And now for a couple of surprises. In more ways than one.

-:-:-:-:-

LOVE HINA: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

By Doctor-T

-:-:-:-:-:-

After exiting the meeting room with Keitaro, Kanako and Haruka, Motoko first farewelled the other three, and then made her way, deep in thought, up the staircase towards her third-floor room.

However, she then unexpectedly ran into Sarah McDougal, whom, despite Seta forbidding her to do so, had been unsuccessfully trying to spy on the meeting being held in the dining hall on the floor below her. So, understandably, the blonde was keen to pump the now wary-looking Kendo girl for any-and-all of the information that she could get.

Motoko, however, wasn't having any of it. To her and her code of honor, 'secret meant secret'. So she deftly parried all of Sarah's attempts to elicit both classified and personal information from her. However, since the upcoming bouts on Saturday morning were going to be a public event, Motoko did inform her of those, and also, who would be fighting who.

"So Keitaro is going to be fighting Vincent S? Seriously? I betcha the dork wet himself when he found that out," Sarah snickered, having already heard from her father, Seta, just what the huge westerner was capable of.

"Actually, he had no such reaction. Upon finding out just who his opponent was going to be, Keitaro bravely accepted the challenge," Motoko told her, annoyed at the pre-teen's mockery of her beloved Urashima. "As did I, with my own opponent, your Otōsan, Seta-san."

At that revelation, Sarah laughed out loud. "What? You're going to fight my Poppa again? Are you insane? You do remember what happened the previous two times you did that, don't you?"

"Yes," Motoko answered, gritting her teeth. "But this is for my future. I cannot lose!"

"Heh! Oh, yes you can! And if you really are gonna be fighting Poppa again, then your future is gonna be pretty damn short," the blonde girl chuckled in a disparaging tone.

"You are wrong. I can win, and I shall."

"In your dreams, Kendo dork!"

"If Urashima is willing to face Vincent S for the chance to marry Su and I, then he must see worth in me," Motoko told herself, as she entered her room after chasing Sarah off down the hallway with her bokken. "So to prove myself to him, and to that offensive little brat, Sarah, as well, I must somehow win my bout against Seta-san this Saturday morning!"

I just have to!

-:-:-:-:-:-

After they had left the meeting room, Haruka took Keitaro aside for a quick talk. Once they were out of earshot of the departing Motoko and Kanako, Haruka let her nephew know what was on her mind.

"So, by accepting the challenge, I take it that you've decided to take Su and Motoko up on their joint offer?" She asked him, concern in her tone as they strolled together towards the central staircase that led to the upper and lower floors of the huge old building. You really do want to marry them both, Kei-kun?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, no," Keitaro admitted. "Believe it or not, Haruka, I haven't actually made up my mind about that yet."

"Then why did you agree to go ahead with it? The fight, I mean," Haruka prompted her nephew, somehow managing to look both startled and puzzled at the same time. Not that his indecisiveness came as any great surprise to her, even if he had been improving in that department recently. What did surprise her was that he was willing to put himself in very real danger, for seemingly no real gain.

"Just because I haven't agreed to marry Su yet doesn't mean that I won't end up doing so in the future," the young ronin elaborated. "And if I do decide to marry her, I'd have to pass this first test of combat anyway, so I might as well get it over and done with, right now, while I have the chance to do it on familiar ground. I suppose you could call this a personal test of my bravery, as well, if that makes any sense to you."

"What? So you're really willing to risk some quite serious personal injury on Saturday, just on the off-chance that you might decide to marry Su later on," Haruka repeated. "That's pretty brave of you, Kei-kun. I'm impressed."

"Yeah. Aheh-heh. Well, I guess that I'm just keeping my eventual marriage options open, that's all."

"Yeah, you do that. But don't get all carried away trying to choose someone to marry just yet. Just remember, Kei-kun, that you've got plenty of time - the rest of your life in fact - to choose who you want to be with. Don't get pushed into committing to any girl, or girls', especially at this stage of your life. You, and only you, decide when you're ready to take any relationship further, OK?"

"Don't worry, Haruka. I've absolutely no intention of getting married just yet," Keitaro reassured her. "And thanks for your concern. So, on another matter, um, is there any advice you want to give me about my bout on Saturday? The fight against Vincent S, I mean."

"Yeah, there is. Don't get hit."

"Um. I wasn't intending to, Haruka."

"No. I mean it," Haruka emphasized, coming to a stop as she reached the staircase and fixing her nephew with a serious look. "Don't get hit by Vincent S. The guy is a destroyer. And you can forget about your fast-healing ability and so-called 'immortality' protecting you in this instance, too, Kei-kun."

"Wha-what do you mean by that?" Keitaro worriedly asked, coming to a halt as well.

"Let me put it to you this way," she replied, her tone as serious as her expression. "If Vincent S is going to fight you seriously – and after being chosen by Amalla as Molmol's champion, he will - and he lands a good hit on you, it's all over for you. Period. You'll be down and out for the count, fast-healing ability or not. Maybe even permanently."

Keitaro paled a further shade at that unnerving news. "Is...that so? C-can you tell me a little bit more about this Vincent S guy, Haruka? He's not a – 'gulp' – sadistic killer or anything, is he...?"

"Are you sure you wanna know, Kei-kun?" Haruka teased. "But, no, he's not. And he'll fight you fairly, not kick or stomp you when you're down, or stuff like that."

"'Whew!' That's good to know." So I might actually survive this? Hooray!

