The Urashima Chronicles Chapter 1: Trial Fight Scene, a love hina fanfic

SORRY TO ALL THOSE THAT HAVE SEEN THIS BEFORE BUT DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES OF THE STORY NOT SHOWING UP WHERE IT SHOULD, I HAVE REMOVED AND RE-SUBMITTED IT. R&R. THE PROLOGUE WILL BE UPLOADED AT THE END OF THIS WEEK.

My first attempt at a fanfic... this is an excerpt from the story I intend to write. I just want some indication to see if the fight scenes work or not...so if you don't mind reviewing. Btw, I have not pre-read the chapter as often as I would like. Drop a few comments...flames accepted...as long as they're constructive.

Background for excerpt: I'm trying to write a spin-off to crosseyedbutterfly's "A different life" – if you haven't read it do so...you won't be disappointed.

I'm waiting for an ok to use her marriage of kei/mot for this story and some of her chars...but if she says no, I'll change it somehow (the chars included) NOTE: OK RECEIVED EXPECT AN UPDATE BY THE END OF THE WEEK.

The marriage is the same as in her story, but kei/mot leave Hinata Sou as they are not accepted. Keitaro finds work with Himura-san, his boss, who gives him a beach house as a wedding present. They are currently there with the aoyamas, who came for an impromptu visit to see how the newly weds were doing. This is the second morning of their stay. NOTE 2: THIS IS NOT THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY, THAT COMES IN AT THE END OF THIS WEEK. THIS IS MERELY TO TEST A BATTLE SCENE THAT IS LIKELY TO BE IN IT.

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Disclaimer: I don't own squat..but I plan to buy a car soon. Don't sue. Btw, cb if u read this before my mail. Umm, can u please not kill me. Remember R&R.

AN: Before it starts I want everyone to know that this fic won't continue until cb gives me a 'yes'. If not, I'll take it down, or make dramatic changes (not sure yet). Btw, this is somewhere in the middle of the story so it doesn't seem as though I'm ripping her story off. Just assume they get married before the manga timeline. I have changed the names.

'Oh crap!' "MOTOKO!" shouted Keitaro as he charged across the beach as fast as he could. Leaping up forward just before he reached her and pushed her back hard. Motoko, not expecting the sudden push, began to fall as her feet tried in vain to keep her balance.

'WHAT THE HELL?' Motoko thought wildly as she began her descent. Flicking her head up to look at her husband who had just pushed her, she noticed that a large object upon the still-horizontal form of her husband as he still flew through the air.

'NO! KEITARO!!' her mind screamed internally watched the object fall, unable to stop or hinder it, as it entered his body, impaling him where she stood just a split-second before. Finally landing on her back, the sand providing a relatively soft landing, she managed to break out of the sudden case of shock to scream. "KEITARO!!!"

Keitaro tried, quite futilely, to block the pain of being impaled by a 2 inch diameter spear. Held up three feet in the air as he was at the point of impact, his feet hit the sandy ground, causing his body to move slightly but surely down the spear. He uttered a groan of pain to vent off some of the need to scream in pain, and felt his body begin to shut down from the shock of the injury, and the blood that began to wet his shirt and travel down the length of the spear staining the sand beneath him.

Although it was still early, the sun having only arisen recently evidenced by the remnants of red streaks through the clouds, Tsuruko was already up enjoying the new morning with, her husband, in Keitaro's beach house that he had received from his boss as a wedding present. She was always an early riser as the life of the samurai demanded, but usually to train by herself or train others. However, as this was a vacation, she intended to enjoy it to the fullest with her husband. She intended to bypass her morning training session with her children, giving them a rare day to sleep in.

Koji, who had also picked up the habit early rising to enjoy Tsuruko's company before she had to go to train was also up, noticed Tsuruko's grin and realised this would be one of those days where they would be later to breakfast than usual as they would be occupied...with each other.

"KEITARO!!!"

'That's Motoko's voice' Tsuruko thought, scowling at the fact that their intended playtime would be brought to a close before they began, ran towards the door to their room drawing her bokken before she left. Koji who had also heard Motoko's scream, also was up and out in a flash, picking up his bokken before he too followed Tsuruko. Though nowhere near as good with the bokken as either Tsuruko or Motoko, he could usually hold his own against most.

Motoko's scream was not unheard by the rest of the house either (even Suu, the ever deep sleeper woke up), though the rest didn't take the disturbance to their sleep as well as Tsuruko had. Though they rose with just as much concern over what happened as Tsuruko, they were much more annoyed than she was at the disturbance.

Upon reaching the front door Tsuruko stopped at the unbelievable sight before her, causing Koji to skid to a halt behind her. The rush of air as Koji stopped behind her was enough to break her out of the sudden shock. 'Kami, what happened here!' she thought, as she ran to Motoko, who had just picked herself up off the ground after being pushed.

