Fortune's Favor

To my reviewers:

Sloth11: Thank you for your kind words. I do intend to see this story through to the end, so don't worry.

Abel Nightcross: Don't worry too much about it, and if you have other ideas for what I can do with my story, don't hesitate to share them. I just might like some of them enough to make slight changes to my plans for the story.

Gamerof1458: This chapter has a bit of sending people flying, but that is because I can't completely forsake such happenings. It is still a Love Hina fanfic, but I will limit when that happens quite severely. I am glad you like my story though. All reviews are encouraging, even flames. After all, if somebody feels passionate enough to flame my story, it at least evokes some sort of feelings.

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina.

Chapter 5: Fated Meetings

Motoko looked around her. She had no clue where she was or how she got there. The last thing she remembered was a pervert entering the bathhouse, and her passing out. Had she been abducted in her weakened state? If so, why was she not bound. She inspected her surroundings. All she could see were black walls, a black ceiling, a couch, and a TV screen.

Suddenly a figured manifested itself on the couch. He was tall, probably close to two and a half meters, and well built. His body, though well muscled, was not bulky; it was rather lithe, almost serpentine. He had a katana by his side, and Motoko thought she could make out a wakizashi in his sash. His face had an almost regal look, and his ink black hair was pulled into a warrior's topknot. When she looked at his face, her eyes were instantly drawn to his; they were a glowing red, like hot embers, with flecks of black in them. Then she saw shook her head, trying to rid herself of the almost hypnotic effect, and looked at his entire face. The only thing marring it, or so her mind whispered, was the cruel sneer twisting his lips.

"So you're the newest Aoyama sent to keep me trapped here, are you? Can't say I'm all that impressed. I at least expected their brainwashed minion to have a little self-control. Yet you screw up, and attack your host when you are the one at fault? You are disgustingly pathetic! I was going to try to sway you to following me, but after seeing that, I don't think I would want your help. Already I see that your arrogance knows no bounds, just like the fool that started your worthless line."

"You are the demon? Then know that as long as there is breath in my lungs, you will not escape this cage. As my ancestors did before me, I will hold you at bay with the might of Shinmeiryuu." The demon exploded into laughter so hard, he was forced to bend over.

"You hold me off with Shinmeiryuu? Ha! That would never happen. No practitioner of that weak, diluted style you practice could hope to hold me at bay! I was there when Aoyama Senzo began to study the style. A spirit of minor power saw the desire to help people that he seemed to carry, but never realized it was due to a desire to here his praises sung abroad. The poor misguided being began to train him in its sword art. After ten years, he had surpassed the skill of any mortal style, but he had barely scratched the surface of what the spirit could teach him. However, your ancestor lacked the patience to wait any longer. He chose to abandon his master, but then realized that he and his master were the only two that knew where the style had come from. So he could take credit for the art himself, he attacked his master in the night.

"I learned of his betrayal of my family and our arts, and spent the next century and a half searching for your ill-begotten ancestor. When I finally found him, he had reproduced like a cockroach and taught all his disciples to hate us. We fought, and I decimated all but a few of your clan. I even took one of them as my disciple. He and I became fast friends, and I taught him what I could. The rest of the survivors, however, secretly continued training themselves and the clan grew again. Once they felt they were strong enough, they mounted a surprise attack. First they tried to get my apprentice to betray me, and when he refused, they murdered him. Then they attacked me at night, and I was forced to fight twenty-five hundred opponents. Still I took half of them down before they sealed me away. Now I have waited another four centuries, and soon I will be free. Why do you feel you can stop me?"

Motoko felt a small bit of doubt enter her mind. Was this demon telling the truth, or was it trying to trick her into following him. Sure he had claimed he had no desire to have her serve him now, but what if that was a lie to get her to relax her guard and make her more susceptible to his manipulations? She squashed her doubts before giving any response. "You lie, Demon. I will here no more of this slander of my honored ancestors."

"You're actually right. I was lying. But you're not as loyal to the family as you like to pretend, are you. I saw the doubt on your face. You are not so sure of your clan that you could just discount what I was saying. I will use that. That lack of full faith in your clan will lead you to me eventually. Deny it all you want now. Some day soon you will need power that your family can't give you. In that day, you will remember that I offered you power, and you will call to me out of necessity. Then it will get easier and easier to call on me, until you are willing to serve me and only me in exchange for the power I can give you. Until then, I will let your doubts fester. I will let your wariness drive a wedge between you and your family. Now, BE GONE!" With that his form wavered before becoming something straight out of a nightmare.

Keitaro knelt beside the resting girl, waiting for her to wake up so that he could apologize to her and seek some form of penance for his mistake. Suddenly the girl sat straight up, a cry of terror ripping from her throat. "GIANT TURTLE!!!" Keitaro stared wide-eyed at her for a few seconds, as she panted in terror. Then her gaze shifted to see who was watching over her. They widened for a second, then narrowed again as she saw who was by her side. "You…" Her hand snaked down to where her sword would normally be.

'Hey, now, I already told you that you were at fault in this matter, didn't I?' Motoko froze in shock. 'Oh, did I forget to mention that I could speak to you now that we had met? Must have slipped my mind. Oops.'

