Disclaimer – I own nothing, Ken Akamatsu owns Love Hina but not my original characters.

"Okasama…"

"Wake up, daimyo. You mustn't oversleep!"

"Mmm, please, just five more minutes."

"I'm really tired…"

"If you keep sleeping, then you'll have a headache when you wake up!"

"Okay, fine then. I'll get up."

Soma woke up in his private quarters after nodding off in the Seta-mobile. A black haired chibi-chan with a red bow in her perfectly combed straightened hair had shaken him out of his slumber, offering him a pot of hot coffee. For the sake of taking a break from Pharsti's nagging, he decided to make conversation.

"What can I call you?"

"My product number is one-one-five-three-eight-two-six-nine-eight."

"Um…that's kind of long winded. What would you like to be called?"

"I am comfortable with any name you designate for me." Her voice was almost robotic in execution.

Soma places a hand on his chin, "Huh, since you put it that way…lessee what we can call you…"

He scans her over, remembering that he looks like a classmate of his in class. Same black hair, same charming red bow.

"I got it; I'll call you Mari-chan!"

She bows politely, "I will remember my new name."

"Its really gonna be a pain if I have to name ALL of you." He takes a sip of his coffee, giving a sigh. "Tell me, where do you think Aoyama-sensei and the others are?"

"By my estimations, they may have already arrived at Pararakelse Airport if the planes are on time." Mari places the pot down on his coffee table, "It will be several hours until Noriyasu-san resurfaces. What would you prefer I can do to occupy time?"

Her lord considers for a moment, "Well, could you comfort me?"

Complying, she nods "As you wish." She began to disrobe her tiny chibi body.

"Wah!" his eyes widen, "Not like that!"

A voice from outside, "What's going on in there? Soma-kun, are you all right?"

"Oh shit! Mari-chan; put your clothes on now!"

Pharsti comes into his room holding a Remington rifle. "I heard a noise," said Pharsti as she walks through the door "what's the—OH MY GAWD!"

Chapter 25 – "Heaven Lost, Paradise Found" (Part 3 – Puffy Mushroom a Go Go)

Puffy Mushroom was well underway of finding Keitaro with or without Soma's help. Suu-chan had just unleashed a large turtle mech that was covered in automatic weapons.

"I introduce, Mecha Tama, Four!" she says with dramatic pause.

It was a tank, something that looked like the child of Metal Gear Rex and a tortoise. It was armed with an eleven millimeter machinegun, a twenty-five millimeter gatling gun, a portable missile launcher, and a hatch that hid a secret weapon.

"Wow! It's amazing!" Shinobu climbs aboard.

"Shinobu-chan, you're my guinea pig?"

"Wait, I don't want to…"

Suu-chan said as she hits the ignition button "Launch!"

Shinobu and MT-Four rocketed towards the sky, the blue haired maiden screaming at the top of her lungs. Sarah sweat-drops as she watched the large turtle go off into the horizon.

Meanwhile Mutsumi, Kitsune, and Motoko were stuck with no mode of transportation. In an act of desperation and to save whatever money they had left, Kitsune and Mutsumi dressed up as skimpily as possible while using the traditional thumbing a ride approach for truckers.

"Damn you Urashima!" Motoko fumes"Not only do you run away, you run away and get lost in a desert of all places! To make it worse, he brings Narusegawa-san along!"

She continues her internal dialogue, "Minarai, right now I can only pray that you are capable enough to keep Shinobu and the others safe. I suppose I should have more faith; I trained you myself."

"Motoko-chan, don't stress yourself out!" said Kitsune, "You've got enough time on your hands to be all grouchy, so you gotta have enough to help out!"

Without her knowing, Motoko was stripped of the informal attire she was wearing when she arrived. In its place was an impromptu bikini made primarily of leafs. Incredibly bashful, she tries her best to cover herself.

"A leaf bikini; I thought of it myself!" Mutsumi said proudly.

"What the hell?" Motoko wasn't the least bit pleased. "Why does it have to be me?"

"Hey, we went through a change of clothing. It's only fair." Kitsune tries to make it sound like a reasonable transaction. Another truck driver comes by. "Let's give im' something to look at."

