Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina in any form. What I own, however, is this fanfic.
Authors Notes:
Once again, another slow chapter. Something to put you on hold before all hell breaks loose. Read and review people! Cheers!
Abel Nightcross: Well, explanations will come at the later chapters. But feel free to point out the parts that leaves you stumped.
Halo expert: Well, here is the update. And yes, from my draft, I might exceed my 15 chapter limitation by one or two chapters.
Zeroeye: Confusing eh? Makes you think if Jimmy is really a good guy in the story.
YoungKonoha: Jimmy is off? As in offensive? Hmm, better tone him down then.
Spirit HellFire: Ah, cameos, the word I was looking for. And all this time I've been using crossovers in the wrong context. About Yuko and the friend, well...you just gave me an idea that I can use for the ending.
Now for the story indicators:
"Word" Spoken out loud
"Word" Thoughts
"WORD" Scream/Shouts
***** Change in location, or in some cases time (as in flashbacks)
This fanfic is rated Mature for the use of cigarettes, alcohol consumption, profanity, and other mature elements and themes.
Reader discretion is advised.
Now on with the story!
Chapter 11: A Certain Sense of Danger
Something was wrong in the air.
Keitaro felt that today was not just a beautiful day. Not that there were numerous accidents or arguments, or any other troubles. Outside the classroom, the sun shone like usual and the wind made the curtains dance once in a while. Just like any other ordinary day; it was simply like any other normal day—too normal for his liking. It was like the day forced itself to be so utterly uneventful. Even the morning scene he woke up to was relatively tame, no insults flew out, no questions about his whereabouts the night before, even Makoto, did not press him to eat that much.
Everything seemed to be alright. But Keitaro knew better. The normalcy was due to the events that he never knew, partly because, he was too busy about his own thoughts and own life. But those said events affected the people around him. Making them act normal, in order to hide, perhaps, their fears. He remembered coming home around ten in the evening last Wednesday night. Jimmy ended their drinking session at a very early time, so he took the liberty to walk around Hinata City, in order to bask in the youngness of that night.
Big mistake.
What greeted him when he got home, was a very angry aunt.
*****
"Where the hell have you been Keitaro?"
Haruka was clearly incensed for some particular reason, something that Keitaro failed to notice. "Relax, Haruka-obasan. I was just out drinking."
"Drinking? If you want to drink you could always ask Kitsune to give you some of her sake bottles."
Her retort stirred something inside the kanrinin's head. Whenever he attaches obasan to her name, she usually greets him with a harisen slap. But not tonight. Something was totally bothering the woman. "Haruka-obasan, it's not that I don't like sake or anything, but hey, I just needed some company for tonight."
"You have me! You have us! Why go outside then?"
Keitaro sighed, "Okay, but sometimes I also have some other friends to talk to. I mean, I can't just limit myself to Hinata Inn, right?"
"Have you been watching the news Keitaro?"
"Not much, since there aren't anything good to watch as of late."
Haruka folded her arms, her irritation brightened like a thousand light bulbs. "People have been missing, some were found dead."
"So that's why," the kanrinin smiled as he heard her answer, "Well, I'm immortal right?"
Flippancy did not do him any good. Haruka's harisen found its way on his head.
"What was that for?" Keitaro asked as he scratched his hair, visibly irritated by her response.
"I was so worried about you. Don't just shrug it off like that," holding her hands in akimbo, Haruka continued, "From now on, no one goes out at night. No buts and no ifs."
"Alright then. Now I hope you don't mind me getting some sleep Haruka-obasan."
"Of course not. You still have classes tomorrow. So go ahead."
"Thanks." With that, he walked on towards the stairs to go to his room.
"Keitaro, wait a minute."
"What now?" he turned around to face his aunt, only to find a white blur and a stinging pain on his face—the usual harisen slap.
"It's Haruka-san."
*****
College Physics was his last class today. As usual, the boys drooled and dreamed of their beautiful physics teacher. A pity though, she never paid them any attention; it was always about the lesson—nothing else. Keitaro just watched on, taking down notes, and answering the usual question. Aside from that, nothing else happened. Time passed him like a blur. What brought him back to reality was the sound of a broken tune, the telltale sign of a class that has come to an end.
Naru joined him in his walk towards the train station. Just like the other day before with Isamu, it was a one sided conversation. Talks about general topics like the weather, the lessons, the volume of traffic, what to do the next day, and other mundane things went on and on as the two of them waited for their ride. Keitaro swore to himself that if nothing interesting was going to happen, he might as well jump on the train tracks just to make some news.
