Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership Love Hina or the characters in any way
shape form. They are copyrights of Tokyopop and Ken Akumatsu.
Author's Notes: I stick to IC but as I do develop characters expect OOC elements from development to appear gradually. I'm using the Love Hina Manga as my base for this fanfic, which has an ending that is radically different from the anime so please be aware of this before reading. I might use Japanese words for chapter titles and such, but never in the fic itself (I believe if you write in English stick to English). Thanks and now on to the fic.
= = = = = = = = = = =
Love Hina - Halls of Magic
Chapter 1 - Before the Sakura Falls
-Gredival
= = = = = = = = = = =
The wind sent dust and leaves into the air as it blew through. The trees swayed, powerless to remain still against the breeze. Shinobu Maehara shielded her delicate face using her right hand, while balancing her precariously positioned books in her other arm. She slowly made her way up the stairs. As she reached the summit of the stairs, she glanced at the building before her for a brief second. Shinobu still felt lost in it all, she had lived the experiences, sure, but they still felt so unreal. Keitaro and Naru had just gotten married and had just left for Kyoto. It was real and it was fact, but the girl still found it so foreign. It would be different without having them around for a few weeks. Another breeze swept by, tickling Shinobu's skin with its chill, and waking her from her reverie. She hurried inside the walls of the Hinata House Girls Dormitory.
"I'm home!" she shouted. There wasn't an answer. Everyone must still be out, she thought. She strolled over to the counter and put her books down. The young woman walked over to the couch and flipped on the radio as she redid her ponytail, binding up the silk purplish black stands.
"The storms are causing irregular weather throughout the Kyoto area," the voice crackled from the box. "Much of the city has been flooded..."
---
The cold rain pounded on the sides and windows of the white van that drove through the wet streets. Naru sat back in her seat staring idly at the rainy city.
"You okay?" Keitaro asked, noticing Naru's bored gaze.
"Yeah I'm fine," Naru answered forcing a smile. She wasn't telling the truth of course. Their hotel had flooded and unable to find another room their honeymoon has essentially been rained out. And thus the roller coaster of fate and misfortune that had characterized their relationship continued. Keitaro's eyes floated back to Naru. The simple attire of a turtleneck and Capri's complemented her feminine frame as she relaxed in her seat. Her long brown hair fell in straight stands down past her shoulders, with two distinctive bangs on her head.
"Oh my God! Keitaro! Look at the road!" Naru yelled pointing ahead while shaking him.
Keitaro looked up in time to see the van crash into the side of the bridge. "Oops," he said, innocently scratching his head as the van plunged into the river.
"We're going to die!" his wife screamed flailing her arms, trying to block out the flashbacks of her life passing before her eyes.
---
"Urashima..." Motoko whispered as their lips parted. "We can't do this, it's wrong..."
"Why?" the man said with a smile, his eyes seeming to peer into the depths of the swordswoman's soul.
"What about Naru-sempai?" the woman asked.
"Motoko you're the only one I care about," the man promised her with a seductive smile. He leaned in for another kiss...
"Gaaah!" Motoko yelled as she threw the page into the air. "This again?!" she asked in disbelief. "I have a test tomorrow and I'm writing this?!" She slumped into her arms folded on her desk, the page drifting back down. This is pathetic, the law student muttered to herself. She lifted her head, bringing her eyes up to peer over her forearms at the kanji written on the paper.
"Urashima..." Motoko whispered as she read. She sighed and chuckled at herself.
There was a tap at the door, and the law student shoved the paper underneath her books in a hurry. "Motoko, dinner's ready," Shinobu said poking her head into the room.
"Yeah I'll be right there!" Motoko replied, quickly standing up to block her desk from view.
"You okay Motoko?" Shinobu asked.
"Uh yeah! Sure! Why wouldn't I be?" the ronin responded nervously.
"You just seem a bit tense, that's all," the younger girl said with a smile. "Come on, we'll be waiting for you." With that, Shinobu made her way back to the dining room. Motoko let out an exasperated sigh as she undid her ponytail, letting her silky black hair drape around her. She turned her head upwards to gaze at the ceiling, trying to reorient the jumbled thoughts in her head.
