AN: Hey, back again. I'm starting to feel like my reviews and notes are
becoming a "Ask Blade" column... But I'll see what I can do to answer some
questions... ^_^
As far as characters being "canon" per se, do keep in mind that this is a sequel to "Child of the Crimson Moon." There will be some changes as this series does take place a couple years after it and all. Although it's not required that you read the series before this, it does help understand the way things are and you'll see the characters in the series being more "canon."
As far as "odd pairings" are concerned, I haven't given deep thoughts or had dreams on them yet, pop me an e-mail and we'll discuss it.
As far as whether more or specific characters showing up? Can't tell, that'd be giving you the script, no? ^_^
As always, Love Hina and its characters belong to Ken Akamatsu, original characters belong to me and may be used with permission.
_______________________________________________________________________
For Love and Honor
Chapter 3: Kindred souls and archeologists
Humming cheerfully to herself, a woman glanced around the packed morning market in Hinata. Her long golden blond hair trailed down below her waist and ended in a tail, and she wore a white baby Tee with a pair of worksman's overalls. Hefting a large camper's backpack over her shoulder, she continued through the markets, drawing attention from everyone to not only the backpack which seemed three times her body weight, but to her unmistakable Western looks as well.
"Ah..." An elderly man blinked as the woman approached his stand, examining the apples which he was selling. "You want buy apple, miss?" The elder spoke in broken English, to which the woman blinked at him with crystal blue eyes before smiling.
"I'll take one!" The woman replied smoothly back in Japanese, stunning the old man. "By the way, you wouldn't happen to know the way to the Hinata- Sou, would you?" Still surprised, the old man could only point in a direction, to which she thanked him and placed a 500 yen note in his hand before walking off...
_______________________________________________________________________
Standing outside of the Hinata-Sou, Emi looked up silently at one of many trees which surrounded the dorm, enclosing it into an everlasting tranquil place. Straightening her gi and rising from where she knelt, she withdrew her katana and delivered a swift kick to the tree, sending several leaves and twigs down. Her eyes narrowed in preparation, and in a blur of motion seperated the twigs and leaves into twos and threes as she resheathed her sword.
Sensing movement, she glanced back over her shoulder to discover Sho exiting the Hinata-Sou and disappear into the nearby mountain trail. Curious in seeing the landlord's training techniques, she began following him. being careful not to be discovered. After what seemed to be miles deep in the mountains, she had followed him to a giant waterfall, and watched as he sat under its biting cold water and began meditating.
'Purify one's mind...' Emi watched Sho from a distance. 'Perhaps that's what I need to do more often to assist in my own training...' Hearing a growl from behind, she turned with a smile thinking it was Yuki playing a joke on her, but was shocked as she found a huge mountain lion glaring menacingly at her. Reacting in an instant, she drew her sword and shot a wave of energy at it, but cursed as she realized that in panic her attack had no strength and was quickly dissapated.
With a roar that sent chills down her spine, the lion leapt. With a lingering doubt in her own abilities, Emi hesitated and would have surely perished, had not the landlord of the Hinata-Sou interfere on her behalf...
Tackling the lion out of the air right in front of Emi, the two rolled several yards away before taking vicious swings against each other. Emi gasped in horror as she saw that while Sho was pummeling the beast viciously with bloodied fists, the lion was drawing a fair share of blood from him with its claws. Though the combat only lasted mere seconds, it seemed like hours to the swordswoman as all she could do was watch on...
With a sickening crunching sound, the lion fell to a motionless heap on the ground. Slowly, Sho looked up into Emi's eyes with a lifeless gaze before dropping to his knees. Shaking free from her fear, she quickly ran up to him, hoping it's not too late...
_______________________________________________________________________
"Take your shirt off, idiot." Emi had somehow managed to drag the near lifeless form of the landlord back to his room in the Hinata-Sou, and was preparing to dress his wounds. When Sho merely looked at her with his usual blank look, she had to struggle not to choke him with her own hands. "Your shirt NOW, Urashima!" She roared, and even Sho flinched slightly as he thought to have seen and heard Motoko instead of her daughter. Slowly, the landlord complied and shed off his bloodied and torn shirt...
