Ghost of Hinata

Last Time On Ghost of Hinata

Kanako blinked. This little boy just kept on surprising her. He has known her less than a day and already he had accepted her as his Onee-sama and declared his love for her. And she could tell there was no hollowness to his words. He meant exactly what he said. Kanako felt a warmth spread out from her heart engulfing her whole body as tears formed in her eyes. This was the first time in her life that someone felt such unadulterated love for her and she found that she couldn't help but love him back. Squeezing him tightly, she held him close to her chest "Love you too Kei-kun." She said before whispering. "You would have made a wonderful Onii-chan." Seeing him smile in his sleep Kanako nuzzled into his scruffy brown hair before drifting off to sleep.

Chapter 4

The Next Morning in the Small Bathtub

After spending a comfortable night in each other's arms Kanako had awoken to see the large brown eyes of her little brother filled with happiness and love. After a morning greeting and kiss from Keitaro, Kanako hugged her brother and suggested that they have a bath together before they go down for breakfast. Getting his agreement Kanako wrapped a robe around her and carried Keitaro to the private bathroom where we find Kanako smiling at the happily humming Keitaro on her lap.

Nuzzling into his hair with her arms around his waist Kanako sighed contently as his soft humming and warm water relaxed her. With her chin resting on top of his head she asked. "Hey, Kei-kun. Mum's sings that song you're humming doesn't she?"

Looking up at her he smiled "Uhuh, mum always sings it. It's her favourite! She used to sing me to sleep with it..." he trailed off sadly before grinning at Kanako "I hum it when I'm lonely but this time I'm humming it 'cause I'm happy!" Kanako smiled and kissed the top of his head as he started to hum again. In truth she had only heard her mother sing it a few times when she thought she was alone and Kanako found that she had the most beautiful singing voice. She had often wondered why her mother never sang more often but much of her family's behaviour had been explained as a result of yesterday's events.

Closing her eyes she held him close to her and softly joined his hum with her voice.

~I gaze up from the rooftops and feel the suns warmth~
~Looking into the sky, you can feel the energy building up inside~
~That's so wonderful!~
~I feel so alive~
~I can't stop. I can't ever give up!~
~I'm saying goodbye to those days when I felt so down.~
~I've got these feelings bubbling up from inside!~
~You've gotta nurture those flowers that'll bloom over and over!~
~It's comforting to run away into your memories, but you've got to break free from them and live for tomorrow.~
~Your time to celebrate will come, but you've gotta hold your arms out wide.~
~Days of struggle and turmoil will go on and on, and you'll swing back and forth between heaven and hell.~
~You've gotta nurture those flowers that'll bloom over and over!~
~You've got to run and run until you've found true love.~
~Any pain along the way is welcome news to me.~
~Your time to celebrate will come, but you've gotta hold your arms out wide.~
~Stretch your arms out wide...~
~And hold those hands up high!~

When she finished the last verse she noticed that Keitaro had stopped humming. Opening her eyes she saw him looking at her with amazement in his eyes. "What's wrong Kei-kun?"

"You sounded so beautiful." He said in wonderment "You sounded just like mum does."

"Is that so?" she smiled gently and pulled his head to her chest. "If you want, I can sing you to sleep every night." She told him as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"I'd like that Onee-sama." He replied quietly as he nuzzled into her breasts. Kanako just squeezed him tightly and kissed the top of his head. Stroking his back Kanako said "Let's get out now and get ready for breakfast."

"Sure Onee-sama." He grinned and pressed his lips against hers. Smiling at him Kanako held him close and stood up, carrying out of the bath and sat on one of the stools to dry themselves. Wrapping a towel around the small boy on her lap she rubbed him all over to get the water off of him all the while he was giggling happily. When she finished, Keitaro grabbed a dry towel of his own and proceeded to return the favour. Finishing with her front, Keitaro hopped off her lap and moved around to her back. After he finished his job Keitaro dropped the towel and hugged Kanako from behind, rubbing his cheek between her shoulder blades. Looking over her shoulder she smiled back at him "What are you up to Kei-kun?"

"Feeling your skin." He grinned.

Reaching behind her Kanako grabbed her brother and pulled him onto her lap surprised to see that a miniature robe had somehow materialised around him. Deciding not to comment on it Kanako smiled at him she asked. "Do you like my skin?"

"Uhuh. It's really soft and smooth." He told her happily as he rested his head on her breasts and gently stroked her belly. "It looks really pale and pretty. I'm so lucky to have such a beautiful Onee-sama like you."

With her arms around him she kissed his forehead and buried her nose in his hair. "And I'm so lucky to have such a cute little brother like you." Keitaro giggled and hugged her tightly, rubbing his face against her breasts. "Let me just put on a robe and then we'll get dressed for breakfast." Giving him a kiss on the lips, she placed him on the floor before slipping on her robe. Once she tightened the sash Keitaro climbed up her back, his second favourite place to be with his arms wrapped around her neck and cheek pressed and rubbing against hers. Smiling as he kissed her cheek Kanako left the private bathroom.

On the way back to the manager's room the Urashima pair ran into Motoko. "Morning Moto nee-san!" Keitaro cheered.

"Good morning Kei-kun, Kanako-san." The kendo girl smiled as she gently petted his head. "Did you two just have your bath?" she asked him.

"Uhuh, me and Onee-sama are all clean now." He grinned and rubbed his cheek against his sisters.

Smiling at him Motoko said "That's nice Kei-kun. Shinobu-chan will have breakfast ready soon so don't be too long."

"We'll be right down once we've gotten dressed, right Kei-kun?" Kanako smiled at the boy.

"Yup!" he grinned and kissed her cheek. Smiling at him Motoko ruffled his hair again before saying that she would see them downstairs. As they entered their room Kanako set him down and tenderly kissed his forehead before ruffling his hair and turning towards the dressed. Slipping off her robe she set it to one side before pulling out a pair of panties and quickly pulled them up her slim legs. As she pulled out a pair of socks Kanako felt her brother hug her leg. Looking down at him she saw that Keitaro had already gotten dressed. Again ignoring the rapid costume change she reached down and ran her fingers through his hair. "Something wrong Kei-kun?"

Shaking his head he asked "Can I help you get dressed, Onee-sama?"

Tilting her head curiously she replied "Why do you want to help me get dressed?"

"Just wanna." He mumbled as he rubbed his cheek against her thigh.

Smiling at him she said "Whatever you want Kei-kun." Sitting on the floor she handed the socks the happy boy who gleefully pulled the socks up to her knees. "OK Kei-kun, hand me my bra over there." She pointed out the item of clothing. Doing as he was told, he handed it to Kanako who slipped the straps over her shoulders. "Now Kei-kun can you do up the catch at the back for me?"

Nodding his head Keitaro moved around her back and pulled the two straps together and hooked them together. "Is that alright Onee-sama?"

"That's great Kei-kun." She grinned as she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled the giggling boy close to her and kissed his head. Standing up she petted his head and said "Next is the skirt." Nodding his head Keitaro grabbed the skirt and handed it to here. "OK, now we wrap it around my hips and then do up the catch." She instructed him as she held the sides for him to do it up himself. Doing as he was told Keitaro smiled up at his sister and waited for her next command.

"Good work Kei-kun, now can you get one of my shirts from the cupboard?" nodding his head he moved towards the cupboard and opened the door. After several unsuccessful jumps trying to pull down on her shirts he finally managed to and brought it to Kanako. Thanking him Kanako slipped the shirt on and asked "Do you want to do up the buttons for me?"

"Sure Onee-sama." He grinned happily as he started to do up her buttons. Keitaro frowned as he reached about half way up her shirt and realised that he couldn't reach any higher. Watching as he unsuccessfully tried to reach the other buttons Kanako couldn't help but think about how cute he looked. Deciding to put him out of his misery Kanako picked him up and placed him on the dresser "Is this better Kei-kun?" nodding his head Keitaro finished the last of her buttons. Kissing his forehead she said "Now there's just my hair to do. Do you want to help with that as well?"

"Yes please Onee-sama." He grinned. Rubbing his head Kanako picked him up and set him on the floor. Sitting on the floor she handed Keitaro her hair brush and let him run the brush through her silky hair. Once he finished Kanako pulled him onto her lap and kissed his nose. "Now I just have to tie this ribbon in my hair and... we're done!" she grinned at her brother "How do I look?"

"Beautiful." He grinned at her.