Just in time to see Tama-chan land on top of her. "Myu!" the turtle cried out.
"AGGGGGH!!!" Motoko cried out as she bolted from her rooms, waving her arms frantically.
---
"It's a good thing this van has submarine capabilities isn't it?" Keitaro said cheerfully as they moved through the floodwaters. Naru's expression was a mix of amazement, awe, and stupefied disbelief. Mostly stupefied disbelief.
"Keitaro why does this van have submarine capabilities?" she asked dryly.
"Hrm come to think of it I don't really know," he answered. "Never asked Seta," he said scratching the back of his head.
Naru sighed and sank back in her seat. I can't believe the Kyoto gets hit with a massive storm during our honeymoon, Naru thought. Exhaling her breath towards her forehead, she blew some stray hair away from her eyes.
"Naru... I know that the trip's not going how we expected it would, but I'm glad I'm here with you," Keitaro said putting his hand on Naru's. He smiled at her, losing his thoughts for a moment as he looked at her face. Naru smiled back and leaned over, her arm wrapping around Keitaro's neck as she kissed him. Keitaro's tried to wrap an arm around Naru's back, but he sorely misjudged the distance, his hand coming to rest on a familiar round and soft something.
"You pervert!"
---
The girl removed her glasses and rubbed her freckled face. I'm never going to get this, Ema Maeda thought to herself. Sine, cosine, tangent... it all just seemed to blend into one big mass of numbers that taunted her. Even when she seemed to begin to unravel the foreign language that was advanced math it led her to a dead end.
"You need to remember the quadrant you're working in when you do those," Su commented as she bit into her banana.
"Huh?" Ema asked startled.
"Hehe sorry for barging in," the Molmol Princess said. She pointed the banana to a line of numbers on the page. "You messed up there with the sign, that's why your answer is off."
The high school sophomore looked and stared at the mistake. "Augh how could I be so stupid?!"
"If you want you can try my new math teaching helmet!" Su said pulling out a suspicious looking piece of headwear. Ema could see pieces from the missing toaster protruding from it.
"Uh, no thanks Su, I think I'll do it the old fashioned way," Ema replied nervously a trickle of sweat creeping down her face, "gray hair and loss of sleep."
"Okies," she responded finishing her banana. "But den you might want to move over to the café so you can get some coffee." She wandered out of the room to leave Ema with her textbook. She glanced at it and decided moving over to the café might not be such a bad idea after all.
---
Keitaro's head laid on Naru's lap, a soft groan coming from his lips as the girl stared idyllically at him. Naru moved the wet towel and stroked his head affectionately. Keitaro's eyes fluttered open slowly. "Hey there, you awake?" Naru whispered.
Keitaro blinked, trying to clear his vision. A dangling cross came into vision. "Mm Naru?" Keitaro asked sleepily.
Naru nodded, her hands brushing Keitaro's hair away. She placed his slim glasses onto his face, Naru's blurry outline becoming more defined as the layer of glass passed in front of his eyes. "Did it hurt?"
"Not really."
"Liar," Naru accused poking a finger into Keitaro's jaw making him wince in pain.
"Okay maybe a bit," the immortal archaeologist admitted. Naru leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
"Now let's get back home," the girl said with a smile. "It's almost time for the festival."
----
Ema's eyes opened wide as she saw the scene before her. The other girls of the Hinata House were outside decorating the grounds. Kitsune crossed her arms over the Hinata Café apron across her chest, leaning back against a tree lazily. A cigarette was pursed to the woman's lips, flickering as Kitsune took a breath. Noticing Ema, the fox eyed woman called her over.
"Hey Kitsune what's going on?" the younger girl asked.
"We're preparing for the Hinata House's annual Cherry Blossom Festival," Kitsune answered with a grin.
"The cherry blossoms here are really beautiful," Mutsumi said with giggle, appearing behind the pair. She was holding a box of full of sake in her right arm, and held a watermelon in the grip of her left hand. "Kitsune- san where do you want the sake?"
"Oh just put it down there for now," Kitsune said pointing to a table. The Toudai medical student started over to the table before slipping on one of Su's banana peels.