"And there's one other thing that you have to remember. Like Tsuruko told you before, you don't actually have to knock Vincent S out to win. This may sound almost as impossible as winning to you, but you just have to put him down, and unable to get up to fight you, for a count of ten. That's ten seconds, Kei-kun. Got that?"

"Yes, I got it."

"Good. Now you'll have to excuse me, Kei-kun," Haruka then said. "There's someone that I've promised to go visit before I go back down to the Tea Rooms. I'll catch up with you a bit later on, OK?"

"Ah, yeah sure. See you later, Haruka, and thanks for the talk."

Hold Vincent S down for ten seconds. That's sure going to be easier said than done, Keitaro then thought, only partly mollified by his aunt's previous words of encouragement, as he turned to head back to his own room. I doubt that even a dinosaur could hold that guy down for that long...!

I'm in big trouble!

-:-:-:-:-:-

Just before she reached Shinobu Maehara's second-floor room, Haruka was distracted by the unexpected sight of Sarah McDougal running down the stairs to her rear, as if the devil himself was after her.

Aha! The twenty-something woman thought to herself in smug satisfaction, turning back to face the way that she had just come. What luck, another person I've wanted to see!

"Hey, Sarah! Wait up!"

Skidding to an abrupt halt, the blonde pre-teen looked down the shadowy hallway to espy the grim-faced woman striding towards her. Then Sarah's face went a shade paler as she realized just who it was coming in her direction. And it didn't take a genius to figure out just why she was being summoned, either.

Oh, shit! 'Gulp!' I hope that this doesn't mean what I think it does..?!

"Er, hi, Haruka-san. D-do you want to talk to me?"

"Yes, I do," Haruka told the wary-looking girl, standing directly in front of her with her hands on her still-aproned hips. "I've had a sudden increase in new customers coming into the Tea rooms and then propositioning me. Not for marriage, the other thing. And the exact same thing has been happening to the other girls working there, especially Mutsumi. You wouldn't know anything about why this is happening, would you, Sarah?"

"Ah, me?" the now-fidgeting Sarah hedged, despite knowing exactly what her accuser was talking about. "No, no, nothing at all."

"Then you also wouldn't know anything about this photograph that I found posted on my sign outside the Tea rooms?" Haruka continued, holding up the offending item in question for the girl to view. "The one of Kitsune and Mutsumi naked in the hot pool, being – let's just say - 'a little indiscreet'?"

"Apart from the fact that I already knew that they both batted for the same team, that's news to me," the blonde replied, looking like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. "And we all know that both of those huge-honkered flappers are way-weird. They probably put that picture up, themselves, for a turn-on."

"Yeah, is that so? And Kanako told me that she found another two of these photos, as well. One was stuck on the 'Hinata Apartments and Inn' advertising sign next to the main staircase, and the last one on the upper car park billboard. So, spill!"

"Who, me? Why should I know anything about that?" the now very-uneasy Sarah declared, her best guiltless expression on her face.

"Because this photo was taken with the camera I gave Seta a long while back, that's why. I asked him about it just before, and he told me that he had given it to you."

"Someone else could have taken that photo with the camera. I don't even carry it around with me; it's usually in my room."

"Can the bullshit, Sarah, I know that it was you," Haruka growled in a no-nonsense tone. "Pull another stunt like that, and copies of this other photo I have here will be going up in their place." She pulled out a second photo from her apron pocket with a flourish.

"Wha?! Where in the hell did you get that?!" Sarah anxiously gasped out, paling at the sight of the hard-copy evidence of her secret shame – the panda-shaped birthmark on her butt.

"Su's rotatable security camera at the onsen sure comes in handy. Especially the zoom-function. So, now your ass is mine – so to speak." Haruka pointed her right index-finger at the huge-eyed, sweat-dropping blonde girl, and a steely glint shone from her eyes. "Stay out of trouble from now on, Sarah – or else!"

Sarah knew when she was beat. Haruka wasn't joking; she really would post the incriminating photograph up in a prominent place for the entire world to see. Hands now behind her back; the American girl lowered her blue eyes in contrition and shuffled her feet on the waxed wooden floor.

"Yes, Ma'am."

-:-:-:-:-:-

Good news to the depressed is as welcome as finding a cold spring of fresh water in the desert is to a thirsty man. And the news that had reached Shinobu Maehara, via the just-departed Haruka, was about as good as it could possibly get, from the young bluenette's perspective, anyway.

"So Sempai can't marry Kaolla, and also, by default, Motoko until he's first defeated Vincent S-san, and then graduated Tokyo University with a degree?" she burst out with joy. "Really? Oh, yaaaay!"

So even if Sempai does somehow manage to beat Vincent S, and then manages to get into Tokyo University as well, actually graduating from there will take years, Shinobu ecstatically told herself, a profound sense of relief washing through her body. And by then, I'll be well over the age of sixteen! And I'll be a serious contender for his love, well before then!

Yes! That gives me several more years to make of myself a better person – one worthy of Sempai's love and his hand in marriage. But to do that, I'll also have to get into Tokyo U, as well.

But I can do it! I know that I can! I just need to study even harder, and I'm sure that I can make it!

My problem now is to keep Sempai interested in me until then, the cute teen then realized, her euphoric mood plummeting back into one of mild depression as she remembered that she, as well as Su and Motoko, had other serious competition for her beloved Sempai's affections. Su and Motoko can't marry him anytime soon, now, but they aren't the only girls after him, are they? Kitsune and Mutsumi are gorgeous, older, and much more experienced with guys than I am, and they are already doing it with him in bed, too! And Mutsumi has made it into Tokyo U already! How can I possibly compete with them?

