Standard Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina. I'm sorry if you thought that, but, frankly, if you did, we have much, much, much bigger problems.
A man never stands as tall as when he kneels to help a child. – Knights of Pythagoras
Blood Hina
Chapter Seven:
Like a Child
"She's my goddamned kid and I do whatever the hell I want with her!"
Keitaro's eyes jerked open. He was surrounded by darkness and for a moment, he panicked. Then, he remembered where he was and why he was there. He was in the basement of the Hinata Inn and he was there because it was the best possible place to avoid the sun. Simple enough.
As he stumbled to his feet, the yelling continued, in English surprisingly.
"I only let her come with you because of the money problems! Now give her back! Now!"
Keitaro trudged through the darkness and pawed around for a few seconds until he found the stairs. He hoisted himself up them and shortly thereafter, he arrived in the hallway of the inn.
"I'll call the goddamned embassy, so help me God! I'll take you to court, you fuggin' Jap!" There was a smacking noise and cry.
The shouting was getting louder as Keitaro walked. It was obvious that the source of the conflict was just outside of the inn. Keitaro was at the door and just about to open it when it was flung open.
There stood Sarah. She crashed into Keitaro, sending them both to the ground. For the briefest second, Keitaro got a good look at Sarah's face. She was crying and there was a beastly slap mark across her face. She lifted herself to her feet and before anything else could happen, she had run through the living room and was out of the house again.
As Keitaro stood, a large, Western man, red-faced and with a large gray mustache stomped in.
"And who the hell are you?!" he demanded in English.
"Ahh… Keitaro Urashima," said Keitaro.
"Well good for you, fuggin' Jap! Make yourself useful and go find Sarah!" yelled the man. Before Keitaro could respond, Seta stepped through the door and laid a hand on the man's shoulder.
"Ah, Mr. Macdougal," said Seta, in English. "I see you've met Keitaro! Keitaro, this is Mr. Macdougal, Sarah's father."
"Umm… How do you do?" asked Keitaro, extending his hand awkwardly. He could read English very well. Speaking it was another thing. Mr. Macdougal batted Keitaro's hand out of the way.
"Get your lazy ass moving and find Sarah so I can get off this god-forsaken island!"
"Uhhh…" said Keitaro. His English teacher had never told him what one was supposed to do if a large, angry American came in one day and started demanding that one finds his daughter.
"Keitaro," said Haruka as she entered, standing next to Seta. "Go find Sarah and stall till we can sort things out."
"What did she tell him?!" demanded Mr. Macdougal, for like many angry Americans, he did has questions or requests, he had demands and orders.
"I told him to go find Sarah," said Haruka, showing off her own knowledge of English.
"And he better do it quickly!" roared Mr. Macdougal. He stomped over to the couch in the living room, plopped down, and glared at Keitaro.
"Well, you stupid Jap?! What're you waiting for? Are you retarded or just Japanese?!"
"Ahh… Yes-u," mumbled Keitaro. He bowed twice quickly and left the room just as quickly. He trudged out the door of the inn and went about looking for Sarah.
Unfortunately for him, Keitaro's mind really hadn't woken up yet. It was, for the most part, still in bed in the basement. He noted that as Sarah was not in the area right behind the inn, and thusly, he should continue searching.
Suddenly, he stopped. In front of him, stood the spear that he had killed Lao with. A cool breeze blew by as he stood there, staring at the weapon. Lao's body had long since rotted away. The only evidence of his being there other than the spear was the dead grass the radiated out from where the spear pierced the ground. It was obvious that the place was tainted and Keitaro walked around the spear carefully.
As it began to rain, Keitaro's mind finally began working and the surrealism of what was going on hit him. He hadn't been awake for more than five minutes and already he was off looking for someone in the rain and avoiding the site of a death.
Keitaro stopped as he realized how far he was away from the inn. He had ascended the hills of the area and now, he stood at the entrance to the forested rural area around the inn. Sarah had most likely ran into there, he figured. He sighed. The idea of going into a large forest in the middle of the night as it rained didn't sit well with him.
Sighing, Keitaro held up his hand. Concentrating as one of the Chinese texts he had found told him to, Keitaro caused a small bit of the chi of his body to manifest as flames in the palm of his hand.
The fact that he was able to do that so easily didn't surprise Keitaro nearly as much as how calm he was about it. Like most people, in his life, he really hadn't believed in the supernatural and was very sure that it was impossible to cause fire to shoot up from one's hand, especially fire that didn't burn and was actually just chi.