Koji also stopped as he drank in the sight before him, too shocked to move from the doorway. He saw Keitaro hanging in the air, impaled in position by a pole, his feet touching the ground, and a constant stream of blood flowing down the length of the pole. However, unlike Tsuruko, Koji wasn't fortunate enough to have those behind him stop in time, causing a mass pile up at the door to the beach house. Through the screams and yells of the girls as they piled up at the door, they managed to glimpse at the scene before them, sobering them instantly.

Motoko unable to believe that Keitaro was hanging there near lifeless as a thick wooden pole stuck from his back through his front, was unaware that her sister had reached her side until she felt her hand on her shoulder, and then move on towards Keitaro. Broken from her spell of immobility, she ran towards Keitaro until she smacked hard into an invisible barrier that seemed to be blocking her from her husband. Tsuruko, who had been overtaken by Motoko slowed immediately to a halt as she saw Motoko smack into the barrier, noticing a slight ripple around the barrier moving across the surface of the barrier, causing the image inside in the barrier to distort. Not wasting any time she pulled out her bokken and hit the barrier as hard as she could. However, nothing except further rippling ensued.

Motoko, finally noticing the ripples, pulled out her bokken as well.

"HIKEN ZANKUUSEN!" she called as a vortex of rushing wind was released from the end of her bokken, solidifying into a formidable that attack would shred rock to shards of pebbles. As the attack hit the transparent barrier, it just caused more rippling, but it did not dispel the barrier.

"HAHAHAHA!!!!!!" laughed a voice that was much too deep to be from any human. A figure, the shape of a man, rippled into existence beside Keitaro's now limp body. His skin was much too black for a man, and his muscles seemed impossibly large, sticking out of his body like mosquito bites that have been scratched and swollen. The figure continued to laugh, as three other similar figures formed inside the barrier. "HAHAHA!!! I DID NOT THINK THAT I WOULD CATCH URASHIMA!! HAHAHA!! THIS IS MUCH TOO EASY. I WILL ENJOY TEARING YOU APART, BOY" the creature boomed. Looking around, the creature noticed Motoko and Tsuruko at the edge of the barrier. "WELL, WHAT DO WE HAVE HERE? AN AUDIENCE...I THINK I SHOULD GIVE THEM A SHOW...AND TAKE YOUR SOUL INSTEAD. HAHAHAHA!!!'

Motoko could only watch in horror as this creature was inside the barrier with her husband threatening to first dismember him, and now to take his soul. 'No, not creature, it's a demon,' Motoko realised. 'A vile demon is in there with my husband...and I can't do anything about it!'

Tsuruko also knew the creature for what it was and also realised there wasn't much that she could do except..."HIKEN ZANKUUSEN" she called forming another ki attack that harmlessly dissipated against the barrier. This effort met with laughter from the four demons encased in the barrier. Not wanting to admit defeat without a serious fight, she continued to bombard the barrier with ki attacks, each stronger that the last. Motoko also entered the fray, unleashing her own set.

Yoko, Yuna and Shinji, who had finally freed themselves from the pile up rushed over to help out as they could. Reiko, who was too young to fight, and scared beyond belief at what had befallen Keitaro, clutched desperately to her Otto-san, in attempt to wake up from the nightmare. The other girls too, could just watch in silence as the four demons began to move towards Keitaro's form, while the Aoyamas attempted to break through the barrier.

The demon beside Keitaro picked up his head by the hair gruffly causing him to groan in pain as he slowly faded into a blackout from the pain of the spear embedded through his back. He was fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on your view) enough for the spear to have missed his spine, but rather impale him through the right side of his back. A large burst of ki was felt as the demon began to pull Keitaro's head higher. A shadow of Keitaro's body was being peeled off his body, screaming and struggling to remain in his body.

It was at this point that Motoko broke down. No, Keitaro, I, you can't leave me now! Why, why didn't you let me be there instead of you! WHY?

Tsuruko, who had noticed that her sister had given up, and lay their broken and crying in a ball, ceased attacking herself. Feeling physically taxed herself, she resorted to consoling Motoko. Yoko, Yuna and Shinji, drained of any further ability to attack a while back had resorted to plain whacking with their bokkens in an attempt to break to barrier, now also left to join their ka-san and oba-san, unable to look at what was to befall their "Taro-san", but unable to look away either.

"HAHAHA! YOU SEE, BOY, THEY ARE UNABLE TO PROTECT YOU. AND NOW PHYSICALLY DRAINED, KILLING THEM WILL BE EASY ENOUGH! NOW TAKE ONE LAST LOOK..."

Tugging on what would be the last straw before Keitaro's soul-head left its physical manifestation, Keitaro looked up one last time and opened his eyes to a sight that truly broke his heart:

Motoko was there, tears streaking her beautiful face, unable to look away from her husband, while praying desperately for a miracle. Her sister, Tsuruko, beside her trying to calm her, though tears streaked down her face as well. Yoko, Shinji and Yuna were also sidling into their mother trying to find comfort from the sight before them.