Returning his smile she said "Well there's only one thing left to do. Do you know what that is?" Keitaro shook his head as he gave her a curious look. "It's giving my wonderful little brother a thank you kiss." With that she cupped his chin and gently pressed her lips against his. Giggling happily as they broke the kiss Keitaro wrapped his arms tightly around Kanako and rested his head between her breasts.

"Did I do a good job, Onee-sama?" he asked.

"You did great Kei-kun." she smiled as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"If you want I can do this for you every day. You just have to stay with me and can't ever leave me." he told her quietly and hugged her strongly.

"You don't have to worry about that. I'm not going to leave you." She assured the boy as she squeezed him tightly. Kissing the top of his she stood up and Keitaro settled into his favourite position, his head resting on her chest, arms and legs around Kanako's slim body and his sister's arms holding him close to her. "Let's go get something to eat." She told him as she walked towards the door.

Answering the ringing telephone Motoko said "Hinata Sou dorm."

¬Motoko-chan it's me Tsuruko.¬ the voice said.

Motoko blinked "Sister? I did not expect to hear from you so soon. Do you have any information?"

¬Unfortunately no.¬ she sighed. ¬I have made some discreet equerries with some of our teachers and masters but they have never heard of anything like this. Neither did any of the elders. I even had them look through all the scrolls of our schools history but we were unable to find anything even remotely similar.¬

"So what do you suggest we do now?" Motoko asked.

¬Well, a few of the elders want to come to Hinata Sou with their apprentices and examine him themselves.¬

Motoko was silent for a moment. "Would you be able to conceal their absence from him?" she asked, the thought leaving a bad taste in her mouth.

Her sister sighed. ¬Perhaps for a day or two. We can say that we want to see how you are adjusting to your new environment but he will be suspicious.¬

"I see." Motoko frowned "I should tell you that Keitaro-kuns big sister is the new manager of Hinata Sou."

The phone was silent. ¬Kei-kun does not have a big sister. He is an only child.¬

"She was adopted after he died. She arrived here yesterday and informed us that she will be taking over as manager from Haruka. Though they just met yesterday she appears to have become very attached to him already."

¬I understand Motoko-chan.¬ her sister answered.

"When are you going to come here?"

¬I am hoping that we will be there this afternoon if that is alright.¬ Tsuruko asked. Before she could answer Keitaro and Kanako descended the stairs and the young boy called out a greeting to her. ¬Is that Kei-kun? May I speak to him?¬

"Of course" she replied to the telephone before turning to Keitaro "Kei-kun, my sister wants to talk to you."

Keitaro's eyes lit up. "Tsu nee-san?" he cheered happily as Kanako carried him over to the kendo girl. Receiving the phone, Keitaro asked "Tsu nee-san?"

¬Hello Kei-kun, how are you doing?¬ Tsuruko smiled down the phone.

"Tsu nee-san, guess what! I've got an Onee-sama!" he cried happily.

¬So I've been told.¬ Tsuruko replied. ¬What's she like?¬

"She's really kind, soft, snuggly and beautiful just like you are." He told her.

¬That's good Kei-kun.¬ she said ¬Kei-kun, I've told some people here all about you and they wanted to meet you. Would that be alright?¬

"Why do they want to meet me?" he asked curiously.

¬Because I told them how cute you are!¬ Tsuruko laughed.

"Um... let me ask Onee-sama." Turning to Kanako he said "Onee-sama, Tsu nee-san said she wants to bring some people over to see me. Is that all right?" Kanako glanced at Motoko for a moment before nodding. "Onee-sama says it's alright."

¬OK Kei-kun I'll see you later today.¬ she told him.

"OK Tsu nee-san. Love you."

¬Love you too Kei-kun. Goodbye.¬

"Goodbye Nee-san." He said before the line went dead. After he handed the phone to Motoko, Kanako set him down on the floor.

"Kei-kun why don't you go into the dining room and say good morning to the others." She told him as she rubbed his head.

"OK Onee-sama." He grinned up at her before wandering off.

Turning to Motoko the gothic sister said "I have no intention of letting anyone upset or cause any harm to him."

Motoko blinked. "I am sure my sister has no intention of harming or upsetting Kei-kun."

"I'm sure she doesn't. But what about the people she's bringing with her? If any of them even think about hurting my brother I will hold both you and your sister accountable." Kanako threatened.

Motoko gave her an amused smile. "You seem very protective of him. You're not even related to him by blood and yesterday you didn't even know he existed. Even now we don't know in what capacity he exists but you are willing to fight to protect him. May I ask what happened last night to cause such devotion?"

"Kei-kun always wanted a little sister." She said quietly "He told me that last night. I know that if what happened to him never happened I probably would never have been adopted by his parents but I just can't help but think out how different my life would have been if I had an Onii-chan like him. In the short time that I have known him he has shown me more affection and love than anyone else in my life. Even Granny could be distant sometimes as if she didn't want to get too close to me in case I followed in my brother's footsteps." Kanako murmured "If he had become my Onii-chan he would have loved, cared for and protected me unconditionally. The least I could do is repay the favour that he never got to perform otherwise what kind of sister would I be?" she said.

"I see." Motoko smiled.

Kanako mmmed before walking towards the dining room. Stopping she looked over her shoulder and said "If you like we can spar after breakfast."

"I would like that Kanako-san." Motoko smiled and bowed slightly before following Kanako into the dining room.

Laundry deck of Hinata Sou

Panting heavily the two women stared at each other, their clothes dishevelled and torn slightly, both still in defensive stances; Motoko with her bokken raised and Kanako with her fists up, both ready defend and counter attack if the other moved. "I...I think we should call it a draw." Motoko gasped.

Kanako nodded and relaxed her stance. "You're good." She replied.

"You too." Motoko sheathed her wooden sword. "I've never met someone outside of my school able to defend against our style especially barehanded."

"And apart from Granny Hina I've never met someone I couldn't defeat." Kanako stretched her arms above her head. "Are all practitioners of your school this skilled?"

Motoko shook her head and wiped sweat from her forehead. "Apart from the masters and elders of our schools myself and my sister are considered the most skilled."

"I see." Kanako smiled. Before they could continue their conversation they were interrupted by cheering from the sidelines.

"Onee-sama you were great!" Keitaro cheered as he waved a small flag with a chibi version of Kanako's face imprinted on it.

"You too Motoko!" Su jumped around as she waved a small flag with a chibi version of Motoko's face imprinted on it.

Smiling at the children, the two girls walked over to them and patted their respective cheerleader on the head and accepted a bottle of water and a towel from them. "You were amazing Onee-sama!"

"Thank you Kei-kun." She smiled down at him and wiped the sweat from her face.

"You were amazing as well, Motoko-chan!" Su cheered making Motoko smile. "Wasn't she Kei-kun?"

"uhuh." He smiled up at her. "But Kana Onee-sama is much better!" he said as he hugged her leg.

Su frowned at the boy "What are you talking about? Motoko is much better! Didn't you see how awesome she was with her sword?"

"Yea, but Onee-sama was able to fight to a draw with just her hands! That shows you just how good she is!" he glared at the tanned girl.

Su returned his glare "Anyone can throw a punch but it takes skills to use a sword!"

"But it takes more skill to defend against someone who uses a sword than someone who doesn't. So my Onee-sama is better." He declared.

Narrowing their eyes at each other with a spark passing between them the pair lunged at each other ending up in a cloud of dust with arms, legs, and the occasional head poking out of the cloud every so often. Deciding to put an end to this before they hurt each other the elder girls reached into the cloud and pulled out their respective charges finding that the battle of the fruit had been picked up where it had been left off as Su and Keitaro had an apple and banana respectively shoved into their mouths.

"That's enough of that OK?" Kanako scolded him as she held Keitaro close to her chest.

"You too Su-chan." She held Su the same way. "We fought each other to a draw so that means we are equally skilled. Right Kanako-san?"

"That's right. Now since me and Motoko-san are all sweaty who don't we all go take a dip in the springs?"

"OK Onee-sama." He grinned at her after swallowed the banana.

"Good." Motoko smiled. "And you behave yourself Su-chan."

"You too Kei-kun." Kanako told him.

"M'kay." The pair pouted.

Entering the hot springs with towels wrapped around their bodies, all the while Keitaro and Su were holding onto their respective charges legs. "Onee-sama do you want me to wash your back for you?"

"Thank you Kei-kun, I'd like that." She smiled and rubbed his head.