"Whoopsie!" Mutsumi said as she stumbled trying to catch herself, the watermelon flying out of her hand soaring through the sky.
This is going to be bad, Kitsune thought to herself rolling the distinctive cigarette in her mouth. The green fruit began to descend in the area where the other three Hinata House residents were setting up the dinner area.
"Watch out!" Ema called. However the melon smashed into the ground, the shell shattering and covering the three girls in spongy red watermelon.
"Sorry," Mutsumi apologized innocently.
----
The steam was thick due to the coolness of the air and the contrasting heat of the springs. The girls lounged around in the Hot Springs, melting into the warm water as they felt it cleanse them.
"Nothing like a hot bath," Kitsune said stretching her arms and sliding down so the water came up to her shoulders. She reached backwards and poured herself some sake.
"Save some of that for the festival," Motoko remarked dryly.
"Aw not having fun? I'm sure I can fix that," Kitsune said with a lewd smile, her cheeks slightly red, due to both the steamed heat of the bath and the amount of sake she had consumed. Motoko felt a chill run down her back as she felt Kitsune's hands on her skin.
"Oh my!" Mutsumi remarked.
"Looks like Motoko found someone to replace Keitaro," Su giggled pointing at the scene with amusement.
Shinobu and Ema just stared wide-eyed at the scene.
"How can you be this wasted already?!" Motoko yelled at the Café owner chasing her away. Kitsune snickered drunkenly as she waded away from the angry sword bearing Motoko. For the first time Kitsune seriously thought she had consumed too much alcohol as the van broke the surface of the bath, leaping out to soar in between the angry Motoko and the buzzed Kitsune.
The van flopped back onto the water and the girls could see a door open from behind the misty veil of the thick steam. Motoko clutched her sword, her hand ready to draw the blade in a second's need. Su has somehow procured the controls for Mecha Tama 30.0
"You don't need that!" Shinobu wailed as she noticed what Su was doing.
A wind blew past scattering the thick covering of mist to reveal a man wearing a white lab coat on, standing waist deep in the spring, confused as to where he was.
"Keitaro?"
"Urashima?"
"Sempai?"
"Kei-kun?"
The man turned around upon hearing familiar voices, and waved. "Oh hey guys, I thought this place looked eerily familiar," he said with a little laugh.
Motoko was not so amused, as could be seen by her shaking hands, and neither was Keitaro's bride standing behind him. Ema busied herself by sinking into the water out of sight, her face scarlet red from the appearance of a man in the hot spring. Su and Shinobu both knew what was next as they took care to move Mutsumi from harm.
The demon sword slid out of its sheath in a fluid movement that also brought Motoko rushing at the man. "Boulder Cutting Blade!"
Naru's fist also came at the man. "You pervert!"
"I'm sorry!" Keitaro cried as he was blown backwards from the shockwave of Motoko's strike into Naru's fist.
"I'm glad Sempai is immortal," Shinobu said quietly as she watched Keitaro land in the trees about thirty feet away away.
----
"So why are you back so soon, some problems in consummating the relationship?" Kitsune asked with a grin.
"Well..." Keitaro started before Naru smacked him upside the head.
"You don't need to know about those things Kitsune!" Naru snapped. "And for your information the hotel was flooded and we couldn't find a room," she added looking away.
"Well you are in time for the festival, let's go!" Su said dragging Shinobu and Ema off to the party area.
Kitsune got up next, pulling on Motoko's sleeve a bit. "Let's give the lovers a little time to themselves," Kitsune whispered under her breath as she passed Motoko. Motoko followed Kitsune's lead.
Keitaro stood up, and then noticed the look on Naru's eyes. Following her gaze to the blossoming cherry trees in the grove. Their petals were a soft hue of pink, almost white. The color was warm and welcoming, offering a sense of familiarity to the couple. "It's good to be back, even if it was unscheduled."
Naru nodded her agreement turning her head to favor Keitaro with a smile. "I'm glad we arrived before the cherry blossoms fell, and," Naru started as she got up, "most of all I'm glad we're here together." She kissed Keitaro and moved off towards the party turning back to him. "You coming?"
