction at having successfully anticipated Kitsune’s first
question. “I told you last night, we needed-”

“No, that isn’t what I meant,”
interrupted Kitsune. “I meant, why would you be willing to put Naru through the
wringer again?”

“I didn’t expect that it would be
that hard for her. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how she’d feel after so long.”

“Well, it’s not like you were
here to check up on her,” Kitsune replied curtly.

Keitaro felt his own hackles rise
at the thinly veiled insult. “Do you really think that I should have stayed
after I chose Motoko? Do you think that that would have been better?”

Kitsune bit back her intended
barb and took a deep breath to try to calm herself. “No, it probably wouldn’t
have been,” she grudgingly conceded. “But since you raised the point, why’d you
make your choice in front of everyone? Couldn’t you have done it in private?”

“And everyone wouldn’t have
listened in?” Keitaro replied sceptically.

Annoyed that Keitaro once again
had her range and coordinates dialled in, Kitsune replied, “Well, you could
have tried to break it to her gently.”

Shaking his head sadly, Keitaro
remarked, “Someone was going to be hurt that day, no matter who I chose, or how
I did it. I figured that it was best to get it over with. If there’d been a
better way, I didn’t know what it was.”

Nothing further was said for a
few minutes, until Kitsune asked, “Couldn’t you have come back to visit
earlier? I mean, nothing for nearly a year, and then you’re both here, big as
life, and pregnant to boot.”

“Would we have been welcomed
earlier?” Keitaro asked sombrely. “Would it have really bothered everyone if
we’d never come back? Quite honestly, I’m not certain we’d have come back if it
wasn’t for the baby.”

“Did you plan the pregnancy so
you could come back?” inquired Kitsune.

“No, we didn’t plan on this,”
Keitaro replied truthfully.

“So it was a mistake.” As soon as
the words had left her mouth, Kitsune winced as she belatedly realized the
implication of that statement. She noticed that Keitaro had frozen at her
words, but that his expression was changing to something she’d never seen on
him before. His eyes seemed to flash briefly and his fists clenched tightly at
this sides. The look of cold fury on his face was uncharacteristic for him, and
Kitsune actually felt a pang of fear for her own safety.

Through tightly clenched teeth,
Keitaro softly, methodically, and dangerously rasped, “Don’t you EVER refer to
our child as a ‘mistake’ again.” No threat was given, but Kitsune was able to
clearly read between the lines.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, that was a
horrible choice of words,” Kitsune babbled. “I meant that it was unexpected,
that’s all. But shouldn’t you have expected this sooner or later?” Kitsune
experienced a physical sense of relief when Keitaro’s expression softened.

“Lucky shot,” he murmured softly.

“Excuse me?”

“We didn’t plan on having
children, at least not now. We’d even taken measures to reduce the possibility
of pregnancy.”

“You mean Motoko was on the
pill?” Kitsune speculated.

Keitaro shook his head in
response. “No, I used, um, protection. I didn’t use it at first, in fact we didn’t
use anything for the first two months. Frankly, as often as we did it, I’m
amazed that we didn’t get pregnant then.”

A mild twitch manifested itself
on Kitsune’s eyebrows. Talking with Keitaro about Motoko and his sex life
wasn’t why she’d come into the room. With morbid curiosity she asked, “So what
happened?”

“Motoko thought she was pregnant
once, and we sweated it out for three days until, uh…her cycle resumed,”
Keitaro replied uncomfortably. “After that, we realized that we weren’t exactly
ready to have children, so I started using condoms.”

“I see. So what happened, did one
break?”

“No, but about two months ago
Motoko and I were duelling in the forest, we got into a close exchange, one
thing lead to another, and the next thing you know we were up against a tree
and…” Keitaro broke off abruptly.

A distant look came over
Keitaro’s features, as he found himself reliving that afternoon. The still,
sultry air, the blazing sun, the few degrees of relief afforded by the shade of
the trees.

Motoko and him in an all out
duel, exertion etched onto their faces. Sweat soaked clothing, clinging to both
of them, making them itch.

Swords knocked away, both
combatants resorting to hand-to-hand combat. A clench. Stalemate, neither side
able to move.

A look into each others eyes,
seeing the emotions there.

Intensity.

Competitiveness.

Love.

A hunger not borne of food.

An intense, almost desperate,
kiss.

The scarcely remembered shuffling
over to a tree for support.

Frantic hands tearing at
clothing.

Animalistic desire.

Unabashed, unashamed, passionate
cries shattering the silence.

Keitaro found
himself blushing, as he recalled the heat and intensity of that encounter, and
forced himself to not smile at that memory. He didn’t entirely succeed. “Never mind.
Let’s just say that in the heat of the moment, we both forgot.”

That had been way too much
information for Kitsune, and she now felt completely frazzled. Desperate to
regain her composure and refocus the discussion she asked, “Do you have any
idea of what Naru went through after you two left?”

“No. What happened?” Keitaro
replied quietly.

“She didn’t come out of her room
for days, she isolated herself completely. It took us two weeks to get her to
something approaching normal.” Kitsune’s voice was rising in pitch as she spoke
and she was gesticulating wildly with her arms. “What am I supposed to think
when you come back and give the knife another twist?!”