"Come on Onee-sama." He took a hold of her hand and led her to the stools giving Su a smug smile as he walked past her.

Puffing out her cheeks and a vain throbbing in her forehead Su grabbed Motoko's hand and pulled her to the stools. "Come on Motoko, I'll wash your back for you!" sitting her next to Kanako she ran a cloth up and down her back and poking her tongue out at her rival.

Frowning, Keitaro turned away and hugged Kanako, rubbing his cheek against her back. "Your skin is really soft Onee-sama." He smiled sweetly over at Su.

"Your skin is soft too Motoko." She copied Keitaro and rubbed her cheek against the kendo girls back.

"um, Thank you?" she asked uncomfortably.

"Am I doing a good job Onee-sama?" he asked, turning away from the smug Su.

"A very good job Kei-kun." She smiled back at him.

Su puffed out her cheeks and glared at him. Turning back to Motoko's back she cried "I'll do an even better job! Maximum Strength!" with that she roughly rubbed up and down Motoko's pale skin as quickly as she could.

"Ah! Su-chan, be more gentle!" Motoko scolded her.

Keitaro frowned and puffed out his cheeks as he copied Su. "I can do it better than that!"

"Kei-kun, not so rough!" she told him as both women reached around and pulled the child onto their lap. "What are you two doing?" Kanako asked the pair.

"Washing your backs." Both Su and Keitaro said innocently at the same time.

Pulling his cheeks she said "Don't be cheeky." Which received a giggle. "Let's get in the springs." She gently rubbed his head.

"OK, Onee-sama." He leaned up and kissed her. Carrying them into the pool, Kanako and Motoko sat side by side with their respective child sitting on their lap hugging them. "Onee-sama, you're really soft." He said as he nuzzled into his chest.

Looking over at him Su said "Motoko is even softer." She smiled at him.

Keitaro narrowed his eyes at the tanned princess. "But Onee-sama's skin is a lot prettier. Look how pale it is. It looks like it's glowing!" he pointed out and gently stroked her side.

Su huffed "She might have prettier skin but Motoko has bigger boobs!" Su grabbed Motoko's breasts and squeezed. "See how huge they are?"

"S-Su-chan!" Motoko cried at the groping while blushing.

Keitaro glared at her "So what? Just because they're bigger doesn't mean they're better. Onee-sama's boobs are just as beautiful as Motoko-nee's boobs!" he declared as he squeezed Kanako's breasts.

"Kei-kun!" she frowned at her brother.

"You're too young to realise that big boobs are the best!" Su countered as she fondled Motoko's large mounds.

"It doesn't matter how big they are. All that matters is if they're goon for snuggling with like Onee-sama's are!" he demonstrated this by burying his face in her breasts.

"Motoko's are great for that too!" she insisted and nuzzled into Motoko's chest.

Both of the blushing woman's eyes twitched and a vain in their foreheads throbbed as they raised a shaking clenched fist.

"Su-chan...!" Motoko growled.

"Kei-kun...!" Kanako growled.

-Bam- -Bam-

"Are these two even friends?" Kanako asked Motoko as she looked at the children floating on their backs with swirls in their eyes and large bumps on their heads.

"I think they are." Motoko said with a smile. "They just enjoy arguing with each other."

"What are you talking about, Nee-san?" Keitaro frowned as he and Su sat up. "I would never argue with Su nee-san. I love her!" he protested as he sat on her lap and wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her small chest.

"That's right!" Su agreed "I love Kei-kun too. He's just a misguided child and as his Nee-san it's my responsibility to set him right." She rubbed his head.

Keitaro frowned up at her "What's that suppose to mean?"

"It means that you are still naive about the world and need someone as smart and pretty as Su to teach you." She grinned at him.

"That's not true, I'm just as smart as you!" he told her. "Just because you're an old lady doesn't mean you're smarter than me."

Su's eye twitched. "Fu Fu Fu, silly Kei-kun." She laughed as she roughly rubbed his head. "You're acting awfully high and mighty for a brat who doesn't even realise a banana is better than an apple."

"Who are you calling a brat you old lady!" he scowled at her. "And apples are better than bananas!"

"Fu Fu Fu, little brats like you should show your elders proper respect." She petted him heavily on the head. "And you should listen to them when they know more than you do."

"Humph, I refuse to believe you're older than me!" he told her. "Your boobs are too tiny!" He placed his hands over her small breasts. "Even Onee-samas boobs are bigger!"

Kanako frowned. 'Even?' she thought as her eye twitched.

Su glared down at him "What are you talking about? There's no way my boobs are as small as that!"

Kanako had tears waterfalling down her face 'Even Su-chan thinks I have small breasts.' She cried to herself as Motoko patted her shoulder sympathetically.

"Yes they are!" he gave her a squeeze. "You're an old lady with no boobs who doesn't even know apples are the best!"

The pair narrowed their eyes at each other with a spark shooting between them before lunging at each other. Pulling them apart to stop one of them drowning the elder girls hugged them close to their chests. Grabbing his cheeks and pulling on them Kanako said "We told the two of you to behave, didn't we?"

"Sowy Onee-swama." He garbled.

"It's OK Kei-kun. No more fighting."

"We weren't fighting; I was just giving him a lovetap." Su protested as she nuzzled into Motoko's chest.

"That's right." Keitaro agreed with a yawn. "I would never fight with Su nee-san." He said as he snuggled closer to her. "You feel really warm Onee-sama. And you're really comfortable too."

"You too Motoko." Su agreed as both children fell asleep.

"How can they be tired? It's not even lunch time." Kanako wondered as she ran her fingers through Keitaro's hair.

"They probably use up a lot of energy arguing." Motoko smiled before looking over at Keitaro. "It seems someone has a new favourite."

"I'm sure it's brotherly bias more than anything." She pulled him closer to her chest before looking at the kendo girl. "Though I don't think I can say the same about the two of you." She smiled.

"It does appear she has become attached to me doesn't it?" she smiled and gently stroked Su's short blond hair.

"Figuratively and literally." Kanako smiled before sighing and looking down at her brother. "What do think will happen to him?"

"We shall have to wait for my sister and the others from my school to arrive. Until then there is no point in thinking about it."

'I can't help but think about it.' She thought sadly to herself and pulled her brother closer to her body. 'I don't want to lose him after only just meeting him. I've known him for less than a day and he's already the closest thing I have to family. I can't help but worry that Motoko's sister and the people from her school will take him away from me.'

"Kanako-san?" the gothic manager was pulled out of her thoughts by Motoko's voice.

"Yes?"

"I think we should get out the springs before these two overheat." She gestured to the two children.

"Sure." She nodded as she gave Keitaro's forehead a kiss before rising out of the water and heading to the changing room with Motoko following close behind.

Sometime Later at the Bottom of Stone Staircase

"Hinata Sou is just at the top of this stairway. Will you be able to climb them without assistance?" she asked the collection of elders and their apprentices.

Chuckling slightly a wizened old man dressed in a light green yukata and carrying a walking stick said "We may be old but we are not infirm Tsuruko-san. The day we are unable to transverse a simple staircase is the day that we shall retire from our positions in the school." He smiled at her.

"Though we needn't push ourselves unnecessarily." One of the female elders interjected. She wore a dark purple kimono and had her silver hair tied back into a ponytail. "Perhaps we should have some tea in that teashop over there." She nodded in the direction of Haruka's tea rooms.

"I think we should wait until we get up stairs. I doubt we will receive a warm welcome from the proprietor." Tsuruko said quietly.

The elders who had personally trained Tsuruko raised an eyebrow at her behaviour but didn't press the subject. "As you wish Tsuruko-chan." The elder that made the suggestion nodded.

"Thank you Elder Asuna." Tsuruko bowed slightly. "Shall we?"

Nodding, Tsuruko led the way up the stairs, the apprentices carrying their master's belongings for them. Reaching the top of the stairs after a reasonable climbing pace they entered the old building and Tsuruko was instantly glomped by a happy young boy. "Tsu nee-san!" he cheered "You really came back!"

"Of course I did. I promised that I'd be back didn't I?" she held him close to her and kissed his forehead. "How have you been Kei-kun?"

"Great! I've got an Onee-sama now!" he said happily.

"Yes, you told me that over the phone and I would love to meet her." Tsuruko replied with a smile. Setting him down on the floor she allowed him to take her hand and lead her over to a fair skinned girl whose eyes were flitting between the assembled swordsman and women.