A smile crossed Keitaro's face; "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Author's Notes: I stick to IC but as I do develop characters expect OOC elements from development to appear gradually. I'm using the Love Hina Manga as my base for this fanfic, which has an ending that is radically different from the anime so please be aware of this before reading. I might use Japanese words for chapter titles and such, but never in the fic itself (I believe if you write in English stick to English). Thanks and now on to the fic.
= = = = = = = = = = =
Love Hina - Halls of Magic
Chapter 1 - Before the Sakura Falls
-Gredival
= = = = = = = = = = =
The wind sent dust and leaves into the air as it blew through. The trees swayed, powerless to remain still against the breeze. Shinobu Maehara shielded her delicate face using her right hand, while balancing her precariously positioned books in her other arm. She slowly made her way up the stairs. As she reached the summit of the stairs, she glanced at the building before her for a brief second. Shinobu still felt lost in it all, she had lived the experiences, sure, but they still felt so unreal. Keitaro and Naru had just gotten married and had just left for Kyoto. It was real and it was fact, but the girl still found it so foreign. It would be different without having them around for a few weeks. Another breeze swept by, tickling Shinobu's skin with its chill, and waking her from her reverie. She hurried inside the walls of the Hinata House Girls Dormitory.
"I'm home!" she shouted. There wasn't an answer. Everyone must still be out, she thought. She strolled over to the counter and put her books down. The young woman walked over to the couch and flipped on the radio as she redid her ponytail, binding up the silk purplish black stands.
"The storms are causing irregular weather throughout the Kyoto area," the voice crackled from the box. "Much of the city has been flooded..."
---
The cold rain pounded on the sides and windows of the white van that drove through the wet streets. Naru sat back in her seat staring idly at the rainy city.
"You okay?" Keitaro asked, noticing Naru's bored gaze.
"Yeah I'm fine," Naru answered forcing a smile. She wasn't telling the truth of course. Their hotel had flooded and unable to find another room their honeymoon has essentially been rained out. And thus the roller coaster of fate and misfortune that had characterized their relationship continued. Keitaro's eyes floated back to Naru. The simple attire of a turtleneck and Capri's complemented her feminine frame as she relaxed in her seat. Her long brown hair fell in straight stands down past her shoulders, with two distinctive bangs on her head.
"Oh my God! Keitaro! Look at the road!" Naru yelled pointing ahead while shaking him.
Keitaro looked up in time to see the van crash into the side of the bridge. "Oops," he said, innocently scratching his head as the van plunged into the river.
"We're going to die!" his wife screamed flailing her arms, trying to block out the flashbacks of her life passing before her eyes.
---
"Urashima..." Motoko whispered as their lips parted. "We can't do this, it's wrong..."
"Why?" the man said with a smile, his eyes seeming to peer into the depths of the swordswoman's soul.
"What about Naru-sempai?" the woman asked.
"Motoko you're the only one I care about," the man promised her with a seductive smile. He leaned in for another kiss...
"Gaaah!" Motoko yelled as she threw the page into the air. "This again?!" she asked in disbelief. "I have a test tomorrow and I'm writing this?!" She slumped into her arms folded on her desk, the page drifting back down. This is pathetic, the law student muttered to herself. She lifted her head, bringing her eyes up to peer over her forearms at the kanji written on the paper.
"Urashima..." Motoko whispered as she read. She sighed and chuckled at herself.
There was a tap at the door, and the law student shoved the paper underneath her books in a hurry. "Motoko, dinner's ready," Shinobu said poking her head into the room.
"Yeah I'll be right there!" Motoko replied, quickly standing up to block her desk from view.
"You okay Motoko?" Shinobu asked.
"Uh yeah! Sure! Why wouldn't I be?" the ronin responded nervously.
"You just seem a bit tense, that's all," the younger girl said with a smile. "Come on, we'll be waiting for you." With that, Shinobu made her way back to the dining room. Motoko let out an exasperated sigh as she undid her ponytail, letting her silky black hair drape around her. She turned her head upwards to gaze at the ceiling, trying to reorient the jumbled thoughts in her head.
