Disclaimer: Love Hina and it's characters all belong to Ken Akamatsu. I own nothing but most of this storyline and some stray OCs that may have made it into the story.
As I clasped my sword in my hand, I trudged towards the only place now that I could still call home. A giant flight of steps, fifty-two to be exact, still stood between me and Hinata Base. Who'd ever have thought that in two short years, the once noisy and exiting girl's dorm would now be transformed into a stronghold, the last truly safe place in Japan?
My name is Shinobu Maehara, twenty-two years old. Once I held a dream to enter the ranks of Tokyo U as a scholar, and fought for my love for Keitaro-san. Now, I held a katana, and fought for the safety and future of Japan.
It all started two years ago, about a week after Keitaro and Naru went on their honeymoon, after their marriage. Ema, the new tenant at Hinata house, had been studying in her room, which Naru had graciously given up, moving into Keitaro's room. Apparently Naru forgot to mention anything about the hole in her floor that led directly to the landlord's room. A trip for tea and an unexpected fall into the room below gave Ema firsthand knowledge about such a hole. Frantically apologising for interrupting anyone doing anything in the room, it took a few seconds for Ema to realise that the room was empty.
Ema decided to leave quickly, to not be accused of trespassing. Climbing up the hole proved to be a challenge, however, and the chair which Ema had used to boost herself fell over, and she went sprawling into a shelf. The shelf held Keitaro's most valued possessions, including his photo book, his awards and merits in archeology, his naughty magazine collection, and, most importantly, the Hina. The same Hina that had the demon sealed in it. The same Hina that defeated Motoko's sister and possessed both Keitaro and Naru. The same Hina whose seal was accidentally torn off by Ema as she was putting the sword back onto the shelf.
We discovered what happened after rushing into the landlord's room. The loud bang of a wall being blasted apart didn't raise any suspicions. Neither did the fire that had spread from the landlord's room. The form of a freckled fifteen year old girl wielding a sword emitting a strange aura and hovering over the hot springs was the one that did it.
We ran from the hot springs area as fast as we could. As Kitsune put it, the water was hot enough, and the fireballs didn't help. The more pressing matter, however, was finding out how Ema got ahold of the Hina. Motoko grabbed her sword, as many talismans as she could reach, and rushed after the Hina. Su took the remote for Mecha-Tamago 30.0 and a double barreled rocket-launcher and did the same. Kitsune went to hide her sake. I checked into Keitaro's room. It was pretty much wrecked. There was the fire eating up anything that still stood. I managed to salvage some of Keitaro's magazines and his photo album, but nothing else.
I ran outside to check on Motoko and Su. What I saw left me in utter shock. Motoko lay on the ground bleeding and her own sword through her arm, pinning her down. Su's rocket launcher was on the ground, her remote smashed, and Mecha-Tamago with a rocket shoved somewhere I really didn't think Su made a hole for. We rushed Motoko to the nearest hospital, and hoped she would be okay. I called Haruka to inform her of the events that had occured, then sat in a corner and worried.
Within a month, the newlywed couple had returned. Not by choice, but because Japan had been plunged into chaos. Ema-Hina had apparently decided to make Tokyo U her stronghold. Enticing stray anarchists and fools with the offer of more power, she now had her army.
The subsequent seiges lain upon Japan left many dead or in hiding. I soon found myself as Motoko-sensei's best student. Not by skill, however, but by elimination. Motoko-sensei had recieved a message one day. The details of the message were unclear, but the words "Keitaro", "meet", and "urgent" amongst others were on it. Motoko left immediately. Five minutes later, Ema-Hina's wrath descended upon the school. Blood was sprayed everywhere. There was panic throughout the school. Those that fought back were cut down. Those that didn't were incinerated. I myself was on kitchen duty that day and was hit in the head with a stray bokken before falling unconscious. She must have seen me sprayed with blood and assumed I was just another casualty.
Neither Motoko nor I ever fully got over that day's events. Motoko began training harder than she ever put herself through, vowing to seal and destroy the Hina herself. I also began training harder, and also vowed to avenge the many sempai I had lost that day.
