Legacy, The First Campaign: The Homestead

Chapter 1: Only Married Couples Touch Each Other There...

Written By: Sci-Fi Raptor

Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina, Utawarerumono or any of their characters.

This is a toy story that I've had back in the burner for some time. I figured I'd publish it and hopefully update it once my two main stories are finished (hah!). It'll grow horrendously if I decide to devote time into it.

His legacy would span now, that the universe is at war, a new hero will be called to arms. Within the dying embers of his legacy, can one pervert bring about the next golden era? Only if he can keep his hands off loose garments for long enough!

(-O-)

The production of the Flagship class ships had long been halted out of respect for their Lord. But now, one planet after another burned in the fires of civil war when the main hereditary line of the Urashimas had been all but lost, the rival Aoyama, Maheara, Narusegawa, Konno, Otohime, Su, and the fearsome Noriyasu all claiming position of Khan, among the lesser clans. The first War of Succession had begun.

The Urashima clan, being the sole family trusted with the responsibility of guarding the near millennia old Flagship class ship, saw the trouble coming. The Hinata-Sou, which had been upgraded over the years as technology changed, emerging as the most powerful warship known to exist, was ordered to disappear from all monitored space. In an act of paranoia, the ship had been stripped of all crew and trusted to a Molmolian AI network, one which was nearly as old as the ship, and its precious cargo, and had served the Urashima clan faithfully since its inception.

As predicted, one Urashima heir after another was assassinated, until the guilty party bid for the position of Khan. However, the sudden loss of the Hinata-Sou made it impossible for them to concrete their grip on power, as one after another, other clans bid for the position of Khan. With the succession of the next Khan uncertain, it only took months for war to break out. First, Earth, then Mars, and then the whole of the solar system. As news continued to spread, the flames of an intergalactic war ignited as the peace and tranquility of the Commonwealth, their Lord's final gift to humanity, gave way to blood lusting warlords waging war at a yet unsurpassed scale.

The Urashima loyalists, now desperate to restore the old utopia after the decades of intergalactic civil war, made one final desperate attempt at returning peace. After years of searching, they had finally found the recall code for the Hinata-Sou, and intended on reinstalling the Urashima line with its precious cargo, and bring back the centuries of peace. However, as the code was transmitted as an all-frequency hail, all the warring Successors, as well as the loyalists, lay in wait for its return, and the limitless power that resided in its precious cargo.

The Hinata-Sou, its Molmolian AI unaware of the perils it faced, returned to Pluto orbit, to the embrace of loyalist forces, the bidding clans hidden in the darkness as they bared their fangs.

Many centuries have passed since then, the civil war long forgotten as the planets that sheltered life could now longer sustain such brutality.

(O)

Historical Archives: A.D. 3156

Near Pluto Orbit

Flagship class, Hinata-Sou

The Battle of Pluto, The First War of Succession

Jim-Bob Williams, a native to New York City, cowered next to his teammates, M-22 assault rifle in hand. They all wore combat spacesuits while waiting for the boarding party, not taking any chances that the hull might breach during the conflict. Though this time was the first time any of the men had ever fought in 0G, they would give the Successor forces hell before they would let them pass. Besides, their CO had told them that they only needed to buy thirty-one more minutes, and the rest would be history. Jim-Bob, as well as every man on the ship, was willing to die just to make sure that no one got past the main defense line for the next thirty-one minutes. Just as with every other man on the ship, everything that they had had that made life worth living was long lost to the flames of civil war. They would only need to hold the line for… twenty-eight minutes more, and then everything would return to normal, their CO had promised. Though they themselves may all become lost to the impending battle, at least there would be hope for future generations.

The corridor they stood in shuddered a little, as the scores of Katana class warships of Aoyama making pounded the hull. The loyalists were the first ones to board the Hinata-Sou,though­ only by the graces of their Lord, and were easily capable of fending off the warships with the ­Hinata-Sou's bleeding-edge Intergalactic Class weaponry, punctuated with the accurate fire of a matured AI network nearly as old as the ship itself.