Just in time to see Tama-chan land on top of her. "Myu!" the turtle cried out.
"AGGGGGH!!!" Motoko cried out as she bolted from her rooms, waving her arms frantically.
---
"It's a good thing this van has submarine capabilities isn't it?" Keitaro said cheerfully as they moved through the floodwaters. Naru's expression was a mix of amazement, awe, and stupefied disbelief. Mostly stupefied disbelief.
"Keitaro why does this van have submarine capabilities?" she asked dryly.
"Hrm come to think of it I don't really know," he answered. "Never asked Seta," he said scratching the back of his head.
Naru sighed and sank back in her seat. I can't believe the Kyoto gets hit with a massive storm during our honeymoon, Naru thought. Exhaling her breath towards her forehead, she blew some stray hair away from her eyes.
"Naru... I know that the trip's not going how we expected it would, but I'm glad I'm here with you," Keitaro said putting his hand on Naru's. He smiled at her, losing his thoughts for a moment as he looked at her face. Naru smiled back and leaned over, her arm wrapping around Keitaro's neck as she kissed him. Keitaro's tried to wrap an arm around Naru's back, but he sorely misjudged the distance, his hand coming to rest on a familiar round and soft something.
"You pervert!"
---
The girl removed her glasses and rubbed her freckled face. I'm never going to get this, Ema Maeda thought to herself. Sine, cosine, tangent... it all just seemed to blend into one big mass of numbers that taunted her. Even when she seemed to begin to unravel the foreign language that was advanced math it led her to a dead end.
"You need to remember the quadrant you're working in when you do those," Su commented as she bit into her banana.
"Huh?" Ema asked startled.
"Hehe sorry for barging in," the Molmol Princess said. She pointed the banana to a line of numbers on the page. "You messed up there with the sign, that's why your answer is off."
The high school sophomore looked and stared at the mistake. "Augh how could I be so stupid?!"
"If you want you can try my new math teaching helmet!" Su said pulling out a suspicious looking piece of headwear. Ema could see pieces from the missing toaster protruding from it.
"Uh, no thanks Su, I think I'll do it the old fashioned way," Ema replied nervously a trickle of sweat creeping down her face, "gray hair and loss of sleep."
"Okies," she responded finishing her banana. "But den you might want to move over to the café so you can get some coffee." She wandered out of the room to leave Ema with her textbook. She glanced at it and decided moving over to the café might not be such a bad idea after all.
---
Keitaro's head laid on Naru's lap, a soft groan coming from his lips as the girl stared idyllically at him. Naru moved the wet towel and stroked his head affectionately. Keitaro's eyes fluttered open slowly. "Hey there, you awake?" Naru whispered.
Keitaro blinked, trying to clear his vision. A dangling cross came into vision. "Mm Naru?" Keitaro asked sleepily.
Naru nodded, her hands brushing Keitaro's hair away. She placed his slim glasses onto his face, Naru's blurry outline becoming more defined as the layer of glass passed in front of his eyes. "Did it hurt?"
"Not really."
"Liar," Naru accused poking a finger into Keitaro's jaw making him wince in pain.
"Okay maybe a bit," the immortal archaeologist admitted. Naru leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
"Now let's get back home," the girl said with a smile. "It's almost time for the festival."
----
Ema's eyes opened wide as she saw the scene before her. The other girls of the Hinata House were outside decorating the grounds. Kitsune crossed her arms over the Hinata Café apron across her chest, leaning back against a tree lazily. A cigarette was pursed to the woman's lips, flickering as Kitsune took a breath. Noticing Ema, the fox eyed woman called her over.
"Hey Kitsune what's going on?" the younger girl asked.
"We're preparing for the Hinata House's annual Cherry Blossom Festival," Kitsune answered with a grin.
"The cherry blossoms here are really beautiful," Mutsumi said with giggle, appearing behind the pair. She was holding a box of full of sake in her right arm, and held a watermelon in the grip of her left hand. "Kitsune- san where do you want the sake?"
"Oh just put it down there for now," Kitsune said pointing to a table. The Toudai medical student started over to the table before slipping on one of Su's banana peels.
