Love Hina - Volume 2 - Chapter 2.3

CHAPTER 3: MOTOKO’S BIG BLUNDER 

Motoko swung the sword sideways, skimming over Narusegawas head. “Towaaah!” The Living Souls Exchange was now in progress. 

Kitsune, who was supposed to have gone back to her room with stomach pains, had instead hidden herself behind the cafeteria entrance. She tried hard to be quiet, knowing that Tsuruko had an overdeveloped sense of hearing. 

Wispy white smoked wrapped around Motoko’s sword as she raised it above her head to remove Narus soul. She yelled, “Teyaaah!” and skimmed the sword in front of Narus face, barely missing her throat. 

The next moment, Motoko s eyes went milky white. 

From this point on it was an instinctual process. 
 
Using a body emptied of its soul, Motoko had to switch the souls quickly. If someone trained long enough, it was an easy enough feat. 

Motoko closed her eyes and paused. She finally opened her eyes and said, “Haaah!” and swung the sword down in front of her. The next moment, the white smoke surrounding the sword disappeared. 

Naru thought, Huh? She could still see Motoko. If her soul was switched out with Motokos, then Naru shouldn’t still be seeing her. 

Motoko, still holding the sword, was too shocked to move. 

Trying to avoid being detected by Tsuruko, Kitsune waved her arms to tell the girls something. Naru noticed immediately that Kitsune was gesturing—trying to tell them not to anger Motokos sister. 

Naru understood—Motoko had probably messed up big time. The fact that she was still herself was proof enough, and Kitsune was trying to help Motoko out of trouble. 
 
But, how could anyone cover this up? 

Oh, we could pretend to be Suu and Shinobu a few minutes ago , she thought. She should act just like Motoko. 

Tsuruko asked, “How did it go?” 
 
“Yes-big-sister-it-went-very-well.” Nam tried to imitate Motoko as best she could. But it was like watching a novice actress just reading the lines, unable to truly perform. 

Motoko, meanwhile, tried really hard to imitate Naru as well. “Wow, I-see-myself! Im-so-surprised!” 

She acted little better than Naru, which is to say, they both pretty much sucked at it. But since Tsuruko was easily fooled by Kitsune’s fake illness, she also fell for their ploy and smiled. 

But then her eyes glinted. Naru and Motoko flinched, but Tsurukos hard stare was not toward them, but someone out in the area. 

“Who is that?!” Tsuruko looked sternly behind her. 

They turned to see Mutsumi wander over, smiling, as always. Tsuruko had sensed an evil monster or spirits presence, but once she realized that it was only Mutsumi, Tsuruko relaxed her stern face. 

“You are Otohime, correct?” she asked. 

“Oh my, this is the first time we met, but you are so right!” Mutsumi said. 
 
“Motoko wrote about you in her letters.” 

The two greeted each other. Naru watched them talk, then asked, “Why did Mutsumi come here?” 

Naru knew that Mutsumi was probably not the kind of person to just show up for no reason—she was up to something. But Naru couldn’t figure out what it was. 

“My store manager, Haruka Urashima, wanted to come meet you in person,” Mutsumi offered innocently. “But the store is having some water pipes fixed, so she couldn’t make it. So I came here in her place.” 

“Is that so?” Tsuruko said. “Then shall I go visit her?” 

Mutsumi brightened. “Oh, the manager would enjoy that very much!” she said. 

Tsuruko turned to Naru. “Motoko, I will be gone for a few minutes.” 

Naru remembered that she had to act like Motoko today. “S-s-sure,” she said in her best Motoko-voice. 

“Make sure you switch back the souls by the time I return, okay?” 

Naru nodded, and so Tsuruko left with Mutsumi. After the footsteps trailed off, Kitsune wandered over to them. 

Naru sighed and told Motoko, “Gosh, that was scary. I’ve never imitated you, so I was so nervous.” 
 