She nearly dropped her medical supplies as she stared at the maze of scars which seemed to cover all of his upper body, and was even more surprised to find the injuries from earlier all but gone, forming into new scars on his body. Slowly tracing her fingertips along his body, she stared with a mixed sense of awe and worry, but could only bring herself to say one word...
"Why...?" She whispered, looking into Sho's face.
"Because I would rather have it been the lion instead of you..." Sho replied.
The swordswoman stared at him wordlessly, then began hitting him with fists more out of anger than with force. "It was all my fault, don't you get it?!" She exclaimed as she continued hitting him. "How do you think your sister would have felt if you had died there? What would the others have felt?" She then began sobbing, and soon stopped and simply cried onto his shoulder.
"...How would you think I would've felt...?" She whispered between sobs. Sighing, the landlord gently wrapped his arms around her comfortingly, watching her silently as she cried...
Hearing a knock at the front door minutes later, Sho gently withdrew his arms and stood, while Emi watched him as she wiped her tears away. "You should get some rest, you're not healed yet..." She began, but was cut off as Sho looked at her calmly.
"Stay if you wish, I have no intentions of letting my sister opening the door to a stranger by herself..." Throwing on a simple sweater, the landlord soon disappeared from the room, leaving the swordswoman by herself.
"Damn you, Sho..." She sighed, clutching a hand to her chest. "Why...?"
_______________________________________________________________________
Meeting in the living room, the Urashima siblings and tenants gathered and opened the front door as a group. What greeted them surprised even the usually stoic Sho, as a woman with Western looks sat on a gigantic camper's packpack waited outside.
"Wow, you two sure have grown!" The foreign woman smiled, munching on an apple. "So, where's that dorky landlord dad of yours?"
_______________________________________________________________________
Minutes later, the group had settled in the living room. The atmosphere was devoid of any joy or humor, and even the newcomer sighed as she cradled a cup of hot tea in her hands.
"I didn't even know..." The woman shook her head sadly. "My apologies to you two... your folks might have been a little odd, but they were good people..."
"Thank you." Yuki smiled slightly, "But what brings you back to Hinata? I thought you were still on an archeological dig with your father?"
"Was." The woman smiled. "We actually dug up a couple kooky ruins a month back, and since I was bored out of my mind when all they did was overanalyze everything..." She then patted her backpack. "...I decided to take a vacation and come back here!"
"It is nice to hear from you again..." Sho nodded. "But why here, of all places?"
"This place holds some pleasant memories for me, even though I only came a couple times when I was a kid..." The woman then smiled, and held up a large and worn notebook. "Besides, I still have to finish something from long ago!"
"I remember that!" Yuki smiled. "You and my mother were charting the secret passages in the Hinata-Sou!"
"Secret passages...?" Both Emi and Natsumi gave a bewildered look, to which the landlord confirmed with a nod.
"Finishing a project that you and mother started, hmm?" After a moment of thought, Sho stood and looked down at the foreigner. "I'd be honored if you're willing to spend more time here then... I'll go set up your room, Miss MacDougal..."
"Why so formal, brat? I'm not that much older..." The woman grinned. "Just Sarah will do."
_______________________________________________________________________
As night began setting in, the resident swordswoman strolled quietly to the balcony for some fresh air, and was surprised to see the landlord sitting quietly on the roof. Silently, she made her way over to him and sat behind him, resting her back against his. Neither said anything, merely enjoying the peace and quiet provided by the evening.
"I still want to thank you for earlier..." Emi began, breaking the silence between them after a long moment.
"Don't worry about it..." Sho replied. "You weren't hurt, that's thanks enough."
Though the comment sounded cold from his emotionless voice, Emi still blushed slightly from his words and looked down. After recomposing herself, she looked over her shoulder at the landlord. "Sho...? Have you ever been scared of anything...?" She asked, recalling her moment of hesitation with the mountain lion.
"Of course..." Sho replied quietly. "I always fear I'll lose more people who I care about..."
"Don't be..." Emi smiled slightly. "I'm here now, and I'm pretty sure the two of us can defend everyone here!" Sho merely nodded in reply, and the two sat watching the stars above them in peace and silence...
_______________________________________________________________________
Like? No like? Please Review!