"Onee-sama, this is Tsuruko Aoyama. Motoko-Nees big sister. Tsu nee-san, this is my beautiful Onee-sama Kanako." He introduced the two women to each other.

"It is nice to meet you Kanako-san." Tsuruko bowed to the girl.

"Likewise." She returned her bow with a guarded expression.

Smiling at the sister, Tsuruko looked down at Keitaro and said "Kei-kun, allow me to introduce you to the people who wanted to meet you." She took a hold of his hand and led him over to the visiting elders but not before Kanako took a hold of his other hand. "Kei-kun this is..." Tsuruko went around the assembled group and introduced all of them to Keitaro who bowed to them.

Asuna stepped forward and knelt in front of the young boy with a smile. "It is nice to meet you Kei-kun. I don't suppose you can answer some questions for us?"

Keitaro didn't answer but instead looked up at Kanako. "It's OK Kei-kun." She murmured and squeezed his hand. Nodding his head Keitaro let go of Kanako's hand and was taken aside leaving Kanako and Tsuruko by themselves. Before Tsuruko could say anything Kanako asked "What are you planning to do with Kei-kun?"

Tsuruko blinked. "We want to help him."

"And what does 'help him' mean? "Bring him back to life? Or do you mean to exorcise him? Make him pass on to where ever he was meant to go when he died?" she asked attracting the attention of the other girls.

"That has yet to be decided. First we have find out what we can do for him. Until then it is pointless to speculate about what we are going to do with him."

"Why do we have to do anything with Kei-kun?" Su asked from her position draped over Motoko's shoulders.

There was an uncomfortable silence as the girls remembered that they still haven't told Su about Keitaro. "er... well..." Kitsune started "You see... Kei-kun is... well Kei-kun is kind of a..."

"A ghost." Su finished for her "So what? What's wrong with him staying the way he is? That way he'll always be cute and squishy!" she grinned.

"What! You knew?" the girls cried.

"Of course Su did." She replied simply.

"How?" Kitsune asked.

"Because Su is a genius." She smiled smugly.

"So how long have you known?" Motoko asked.

"Since I first hugged him. Why, didn't you guys know?" she asked him

"er, well..." Kitsune started but was interrupted by the approach of one of the elders.

"Elder Kohta." Motoko bowed.

"Hello Motoko-chan." He smiled at her "It's good to see that you have friends already."

"Have you discovered something about him yet?" Tsuruko asked.

"Not yet, but my colleagues are still talking to Keitaro-kun. I would like to ask you ladies a few questions if that is alright?" he smiled at the residents. Nodding their heads they all sat down and waited for the old man to ask his questions. "Well, what have you noticed about Keitaro-kun that can be considered... odd? Or strange?"

"There were a few things. Firstly he seems to be able to disappear as soon as he turns a corner." Naru said.

"But there are tunnels all over Hinata Sou. He probably just ducks into one of them if he wants to escape." Kitsune said.

"Well, he's able to change his clothes instantaneously. As soon as you turn your back he can be wearing something completely different." Kanako explained. "This morning after we had a bath he was drying my back and when I turned around he was wearing a child size robe that appeared out of nowhere."

"Yea, that happened to me as well." Naru put in. "We were getting changed for bed and I was about to ask him if her had anything to wear when I saw he had already change into his pyjamas and his day clothes had vanished."

"Also his sense of time seems to be slightly distorted. He didn't know that it had been over a decade since we last saw each other and he didn't notice that I had aged and that he hadn't." Tsuruko said.

"um, also his aunt Haruka Urashima who owns the teashop downstairs can't see him." Shinobu added shyly.

"But the strangest thing of all is that he thinks apples are better than bananas." Su shook her head sadly.

Kohta chuckled at the young girl "I see. Thank you, I am sure this information will be very useful to us." He bowed to them. Before anything else was said Keitaro rushed up to his sister and climbed onto her lap.

"Look Onee-sama! The nice Nee-san over there gave me a lollipop!" he grinned happily.

"Aren't you lucky?" she petted his head. "Have they finished talking to you?"

"For now, but they said that they wanted to ask me some more questions later." he smiled as he rested his head on her chest.

"Did you answer all their questions?" she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Of course I did Onee-sama." He smiled as he licked his sweet.

"Good boy." She smiled and kissed his forehead.

"Kei-kun has been very helpful to us." Asuna smiled as she walked over to the seated people. "We have enough information to start with."

"Start what?" Keitaro asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about Kei-kun." Kanako rubbed his head who smiled happily at the attention.

"You two certainly have a good relationship don't you?" Kohta grinned at them. "I wonder if you get along with our Motoko-san just as well."

"Of course I do." He smiled happily.

"Fu Fu Fu, It's good to know that Motoko-san is being looked after." He grinned at the young boy.

"Indeed it is." A new voice said from the doorway. Looking towards the entrance the Aoyama's and the school elders grabbed a hold of their swords.

"What are you doing here?" Tsuruko spat as she stood up.

The man gave her an oily smile. He had dull black hair and wore the same style of hakama and gi that Motoko and Tsuruko was wearing with a sword at his hip. "Why, the same reason why the temporary head of our school and most of our... esteemed elders left the safety of the school. To see how little Motoko-chan was settling into her new home of course. Unless there is a different reason why some of the most knowledgeable members of our school have come to this tiny little town?" he told Tsuruko.

"Of course not." She said through gritted teeth.

"Get Keitaro-kun out of here." Motoko hissed at Kanako as she stood next to her sister.

"Hello Motoko-chan." He smiled at her.

"Shouji." Motoko growled.

"Now, now Motoko-chan. That's no way to greet your uncle nor the head of the council. And when you become the head of our school we will be working very closely together so it would be best if we got on together no?" he grinned at her.

"I Will Never-!" she cut herself off as Tsuruko grabbed tightly onto her wrist.

"You have no reason to be here Shouji. Just go back to Kyoto. It is irresponsible for so many of the high ranking members of our school to be away."

"It would be more irresponsible to not verify for myself the living conditions for someone as... important as Motoko-chan." He smiled. "Besides, I see no reason why I should be the one to leave."

"Because you were not invited like the rest of us were." She glared at him.

"But since I'm already here it would be pointless to just go back to Kyoto. I might as well stay for a while and see how well Motoko-chan has developed." He smiled making both Aoyamas emit an angry red aura.

"It is not up you whether or not you are allowed to stay here. It is up to the dorm manager." Kohta growled at him.

"Then it's not up to you to expel me is it?" he shot back which made the elder glower. "I'm sure she would have no problem with me being here."

"I'll go get her." Motoko growled as she moved towards the stairs, eager to get away from the man.

"Onee-sama, why did we have to come up here?" he asked as he sat on Kanako's lap playing with her cat.

"I'm not sure Kei-kun." she rubbed his head affectionately. "We'll have to wait for Motoko-chan to come up and tell us. But in the meantime you get to spend time with your pretty Onee-sama and that's not so bad is it?" she asked.

Letting go of Kuro he turned around and hugged her, pressing his lips against hers. "Of course it isn't." He rested his head on her chest.

Stroking his hair Kanako held him close to her and whispered. "I won't let anyone hurt you." Keitaro nuzzled happily into her chest. Before they could do or say anything else a clearly angry Motoko burst into the room and slammed the door closed behind her. "What's wrong Motoko-chan?" Kanako asked.

Ignoring her Motoko knelt next to them and said to Keitaro "Kei-kun, I need you to keep away from that Man, OK? Don't even speak to him. And if you ever find yourself alone with him you must get away from him as soon as possible and come to one of your nee-sans, your Onee-sama or someone from my school OK?"

Keitaro nodded and held tightly onto Kanako. "Motoko-chan what is going on?" Kanako frowned at her not liking that she was scaring her brother.

"I will tell you later but I need your help. We have to get rid of him as soon as possible." She told Kanako. "He wants to ask you if he can stay but you have to say no."

Kanako nodded her head. "Alright, but I expect an explanation once we're done." Swinging Keitaro onto her back she followed Motoko back to the living room. As soon as the man smiled at her Kanako took an immediate dislike to him. "You wished to talk to me?" she said.

"Yes I would like to stay here along with the others from my school to observe Motoko-chans training for a while."

"This is an all girls dorm. I see no reason let you stay." Kanako said as she folded her arms.

"And what about them?" he nodded to the assembled swordsmen.

"Motoko-chan informed me of their wanting to visit and I allowed it. I don't appreciate a man just turning up on my doorstep and expecting to be welcomed with open arms." She said coldly.