"Breach!" shouted an ensign through the comms. Unfortunately, the Hinata-Sou could only do so much in terms of pure volume, and breachship after breachship now littered the Flagship class warship's hull. The sounds of gun fire and katanas could be heard as the first wave of Aoyama warriors invaded the Hinata-Sou's corridors.

Jim-Bob checked his weapon one last time, if not to ensure that it would not jam in the middle of the impending battle, then so as to keep himself from thinking too much about the men around the corner, shooting and slashing their way through loyalist forces.

"Shinmei Ryuu Secret Technique: Solar wind!" came the cry of an Aoyama warrior from around the three way intersection ahead of them. Five men crashed into the wall opposite the direction of the three was intersection Jim-Bob's unit was blind to, pushed by some apparently invisible force.

"Automated defenses engaged," droned the Molmolian AI deeply, as one of the Aoyama Successors had finally entered the ship's defensive perimeter. Before the Aoyama could even spy past the bend, the men all had their guns trained on her. But a thin, tightly packed beam of azure shot from the ceiling and instantly lobotomized the warrior before the loyalist forces could even squeeze their triggers.

I'm glad it's on our side! Jim-Bob thought as a wall of Aoyama warriors now pushed past their fallen sister. Though most of them were also instantly lobotomized by the automated defenses, the sheer volume of the fanatical warriors demanded the barking of the loyalists' assault rifle.

Ten minutes left…

For ten minutes, the loyalists made their stand. They were truly the only thing between the Aoyama Successors and ultimate power, standing between them and the bridge where their CO was doing… something. Regardless, the conscripts fought on bravely, getting respite only when the corpses got in the way of the invading warriors and they had to hack/dig their way through.

The Aoyama Successors were stuck in a situation were they had a bottleneck because of the corpses of their fallen sisters, making it all too easy for the ship's automated defenses to pick them off one by one. So, they decided to stop their thoughtless suicidal runs and remove all of the corpses before resuming the assault. And though, intellectually, Jim-Bob knew that all Aoyama warriors were women, the sight of their lifeless corpses just touched something manly inside of him. All these beautiful Japanese women, could have lived on peacefully instead of dying in the outskirts of the solar system, millions of kilometers from the rolling green hills that they were born in. Now, instead of living life as the majestic beauties that they were rumored to be, they hung lifeless before the loyalist soldiers in ululating red orbs of liquid that surrounded them like a sparkling sea of stars.

"I need ten of the best able bodied men in the bridge NOW!" came the command of the CO through a private loyalist frequency, as to keep the Successor forces in the dark as to their activities. No doubt, they had broken the code, but the promised thirty-one minutes had finally ended!

The door behind them opened and without a moments thought, Jim-Bob's teammates pushed him through before it closed. He felt a pang of survivor's guilt wash over him as the sound of the Aoyama Successors' battle cries resounded on the opposite end of the door, their newest push for battle no doubt started by the CO's strange order.

Jim-Bob prayed for his soon to be fallen brothers, but only for a moment. He turned his body around, allowing his momentum to take him to where other men were assembling, the 0G environment useful for once. They all held onto handholds placed strategically all over the bridge, waiting for their final orders.

But for a moment, Jim-Bob was lost to the scene before him. Surrounded by towering screens that showed the progress of the battle before them, Jim-Bob was almost taken back to the scale of the warfare. The Aoyama built Katanas were joined by Su built Mecha-Tamas, Narusegawa built Punishers, deadly Noriyasu build Minivans, and the greatest warships of countless other clans in a free-for-all melee that left this side of Pluto looking like it was the Fourth of July. Luckily, the distraction of the melee left most of the warships fighting amongst themselves. But a few of the heavier ships that no one wanted to fight barraged the Hinata-Sou, landing a lucky shot here or there, but Jim-Bob was astounded as the Flagship class warship's Intergalactic Class weaponry destroyed each usurper one by one. There was no doubt in his mind, that given enough time, the Molmolian AI network, combined with the Hinata-Sou's raw power could command the whole solar system.

As it once did during the years of our Lord… Jim-Bob thought in new found respect. He had always thought that their Lord was just a fairy tale, but seeing the battle could only reaffirm the traditions he had been taught as a child.

Jim-Bob was brought back to reality as his CO arrived with a sleek, jet-black, man-sized tablet hovering in front of him.