As I finished the climb, I let my mind focus back on the present. Hinata Base had an elaborate security system, it would not do to set something off accidentally. Su had often boasted about the many identity checks just the front door had, not to mention all the checkpoints and security inside the base.
"Hinata security check: Retina scan." Su's voice eminated from a speaker above the door.
I stared into the scanner for a few seconds, before the next check started.
"Voice scan."
"Shinobu Maehara. Codename: Blueribbon."
"Handprint scan."
I put my hands on the hand nooks on the wall.
"DNA check."
I felt something stab my hand momentarily.
"Agent Maehara acknowledged. Please give your luggage to the attendant, they will be identified and returned to you soon."
I turned to Mecha-Sara, whose little hands were out expectantly. I gave her my sword and my cloak, and went off in the general direction of the landlord's room, now known as the War Room. Mecha-Sara was the same one that Su built years ago. Partly because it was a memory of our past that we all held dear, and partly because Motoko had taken to beheading a Mecha-Tamago every time it opened the door. We were kinda running low on stuff to repair them with.
In the War Room, some of the Hinata crew were already there. General Keitaro, as I will never get used to calling him, sat in the front of the room. He had, of course, earned the right to that name. Mastering Kung-fu, he went on to train in various combat arts, including fencing, marksmanship, and even how to use throwing weapons.
Naru, who showed so much promise early with her immense punching strength, was a bit of a disappointment. It seemed that she lacked some dicipline, and was unable to totally accept the teachings of most martial arts. She did, however, become a fearsome boxer. Sitting beside Keitaro, The couple and Motoko were the only ones present. I sat down, and waited for some of the others to arrive.
Su, one of the few we were waiting for, was most likely upstairs in her lair, as she liked to call it. Possibly working on some new gadget or security device. She was the master technician in the house, producing all sorts of technology that had we not had access to, Hinata Base would most likely be overrun by power hungry servants of Ema-Hina.
Shirai and Haitani were a surprise duo that we certainly did not expect to help as much as they did. Shirai is quite a technological genius, and was only surpassed by Su herself. Motoko suggested that if they wanted to assist us, they could work by gathering intelligence. The unspoken was that Shirai's skills were not as impressive as Su, and thus was, to a point, expendable. Haitani himself volunteered to back Shirai up on his missions. Although it was well known that Haitani was a weakling, that had they had to defend themselves, Shirai could swing a laptop harder than Haitani could throw a punch, he had nevertheless developed into quite a formidable foe himself. From their very first recon mission, they were easily found by a guard. At that very moment, however, something clicked. One "What's that behind your shoulder?" later, Haitani had found himself. From that point on, Haitani evolved into a master of stealth and trickery, smoke and poison. Together, the information that they have gathered has been the only way we've made any progress in our fight against the enemy forces.
Haruka and Sara were most likely watching over Seta. Seta had fallen into a coma since the beginning of last year and has been that way since. He was injured during a rescue mission. He saved fourteen lives by singlehandedly fighting off more than twenty aggressors. He then drove into a wall as he was leaving the hospital where he left the injured for treatment, setting the record for the fastest round trip to the hospital.
There was only one other man we had trusted to enter the base. Blake, our resident blacksmith, had been the crafter of most of the metalwork that Su had designed. He was also responsible for the constant restocking of our weaponry and armor. The only fighting I'd seen him do once was fire some shots at a few foot soldiers that had ambushed Haitani as he was returning from a recon job. His aim with a handgun was decent, nothing extraordinary. The only other thing I knew about him was that he was originally from another country, possibly America.
At this point, Shirai and Haitani both arrived, most likely just back from yet another job. Su came in moments later, satisfied that Hinata Base's security system would deal with anyone uninvited. Finally, Haruka appeared with a pot of tea and closed the door.
"Sara's with him now." She told us, as away of explaining her absence from Seta's side. "What have you got for us, Shinobu?"