"But I'm Motoko-chan's uncle. Surely you can make an exception this once?" he smiled sweetly.

"I do not care what your relationship with Motoko-chan is. Even if you were her father you would still have to ask me in advance if you wanted to stay."

His smile widened. "Then you have no problem with me visiting Motoko-chan today. You just have a problem with me staying here right?"

Kanako blinked. "Well..." she said reluctantly, not liking she had been backed into a corner. Flicking her eyes towards Tsuruko she saw the elder kendo grudgingly nod her head. "Fine, but you must leave before it gets dark, stay away from the hot springs and the residents' rooms." She told him.

"Of course." He smiled at her.

Kanako mmmed and looked towards the other girls. "Why don't we all have a dip in the hotsprings?" which was met with a chorus of nods.

"My, my, going to the hotsprings in the middle of the day. You certainly live a carefree life away from home, don't you Motoko-chan?" Shouji asked with a smile.

"I have already done my training for the day." She said archly.

"I'm sure you have. And I'm sure you've improved greatly in the short time you have been here." He said.

"I'd be more than happy to give you a demonstration." She growled as she stepped forward, hand on hilt only to be grabbed by her sister.

"Come on Motoko-chan. Let's go have a nice relaxing bath." She pulled the girl away.

"I don't suppose we could steal Kei-kun away from you, Kanako-san. This place is rather large and we could use a guide." Asuna asked.

Kanako thought for a moment before nodding and passing Keitaro to the older woman. Kissing his forehead she whispered into his ear "Remember what Motoko-san told you OK?" getting a nod Kanako smiled and gently stroked his hair.

"I'll look after him." Asuna promised. Kanako nodded her head in thanks before leaving heading to the springs.

"So? Either of you want to tell us who that guy is and why is it all of you grab your swords whenever you look at him?" Kitsune asked the kendo girls.

Tsuruko sighed "He is Shouji Aoyama-"

"Shouji Sawamura." Motoko interrupted angrily.

Nodding her head Tsuruko continued "Shouji Aoyama formerly Sawamura," She said to avoid another outburst from her sister. "Is the leader of the council that is meant to advise the heads of our school."

"And you hate him because..." Naru asked.

"Because he tried to marry Motoko-chan." She said quietly.

"What?" all the girls cried. "But he's your uncle!" Kitsune protested.

"Only just!" Motoko spat "He is the brother of our aunts' husband."

"So why did he try and marry Motoko-chan?" Naru asked.

Tsuruko sighed. "The traditions of the Aoyama dictate that at least two children must be born every generation. The eldest would take over the school from their predecessor and the youngest would wed and produce the next generation of Aoyama who would in turn take over from their aunt or uncle. This arrangement was put in place to stop resentment from branch family members." Tsuruko explained.

"Branch family?" Shinobu thought before blushing as she realised she said it out loud.

"A branch family member is someone or is the child of someone who wasn't the first born child. In our case my sister would have been part of the main family while I would be a branch family member." Motoko explained. "It used to be that only the eldest child of a the current head of the school would become the next head and so would their direct descendants with any siblings never having the chance to become the ruler of our school nor could any of their children hope to attain that position. This led to much resentment and jealousy from the younger brothers and sisters and more than a few murders. This arrangement was put in place so even if a sibling did not become the head at least their child would which eased the resentment."

"I see." Shinobu nodded her understanding.

"Myself and Motoko are somewhat unique in that our mother was the head of our school. Our aunt died before she could bear any children and so it fell to our mother to run the school and get married. But before she died our aunt did get married. And her husband had begged our mother to allow his brother to join our school. Apparently he had been a delinquent and had amounted to nothing, running up gambling debts that his brother had to keep paying off. It got to the point where he was scared for his brother's life and asked for him to be brought into the school to hopefully calm him down and turn him back onto the right path. I never met our uncle but mother said that he was a good and caring man and so she accepted his request but he didn't settle down he just caused more trouble and his greed was all that motivated him. It got even worse after his brother's death." Tsuruko continued the story. "He eventually got it into his head to try to take over the school. He even managed to become the head of the council but that still wasn't enough; he wants the entire school."

"But since only those of Aoyama blood can rule even if he somehow managed to kill the both of us he would not be able to take control as we still have cousins here and there that share our blood line and while he might be able to get away with killing the both of us he wouldn't if he arranged the death of the other heirs as well." Motoko scowled.

"So he wanted to marry Motoko-chan so his kids would take power and he can control them." Kitsune deduced.

"That's what we suspect. And after they were born he would likely try and get rid of us so we couldn't interfere." Motoko said.

"In order to circumvent his plan the only thing we could do was for me to get married." Tsuruko added. "Luckily I already had a boyfriend that I was in love with and when I explained what the situation was, he agreed to marry me. And so I passed on the title of head of the school to Motoko-chan."

"And you're just allowed to get married and abdicate your responsibilities?" Naru asked.

"There is precedent so we were able to go through with it despite his protests and in order to protect Motoko-chan we said that she wasn't ready to lead the school so we sent her here to train." Tsuruko said.

"So what's he doing here?" Naru asked.

"He is most likely suspicious as to why so many of us needed to come and see Motoko-chan. We had hoped that we could fool him for at least a couple of days but it seems we are not that fortunate." Tsuruko sighed. "We just have to keep him away from Kei-kun until he leaves."

"That is easier said than done Tsuruko-chan." Asuna's voice came from the entrance to the changing room. "Do you mind if we join you?" she asked as she gestured to her young apprentice wrapped in a towel.

"Where's Kei-kun?" Kanako asked.

"He is still with the other elders answering questions." Asuna answered as her and her apprentice sat down into the pool. "We have so far managed to keep Shouji distracted; the other elders are taking turns keeping him occupied while they talk with Keitaro-kun."

"So have you discovered anything about Kei-kun?" Tsuruko asked.

"Not much more than what you originally discerned Tsuruko-chan." Asuna said. "He does seem to have no physical body but I think he's more than just his Ki that remains. Though I cannot be certain just yet I believe that in an effort to save who and what he his Keitaro-kuns Ki pulled out at least part of his soul from his body and has enveloped it in order to keep him safe once his body was beyond saving."

"So, do you think you can help him?" Motoko asked.

"Help him to do what exactly?" Asuna raised an eyebrow. "We still have no idea what he is. We could try and perform an exorcism to help him pass on to where he is meant to go but if he isn't a ghost then that won't do anything. We don't even know how he could react to something like that. If we tried to remove his soul his Ki could see it as us trying to kill him and react violently." She sighed. "After all, it was most likely his instinct for self-preservation that made him what he is today."

"Do you think he could try and harm us?" Tsuruko asked.

"Consciously, I doubt it. His disposition is too kind and loving to willing hurt anyone but I doubt he would be able to stop himself if his Ki ever went out of control. It may be best if we just did nothing at all."

"I don't think it would." Came Shinobu's quiet voice. When everyone turned to look at her the girl blushed a deep red.

"What do you mean Shinobu-chan?" Kitsune asked.

"I-it's just that if we didn't do anything Kei-kun would stay like that forever right? Well we couldn't stay with him forever; we will someday move out and eventually die and Kei-kun will be alone again. When I talked to him he said that he didn't like to be alone, and now he seems a lot happier with all of us to spend time with him but sooner or later he would be lonely again and it just seems a bit... cruel to make him go through that again." She finished quietly. All the girls smiled at the blushing girl and Kanako gently stroked her hair.

"Though you have a point, it would irresponsible to do something for the sake of doing it without knowing more." Asuna replied. "If what Tsuruko-chan said about Kei-kun's Ki potential being greater than either hers' or Motoko-chans when he was alive is accurate he could be very dangerous if we do not handle him with caution."

"But the most important thing right now is to make sure Shouji does not find out anything about Kei-kun." Tsuruko said. "Though we cannot be certain what he would do with the information that has been gathered so far, I feel that it would be best if we are not given the opportunity to find out."

As the girls nodded and stood to leave the hotsprings none of them were aware of the man standing by the balcony of the private bathroom listening in to their conversation with a large smile on his face.

In one of the rooms that Kanako had set up for the visiting swordsmen and women, Kohta's apprentice hurriedly wrote notes on what they had discovered so far about the young boy. 'I can't believe something like this is even possible!' he thought with a feverish look in his eye. "This is amazing!" he said.

"It certainly is a unique situation isn't?" a voice came from the door.