"Welcome to Command Lance," the CO said, when the ship suddenly shuddered, a drastic acceleration suddenly threatening to break Jim-Bob's hold on his handhold. In the towering screens before him, he could see that the Hinata-Sou had broken a hole in the line of warships before her, making a quick dash for escape before the frenzying ships around her could take notice.

"Move!" the CO ordered, as the sustained acceleration made for a semi-1G environment. The soldiers ran in the direction of the CO, covering his front and back, while he pushed the hovering black tablet.

"This is what we came for," the CO explained to the soldiers that were serving as his guard. "This must absolutely get back to Earth, whether or not we make it there ourselves."

He paused a moment as they reached a four way intersection. The soldiers in front checked the left and right passages before taking positions that covered the left. They signaled the remaining Command Lance soldiers to move past. The CO and the five remaining soldier ran past the intersection, and saw why those soldiers had taken their positions. Not far away, was a slowly crumbling unit of loyalist forces, keeping Aoyama and Noriyasu forces at bay while the automated defenses were slowly overwhelmed. Once the CO cleared the intersection, all the ten soldiers returned to their escort positions, leaving their comrades to their fate, as all understood the importance of their larger objective.

"If we lose this ship, this package," the CO continued as they ran down the empty corridor, scarred heavily from battle, "must still make it to Earth. So, we're going to keep it stowed in a FTL capable escape pod, and sit tight until either we make it to Earth, or we have to let it get there on its own." The group nodded solemnly, the fact that maybe the civil war was really coming to a close finally sinking in.

Surprisingly, they arrived at the escape pod with no resistance. But just as the CO opened the hatch for the pod, the ship shuddered violently, its acceleration suddenly lost. Quickly readjusting to the 0G environment, the Command Lance waited for news. The CO had been in a flurry of communications with other commanders, and looked at his men with a grim face.

"The Hinata-Sou's main engines have been destroyed, along with its FTL drive. We couldn't make it far enough away from Pluto to jump to Earth, so we have to pin our hopes on the escape pod."

All the soldiers looked at their CO distraughtly, but shook off the feeling when their convictions returned. It did not matter that they would die. All that mattered was that this black coffin (Jim-Bob had realized what it was after following it for so long), containing all their future hopes of peace, would make it to Earth intact. The CO quickly stowed the coffin inside the FTL capable escape pod and inserted a small disk that encoded its escape route into its Nav Terminal. After ascertaining that the pod had the correct vectors and codes, the CO closed the pod's hatch.

Jim-Bob thought he saw a pair of eyes stare back at him from the darkness within the pod, just as the inner hatch shut, but played it down as a trick of the mind. No one was going to escape with that pod, as all its oxygen and other life-support systems had been stripped to lessen its mass by a previous team.

"I don't know about you guys," the CO started, "but if I'm going down," he continued as the thunder of the escape pods jets ignited against the inner hatch, "I wanna see the stars shining!"

"Hoo-rah!" the Command Lance shouted, pumping their gun toting arms in the air. The rest of the escape pods jumped to other predetermined Nav points, hiding the objective's presence with sheer volume. At this point, all they could do was keep the invading forces in the dark as to the contents of the escape pod. To the Aoyama and Noriyasu forces at least, it would signal that the loyalists were prepared to fight to the death for control of the ship, though it was all just a Hinata-Sou would now turn back around with its remaining maneuvering jets and fight the invaders, keeping the objective's pod out of view behind its massive hull, while all loyalist forces would rally to the command center, making the invaders that had managed to survive so far think that the loyalists would make a final last stand near the frozen ball known as Pluto.

The Command Lance pushed back to the bridge, where no doubt the Aoyama Successors would have breached by now. Jim-Bob, flush with adrenaline, activated the jets of his combat spacesuit to move even faster through the 0G. They had seen shattered resistance on the way to the bridge, meeting the dying Aoyama along the way. They had even pushed through a Konno unit, taking them by surprise with their sheer speed.

