The Hinata Defense Force
by Cyberwraith9
Part II
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A familiar white van barreled down the streets of Hinata, driving on the wrong side of the road and spreading terror and confusion in its wake. It was nothing new to the driver, of course, but something seemed off. It was almost as if the terror (at least some of it) was appearing in front of him, and not just behind him.
Seta frowned, leaning over the steering wheel as he expertly dodged a red convertible, though the maneuver sent the other driver into a fire hydrant. As the sports car erupted into flames behind him, his sharp eyes caught sight of a metallic gleam on the road several hundred meters ahead of his van. "That's odd," he muttered, trying to discern the rapidly approaching object. It's shape was quickly becoming clearer as he sped forward. "It almost looks like a giant-"
He reached the object all too quickly, and for an instant, he feared that his craptacular driving abilities would crush it before he could identify the future road kill. His worries were unfounded as the object reached forward, slamming into his van instead of the other way around. The van slammed to a halt in an instant, driving the object back only a few feet. Seta, who wasn't a big believer in safety features such as seatbelts (and instead invested his money into making his vehicle submersible) flew through the windshield and skidded out onto the pavement.
Tumbling to a halt, Seta lay still for a moment. His body ached and his ears rang from the violent trip, but true to form, he sported no serious injuries. With a fountain of blood pouring from his forehead and down his cheek, he stood on wobbly legs, trying to shake off the vertigo from his wreck. "There go my premiums…" he lamented, looking back at the van. Then he stopped.
The front half of the van, including its modified engine, was completely gone. In its place stood the object he had struck, which was in the middle of devouring the rest of the van in large, rending bites. Its huge metal jaws snapped open and shut, tearing off chunks of twisted metal and steaming engine parts. Its chest, which sported a large, carbonized scorch mark, was slowly rebuilding itself, rippling like the surface of a pond. A thick, enormous shell graced its back, growing slightly larger with each bite.
"A…giant turtle?" Seta mused, slapping a bandage onto his forehead to stem the tide of blood. "My Pararakelse research never uncovered anything like that!"
The robotic creature finished devouring the van, spitting out the hubcaps. "Excellent," the beast rumbled, watching as the last remaining damage on its chest vanished with a tiny ripple. "My body is now stronger than ever before! Now, to seek revenge on this unappreciative city and fulfill my destiny!"
Seta watched the enormous robot turtle stomp off, knocking aside cars and mailboxes, anything that happened to be in its way. He scratched his head, wondering how a giant robot turtle had found its way to the center of a hot spring town, and why it happened to be evil. He couldn't help but suspect that the Hinata Housers were somehow involved…after all, whenever something strange happened around here, especially strange events revolving around turtles, one could almost always implicate the enigmatic female dormitory.
* * *
The very people in Seta's thoughts were high atop their lonely hill, standing in the garage-turned-lab of the former Inn. Hanging above them was one of the culprits, the unwitting creator of a mechanical turtle civilization. If she could have, she would have shrugged and smiled. However, she currently did not possess a body; only the ghostly, disembodied vision of her smiling head floated above the rest of her housemates, waiting for them to don the weaponry that she had so lovingly designed for them.
Keitaro eyed the mannequins inside the newly-revealed glass cases, marveling at the detail Su had put into them. Each one was a different size and a different color, and each had a small, circular crest in the middle of the chest with a tiny, colored heart set on a contrasting field. From the looks of it, Su had designed each suit with a different housemate in mind, for there was one that matched each of their body types.
He stood in front of the one that was obviously made for him; it was the only suit that did not have a distinctly "female" chestplate. It was a gleaming, pristine white, complete with a helmet covering the mannequin's head. The helmet itself, as well as the several of the key armor plates, was etched with a turtle-shell pattern, following Su's usual trend of designing her inventions with a turtle theme.
Quickly inspecting the polished plates, he felt his curiosity override the sense of urgency welling up inside them all. "Su," he looked quizzically at the blue, transparent head of their resident mad scientist, "Just what *is* this 'Hinata Defense Force'?"
Su watched as Sarah, her clever little assistant, manipulated several more controls on a panel in the wall. The glass cases slid open, allowing each of the residents to reach out and touch their armor, which they did so hesitantly. "In anticipation of my final, climactic battle with Tama-chan," she eyed the mewling turtle with a grin, "I figured I might need some help. So, I designed high-tech battle armor for each of you, intending to call upon it when the time was right."
"Final battle with Tama?" Naru murmured, caressing her own neon-pink armor. Like the others, her armor had a heart-shaped crest in the center. Looking down, she saw a small, futuristic sidearm in a holster, strapped to her dummy's waist. "Su, what made you think you would need all of this equipment to destroy Tama-chan? And why would you think we would ever help you fight her?"
"Well, the helmets *do* have modified Mr. Virtual technology to override your free will," Su added.
"WHAT?"
Shinobu looked on at the armor made for her, a suit of canary-yellow with gleaming white trim. "It's kind of pretty…" she remarked as Tama-chan landed gently on her head. They considered Su's secret weapon for a moment. "But what are we supposed to do with them?"
"Yeah," Kitsune said, turning back at Su. She had already tried on her own violet helmet, which fit snugly and comfortably, covering her face in a clear Plexiglas visor. "This stuff is great and all, but that psycho-turtle Tamagar is way stronger than us."
"Not with this." Sarah grunted, pulling a chair up to sit at a console off to the side. "This stuff has negative-feedback controlled pseudo-muscular enhancement. You could lift busses inside of these things."
"Impressive," Kanako grunted from next to her own black armor.
Motoko regarded the aqua-hued suit Su had constructed for her. A cold, sinking sensation mustered in her stomach as her thoughts returned to the menace that had attacked them in their own home. Why did it have to be a turtle? She felt a small wave of shame flush into her cheeks; she had been unable to protect her family here at the House because of her own cowardice. She was guilty of the same shame that she had accused Urashima of for so long. "What do we do now?"
"This is crazy!" Keitaro cried, waving his arms. He ran up to Su's floating head, his eyes wild with fear and confusion. "Su, you can't just turn us into your own personal army! Besides, we have no idea how to fight this thing!"
Su regarded them all silently, uncharacteristically pensive for a moment. "Sarah," she said calmly, "Activate the Viewing Sphere."
"Viewing sp-UGH!" Keitaro's skull warped as a large, heavy disco ball dropped onto his head and knocked him to the ground. The ball hung on a tiny wire, bobbing up and down. With a flicker, the glitzy surface of the mirrored ball dissipated, replaced with a fuzzy, distorted view of downtown Hinata.
"This is the scene of Hinata," the disembodied voice of a female reporter spoke as the image panned over a horrible visage of destruction that had once been their beautiful tourist town. "A grim picture of devastation and carnage, as some kind of mysterious aggressor has begun a rampage the likes of which this reporter has never seen. We-wait…over there!"
The camera's image burred momentarily, then snapped back into focus as the cameraman zoomed in on a familiar sight, one with a large, metallic shell and a pair of cruel, triangular red eyes. "There!" the reporter cried again. "The creature has spotted us, and appears to be…Look out!"
Keitaro and the others watched in horror as Tamagar's enormous maw split open wide. A flash of light signaled an energy buildup, which soon became a terrible blast of power that leapt out. The camera's image tumbled for a moment and then snapped out, replaced by ominous, hissing static.
"Oh my God…" Naru's hands covered her mouth in horror. "He's going to destroy the entire town…"
"Su," Keitaro turned to the floating head once more, his resolve set and fists clenched. "How do we put the armor on?"
It was Sarah who spoke up. She reached into a drawer and withdrew six little boxes, each of them colored to correspond to the different sets of armor. "It'd take too long to disassemble them, so Su came up with a way of teleporting the armor directly onto your bodies." She handed out the appropriate boxes to her housemates, saving Keitaro's for last. "These 'transmogrifiers' will put the armor on before you can open your stupid mouth." she told him.
He regarded the box carefully. A pair of metallic tentacles suddenly leapt out, snaring around his wrist. His cry came just as the box latched onto his arm, pulling tight and resting coolly against his skin. "Wah! What the…"
"I call 'em 'Moggers'!" Su chirped cheerfully. "Well, off you go."
"Um, Su," Shinobu spoke up once more, "If you can teleport the armor, couldn't you just poof us there too?"
"Wellllllll," Su drawled, "We tested it on organic matter, and it was…"
"Not pretty." Sarah finished, nodding grimly. "In fact, none of this equipment has been really tested out. For all we know," she shrugged, "You could just explode when you try to teleport your armor."
Keitaro sweatdropped, wincing at the object now stuck on his wrist. It refused to pull off, and he suspected it never would until the right command from Su was issued. "Let's not use these unless we have to, then." he mused. "We'll just have to find a way to fight the monster without them." He imagined himself being engulfed in an enormous mushroom cloud after pressing that big, shiny red button on his Mogger's control surface. The idea of being in the middle of a raging fireball wasn't high on his list of fun activities.
Kanako grimaced, allowing her own Mogger to wrap around her wrist. "Then let's not waste any more time. We need to move out, now."
Keitaro glanced at his little sister, then back at the blank static of the Viewing Sphere as he recalled how easily Tamagar had beaten the tar out of him. His gaze traveled across the room, moving to each of the girls that had found such a deep place in his heart. The thought of any one of them falling at the hands of that mechanical menace was like a knife to the heart.
"No."
"Huh?"
Keitaro grew grim at the harmonized, questioning utterance of his girls. "The rest of you are going to stay right here. I'll go and see what I can do about the problem in town." He almost laughed at the understatement; That "problem" had already beaten him, and was in the process of destroying his home town.
Naru stared at him in disbelief. "Are you a complete idiot?" she demanded, her own Mogger now in place. "You can't beat him on your own?"
"S-sempai!" Shinobu wailed, "You can't-"
"Brother!"
"That's enough!"
Keitaro's sudden outburst silenced the rest of their protests. He regarded each of them grimly, feeling his heart flutter even more with each new face he saw. The entire situation was all his fault; if he had confessed to the right girl in the Annex, none of this would have ever happened. It was his mistake, it was his responsibility, and he would die before he let any of the girls come to harm because of him.
"Listen, all of you," he insisted, stamping his foot down. "Did you see that thing that attacked us? Did you see how easily it kicked the living crap out of me? I sure as hell remember that."
"So now you want to do this alone?" Naru demanded, just as angry.
He shook his head. "No. Not alone." He looked to Motoko.
For a moment, the swordswoman didn't understand. Then she yelped, reeling backwards. "Me?!? she cried out.
"Exorcism is sort of your specialty, isn't it?"
Motoko seemed taken aback. She stumbled, nearly tripping over her own robes. "You…and me…against that t-t-t-turtle?"
His fists clenched at the thought of the arrogant spirit destroying his town, attacking his home, and threatening the women he loved. It filled him with an uncharacteristic anger. "It's up to us, Motoko." His face was a mask of seriousness. "We're going to save Hinata."
The girls were silent for a moment, but silence never lasted very long in their house. Kitsune beat the rest to the punch, grinning her clever, foxy smile. "Gosh, Keitaro," she blushed slyly, "You sure have gotten manly."
"ACK!" Keitaro fell forward in a face-fault, flushing red with embarrassment.
"That's better!"
* * *
Hinata had precious few marks of civilization to blot the sleepy, silent image it tried to project for the tourists its elders sought to draw in. However, with the needs of its permanent residents, it did have a single, rather robust department store that had flourished in the downtown district.
The store had just about everything a hot-springs fanatic could think to need, including a large selection of appliances and electronics. It was that technology that attracted Tamagar; the turtle monster sought to add to his already-considerable power.
He opened his jaw wide, blowing a hole in the side of the building. The shoppers inside screamed and scattered, thrown back by the violent explosion. The monster ignored their cries, stepping over the debris and through the hole. His entrance had taken him straight into ladies wear.