Then serendipity came to work.
"Hey! Look who we found here Mo-chan."
"Isamu-kun, Motoko-chan, what a nice surprise!" Naru exclaimed.
"Good afternoon, to both of you, Naru-senpai, kanrinin-san."
Keitaro simply nodded, but inside he was smiling. Not that he found the talk with Naru boring, but somehow, he just got used to seeing a lot of people around him. Ever since the clones came to his life, he looked forward at seeing the girls interact with them; especially now that he chose to move on with his life. Though he was still hurting at the fact that they took his place in the girls' hearts, he did not mind anymore. He was just like his old self again; others first, him second.
"You got off work early and you're with Mo-chan. Care to explain Isamu?" the kanrinin asked his clone.
"Hey, it's not what you think. The boss let me off early. Truth to be told, I didn't expect to see you at all."
"Come to think of it," Naru interjected, "Motoko-chan, you seem to be out of cram school early today."
"They canceled my next class due to the absent professor and students. Very discomforting, especially with the news of missing people passed around." Motoko held onto her katana, wrapped in a cloth for concealment.
Keitaro looked around and saw that Motoko had a point, the train car was almost empty. One could run around back and forth without any worry that they would be scolded. It seems that the killing and disappearances had a tremendous impact if most people did not want to come outside their houses. Looking back to his companions, he noticed that they all had smiles. The subject of their discussion had shifted back to the mundane topics that he heard a while ago. He could only give out a sigh, he could not blame them for doing so. No sane person would want to talk about such grim topics all day.
Outside, the crimson sun pathetically clung to its defenses against the onslaught of night. Little by little, Keitaro saw the red become black, a discomforting and foreboding sight. The gray blur of concrete buildings did not help him feel at ease either. Deep inside his head, a little voice kept on telling him that things will be alright. But something told him otherwise.
When they got back to Hinata Inn, the first thing that Keitaro did was to turn on the television. Even though the idiot-tube was filled with nothing but cheesy soap operas and childish anime shows, he endured them just to pass the time. What he needed was the news. Call it intuition or plain morbid curiosity, but the news of the killings seemed to have had taken hold of him. He needed know more about the crimes. His prayers were answered when a flash report came to the TV, interrupting the usual flow of the early evening prime time programming.
*****
The anchorwoman seemed terribly shaken by whatever it is that she needed to say. With the mysterious disappearances and murders as of late, it was deadly obvious that being the anchor on that time-slot was the last thing she ever wanted. Still, her voice maintained a professional tone in order for her to coherently deliver the news.
"As of this time, numerous citizens of Hinata City are still in shock. Rumors of a psychopath stalking out victims have been spreading since Monday evening. Due to incessant public pressure, the police have already agreed to stop withholding some of the information regarding the victims. Investigators are still optimistic that the missing persons are just missing and have not yet shared the tragic fate of the others."
From the newsroom, the scene changed to that of a police officer, notably of high rank due to his medals, surrounded by reporters and being barraged by numerous questions. He tried to maintain a sense of order by issuing a request that sounded more of a command. "One question at a time. You will be answered, provided that your question does not pertain to the ongoing investigation about the other victims."
"Sir, may we have a definite body count?"
"As of this time, we have confirmed that there are six fatalities."
Another one butts in, "Causes of death?"
"Two of them died of exsanguination due to multiple stab wounds. From what forensics reports told us, the wounds were caused by a very pointed object."
"A knife?"
"No, it was too small to be a knife. We are still analyzing the findings."
"What about the other four fatalities? Any information on them?"
"As of the moment were are still piecing them...rather we are piecing the clues together."
"Sir, that was quite a slip of tongue. A little more explanation perhaps?"
Sensing danger in answering the question, the officer immediately deflected it, "Next question please."
"Have you already uncovered their identities?"
"Yes. However, with due respect to their families, we cannot display such information as of the moment."
"Is it true that only women are being targeted?"
"Totally untrue. The first two I mentioned earlier are males in their early twenties."
"What about the other four?"
"Let me make it clear that the other four fatalities are still being examined. Thus, no information will be released about them until we feel that we have something conclusive."
"Sir, what about the rumors of a serial killer? Any comment on that?"
"That's absurd," said the officer. Clearly, it was a non-denial denial, meant to shoot down any question that could lead to the truth. He continued, "Now, I believe must get back to work. Any questions you have will be dealt with later."
