Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ The Love Nest ❯ Escaping the noise ( Chapter 17 )

Disclaimer: No I do not own the rights to The Love Hina characters or world, just this storyline. And yes this story will contain sexual situations and violence so minors should NOT be reading this.

 

ESCAPING THE

NOISE

 

The next two days were a disaster of universal proportions.

 

This was due completely to the residents reaction to the heavy equipment the crew were using to break up and cart away what was left of the annex.

 

In fact Keitaro could actually list them by person as follows:

1. Motoko was irked because every time she went out into the courtyard to practice her katas she could not achieve her center do to the noise intensity or some loudmouthed construction worker would yell at her to go back inside where she belonged.

 

2. Mitsune had really made an effort to stop drinking for some reason. And everyone was applauding her efforts until this racket. They figured it was simple, withdrawal symptoms + chaos = really bitchy woman.

 

3. Kaolla was working on some experiment in on of the spare rooms when an oversized dump truck rolled past shaking the apartments and knocking over some odd chemicals. The resulting explosion caused Kaolla to look like a female Al Jolson. Secondly it blew out the entire row of windows on the second floor.

 

4. Shinobu was becoming so bothered by the noise level that she actually burned a couple of dishes

 

5. Nice, polite Mutsumi was the biggest shock. She actually COMPLAINEDabout the burnt items.

 

 

The work crews had almost completely torn away what little that was left of the annex by the second day and was starting to install the larger foundation that Naru had requested.

 

Keitaro and Naru hadn't been alone much during the days, but at night she was slipping down into his room to sleep next to him. It wasn't that she wanted to make love to him all the time. It was more that she needed to be close to him for some reason that she could not fathom. It seemed to her that if she wasn't next to him he might slip away from her during the night. She knew it was ridiculous, but that was her greatest fear nonetheless.

 

On the second day of this constant racket of the construction crews everyone's nerves were on the razors edge. Although the nights were as peaceful as ever the sound level was getting so bad during the day that nobody could think. It was getting so bad that even Kaolla was getting terse with people.

 

After lunch Keitaro started looking around at all of his unhappy friends and made a decision.

 

“Everyone pack your stuff. We've got to get out of here. If we don't get away from this for a bit we are all going to end up going berserk?”

 

“But Keitaro,” Kaolla said glumly. “Where are we going to go? If we leave now we won't be able to keep an eye on what they are doing to the annex.”

 

“Su-chan, even you are starting to get depressed from all of this racket. I thought we would all go down to the seaside and relax for the next couple of months while the finish putting up the new annex. You know it might not be as private as it is here when it's done but we are all going to have to live there while they remodel the apartments and make it a hotel again.”

 

“Goody I like the sea.” Kaolla yipped as she bounded up the stairs to pack.

 

“Keitaro honey, thank the Kami you thought of that if I had to put up with this noise every morning for much longer I would go out of my mind.” Mutsune sighed

 

“That's what I was thinking.” Keitaro said “and while we are there you can look the place over and see what you want to do to remodel it. You know, get some ideas about what needs to be done to fix up the place.”

 

Naru then walked over and kissed him on the cheek. “Keitaro sometime it amazes me that it took me so long to realize just how much I love you.”

 

All he could do was blush in response.

 

About two hours later everyone was gathered in the lobby ready for their trip to the seaside resort. Haruka had decided to stop by and was leaning against the wall.

 

“Hey Haruka, did you decide to join us at the resort?” Keitaro asked brightly.

 

“Yeah I need to get away for a while. This place is starting to get on my nerves. I forgot just how noisy construction can be.” She replied stone faced as usual.

 

Just then there was a steady pounding at the door.

 

Motoko and Kaolla seemed to be in the most hurry to get it. And it was Motoko who ended up sliding into the door and grasping its handle first.

 

Mr. Jeffries stood there just as big as life in a red and black western suit, and greeted her warmly.

 

“Good afternoon, is Keitaro here little lady? I thought I would see if he was ready to look at another one of these out buildings as he called them.”

 

“Yes he is I will see if he can see you, please come in.”

 

“Keitaro Mr. Jeffries wants to know if there is another building you want to look at today.” Motoko said. “I just hope this doesn't interfere with our trip.” She added and then blushed at the rudeness she caught spewing out of her own mouth. ”I am sorry Mr. Jeffries but the noise level here is making me do things I normally would never do. I do apologize.”

 

“No problem miss, I have been running construction for thirty years now and I still hate the noise level.” He said politely then to Keitaro “Well son, anything you want to look at today before you escape this asylum for a while?”

 

“I guess we could always look at the dojo. It's supposed to be in the back of the apartment property. I am not really sure I haven't been there before. It should take us about twenty minutes to walk there across the back field.”

 

“But Keitaro, our train leaves in fifteen. If we don't leave now we won't be able to leave until tomorrow.” Shinobu said frowning.