Once again, Keitaro sighed. “Do
you know how I feel about Naru?” he asked.

“I haven’t really thought about
that since you left,” Kitsune replied.

“I, I, I actually did love her,”
Keitaro admitted. “In a way, I still do, but it’s not the same as it once was.”

“Oh really?” Kitsune spat. “Then
what’s it like now?”

Keitaro pondered the question for
a few minutes before he gave his answer. “I’d say it’s like the love for a
sister, or a very dear friend. I think it started changing to that about a
month after Motoko and I started training, but it took me while to realize
that.”

“If you once loved Naru, why did
you fall in love with Motoko?” That question was the one that had been
bothering Kitsune since Keitaro had made his choice nearly one year earlier.

“Being with Motoko, and training
with her allowed me to see a side of her that no one else knew was there. -I-
didn’t know it was there. Over time, I grew to know her, and I eventually
realized that while I would anything for either of them, I loved Motoko, right
down to my soul, for reasons that are between her and I.”

“But Tsuruko manipulated you!”
Kitsune protested.

“So what? However it happened, I
still love Motoko. Naru will always be special to me, and I never wanted to
hurt her, but my heart belongs to Motoko. Now and forever.”

Taking note of the sincerity in
his eyes, Kitsune found herself being uncertain of how she felt about Keitaro.
He may not have been a saint, but maybe he wasn’t the bastard she’d once
thought of him as. Not knowing what to say, she excused herself and started
heading for the door. But before she reached the exit, Keitaro called out to
her. “One question before you go Kitsune.”

“What?”

“Why the ‘I heard’ comment this
morning?”

Kitsune paled. “You heard that?”
she asked weakly. When he nodded, she attempted to use her indignity to her
advantage. “Yeah, I heard you two last night, and Naru may have heard you too.
Neither of you are that quiet.” She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Even if I
hadn’t heard, all you have to do is walk in here to figure out that something
happened.”

Keitaro blushed in embarrassment
at Kitsune’s declaration, but he managed to respond with some determination.
“We ARE married, and it is our house. I’m sorry to have disturbed you, but we
won’t be stopping.”

“Fine,” muttered Kitsune, as she
placed one hand on the door to open it.

“But, did you just happen to hear
us, or were you eavesdropping?” inquired Keitaro.

“Pardon me?”

“You heard me, were you trying to
spy on us?” Keitaro repeated. He then decided to see if he could rattle
Kitsune’s cage with a little teasing of his own. “If I didn’t know better, I’d
say that you were jealous or something.”

Kitsune didn’t respond verbally
to that, she just gave Keitaro a glare hard enough to shatter diamond. She then
threw the door open, stalked out, and slammed it shut.

‘What was that?’ a startled Keitaro
wondered.

Outside in the hallway, Kitsune
stomped into her own room and locked the door. She grabbed a bottle of sake and
pounded it back, not even using a cup. Finished, she slammed the empty bottle
down and laid down on her futon.

He hadn’t realized it, but
Keitaro’s comment had hit closer to home than Kitsune liked. One of the
emotions that she kept buried deep inside her was loneliness. She had friends
of course, but she’d never really had any luck with boyfriends. It secretly
upset her that Motoko was only nineteen and she was already married and
expecting a child. At twenty-three, Kitsune hadn’t had a single relationship
that had lasted six months.

She’d made excuses about stresses
from her job, not finding the right guy, and that she wasn’t interested, but
she longed to find someone to share her life with. ‘Oh wait, there are some men
I’ve had long term relationships with,’ she thought bitterly. ‘Jim Beam, Jack
Daniels, Johnnie Walker, John Jameson…’

Very rarely, Kitsune found
herself wondering if she took too much solace from alcohol. However, over the
past year those times were increasing in frequency. Once again, she dealt with
this feeling the way she always had, by getting another bottle of alcohol.
Booze may have been empty comfort, but it was still comfort. As the burning
liquid coursed down her throat, she felt the familiar beginnings of
intoxication start to affect her. The first inkling of eventual oblivion
started to make all of her cares and worries fade away, and her problems didn’t
seem so daunting anymore.

So why was it that she was having
a harder time than usual forgetting how lonely she was?

End Chapter Two

Sorry this took so long.
Prereading was done by dennisud, crossedeyedbutterfly, and UndeadAnimeFan267.
Any mistakes are mine, not theirs.

Disclaimer: Love Hina is the
property of Ken Akamatsu, TV Tokyo, TokyoPop, and probably enough lawyers to
sink an aircraft carrier.

Dr. Naoko Akagi and any other
related characters from Neon Genesis Evangelion are the property of Gainax, and
their pack of lawyers.

This fanfic is for entertainment
purposes only, and may not be distributed for profit. I’m not making any money
off of this; I am doing it just for personal enjoyment. Please don’t sue.

I am not making this a crossover
fic, I just needed a physician. I was too lazy to create one of my own, so I
just poached one from another series. I promise that no other EVA characters
will put in an appearance.

SPECIAL MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: While
I have researched pregnancy for this story, it is not intended to be used as a
guide for pregnancy. If you are pregnant, or even if you think you are, see
your doctor. I make no promises on the accuracy of the information in this
story.