Then the fretting girl's eyes focused on the sleeping shape of Nyamo, lying in peaceful slumber in the futon on the floor next to her bed.

I did tell Nyamo that I had a plan to win Sempai's love before, when we were in the onsen yesterday. That being, since all of the other girls have teamed up to win Sempai's love, Nyamo and I should do that, too. She's the exact-same age as me, and we're look so much alike that the only difference between us is our skin tone, so that's the novelty factor working in our favor already. But now, I don't think just that will be enough to keep Sempai's interest for long...?

Next second, her worried mind lit up with sudden inspiration.

Yes! I've just had a great idea about how to improve our original plan to win Sempai's love! I'm sure that this new and improved plan will get Sempai's attention away from the other girls, and ensure that he keeps thinking about us, too...!

Shinobu's thoughtful face abruptly tinged with red as yet another improvement to her plan – this one somewhat risqué – came to her. She involuntarily gave a shiver and lowered her eyes and chin at the boldness of it. But then, knowing full-well just what was at stake here - namely, her and Nyamo's future happiness - she squared her small shoulders and gathered her resolve.

And this second improvement to my plan will absolutely do just that. It'll be just so embarrassing for me and her to do, but if Nyamo does agree to carry it out with me, then Sempai will definitely be thinking about us for a long time to come!

This particular, much-altered plan would definitely achieve her aims. Of that, she was about as sure as she could possibly get.

-:-:-:-:-:-

The much shorter discussion among the remaining attendees about the coming Saturday night's meeting was now over, and all of the active participants had either left the premises, or were in the process of retiring to their respective rooms for the night. Granny Hina, having been the last attendee to leave the meeting room, was on her way to do the same. But, no sooner had the white-haired old lady set foot on the wooden staircase, when she came to a sudden halt, in mid-step.

Granny had suddenly sensed that there was someone awaiting her in her room. Someone not human – a robot? No, it wasn't a robot as such, more like a highly-advanced, sentient android. And it wasn't one of Su's creations, either. Nor was it Mr. Red Eyes, or a vocaloid…

Then she realized, with some surprise, that this particular being was one that she had met before, and who would pose no current threat to her – of that, she was now sure.

But, just to be absolutely sure, the alert Granny Hina gave the immediate vicinity a quick scan for other intruders, which came up clean of all other life-forms, both corporeal and ethereal.

No sign of Chachazero, or any others. So this isn't a hit? Too bad! I could do with a little more excitement in my life, around about now.

Ah, well. Down to business…

Continuing on her way up the broad flight of stairs, and then down the third-floor hallway to the room that she was using during her stay, Hinata Urashima opened the door, and disregarding the possibility of any danger to her person, strolled right in.

Once inside her room, Granny spotted the lurker straight away, and saw that she had been correct in her identification of her uninvited guest. For, standing on the far side of the darkened room, very close to where the heavy drapes had been pulled back to reveal the now-opened outside window, stood the tall, shadowy shape of a strange girl. Standing in a somewhat-stiff pose, the green-haired newcomer was wearing a black-and-white, frilled maid outfit, complete with a white, frilly apron and mid-thigh-height black stockings. She also had a pair of tapering, almost-rectangular-shaped metallic antennae where normal ears would have been situated, a dead giveaway as to her true identity.

Granny grinned. Things might be about to get interesting, now, after all.

"Welcome, Chachamaru Karakuri. I take it that your Mistress has sent you here?"

As Granny Hina took her seat on the old rocking chair that she favored, the artificial girl gave her a polite bow, and then spoke up.

"Good evening, Hinata Obā-sama. I trust that you are well?"

"As well as can be expected at my age, Chachamaru. Which is now considerable, although I am nowhere near the age of your Mistress, in this current life of mine, anyway. So what do I owe the pleasure of this visit by you?"

"I am pleased to hear that," her surprise visitor replied, actual sincerity in her synthetic, though surprisingly life-like tone. "Now, as to the reason why I am here, my Mistress wishes a word with you, on a matter of some urgency. I take it that now would be a good time for her to do so?"

"Yes, Chachamaru. Now will be fine. Where is she, anyway?"

In reply, the translucent image of a young girl with long, yellow-blonde hair, of seemingly about ten years of age, and dressed in what appeared to be a lacy, black, gothic-style nightgown, then flickered into view, hovering about a meter above the floor in front of her.

And the seated matriarch noted, with amusement, that the floating, bare-footed girl seemed angry at her for some reason, if the expression on her cute face was anything to go by.

"Well, well, well? Evangeline A. K. McDowell. To what do I owe the honor of this visit?"

"I want to know just what you are up to," the blonde pre-teen stated bluntly, fixing the old lady with an accusatory glare. "Did you honestly think that your machinations would escape my notice for long?"

"Still as polite as ever, I see?" Granny Hina replied in an amused tone, not at all concerned by the blonde's hostile attitude towards her. "And since you are projecting your image through Chachamaru Karakuri, it appears that you are still bound to Mahora Academy by 'Infernus Scholastica' , too, are you not? Hohoho! And as to what I am up to, my dear, is none of your business."

"Oh, yes it is, Crone! I don't care what tricks you may have picked up when you were on Inverse Mars, you can't hide a scheme of this magnitude from me for long. Something big is going down, and I want to know all about it!"

"Hohohoho! Evangeline, I have absolutely no idea about what you are talking about."