Then again, he realized, he was pretty sure that he wouldn't be murdered on a street, go to Hell, and then come back.
As the rain got heavier, Keitaro trudged into the forest. He was annoyed with Sarah, for running away, annoyed with Haruka for making him go find her, annoyed with Mr. MacDougal for being such an asshole, but most of all, he was annoyed with himself, though he didn't have a reason for that.
As Keitaro's search for Sarah continued, Haruka and Seta were in a bout of foreign relations that would make any politician sweat. Seta really wasn't sure how to handle the situation: The majority of the Americans he had met were archeologists like him or some other kind of teacher. He could relate to them on a professional level and he got by like that. He was pretty sure that Mr. MacDougal wasn't a professional at anything, really.
Haruka was even more clueless about how to handle things. Her major experience with Americans consisted of being a guide in Tokyo one summer. And the Americans she had met then were mostly interested in buying souvenirs. She was pretty sure that Mr. MacDougal didn't want a novelty katana.
"Jesus H. Christ!" yelled Mr. MacDougal. "What does it take to get a decent meal on this island?!"
"Hold on," said Haruka. "I'll get Shinobu to fix something for you." With that, Haruka left the room, happy to be away from Mr. MacDougal. She felt very proud of herself for having made it clear to the girls that they were to stay in their rooms while their "guest" was here.
That left, of course, Seta and Sarah's father. Mr. MacDougal muttered quietly to himself under his breath as Seta smiled sheepishly, trying to think of something to say.
"So, Mr. MacDougal… Did you find a new job?" he asked, hoping to make the conversation pleasant.
"Yeah," said Mr. MacDougal. "You hear about the Enron thing?" He was grinning like a fox with a cub in its mouth.
"Ahh… Enron?"
Mr. MacDougal shook his head. "Never mind. Where the hell is that kid we sent?"
"Ah, Keitaro? He shouldn't have too much trouble finding Sarah."
Mr. MacDougal grunted in acknowledgement and neither of them said anything for several minutes.
"So… How about those American Child Abuse Laws?" said Seta. He really only said it to annoy Sarah's father, maybe even provoke him. The fact that he was an abusive father wasn't a secret. Mr. MacDougal was a heavy drinker and an even worse gambler. And unfortunately for Sarah, neither ever worked out well.
"What the hell are you talking about?" growled Mr. MacDougal. "Are you… Implying something?"
"Implying something? Of course not! With your intellect and wit, Mr. MacDougal, I have no need to imply anything! If anything, I should insinuate and speculate!"
Mr. MacDougal frowned, obviously confused, and Seta thanked the gods for the surprising quirks of the English language.
"Sarah," said Keitaro as he came upon the little girl, curled up in a heap at the foot of a large tree. "There you are! Finally! I've been looking for you. Everyone's worried."
"Go to hell, Keitaro," Sarah muttered. Keitaro recoiled slightly but laughed it off.
"C'mon, don't you want-"
"No! How many times do I have to say it!?" yelled Sarah. She turned to glare at him. She had obviously been crying and a large bruise had formed on her face. She was also completely soaked.
"But… Your father…"
"You saw what he's like! Who in their right mind would want to be with a bastard like that?!" she shouted angrily. "He can't understand that I want to stay here with Papa and my friends!"
Keitaro was a bit surprised to hear Sarah refer to her "friends". He assumed that she meant the tenants of the inn. "Well, can't you just… Tell your father that?"
"I tried! The idiot doesn't get it! I'm his property! That's why mom left… I can't leave though," she cried. She broke into hard sobs and yelled a few things incoherently.
Keitaro sighed and sat down in the mud next to Sarah. He really wasn't sure what to say. She leaned against him as her bawling intensified.
"Ahh… Sarah-chan, maybe I could help… Or Naru and Moto-"
Sarah stopped crying immediately and looked at him with wide eyes. "You'd beat him up like to did to Lao?!" she said excitedly.
"No! I didn't say that…. What I meant was-"
"Yeah! You can kick his ass! He's really old and fat and he doesn't work out and he drinks beer a lot so I don't think he can't run for very long and-"
"I didn't say I would fight him! I thought I could… Reason with him?"
"…by punching him?" asked Sarah hopefully.
"No! Just… talking," insisted Keitaro.
Sarah's shoulders slumped.
"Oh," she said, disappointed.