But, what came out of Motoko s mouth was shocking: “That ain’t it.” 

“Huh?” Naru was confused. 

“Its me! Me! Don’t you know?” Motoko was talking exactly like Kitsune. 

Narus eyes widened. “Don’t tell me . . 

“Absolutely,” Kitsune answered sullenly, but it was Motoko inside. “Because I’m still a novice, I mistakenly switched souls between me and Kitsune!” 

“Whaaat?!” Naru shouted. 

Tsuruko poked her face back in the room. The three girls froze in place. “Is something wrong?” Tsuruko asked. 

Naru answered, “Um, well, fm supposed to be Narusegawa . . . right?” She was so confused that she spoke nonsense. 

“Yes,” Tsuruko said. She looked at Motoko. “Wow, sister, you already broke the spell?” 

Kitsune poked Motoko, and she nodded heavily. 

“I’m impressed,” Tsuruko said. 

Then Tsuruko pulled out a box of candy from her luggage and gave it to them. “I forgot to give you this. Here.” 

Motoko took the candy, nodding her thanks. Tsuruko smiled and left again. 

Naru sighed in relief, then frowned. “Motoko and Kitsune, will you please tell me what’s going on?” 

“Well . . .” Motoko, inside Kitsune, tried to explain. 

Due to the lack of sleep and nervousness, compounded by her inexperience, Motoko’s Living Souls Exchange was a great big blunder. Motoko and Narus souls should have interchanged, but instead, the souls of Kitsune—who was watching from afar—and Motoko were interchanged by mistake. 

“We need to hurry and switch back!” Naru told them. 

Motoko, using Kitsune’s body, nodded and started the spell. She meditated a bit. Then she opened her eyes and said, “Kah!” 

The next moment, violent winds should have risen up. But they didn’t Motoko, still inside of Kitsune, was flustered. “Crap! I’m not skilled enough!” She crumpled her hair, but because she was in Kitsune’s body, it simply looked like she had lost a bet at the racetrack. 

Kitsune, still stuck inside Motoko, just shrugged. “Oh well, stuff happens.” 
 
She sat down Indian-style and leaned back, but since she was in Motokos body, it was a peculiar sight. 

Motoko-Kitsune was irked, and a tear formed in the corner of her eye. “Why in the world did you make that suggestion to my big sister?!” she blurted. 

“W-well . . Kitsune-Motoko hesitated for a moment, but decided to let it all out. “It was to let you pass the entrance exam. 

“Huh?” Naru said, pretty much summing it up for all of them. “What do you mean, Kitsune?” She turned to Motoko. “Motoko, you’re taking a college entrance exam next spring, right? 
 
“Yeah . . . ?” 

“When Motoko s sister first performed the spell, I got a great idea,” Kitsune-Motoko said. “If we used the spell, then taking the college entrance exam would be such a breeze ... I thought if, on the day of the exams, we used the Living Souls Exchange to switch Naru and Motokos souls, then Naru could take Motokos exam . . .” 
 
They looked at Kltsune-Motoko like she was nuts, hut to her it made perfect sense. She rolled her eyes. “Naru is currently a student of the top-notch Tokyo University, right?” she said. “I don’t know which college Motoko was aiming for, but Naru could take any college entrance exam in Japan and pass without any problems. That’s why 1 wanted to test it before the big day. So I acted like my stomach hurt to get out of being a guinea pig, and I figured you guys would figure it out.
 
“Kitsune—” Motoko-Kitsune began. She understood that Kitsune cared for her, so she couldn’t really get upset. “I appreciate your feelings, but this method is sort of, ura, illegal, isnt it: 

Kitsune-Motoko shrugged. “Whatever,” she said. 

Just then, Tsuruko came back from visiting Haruka. “Well, this has been great, but I must return home to Kyoto,” she told them. “But, Naru, may I ask for one last thing?” Naru looked at her nervously. “Y-yes?” 