"Oh, yes you do! I saw you arrive on site this afternoon with your two newly-hired bodyguards, that alien high-tech thing 'Mr. Red Eyes', and Solid Snake, the best mercenary-for-hire there is. Quite apart from them, this is who else I know are there, or going to be there at the Hinata Apartments with you, for these so-called secret meetings."

Then the annoyed-looking ethereal girl began to count off names on her transparent fingers.

"There are going to be six of the Sailor senshi in attendance, including the two heavyweights Sailor Pluto and Sailor Saturn, also Sailor Chibi Moon, the future daughter of that Moon-brat Princess, Usagi Tsukino. The others will be the Moon-brat herself, Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus. Here already are Noriyasu Seta and the quantum enigma, Vincent S. Also Amalla and Kaolla Su, the two magical Princess girls. Whose ancestors, as you well know, one thousand years ago, came from Mundus Magicus, a.k.a. Inverse Mars."

"You also have Doctor Drakken, the moronic Mad Scientist, who, unbelievably, is also an actual genius and one of the 'whispered'. And Shego, the competent hit-girl of his. Your relatives, Doctor Chinen, the greatest exponent of Tai Chi Chaun ever, Grandpa Hino from the Hikawa shrine in Tokyo, and from the Shinmei-ryū school in Kyoto, the Aoyama sisters – all three of them. Your other Granddaughter, Haruka, and idiot grandson, Keitaro, already live there. So, except for those last two names, and a couple of the others that I've already mentioned, don't you even try to deny that the rest of them aren't all there because of you?"

"Well, well. I see that your spies are as efficient as ever, Evangeline. I tried to arrange matters so that it would look like it was merely coincidence that most of them fortuitously arrived here at about the same time. But it looks like you have seen through my subterfuge, doesn't it?"

"I did!" The phantom girl then leaned forward, and stabbed her right index finger down towards the seated matriarch. "So, just what are you putting an elite strike force together for, Granny? And just what secrets are you keeping from everyone, even now, eh? Could it be-?"

"Yes, what you surmise is correct. I gathered them all here, and for the exact same reason that you are putting together your own strike force," the old lady finally admitted, deciding that the time for games had passed. The rapidly approaching crises was far too serious for her and any potential ally to waste valuable time bickering. "And what I have foreseen – and, obviously you have too, Immortal Vampire - will soon be coming to pass. Of that we can be sure."

"Hmm. All right," the floating blonde apparition replied, also getting down to business. "I suspected as much. But when it all goes down, just make sure that your team stays well out of the way of mine. And under no circumstances are you to interfere in anything that my team may-or-may-not have to do, you old Bat."

"Old Bat? Hohohoho! Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! You, Evangeline, are now over seven hundred years old. So, if I am an 'Old Bat', then just what does that make you?"

The floating girl before her scowled, and then retorted, "That may be true, and I may well be stuck in my original child's body forever. But at least I will never wrinkle and age like you do, you ancient Hag."

"I was once the most beautiful woman in all of Kanagawa Prefecture – and I will be so again," Granny smugly pointed out. "Because of my beauty, even Hinata City and Hinata Hot Springs are named after me, you know?"

"Yes, yes, I know. You live a long life, you eventually die when you decide to, then you instantly resurrect yourself as a young teenager once again, with all of your prior memories, powers and skills fully intact," Evangeline impatiently recited. "Over and over again. Your power is very similar to that of a Time Lord I once met – except that you always come back just as you appeared in your previous reincarnation, and always as the exact same annoying girl. But enough about that. Do you agree to my demand, or not?"

"Yes, I agree, Dark Evangel," Granny replied, calling the girl by another of Evangeline's pseudonyms. "With the proviso that your team stays away from mine, as well, unless specifically asked by me to help. Do we have a deal?"

"Heh! I don't do deals, Granny. But since it's you, I will make an exception to that, in this one case. Unless I see that it's in my own best interests to act, despite our agreement, of course."

The ancient lady grinned, and cackled back, "Of course. And the same goes for me and mine."

"Grrr! But we will have to co-operate, whether we like it or not. And, make no mistake, Granny, I don't like it! I, for one, have no intention of failing in what we may now have to do. I sincerely hope that you don't, either?"

"A truer word never was spoken," Granny confirmed. "It is good to see that we are both on the same page, for once. Because, if we were to fail, the consequences are too terrible to contemplate, for Japan and for our world."

"Good." The gothic blonde nodded with satisfaction at her answer, then added for good measure, "And don't you dare let me down!"

"I won't. And Evangeline. Don't let me down, either. None of your games."

"… All right. We have to get along on this one, so I won't do anything to undermine our temporary alliance. I promise."

"See, Evangeline. That wasn't so hard to do, was it?" Granny chuckled. "You really have to learn to play nice with other people more often, you know?"

"Shut up!"

"And now we just have to work on your manners."

"Oh, by the way, how is that bumbling, idiot grandson of yours coming along?" Evangeline then asked the oldster, the look of annoyance on her eternally-childlike face now changing to a thoughtful grin. "Still trying to get into Tokyo U, is he?"

"Yes, he is. But Keitaro is coming along nicely now, thank you. His grades are improving, and he has a realistic chance of actually achieving his ambition, at long last, next year."

"Is that so? I'll admit, he does remind me a bit of Negi. But even at the age of ten as he is now, Negi is already one hundred times smarter than your Keitaro, and quite the ladies man to the girls' he teaches in Class 3-A at Mahora, as well. Unlike your no-hoper grandson, who would be what now, twenty-one? And, the last that I heard, couldn't get a date if he was the last boy left in Japan! He still has no idea at all yet of his true potential, has he?"