"Whoopsie!" Mutsumi said as she stumbled trying to catch herself, the watermelon flying out of her hand soaring through the sky.
This is going to be bad, Kitsune thought to herself rolling the distinctive cigarette in her mouth. The green fruit began to descend in the area where the other three Hinata House residents were setting up the dinner area.
"Watch out!" Ema called. However the melon smashed into the ground, the shell shattering and covering the three girls in spongy red watermelon.
"Sorry," Mutsumi apologized innocently.
----
The steam was thick due to the coolness of the air and the contrasting heat of the springs. The girls lounged around in the Hot Springs, melting into the warm water as they felt it cleanse them.
"Nothing like a hot bath," Kitsune said stretching her arms and sliding down so the water came up to her shoulders. She reached backwards and poured herself some sake.
"Save some of that for the festival," Motoko remarked dryly.
"Aw not having fun? I'm sure I can fix that," Kitsune said with a lewd smile, her cheeks slightly red, due to both the steamed heat of the bath and the amount of sake she had consumed. Motoko felt a chill run down her back as she felt Kitsune's hands on her skin.
"Oh my!" Mutsumi remarked.
"Looks like Motoko found someone to replace Keitaro," Su giggled pointing at the scene with amusement.
Shinobu and Ema just stared wide-eyed at the scene.
"How can you be this wasted already?!" Motoko yelled at the Café owner chasing her away. Kitsune snickered drunkenly as she waded away from the angry sword bearing Motoko. For the first time Kitsune seriously thought she had consumed too much alcohol as the van broke the surface of the bath, leaping out to soar in between the angry Motoko and the buzzed Kitsune.
The van flopped back onto the water and the girls could see a door open from behind the misty veil of the thick steam. Motoko clutched her sword, her hand ready to draw the blade in a second's need. Su has somehow procured the controls for Mecha Tama 30.0
"You don't need that!" Shinobu wailed as she noticed what Su was doing.
A wind blew past scattering the thick covering of mist to reveal a man wearing a white lab coat on, standing waist deep in the spring, confused as to where he was.
"Keitaro?"
"Urashima?"
"Sempai?"
"Kei-kun?"
The man turned around upon hearing familiar voices, and waved. "Oh hey guys, I thought this place looked eerily familiar," he said with a little laugh.
Motoko was not so amused, as could be seen by her shaking hands, and neither was Keitaro's bride standing behind him. Ema busied herself by sinking into the water out of sight, her face scarlet red from the appearance of a man in the hot spring. Su and Shinobu both knew what was next as they took care to move Mutsumi from harm.
The demon sword slid out of its sheath in a fluid movement that also brought Motoko rushing at the man. "Boulder Cutting Blade!"
Naru's fist also came at the man. "You pervert!"
"I'm sorry!" Keitaro cried as he was blown backwards from the shockwave of Motoko's strike into Naru's fist.
"I'm glad Sempai is immortal," Shinobu said quietly as she watched Keitaro land in the trees about thirty feet away away.
----
"So why are you back so soon, some problems in consummating the relationship?" Kitsune asked with a grin.
"Well..." Keitaro started before Naru smacked him upside the head.
"You don't need to know about those things Kitsune!" Naru snapped. "And for your information the hotel was flooded and we couldn't find a room," she added looking away.
"Well you are in time for the festival, let's go!" Su said dragging Shinobu and Ema off to the party area.
Kitsune got up next, pulling on Motoko's sleeve a bit. "Let's give the lovers a little time to themselves," Kitsune whispered under her breath as she passed Motoko. Motoko followed Kitsune's lead.
Keitaro stood up, and then noticed the look on Naru's eyes. Following her gaze to the blossoming cherry trees in the grove. Their petals were a soft hue of pink, almost white. The color was warm and welcoming, offering a sense of familiarity to the couple. "It's good to be back, even if it was unscheduled."
Naru nodded her agreement turning her head to favor Keitaro with a smile. "I'm glad we arrived before the cherry blossoms fell, and," Naru started as she got up, "most of all I'm glad we're here together." She kissed Keitaro and moved off towards the party turning back to him. "You coming?"
A smile crossed Keitaro's face; "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