Tsuruko’s final request was to use the hot springs. As she settled into the hot water, her beautiful pale skin turned a little rosy. She let out a pleased sigh. 
 
“Oh, this feels so good,” she said. “When I last took a bath here, I really fell in love with the hot springs.” 

Naru, Motoko, and Kitsune ioined her in the bath. Tsuruko insisted on having them relax with her, so they couldn’t possibly refuse. But even if they were in a warm bath, the girls felt a little chilly. If Tsuruko found out about Motokos blunder, who knew how angry she would get? They just had to maintain the ruse a little longer, and really, how hard could that be? 

But then an unexpected guest appeared to join them, 

“Myu.” When Tama the hot springs turtle noticed the girls, it approached them for some food. Tama was everyone’s favorite—with one rather glaring exception. 

“Ugh!” Kitsune, with Motoko inside her, flinched. But she couldn’t react while in this body, because her sister might discover the truth. She had to bear it, so she laughed nervously. 

Naru noticed Kitsune-Motokos reaction and saw Tama coming, so she looked for a way to warn Kitsune. But then Naru remembered—yesterday, Tsuruko was able to hear their tiniest their whispers.
 
So what now? While her mind raced for a solution, Tama got closer and closer. The real Motoko was reaching her limit, so Naru made a bold move. 

“Hey guys, lets see who can hold their breath the longest!” she said. 

“Huh?” 

“Ready, go!” Naru dragged Kitsune-Motoko into the water with her, then opened her mouth underwater to warn about the coming danger, “lama . . . glub . . . is . . . glub . . . coming . . . glub glub . . . this way . . . glub!” 

“Wha . . . glub glub , . . aaat. . . glub?!” 

“You have to . . . glub . . . act scared . . . glub glub ... or else . . . glub . . . she’ll be suspicious . . . glub! Motoko . . . glub glub glub ... is about to . . . glub . . . reach her limit. . . glub ... too: i”
 
“I got. . . glub ... it! Leave it. . . glub glub ... to me!” 

Kitsune, as Motoko, puhed her head out of the water and yelled, “Eek! Don’t come here, Tama!” and went to Tama to grab his shell. 

“Myu?” Tama said. 

“No! Let go! Let me go!” Kitsune, as Motoko, yelled, clutching Tama, running around like a mad woman. 

As bad. acting goes, it could have won a prize. “Oh, Motoko is still afraid of turtles, eh?” commented Tsuruko, who was easily convinced. 

Kitsune ran into the changing room. But then she came back the next moment and said, “Big sister, please be happy. I got rid of the creature.” 

‘Tm so proud, Motoko. So you have overcome your fear of turtles, too?” 

Y-yes. 

“Shall I scrub your back as a reward?” 

“N-no, you don’t have to!” Kitsune, as Motoko, hastily declined. If she was asked any more questions, her cover would be blown. “I appreciate the thought, though.” 

“Are you sure?” 

Kitsune just nodded with Motokos head. 

Motoko-Kitsune felt really weird. This was probably the first time in her life that she had inspected her own body this much. It seemed more frail than when she looked at herself in the mirror. Her breasts were a little larger than she’d realized, too. She didn’t look quite as sensually mature as her sister, hut because Kitsune was inside her body, her movements seemed more confident and feminine. In fact, with Kitsune in charge, she was kind of a babe.
 
Kitsune-Motoko noticed her staring. Knowing that Tsuruko wasn’t looking, Kitsune-Motoko grinned and made sexy poses like a pinup model, particularly enjoying how it made Motoko-Kitsune squirm. 

Motoko-Kitsune stood up to yell, but realized her mistake and said, “Enough of that, Motoko. If you scrub yourself too hard your skin will rub off.” 

Naru quickly joined the conversation. “It’s not good to scrub that hard,” she offered. 

“I wasn’t talking about just her skin. Motoko is too rough about everything,” Tsuruko said. 

“Rough . . . ?” 