"No, he doesn't. Not quite yet. But you would be surprised at just how far Keitaro has progressed now," Granny Hina told her spectral visitor, a touch of pride in her voice. "For instance, he has somehow won the hearts of nearly all of the girls' currently resident here at the Hinata Apartments. So he is much more like Negi Springfield than you think he is. And also his confidence in his own abilities has grown, as well. In fact, as a test of his self-worth, he is due to fight Vincent S in a bout, two days from now."

"Blundering Keitaro Urashima is going to fight Vincent S?" Evangeline laughed, mirthful disbelief on her face and in her tone as she heard the old lady's announcement. "Ridiculous! That is a suicide mission, if I ever heard one! And for what reason is he doing it?"

"The chance to marry Crown Princess Kaolla Su," Granny told her.

"What? The chance to marry Crown Princess Kaolla Su of Molmol? Her?! That is the dumbest reason for risking your life that I've ever heard of! Hahahaha! Vincent S is an A-ranked fighter, a match maybe even for me! Keitaro's chances of beating him are zero! Are you trying to get Keitaro killed, just to prove what we suspect about him is true, Granny?"

"No, for I have great faith in Keitaro's abilities. I am sure that not only will he do his best, but that he will also prevail."

"What, you don't actually think that he is going to win, do you? Against Vincent S? Have you gone senile in your old age? Heh! This match is almost worthy of a wager. In fact, it is."

"Oho. A wager you say? And just what might the terms of this wager be?"

"Hmm? What indeed?"

The child vampire thought for a moment, and then gave her answer.

"OK. If – no, when - Vincent S prevails, I win. You call off your dead daughter Yoko's ghost, and also that Tsukumogami sentient mechanical doll from France that your so-called 'Father', Keisuke, left down there in the tunnels, and give me full access to the stone circle under your mountain."

Upon hearing her visitor's request, Granny frowned, and leaned forward. "For what reason?"

"Because it's a pain for my team having to travel all of the way to Wales to access Mundus Magicus from the hidden gateway there," Evangeline answered. "Which means that if we have to move in a hurry, it'll be much more convenient for us to use a gateway right here in Japan. And since the stone circle in Arisugawa Park was recently destroyed during the Sailor Senshi-Yakuza war, your portal is the only one left for us to use on these islands."

"Factually, that is true, on all points," Granny conceded. "All right. If you win this wager, I will allow you and your team access to the stone circle. But only if I deem it safe for you to use it, and only under my direct supervision. Do you agree to my stipulations?"

"They seem fair enough. Very well. I agree."

"Good. And now for my terms. If my grandson, Keitaro, wins his bout, you will talk to Konoemon Konoe, the headmaster at Mahora Academy, and get him to grant me access to the World Tree. And that is all I wish for."

Upon hearing Granny Hina's demand, Evangeline was quite unable to hide her surprise. "What? You want access to the World Tree? For what purpose?"

"That is none of your concern, Evangeline A. K. McDowell. All you do need to know is that the purpose of my request is benign. And, as long as we are allies, the consequence of my visit to the tree will not be the cause of any harm to you or your friends, now or in the future. Of this, you have my word."

"Hmmm? As long as we are allies, you say? You're up to something, aren't you, you scheming old Witch," Evangeline mused, a knowing frown crossing her smooth forehead as she carefully thought through what she had just been told. "But what does it matter, even if you are? This bet is as good as won by me, anyhow! Very well, I accept your terms. And, as of now, they are binding on both of us."

Just then, Chachamaru, who had so far remained quiet and motionless, tilted her head into a listening pose. Then she spoke up.

"Mistress, it is time for me to leave. I can sense others approaching this room. They will be here in less than two minutes at their present rate of advance."

"Very well, Chachamaru. I have said all that I wished to now, anyway," Evangeline replied. But then her eyes momentarily widened and she turned back to the seated shape of Granny Hina as she remembered one final item of importance that she had to tell her ancient host.

"Oh, yes, one other thing, Granny. On the subject of Mahora Academy, I have it on good authority that you will be receiving two of their students soon, to stay as residents here at your apartments. One of them is of great importance, and must be protected from harm at all costs. In fact, if needs-be, you must send her, her bodyguard, and whomever else you deem necessary to adequately protect her, through the gateway under your mountain, to Inverse Mars. Agreed?"

"Yes, I already know of this matter. Tsuruko Aoyama-san had informed me of this beforehand. Rest assured, the girl in question and her bodyguard will be safe and well-protected here."

"Humph! I sincerely hope so? Still, with the three Aoyama Sisters, Chinen, Seta, Vincent S, Haruka and two of the Sailor senshi already on-site, she will be at least as well-protected here as she would have been at Mahora Academy."

"Mistress!" Chachamaru interrupted again, this time her tone more urgent. "There are now two people approaching up the staircase, and both have picked up their pace! And a third person appears to be floating up the outside wall towards the window of this room! Combat may be imminent!"

"All right, Chachamaru, we can leave now."

"Yes, Mistress."

"Goodbye, Evangeline A. K. McDowell. I do hope that we meet again, soon."

"No, you don't," Evangeline sarcastically replied. Then, with a small, wicked grin, she added, "And if your Keitaro is really all you say he is, then I might have to start keeping a closer eye on the boy. Goodbye!" And then, before Granny could reply, her light-form winked out of existence.