Keitaro bowed to her. "I am sorry about walking in on you in the bathhouse. Normally at that time, nobody would have been in there. I also checked to see if the occupied sign was up, and only entered when I saw that it wasn't. If there is anyway I can prove that it was an accident to you, than tell me, and I will see what I can do."

"Why would there be a man entering the bathhouse of a girls' dorm in the first place! Your lie is surprisingly weak. I will kill you."

"Give me a second here! My grandmother is Hina, and when she went on her trip, she decided to make me the new manager. I do not know why, and I don't think I'll ever understand it, but she did. Now I simply try my best to avoid conflict with all the tenants. Besides, Naru told me that she had already told you about me being the new manager."

"She said something, but I could not process it just then. If what you say is true, I might indeed have been at fault. I apologize for my rash actions." Her mind pointed out that she was agreeing with the demon, and she instantly began to look for some way to get her mind off of that point. "How long was I unconscious for?"

"It is currently almost midnight on Friday. You have been asleep for seven hours, and your fever broke two hours ago. Shinobu has already gone to sleep, but I can navigate the kitchen fairly well, so I can prepare some tea for you. I am in charge of the care of all tenants here, so I will do whatever I can to speed your recovery."

"Thank you. I fear we may have gotten off on the wrong foot. I am Aoyama Motoko. Thank you for the place to stay."

"I am Urashima Keitaro, and it is no trouble. Now just wait while I get that tea ready." Motoko nodded, feeling slightly ashamed of herself. She was supposed to be a warrior, not a brute. Yet her behavior was nothing if not barbaric. She would need to work on that as well as the new katas. Unlearning such habits would not be easy, but to attain the true warrior's spirit, she would be willing to try.

'It doesn't hurt that he has promise, does it? Admit it; you are attracted to Mister Manager.'

"I am not! He is weak, and I will not let some man weaken me! You will not trick me into making it easier for you to escape. I will stand strong." She hissed.

'That's right, Girly! You show those voices in your head who's the boss! Why, if I didn't know better, I might pity the poor insane sword girl that talked to herself.' Motoko felt his presence withdraw from her mind, and a blush spread across her cheeks. If anyone had heard her, she would have a lot of trouble explaining this. She sighed, her shoulders sagging. Not only would she have to treat some man kindly so that she could stay at the Hinata and guard the sealed demon, that very demon seemed determined to drive her mad. It was almost enough to tempt her to ask Kitsune for a little bit of her sake, no matter how detestable the stuff was. She sat back, and relaxed, waiting for Keitaro to return with the tea.

Downstairs, Keitaro was searching through the shelves, trying to find where Shinobu placed the tea. Finally he found some, and used it to make a small pot of tea. He grabbed a pair of tea cups, feeling a desire to have a drink of the pleasant smelling tea himself. Once the stuff was ready, he found a small plate of food Shinobu had left for Motoko, and he carried it up with him.

When he reached Motoko's room, he slid the door opened, and reseated himself by her. Then he poured a glass for each of them, and set the plate of food in front of her. "The food was made by our newest resident, Shinobu. When you saw me on the bridge this morning, I was headed to her school to inform them of her new residence. Now, I try to learn a bit about my charges so I can make sure all their needs are met. Why don't we talk a bit about ourselves while we drink the tea." He raised the glass, drinking the tea, and she mirrored his action a second later.

The next morning, Shinobu woke up hearing the sound of feet dashing through the house. She opened her door, and saw Su running around. "Wha… Su? What are you doing up so early?"

"I gotta get ready for my training! Today I will be learning about the wonders of the high priestesses arts!"

"Well, could you quit making such a racket, please? I'm still tired."

"What is a racket? Is it good to eat?" Shinobu just sighed. No way was she getting back to sleep now. She might as well make breakfast for Su and herself. When she entered the kitchen, she saw something odd. 'I could have sworn I put my insomniac's natural sleep tea back up, so what is it doing on the counter.' A few seconds later, she heard a female voice she didn't recognize yelling. The yelling quickly escalated into some form of battle cry, which was followed quickly by the terrified shrieking of the manager.

She made it up the stairs just in time to see Keitaro go flying through the roof. She looked for the cause of his flight, and saw the girl from the day before standing there, holding her bokken. She was breathing heavy, and her clothing was extremely rumpled, almost as though somebody had slept on top of her. She saw the tea pot and cups, and a familiar scent caught her nose. As her mind put the pieces of the puzzle together, she just couldn't help herself. For what might have been the first time ever, Shinobu laughed at somebody else's misfortune.

As Fate watched this happen, she did the only thing she could. She quit trying. She had done all she could for the boy to set him on the path, now it was up to him. She could do no more for him for now. From his prison, an entity of a different nature began to laugh. Oh yes, this generations tenants would be quite amusing to watch. Especially that Urashima boy and the Aoyama girl. He would enjoy their interaction the most.

A/N: Well I enjoyed writing this chapter, so I am content. I hope y'all enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. Until I write again. I have a Christmas banquet tomorrow, so I probably won't get another chapter done until Saturday, sorry.