Still, the reporters fired one question after the other.
"Was it really a serial killer?"
"A gaijin in a gray suit was said to be spotted in one of the crime scenes. Is he a suspect?"
"Has anyone been arrested yet?"
More and more questions assaulted the officer. But he remained steadfast and walked away, leaving the journalists craving for answers.
"And that would be it for now. Please tune in with us for---"
*****
Shinobu and Urashima's call for dinner made Keitaro turn off the television. Morbid stories and food do not mix together very well. He made a mental note to ask for more details from Haruka, who undoubtedly, will be watching the late night news report.
At the dinner table, there was no trace of uneasiness whatsoever. Even Urashima and Isamu were back at exchanging verbal barbs with each other; only this time, it was a lot less insulting. Shinichi and Haru talked in low whispers while Naru and Makoto flirted with each other with their glances. Aoi and Kitsune were grinning from ear to ear, something told Keitaro that it was best that he should not ask why is it so. The only ones missing were Suu and Kanako; the former was still down with the flu, while the latter, Keitaro could only guess, was avoiding him.
Shinobu broke the unusually peaceful and uneventful discussion with her story. "Today's very strange, don't you think? The air seems to be a lot heavier and discomforting."
"Well, Shinobu-chan," Urashima said as he patted the girl's head, "Some sicko killer is out there. So I with people being afraid, it's only natural for the surroundings to show. You don't have to worry. If you still have classes tomorrow, I can fetch you if you want."
Shinobu blushed at the evil clone's suggestion and stammered, "C-classes had been suspended because of that. You don't have to bother anymore senpai."
"Looks like somebody's being sweet."
"Shut up emo."
"Hey, hey," Makoto interjected, "Let's try to have a peaceful dinner shall we?"
Naru smiled at her boyfriend's suggestion, "Yeah, I guess that's for the best. With all the tension outside Hinata Inn, it's quite a miracle that we are not affected yet. Come to think of it..."
"What is it Naru?" Keitaro asked.
"Well, it's just that there are some rumors of suspending the classes. Even for the college level."
"I believe that is a wise decision," Motoko added, "Some people don't have the means to defend themselves."
"I-I-I just hope that it will be over soon. T-t-the teashop are having some problems."
"Eh? C'mon twerp, don't tell me you went on to break all the china there."
"No, it's not that Urashima-kun," Makoto said while giving Haru a nod, "It's just that because of the news, the teashop doesn't have much customers."
"Yeah, that's true. Even the coffeehouse where I work didn't have much customers. That's why my boss let me off early."
Keitaro coughed to gain their attention, "Alright, it seems the news affected all of your work schedules. Anything important I should know?"
Shinichi was quick to answer, "No more overtimes for me. Actually I might have to do my work here, and just send it by the Internet."
Aoi grumbled as he revealed his status, "The comedy bar said that my work might not even start next week. That just blows, I already read a lot joke books for my act."
The kanrinin could only run his left hand on his hair as he heard their dilemmas. With the craziness going on, only Shinichi would be able to work properly. It would be no surprise if they would have to scrimp on some luxuries in order to keep the Inn from falling apart. While he was in his thoughts, the residents noticed the grim accessory that he wore on his left wrist; it sent chills down their spine. It was very out of character for the usually cheery, but lately caustic, kanrinin to sport such jewelries.
Motoko, ever the watchful swordswoman inquired, "Kanrinin-san, that is a most unusual piece. Where did you get it?"
"Eh?" Keitaro looked at the necklace Jimmy gave him. He remembered trying to wear on his neck, but it just would not fit. Instead of forcing it, he decided to treat as a bracelet. A decision that he now regretted since questions would be nigh unavoidable. "Well," he needed to find an alibi, and a good one at that, "I just bought from some hawker down the street. Took my fancy you know."
"Huh?" Urashima stared at him in disbelief, "Why so morbid, Original? I won't even touch that with a ten-foot pole."
Everyone nodded in agreement, as if telling Keitaro that the ornament brought nothing but ill fortune; and should be discarded soon.
"I must agree with Urahima," Shinichi said as he adjusted his glasses to have a better look on the bracelet, "It is morbid. Looks like the one who made it did that on purpose. And by the way..." his words trailed off as he eyed the accessory more carefully, "Are those...teeth?"
"Well---"
Keitaro's explanation was cut short by Motoko who suddenly appeared at his side. She was holding his left wrist and was staring at the bracelet with a fiery gaze. "Kanrinin-san, I suggest you throw this away. It seems to emit an aura of different grudges."