She lifts Motoko's top to give the driver a frontal assault on his eyes. After Motoko's surprise, the screeching of tires followed before a six car pileup happened. Beating a hasty retreat, they quickly flee the scene.

Back with Puffy Mushroom, all was not well. MT-Four was completely out of batteries, and Suu-chan forgot to add a life support system for the crew in the midst of strapping on weapons. The three young women felt as though they were roasting in the sun like Italian tomatoes, praying that they'd make it until sundown for relief.

"How can a desert be so hot…?" said Sarah, passing out from heat exhaustion.

"Sarah!" Shinobu tries to shake her out of sleeping "You can't sleep out here!"

All you would do is hamper us!

"Motoko-chan was right…what could we do by ourselves…?" she was about ready to throw in the towel. "Goodbye everyone…take care of sempai for me…"

Chomp! Something had bit her in the leg. Suu-chan was dreaming of having sweet relief amongst the banana trees. Shinobu shakes her off and yanks everyone off the mech in an attempt to wake the others and keep herself on her feet.

Having difficulty dragging them both she drags them regardless, as Suu drops various weapons in her wake ranging from bazookas to light sabers. Spotting a crawling lump in the sand, she hastily drops her friends in order to pull out an encyclopedia.

"W-what is that?"

A Pararakelse Cobra reveals itself from the sand, hissing at her alarmingly. She yanks out what she claims to be a magical girl staff in defense and pointing it towards the snake while holding one end the staff towards her mouth to blow on it like a party favor.

Turns out that it really was just a party favor, amusing the snake before it pounces. Shinobu runs off as it closes in on her.

"Katin Eru Suporuku!"

A large blast of air sends the snake flying off into the horizon. Shinobu turns to see a hooded figure giving her reasonable advice.

"My Adzuvansuto Katin Eru Suporuku saved you from quite a close call. You should be—Shinobu-chan?"

"It's you, Motoko-chan!"

"Ugh, you three are so foolhardy sometimes." She catches what she had just said, "And where is Matsumura-kun?"

"We don't know! He didn't show up at the airport!"

"Your recklessness knows no bounds!" Motoko was slowly getting angrier. "Not only do you go into the desert and get yourselves lost, you go without any protection!"

"We did have a tank." Suu said in their defense.

Sarah rids her of it, "That's out of power."

Sarah hugs Mutsumi in relief, "Thanks for coming to rescue us!"

"It's not really like that. We're kind of lost ourselves."

The blonde girl sighs, "At least we won't die alone."

The group sets up camp, Shinobu the camp cookie, Kitsune refusing to belly dance.

"We had a problem heading for the desert." Mitsune said trying to sound innocent.

"She's so silly; she confused the camels with ostriches!"

"Hah!" Suu-chan laughs, "You two are so stupid!"

Back with Soma still stuck underwater; after some apologies, he and Pharsti spent time at the newly renovated koi lake. Walking across a polished bridge, the two sit down in a pavilion on a bench overlooking the various fish that swam and played with eachother. Soma leans against Pharsti's arm and rests his head on her shoulder.

"Pharsti, tell me a story."

"What brought this on?"

"I dunno. I just wanna hear a story."

"Let's see…" she held her hands out, a book materializing in thin air "how about the tale of Urashima Taro?"

"Urashima Taro? That doesn't ring any bells."

"Not even a little?" she continues "It's a children's tale about a fisherman who rescued a turtle."

"That sure sounds really exciting." Soma said sarcastically as he nuzzles his cheek against her arm.

"The turtle was so grateful that it invites him to Ryugu-jo otherwise known as the Dragon Palace. Taro-san came about and met the mistress of the palace known as Queen Otohime."

Soma's eyes widen, "What?"

Pharsti tugs his ear, "Pay attention!" she tries to carries on.

"Wait, her name was really Otohime?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"This is starting to sound really familiar."

"She was a beautiful, sweet mistress of the sea. She welcomes him with open arms, grateful that he took the time to save her loyal servant. For his deed she invited him to dine with her, giving him a slew of many foreign seafood dishes, entertainment from some of the most beautiful fish in the sea, and shared many sanctified treasures that couldn't be found anywhere else. But eventually, he grew homesick and wanted to go back home. With a heavy heart, he asks her to bring him back to his village."