"Well…" said Keitaro, thinking. "Maybe I could… Scare him."
Sarah's eyes lit up again. "Can you change into a wolf or a bat or something? That'd be cool!"
"Uhh… No. I'm pretty sure I can do that," answered Keitaro. This really wasn't going as planned but, then again, he hadn't planned it out either.
"Or maybe you could hypnotize him and-"
"I can't do that either."
"Umm… Can you do anything cool?"
Keitaro shrugged. "I'm not really sure what you mean by-"
"Can you fly?" asked Sarah, cutting Keitaro off.
"Fly? Well… Kinda'."
Sarah stared at him for several seconds. "Kinda'?" she finally asked.
"Well, it's not like I sprout wings or anything…" said Keitaro hesitantly.
"But you can fly?"
"Well…"
"Show me!" exclaimed Sarah. She immediately forgot that she was lost in a forest in the middle of the night, that she had been hit by her father, and that she was soaked to the bone.
Keitaro stood up slowly. "Don't expect too much," he warned. "It's more of a practical thing than for show."
"Just do it already!" yelled Sarah impatiently.
"Alright, alright…" said Keitaro. He relaxed his muscles and cleared his mind. Clearing one's mind, Keitaro had realized, can do all sorts of things. Pain is interpreted by the mind. If you clear your mind, you feel nothing physical and thus, can endure gracious amounts of punishment. This is only one of the benefits of being able to clear your mind, which explains why Bhuddists have spent twenty-five hundred years learning how to do it.
As thoughts emptied from Keitaro's mind, he let his body adjust. A strong wind began blowing against his back and then, against him from all sides. Not the wind of the weather but chi flowing against him. The updraft of chi caught him suddenly and he floated off the ground like on a cloud. He allowed himself to float about three feet off the ground before he opened his eyes and looked at Sarah.
The girl staring at him didn't say anything for a moment. Then, breathlessly, she exclaimed "Teach me how to do that!"
"Ahh…" said Keitaro. He laughed a little and smiled. "I'm really not sure how I do it… It's nothing I could teach."
"Oh come on! You just want to secrets for yourself! The least you can do is take me flying."
"Take you… Flying?" asked Keitaro.
"Yeah! You know… Flying. Can't you prove forward?"
Keitaro shrugged. He let the chi that was blowing against his back move him forward slowly.
"Cool! I'll… I'll go back if you fly me back!" said Sarah.
Keitaro sighed. "Do I really have any choice?"
"Nope!"
Keitaro grumbled quietly. He floated down to the ground and knelt. Sarah understood and got on his back and put her arms around his neck.
"Hold on," whispered Keitaro. His mind again cleared and within a second, they were both floating.
"Wow…" whispered Sarah. Unbeknownst to her, unfortunately, she was choking Keitaro as she held onto his neck tighter.
"Sarah… Ack…" he groaned.
"Oh, c'mon! You're a vampire! You don't have to breathe!"
Keitaro groaned again. Suddenly, he lost control of the chi pushing against them. In a split second, the two soared up through the trees at an incredible speed. Sarah screamed loudly and clutched at Keitaro's neck even harder, prompting him to stop the ascent.
"Don't… Don't… Don't do that!" she yelled angrily at him. She let one arm go to hit Keitaro with but she lost her grip and nearly fell. Fortunately, Keitaro grabbed her at the last second and hoisted her back into position.
"Sorry," he mumbled sheepishly. Slowly, this time keeping more control, Keitaro let the chi flowing around him push against them, floating the two back towards the inn.
It was a bizarre and incredible experience, to say the least. The rain was continuing to come down, though it had let up and Keitaro was flying faster than before. Sarah choked him tighter and he tolerated this as he realized that he indeed didn't have to breathe and that over the past few weeks had wasted a good bit of energy doing so.
Soon, Keitaro was flying very quickly, easily outstripping the one or two birds that risked a rainy night. And then, it was over. Keitaro hovered about fifty feet above the inn, Sarah clutching onto him for dear life and panting. He descended slowly and a few moments later, both were safely on the ground again.
"I still don't wanna' go with him…" muttered Sarah as they walked through the inn.
"I still think we might be able to reason with him…" said Keitaro. They arrived in the living room and Mr. MacDougal stood up and grabbed Sarah by the arm.
"There you! You idiot, running off like that!" He jerked Sarah's arm roughly and pulled her with him as he strode towards the door. "We're going home to the US and getting the hell out of the good for nothing country!" Mr. MacDougal ripped open the door and slammed it as they both left.