"How the hell can a bracelet do that?" Keitaro asked her as he removed his hand from her grasp.
"From the materials used alone, I can feel that there is some sort of...dark force that emanates from the bracelet. It's not that strong, but it would be wise to discard it, unless you invite danger willingly."
"Motoko, I can't just throw away something given by a friend."
"Wait," Makoto lit up with Keitaro's slip of tongue, "I though you said you bought that from a street hawker?"
"Shit. I should have been more careful."
Naru stared at him wide-eyed, "You lied?"
"Alright, alright," Keitaro raised his hands in order to calm them down, "Look, a friend of mine just bought it for me, okay? From a street vendor. Now, just because it looks grim to you, does not mean I'm gonna throw it away because you asked to."
"Even if we asked nicely?" Kitsune teases with a smile.
"No, and that's final."
Motoko, however, was not satisfied with the explanation, "Still, it has a disturbing design. And who is the friend who gave you this...gift? Haitani? Shirai?"
"I'm surprised you remembered their names, Motoko."
"Kanrinin-san, you did not answer the question."
Something told Keitaro that no amount of explanation will sate their curiosity. That is when he decided to ditch the nice guy act, he slammed his fists on the table and stood up. "Look," he said with eyes filled with false conviction, "I wear what I want to wear. I don't criticize your clothes or anything. So just let me be." With that said, he stormed out of the dining room, ignoring any further questions.
*****
Finding himself at the roof, Keitaro heaved a sigh of relief. It was a good thing that they bought his act. If they ever knew of Jimmy and his magics, there was no telling of what could happen. Well, there were two possibilities that occurred to him. First, Motoko might want a showdown with the magician; Jimmy's magic, after all, no matter how he looked at it, seemed to have some unholy color. The second possible scenario was that Shinichi, or worse Suu, might try their technological gadgets against Jimmy's magic; a very explosive scenario if that would ever occur.
"Onii-chan?"
Keitaro was broken from his train of thought as the soft voice of his adopted sister came to his ears. He turned around and saw her, sitting next behind him. "Kana-chan, you surprised me. You shouldn't do that, I might fall of the roof."
"I'll catch you anytime."
"Anything you want to talk about, Kana-chan?"
Kanako fidgeted for a while, her eyes seemed to be searching for the right words to say. Keitaro smiled and wrapped his arm around her, "I'm sorry."
This surprised the girl, who sought him to ask an apology. "What do you mean onii-chan? I'm the one who's supposed to be sorry."
"I remembered that day."
"Y-you did?"
"Yes."
"I'm sorry onii-chan. I just thought you were so lonely that you---"
Keitaro placed his fingers on her lips, effectively silencing her, "You're my sister, okay? If you really want me to be happy when I'm sad, be a sister to me."
She removed his fingers from her lips and asked, "So I guess, you'll never really see me more than that, huh? What about our promise about the inn?"
He smiled at the mention of their promise to each other. The foolishness and misunderstandings of his young age came back to his mind; the bullheaded idealism of always keeping your word. Promises are not always meant to be fulfilled, a realistic part of his brain told him, more so, if that promise was misunderstood and taken out of context. And he needed to tell that as well to the girl who came to love him as more than a brother. "Kana-chan, listen to me. I remember that promise. I never meant it to be taken that way, you misunderstood me then. Running the inn together? I meant that as brother and sister. Not the way you think."
Kanako became downcast at his words. She removed his hand from her shoulder, "Why onii-chan? Why can't you see me as a woma---"
She was muffled by a sweet and gentle kiss. A kiss filled with so much love, that it would drown those who are unprepared for such a venture. In a brief but shining moment, she felt she was the luckiest and most beautiful woman alive in the world. For she received that touch of intimacy from the man she had always loved. And ,when it was broken, everything went back to where it was. From the look in his eyes, that would be the only time that he will look at her as a woman. Now, she was his sister once again; nothing more, nothing less. Kanako slowly edged away from Keitaro, and in a split-second, disappeared in a frighteningly quick blur. No words were needed anymore; the two of them understood each other's silence.
For his part, Keitaro could only give out a melancholic sigh. He did not like hurting other people's feelings. But somehow, one way or the other, it was the only way in order for people to move on. He looked up high in the heavens, as if asking the moon and the stars to give him some answer.
They gave no such thing.