AN: This is my first LH story. Comments, flames, bribes to get the next chapter out faster, it's all accepted. The point of view will probably change for each chapter. Try to figure who's who out on your own, it's not really hard. Oh, and this story, as you may or may not believe, is gonna be a darkfic. Things get quite a bit more graphic. This first chapter is NOT an indication of the graphic chapters' styles. People are going to die, and not in the happy go lucky "Seta drove into a wall." form. You have been warned. )
As I clasped my sword in my hand, I trudged towards the only place now that I could still call home. A giant flight of steps, fifty-two to be exact, still stood between me and Hinata Base. Who'd ever have thought that in two short years, the once noisy and exiting girl's dorm would now be transformed into a stronghold, the last truly safe place in Japan?
My name is Shinobu Maehara, twenty-two years old. Once I held a dream to enter the ranks of Tokyo U as a scholar, and fought for my love for Keitaro-san. Now, I held a katana, and fought for the safety and future of Japan.
It all started two years ago, about a week after Keitaro and Naru went on their honeymoon, after their marriage. Ema, the new tenant at Hinata house, had been studying in her room, which Naru had graciously given up, moving into Keitaro's room. Apparently Naru forgot to mention anything about the hole in her floor that led directly to the landlord's room. A trip for tea and an unexpected fall into the room below gave Ema firsthand knowledge about such a hole. Frantically apologising for interrupting anyone doing anything in the room, it took a few seconds for Ema to realise that the room was empty.
Ema decided to leave quickly, to not be accused of trespassing. Climbing up the hole proved to be a challenge, however, and the chair which Ema had used to boost herself fell over, and she went sprawling into a shelf. The shelf held Keitaro's most valued possessions, including his photo book, his awards and merits in archeology, his naughty magazine collection, and, most importantly, the Hina. The same Hina that had the demon sealed in it. The same Hina that defeated Motoko's sister and possessed both Keitaro and Naru. The same Hina whose seal was accidentally torn off by Ema as she was putting the sword back onto the shelf.
We discovered what happened after rushing into the landlord's room. The loud bang of a wall being blasted apart didn't raise any suspicions. Neither did the fire that had spread from the landlord's room. The form of a freckled fifteen year old girl wielding a sword emitting a strange aura and hovering over the hot springs was the one that did it.
We ran from the hot springs area as fast as we could. As Kitsune put it, the water was hot enough, and the fireballs didn't help. The more pressing matter, however, was finding out how Ema got ahold of the Hina. Motoko grabbed her sword, as many talismans as she could reach, and rushed after the Hina. Su took the remote for Mecha-Tamago 30.0 and a double barreled rocket-launcher and did the same. Kitsune went to hide her sake. I checked into Keitaro's room. It was pretty much wrecked. There was the fire eating up anything that still stood. I managed to salvage some of Keitaro's magazines and his photo album, but nothing else.
I ran outside to check on Motoko and Su. What I saw left me in utter shock. Motoko lay on the ground bleeding and her own sword through her arm, pinning her down. Su's rocket launcher was on the ground, her remote smashed, and Mecha-Tamago with a rocket shoved somewhere I really didn't think Su made a hole for. We rushed Motoko to the nearest hospital, and hoped she would be okay. I called Haruka to inform her of the events that had occured, then sat in a corner and worried.
Within a month, the newlywed couple had returned. Not by choice, but because Japan had been plunged into chaos. Ema-Hina had apparently decided to make Tokyo U her stronghold. Enticing stray anarchists and fools with the offer of more power, she now had her army.
The subsequent seiges lain upon Japan left many dead or in hiding. I soon found myself as Motoko-sensei's best student. Not by skill, however, but by elimination. Motoko-sensei had recieved a message one day. The details of the message were unclear, but the words "Keitaro", "meet", and "urgent" amongst others were on it. Motoko left immediately. Five minutes later, Ema-Hina's wrath descended upon the school. Blood was sprayed everywhere. There was panic throughout the school. Those that fought back were cut down. Those that didn't were incinerated. I myself was on kitchen duty that day and was hit in the head with a stray bokken before falling unconscious. She must have seen me sprayed with blood and assumed I was just another casualty.
Neither Motoko nor I ever fully got over that day's events. Motoko began training harder than she ever put herself through, vowing to seal and destroy the Hina herself. I also began training harder, and also vowed to avenge the many sempai I had lost that day.
As I finished the climb, I let my mind focus back on the present. Hinata Base had an elaborate security system, it would not do to set something off accidentally. Su had often boasted about the many identity checks just the front door had, not to mention all the checkpoints and security inside the base.