Ugh, another piece of garbage for a chapter... Hopefully I can improve on this a bit more in the following chapters. Hope you enjoyed, and stay tuned!
As far as characters being "canon" per se, do keep in mind that this is a sequel to "Child of the Crimson Moon." There will be some changes as this series does take place a couple years after it and all. Although it's not required that you read the series before this, it does help understand the way things are and you'll see the characters in the series being more "canon."
As far as "odd pairings" are concerned, I haven't given deep thoughts or had dreams on them yet, pop me an e-mail and we'll discuss it.
As far as whether more or specific characters showing up? Can't tell, that'd be giving you the script, no? ^_^
As always, Love Hina and its characters belong to Ken Akamatsu, original characters belong to me and may be used with permission.
_______________________________________________________________________
For Love and Honor
Chapter 3: Kindred souls and archeologists
Humming cheerfully to herself, a woman glanced around the packed morning market in Hinata. Her long golden blond hair trailed down below her waist and ended in a tail, and she wore a white baby Tee with a pair of worksman's overalls. Hefting a large camper's backpack over her shoulder, she continued through the markets, drawing attention from everyone to not only the backpack which seemed three times her body weight, but to her unmistakable Western looks as well.
"Ah..." An elderly man blinked as the woman approached his stand, examining the apples which he was selling. "You want buy apple, miss?" The elder spoke in broken English, to which the woman blinked at him with crystal blue eyes before smiling.
"I'll take one!" The woman replied smoothly back in Japanese, stunning the old man. "By the way, you wouldn't happen to know the way to the Hinata- Sou, would you?" Still surprised, the old man could only point in a direction, to which she thanked him and placed a 500 yen note in his hand before walking off...
_______________________________________________________________________
Standing outside of the Hinata-Sou, Emi looked up silently at one of many trees which surrounded the dorm, enclosing it into an everlasting tranquil place. Straightening her gi and rising from where she knelt, she withdrew her katana and delivered a swift kick to the tree, sending several leaves and twigs down. Her eyes narrowed in preparation, and in a blur of motion seperated the twigs and leaves into twos and threes as she resheathed her sword.
Sensing movement, she glanced back over her shoulder to discover Sho exiting the Hinata-Sou and disappear into the nearby mountain trail. Curious in seeing the landlord's training techniques, she began following him. being careful not to be discovered. After what seemed to be miles deep in the mountains, she had followed him to a giant waterfall, and watched as he sat under its biting cold water and began meditating.
'Purify one's mind...' Emi watched Sho from a distance. 'Perhaps that's what I need to do more often to assist in my own training...' Hearing a growl from behind, she turned with a smile thinking it was Yuki playing a joke on her, but was shocked as she found a huge mountain lion glaring menacingly at her. Reacting in an instant, she drew her sword and shot a wave of energy at it, but cursed as she realized that in panic her attack had no strength and was quickly dissapated.
With a roar that sent chills down her spine, the lion leapt. With a lingering doubt in her own abilities, Emi hesitated and would have surely perished, had not the landlord of the Hinata-Sou interfere on her behalf...
Tackling the lion out of the air right in front of Emi, the two rolled several yards away before taking vicious swings against each other. Emi gasped in horror as she saw that while Sho was pummeling the beast viciously with bloodied fists, the lion was drawing a fair share of blood from him with its claws. Though the combat only lasted mere seconds, it seemed like hours to the swordswoman as all she could do was watch on...
With a sickening crunching sound, the lion fell to a motionless heap on the ground. Slowly, Sho looked up into Emi's eyes with a lifeless gaze before dropping to his knees. Shaking free from her fear, she quickly ran up to him, hoping it's not too late...
_______________________________________________________________________
"Take your shirt off, idiot." Emi had somehow managed to drag the near lifeless form of the landlord back to his room in the Hinata-Sou, and was preparing to dress his wounds. When Sho merely looked at her with his usual blank look, she had to struggle not to choke him with her own hands. "Your shirt NOW, Urashima!" She roared, and even Sho flinched slightly as he thought to have seen and heard Motoko instead of her daughter. Slowly, the landlord complied and shed off his bloodied and torn shirt...