What he saw, instead, was a thousand fireflies, dancing in the night sky. "Fireflies?" he asked himself with great doubt. The floating wisps of blue flame did look like the nocturnal insects one would see at certain seasons. But there was something off in that picture. Early summer was the firefly season, and that time was already over. More so, fireflies are delicate creatures. They thrive in a environ where pollution is relatively low; places like farms, forests, and mountains—the concrete jungle was no place for them to live. What was more unnatural was the sheer number of the insects. Never in his life had Keitaro seen so many.
Realization came to him like a dagger of ice, stabbed into the spine.
Fireflies were supposed to be yellow; though faint in the light they gave, they were warm like the sun. The things that floated in the night were of a different hue, they were pale, cold, and ghastly blue.
Keitaro removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. As he looked up, he saw that they were gone in an instant. A creeping curiosity made him put back his glasses on. And once again, they were there. A parade of blue wisps, dancing in the night sky; as if trying to compete with the steady stance of the moon and the stars.
Jimmy's words echoed inside his head like a crescendo.
"Don't worry. You'll see a lot soon enough."
Hitodama. Those blue flames were called hitodama.
The souls of the dead.
*****
Haruka wore a frown while she was cleaning the teahouse.
There were not much customers that day. But that did not bother her. Business after all, was just like that; there are good times and there are bad. What struck her nerve was the sheer weirdness of the past few days.
Long before it hit the news, Haruka had already heard of strange things happening around Tokyo; a disappearance, a murder, some destroyed property. Those things made no sense, or was not important to her.
Until it came to Hinata City.
It paid to have some good friends among the local police and some not so legal organizations. Especially when it concerned information; something she learned during her days with Seta. But somehow, there was a tinge of regret in the things that she now know.
Of the six victims, only two were revealed by the police. Because the way they died, though sickening, was nothing compared to the other four. The four fatalities in question could have been eight or even sixteen when they were found—because they were limbs apart. But there was something a lot more disturbing when it concerned all of the six victims.
A lock of hair was missing from all of them, and from what her sources say, a small knife, probably a switchblade, was used for the cutting.
Despite being inside the safety of the teahouse, Haruka's skin began to crawl. Her adventuring days with his on and off boyfriend was exciting, but there was no adventure in the thought that a deranged individual was collecting scalps from his victims.
****
Keitaro looked at the calendar hanging on the wall.
Numerous dates have been crossed out. There were only a few more days left before the current month would come to an end. There was small note on the current week's Friday; his meeting with Jimmy. Unlike the last two times, he met up and talked with Jimmy during the night. The sudden change of pace astounded him. They were now to meet in the morning, something that was, perhaps, good, since Haruka forbade him from having a nightly venture. Something told him that the magician knew such events would happen. He could not help but feel a little uneasy at such coincidence. But then again, Jimmy was a magician, such things are to be expected as normal—if that ever applied to magic.
As he went down on his futon, he could not help but recall the heaviness in the air that day. Even inside his room, the atmosphere was unfriendly and suffocating. He tried to console himself by reminiscing the storyline of one of his favorite mangas. The story was about a boy who can pilot a mecha that needed to be synchronized with his brain patterns. He chuckled at himself, there were times when he imagined that he was that boy, that pilot. Then there was this other character, a redheaded girl, which most of the time, reminded him of Naru. What was more hilarious, he thought, was that the two characters' love-hate relationship mirrored his real life. At least, before the clones came.
But that was far away from his mind right now.
What he remembered the most was the organization that handled those two pilots. Their symbol was that of a fig leaf cut in half, with words taken from an English poem.
"God's In His Heaven...All's Right With The World."
Keitaro allowed Jimmy's gift, that of a dreamless sleep, to overwhelm him once more.
However, within the iceberg of his consciousness, something stirred. It refused to accept his attempt to think that there was nothing wrong with the world. It screamed at him, berating him for telling himself a lie, a lie that everything would be all right.
Another memory resurfaced.
One of his English classes back in cram-school discussed a play about a murderous and traitorous noble. A noble who had a fiery ambition on becoming a king, that he lost his moral compass along the way.
In the darkness of his dreamless sleep, a single phrase made him shiver.
"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes."
____________________
Author's Notes:
hitodama – Will o' the wisp in Japanese folklore
The manga in question is Neon Genesis Evangelion, while the play is Macbeth.
Come Friday, in the Shards time-line, the horrible truth would be finally revealed. But first, Jimmy will take the next chapter as another bridge. I know, I know, my OC/SI is getting a lot of airtime, don't worry, I'll try my best not to turn him into a Gary Stu. Cheers people!