Suddenly, something caught hold of the mecha-turtle's sharp sensors. Curious, he turned towards the changing rooms, stretching out with all of his hidden, mysterious senses. A slow, sinister smile spread across his maw.
"So," he muttered, approaching the dressing rooms with crackling fists of energy, "The last of my minions…"
* * *
One brief interlude for him to grab his bokken later, Keitaro stood in front of the Hinata House. He looked up at his apartment, wondering if it would be the last time he saw the place. A heavy feeling descended on his heart. It wasn't sadness, but regret…there was still so much left unsaid.
"Urashima."
Motoko's icy voice caused him to turn. He smiled at the swordswoman as she approached him, rounding the corner of the building to join him at the entrance. "Hello, Motoko," he greeted her. "Are you ready to go?"
"Urashima," she cleared her throat, looking everywhere but in his eyes, "I…I am sorry, but I…cannot..."
"What is it?"
Her face reddened with shame. "I cannot join you in this fight…It is…t-the t-turtle."
Keitaro's face had shown confusion before, but now snapped back with clarity. "I understand." he nodded, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's all right. All of this is my responsibility anyhow."
"I am…sorry, Urashima."
He shook his head. "Don't be. I should be the one apologizing for getting you and the others mixed up in all of this."
"Then you will still go?" she asked him, finally raising her eyes. He nodded once with a grim smile in place, but she could see the apprehension in his eyes. "You are brave to face the danger alone, Urashima."
"Shucks," he rubbed the back of his neck, keeping the bokken wrapped tightly in his other hand. "I'm not brave at all…I just…" He looked down at the town below. Several spots had already begun to smoke and burn, and he could see the devastation from here. "I can't let anything happen to any of you. I don't know what I'd do if…" He trailed off, letting the idea finish itself.
Motoko regarded him silently for a moment. She couldn't help but think how wrong she had been about him. "You plan on fighting Tamagar with a bokken?"
He nodded, holding up the wooden practice sword. "Su hasn't tested any of this 'Defense Force' nonsense…I figure this might make a good Plan A so I don't explode before the fight even starts.
She reached out, taking the sword from him as if to examine it. After giving it the once over, she summoned a brief charge of ki into her hands. The sword burst into a hundred pieces, splintering into a hail of tiny shrapnel.
Keitaro caught the remains in his hands, crying silently. "My bokken…" he whimpered. "Why did you…"
She cleared her throat once more. "I want you to know that I still think of you as less than a man, and a pervert at that. So, try and not read anything into it when I give you…this." Reaching into the folds of her robes, she pulled out a familiar sheath made of bleached wood.
Keitaro's hands trembled as he took the blade. He recognized the sword instantly, and so looked to Motoko in disbelief. "Motoko, this is your Shisui…your old sword. I thought your sister-"
"I asked Su to re-forge it for me." Motoko explained. "I always thought an extra blade would be prudent, but given the circumstances…"
"This…this is too much." Keitaro was shocked as he held the balanced blade in his hand. He unsheathed part of the blade, looking at his reflection in the gleaming metal. "I can't accept this. It's the sword your sister gave you…"
Motoko's voice was low and quiet. "When I was without a weapon, you came to me in my darkest hour with the answer." Her hand found its way to Hina, the ominous blade slung at her waist. "I could not live with myself if I failed to do the same."
"T-Thank you." he bowed respectfully, tying the sword's strap around his chest so that the hilt of the sword rested just behind his shoulder. "I'll wield this blade in your honor…all of your honor."
Motoko blushed, cursing his sentimentality. "U-Urashima…Good luck." She bowed one last time, then exited quickly. Keitaro watched her vanish into the Inn, then turned back to the stairs.
With one last breath to gather his courage, he began to descend the steps, intent on facing the threat far below. His gait quickly became a full-out run; he knew that if he slowed, he would reconsider and
"Naru…Kanako…everyone…Wish me luck." he murmured.
* * *
A quarter of an hour later, Keitaro found the source of the massacre; Hinata's one and only department store. Winded, he stopped just inside of the doors for a moment, leaning over to catch his breath and take stock of the situation.
The police were nowhere to be found at the scene of terror. Keitaro couldn't blame them. Nine of the ten situations they dealt with ended up being parking tickets, or minor citations. They were totally unprepared for a monster attack. 'But,' he swallowed, 'What chance do I have, then?' He pushed the rogue thought from his mind. Steeling his nerves, he drew his new blade and stepped into the ruined department store.
The inside was equally deserted as the exterior. Everywhere he looked there were tipped displays, ruined mannequins, and strewn clothes littering the scene. He felt Seta's training take hold of his mind, honing his senses and slowing his frantic breathing to a steady, controlled beat. His steps were slow and even, each footfall carefully calculated as he moved across the sales floor.
"Hello?" he called out, sweeping his eyes across the floor. "Anyone in here?" It was probably foolish to give his position away, but his first priority to make sure everyone was all right.
"Over here, child."
Keitaro recognized Tamagar's evil, grating voice echoing from somewhere over in the ladies' department. Swallowing hard, he forced himself to move in that direction, ignoring the overwhelming impulse to run away. "Where are you, Tamagar?" He kept his voice steady somehow, keeping the point of his blade low as he shuffled past several toppled displays of the latest fashions in Tokyo.
"Over here, in lingerie."
"You fiend." Keitaro swore under his breath. He sprinted the last few steps, finally reaching a field of bras and panties. The undergarments were in every direction he looked, making him extremely uncomfortable. Part of him kept expecting Naru to show up and beat him just for being there, but he felt secure knowing that she was far away. "Show yourself."
Tamagar suddenly appeared out of the blue, stepping out of the changing rooms. He had both arms outstretched to either side, with one of them concealed behind the wall he had come from. "So," he sneered as best his metallic face would allow, cruel eyes narrowing, "The Ronin comes looking for me alone. How cute."
"Give it up." Keitaro hoped to talk the monster down. Maybe they could reach some kind of peaceful agreement. "How long do you think it'll take before the Army will come after you?"
The creature chuckled. "Do you think the Army will attack me through my hostage?"
Keitaro felt his insides freeze as Tamagar stepped to his left, revealing a pale, limp form wrapped delicately in his massive hand. It took him only a second to recognize the long chestnut braid and deep, soulful brown eyes set above a tiny, enigmatic smile.
"Kei-kun!" Mutsumi waved at him from Tamagar's icy grip. She was clad only in a pair of pink panties and matching bra. Under normal circumstances, such a sight would have given Keitaro a nosebleed, but he was far too worried to be turned on. "Look! It's a hot spring turtle! And he's so big…"
"Let her GO, Tamagar!" Keitaro yelled, raising his blade. "Or so help me, I'll!"
"You'll what?" Tamagar laughed. He began squeezing Mutsumi, receiving a sharp cry of distress for his efforts. The anemic's shrill scream forced Keitaro's sword down. "By all means," he insisted, ceasing his attack for the moment, "Continue, if you wish your little friend harmed."
Keitaro gritted his teeth, giving the mechanical turtle his best glare. "I'll stop you. I promise. And I always keep my promises…" he added.
Tamagar raised his free arm. The length of complex components began shifted and morphing, turning the appendage into a massive energy cannon. The wide barrel loomed at Keitaro, so close the student could see the inner workings' of the machine pulsing and moving from where he stood. Keitaro saw a sharp, bright build-up of energy in the cannon, and braced himself for a major blast of pain.
"Promise this." Tamagar snarled, and fired the cannon.
* * *
"Will you stop pacing?"
Naru looked up, raising her eyes from her feet to glare at an irritated Kanako. She couldn't understand how the raven-haired youth could lean against the wall like that, waiting for some kind of sign from the Viewing Sphere. Sarah and Su were scanning the local news networks, but for the moment there were no more broadcasts from the scene of the battle. Each of them had been dealing with the stress.
Kitsune looked up from her cigarette, blowing a stream of smoke in a worried huff. It was a habit that only surfaced in situations where even her flippant brand of humor couldn't cover her concern. "Lay off of her, Kanako. She's worried. We all-"
A stream of icy white blasted her in the face, silencing her admonishments. Sarah stood below her with an empty fire extinguisher, scowling up at Kitsune. "There's too much delicate equipment in here for smoking," she said.
The trickster wiped the thin layer of frost from her eyes, pouting as she held up her soggy cigarette. "Figures." she sighed, flicking the useless coffin nail away.
Naru sniffed, folding her arms. "I'm not worried about that idiot. If he thinks he can take care of it all by himself, then let him. I'm just worried about…the department store!" she added pathetically. She didn't fool anyone, least of all herself.
Shinobu was in the corner, anxiously watching the Sphere as she chewed her knuckles to the bone. "Oh dear, oh dear…Sempai…" she repeated every few moments before retreating into a worried silence.
Motoko opened an eye, watching the altercation develop between Naru and Kanako. "You two would be best to leave the squabbling for when we aren't under attack by a fearsome monster." she said dryly. She was on the floor, sitting in a lotus position with her sword sheathed safely across her lap. Since Keitaro's departure, she had attempted to calm herself through meditation. It hadn't been working.
A response was on the tip of Naru's tongue when Su's enormous head finally cried out in triumph. "Tokyo's Channel Three is finally on the scene!" she sang, turning back to the Viewing Sphere. With another burst of static and a hiss, the familiar image of the ruinations of downtown Hinata snapped back into warped existence inside of the disco ball.
"This is Tokyo Three News, coming to you live from the scene developing here in Hinata…" the reporter began immediately, but none of the girls were listening to him. Each of them watched intently as the smoldering remains of the Hinata Department Store came into focus.
For a moment, there was no sign of activity, save for the columns of smoke that drifted lazily into the morning air. Then, as the reporter continued to babble, a sharp explosion of light and debris blew out of the side of the building. Each of the girls caught sight of a familiar silhouette in the middle of the blue-white flash, traveling across the skyline and landing with a sharp crack against the pavement.
"This is unbelievable!" the reporter cried out as his cameraman zoomed in on the crater in the sidewalk. "Something…or someone, has actually exited the building in what appears to be an aura of incredible power! Could this be an actual Z Warrior, come to defeat the monster?"
"That's Sempai!" Shinobu screamed as the camera zoomed in, revealing the face of the unwilling projectile.
The camera field jiggled as the cameraman ran forward to get a close-up. The entire city watched with bated breath as Keitaro pulled himself out of the hole, shrugging off the pieces of ruined cement. "Excuse me, Goku," the reporter tried to stick his microphone down the landlord's throat. "Will you be utilizing your Kamehameha Wave, or have you developed-"
"What are you blabbering about?" Keitaro cried out, finally getting his wits back about him. He began waving his sword at the camera as if trying to herd them away. "Why are you here? Get out of here, quick! He's coming, and-oh, god!"
Keitaro's pointing blade indicated something off-camera, something high above them. Without any sort of warning, a dark grey blur landed behind Keitaro with such force of impact that it knocked the cameraman off of his feet, once again sending the machine's field of vision skewing about.
"Keitaro!" Naru screeched, trying to warn him as if he could hear her. Already the expert camera-slinger had regained equilibrium, and was filming the fight. Tamagar had something large and pink clutched in his massive right hand, but the monster was moving too fast for anyone to clearly make out. Whatever it was, it was keeping Keitaro from attacking in earnest.
Motoko gasped, watching Keitaro launch minor swipes at the overpowering monster. "I don't understand…why does he not fight? Even he is not this pathetic…"
Tamagar stayed rooted to the ground long enough for the camera to focus in. Motoko's question was answered immediately as Mutsumi waved at the camera. "Hello, everyone!" she giggled, squealing as the monster swung her about and used her as a shield against Keitaro's latest onslaught. The former ronin was forced to abandon the ki-powered slash, stopping his blade just inches from the anemic's ivory skin.