 

“If Keitaro wishes he and I will stay here tonight while the rest of you go and set up for us.” Motoko said flatly “I am interested in the condition of this training hall as it will be my job to oversee its reconstruction and remodeling. Then Keitaro and I can catch the morning train tomorrow and join you there. Because the sooner the buildings are done around here the sooner we can have quiet again.”

 

“If that's what you want Motoko that's what we will do?” Keitaro said smiling “ok everyone else to the train station and we will see you tomorrow.”

 

“So long Hinata.” Kaolla said as she floated down the stairs in a way that caught everyone's attention. “We will return when you are peaceful again.”

Naru could not help but to take Motoko aside and was the last one to start down the steps “Take good care of him Motoko something bad is going to happen to him I know it.”

 

“What do you mean Naru?” Motoko asked suddenly worried “Do you think he is going to hurt himself or something.”

 

“It's just a premonition I have had.” Naru whispered softly. “It isn't that he is going to get hurt exactly. It's more like something is trying to get him away from here. You know…take him away from us.”

 

“I will be wary Naru don't worry. Nothing will happen to him. If anyone wants at him the will have to get through me.” Motoko said as she slipped her hand to her bokkan.

 

“I know you will watch out for him Motoko and if you have the right moment I hope our Keitaro gets through you.” Naru said smiling as she waved to her friend on her way down to join the others at the train station.

 

It didn't occur to Motoko to ask what she meant when she said that last part but when she thought about it her face turned crimson.

 

Ten minutes later she was walking with Keitaro and Mr. Jeffries and still blushing at Naru's comment. Lost in her own thoughts she just about jumped out of her skin when she felt Keitaro take her hand in his and give it a squeeze.

 

“Are you ok Motoko, you seem lost in thought?” Keitaro asked the samurai giving her hand another squeeze.

 

“It…it's nothing Keitaro I was just thinking about the other day…you know what we were talking about in the hot springs. You know that I…well”

 

“It's ok Motoko.” Keitaro said smiling. “When you are ready we will cross that bridge, until then we can be really good friends. Besides,” he added with a small chuckle “in the past two days you have stopped treating me so formal and have stopped calling me by my family name. You used to only use my first name when you were mad at me.”

 

“And in the past two days you have started to take liberties such as holding my hand without permission. Before that day I would have removed your hand for you, the easy way. But to tell the truth I like it when you hold my hand.” She whispered back to him.

 

Their peaceful reverie was interrupted when Mr. Jeffries called to them from ahead. “Is everything ok back there? This isn't a time to be serious is it because I am not having a ball here. Where in gods name is this building boy? All I see is a bunch of bushes and more bushes. And to top it off they are raspberries and that means thorns. Man these things have been growing wild for at least twenty years.”

 

“It should be around here someplace sir” Keitaro replied as he quickly dropped Motoko's hand. “The map I received shows the entrance to be right about here.” Keitaro said as he stared at the overwhelming mass of bushes.

 

“I believe I can assist on finding the entrance.' Motoko said unsheathing her bokkan “ROCK SPLITTING SWORD.”

 

Keitaro barely had time to tackle Mr. Jeffries and Dogel the artist before the chi from the attack whipped them into the building or bushes. When they looked up there was a massive amount of diced foliage on either side of the entrance to the dojo…or rather what was left of it.

 

Dogel looked at Motoko with his eyes wide open now and they seemed full of awe. His thoughts were echoed by his oldest friend and employer when he said. “If all of the soldiers in world war two that fought for the Japanese knew how to do that we would have gotten our asses kicked.”

 

“Not every citizen of Japan thought they way our emperor did Mr. Jeffries. In fact many families had to go into hiding because their stance on that tragic war.” Motoko said as she sheathed her bokkan. “My family was thought to have died out at that time but we had just relocated ourselves to avoid involving ourselves in the disaster that we knew would come with taking on the might of the American military. We might have blade techniques that have been passed down from the days of the shoguns and even earlier but compared to artillery it doesn't do much.”

 

“Yes I know that,” Mr. Jeffries said nervously as he got back to his feet “but if that were to be used against infantry? Hoo-doggy would that cause a stir among the troops. Now let's have a look at what we have to work with.”

 

The place was a shambles. The floorboards they could see were weathered and gray. The raspberry vines were literally growing through the floorboards in thick masses. What was left of the roof looked as if it would crumble to dust the moment anybody walked under it. The walls had no windows to speak of, but they sure had a lot of spider webs clinging to them, at least the ones seen through the door did.

 

The quartet of people slowly walked towards the door of the abandoned building. They approached it as one might approach a sleeping tiger. Even to a seasoned warrior like Motoko felt this place just gave off a lot of negative energy. Or worse, energy that had been neglected for so long she didn't know what it was other than conscious.