"Goodbye, Hinata Obā-sama."

"Goodbye, Chachamaru Karakuri. Have a safe flight back to Mahora Academy." The smiling oldster could not then resist adding, "And good luck to you in your pursuit of young Negi Springfield."

"…! Ah, thank you. G-goodbye."

Next second, tiny rockets flared, and the tall shape of the somehow now actually blushing android girl lifted off from the wooden floor, to move off through the open window and up into the night sky, accelerating at a rapid pace as she went.

So I am not the only one who has worked out what is going to be happening? Granny Hina thought, leaning back in her comfortable seat once Chachamaru had faded from view, but still keeping track of the departing artificial girl with her preternatural senses. I should have guessed that Evangeline, with her abilities and otherworldly contacts, would have been forewarned as well.

And now that my suspicions have been confirmed in no uncertain fashion, it is time for us to get ready for the calamity to come-!

Hold on! What is that I sense off in the distance? It's not Chachamaru. Something else is watching us. Something big-! No, overwhelming…!

Next second, before the suddenly-alert matriarch could probe further with her enhanced senses, the door was wrenched completely off its hinges, and the massive shape of Vincent S loomed into sight, breaking her concentration. Simultaneously Tsuruko dropped in through the still-open window, her katana at the ready, and Chinen-sensei appeared as if by magic in the center of the room, his stance relaxed but ready for any possible trouble.

"Hinata Obā-sama! Are you all right?" Tsuruko anxiously asked, sheathing her katana now that the danger seemed to have passed. "I sensed a non-human intruder in your room, so we three came up here as fast as we could to investigate!"

"Yes, everyone, I am fine," the old lady reassured the trio of worried would-be rescuers, shelving her concerns about the hidden observer that she had mystically found, for the moment, anyway. "Rest assured, I was never in any danger. The non-human visitor you previously sensed in my room was Chachamaru Karakuri, with a message for me from Evangeline A. K. McDowell."

"Chachamaru and Evangeline, huh?" Vincent S repeated with a frown, his expression and tone still just as worried as Tsuruko's had been. "I have met them before, on two occasions, and know a bit about them through my agency. So what was the message that Evangeline gave to you, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Evangeline was not actually present here – just her image. And her message, relayed through Chachamaru, was this - she knew all about this arranged meeting, who was attending it, and wanted to know the reason why I had gathered you all here."

"And did you tell her?" Toshio-sensei asked.

"Not in so many words. She had already guessed the correct reason for the most important topic of our gathering, and I merely confirmed it to her. Apparently, Evangeline has also received advance warning of what is coming, and is putting together a team of her own to confront it."

"And should we be worried about this?"

"Yes, we should," Granny told her equally-ancient relative. "But not just at the present moment. Evangeline and I have come to an agreement. We have agreed on a truce, whereby each respective team stays out of the other's way, unless specifically asked to help by the other. Oh, yes, and we have also made a wager."

"A wager?" Tsuruko repeated, a look of confusion now on her face. "As in a bet? What sort of wager?"

"I have bet that Keitaro-kun will beat Vincent S-san in their bout, this coming Saturday morning."

"Um? Not to disparage Keitaro-san in any way, but isn't betting against Vincent S-san in any match, against any conceivable opponent, a little – reckless?" Tsuruko wanted to know, a bead of sweat on her forehead at as she considered Keitaro's chances of actually defeating the huge westerner who had shrugged off one of her most powerful attacks without sustaining even a scratch.

"Hohohoho! We shall just have to see whether my bet was indeed a rash one, then, won't we?"

"Just remember, Hinata Obā-sama, that you are not allowed to either help Keitaro-kun, or interfere in the bout in any way to his advantage," Toshio-sensei pointed out to the grinning matriarch.

"Yes, I am fully aware of that, Toshio-sensei. And also at the time I made the bet with Evangeline, as well. Have no fear; I will not try to influence the outcome of this fight in any way, whatsoever."

Vincent S frowned, and then with an undercurrent of warning in his tone, said, "I am not planning on throwing this fight to let you win, Hinata Obā-sama. I'm representing the Kingdom of Molmol in this little affair, and both Amalla and Su are really good friends of mine, as well. So, even though Keitaro is your grandson, I aim to do my very best against him."

"And I would expect nothing less from you," Granny Hina replied, nodding in approval at his words. "No, this victory is for Keitaro to achieve, by himself. He must devise a way to win against you, if he can. And I also have no doubt that, on this one occasion, he will."

Vincent S, Tsuruko and Toshio exchanged baffled glances at the confidence in Granny Hina's voice. For all three knew that on first impressions, and barring a miracle of some sort, Keitaro stood little to no chance at all in the coming bout.

Vincent S let out his breath in a prolonged sigh. "Well, if you say so, Granny," the huge man then conceded. "I'd best not underestimate Keitaro, then, if you are that confident in his ability to defeat me?"

"Yes, I do truthfully believe that he can, but only if he finds the correct way to do so. Normally, as you all are implying by your expressions of incredulity, he would, indeed, stand no chance at all against you."

"But this time I am sure will be different. And I am looking forward to rubbing Evangeline's tiny nose in it when I next see her – which will probably be immediately after the bout is decided in my favor!"

"If that's so, maybe the three of us, plus your two bodyguards, should be right there with you if you are going to meet up with that Vampire Witch again, just to be on the safe side?" the huge agent firmly emphasized, Tsuruko and Toshio, their expressions grim, nodding concurrence at his side.