"Dragon Palace, beautiful fish, sacred treasures, never saw that coming. He had a good thing going for him, and that queen liked him. If I had that kind of treatment, I'd be nuts to leave."

"The turtle escorted him back to the surface, leaving him with a jewel encrusted box and a message from Otohime telling him never to open it."

"Why?"

"I'm getting to it." She clears her throat, "But when he got back to his home, he realized that nobody remembered him, and his house was gone. He had been gone for so long that nobody knew who he was at all. Depressed, he returns to the beach which he met the turtle. He remembers the box he had received from Queen Otohime, but forgot that he was not to open it."

"What was in it?"

"There was a white smoke that surrounded him, restoring time to him. He died on the spot."

"Um, what was the moral of the story?"

"It's not supposed to have a moral, it's just folklore."

"That sucks."

"It does not!"

Returning to Puffy Mushroom plus Kitsune, Motoko, and Mutsumi…

"What about you Motoko-chan? Why did you come all the way out for him anyway?"

"Me? Er…Don't change the subject! Stop risking your life for a lowlife coward!" Motoko was momentarily flustered. "As for right now, how do you suppose we navigate this island when we're lost ourselves?"

"It's no problem!" said the beautiful Okinawan princess. "Everything will work out fine, I'm sure of it!"

"Guess we should feel better, that being said by a Tokyo U student." Kitsune and the others started to regain faith.

"Shinobu-chan?" asks Mutsumi, noticing her eyes welling with tears.

"I remember back then, when I watched sempai study. He'd give it everything he had, going into the late nights into the early hours of the morning, doing nothing but study." She shakes her head, "I don't want to see all of that go to waste!"

"Yes, yes you're right. When I get back, I want to have my classes alongside Naru-chan and Kei-kun!"

Kitsune grins, her eyes open "It's cool, we'll find them. Don't worry!"

"Damn, you people are so softhearted…" Motoko vents to herself. A soft noise bounces against her ear, "What's that?"

Suu pulls yet another Dragon Radar knockoff from her pocket, the beeping become more ecstatic. She looks to see various red dots enclosing on the center of the circle which represented where they stood.

"My Turtle Radar Mk 2 is showing that Keitaro and Naru-yan are nearby!"

"Why didn't we just use that in the first place?" asks Shinobu, now frustrated.

"It's an invasion of Keitaros!"

Kitsune peeks, "Maybe it's an invasion of Narus?"

"Who'd wanna clone them?" Sarah asks.

Suu-chan began to freak out, "They're everywhere—on top of us!"

"I don't see any…" Shinobu turns around.

An army of tortoises stood behind them, numbering in the hundreds. The girls stood in horror as they tried to think of a way to escape.

"Oh God, not turtles!" Motoko shook immensely in fright, Shisui at the ready.

"Motoko, don't—"

Kitsune was too late. She had already started using her Katin Eru Suporuku at random, only managing to upset the mass crowds of reptiles giving a Jurassic Park-esque roar. In their charge, they shred Motoko's clothing to near nothing, the poor swordswoman panicking from Turtle-phobia.

"This way!" cried Suu, "We'll take the river out of here!"

"Wait! I have to get Motoko-chan!" Shinobu selflessly jumped into the fray, grabbing Motoko and slinging her right arm over her shoulder, towing her to safety.

Meanwhile, back in Soma's subconscious…

"Pharsti, could you tell me another story?"

"Aren't you pushy today? I suppose another story wouldn't hurt." Pharsti clears her throat again as she digs another story from her thin air.

Soma lays his head in her lap, "What's it about?"

"It's the tale of Pinocchio. I'm sure you haven't heard it yet."

"What's it about?"

"It was originally a story from Italy about a kindly old puppet maker who was lonely and wanted a son. So he carves a puppet to near perfection, substituting it for a child of his own."

"It's kinda lame that it can't talk back."

"The puppeteer known as Geppetto was still dissatisfied with his creation, wished hard upon a star twinkling in the sky, "let my puppet become a real boy", and nodded off into slumber."

"Sound's like this guy was becoming pretty desperate."