"Motoko...gomenesai..." Keitaro managed top utter before jerking his body up, giving the up-till-now lifeless limbs one last ditch effort to save himself and return him to Motoko.

As Keitaro jerked his body up, his mind blanked into a haze. He could have sworn to anyone that he had not been himself throughout the next few minutes. It was as though he was possessed, unable to control his movements, but moved by another force like a puppet controlled by strings.

The jerk was a surprise to the demon attempting to goad Keitaro's soul out to play and then feast (not necessarily in that order), and did not see what happened next, as it was too fast for it to follow.

As Keitaro jerked his body up, he brought his right knee up into the spear snapping it just in front of where it protruded from his front. Grabbing the portion of the spear that lay embedded in the ground, he aimed it at the demons chest, stabbing it cleanly through its heart, triggering a large eruption of blood from its chest at the point of impact. A bestial bellow was emitted from the demon as it felt its own life extinguish from the creature which it was supposed to destroy.

Noticing the position of the other demons, Keitaro didn't waste any more time thinking (not that he was in control). Standing awkwardly as the remaining shaft protruded from his body making it difficult to keep balance, he lifted his right fist, and with a surge of ki he hit the broken end of the spear clean through the demon, causing his fist to burst in a sudden surge of pain as the splinters and jagged edges broke his skin, and the spear to travel through the air leaving a trail of blood from the first demon in its wake as it sailed through the air.

This last attack was not in vain as the demon that remained behind the first demon stood stunned at the sudden turn of events, felt the metal tip of the spear crashing through its thick skull, which as he painfully found out, was obviously not hard enough. Unable to make any noise as it had died almost immediately on impact, the spear and demon fell to the ground saturating the sand around it with a dark red fluid that continually poured from the wound.

The other two demons, no longer in a state of shock charge towards Keitaro lest he kill them too. Keitaro, not evening bothering to see if the last attack had hit its mark, as he somehow knew that it would, reached behind him and began the laborious and painful task of removing the rest of the shaft of the spear from his body. Slowly centimetre by agonising centimetre, he pulled it out just in time to notice that a demon was just before him. The demon realising that its opponent was preoccupied decided to capitalise on its opportunity, sporting a fist the size of Keitaro's head, he let it fly...past his head instead of through it.

Keitaro in the last moment was able to move out of the way of the punch. Stepping back and to the right, he managed to give himself enough room to swing the shaft as a bokken with deadly accuracy, to the side of the demon's head. The demon's head was unable to take the blow struck with such force that it broke after impact, but not before it had left a permanent and fatal dent in the demon's temple. Letting out a cry as it felt the "bokken" crumple its head at the temple, it too joined its fellow kind on the ground, just as lifeless as the rest.

'He is better than first assumed, I must not underestimate him,' the last demon thought. 'How could the others fall so easily to a mere mortal, even if it is Urashima! I'll get you now, Urashima. You're mine!'

Keitaro, finally turned his attention to the final demon, and just managed to dodge a clawed fist past his head. The demon, however, preoccupied with its own thoughts failed to see Keitaro's left fist as it back-handed its head to the side. With a fluid motion that seemed to leak pre-determination, Keitaro slammed the stub of the spear that remained in his hand from the previous attack into the newly-exposed neck of the demon, jagged end first. Cutting off the jugular vein of the demon, it fell to the ground clawing at the stub that caused its life's blood to flow out soiling the sand with its dark red colour, and massive internal bleeding. The demon began to choke on its own blood as the ruptured vein spilled its secret contents into the trachea flooding is lungs with blood. Unable to breathe from the blood filling its lungs, it began to smack its chest trying to rid of the pent up blood, coughing as it did so in an attempt to help. Finally feeling the effects of asphyxiation and loss of blood, it slowly gurgled to its own death, thrashing and spasming like a fish out of water, drowning in air, it too drowned...in its own blood.

Motoko watched in equal parts horror, fear, shock and fascination as her husband dealt with the four demons, seemingly at ease despite the gaping hole through his back. It seemed as if the battle was choreographed to perfection, as it seemed too fluid to be a real battle. Like onne-san when she fights - determined and flawless. She watched on unable to move, with a sense of fear of disturbing the "show" as her husband moved on from one demon to the other not looking to see if they had died, merely assuming they would be – the epitome of confidence. Keitaro!!!

The last thought came out as if by reflex as she saw Keitaro stumble and fall as if the pain and discomfort of the hole in his side caught up with him. The thought seemed to remove her inability to move as she ran towards her husband, barely registering that the barrier had vanished.

She knelt down beside her husband, cradling his head now in her lap, as he let the fatigue of fighting catch up with him, and fall into a fatigue-induced sleep, only meeting her eyes once, before drifting off, and uttering one word with a smile which meant so much for her to hear:

"Motoko..."

So what did you think? Good/bad I want to know. Any constructive comments welcome. Or any other thoughts. Thanks.

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