It was actually fun, tearing through an unknowing enemy at blinding speed; with the 0G environment, all they had to do was point and shoot. The wall of streaking bullets shredded the Konno Successors apart just before the Command Lance flew past their remains. Luckily, the combat spacesuits were covered by their remains, saving the loyalists from actually feeling anything. At least physically…

The Command Lance burst into the bridge to find that the rallied loyalist forces were successfully pushing back all the Successor forces. Jim-Bob was astounded to see how many insignias he could identify, noting that even Marlins were present, even though they were based light-years away in Alpha Centauri.

It was the first time Jim-Bob had seen another non-human species from outside the solar system.

Encouraged by the direction of the tide, the Command Lance took a position fending off vicious Narusegawa Successors. Burst of rifle fire met burst of rifle fire as the battle raged on, the ship lending some support by decimating enemy troops as they passed through the corridors that led to the bridge.

After only three minutes of fierce fighting, Jim-Bob, in the same mind as his CO turned to look at the towering screens above them. They glanced at the heavy naval warfare that dominated one half of the screens, and then looked to the other side. They almost leapt with joy as they saw that the objective's escape pod had almost passed the space-time warp caused by the gravitational drag of Pluto and the Hinata-Sou, and looked ready to jump into Earth-space.

But a shimmering blue light dashed their hopes, as the towering bulk of a Narusegawa built Punisher jumped between the escape pod and Earth. In their greed for power, the Narusegawa Successors bared their fangs on the crippled Hinata-Sou. Shooting without regard for the tiny escape pods that stood before it, the Punisher let fly all its weapons, a small torpedo making impact with the objective's escape pod just as it jumped.

Jim-Bob felt like he had shattered inside, all hope gone with the pod. Though the battle inside and outside the Hinata-Sou raged for many more hours, the CO never got word from Earth-side that the pod had successfully jumped to Earth space. Though Jim-Bob did not fully understand the physics behind the jump technology that made the interstellar Commonwealth possible, he knew that all hope was lost.

(O)

Historical Archive: "February 11th," The Year of our Lord, 557.

Earth, The Hidden Forest Village

Town Center

All around him, he could see black sea of light. The glimmering dust of light, taking all shapes, sizes and colors, danced and twinkled merrily, as if playing with him. For as long as he remembered, the sea of shimmering black had accompanied him. But now, he was ravaged by fire. The fire surrounded him, shifting from red, to orange, to blue, and finally to white. A sudden impact suddenly shocked his senses blind.

When what seemed like consciousness returned to him, he sat up suddenly. Though it all seemed a dream, it felt real, not that he knew what it meant.

"Calm down," a voice that sounded as old and tired as he felt said through the darkness. A frail, yet firm, palm pushed down on his chest, laying him back in whatever he was in.

"Where am I?" the stranger questioned, knowing that this place was not home. "Who are you?"

"The question is, who are you?" the old voice asked playfully. When the stranger answered in silence, she continued, "This is the Hidden Forest village. I am the town elder."

The stranger grunted in acknowledgement, and let the sleep take hold of him in its comforting embrace.

(-)

When he next woke up, he could feel warm shaft of sunlight on his face. He slowly sat up this time, and took stock of his surroundings.

He seemed to be in some kind of straw hut, the one doorway covered with a heavy sheet of some kind of fabric. Around him, the straw walls leaked tiny shafts of light, betraying the room's purpose.

It was some kind of sickbay, however rudimentary the tools. To his left, opposite the doorway, was a table covered with all sorts of medicinal trinkets. In front of him, next to a window covered with the same kind of fabric as the doorway, was a shelf that looked like it would fall apart at any moment, burdened with an assortment leaves, roots and dirt. The man found that he occupied that last bit of space in the room, in what he was surprised to find was an old fashion futon. On the wall next to the length of the futon, hung a tattered, black one-piece article of clothing, which had obviously seen better days.

In regards to clothing, he was also surprised to find that he was in an old fashion kimono, the kind that he supposed that farmers would wear during, he for some reason surmised, Japan's feudal era. He was, however, very surprised that he was covered with bandages. He probed one supposed wound to see if it was real, and reeled back when he confirmed that the dressings were not just some strange kind of fashion statement. He got out of the futon and cautiously limped to the window. He moved the fabric that covered the "window" (which was really just a gap in the straw wall) aside and peered outside. As he predicted, he found himself in what appeared to be some sort of rural farming village, peasants of all sorts moving this way and that, the sun shining brightly. Children played with sticks and (occasionally) stones, while their mothers gossiped about the latest rumor. He returned the windows fabric to its original position when he thought he had been spotted, and let his eyes readjust to the relative darkness in the room.