The girls all watched in horror as Tamagar hauled off with his other arm, punching Keitaro into a fire hydrant. The rest of the battle was lost in a spray of water. The Sphere dissolved into static once again, then reverted to its disco ball form once more. Sarah mournfully commanded the ball to withdraw into the ceiling as the Hinata House residents exchanged worried looks.
"Sempai's losing." Shinobu sniffled, tears welling up at the edge of her vision.
"No," Kitsune shook her head, her arms crossed and nose tilted down. "That would imply that he started out with a chance. Keitaro's getting slaughtered…"
"What can we do?" Motoko mused uncomfortably. The mere thought of that turtle monster sent her into chills. If Keitaro fell, it could possibly come down to her. "Urashima hasn't long."
Su nodded, a serious affair for a head the size of a small car. "He won't use the Mogger. Heh…guess we shouldn't have told him about that whole 'blowing up' thing, huh? What do you think, Naru…? Naru?" She looked down, rolling her holographic gaze to and fro, but the student was nowhere to be found. "Naru!"
Naru was already halfway out the door. She stopped at the mention of her name, tensing up. "Su. Sarah." she said without turning, "Are you certain these inventions of yours can beat Tamagar?"
"One hundred and twenty percent!" Su chirped.
Sarah couldn't help but add, "That's assuming they don't kill you right off the bat, of course."
"Fine." She continued on towards the door, determination evident with each step she took. "I'll risk it."
"Naru…Naru!" Kitsune called after her friend uselessly. The fiery student was already out of the garage, past the swinging door and out of earshot. "Lord," she swore, "That girl is just too damn headstrong." A small chuckle escaped her lips a moment later. "I can't say I blame her, though…" she added.
"What do you mean?" Shinobu asked, confused.
Feeling a small jab of envy, Kitsune turned to her younger housemate. A small shadow of sadness hid inside of her smile as she ruffled the young girl's hair affectionately. "People do crazy things when they're in love, kiddo."
Kanako watched the proceedings, seemingly impassive. Her face was as stone as she gauged the rest of the girls' reactions to Naru's leaving. Each of them was like an open book to her, but her own emotions were, as always, a mystery to her. She searched through her heart, expecting to find jealousy and hatred towards Naru, but instead…
…instead, she found only sympathy.
* * *
Naru stalked out of the garage, circling the house in record time and reaching the stairs. She paused for an instant, spying the fires burning downtown. She wasn't sure how, but somehow, she would save Keitaro…her Keitaro.
The wind swept through her hair, creating quite the stirring picture as she stood atop the high hill over Hinata.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand landing on her shoulder. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that Kanako had somehow sneaked up behind her. The younger Urashima wasn't looking back at her; instead, she had the same distant look in her eyes as was in Naru's. Kuro sat atop her shoulder, his luminous eyes blinking slowly.
"You love him as much as I do, don't you." The statement was uttered low, in a guttural voice, almost accusatory.
Naru thought of a thousand sharp retorts, but held them back. After a moment, she nodded. "Yes. I really do."
Kanako seemed to take this in. "I won't lose to you." she finally said.
"If we don't work together," Naru countered, "Neither one of us will have him."
"Agreed." She seemed to falter for a second, then stuck her hand out in an offering of peace. Naru smiled and took her hand, squeezing it in her own. "Together?"
"Together."
"It's times like this I wish I hadn't pawned Keitaro's camera for booze money." Kitsune's abrupt voice from behind caught both girls off guard. They turned around and saw the rest of Su's supposed 'Defense Force'. Motoko, Shinobu and Kitsune each wore a confident smile, Moggers strapped firmly to their wrists and fear concealed behind their collective worry.
"Does this 'togetherness' include us as well?" Motoko asked with a trace of amusement. Her eyebrow was raised in question at the duo.
Shinobu gathered up an uncharacteristic burst of courage. "We all love Sempai, too!" The bravery was short-lived, though, as her cheeks burned red with embarrassment. "Um…I mean…" A pair of hands enclosed her tiny shoulders, and she looked up into Kitsune's twinkling eyes.
"That's right." Kitsune reassured her. She looked back to Naru and Kanako, giving them a wink. "He means something to us all. And this town is our home, too."
"That makes it our fight as well." Motoko insisted.
Naru felt herself choking up. "Well then," she kept her tears of pride in check, "What are we waiting for? It's at least fifteen minutes to downtown, and that's if we run!"
A familiar gleam entered the trickster's eyes as she rubbed her chin. The wheels within her head were already turning, churning out another of her brilliant, diabolical schemes. "Actually," she said with a grin, "I had something else in mind…"
* * *
Keitaro panted, clutching his chest. He could feel his heart pounding against his ribcage as he leaned over, bracing himself against his knee with his other hand, still clutching the sword Motoko had given him. Several meters away, Tamagar leered at him confidently, still keeping the semi-oblivious Mutsumi in his enormous fingers.
All around them, the pavement was torn apart and laying in pieces. A fire hydrant, the one his spine had opened (painfully, too!), was still spraying wildly into the air. It felt as though half a gallon was still soaked into his shredded sweater and torn jeans, tugging down with exaggerated force and making his limbs feel like lead. The department store had suffered several more strikes, and had definitely seen better days.
"Well, Ronin," Tamagar laughed, "Are you ready to admit defeat? It isn't like you can beat me!"
Mutsumi nodded in agreement. "He's right, Kei-kun. You do seem to be losing quite a bit."
"YOU AREN'T HELPING!" Keitaro cried exasperatedly. He felt another surge of strength return as a wave of anger pounded in his ears. "Fine. Why don't we try this without your shield?"
Tamagar's stiff, iron-clad features betrayed a hint of surprise as Keitaro rushed him; It was the first real assault the young man had pulled in the fight. Shifting his stance, the monster brought Mutsumi around to take the brunt of the attack, just as he had done during the rest of the battle.
Gritting his teeth, Keitaro side-stepped at the last second. He came so close to Mutsumi that her perfume assaulted his senses as he whirled past, stopping just behind the beautiful shield. Twisting in mid-air, Keitaro called up every last bit of ki he could muster, sending it along his sword.
"Boulder Cutting Strike!" he screamed, releasing the blast. The ki rushed out, focusing itself into an edge of air and spirit that pounded against Tamagar's arm. Alloys and wiring gave way to pure force, separating Tamagar from his valuable shield, and taking his arm with it.
Tamagar had just enough time to cry out in pain as the electrical feedback plunged his tactile senses into screaming agony before he was struck again. Keitaro had barely touched the ground when his foot lashed out, catching Tamagar with a fierce side-thrust to the chest. Normally, the only result would have been about six or seven broken bones in favor of the turtle, but Seta's training had been better than that. An added burst of ki gave the kick power enough to blast Tamagar back into the side of a bus.
The former Ronin watched his terrifying foe disappear into a pucker of aluminum siding as he caught the dismembered mechanical arm. "Yes!" he set the appendage down and pried Mutsumi out of it, helping her to her feet. "Are you all right?"
"Yes," she smiled at him, wobbling slightly. She put a delicate hand on his shoulder for support, blushing as she leaned against his chest. "Though, usually, when I'm dreaming about being in public in my underwear, it isn't ever so complicated…"
Keitaro suddenly remembered her state of undress. He could feel her body touching his through the gashes in his clothing. A heavy blush covered his face, and he could feel a nosebleed in the works already. "M-m-maybe we should get you some-"
"NO MORE!"
The inhuman roar came just as the enormous bus exploded into mechanical ruins. Metallic, razor-sharp shards spread in all directions, peppering the empty street and ripping apart anything that hadn't already been destroyed in the ongoing fight. Keitaro was barely able to fend off the shards heading their way as he saw Tamagar reemerge from the wreck.
"Clever trick," the one-armed mechanical demon snarled, rending the rest of the bus's clinging ruins from his body. "But now that I don't have anything to encumber me, let's see how well your tricks work this time."
As he spoke, Tamagar's twisted, damaged form began to ripple and undulate. Tubes, wiring, and a thousand other growths Keitaro couldn't recognize shot out of his stump of an arm, winding together and knitting themselves into a fully-formed appendage in moments. Once more, the turtle monster's maw was split wide in an unnatural grin.
Keitaro swallowed hard, feeling the fear clutching at his chest. He pulled the tattered remains of his sweater from his body, shoving it into Mutsumi's hands. "Mutsumi, take this. Go and hide, now."
"Kei-kun…"
"Go!" He shoved her away and turned his back to his former study partner, squaring off against Tamagar. He heard Mutsumi stumble away, and kept listening until her bare footfalls were masked by the whistling of the wind and the crackling of fires that still burned. News teams and dozens of onlookers milled about the edges of the fight, but stayed a respectable distance away from the powerhouse turtle and the lone Ronin.
"So, Keitaro," Tamagar used his name for the first time. It was an acknowledgement of just how much damage and aggravation he had caused. It also meant that playtime was officially over. "Round two?"
His arms shifted into cannons once more, and the battle was rejoined.
* * *
Several kilometers away, within the safety of a familiar teahouse at the bottom of Hinata's tallest hill, the battle was safely contained inside a tiny television set high up in a corner. The teahouse's two lone occupants stood in silence, mesmerized by the unbelievable news coverage going on.
…well, at least one of them was.
Haruka's newspaper flashed like lightning, slapping Kentaro across the back of his head while his eyes were glued to the screen. "Get back to work, lazy." she scolded, speaking around the cigarette hanging from her bottom lip.
Kentaro was torn between the horror on the screen, and the horror he felt at Haruka's indifference. "Aren't you seeing any of this?" he shrieked, waving his broom at the TV. "Your nephew is fighting a turtle monster!"
Her hand snaked out, snagging the straps on his apron and tugging him forward. Their faces were so close that the unlit tip of her coffin nail poked into his cheek. "The only animals I see," she growled softly, "Are the dust bunnies fighting in the corner. Get to work."
"Hello? Do you understand basic Japanese?" he jabbed his broom at the news coverage once more, stamping his foot for emphasis. "Keitaro is getting killed out there. You're scary; You should help!"
"The only monsters I fight come during tourist season, Poor Man." she sniffed, eyeballing the television as she unrolled her paper. A small part of her truly felt for her nephew, but her days of fighting had ended when she and Seta had gone their separate ways. 'Let the kids have their fun,' she thought to herself as the televised Keitaro dodged a flurry of plasma bolts.
The door burst inward with a loud bang. For half a second Haruka thought there might be new paying customers. When she saw it was Kitsune who had entered the teahouse, any thoughts she had of money immediately disappeared.
"Haruka-san!" Kitsune huffed as the rest of the girls piled in behind her, "Where's…" She paused, catching sight of Naru's pathetic, fallen former manager. Her eyes twitched as a new smile graced her beautiful features. "Kentaro."
Kentaro's coward-driven fear vanished, replaced with the veneer of the suave sophisticate he used to be. "So," he slicked his unkempt chestnut locks back with a sweep of his blistered hand, "You decided to seek me out in these dark times to make your last moments memorable?"
To his surprise, Kitsune actually approached him with a sexy swivel in her hips. "Oh, Kentaro…" she murmured, fingering him beneath the chin with a delicate touch. "I've wanted to do this for so long…"
The other girls gaped, their eyes wide with shock. Only Naru remained confident in her friend, knowing all-to-well what she was up to.
"R-R-Really?" Even Kentaro was surprised. He shivered at her initial touch, but he was positively floored when he felt her other hand enter his pocket. "Y-Y-You have?"