"Oh, and why should that be so, Vincent S-san?"

"Because, if you piss her off too much, Chachamaru, on Evangeline's orders, might target that orbital ion cannon of hers on you, that's why. Things could then get a bit hairy in your vicinity, for all concerned."

"Hmm? True. Then, as a precaution, on Saturday morning, and also during our next meeting that night, I will ensure that Kaolla-chan has the automatic defense grid that surrounds the Hinata Apartments complex, up and running, just in case," Granny told them.

"But will that be enough?" Chinen asked. "This is Evangeline A.K. McDowell we're talking about here. I realize that she is still trapped within the confines of Mahora Academy by the 'Infernus Scholastica' spell cast on her by Nagi Springfield, the 'Thousand Master'. But she is still capable of extremely lethal long-range attacks. And, with that in mind, do not forget that there are non-combatant residents and guests staying here at the Hinata Apartments and Inn to also consider. Their safety should be our top priority."

Granny nodded. "It will be," she promised the trio. "Besides, I sincerely doubt that Dark Evangel would target our entire building complex just to get her own back on me. If she does lose her temper, break our truce and do something rash, it will be a personal, targeted attack on me and my bodyguards only."

"And that is why we three should be accompanying you at all times," Tsuruko pointed out to the remarkably unconcerned-looking old lady. "Using Shinmei-Ryū techniques, I can cut through her dark magic with my katana, so I should survive any encounter with her. And I doubt that she can kill Chinen-sensei and Vincent S-san at all, or at the very worst, for long, especially with her not being able to be physically present here to fight us using her full strength. But she has had seven hundred years to perfect her long-range killing techniques, and you are far too important to lose now, Hinata Obā-sama! Especially if what we all fear will soon happen, really does come to pass."

"Ha! Evangeline has executed me before, on several occasions, and I am still here, aren't I?" Granny laughed loudly with glee. "Even if she does manage to kill me, I get my own back on her by just getting back up a few seconds later, young and beautiful again. Evangeline really hates it when I do that. Because I come back as a gorgeous teenage girl, exactly how I was all of those long years ago. But if she dies, by my hand or that of another, when she resurrects, Evangeline is still stuck as an eternal ten-year-old, in a child's body, each-and-every time."

"Yeah, I can see how that would suck for her," Vincent S replied, his good humor restored, and unable to repress a grin of his own. "So you then get all of the good-looking guys, and because she looks ten, she gets zip?"

As she heard that, Granny roared with laughter again, as did the other two present.

"Yes! Once again, each-and-every time!"

-:-:-:-:-:-

Granny Hina hadn't been the only one to have sensed that someone or something was observing them from relatively far away, hidden in the all-encompassing darkness of the moonless night. Chachamaru Karakuri, via her highly-tuned sensors, had also abruptly discovered that unsettling fact, as she flew high above Sagami Bay, heading back towards Mahora Academy in Northern Tokyo.

And then, just to make matters worse, the teen android realized with a shock that there wasn't just one hidden watcher observing the Hinata Apartments environs at that very moment. There were actually two of them.

The lesser threat, the one that she had first discovered, was from the spy satellite that was passing by high overhead. The second, much-more ominous presence that had abruptly registered in her consciousness seemed to be standing somewhere near the summit of the heavily-forested Mount Hinata, from where it commanded an unrestricted view down upon the sleeping town far below.

A strange prickling sensation, akin to fear, coursed through Chachamaru's artificial body as her sensors nearly overloaded from her immediate attempt to measure the power level inherent in the invisible presence lurking below and behind her, hidden somewhere on the black outline of the receding mountain. For she had never before scanned such an astonishingly huge amount of bio-energy in any being - not even in her seemingly all-powerful mistress, Evangeline A.K. McDowell.

From what she did discover about the entity below her, before having to abort her probing attempt to avoid damage, was that its power level was at least one order of magnitude greater than that of even Dark Evangel…!

What?! But that can't be correct! No-one could possibly be that powerful-!

-! The creature below senses me, too, Chachamaru then realized with a jolt to her very being, as the first fleeting tendrils of something indescribably alien touched her computerized mind. I – have to get out of here, right now!

Instantly, the android girl opened up her jets to maximum, spun into a barrel-roll, and rocketed down towards the cover of the hills far below her, trying her utmost to remove herself from the line-of-sight of the thing on the mountain. Simultaneously, to avoid being tracked, she began to jam the transmission frequencies of the satellite high above her. She then commenced a full data backup, downloading it to her armor-encased, almost-indestructible, solid-state emergency cache, just in case the worst were to happen, and she was attacked and destroyed by the being below her. Concurrently, the alarmed girl live-streamed both the backup she had created and the data that she was receiving from both the satellite and the life form behind her, in a series of burst transmissions off to Mahora Academy. There the data stream would be recorded and automatically updated into the mind of her spare body that was safely stored in a hidden location at that facility. For, if her current body were to be destroyed, she would definitely be in need of it!

Whether by luck or by design, Chachamaru made it safely into the concealment of the forested hills without being attacked. Once there, the badly-shaken android girl hovered in the cool night air behind the sheltering trunk of a huge tree. Her mind now working overtime as she weighed up her options, the apprehensive Chachamaru quickly decided against making any further attempts to investigate the extraordinarily-powerful being atop the mountain to her rear, especially since she now no longer seemed to be under its scrutiny. Instead, she decided to resume her journey back to Mahora Academy, using a low-flying, terrain-hugging flight path this time for safety reasons.