"That night, the compassionate Geppetto slept soundly. Unbeknownst to him, he was paid a visit by the very same star he had wished upon. The star came down in the avatar of a blue fairy."

"A blue what?" he asks.

"Um…it was a fairy…a blue fairy."

"Blue fairy, huh? What'd that fairy do?"

"The fairy was kind enough to grant the puppet life, and often appeared to guide him away from very risky behavior."

"Wait, wait, wait…" Soma interrupts her again "a fairy granted him life, stops him from doing bad things…you picked that story on purpose, didn't you?"

"I'm not trying to toot my own horn."

"Or trying to remind me I'm a clone of a real boy?"

"Calm down. I'm just pulling a story from my memory." She laughs quietly, "If I didn't know any better, you could be a modern Pinocchio."

Soma sits up, "Now that I think about it, you were there when I woke up. But from what you told me, the only difference is that you aren't a fairy."

"Yes," Pharsti declared proudly "I'm an angel, not a fairy."

"Sort of stuck-up for an AI, aren't you?"

"I have a right to be."

"I got a feeling I know, but tell me how it ends."

"It ends by the blue fairy granting him mortality as a real little boy after overcoming many trials and tribulations."

"Yeah, I figured. As for right now, I have to figure out how to get Russia, China, and the SDF off my back. Then theres the deal with my mother…"

"We'll figure something out. For now, get some rest."

"Mari-chan said that…"

"Wait, who's Mari-chan?"

"Remember that chibi-chan from a minute ago?"

"Oh her…it's a bother when all the chibi-chans have to follow the daimyo's orders to the letter."

"Hey, don't blame me! I just asked her to comfort me! I didn't say start strip teasing! What do you think I am, some damn Lolita loving pedophile?"

Back on Pararakelse Island

"Phew, I think we lost em'!" Kitsune turns around again to see that they were correct.

However, it didn't last long as there was a turtle the size of several RVs stacked atop eachother caught up with them. The horrendous "Myah!" shook them as they floated downstream at full speed. They couldn't shoot it due to the fact that none of the weapons could turn more than one-eighty degrees.

"That's the fabled desert guardian!" said Sarah. "Papa told me that it hunts down maidens and sucks out their brains!"

"Eww, don't be so dramatic!" yelps Shinobu.

The group goes flying off of a waterfall at full speed, Shinobu being thrown out by the sudden stop. Chordata Sauropsida Maximus took the opportunity to open its black hole of a mouth to devour the blue haired girl whole.

"No! Shinobu-chan...turtle…" Motoko's fear of anything with carapace and grime was holding her arms from saving her inhibited friend. Gathering her audacity, a clack of Shisui's mune leaving the sheath signaled her springing off their raft with her sword cocked back.

"Shinmeiryuu, Zanmaken Nino Tachi!"

The blast that erupted from her sword sends the titan reptile hurtling into the atmosphere and Shinobu's clothes torn clear off as she had not mastered avoiding peoples clothing. As she made distance between them and the turtle idol, she catches the poor fear stricken girl and sticks a powerful landing atop a rock in a small lake at the bottom of the waterfall along with everyone else that landed safely on the water.

"Motoko-chan, thanks so much!"

"Think nothing of it." She accepts her gratitude in her own way. "I'd however like to thank you for all you've done. I'd also like to tell you I do want to see Urashima succeed as well. I take back what I said earlier."

"T-thank you very much, Motoko-chan!"

"Here, I should start by giving you my cape. It's the least I can do for shredding your clothes."

Mitsune asks, "Does that sword thing of yours always tear off clothes?"

"I'm still refining it." Motoko says nervously.

Just beyond a hill, Shinobu spots something that made their search fruitful.

"Hmm? What's up?" Sarah waves her hand in front of Shinobu's face.

They spot a flag reading- SOS Keitaro, Naru, Nyamo, and Gidget

"Yup, that's Keitaro's crappy handwriting!" confirms Suu-chan.

The group rushes for the flag atop the hill in hopes of finding the new Tokyo U students. Shinobu races towards it ignoring her nudity against the wind. The others follow the leader of Puffy Mushroom as they hurry against the clock.