"Of course," she cooed. Her face loomed towards his, and he closed his eyes reflexively, puckering his lips. It was only after a few kiss-less seconds, when he heard a metallic jingling, that he opened them. Standing several steps back, the smiling trickster held the keys to his most prized possession; his sports coupe.
"KITSUNE-SAN?"
"I've always wanted to take this baby for a spin," she laughed, turning tail and running out the door. The rest of the girls followed, ignoring Kentaro's tortured sob and Haruka's painful admonishments to return to his work.
Shinobu puffed beside Kitsune as they descended the steps. "Isn't this wrong, stealing Mr. Kentaro's car like this?"
Kitsune led the way around the back of the teahouse, where Kentaro's gleaming red car was parked. "Right and wrong is a funny thing, Shinobu." She leapt over the side of the vehicle, plopping down into the driver's seat. Shinobu opened the door and entered the passenger seat while Kanako popped the rumble seat. "Is it right for us to sit around while Keitaro gets the shit kicked out of him?"
That seemed to strike something within the young high-schooler. She reached over, snapping her seat belt into place. "Let's roll, Kitsune." she tried one of Kitsune's patented grins on for size, and the fit was unnaturally apt.
The rest of the girls strapped in as Kitsune slid the key into place. The engine came to life with a roar as she pressed down on the gas, feeling the vehicle rumble beneath her grip on the wheel. Naru leaned forward, her head right next to her friend's ear. "D'you know how to drive stick?"
"Hell no." Kitsune slammed the car into drive with a fierce grinding of gears. The car leapt forward with a violent lurch, neatly taking out a row of garbage cans as it sped off, cornering around the Tea House and racing down the street.
Naru felt the wind sweep across her face, stinging her eyes and sweeping her hair back. 'Hold on, Keitaro!' she thought, clutching her hand to her heart. 'We're coming.' She heard a murmur to her left, and looked over. Kanako's hand was to her chest as well, her lips moving in a silent prayer must like her own.
Despite the situation, Naru smiled. "Say Kanako," The gothic girl looked over, puzzled by Naru's sudden intonation. "Just so you know, I won't lose to you either."
Kanako returned her smile, nodding slowly. "I wouldn't have it any other way." she reassured her rival.
* * *
A brick wall wasn't Keitaro's first choice to stop his painful, high-velocity arc, but he had precious few options. His spine slammed into the masonry of the Hinata Noodle Shop, chipping away at the storefront as he slid down to the broken pavement. Tamagar's punch still stung at his cheek. His vision swam, and a thin trickle of blood dripped from his chin.
"Now do you understand the price of defying me?" Tamagar approached Keitaro, his twin weapons once again mechamorphed into arms. "Do you see how futile your fight is? I have existed for hundreds of years, and I shall continue to thrive in this new form."
"Won't let you…" Keitaro hacked up a load of saliva and blood, his chest seized with wracking coughs. "Won't let you hurt Naru…or Kanako…or anyone!" he insisted pathetically, willing himself to stand. His shaky legs responded with help from the brick wall, braced against his free hand. The Shisui was aimed with his other, point quivering at Tamagar with the last of Keitaro's strength. "I won't give up. I promised them I'd protect them."
"Promises, promises…" Tamagar sighed, an odd act for an artificial being to make. "You shouldn't make so many…you can't keep them all." He reached for his chest, his fingers finding their way to the seam that split his armor down the middle. The sections swung away at his touch, revealing a pair of massive, Guyver-ish cannons beneath. "Especially since you won't be around to keep them, eh?"
The chest cannons began to glow with a bright, blinding blue-white light, casting an angelic glow upon Keitaro and the wall behind him. He shielded his eyes with a hiss of pain, staggering back to rest against the masonry. His equilibrium was returning, but slowly…too slowly.
Tamagar's voice floated from behind the overpowering twin lights. "Any last words, Ronin?"
"WAAAATCHHH OOOOOOOOUUUUUUUT!"
The cry came too late for Tamagar as the front end of a beautiful, red sports car slammed into him from the side. The front of the car was crumpled immediately, crushing the engine and ruining the car beyond any immediate repair. Tamagar, with his mystically-induced armor, was relatively unscathed. Instead, he was propelled across the street, slamming into and through the department store wall with a booming crash and a cloud of explosive debris.
Kitsune pulled her face out of the airbag, peeling the seatbelt off of her chest. "I warned him." she said, letting air back into her lungs in a sudden rush.
"Sempai!" Shinobu leapt from the rumble seat, rushing to Keitaro's side. Her arms wrapped around his bruised, battered chest in a vise-like grip. "We were so worried!" she sobbed, crushing the air out of his body and turning his face three different shades of blue.
The girls' driver glanced back at Kanako and Naru, seeing the jealousy seething just beneath their beet-red faces. Even Motoko seemed irritated at Shinobu's private moment with Keitaro. "Ease off there, kiddo," Kitsune warned, "He looks like he's been three rounds with a blender…and lost."
"Oh!" Keitaro gasped as Shinobu let him go, falling forward onto his hands and knees. He coughed for a moment, swallowing what he hoped wasn't one of his teeth as he let his natural immortality take over. "Sorry, Sempai…"
"S'okay," he gasped. As he rose to his feet, his senses came flooding back to him. "Wait a minute! What are you doing here?"
"Saving you, as always, Urashima." Motoko regained her composure, resting her hand on her sword. "We witnessed your efforts on Su's contraption, and were thoroughly unimpressed."
"So we came to the rescue." Kitsune winked. "Kentaro was even nice enough to lend us his car." The rest of the girls rolled their eyes, which brought a smile to Keitaro's bruised face. "Happy to see us?"
"I'd be happier if you all were someplace safe," he assured them. He wanted to go on, but Naru's slender finger trapped his lips together.
Leaning forward, she gave him a warm smile. "We'd all be happier knowing that you aren't fighting this alone, Keitaro."
"That's right, Brother." Kanako murmured. "We are family."
"All of us." Kitsune added, tossing her arm around Kanako's shoulder. The gothic girl glanced over, seeing her trickster neighbor tossing her a conspiratorial wink. The gesture wasn't lost on her, but she chose not to comment on it at the moment.
"We'll stand with you, Sempai," Shinobu leaned against him, this time wrapping him in a gentle hug.
"Even against the t-t-turtle." Motoko stumbled over the words, and her face became red again, but with her hand on her sword and her lips drawn tight across her mouth, no one would dare doubt her words.
His first instinct was to tell them to get the hell out, to leave him behind and get to safety. It was at that moment that his memory suddenly took over, flashing images before his eyes almost faster than he could follow them.
He remembered Shinobu's struggle with her family, and how he had taken it upon himself to take her in and give her the stable environment her parents couldn't (at least, as stable as the Hinata House could be). He remembered Motoko's struggles with her sister and her destiny as the future Sensei of the God's Cry School, and how he had battled by her side against Tsuroko so that she could decide her own destiny. He remembered coming between Su and her brother so that she could continue to be a child. Su had come under his protection as well. Naru, Kanako, Kitsune, even Mutsumi…they had all allowed him to help, bumbler though he was. Was it really right for him to refuse the same?
He imagined how he would feel if any one of them was in his shoes, and the positions reversed. It was for damn sure that he wouldn't ever let them fight alone.
Nodding at last, he felt the grin spread across his face. For the first time that day, he felt good about their chances against Tamagar. "I think you guys knocked him back into the department store."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Kitsune laughed, putting her fist out. Each of them followed suit, lining their hands up. Naru and Kanako were the last. They looked at each other for a second, then back at the others.
"Let's kick some turtle ass." Naru beamed.
* * *
The power had fizzled out long ago inside the department store, leaving only the occasional spark from a broken light fixture to rain down onto the cracked floor. Glass crunched beneath Keitaro's feet as he led the girls inside, sword drawn and hand held out to keep them behind him.
Motoko followed closely, her black blade drawn as well. She glanced back at her companions, who had scrounged weapons from the ruins of the sporting goods department. It wasn't much of a show of force, but it would have to do.
"Where do you suppose a giant turtle would hide?" Kitsune muttered, clutching her tennis racket.
"Pet department?" Kanako muttered flatly.
Kitsune's eyebrows shot up. "Did you just make a joke?"
"No."
She smiled. "Liar."
"Focus, guys." Keitaro frowned, his mind racing. 'Think, Urashima,' he mentally kicked himself. 'Where would a three-meter tall mechanical monster go?'
"Appliances." Everyone looked at Naru like she had gone insane. She simply shrugged. "He's a robot. Hinata doesn't have an electronics store, so what's the next best thing?"
Even as they approached the section, Keitaro knew that she was right. He could feel Tamagar's presence even before he saw the turtle fiend standing among his fellow machines. Rows of refrigerators, stacks of blenders, vacuums lined up in neat, orderly rows, all surrounded him like a support network of sympathetic cousins. His mechanical red eyes widened at the sight of all six of them approaching, clutching bats and rackets, swords and a lone frying pan.
"So," he snarled, brandishing his long, terrifying claws as they stopped several meters back, "You've all come to destroy me?"
"Cut the drama, Nancy." Naru hurled, shaking her aluminum bat at him. "Get ready for a major pounding, Hinata House style."
"And believe me," Keitaro told him, "You don't want one of those. I know."
Surprisingly, the turtle found it within himself to chuckle. The others could only stand and stare in disbelief as he laughed at their future plight. "Well, Ronin," he addressed Keitaro, who still stood in the lead, "If you are allowed reinforcements, then shouldn't I be allowed the same courtesy?"
The residents of the House watched in horror as Tamagar spread his arms out wide, his eyes flickering closed with concentration. For a moment, nothing happened, and the girls, as well as their manager, allowed themselves a slight sigh of relief. Perhaps Tamagar had been bluffing…And then they saw the appliances.
One by one, the machines surrounding Tamagar began to pull together, sliding across the floor as if possessed. Televisions and DVD players and floor polishers all conglomerated into a pile several feet from their new master. In another second, they began to take form.
Human form.
"Watch," Tamagar crowed as several grotesque mechanical beings rose from the pile, "As my children continue the work I set out to do while I prepare to reclaim the power I once held."
"He sure likes to talk a lot." Kitsune muttered. Despite her bravado, though, she was terrified at the sight that loomed before them. Beings comprised of objects she used every day, with chests of television, blenders for heads, arms and hands composed of exposed wiring and pencil sharpeners, and a thousand other items too numerous to count or name, all merged together into a familiar, terrifying shape.
"I d-d-don't t-think we can d-do this, Sempai…" Shinobu murmured, shivering with fright. A loud metallic clang pounded into her ears, and she shrieked in fright before she realized that she had simply dropped her own pan.
"Keitaro!"
The familiar voice echoed from Keitaro's wrist. For a moment, he thought he was going crazy, until Su's voice once more called his name from the box strapped to his arm. "Su-chan?"
"Keitaro!" this time it was Sarah's voice scolding him, as it usually did. "Use the Mogger, you dork!"
"What if we explode?" Naru demanded.
Kanako observed Tamagar's lumbering army, fresh from the pile and still multiplying. "Either way, we lose." she observed.
Keitaro took a deep breath. "Okay…let's do it!" Silently, each girl took position behind Keitaro, forming a lopsided 'V' as they squared off against Tamagar and his forces. "Sorry, Annex. We have a different plan in mind."
"And that would be?"
"Say hello to foreign ingenuity!" Together, he and the girls reached for their wrists. They stayed in perfect unison as they pressed the large red button fixed to the control panel. Their voices cried out as one, as their Moggers came alive with an unnatural glow.
"TRANSMOGRIFY!"