But first, her Mistress needed to be warned that there was a new player in town. A seemingly Supreme Being of unknown origin, with the power to lay waste to all of their carefully laid plans – and them along with it.

-:-:-:-:-

As the very disturbed Chachamaru Karakuri recommenced her long journey back to her home base in Saitama, the android girl was still totally unaware that she was, in fact, under scrutiny by yet a third observer. Which being, a tiny, furred spy who had, so-far, successfully managed to remain undetected by her electronic senses.

On the other side of the tree-trunk that Chachamaru had been hiding behind, further up in the tangle of thick branches, a small black cat with outsized ears was hovering in the shadows, watching her depart.

Some ten minutes ago, from his perch on the roof of the Hinata Apartments, Kuro had noticed Chachamaru's hasty exit from the third-floor window of Grandmother Hinata's temporary lodgings. His curiosity piqued as to just who she was and what she had been doing there, the flying cat had launched himself into the cold night air in her wake, and trailed her at high-altitude all of the way out over the thickly-forested woodland to the north of the plateau.

When the girl had suddenly flipped over in mid-flight and accelerated down towards the ground in a crash-dive, Kuro was sure that he had been spotted. But that had proven not to be the case. As he dropped downwards in her wake, the reason for her sudden and violent change of altitude became crystal-clear. A quick precautionary check to his rear with his excellent night-vision, just to make sure that an unknown enemy creeping up behind them wasn't the cause of her sudden evasive maneuver, revealed to him a faint heat signature near the summit of the mountain that loomed above Hinata Hot Springs Township.

A heat signature that the android girl had obviously also just-now spotted, and was trying to get away from.

Thinking fast, Kuro made up his mind that whatever it was on the hillside was definitely worth further investigation. Being an off-world species of cat, his eyesight was far sharper over great distances than that of ordinary Earth cats, so if he could get within a hundred-or-so meters of the mystery, he would be able to solve it in comparative safety. And since the unknown-but-definitely-large source of the glow was above the Hinata Apartments complex, discovering just who-or-what was creating it, was now a much higher priority than finding out from where Grandmother Hinata's late-night visitor had come from.

So Kuro set off again, not following his previous target this time, but through the thick forest canopy, working his way back towards Mount Hinata and the possibly-hostile enigma lurking upon it.

-:-:-:-:-

Aboard the submerged Mithril submarine, the spy satellite abruptly going off-line had, of course, not gone unnoticed by the well-trained and – despite the lateness of the hour - still alert and efficient crew.

"We've just lost satellite coverage of the Hinata Apartments complex," the crewman at 'Tactical' called out. "The link is down. This could be either through deliberate jamming, or simple mechanical or systems failure. We were tracking two small flying objects that had just departed the main building at the time, and then our data feed suddenly went dead."

"Were they cruise missiles or probes aimed at us?" Tessa Testarossa asked, an alarmed look replacing her previous sleepy demeanor at that unwelcome news. "Have we been detected?"

"No, on both counts," the crewman quickly reassured her. "One of these objects was humanoid in shape, less than two meters in length, and was heading due north, towards Tokyo. The second one was following the same course, but was too small to identify. It could have been merely a large bird, or a bat. And, apart from the possible deliberate interference with the satellite link, we have picked up no signs of any other electronic or sensor activity, whether Japanese or from anyone else, probing our location. As yet, there is no cause for alarm, as far as I can tell, Captain."

"Thank you. Please keep me informed of any further developments."

"Aye-aye, Captain."

Tessa relaxed into her command chair again and unconsciously began to twirl her ponytail between her right-hand thumb and forefinger as she thought upon what to do for the best, now that their primary means of observing the Hinata Apartments and Inn had been rendered inoperable for whom-knew how long.

"We need someone on the ground at the Hinata Apartments," she finally announced to her second-in-command. "Someone who will blend in with the permanent residents and guests on site, and who no-one will suspect is working for us, not even Grandmother Hinata. And it would be best if this agent was also accompanied by a second person, one who has a good grasp of military technology. The presence of our two agents will also be necessary for more than just intelligence-gathering, and keeping an eye on Doctor Drakken, should he join up with Hinata's organization. For, if things turn out as bad as I now fear they might, we will need people on the inside with the knowledge to disable any of the defences that their 'whispered', Kaolla Su, will have already constructed to protect their base."

"That is an excellent suggestion, Madam Captain," Commander Mardukas agreed, having been thinking along those exact same lines himself. He then inwardly smiled, for he already knew exactly who she had in mind for this task. "I will see to it personally."

-:-:-:-:-

Near the darkened summit of Mount Hinata, a huge shape stood impassively in the lightless forest; the black outline of its huge, bald head towering above the gloomy tree-line. For the last two hours, the robed figure had been observing everything that had transpired amongst the multitude of actors engaged in the high-stakes drama playing out far below, his senses reaching right out to far beyond the edge of the visible horizon.

The all-seeing onlooker was currently tracking the small, intelligent flying creature now cautiously heading his way, which he had previously identified as a 'Long-eared, Short-hair' Mauean cat. Once it became obvious that the cat was definitely aware of his presence, the watcher acted. Without warning and long before the stealthy creature could reach his vicinity, the enigmatic giant faded from view, vanishing into thin air as if he had never even existed.

-:-:-:-:-

Author's Note:

There may be one more chapter uploaded next week, or maybe the week after that.

But, after Chapter Seventy, due to a complete lack of feedback for this story, that could be the final chapter posted on this site, for a while, anyway.

See my profile for further information.