 

Cautiously the intrepid group made their way into the tumbledown building. They methodically tested each of the floorboards carefully before they stepped again. The gloom of the room they stood in was broken only by tiny slivers of sunlight where plants had worked their way through the rotted ceiling and walls. A thin layer of dust coated everything, and where the dust was thicker they could see the shadows of small plants and the decomposing body of at least one rat amongst the dirt. The entire building seemed dead. Other than the few plants that dared to make an appearance the feeling that this stark bare room presented was life was not welcome here.

 

“Gawd, this place hasn't been kept up at all” Mr. Jeffries said as he tried to wave some of the falling dust away from his eyes. “My great grand pappy wouldn't want to live in this place and his first house was hole in the ground he dug himself.”

 

“Ms Aoyama, This pattern is very basic. Is this what you want this building to look like?” Said the aging Mr. Dogel “I meant, I do not mean to offend the Japanese architects but this seems rather crude, even for a simple training hall.”

 

“This is the basic design for a training hall Mr. Dogel.” Motoko replied softly. “I inform you now that many things that should be here are missing. The framed pictures of the masters of this dojo are missing, as are the school scrolls that should give the histories. My guess is that they were destroyed by the emperor's father sometime during world war two. This place was used to hide solders that had escaped from their units because they did not want to fight in a land that was not theirs and had never been theirs. This dojo was dedicated to preserving and defending others. Although the style this dojo taught might have offensive capability its greatest strength was in the defense of others, not just ones selfish ambitions and goals.”

 

“Motoko, how do you know that?” Keitaro asked surprised. “You haven't even been in here for five minutes and yet just like with the Hinata blade you know what is missing or out of balance.”

 

“This place has been murdered Keitaro. Its spirit has been totally destroyed. In Nagasaki and Hiroshima the plant life survived and became healthy in about a year but this place has no spirit. This place feels like lingering regret. As if its purpose is gone and its wants revenge for that. It's become as a soul that cannot rest because its duty was still not preformed yet.” Motoko said sadly as she turned to the artist. “Mr. Dogel the building will need to be at least twice again the distance in length and width. The raspberries will have to be trimmed back to manageable standards. Unless I am mistaken the moister in the ground indicates a spring close by. It will need to be cleared and pumped into a special room. Build that room inside the dojo, so that water must flow down a rough service similar to a waterfall. Stone benches will line underneath it for the students to sit upon. It will have to have room for the tatami built to the side of the dojo, yet separate from it carrying the tatami will help the students gain physical strength as well as teach them to care for their own responsibilities. The entire building is to be constructed of birch or pine other than the showers that will be located there with a tile hall leading to it to prevent the wood from water damage. And a small office on that end to care for the paperwork required.

 

“Did you get all of that Dogel, old man?” Mr. Jeffries asked.

 

“Yes sir and these drawings will be done completely by tomorrow morning.”

 

“Then if you young people will excuse us we are going to get the hell out of here. This place is giving me the creeps.” And will that Mr. Jeffries and Mr. Dogel beat a hasty retreat.

 

Keitaro slowly walked over to Motoko and placed his hands on his friends shoulder “Are you ok Motoko?” He asked quietly.

 

“It's just that this place used to be so alive Keitaro, it had a fighting spirit. And now it is mostly dead. The only emotion attached to a place like this is regret. It is going to take a spiritual cleaning to make this a hall that can teach students properly again.” There were tears in her eyes as if she could feel the pain of the loss of purpose that the building was experiencing.

 

Keitaro leaned over her and to give her a quick hug but was surprised when she leaned into him and hugged him back. What surprised him more was when he felt his shoulder getting damp and he came to realize that she was actually crying. She wasn't making a sound. She just held to the slightly shorter man and the tears spill from her eyes. Not knowing how to handle her reaction all he could do was slowly caress her back and hold her as she allowed her grief to show.

 

After about five minutes Motoko straightened out and Keitaro held her at arms length and smiled at her.

 

When Motoko saw him smile she knew that his grandmother had been right in that scroll. She did love the baka. His huge heart allowed even her to cry on his shoulders without a thought. And her body recognized it. If another man had been present, she would have held it in until she had a more private setting to vent her grief. She knew for certain that it was Keitaro she would love for all time.

 

“Let's go back up to the apartments Kei-kun. I have been here long enough today.”

 

“Ok Motoko, lets go.” He replied smiling, and he turned to leave but he hadn't gone even two steps when he heard the sound of wood splintering accompanied by a scream and the followed by a loud bong.

 

Turning quickly he saw her disappear into the floor.

 

“Motoko!”

 

Across town two figures stood before a man shrouded in darkness. They didn't want to be there nobody wanted to be there but if they had defied him they would be nowhere and they knew it.

 

“One of the keys is injured. You will see to it that she does not fall into his position. You know the punishment if you fail me.”

 

“H...h…hai” the two trembling figures replied