=To Be Continued=
Big thanks to SilverFox06 for proofreading and editing this one. If it sucks, then it's because he wasn't diligent enough. Make sure you send all flames to him, and all props to me! And I promise, the best is yet to come! Stick around for more HDF fun and action, same Tama time, same Tama channel!
by Cyberwraith9
Part II
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A familiar white van barreled down the streets of Hinata, driving on the wrong side of the road and spreading terror and confusion in its wake. It was nothing new to the driver, of course, but something seemed off. It was almost as if the terror (at least some of it) was appearing in front of him, and not just behind him.
Seta frowned, leaning over the steering wheel as he expertly dodged a red convertible, though the maneuver sent the other driver into a fire hydrant. As the sports car erupted into flames behind him, his sharp eyes caught sight of a metallic gleam on the road several hundred meters ahead of his van. "That's odd," he muttered, trying to discern the rapidly approaching object. It's shape was quickly becoming clearer as he sped forward. "It almost looks like a giant-"
He reached the object all too quickly, and for an instant, he feared that his craptacular driving abilities would crush it before he could identify the future road kill. His worries were unfounded as the object reached forward, slamming into his van instead of the other way around. The van slammed to a halt in an instant, driving the object back only a few feet. Seta, who wasn't a big believer in safety features such as seatbelts (and instead invested his money into making his vehicle submersible) flew through the windshield and skidded out onto the pavement.
Tumbling to a halt, Seta lay still for a moment. His body ached and his ears rang from the violent trip, but true to form, he sported no serious injuries. With a fountain of blood pouring from his forehead and down his cheek, he stood on wobbly legs, trying to shake off the vertigo from his wreck. "There go my premiums…" he lamented, looking back at the van. Then he stopped.
The front half of the van, including its modified engine, was completely gone. In its place stood the object he had struck, which was in the middle of devouring the rest of the van in large, rending bites. Its huge metal jaws snapped open and shut, tearing off chunks of twisted metal and steaming engine parts. Its chest, which sported a large, carbonized scorch mark, was slowly rebuilding itself, rippling like the surface of a pond. A thick, enormous shell graced its back, growing slightly larger with each bite.
"A…giant turtle?" Seta mused, slapping a bandage onto his forehead to stem the tide of blood. "My Pararakelse research never uncovered anything like that!"
The robotic creature finished devouring the van, spitting out the hubcaps. "Excellent," the beast rumbled, watching as the last remaining damage on its chest vanished with a tiny ripple. "My body is now stronger than ever before! Now, to seek revenge on this unappreciative city and fulfill my destiny!"
Seta watched the enormous robot turtle stomp off, knocking aside cars and mailboxes, anything that happened to be in its way. He scratched his head, wondering how a giant robot turtle had found its way to the center of a hot spring town, and why it happened to be evil. He couldn't help but suspect that the Hinata Housers were somehow involved…after all, whenever something strange happened around here, especially strange events revolving around turtles, one could almost always implicate the enigmatic female dormitory.
* * *
The very people in Seta's thoughts were high atop their lonely hill, standing in the garage-turned-lab of the former Inn. Hanging above them was one of the culprits, the unwitting creator of a mechanical turtle civilization. If she could have, she would have shrugged and smiled. However, she currently did not possess a body; only the ghostly, disembodied vision of her smiling head floated above the rest of her housemates, waiting for them to don the weaponry that she had so lovingly designed for them.
Keitaro eyed the mannequins inside the newly-revealed glass cases, marveling at the detail Su had put into them. Each one was a different size and a different color, and each had a small, circular crest in the middle of the chest with a tiny, colored heart set on a contrasting field. From the looks of it, Su had designed each suit with a different housemate in mind, for there was one that matched each of their body types.
He stood in front of the one that was obviously made for him; it was the only suit that did not have a distinctly "female" chestplate. It was a gleaming, pristine white, complete with a helmet covering the mannequin's head. The helmet itself, as well as the several of the key armor plates, was etched with a turtle-shell pattern, following Su's usual trend of designing her inventions with a turtle theme.
Quickly inspecting the polished plates, he felt his curiosity override the sense of urgency welling up inside them all. "Su," he looked quizzically at the blue, transparent head of their resident mad scientist, "Just what *is* this 'Hinata Defense Force'?"
Su watched as Sarah, her clever little assistant, manipulated several more controls on a panel in the wall. The glass cases slid open, allowing each of the residents to reach out and touch their armor, which they did so hesitantly. "In anticipation of my final, climactic battle with Tama-chan," she eyed the mewling turtle with a grin, "I figured I might need some help. So, I designed high-tech battle armor for each of you, intending to call upon it when the time was right."
"Final battle with Tama?" Naru murmured, caressing her own neon-pink armor. Like the others, her armor had a heart-shaped crest in the center. Looking down, she saw a small, futuristic sidearm in a holster, strapped to her dummy's waist. "Su, what made you think you would need all of this equipment to destroy Tama-chan? And why would you think we would ever help you fight her?"
"Well, the helmets *do* have modified Mr. Virtual technology to override your free will," Su added.
"WHAT?"
Shinobu looked on at the armor made for her, a suit of canary-yellow with gleaming white trim. "It's kind of pretty…" she remarked as Tama-chan landed gently on her head. They considered Su's secret weapon for a moment. "But what are we supposed to do with them?"
"Yeah," Kitsune said, turning back at Su. She had already tried on her own violet helmet, which fit snugly and comfortably, covering her face in a clear Plexiglas visor. "This stuff is great and all, but that psycho-turtle Tamagar is way stronger than us."
"Not with this." Sarah grunted, pulling a chair up to sit at a console off to the side. "This stuff has negative-feedback controlled pseudo-muscular enhancement. You could lift busses inside of these things."
"Impressive," Kanako grunted from next to her own black armor.
Motoko regarded the aqua-hued suit Su had constructed for her. A cold, sinking sensation mustered in her stomach as her thoughts returned to the menace that had attacked them in their own home. Why did it have to be a turtle? She felt a small wave of shame flush into her cheeks; she had been unable to protect her family here at the House because of her own cowardice. She was guilty of the same shame that she had accused Urashima of for so long. "What do we do now?"
"This is crazy!" Keitaro cried, waving his arms. He ran up to Su's floating head, his eyes wild with fear and confusion. "Su, you can't just turn us into your own personal army! Besides, we have no idea how to fight this thing!"
Su regarded them all silently, uncharacteristically pensive for a moment. "Sarah," she said calmly, "Activate the Viewing Sphere."
"Viewing sp-UGH!" Keitaro's skull warped as a large, heavy disco ball dropped onto his head and knocked him to the ground. The ball hung on a tiny wire, bobbing up and down. With a flicker, the glitzy surface of the mirrored ball dissipated, replaced with a fuzzy, distorted view of downtown Hinata.
"This is the scene of Hinata," the disembodied voice of a female reporter spoke as the image panned over a horrible visage of destruction that had once been their beautiful tourist town. "A grim picture of devastation and carnage, as some kind of mysterious aggressor has begun a rampage the likes of which this reporter has never seen. We-wait…over there!"
The camera's image burred momentarily, then snapped back into focus as the cameraman zoomed in on a familiar sight, one with a large, metallic shell and a pair of cruel, triangular red eyes. "There!" the reporter cried again. "The creature has spotted us, and appears to be…Look out!"
Keitaro and the others watched in horror as Tamagar's enormous maw split open wide. A flash of light signaled an energy buildup, which soon became a terrible blast of power that leapt out. The camera's image tumbled for a moment and then snapped out, replaced by ominous, hissing static.
"Oh my God…" Naru's hands covered her mouth in horror. "He's going to destroy the entire town…"
"Su," Keitaro turned to the floating head once more, his resolve set and fists clenched. "How do we put the armor on?"
It was Sarah who spoke up. She reached into a drawer and withdrew six little boxes, each of them colored to correspond to the different sets of armor. "It'd take too long to disassemble them, so Su came up with a way of teleporting the armor directly onto your bodies." She handed out the appropriate boxes to her housemates, saving Keitaro's for last. "These 'transmogrifiers' will put the armor on before you can open your stupid mouth." she told him.
He regarded the box carefully. A pair of metallic tentacles suddenly leapt out, snaring around his wrist. His cry came just as the box latched onto his arm, pulling tight and resting coolly against his skin. "Wah! What the…"
"I call 'em 'Moggers'!" Su chirped cheerfully. "Well, off you go."
"Um, Su," Shinobu spoke up once more, "If you can teleport the armor, couldn't you just poof us there too?"
"Wellllllll," Su drawled, "We tested it on organic matter, and it was…"
"Not pretty." Sarah finished, nodding grimly. "In fact, none of this equipment has been really tested out. For all we know," she shrugged, "You could just explode when you try to teleport your armor."
Keitaro sweatdropped, wincing at the object now stuck on his wrist. It refused to pull off, and he suspected it never would until the right command from Su was issued. "Let's not use these unless we have to, then." he mused. "We'll just have to find a way to fight the monster without them." He imagined himself being engulfed in an enormous mushroom cloud after pressing that big, shiny red button on his Mogger's control surface. The idea of being in the middle of a raging fireball wasn't high on his list of fun activities.
Kanako grimaced, allowing her own Mogger to wrap around her wrist. "Then let's not waste any more time. We need to move out, now."
Keitaro glanced at his little sister, then back at the blank static of the Viewing Sphere as he recalled how easily Tamagar had beaten the tar out of him. His gaze traveled across the room, moving to each of the girls that had found such a deep place in his heart. The thought of any one of them falling at the hands of that mechanical menace was like a knife to the heart.
"No."
"Huh?"
Keitaro grew grim at the harmonized, questioning utterance of his girls. "The rest of you are going to stay right here. I'll go and see what I can do about the problem in town." He almost laughed at the understatement; That "problem" had already beaten him, and was in the process of destroying his home town.
Naru stared at him in disbelief. "Are you a complete idiot?" she demanded, her own Mogger now in place. "You can't beat him on your own?"
"S-sempai!" Shinobu wailed, "You can't-"
"Brother!"
"That's enough!"
Keitaro's sudden outburst silenced the rest of their protests. He regarded each of them grimly, feeling his heart flutter even more with each new face he saw. The entire situation was all his fault; if he had confessed to the right girl in the Annex, none of this would have ever happened. It was his mistake, it was his responsibility, and he would die before he let any of the girls come to harm because of him.
"Listen, all of you," he insisted, stamping his foot down. "Did you see that thing that attacked us? Did you see how easily it kicked the living crap out of me? I sure as hell remember that."
"So now you want to do this alone?" Naru demanded, just as angry.
He shook his head. "No. Not alone." He looked to Motoko.
For a moment, the swordswoman didn't understand. Then she yelped, reeling backwards. "Me?!? she cried out.
"Exorcism is sort of your specialty, isn't it?"
Motoko seemed taken aback. She stumbled, nearly tripping over her own robes. "You…and me…against that t-t-t-turtle?"
His fists clenched at the thought of the arrogant spirit destroying his town, attacking his home, and threatening the women he loved. It filled him with an uncharacteristic anger. "It's up to us, Motoko." His face was a mask of seriousness. "We're going to save Hinata."
The girls were silent for a moment, but silence never lasted very long in their house. Kitsune beat the rest to the punch, grinning her clever, foxy smile. "Gosh, Keitaro," she blushed slyly, "You sure have gotten manly."
"ACK!" Keitaro fell forward in a face-fault, flushing red with embarrassment.
"That's better!"
* * *
Hinata had precious few marks of civilization to blot the sleepy, silent image it tried to project for the tourists its elders sought to draw in. However, with the needs of its permanent residents, it did have a single, rather robust department store that had flourished in the downtown district.
The store had just about everything a hot-springs fanatic could think to need, including a large selection of appliances and electronics. It was that technology that attracted Tamagar; the turtle monster sought to add to his already-considerable power.
He opened his jaw wide, blowing a hole in the side of the building. The shoppers inside screamed and scattered, thrown back by the violent explosion. The monster ignored their cries, stepping over the debris and through the hole. His entrance had taken him straight into ladies wear.