Jumping slightly the apprentice turned and saw the head of the council smiling at him. "Shouji-sama! M-my apologies, I didn't know you were there."

Shoujis smile widened. "That's quite alright... Akira-kun is it?"

"Y-yes Shouji-sama, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"Well, we've been keeping an eye on you." Shiouji replied.

"We?" Akira wondered.

"Myself and the other council members of course." He smiled.

"R-Really? Why?"

"Well, we've heard what a promising member of our school you are and are considering allowing you to become a member of the council."

Akira's mouth dropped open. "M-Me! B-But I'm still just an apprentice! Elder Kohta still has lots to teach me, S-Someone like me doesn't have enough experience to be a council member!" he cried out.

"Come now Akira-kun. There is no need for such modesty. If we didn't think you were the right person for the job I wouldn't be here talking to you about it would I?" he patted the younger mans shoulder.

"O-Of course Shouji-sama. I am honoured." Akira hastily bowed.

"It hasn't been decided yet, but that is why I am here. We have decided to use this situation as an opportunity to test how you competent you are. Normally we would not tell the candidate in question that we are testing him but I can't abide by all that cloak and dagger stuff though it would be best if you did not tell anyone until everything is finalised." Shouji ordered him.

"I understand Shouji-sama." He nodded eagerly. "So what is it that I need to do?"

"First of all, please tell me everything you know about that young boy that we have come to see." Shouji told him.

"Well, before his death ten years ago he was more or less a normal eight year old boy but if what Tsuruko-sama said is true, the amount of Ki he had surpassed anything we've ever seen! More than even the strongest member of the Aoyama blood line!"Akira exclaimed.

"So he is stronger than Motoko-chan and Tsuruko-chan then?" Shouji asked making Akira frown.

"Well... we're not sure at the moment. If he was alive and received proper training then yes, he probably would have been stronger than Motoko-sama and Tsuruko-sama but right now we are unsure of his level in his current state. So far we believe that his soul was enveloped by his Ki at the moment of his death and pulled out of his dying body so that he was able to live on in some capacity." Akira explained.

"Do you think he would be able to manipulate his Ki? Such as using one of our school's techniques?"

"We don't know yet. If his Ki is fully focused of preserving his soul then it is unlikely that he would be capable of doing anything like that but until we know more about him there is little we can accurately predict." He admitted.

"Hypothetically, if he could control his Ki like we do how powerful do you think a technique from him would be?" Shouji asked.

Akira was silent before hesitantly saying "Well... since he would not have the physical limitations of a body, he would be able to release pure energy so even the weakest technique would be incredibly powerful." Akira thought for a moment. "In theory, he wouldn't even need a technique. If he is able to freely manipulate his Ki by will and if he had enough practice then he wouldn't be limited to what a specific technique does, he would just have to think about it and it would be done. And since it appears his Ki has not diminished since his death it's possible that he could be able to do practically anything for as long as he wished without the risk of fatigue. Of course all this is mere speculation; we haven't even had half a day to study him so we have no idea what he is truly capable of."

"I see..." Shouji murmured as his eyes gleamed. 'If what this idiot says turns out to be correct then that boy could be a useful weapon I could use against Tsuruko-chan and her sister! Hell, taking over the school is the least I could do with his kind of power! I just need to find a way of controlling him.' His grin grew wider. "Is there anything else you know about him?"

"No... I think that's all." Akira replied.

"Good." Shouji grinned. "Thank you Akira-kun, you have been most informative." He nodded his head before moving to the door.

"S-Shouji-sama!" Akira called out. "H-How did I do?"

"Huh? Oh the test. Yes you did very well although I will have to wait until the end of this excursion until I can give you my recommendation. And remember not to tell anyone about this." He told him.

"O-Of course, Shouji-sama!" he said happily. "Thank you very much!"

Leaving the beaming idiot to his own devices Shouji wondered how he could possibly make the boy do his bidding. 'The first thing I have to do is separate him from everyone else. That manager obviously doesn't like me and those sisters have turned the residents against me, not to mention the elders are already trying to keep me away from him. Even most of their apprentices probably won't give me a chance, I'm just lucky that old fool Kohta had such a stupid underling.' He scowled, deep in thought as he walked down stairs to the living room. Noticing that the room wasn't empty he blinked and grinned as he saw the young boy he was just thinking about sitting on the sofa alone save for the black cat on his lap that he was playing with.

Approaching him with a smile he said "Hello. It's Keitaro-kun isn't it?" The young boy turned around with a smile which fell from his face as he saw who was talking to him. As the cat on Keitaro's lap hissed and arched it's back the young boy's pupils narrowed and his whole body tensed up as if he was ready to make a run for it. "I was hoping to have a word with you." He grinned as he gripped tightly onto the boys shoulder.

Upstairs in one of the larger rooms set aside for the elders Kanako and the other Hinata girls sat as they listened to what the elders had found out so far. "That's all well and good but you haven't said if you will be able to do anything about him." Kitsune pointed out.

"That's because we don't know enough yet." Asuna admitted "We haven't even been able to discern exactly what he is and until we do we can't even begin to think ways of helping him."

"So we are no better off than we were before you got here?" Kitsune asked. All the girls had gotten attached to the young boy and like Kanako, Kitsune wasn't shy about showing her dislike about the idea of taking him away.

"That's right, but we've only just started our investigation. You can't expect us to just come up with all the answers in a few hours." Kohta answered the fox girls criticisms.

"Still, is there any rush? He's been like that for over a decade would it really hurt to keep him the way he is for a while longer?" Kitsune asked.

"That all depends on what we find. If we find that we can... do something for him at any time then there is no reason why we should do it just for the sake of doing so but if for some reason there is a time limit then we would have to re-think are approach and do what we feel is best for him and others." Asuna told her.

"What do you mean 'best for others.'?" Naru asked carefully.

"We... we do not know what he is capable of. As far as we can tell he is a being of pure energy. If he is capable of manipulating that energy he could be incredibly dangerous. And if he can't control it then it would probably be even worse. It's possible he could randomly release the energy and wouldn't be able to stop himself from hurting people or destroying his surroundings. If that does happen we would have to try and stop him." Kohta said quietly.

"And how would you try and stop him?" Kanako asked with a dangerous edge to her voice.

"By any means necessary." Asuna murmured and held up her hand to forestall the rush of objections from the girls. "There really is no other option. If he went on a rampage he could kill a countless number of people. Do you think that is a preferable situation? Do you think someone like Kei-kun could live with the knowledge that he did something like that?" All the girls mumbled in response.

"Do you think he can be taught to control himself?" Motoko asked. "If we were to take him back to our school and teach him to control his Ki wouldn't that be enough to ensure he doesn't hurt anyone? Sister, is Kei-kun any different than he was when he was alive?" she asked Tsuruko.

"His mentality still seems to be the same as when I last met him." Tsuruko replied.

"Well that probably means he will stay as he is for a while and I don't think Kei-kun would willingly hurt someone. So as long as he can control himself there wouldn't be a problem, right?" Motoko asked.

"Perhaps, but that was ten years of practically being ignored with little to no interaction with others. His mind stayed the same because there was no one around to influence him. We cannot guarantee that he won't change. And if we took him to our school it would be difficult to keep him away from... Certain People who would see him as a weapon they could use for their own devices."

"Speaking of Certain People, where is our other guest?" Tsuruko asked.

The elders looked amongst themselves. "We... are unsure. We haven't seen him for some time now." Kohta admitted.

"Speaking of which, has anyone seen Kei-kun?" Naru asked.

The Hinata girls looked amongst themselves. Just as everyone in the room stood up en masse they heard the young boy's voice scream out "ONEE-SAMA! NEE-SANS!"

"Shut up you little brat!" Shouji yelled as he covered the kicking and squirming boys mouth while holding tightly onto the back of his neck. Before he could even begin to move to the door he heard the rapidly approaching thumping of footsteps. "Damn It!" he snarled as he removed his hand from Keitaro's mouth and drew his sword and held the blade against his throat just as the first girl descended the stairs.

"What do you think you are doing Shouji!" Tsuruko screamed at him as she and the other members of her school drew their swords.

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm taking this brat and we're going to have a nice long discussion." He grinned at her.

"What do you want with him?" Kanako roared as her body glowed with rage fuelled Ki.

"I'm sure you can guess. This kid has the power to beat even those two sisters and you think I'd pass up the opportunity to have a weapon like him?"