Neither Seta nor Keitaro said anything. They could hear yelling, arguing, and crying from outside. Shinobu peeked out of the kitchen slowly.
"Is he gone?" she asked fearfully.
"Keitaro…" said Seta thoughtfully. "How would you feel about creating some good karma?"
Keitaro glanced at Seta who smiled. "Just a thought."
"Do… we really have much choice?"
Seta shrugged and Keitaro sighed. He adjusted his glasses and they both left the inn after Sarah and her father.
"When we get back to the states," said Mr. MacDougal, as he herded Sarah down the steps towards his rental car. "I'm going to give you such a beating…" Sarah whimpered dejectedly.
"Hey! We changed our mind!"
Sarah and her father turned around. Seta and Keitaro were descending the steps, Seta looking very confident that the outcome would be in their favor while Keitaro wished that he was back in bed.
"We'd rather Sarah stay here," explained Seta.
"Oh," said Mr. MacDougal. "That's nice. Sarah, get in the car."
"No," growled Sarah. She elbowed her father in the gut and took off running till she got to the two. She hid behind Keitaro and stuck out her tongue.
"Sarah… Get… Your… Ass… Back here. Now!" hissed Mr. MacDougal.
"No way! Come a step closer and I'll sic my vampire on you!"
Mr. MacDougal frowned. "Seta's a vampire?"
"No… Keitaro," said Seta, smiling and seemingly having a very good time.
"That… Little Japanese guy?" Mr. MacDougal snickered. "That kid… He's a vampire?"
"Yeah! He flew me back here!" exclaimed Sarah.
"Could you say it a bit louder, Sarah? I think some tribesmen in Africa didn't quite hear you…" muttered Keitaro.
"Yep," said Seta, laughing now. He slapped Keitaro's back knocking him off balance. "Keitaro here's a full fledged Kuei-jin. It's an interesting story, actually. You see-"
"I don't give a damn about his life story! I'm just taking my daughter home! She's mine!"
"Ah, but the United States Child Abuse laws are very strict, aren't they?"
Mr. MacDougal didn't say anything. He glared at Seta and could very well have been foaming at the mouth.
"Repeated abuse of the child… That's enough to warrant the child's custody be given to a legal guardian, correct?"
"Sarah, we're leaving."
"And since she seems to be having such a good time in Japan; she's learned the language and everything… Why shouldn't she be allowed to stay here?"
Mr. MacDougal stormed up the steps angrily. He glared at Seta, then at Keitaro, and then at Seta again. Suddenly, like lightning, his arm struck out and he grabbed Sarah, threw her over his shoulder and ran back down to the car.
"No! Stop it! Put me down!" yelled Sarah, pounding on her father's back.
Keitaro sighed. "You want me to do something, right?"
"Yes," said Seta, smiling a bit less than he had been before. "Preferably."
Keitaro's shoulders slumped. He went down the stairs of the inn, cursing his luck. By the time he got to the bottom, Sarah was already in the car and Mr. MacDougal was firing up the engine.
"Mr. MacDougal, can we please have Sarah back?" asked Keitaro. After hearing a few arguments in English, the language wasn't too hard.
"No!" yelled Mr. MacDougal. "Go away!" He revved the engine and the car started moving.
"But she wants to stay here!" yelled Keitaro.
"I said no! Learn the goddamned language!"
Keitaro was getting quite frustrated now. He grabbed onto the rear-view mirror and held the car in place from moving.
"But-"
Mr. MacDougal put as must pressure as he could on the gas and the car sprinted forward, and the rear-view mirror Keitaro held was ripped off.
"Mr. MacDougal!"
Keitaro scowled angrily. Enough was enough. Before the car could move any further, he punched through one of the back doors of the car. He groaned and ripped the door from the car, tossing it behind him.
"Come on, Sarah," he said. She scrambled out of the car and ran up to Seta. She stood behind her surrogate father and gave her biological one the universal American sign for "You are a wretched man and I hope that I shall never see you again".
Mr. MacDougal was in shock. With trembling hands, he fumbled around inside the car for a few second before he produced an illegal handgun. He looked over his shoulder and pointed it at Keitaro.
"What… What the hell are you?!" he asked, the fear showing in his voice.
"Ahh… Vampire?" said Keitaro a bit sheepishly. The anger left him and he was actually beginning to find the situation a bit funny.