Suddenly, something caught hold of the mecha-turtle's sharp sensors. Curious, he turned towards the changing rooms, stretching out with all of his hidden, mysterious senses. A slow, sinister smile spread across his maw.
"So," he muttered, approaching the dressing rooms with crackling fists of energy, "The last of my minions…"
* * *
One brief interlude for him to grab his bokken later, Keitaro stood in front of the Hinata House. He looked up at his apartment, wondering if it would be the last time he saw the place. A heavy feeling descended on his heart. It wasn't sadness, but regret…there was still so much left unsaid.
"Urashima."
Motoko's icy voice caused him to turn. He smiled at the swordswoman as she approached him, rounding the corner of the building to join him at the entrance. "Hello, Motoko," he greeted her. "Are you ready to go?"
"Urashima," she cleared her throat, looking everywhere but in his eyes, "I…I am sorry, but I…cannot..."
"What is it?"
Her face reddened with shame. "I cannot join you in this fight…It is…t-the t-turtle."
Keitaro's face had shown confusion before, but now snapped back with clarity. "I understand." he nodded, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's all right. All of this is my responsibility anyhow."
"I am…sorry, Urashima."
He shook his head. "Don't be. I should be the one apologizing for getting you and the others mixed up in all of this."
"Then you will still go?" she asked him, finally raising her eyes. He nodded once with a grim smile in place, but she could see the apprehension in his eyes. "You are brave to face the danger alone, Urashima."
"Shucks," he rubbed the back of his neck, keeping the bokken wrapped tightly in his other hand. "I'm not brave at all…I just…" He looked down at the town below. Several spots had already begun to smoke and burn, and he could see the devastation from here. "I can't let anything happen to any of you. I don't know what I'd do if…" He trailed off, letting the idea finish itself.
Motoko regarded him silently for a moment. She couldn't help but think how wrong she had been about him. "You plan on fighting Tamagar with a bokken?"
He nodded, holding up the wooden practice sword. "Su hasn't tested any of this 'Defense Force' nonsense…I figure this might make a good Plan A so I don't explode before the fight even starts.
She reached out, taking the sword from him as if to examine it. After giving it the once over, she summoned a brief charge of ki into her hands. The sword burst into a hundred pieces, splintering into a hail of tiny shrapnel.
Keitaro caught the remains in his hands, crying silently. "My bokken…" he whimpered. "Why did you…"
She cleared her throat once more. "I want you to know that I still think of you as less than a man, and a pervert at that. So, try and not read anything into it when I give you…this." Reaching into the folds of her robes, she pulled out a familiar sheath made of bleached wood.
Keitaro's hands trembled as he took the blade. He recognized the sword instantly, and so looked to Motoko in disbelief. "Motoko, this is your Shisui…your old sword. I thought your sister-"
"I asked Su to re-forge it for me." Motoko explained. "I always thought an extra blade would be prudent, but given the circumstances…"
"This…this is too much." Keitaro was shocked as he held the balanced blade in his hand. He unsheathed part of the blade, looking at his reflection in the gleaming metal. "I can't accept this. It's the sword your sister gave you…"
Motoko's voice was low and quiet. "When I was without a weapon, you came to me in my darkest hour with the answer." Her hand found its way to Hina, the ominous blade slung at her waist. "I could not live with myself if I failed to do the same."
"T-Thank you." he bowed respectfully, tying the sword's strap around his chest so that the hilt of the sword rested just behind his shoulder. "I'll wield this blade in your honor…all of your honor."
Motoko blushed, cursing his sentimentality. "U-Urashima…Good luck." She bowed one last time, then exited quickly. Keitaro watched her vanish into the Inn, then turned back to the stairs.
With one last breath to gather his courage, he began to descend the steps, intent on facing the threat far below. His gait quickly became a full-out run; he knew that if he slowed, he would reconsider and
"Naru…Kanako…everyone…Wish me luck." he murmured.
* * *
A quarter of an hour later, Keitaro found the source of the massacre; Hinata's one and only department store. Winded, he stopped just inside of the doors for a moment, leaning over to catch his breath and take stock of the situation.
The police were nowhere to be found at the scene of terror. Keitaro couldn't blame them. Nine of the ten situations they dealt with ended up being parking tickets, or minor citations. They were totally unprepared for a monster attack. 'But,' he swallowed, 'What chance do I have, then?' He pushed the rogue thought from his mind. Steeling his nerves, he drew his new blade and stepped into the ruined department store.
The inside was equally deserted as the exterior. Everywhere he looked there were tipped displays, ruined mannequins, and strewn clothes littering the scene. He felt Seta's training take hold of his mind, honing his senses and slowing his frantic breathing to a steady, controlled beat. His steps were slow and even, each footfall carefully calculated as he moved across the sales floor.
"Hello?" he called out, sweeping his eyes across the floor. "Anyone in here?" It was probably foolish to give his position away, but his first priority to make sure everyone was all right.
"Over here, child."
Keitaro recognized Tamagar's evil, grating voice echoing from somewhere over in the ladies' department. Swallowing hard, he forced himself to move in that direction, ignoring the overwhelming impulse to run away. "Where are you, Tamagar?" He kept his voice steady somehow, keeping the point of his blade low as he shuffled past several toppled displays of the latest fashions in Tokyo.
"Over here, in lingerie."
"You fiend." Keitaro swore under his breath. He sprinted the last few steps, finally reaching a field of bras and panties. The undergarments were in every direction he looked, making him extremely uncomfortable. Part of him kept expecting Naru to show up and beat him just for being there, but he felt secure knowing that she was far away. "Show yourself."
Tamagar suddenly appeared out of the blue, stepping out of the changing rooms. He had both arms outstretched to either side, with one of them concealed behind the wall he had come from. "So," he sneered as best his metallic face would allow, cruel eyes narrowing, "The Ronin comes looking for me alone. How cute."
"Give it up." Keitaro hoped to talk the monster down. Maybe they could reach some kind of peaceful agreement. "How long do you think it'll take before the Army will come after you?"
The creature chuckled. "Do you think the Army will attack me through my hostage?"
Keitaro felt his insides freeze as Tamagar stepped to his left, revealing a pale, limp form wrapped delicately in his massive hand. It took him only a second to recognize the long chestnut braid and deep, soulful brown eyes set above a tiny, enigmatic smile.
"Kei-kun!" Mutsumi waved at him from Tamagar's icy grip. She was clad only in a pair of pink panties and matching bra. Under normal circumstances, such a sight would have given Keitaro a nosebleed, but he was far too worried to be turned on. "Look! It's a hot spring turtle! And he's so big…"
"Let her GO, Tamagar!" Keitaro yelled, raising his blade. "Or so help me, I'll!"
"You'll what?" Tamagar laughed. He began squeezing Mutsumi, receiving a sharp cry of distress for his efforts. The anemic's shrill scream forced Keitaro's sword down. "By all means," he insisted, ceasing his attack for the moment, "Continue, if you wish your little friend harmed."
Keitaro gritted his teeth, giving the mechanical turtle his best glare. "I'll stop you. I promise. And I always keep my promises…" he added.
Tamagar raised his free arm. The length of complex components began shifted and morphing, turning the appendage into a massive energy cannon. The wide barrel loomed at Keitaro, so close the student could see the inner workings' of the machine pulsing and moving from where he stood. Keitaro saw a sharp, bright build-up of energy in the cannon, and braced himself for a major blast of pain.
"Promise this." Tamagar snarled, and fired the cannon.
* * *
"Will you stop pacing?"
Naru looked up, raising her eyes from her feet to glare at an irritated Kanako. She couldn't understand how the raven-haired youth could lean against the wall like that, waiting for some kind of sign from the Viewing Sphere. Sarah and Su were scanning the local news networks, but for the moment there were no more broadcasts from the scene of the battle. Each of them had been dealing with the stress.
Kitsune looked up from her cigarette, blowing a stream of smoke in a worried huff. It was a habit that only surfaced in situations where even her flippant brand of humor couldn't cover her concern. "Lay off of her, Kanako. She's worried. We all-"
A stream of icy white blasted her in the face, silencing her admonishments. Sarah stood below her with an empty fire extinguisher, scowling up at Kitsune. "There's too much delicate equipment in here for smoking," she said.
The trickster wiped the thin layer of frost from her eyes, pouting as she held up her soggy cigarette. "Figures." she sighed, flicking the useless coffin nail away.
Naru sniffed, folding her arms. "I'm not worried about that idiot. If he thinks he can take care of it all by himself, then let him. I'm just worried about…the department store!" she added pathetically. She didn't fool anyone, least of all herself.
Shinobu was in the corner, anxiously watching the Sphere as she chewed her knuckles to the bone. "Oh dear, oh dear…Sempai…" she repeated every few moments before retreating into a worried silence.
Motoko opened an eye, watching the altercation develop between Naru and Kanako. "You two would be best to leave the squabbling for when we aren't under attack by a fearsome monster." she said dryly. She was on the floor, sitting in a lotus position with her sword sheathed safely across her lap. Since Keitaro's departure, she had attempted to calm herself through meditation. It hadn't been working.
A response was on the tip of Naru's tongue when Su's enormous head finally cried out in triumph. "Tokyo's Channel Three is finally on the scene!" she sang, turning back to the Viewing Sphere. With another burst of static and a hiss, the familiar image of the ruinations of downtown Hinata snapped back into warped existence inside of the disco ball.
"This is Tokyo Three News, coming to you live from the scene developing here in Hinata…" the reporter began immediately, but none of the girls were listening to him. Each of them watched intently as the smoldering remains of the Hinata Department Store came into focus.
For a moment, there was no sign of activity, save for the columns of smoke that drifted lazily into the morning air. Then, as the reporter continued to babble, a sharp explosion of light and debris blew out of the side of the building. Each of the girls caught sight of a familiar silhouette in the middle of the blue-white flash, traveling across the skyline and landing with a sharp crack against the pavement.
"This is unbelievable!" the reporter cried out as his cameraman zoomed in on the crater in the sidewalk. "Something…or someone, has actually exited the building in what appears to be an aura of incredible power! Could this be an actual Z Warrior, come to defeat the monster?"
"That's Sempai!" Shinobu screamed as the camera zoomed in, revealing the face of the unwilling projectile.
The camera field jiggled as the cameraman ran forward to get a close-up. The entire city watched with bated breath as Keitaro pulled himself out of the hole, shrugging off the pieces of ruined cement. "Excuse me, Goku," the reporter tried to stick his microphone down the landlord's throat. "Will you be utilizing your Kamehameha Wave, or have you developed-"
"What are you blabbering about?" Keitaro cried out, finally getting his wits back about him. He began waving his sword at the camera as if trying to herd them away. "Why are you here? Get out of here, quick! He's coming, and-oh, god!"
Keitaro's pointing blade indicated something off-camera, something high above them. Without any sort of warning, a dark grey blur landed behind Keitaro with such force of impact that it knocked the cameraman off of his feet, once again sending the machine's field of vision skewing about.
"Keitaro!" Naru screeched, trying to warn him as if he could hear her. Already the expert camera-slinger had regained equilibrium, and was filming the fight. Tamagar had something large and pink clutched in his massive right hand, but the monster was moving too fast for anyone to clearly make out. Whatever it was, it was keeping Keitaro from attacking in earnest.
Motoko gasped, watching Keitaro launch minor swipes at the overpowering monster. "I don't understand…why does he not fight? Even he is not this pathetic…"
Tamagar stayed rooted to the ground long enough for the camera to focus in. Motoko's question was answered immediately as Mutsumi waved at the camera. "Hello, everyone!" she giggled, squealing as the monster swung her about and used her as a shield against Keitaro's latest onslaught. The former ronin was forced to abandon the ki-powered slash, stopping his blade just inches from the anemic's ivory skin.