The doorway's fabric rustled, as someone came into the room. The fabric parted in two, as a woman who looked to be maybe a century or two old, slowly walked inside.

"You're awake, I see," the woman said with her frail voice. "It's almost noon. I was wondering how long you'd stay asleep," she said, in a language that the man, for some reason, identified as an ancient form of Japanese. When the man just stared at her, as if waiting for something, the woman walked up to him and introduced herself.

"Forgive me for the late introduction, but my name is Ootomi Kaede, the village elder, and as you may have surmised, the village witch doctor," she said, frowning a little at her title, but shaking it off. Turning to the table, she walked up to a chair, which the man instinctively drew for her, and started work on the fistful of leaves she had brought.

"I don't suppose that you have a name?" the woman said, not turning to face him. She already knew the answer.

"No," the man finally said minutes later when nothing came to mind. His voice sounded distraught, as he obviously realized that almost nothing was coming to mind.

"I suspected as much," the old woman replied. "When we found you on the outskirts of the Hidden Forest, we had thought that you had been attacked by the Great Beast!" the old woman added with amusement, but then added solemnly, "You are lucky that you even made it here alive."

"You heal very well, it seems" she added with a certain amount of distrust. She had never seen a man in his state able to walk after only one night. Perhaps he was one of the nearby warlord's soldiers.

"I did," she said with a grunt as she moved to stand, the man instinctively moving to help her, "find this." She pointed to the tattered black one-piece that stood next to the futon. "It says the name Nata, which will have to do for you now," she continued, looking to man in the eye, as to find any hint of recollection. When he stared back, still the look of confusion overcasting his face, she continued, "It does not mention a surname, and since you are new to the village, I cannot give you a genename either, not until you can secure one."

"So, your name will be Natafor now, at least until you can remember your own name. Agreed?" she asked, with a hint of amusement. The man, in what she had no doubt was a strange environment for him, had only been making noises of affirmation up till now.

"Yes," he finally said, his voice sounding less strained than the night before.

Kaede smiled. He seemed to be accepting his situation slowly, at least. "Natsumi!" the woman suddenly bellowed, though the man did not reel back in surprise. The old woman noted his behavior, and was now surer that this stranger was a soldier.

Moments later, a young woman, a splitting image of Kaede in her youth, came waltzing in. "Yes, grandmo-"she started, but jumped back in surprise when she saw the stranger towering behind her.

"I see that he's awake," she said when she got her wits about her. "Do you remember your name?" she addressed the man, as if speaking to one the children.

"His name will be Nata, for now," Kaede answered when the man stood silent. A look of understanding came over Natsumi, when a smile suddenly plastered over her face.

"Welcome to the Hidden Forest Village," the energetic woman said. "My name is Ootomi Natsumi, apprentice and granddaughter of Kaede-obaa-sama."

"Nata…" the man ventured. They both bowed at the same time, blushing when they straightened.

"Hahaha!" Kaede bellowed in a large laugh that Nata did not think her able. "I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay, young one," the old woman said, now ushering the two out. "Find something for our Nata-san to do while he recovers. I'm too busy to babysit today."

As the embarrassed duo were forced out of the room, and awkwardly left the straw hut that was the town center, Kaede smiled, thinking that maybe, this man would lift the spirits of her granddaughter.

(-)

The two just walked through the town aimlessly, too embarrassed to talk while the townspeople gawked at the stranger. Nata, as he would now be called, took fleeting glances as all those around him, even this Natsumi girl once in a while.

There really was something different about them, something he realized when he saw his reflection on a rice paddy. They all seemed to sport pointy ears, while Nata's were round. They all had hair that varied among different shades of brown, while his was black. They all had eyes that looked elliptical, while his were almond shaped. And all of their eye colors varied between shades of blue and green, while his were pure black.