She nearly dropped her medical supplies as she stared at the maze of scars which seemed to cover all of his upper body, and was even more surprised to find the injuries from earlier all but gone, forming into new scars on his body. Slowly tracing her fingertips along his body, she stared with a mixed sense of awe and worry, but could only bring herself to say one word...
"Why...?" She whispered, looking into Sho's face.
"Because I would rather have it been the lion instead of you..." Sho replied.
The swordswoman stared at him wordlessly, then began hitting him with fists more out of anger than with force. "It was all my fault, don't you get it?!" She exclaimed as she continued hitting him. "How do you think your sister would have felt if you had died there? What would the others have felt?" She then began sobbing, and soon stopped and simply cried onto his shoulder.
"...How would you think I would've felt...?" She whispered between sobs. Sighing, the landlord gently wrapped his arms around her comfortingly, watching her silently as she cried...
Hearing a knock at the front door minutes later, Sho gently withdrew his arms and stood, while Emi watched him as she wiped her tears away. "You should get some rest, you're not healed yet..." She began, but was cut off as Sho looked at her calmly.
"Stay if you wish, I have no intentions of letting my sister opening the door to a stranger by herself..." Throwing on a simple sweater, the landlord soon disappeared from the room, leaving the swordswoman by herself.
"Damn you, Sho..." She sighed, clutching a hand to her chest. "Why...?"
_______________________________________________________________________
Meeting in the living room, the Urashima siblings and tenants gathered and opened the front door as a group. What greeted them surprised even the usually stoic Sho, as a woman with Western looks sat on a gigantic camper's packpack waited outside.
"Wow, you two sure have grown!" The foreign woman smiled, munching on an apple. "So, where's that dorky landlord dad of yours?"
_______________________________________________________________________
Minutes later, the group had settled in the living room. The atmosphere was devoid of any joy or humor, and even the newcomer sighed as she cradled a cup of hot tea in her hands.
"I didn't even know..." The woman shook her head sadly. "My apologies to you two... your folks might have been a little odd, but they were good people..."
"Thank you." Yuki smiled slightly, "But what brings you back to Hinata? I thought you were still on an archeological dig with your father?"
"Was." The woman smiled. "We actually dug up a couple kooky ruins a month back, and since I was bored out of my mind when all they did was overanalyze everything..." She then patted her backpack. "...I decided to take a vacation and come back here!"
"It is nice to hear from you again..." Sho nodded. "But why here, of all places?"
"This place holds some pleasant memories for me, even though I only came a couple times when I was a kid..." The woman then smiled, and held up a large and worn notebook. "Besides, I still have to finish something from long ago!"
"I remember that!" Yuki smiled. "You and my mother were charting the secret passages in the Hinata-Sou!"
"Secret passages...?" Both Emi and Natsumi gave a bewildered look, to which the landlord confirmed with a nod.
"Finishing a project that you and mother started, hmm?" After a moment of thought, Sho stood and looked down at the foreigner. "I'd be honored if you're willing to spend more time here then... I'll go set up your room, Miss MacDougal..."
"Why so formal, brat? I'm not that much older..." The woman grinned. "Just Sarah will do."
_______________________________________________________________________
As night began setting in, the resident swordswoman strolled quietly to the balcony for some fresh air, and was surprised to see the landlord sitting quietly on the roof. Silently, she made her way over to him and sat behind him, resting her back against his. Neither said anything, merely enjoying the peace and quiet provided by the evening.
"I still want to thank you for earlier..." Emi began, breaking the silence between them after a long moment.
"Don't worry about it..." Sho replied. "You weren't hurt, that's thanks enough."
Though the comment sounded cold from his emotionless voice, Emi still blushed slightly from his words and looked down. After recomposing herself, she looked over her shoulder at the landlord. "Sho...? Have you ever been scared of anything...?" She asked, recalling her moment of hesitation with the mountain lion.
"Of course..." Sho replied quietly. "I always fear I'll lose more people who I care about..."
"Don't be..." Emi smiled slightly. "I'm here now, and I'm pretty sure the two of us can defend everyone here!" Sho merely nodded in reply, and the two sat watching the stars above them in peace and silence...
_______________________________________________________________________
Like? No like? Please Review!
Ugh, another piece of garbage for a chapter... Hopefully I can improve on this a bit more in the following chapters. Hope you enjoyed, and stay tuned!