The girls all watched in horror as Tamagar hauled off with his other arm, punching Keitaro into a fire hydrant. The rest of the battle was lost in a spray of water. The Sphere dissolved into static once again, then reverted to its disco ball form once more. Sarah mournfully commanded the ball to withdraw into the ceiling as the Hinata House residents exchanged worried looks.
"Sempai's losing." Shinobu sniffled, tears welling up at the edge of her vision.
"No," Kitsune shook her head, her arms crossed and nose tilted down. "That would imply that he started out with a chance. Keitaro's getting slaughtered…"
"What can we do?" Motoko mused uncomfortably. The mere thought of that turtle monster sent her into chills. If Keitaro fell, it could possibly come down to her. "Urashima hasn't long."
Su nodded, a serious affair for a head the size of a small car. "He won't use the Mogger. Heh…guess we shouldn't have told him about that whole 'blowing up' thing, huh? What do you think, Naru…? Naru?" She looked down, rolling her holographic gaze to and fro, but the student was nowhere to be found. "Naru!"
Naru was already halfway out the door. She stopped at the mention of her name, tensing up. "Su. Sarah." she said without turning, "Are you certain these inventions of yours can beat Tamagar?"
"One hundred and twenty percent!" Su chirped.
Sarah couldn't help but add, "That's assuming they don't kill you right off the bat, of course."
"Fine." She continued on towards the door, determination evident with each step she took. "I'll risk it."
"Naru…Naru!" Kitsune called after her friend uselessly. The fiery student was already out of the garage, past the swinging door and out of earshot. "Lord," she swore, "That girl is just too damn headstrong." A small chuckle escaped her lips a moment later. "I can't say I blame her, though…" she added.
"What do you mean?" Shinobu asked, confused.
Feeling a small jab of envy, Kitsune turned to her younger housemate. A small shadow of sadness hid inside of her smile as she ruffled the young girl's hair affectionately. "People do crazy things when they're in love, kiddo."
Kanako watched the proceedings, seemingly impassive. Her face was as stone as she gauged the rest of the girls' reactions to Naru's leaving. Each of them was like an open book to her, but her own emotions were, as always, a mystery to her. She searched through her heart, expecting to find jealousy and hatred towards Naru, but instead…
…instead, she found only sympathy.
* * *
Naru stalked out of the garage, circling the house in record time and reaching the stairs. She paused for an instant, spying the fires burning downtown. She wasn't sure how, but somehow, she would save Keitaro…her Keitaro.
The wind swept through her hair, creating quite the stirring picture as she stood atop the high hill over Hinata.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand landing on her shoulder. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that Kanako had somehow sneaked up behind her. The younger Urashima wasn't looking back at her; instead, she had the same distant look in her eyes as was in Naru's. Kuro sat atop her shoulder, his luminous eyes blinking slowly.
"You love him as much as I do, don't you." The statement was uttered low, in a guttural voice, almost accusatory.
Naru thought of a thousand sharp retorts, but held them back. After a moment, she nodded. "Yes. I really do."
Kanako seemed to take this in. "I won't lose to you." she finally said.
"If we don't work together," Naru countered, "Neither one of us will have him."
"Agreed." She seemed to falter for a second, then stuck her hand out in an offering of peace. Naru smiled and took her hand, squeezing it in her own. "Together?"
"Together."
"It's times like this I wish I hadn't pawned Keitaro's camera for booze money." Kitsune's abrupt voice from behind caught both girls off guard. They turned around and saw the rest of Su's supposed 'Defense Force'. Motoko, Shinobu and Kitsune each wore a confident smile, Moggers strapped firmly to their wrists and fear concealed behind their collective worry.
"Does this 'togetherness' include us as well?" Motoko asked with a trace of amusement. Her eyebrow was raised in question at the duo.
Shinobu gathered up an uncharacteristic burst of courage. "We all love Sempai, too!" The bravery was short-lived, though, as her cheeks burned red with embarrassment. "Um…I mean…" A pair of hands enclosed her tiny shoulders, and she looked up into Kitsune's twinkling eyes.
"That's right." Kitsune reassured her. She looked back to Naru and Kanako, giving them a wink. "He means something to us all. And this town is our home, too."
"That makes it our fight as well." Motoko insisted.
Naru felt herself choking up. "Well then," she kept her tears of pride in check, "What are we waiting for? It's at least fifteen minutes to downtown, and that's if we run!"
A familiar gleam entered the trickster's eyes as she rubbed her chin. The wheels within her head were already turning, churning out another of her brilliant, diabolical schemes. "Actually," she said with a grin, "I had something else in mind…"
* * *
Keitaro panted, clutching his chest. He could feel his heart pounding against his ribcage as he leaned over, bracing himself against his knee with his other hand, still clutching the sword Motoko had given him. Several meters away, Tamagar leered at him confidently, still keeping the semi-oblivious Mutsumi in his enormous fingers.
All around them, the pavement was torn apart and laying in pieces. A fire hydrant, the one his spine had opened (painfully, too!), was still spraying wildly into the air. It felt as though half a gallon was still soaked into his shredded sweater and torn jeans, tugging down with exaggerated force and making his limbs feel like lead. The department store had suffered several more strikes, and had definitely seen better days.
"Well, Ronin," Tamagar laughed, "Are you ready to admit defeat? It isn't like you can beat me!"
Mutsumi nodded in agreement. "He's right, Kei-kun. You do seem to be losing quite a bit."
"YOU AREN'T HELPING!" Keitaro cried exasperatedly. He felt another surge of strength return as a wave of anger pounded in his ears. "Fine. Why don't we try this without your shield?"
Tamagar's stiff, iron-clad features betrayed a hint of surprise as Keitaro rushed him; It was the first real assault the young man had pulled in the fight. Shifting his stance, the monster brought Mutsumi around to take the brunt of the attack, just as he had done during the rest of the battle.
Gritting his teeth, Keitaro side-stepped at the last second. He came so close to Mutsumi that her perfume assaulted his senses as he whirled past, stopping just behind the beautiful shield. Twisting in mid-air, Keitaro called up every last bit of ki he could muster, sending it along his sword.
"Boulder Cutting Strike!" he screamed, releasing the blast. The ki rushed out, focusing itself into an edge of air and spirit that pounded against Tamagar's arm. Alloys and wiring gave way to pure force, separating Tamagar from his valuable shield, and taking his arm with it.
Tamagar had just enough time to cry out in pain as the electrical feedback plunged his tactile senses into screaming agony before he was struck again. Keitaro had barely touched the ground when his foot lashed out, catching Tamagar with a fierce side-thrust to the chest. Normally, the only result would have been about six or seven broken bones in favor of the turtle, but Seta's training had been better than that. An added burst of ki gave the kick power enough to blast Tamagar back into the side of a bus.
The former Ronin watched his terrifying foe disappear into a pucker of aluminum siding as he caught the dismembered mechanical arm. "Yes!" he set the appendage down and pried Mutsumi out of it, helping her to her feet. "Are you all right?"
"Yes," she smiled at him, wobbling slightly. She put a delicate hand on his shoulder for support, blushing as she leaned against his chest. "Though, usually, when I'm dreaming about being in public in my underwear, it isn't ever so complicated…"
Keitaro suddenly remembered her state of undress. He could feel her body touching his through the gashes in his clothing. A heavy blush covered his face, and he could feel a nosebleed in the works already. "M-m-maybe we should get you some-"
"NO MORE!"
The inhuman roar came just as the enormous bus exploded into mechanical ruins. Metallic, razor-sharp shards spread in all directions, peppering the empty street and ripping apart anything that hadn't already been destroyed in the ongoing fight. Keitaro was barely able to fend off the shards heading their way as he saw Tamagar reemerge from the wreck.
"Clever trick," the one-armed mechanical demon snarled, rending the rest of the bus's clinging ruins from his body. "But now that I don't have anything to encumber me, let's see how well your tricks work this time."
As he spoke, Tamagar's twisted, damaged form began to ripple and undulate. Tubes, wiring, and a thousand other growths Keitaro couldn't recognize shot out of his stump of an arm, winding together and knitting themselves into a fully-formed appendage in moments. Once more, the turtle monster's maw was split wide in an unnatural grin.
Keitaro swallowed hard, feeling the fear clutching at his chest. He pulled the tattered remains of his sweater from his body, shoving it into Mutsumi's hands. "Mutsumi, take this. Go and hide, now."
"Kei-kun…"
"Go!" He shoved her away and turned his back to his former study partner, squaring off against Tamagar. He heard Mutsumi stumble away, and kept listening until her bare footfalls were masked by the whistling of the wind and the crackling of fires that still burned. News teams and dozens of onlookers milled about the edges of the fight, but stayed a respectable distance away from the powerhouse turtle and the lone Ronin.
"So, Keitaro," Tamagar used his name for the first time. It was an acknowledgement of just how much damage and aggravation he had caused. It also meant that playtime was officially over. "Round two?"
His arms shifted into cannons once more, and the battle was rejoined.
* * *
Several kilometers away, within the safety of a familiar teahouse at the bottom of Hinata's tallest hill, the battle was safely contained inside a tiny television set high up in a corner. The teahouse's two lone occupants stood in silence, mesmerized by the unbelievable news coverage going on.
…well, at least one of them was.
Haruka's newspaper flashed like lightning, slapping Kentaro across the back of his head while his eyes were glued to the screen. "Get back to work, lazy." she scolded, speaking around the cigarette hanging from her bottom lip.
Kentaro was torn between the horror on the screen, and the horror he felt at Haruka's indifference. "Aren't you seeing any of this?" he shrieked, waving his broom at the TV. "Your nephew is fighting a turtle monster!"
Her hand snaked out, snagging the straps on his apron and tugging him forward. Their faces were so close that the unlit tip of her coffin nail poked into his cheek. "The only animals I see," she growled softly, "Are the dust bunnies fighting in the corner. Get to work."
"Hello? Do you understand basic Japanese?" he jabbed his broom at the news coverage once more, stamping his foot for emphasis. "Keitaro is getting killed out there. You're scary; You should help!"
"The only monsters I fight come during tourist season, Poor Man." she sniffed, eyeballing the television as she unrolled her paper. A small part of her truly felt for her nephew, but her days of fighting had ended when she and Seta had gone their separate ways. 'Let the kids have their fun,' she thought to herself as the televised Keitaro dodged a flurry of plasma bolts.
The door burst inward with a loud bang. For half a second Haruka thought there might be new paying customers. When she saw it was Kitsune who had entered the teahouse, any thoughts she had of money immediately disappeared.
"Haruka-san!" Kitsune huffed as the rest of the girls piled in behind her, "Where's…" She paused, catching sight of Naru's pathetic, fallen former manager. Her eyes twitched as a new smile graced her beautiful features. "Kentaro."
Kentaro's coward-driven fear vanished, replaced with the veneer of the suave sophisticate he used to be. "So," he slicked his unkempt chestnut locks back with a sweep of his blistered hand, "You decided to seek me out in these dark times to make your last moments memorable?"
To his surprise, Kitsune actually approached him with a sexy swivel in her hips. "Oh, Kentaro…" she murmured, fingering him beneath the chin with a delicate touch. "I've wanted to do this for so long…"
The other girls gaped, their eyes wide with shock. Only Naru remained confident in her friend, knowing all-to-well what she was up to.
"R-R-Really?" Even Kentaro was surprised. He shivered at her initial touch, but he was positively floored when he felt her other hand enter his pocket. "Y-Y-You have?"