The biggest difference, however, was their tails. The tails of all the men were always thin, however, and not as noticeable, but the ones that the womenfolk had stood out much more, almost as if a decoration. Some seemed to have tails that looked like puffs of cotton; others sported long, think tails, like that of a fox.

"You have a nice tail," Nata noted aloud to Natsumi.

"T-thankyou," she stuttered, thankful that he was looking at her tail and not her blushing face, however embarrassing it was. At least they had finally broken the ice.

Curiosity getting the better of his judgment, however, Nata reached out to the middle of Natsumi's tail and stroked it to its end. That earned a small gasp of pleasure from the said woman, and stricken looks of shock from all the villagers that had witnessed his action. Before he could ask Natsumi what the big deal was, her body shuddered, as if she was about to explode.

A resounding sound of "PERVERT!" and "Natsumi Punch!" could be heard echoing through the village, as the villagers that had lay witness to the action bellowed out in laughter to the twitching stranger's ignorance, while some mothers covered the eyes of their children, shooting dirty looks at not only the stranger, but his very embarrassed guide.

(O)

"I thought as much when I heard your little shout…" Kaede chided her granddaughter, who suddenly had a distraught look on her face.

"You could hear it in the town center?" she asked in wonder. And we were almost at the edge of the village!

"I think everyone heard it," Kaede poked in amusement. The stranger, even with all his previous injuries, did not look much worse for the wear after Natsumi's violent response, surprising Natsumi to no end. An interesting one, this fellow…

"Is he going to be well?" her granddaughter finally asked in a guilty voice.

"Yes," Kaede answered concisely. Then, with a playful look on her face, "But you should be worried more for yourself."

When Natsumi gave her a blank look, Kaede continued, "He may seek restitution by claiming your genename."

Natsumi's face suddenly paled at the thought. And predictably, her face suddenly turned red. Smacking the unconscious man in front of both of them by force of sheer habit, the girl ran screaming "No!" out of the hut, and into the town like a village idiot.

Kaede scowled when she saw a new bruise appear on Nata, where Natsumi had instinctively lashed out again. Kaede sighed, reaching for a fresh bandage.

(O)

Nata soon recovered at a rate that Kaede could not believe during his residence at the town center, and was soon known throughout the whole village. Even to Kaede's surprise, he was very proficient in the farming arts, and even managed to give advice to some of the masters of their trade. If old man Williams had not taken Nata's advice in the beginning, he would probably never gain the villagers' trust. But when the old man started showing off larger yields of streakfish, everyone started asking Nata about various things.

Natsumi, thinking it some form of sick joke that her grandmother was playing on her, continued to stay as Nata's guide. However, even after the "tail brushing" incident, Nata kept on making one mistake after another. It got to the point where Natsumi thought that he was either molesting her, or had the worst luck in the world. Not that the villagers cared. Rumors started flying whether or not Natsumi wanted to enjoy the "attention." And the hushed whispers that fell on her ears were not flattering at all. Natsumi continued walking with Nata, face beet red, while she explained why strangers should not grope a lady's tail.

"How about this?" Natsumi finally said, seeing that her childish innuendos did not make sense to Nata. It seemed her explanations would have to be more direct. "Only married people touch each other there." She felt like she died a little inside when she made that final explanation, and a bunch of kids behind them broke in a fit of giggles. No doubt, they would mention that little tidbit to their parents, and Kaede would hear some angry remarks the very next day.

Natsumi sighed in relief, when Nata finally seemed to understand. At least Kaede had been doing her best to protect Natsumi from the village politics. It was the least she could do, forcing her into this position!

"Oh…" Nata said in a guilty tone. "I had no idea…"

Natsumi was about to scold him for not understanding something that even the younger children knew, but remembered how… alien the man was. Though he mostly surprised everyone with knowledge about many diverse things, he always stood out when he did not know some simple tradition of fact that all the villagers had known from childhood.

"Who is that girl?" Nata asked out of the blue, pointing out a child that had been stalking them for the past week, but had never seemed to catch Natsumi's eye.

"Rin?" Natsumi gandered, when the girl poked her head behind the tree she was now stalking them from. "Ootomi Rin!" Natsumi said in a firmer tone. The girl popped her head out by habit, but when she saw Nata, she stuck her tongue out and ran away.

(-O-)