Tsuruko nodded, “Motoko is too stiff. The thoughts girls of her age have ... like wanting to play with friends ... wanting a boyfriend . . , going to college . . . every time she has those desires, she causes a commotion to distract herself. She’s too severe on herself.” 

“But Motoko is trying so hard to take after the shin mei ryu way!” Motoko, in Kitsune’s body, used this opportunity to voice her feelings. 

Tsuruko looked at Motoko-Kitsune, and said, “Kitsune, you always seem to take Mo tokos side.” 

Motoko-Kitsune was flustered. She covered frantically. “Y-yeah, I’m Kicsune. And I really like Motoko.” 

Kitsune, still inside of Motoko, had gone back to the wash area and couldn’t hear the conversation. She was taking her time washing Motoko’s body. 

Tsuruko looked at Motoko-Kitsune, and said, “Please don’t tell Motoko.” 

Motoko-Kitsune nodded with mixed emotions. Naru also listened in as Tsuruko explained. 

“People have superficial and true feelings. As a follower of shin mei ryu, I think I should be stricter with Motoko. But when I look at her, I feel she has a lonely, cold winter wind blowing through her heart. After I married, a warm spring breeze welled up inside me. Like how a flower reaches out to the sun and blooms. I was able to open up my heart.” 

“Open . . . your heart . . .” Motoko, inside of Kitsune, repeated those words." 
 
“Motoko needs to open her heart,” Tsuruko confided. “She needs to smile like a warm spring breeze. Well, she’s had a rough life so far, so I don’t expect to have her change overnight. I was actually just hoping that something would change if she started college . . . These are my true feelings as her sister.” 

Motoko-Kitsune looked over to the wash area again. Kitsune-Motoko was washing her hair. It was hard to know just by looking at her pale back if a cold winter wind was blowing through her heart. But there was definitely no warm spring breeze blowing there. Never had been. 

“So Kitsune, Naru . . . please take care of Motoko?” Tsuruko bowed her head, so Naru and Motoko, secretly within Kitsune, nervously bowed back. 
 
Tsuruko seemed relieved and smiled to say, “Well, I must go home now.” 

Back inside, the spiritual bird Hayate flapped its wings and landed on Tsuruko s shoulder. 

“Everyone, thank you for having me,” Tsuruko said. She smiled and bade farewell to all the residents of the Hinata House. “Well, Motoko . . .” 

Motoko-Kitsune looked, back at Tsuruko. KitsuneMotoko just stared blankly back. This was getting really confusing, even for them. 

“What are you looking at?” asked Tsuruko, and KitsuneMotoko came to. 

“Y-yes, big sister?” 

"Good luck with your college entrance exams.” 

“Thank you very much.” 

“If you fail the college entrance exam, then . . Tsuruko $ eyes gleamed, but it wasn’t only her eyes—her mouth suddenly widened and a monstrous aura pulsed from her body. The nice, gentle sister wasn’t there anymore. 

Naru and the girls gulped at the instant change. 

“Understood, Motoko?” 

“Yessss!” Kitsune-Motoko was half-crying as she answered. 

Motoko-Kitsune watched from the side, chills going up and down her spine. Motoko felt that she had to pass the college entrance exams or else she was doomed. 
 
Tsurukos face transformed back to normal. “Well, see you later,” she said, smiling sweetly. She sprinted off with great agility and quickly disappeared. 

“Goodbye!” 

“Please come again!” Sara and Suu waved. 

Naru and the other girls sighed in relief. 

“Whew, that was close . . ” Kitsune-Motoko said. 

“I think my life was cut short,” Motoko-Kitsune gasped, sagging. 

“Well, it’s over now. The end,” Naru said, still surprised they had pulled it off. 

The girls were all smiling. But it wasn’t over quite yet. 

“Oh, no! We need to get back into our bodies!” Motoko and Kitsune both cried as they ran in frantic circles. “We must break the spell!” 

But how?