"Of course," she cooed. Her face loomed towards his, and he closed his eyes reflexively, puckering his lips. It was only after a few kiss-less seconds, when he heard a metallic jingling, that he opened them. Standing several steps back, the smiling trickster held the keys to his most prized possession; his sports coupe.
"KITSUNE-SAN?"
"I've always wanted to take this baby for a spin," she laughed, turning tail and running out the door. The rest of the girls followed, ignoring Kentaro's tortured sob and Haruka's painful admonishments to return to his work.
Shinobu puffed beside Kitsune as they descended the steps. "Isn't this wrong, stealing Mr. Kentaro's car like this?"
Kitsune led the way around the back of the teahouse, where Kentaro's gleaming red car was parked. "Right and wrong is a funny thing, Shinobu." She leapt over the side of the vehicle, plopping down into the driver's seat. Shinobu opened the door and entered the passenger seat while Kanako popped the rumble seat. "Is it right for us to sit around while Keitaro gets the shit kicked out of him?"
That seemed to strike something within the young high-schooler. She reached over, snapping her seat belt into place. "Let's roll, Kitsune." she tried one of Kitsune's patented grins on for size, and the fit was unnaturally apt.
The rest of the girls strapped in as Kitsune slid the key into place. The engine came to life with a roar as she pressed down on the gas, feeling the vehicle rumble beneath her grip on the wheel. Naru leaned forward, her head right next to her friend's ear. "D'you know how to drive stick?"
"Hell no." Kitsune slammed the car into drive with a fierce grinding of gears. The car leapt forward with a violent lurch, neatly taking out a row of garbage cans as it sped off, cornering around the Tea House and racing down the street.
Naru felt the wind sweep across her face, stinging her eyes and sweeping her hair back. 'Hold on, Keitaro!' she thought, clutching her hand to her heart. 'We're coming.' She heard a murmur to her left, and looked over. Kanako's hand was to her chest as well, her lips moving in a silent prayer must like her own.
Despite the situation, Naru smiled. "Say Kanako," The gothic girl looked over, puzzled by Naru's sudden intonation. "Just so you know, I won't lose to you either."
Kanako returned her smile, nodding slowly. "I wouldn't have it any other way." she reassured her rival.
* * *
A brick wall wasn't Keitaro's first choice to stop his painful, high-velocity arc, but he had precious few options. His spine slammed into the masonry of the Hinata Noodle Shop, chipping away at the storefront as he slid down to the broken pavement. Tamagar's punch still stung at his cheek. His vision swam, and a thin trickle of blood dripped from his chin.
"Now do you understand the price of defying me?" Tamagar approached Keitaro, his twin weapons once again mechamorphed into arms. "Do you see how futile your fight is? I have existed for hundreds of years, and I shall continue to thrive in this new form."
"Won't let you…" Keitaro hacked up a load of saliva and blood, his chest seized with wracking coughs. "Won't let you hurt Naru…or Kanako…or anyone!" he insisted pathetically, willing himself to stand. His shaky legs responded with help from the brick wall, braced against his free hand. The Shisui was aimed with his other, point quivering at Tamagar with the last of Keitaro's strength. "I won't give up. I promised them I'd protect them."
"Promises, promises…" Tamagar sighed, an odd act for an artificial being to make. "You shouldn't make so many…you can't keep them all." He reached for his chest, his fingers finding their way to the seam that split his armor down the middle. The sections swung away at his touch, revealing a pair of massive, Guyver-ish cannons beneath. "Especially since you won't be around to keep them, eh?"
The chest cannons began to glow with a bright, blinding blue-white light, casting an angelic glow upon Keitaro and the wall behind him. He shielded his eyes with a hiss of pain, staggering back to rest against the masonry. His equilibrium was returning, but slowly…too slowly.
Tamagar's voice floated from behind the overpowering twin lights. "Any last words, Ronin?"
"WAAAATCHHH OOOOOOOOUUUUUUUT!"
The cry came too late for Tamagar as the front end of a beautiful, red sports car slammed into him from the side. The front of the car was crumpled immediately, crushing the engine and ruining the car beyond any immediate repair. Tamagar, with his mystically-induced armor, was relatively unscathed. Instead, he was propelled across the street, slamming into and through the department store wall with a booming crash and a cloud of explosive debris.
Kitsune pulled her face out of the airbag, peeling the seatbelt off of her chest. "I warned him." she said, letting air back into her lungs in a sudden rush.
"Sempai!" Shinobu leapt from the rumble seat, rushing to Keitaro's side. Her arms wrapped around his bruised, battered chest in a vise-like grip. "We were so worried!" she sobbed, crushing the air out of his body and turning his face three different shades of blue.
The girls' driver glanced back at Kanako and Naru, seeing the jealousy seething just beneath their beet-red faces. Even Motoko seemed irritated at Shinobu's private moment with Keitaro. "Ease off there, kiddo," Kitsune warned, "He looks like he's been three rounds with a blender…and lost."
"Oh!" Keitaro gasped as Shinobu let him go, falling forward onto his hands and knees. He coughed for a moment, swallowing what he hoped wasn't one of his teeth as he let his natural immortality take over. "Sorry, Sempai…"
"S'okay," he gasped. As he rose to his feet, his senses came flooding back to him. "Wait a minute! What are you doing here?"
"Saving you, as always, Urashima." Motoko regained her composure, resting her hand on her sword. "We witnessed your efforts on Su's contraption, and were thoroughly unimpressed."
"So we came to the rescue." Kitsune winked. "Kentaro was even nice enough to lend us his car." The rest of the girls rolled their eyes, which brought a smile to Keitaro's bruised face. "Happy to see us?"
"I'd be happier if you all were someplace safe," he assured them. He wanted to go on, but Naru's slender finger trapped his lips together.
Leaning forward, she gave him a warm smile. "We'd all be happier knowing that you aren't fighting this alone, Keitaro."
"That's right, Brother." Kanako murmured. "We are family."
"All of us." Kitsune added, tossing her arm around Kanako's shoulder. The gothic girl glanced over, seeing her trickster neighbor tossing her a conspiratorial wink. The gesture wasn't lost on her, but she chose not to comment on it at the moment.
"We'll stand with you, Sempai," Shinobu leaned against him, this time wrapping him in a gentle hug.
"Even against the t-t-turtle." Motoko stumbled over the words, and her face became red again, but with her hand on her sword and her lips drawn tight across her mouth, no one would dare doubt her words.
His first instinct was to tell them to get the hell out, to leave him behind and get to safety. It was at that moment that his memory suddenly took over, flashing images before his eyes almost faster than he could follow them.
He remembered Shinobu's struggle with her family, and how he had taken it upon himself to take her in and give her the stable environment her parents couldn't (at least, as stable as the Hinata House could be). He remembered Motoko's struggles with her sister and her destiny as the future Sensei of the God's Cry School, and how he had battled by her side against Tsuroko so that she could decide her own destiny. He remembered coming between Su and her brother so that she could continue to be a child. Su had come under his protection as well. Naru, Kanako, Kitsune, even Mutsumi…they had all allowed him to help, bumbler though he was. Was it really right for him to refuse the same?
He imagined how he would feel if any one of them was in his shoes, and the positions reversed. It was for damn sure that he wouldn't ever let them fight alone.
Nodding at last, he felt the grin spread across his face. For the first time that day, he felt good about their chances against Tamagar. "I think you guys knocked him back into the department store."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Kitsune laughed, putting her fist out. Each of them followed suit, lining their hands up. Naru and Kanako were the last. They looked at each other for a second, then back at the others.
"Let's kick some turtle ass." Naru beamed.
* * *
The power had fizzled out long ago inside the department store, leaving only the occasional spark from a broken light fixture to rain down onto the cracked floor. Glass crunched beneath Keitaro's feet as he led the girls inside, sword drawn and hand held out to keep them behind him.
Motoko followed closely, her black blade drawn as well. She glanced back at her companions, who had scrounged weapons from the ruins of the sporting goods department. It wasn't much of a show of force, but it would have to do.
"Where do you suppose a giant turtle would hide?" Kitsune muttered, clutching her tennis racket.
"Pet department?" Kanako muttered flatly.
Kitsune's eyebrows shot up. "Did you just make a joke?"
"No."
She smiled. "Liar."
"Focus, guys." Keitaro frowned, his mind racing. 'Think, Urashima,' he mentally kicked himself. 'Where would a three-meter tall mechanical monster go?'
"Appliances." Everyone looked at Naru like she had gone insane. She simply shrugged. "He's a robot. Hinata doesn't have an electronics store, so what's the next best thing?"
Even as they approached the section, Keitaro knew that she was right. He could feel Tamagar's presence even before he saw the turtle fiend standing among his fellow machines. Rows of refrigerators, stacks of blenders, vacuums lined up in neat, orderly rows, all surrounded him like a support network of sympathetic cousins. His mechanical red eyes widened at the sight of all six of them approaching, clutching bats and rackets, swords and a lone frying pan.
"So," he snarled, brandishing his long, terrifying claws as they stopped several meters back, "You've all come to destroy me?"
"Cut the drama, Nancy." Naru hurled, shaking her aluminum bat at him. "Get ready for a major pounding, Hinata House style."
"And believe me," Keitaro told him, "You don't want one of those. I know."
Surprisingly, the turtle found it within himself to chuckle. The others could only stand and stare in disbelief as he laughed at their future plight. "Well, Ronin," he addressed Keitaro, who still stood in the lead, "If you are allowed reinforcements, then shouldn't I be allowed the same courtesy?"
The residents of the House watched in horror as Tamagar spread his arms out wide, his eyes flickering closed with concentration. For a moment, nothing happened, and the girls, as well as their manager, allowed themselves a slight sigh of relief. Perhaps Tamagar had been bluffing…And then they saw the appliances.
One by one, the machines surrounding Tamagar began to pull together, sliding across the floor as if possessed. Televisions and DVD players and floor polishers all conglomerated into a pile several feet from their new master. In another second, they began to take form.
Human form.
"Watch," Tamagar crowed as several grotesque mechanical beings rose from the pile, "As my children continue the work I set out to do while I prepare to reclaim the power I once held."
"He sure likes to talk a lot." Kitsune muttered. Despite her bravado, though, she was terrified at the sight that loomed before them. Beings comprised of objects she used every day, with chests of television, blenders for heads, arms and hands composed of exposed wiring and pencil sharpeners, and a thousand other items too numerous to count or name, all merged together into a familiar, terrifying shape.
"I d-d-don't t-think we can d-do this, Sempai…" Shinobu murmured, shivering with fright. A loud metallic clang pounded into her ears, and she shrieked in fright before she realized that she had simply dropped her own pan.
"Keitaro!"
The familiar voice echoed from Keitaro's wrist. For a moment, he thought he was going crazy, until Su's voice once more called his name from the box strapped to his arm. "Su-chan?"
"Keitaro!" this time it was Sarah's voice scolding him, as it usually did. "Use the Mogger, you dork!"
"What if we explode?" Naru demanded.
Kanako observed Tamagar's lumbering army, fresh from the pile and still multiplying. "Either way, we lose." she observed.
Keitaro took a deep breath. "Okay…let's do it!" Silently, each girl took position behind Keitaro, forming a lopsided 'V' as they squared off against Tamagar and his forces. "Sorry, Annex. We have a different plan in mind."
"And that would be?"
"Say hello to foreign ingenuity!" Together, he and the girls reached for their wrists. They stayed in perfect unison as they pressed the large red button fixed to the control panel. Their voices cried out as one, as their Moggers came alive with an unnatural glow.
"TRANSMOGRIFY!"
=To Be Continued=
Big thanks to SilverFox06 for proofreading and editing this one. If it sucks, then it's because he wasn't diligent enough. Make sure you send all flames to him, and all props to me! And I promise, the best is yet to come! Stick around for more HDF fun and action, same Tama time, same Tama channel!