"He is not a weapon that you can just use!" Kohta yelled at him.

"Maybe not just yet, but by the time I'm through with him he'll do whatever I tell him to." He smirked at him.

"And you think we'd just let you?" Motoko growled as she took a step forward.

"I'd stay right where you are if I were you Motoko-chan." Shouji threatened as he pressed his sword closer to Keitaro's skin.

"Do you really think something like would work against him?" Asuna spat.

"I have no idea." He smirked. "But then again neither do any of you. And I'm willing to bet that none of you are willing to find out." All present bristled at the fact that he was right. "Now, if you don't mind, me and Keitaro-kun here will be leaving." He slowly moved towards the door.

"AS IF I'D LET YOU!" Kanako screamed as she leapt at him.

"Stupid Bitch!" Shouji spat as he swung his sword, the blade cutting into her stomach and throwing her to the floor.

"Kanako!" Motoko and Tsuruko screamed and rushed to her side to try and staunch the bleeding.

"Let that be a lesson!" Shouji yelled as he held out his sword, ready to swing again if any came close to him.

"Onee-sama..." Keitaro's quiet voice quivered as he stared wide eye at his wounded sister. "Onee-sama!" he cried as he tried squirm out of the swordsman's hold with tears falling from his eyes.

"Stop struggling you stupid brat!" Shouji growled as he squeezed Keitaro's neck tighter.

"ONEE-SAMA!" Keitaro screamed as a shockwave of pure energy exploded out from Keitaro's body, throwing his captor and everyone else back against a wall and blowing out all the windows in the room. Freed from his would-be kidnapper Keitaro rushed over to his fallen sister. Kneeling next to her Keitaro pressed his hands against Kanako's side and shook her. "O-Onee-sama..." he wept.

"Kei-kun..." Kanako murmured weakly with a trickle of blood running out the corner of her mouth as she reached up a shaking hand and gently stroked his cheek.

Grabbing a hold of her hand and squeezing tightly he tearfully said. "I-It's alright Onee-sama. I-I'll protect you." He promised.

Kanako gave him a weak smile which turned into a look of horror as a shadow appeared over her brother. "K-Kei-kun...!" she grunted a warning.

Turning around Keitaro's eyes went wide. Shouji stood over him with a crazed look in his eye, his sword raised up and ready to impale Keitaro in his one remaining hand, the other cut off cleanly and cauterised by the force of Keitaro's Ki. "M-Monster! I'll...I'll KILL YOU!" he screamed as his hand moved down to run him through.

Throwing himself on top of Kanako, Keitaro shouted with his eyes squeezed closed "Leave My Onee-Sama ALONE!" as the blade finished it's decent Keitaro's Ki expanded and wrapped around the sword, fracturing and disintegrating the metal before it touched Keitaro's body. With the sword destroyed the bolt of Ki continued upwards to cut off his hand and punch through the ceiling.

Stumbling backwards, Shouji looked down at the stumps at the ends of his arms. "M-my... my hands." He murmured. But Keitaro never heard him. He was still laying on top of Kanako shielding her body with his own. "Don't Hurt My Onee-Sama!" he yelled as a tendril of Ki shot out and struck Shouji in the chest, tearing through the man's flesh, shattering his ribs and ripping apart his heart before throwing him backwards against the wall where his lifeless body slumped down.

Staring at the still crying boy hunched over his sisters motionless form Tsuruko's whole body shook as she pushed herself up the wall she had been thrown against. The young boys Ki was reacting to his mental state, fluctuating wildly and growing stronger with each passing second to the point where even an untrained eye could see the glowing energy that enveloped his body. Every so often a tendril of Ki would lash out and destroy whatever it touched. It took the coffee table and the TV being torn to shreds to spur her into action. Rushing forward she reached out to him "Kei-kun you have to calm dow- Ah!" she cried out as she touched him before leaping backwards. Looking down at her hands she saw her hands were burned red and already blistering. Gritting her teeth she grunted through the pain "He's gone out of control!"

"What can we do?" Motoko asked her sister was she held the hilt of her sword tightly.

"I...I have no idea." Tsuruko murmured as another bolt of Ki slashed apart the sofa.

Panicking, one of the apprentices raised his sword "Ougi Zanmaken!Secret Technique Evil-Cutting Sword!" he cried.

"Don't you fool!" Tsuruko cried but it was too late. The sword had finished its downward arc and released the stored energy at Keitaro. Before it got to within a metre of the boy, Keitaro's Ki whipped out and cut through the blast, dissipating the energy as soon as it touched it. "A-Amazing!" Tsuruko murmured. "To think he is capable of something like this!" she thought aloud before her eyes widened as she realised what was about to happen. "Look Out!" she cried to the apprentice that had attacked him but that was all she could do as Keitaro's Ki condensed into a spear and shot out towards his heart.

Just before the lance pierced his heart Kohta knocked him out the way and intercepted the Ki with the flat of his sword. Grunting as the force of the impact pushed him backwards, his eyes widened as a large crack appeared on the blade. Cursing, Kohta pushed his Ki into the sword and swung the blade, reflecting the attack. Before he could recover the Ki shot forward again, this time directed at Kohta. Gritting his teeth he brought his nearly ruined sword up to block the assault only for the Ki to bend before it hit the weapon and shot back onto its original trajectory. 'Shit!' he cursed internally as his eyes went wide.

Just before it struck his heart, the Ki veered off to cut through the Ki wave Asuna had just launched at Keitaro before stabbing at her directly. Narrowly dodging the barb she called out "His Ki prioritises who ever attacked him last! If we alternate between attacks we can keep him preoccupied until we figure out what to do!"

As the others nodded and did as instructed Tsuruko gritted her teeth and tore off her sleeves with her mouth and wrapped them around her burnt hands. "Motoko-chan! Get the other girls out of here!" she ordered her sister.

"But-!" she started.

"There's no time! They'll just get caught in the crossfire! Just get them out of here!" she yelled at her. Grudgingly nodding her head Motoko collected the non-combatants and managed to lead them out the back door via the kitchen. Once they were out of harm's way Tsuruko turned her attention back to the situation at hand. The Shinmei-ryu practitioners had encircled the still weeping boy; after one sent a wave of Ki at him another on the other side would launch an attack of their own, preventing the tendril of Ki that extended from his body from doing anything more than dissipating the approaching Ki. 'We've stalled him for now but I don't know how long we can keep this up. The apprentices do not have enough experience or stamina to be continually using Ki in a drawn out battle. We have to figure out how to calm him down and stop him from- oh my god...' her thought process had trailed off as the Ki tendril stood straight up, only the sharp tip bent slightly as it turned as if peering at the assembled swordsmen and women like a snake before splitting itself into the same number of tendrils as there were opponents. "Keitaro No!" Tsuruko screamed but to no avail.

The writhing tendrils shot forward.

Tsuruko sat there in shock with her eyes wide open, blood spattered across her pale face as she trembled. The elders had only just managed to survive the attack, their swords destroyed and bodies bleeding from wounds that prevented them from fighting anymore but not immediately life threatening. The same couldn't be said about their apprentices. Unable to control their Ki well enough to defend themselves, Keitaro's Ki shattered their swords and punctured their chests, piercing their hearts before slamming them into the walls parallel to them. "K-Kei-kun..." she murmured as the tendrils withdrew from the lifeless bodies and merged with the ones that were observing the barely standing elders.

The door suddenly burst open revealing a Haruka that had been attracted by the shattering glass and screams from the apprentices. "What's going on here- ahhhh!" she cried out as her nephews tendrils, attracted by the sudden addition of a large amount of Ki, pre-emptively slammed into her side and threw her against the wall.

"Haruka!" Tsuruko yelled as she rushed to her friends side.

Holding onto her cracked ribs Haruka said threw laboured breath "What...What was that?" she gasped as she looked at the centre of the room. She could see and feel the swirling mass of Ki surrounding her motionless and bloodied niece, expanding and contracting as if unsure what state it was meant to be in. "K-Kanako...?" she wondered before her eyes widened. Her vision still hazy from hitting her head against the wall, every time her eyes unfocused the image of a weeping boy laying on top of Kanako appeared only to flicker out of existence when they refocused. "W-who... k-Kei-kun? I-is that K-Kei-kun?" she asked with a weak and quivering voice. As he heard his name the crying boy and lifted his head up to look at the source of the sound, his body covered in his sister's blood, his image stabilised in Haruka's vision. "K-Kei-kun... is that you?" she asked as tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"A-Aunty..." he wept.