"Hinata security check: Retina scan." Su's voice eminated from a speaker above the door.
I stared into the scanner for a few seconds, before the next check started.
"Voice scan."
"Shinobu Maehara. Codename: Blueribbon."
"Handprint scan."
I put my hands on the hand nooks on the wall.
"DNA check."
I felt something stab my hand momentarily.
"Agent Maehara acknowledged. Please give your luggage to the attendant, they will be identified and returned to you soon."
I turned to Mecha-Sara, whose little hands were out expectantly. I gave her my sword and my cloak, and went off in the general direction of the landlord's room, now known as the War Room. Mecha-Sara was the same one that Su built years ago. Partly because it was a memory of our past that we all held dear, and partly because Motoko had taken to beheading a Mecha-Tamago every time it opened the door. We were kinda running low on stuff to repair them with.
In the War Room, some of the Hinata crew were already there. General Keitaro, as I will never get used to calling him, sat in the front of the room. He had, of course, earned the right to that name. Mastering Kung-fu, he went on to train in various combat arts, including fencing, marksmanship, and even how to use throwing weapons.
Naru, who showed so much promise early with her immense punching strength, was a bit of a disappointment. It seemed that she lacked some dicipline, and was unable to totally accept the teachings of most martial arts. She did, however, become a fearsome boxer. Sitting beside Keitaro, The couple and Motoko were the only ones present. I sat down, and waited for some of the others to arrive.
Su, one of the few we were waiting for, was most likely upstairs in her lair, as she liked to call it. Possibly working on some new gadget or security device. She was the master technician in the house, producing all sorts of technology that had we not had access to, Hinata Base would most likely be overrun by power hungry servants of Ema-Hina.
Shirai and Haitani were a surprise duo that we certainly did not expect to help as much as they did. Shirai is quite a technological genius, and was only surpassed by Su herself. Motoko suggested that if they wanted to assist us, they could work by gathering intelligence. The unspoken was that Shirai's skills were not as impressive as Su, and thus was, to a point, expendable. Haitani himself volunteered to back Shirai up on his missions. Although it was well known that Haitani was a weakling, that had they had to defend themselves, Shirai could swing a laptop harder than Haitani could throw a punch, he had nevertheless developed into quite a formidable foe himself. From their very first recon mission, they were easily found by a guard. At that very moment, however, something clicked. One "What's that behind your shoulder?" later, Haitani had found himself. From that point on, Haitani evolved into a master of stealth and trickery, smoke and poison. Together, the information that they have gathered has been the only way we've made any progress in our fight against the enemy forces.
Haruka and Sara were most likely watching over Seta. Seta had fallen into a coma since the beginning of last year and has been that way since. He was injured during a rescue mission. He saved fourteen lives by singlehandedly fighting off more than twenty aggressors. He then drove into a wall as he was leaving the hospital where he left the injured for treatment, setting the record for the fastest round trip to the hospital.
There was only one other man we had trusted to enter the base. Blake, our resident blacksmith, had been the crafter of most of the metalwork that Su had designed. He was also responsible for the constant restocking of our weaponry and armor. The only fighting I'd seen him do once was fire some shots at a few foot soldiers that had ambushed Haitani as he was returning from a recon job. His aim with a handgun was decent, nothing extraordinary. The only other thing I knew about him was that he was originally from another country, possibly America.
At this point, Shirai and Haitani both arrived, most likely just back from yet another job. Su came in moments later, satisfied that Hinata Base's security system would deal with anyone uninvited. Finally, Haruka appeared with a pot of tea and closed the door.
"Sara's with him now." She told us, as away of explaining her absence from Seta's side. "What have you got for us, Shinobu?"
AN: This is my first LH story. Comments, flames, bribes to get the next chapter out faster, it's all accepted. The point of view will probably change for each chapter. Try to figure who's who out on your own, it's not really hard. Oh, and this story, as you may or may not believe, is gonna be a darkfic. Things get quite a bit more graphic. This first chapter is NOT an indication of the graphic chapters' styles. People are going to die, and not in the happy go lucky "Seta drove into a wall." form. You have been warned. )