"Vampire…" repeated Mr. MacDougal. He did nothing for the briefest moment before he aimed at Keitaro's head and fired twice.
The bullets slammed into Keitaro's forehead. They impacted and caused a small shower of blood to run down his face but nothing more. Keitaro laughed a bit nervously.
Mr. MacDougal looked at Keitaro then at his gun and then at Keitaro again. Finally, he screamed like a little girl, hurled the pistol at Keitaro, and stepped on the gas. The car sped away and knocked Keitaro over.
"Ow…" muttered Keitaro as Sarah and Seta ran down to take a look at him.
Less than an hour later, Keitaro was laying on his futon in his room peacefully. He had an ice pack for his head and he lazily flipped through the channels on TV.
Soon after he had entered, he learned that the tenants had been watching from Naru's window. Kitsune laughed and congratulated him, as did Motoko (though in a much more subdued way), Kaolla bounced around the room as per usual, quite happy that Sarah would be staying, and Shinobu fussed over the wounds in his head and insisted that he sit lay down.
Naru didn't say anything, though. She stood back behind the girls and smiled at him, her arms wrapped around herself a bit. On her cheek was still the bandage from the cut Keitaro had accidentally given her a few nights before. The wound hadn't be deep or serious in the least but it healed very slowly and stubbornly. The spectacle would've continued for awhile, with Kitsune insisting that they have a party to celebrate, but Sarah declared that since Keitaro was "her" vampire, she could tell him what to do. She ordered him to go to bed because of his strenuous night. Keitaro was all too happy to comply.
As Keitaro found his favorite game show on TV ('Drunken Businessman'), the board that covered the hole in his ceiling moved. Naru lowered herself down slowly but then lost her grip and fell the last two feet.
"Are you alright?" asked Keitaro. She was fine of course. Rubbing her rear, she stood and lay down next to him.
"Why didn't you tell me you could fly?" she asked. She smiled at him sweetly.
"Uhh… You never asked?" Keitaro said nervously.
"So, you'll take me flying tomorrow?"
"What?! I didn't say that! I-"
"Sarah told us all about it. Everyone wants to try it now." Naru smiled a bit mischievously at Keitaro. "I assumed I'd go first."
Keitaro sighed. "I don't really have a choice in the matter, do I? Sure. Fine."
"Good," said Naru. "I'll forgive you for this." She pointed to the bandage on her cheek.
Keitaro scowled. "It's not like the cut was that bad or anything…"
"It still hurts. A lot," said Naru quietly. "It feels like there's acid in there or something…"
Keitaro was quiet. He closed his eyes and cleared his mind for a few seconds. "I'm sorry…" he whispered.
"It's not your fault!" laughed Naru. "But I'm going to milk it for all it's worth from you."
Keitaro smiled. "I'm honored." Naru laughed and laid her head on his shoulder. And the businessman on TV stumbled around drunkenly as he attempted to find his car keys.
End Part III
Author's Notes:
First off, this chapter was more filler than anything. I had the idea for this story, liked it, and worked it in. I think it turned out rather nice ^_^
Now, I'd like to apologize for the grammar and spelling errors in this part and the previous two parts. I feel that reading one's own work, even to proofread it, is a kind of incest so I do it as little as possible. Thusly, I'd like a beta reader! If you want to apply for the position, just e-mail me. The requirements are that you A.) Speak English B.) Are able to read. If you meet these two requirements, go ahead and apply! The job has virtually no perks beyond being able to read the chapter a few days before everyone else and most of the time, I'll probably verbally abuse you! But that shouldn't stop you from applying. ^_^
I'd also like to recommend Hawk's Tears of Blood for anyone who hasn't already read it. The World of Darkness seems to be getting a good following in the Love Hina fandom…
On that note, I'd like to address the issue of Kanako. Originally, I did not intend for her to appear as the story takes place shortly after the Spring special. However, I'm considering putting her in as a Cainite. You can give Rath the credit for that one.
On yet another note, I realized a bit too late that Mutsumi is no where to be found in the story. Thus, my official explanation: In another one of her hilarious misadventures, Mutsumi spent a bit too much time in some hot springs, accidentally booked a trip to India, and fell down a well in a small Indian rural village. She's down there right now, giggling and laughing and saying "Oh, dear" as the villagers lower down food to her.
That's about it. Now, I'm feeling very proud of myself that, not only did I finish this chapter, but I found a Jedi Outcast server that I like. Yatta!