"I-It's really you!" she smiled deliriously as she stood up, ignoring the pain in her side and head and approached her nephew.

"Haruka stop! You'll be killed!" Tsuruko dived as Haruka only to be thrown back as Haruka's fist collided with the side of her face, not allowing anything or anyone to stop her reunion.

Stumbling forward happy tears continued to fall as she advanced towards him. With Haruka coming closer to him Keitaro's Ki ignored the incapacitated elders and focused on her. Unsure if she needed to be defended against, the blades of Ki emanating from the young boys body thrust forward trying to ward off any potential treat the woman might pose. Ignoring the energy that slashed into her body Haruka continued forward, not even flinching when one of the tendrils bit into her cheek, deeply cutting her making blood flow freely nor did she flinch when they lacerated her arms and legs or stabbed into her stomach.

Kneeling next to him, Haruka wrapped her arms around the boy and hugged him close to her body. "A-Aunty... O-Onee-samas hurt!" He cried as he buried his head in her chest.

"It's OK Kei-kun." She rubbed his head, the fact that the tendrils were still trying to protect their host by stabbing her exposed back and that where ever she touched him her skin was scalded and burned away from the sheer force of the Ki pouring off of him no longer concerned her now she had her beloved nephew back. "Aunty's here. Aunty won't let anyone ever hurt you." She reassured him.

"A-Aunty! I-I don't want to be alone again!" he wailed as he held tightly onto Haruka's clothes, tears still streaming down his face.

"Don't worry Kei-kun." She told him as blood started to spill from her mouth. "I won't let you be alone again. Aunty will be with you forever." She promised.

"AUNTY!" Keitaro cried.

Then everything went white.

Slowly blinking as his eyes adjusted to the gentle sunlight above him that shone through the blooming sakura trees, Keitaro heard a voice say. "Hello Kei-kun. It's nice to finally meet you." Swivelling his eyes he saw a woman wearing a colourful kimono staring down at him and he realised that he was using her lap as a pillow.

"W-who are you?" he asked the beautiful woman before him as he stood up.

"I am Amaterasu Omikami, do you know what I am?" she told him, her smile seeming to give of its own light. Keitaro shook his head. "I am the sun goddess."

"Y-you are?" he asked amazed.

"Yes I am and I have been watching you for a very long time." She informed the young boy with a smile.

"Y-You have? Why?" he wondered in awe.

"Because you are a very special young boy and a... colleague of mine won't stop going on about you." She laughed slightly

"A colleague?" he asked confused. In response she pointed to the side at a man leaning in the shade of a tree. He wore an all black suit, his face pale and his eyes bathed in shadow. The dark man watched them impassively. Hiding behind her back he asked the goddess "W-Who is that?"

"That is Death. He ushers souls from your world into the next." she told him quietly.

"D-Death?" he cried as he hid more behind her back.

Pulling him back around to her front she spoke to him softly. "Kei-kun I need you to listen to what I'm going to tell you OK?" Keitaro nodded. "For the past 10 years you have been ignored right? You talked to people but they acted as if you weren't their Correct?" he nodded again. "The reason for that is that you died ten years ago."

"W-What, h-how-?" he tried to ask his eyes filled with confusion and worry.

"Shhhhh" she quieted him down by hugging him to her chest and stroked his back "You don't need to worry about that. I have something important that I need to talk to you about OK?" she asked which received another nod "As I have said you died 10 years ago but there is something special about you. Something that made you un-claimable by Death and so you stayed in your world instead of passing to the next. Now, due to recent events an opportunity has arisen and you have several options you can take."

"Options?" he asked looking up at her.

"Yes and I need you to think very carefully before you give me you answer."

"OK." He agreed.

"Number 1" she held up a finger to represent the number. "We can let you pass over and go on to the next world."

Keitaro thought for a moment in silence before asking "W-what's it like there?"

"I do not know. I watch over your world Kei-kun and have never been to the other side neither has he, he merely guides people there but does not go there himself." She explained before raising another finger. "Option 2 is that you can stay here with me." she smiled brightly at him.

"W-With you?"

"Yes as I have said I have watched you for a long time and think that you are a very special young boy. If you want you could live with me here forever watching you world beneath us. I would appreciate the company since I do not get many visitors other than him and all he does is moan and grumble." she laughed as she gestured to the man in the shade.

"You're very nice and pretty, why doesn't anyone visit you?" he asked confused.

Amaterasu blushed slightly as she rubbed the top of his head "Such a charming boy you are even though you are so young." The smile dropped slightly from her face "Your third option is that you can go back to your world alive."

His eyes widened and lit up "You mean I can go back and live with Mum and Dad and Granny and Aunty and Onee-sama and Su nee-san and Shinobu nee-san and Motoko nee-san and-"

"Hold on a minute Kei-kun and let me finish." She interrupted his outburst. "Yes you could go back to your family but to do that we would have to make some changes. Those not of your family will never have met you and it will be left up to fate to decide if you are reunited with them. You also will have no memory of what happened in your previous life or of this conversation. The amount of changes we would have to make is unknown, it could be something as small as someone you have never met turning left when they would have turned right or as large as changing when a person was born. And that includes you, but I promise you will be born in this time period to the same parents." Keitaro had gained a large grin and it broke Amaterasu's heart to tell him "But there are some consequences if we do this. While you will be back with your family, you will face great hardships and misfortune in your life. I have no idea what form they will take but they could be anything short of dying. You will live a long life that will be filled with happiness and sorrow in equal amounts." Keitaro frowned at her warning. "Take as much time as you need Kei-kun." She hugged him gently to her chest and stroked his back.

After a while of nuzzling into her chest Keitaro looked up and said "I-I want to go back and be with everyone."

"Are you sure Kei-kun? You won't be able to change your mind. Do you really want to go through all that sadness?" she tried to convince him otherwise.

He nodded and quietly said "I don't like being sad but if it means that I can be with everyone then I don't mind."

Amaterasu gave him a sad smile "I understand. I thought that is what you would choose." Cupping his small chin she placed a tender kiss on his lips "It was nice to meet you Kei-kun. Perhaps we will meet again at some point."

"I'd like that." He smiled as he hugged her tightly. "Thank you." he whispered.

Running her fingers through his hair she nodded at her friend. The man in black sighed and pulled out a pocket watch. Opening the glass cover he carefully placed his finger on the hands and moved them backwards.

Keitaro smiled happily and closed his eyes. His body fading and becoming lighter, before turning transparent and dispersing into a fine mist. Once the young boy had completely disappeared Amaterasu sighed sadly, stood up and wiped down her kimono. Walking other to Death she smiled her thanks at him.

"You know you are only delaying the inevitable." He said in a monotone voice.

Amaterasu just smiled in response "Perhaps."

He raised an eyebrow "I will eventually claim him."

"We shall see. It all depends on which one of us gets to him first." She smiled playfully at him.

Death just rolled his eyes, placed a black fedora hat upon his head and faded into the shadows. Walking to a small lake Amaterasu sat down and stared deeply into the pool. "Well my little Kei-kun, let us see what fate has dealt you this time." The surface of the lake rippled and darkened to reveal a large building at the top of a large flight of stairs. Halfway to the top two figures are walking hand in hand. The child looked up and asked

"Haru nee-san when did you say granny was going to be back?"

The End

Well that's the end of the second Kid-Keitaro fic(or first if you think about it chronologically) out of hopefully four. I want to thank MotormMaster (Who I still haven't been able to contact since I posted chapter 3) for the original idea for this spin-off/prequel. If you want to see what the original idea was it is still in a review for chapter 5 of Kid-Keitaro under the name 'Make more Chaps a.k.a. Motorm'.

Over the course of writing this fic I began to read an 8 book series by Piers Anthony called the Incarnations of Immortality. It was a great read which I thoroughly enjoyed but the strange thing is, by the end of the final book I saw several themes, such as the changing of the timelines, that were the same in this chapter even though we had come up with them months before I had even read the first book. Even my last paragraph was similar to that of the last book. Another coincidence was that the final book was an idea sent to Piers Anthony by one of his readers and much like MotormMaster's idea it grew and mutated into the finished article. Anyway I thought it was a strange little anecdote that you may be interested to hear but if not... well it doesn't really matter one way or the other.

As always reviews are welcome so please tell me what you thought and look out for the next story of Kid-Keitaro as well as my other fics.

Thanks for reading

Rincewind1990