Meanwhile, with Keitaro and Naru

"What's with that cute look you're giving me?" Keitaro solicits. Naru shot him a look, turning from charming to bitter.

"Just looking at the scenery!" she replies in her defense. She diverts his attention by feeding her curiosity, "Listen, about Nyamo. You know why she tagged along with Seta?"

"I'm guessing it has something to do with that pendant of hers."

"Oh right!" remembers Naru, "But I think her grandfather had already passed on."

"You think so?"

"It makes the most sense." Tears welled in her eyes, completely touched, "It's such a beautiful and bittersweet tale! What're you doing here? You should be helping her make her dream a reality!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, take it easy!"

She boots him out into the wilderness without a second thought. "Go and support her already!"

Walking into the foliage of the massive oasis, Keitaro wanders around searching for Nyamo. He regrets letting Naru eat the local mushrooms while contemplating why she suddenly doesn't want to go back to Japan. He perishes the thought as her just wanting to be with Seta again. Finally, he remembers that Nyamo was over by the waterfall.

"Nyamo, I want to…"

Point-eighth of a second he enters the waterfall area, he's greeted by Nyamo's completely nude form. His nosebleed was immidiete, one whole second later as Naru had caught up with him. Two-point-five seconds into the event, Naru punts him as normal without letting him explain himself (also as normal).

"Ugh, perverted habits are hard for you of all people to break, aren't they?" She scolds him, "I can't believe I thought you were cute!"

"What?"

Naru covers her mouth in surprise, "Er…well, when I see you outside enjoying your work, you've got this whole shine going on. It's actually cute."

"What?" Keitaro couldn't believe his ears.

"Never mind" Naru turns and ushers Nyamo along, "Let's go Nyamo-chan."

If you can't keep your promise, then I guess its goodbye! The younger Naru's words stung him again.

"The more Naru lives out her Tarzan and Jane fantasies, the less of a chance she gets into Tokyo U!" Guilt began to fester within him, "Why am I always putting myself before others? She's falling for me, and wasting her life here! I want that, but I don't think she does!"

He began to shout towards God, like he was listening. "Why? Why do I cause Naru nothing but pain? How come it took so long for her to like me? Why? I want to know!" His fists slam the earth beneath him.

It felt as though he was sinking, the sky seeming to climb higher. Before he knew it, he was plummeting atop the section of the cliff he was standing on. A big splash; he and Gidget found themselves floating in a pool of water.

"Gidget, you alright?" he turns to rescue the big lump of a turtle. What he sees instead, is a giant statue of—"Namusan Sapou!"

Naru and Nyamo came around after hearing the sudden splatter. "Way to go Keitaro!"

"These…these ruins are the reason Seta and Nyamo's grandfather went into the desert."

"You're kidding!"

"Not in the least. I'd work but I don't have the proper tools." He remembers, "Oh yeah, Gidget has some tools with him." Keitaro hastily prepares himself for the excavation. Naru on the other hand, walks off to leave him to his work; worried that she wasn't feeling good, he catches up to her to cheer her up.

"Naru, what's wrong?"

"You seem so alive, I really envy you. You found something that you can give your all…"

Back in the Seta Wagon

"How much longer?"

"We have a few more hours until daybreak. You've had a tough day."

"Yeah, I've been chased by zombies, turtles, zombie turtles, that giant bastard, all of them I killed."

"Oh, not this again." Pharsti shook her head.

"No, it's not that. I didn't feel a thing, like I could focus on fighting without consequence."

"Why do you suppose?"

"Maybe it's because sensei isnt watching me so closely."

"Do you honestly believe that just because Aoyama-san isnt observing, you're able to fight more efficiently?"

"I kicked some ass with Seta-san a couple of hours ago."

"It could have been the fact that Noriyasu-san had more to deal with?"

"Stop siding with him!"

"I am not siding with him! You've seen him work; he's actually quite skilled himself."

The two head back for the compound, escorted by two chibi-chans.

"It'd be wise if you rest as much as possible when you aren't in combat. There's no telling what could be around the corner."

Soma grips Pharsti's arm like a child, "Yeah…I'd like that."

Mainly a rehash, but it was a necessary rehash. Read and review.