Hello again! I'd like to take this time to once again remind you all to vote for your favorite character! The link can be found in my profile, in the 'homepage' section… thingy… Right, anyway, as of June 25, 2004 at 6:52 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, Ami, is in the lead with one vote! And no, it wasn't me. XD As much as I want to vote, I will not… At least, not until later… I dunno. Anyway, that's enough rambling from me! On with the fic!

---Kouji Tamino

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Love Hina Next

Chapter 30: Daddy Dearest

A few days passed after Sarah had discovered the note. Since then, Tokimi began pacing around the house, mumbling to herself. Shima stepped toward her. "Um, Tokimi?…" He sweat dropped as he saw the holes that Tokimi had burned into the floor with her pacing around. "Um, Tokimi? Don't you think that you're overreacting a bit?"

Tokimi's eyes widened as she ran over to Shima and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "What are you saying? My father is a crazed, abusive lunatic!"

Shima nodded slowly. "Yeah, but you've got tons of people here to protect you if he tries anything! Either Ami or Meiruuna could take him on just by themselves! Plus, haven't you been taking self defense? Give him the ol' Tokimi punch!"

Tokimi smiled, stopping her pacing. "Yeah, I guess you're right…" She walked over to Shima and gave him a hug. "Thanks… I was just so worried, and--"

Shima hugged back. "Yeah, I can see how getting so worked up could make you forget…" They both let go and Tokimi ran upstairs. Shima smiled, plopping onto the couch.

"So, you gonna try and nail her?" Kai asked jokingly, who was sitting next to Shima.

"Gyah!" Shima screamed, looking at the bunny. "How long have you been sitting there?" He looked away, before looking back to the rabbit. "And no, I'm not trying to 'nail' her…"

Kai chuckled. "Yeah, going for some goth booty, right? Yeah, I think Rikina's hot, too…" He smiled perversely. "Or maybe ya like em young? Going after that samurai chick I saw a while ago, or Nina? Or maybe you like jailbait, going after Ami or my owner? Or maybe older women, like Shino-- Ow!"

Shima punched Kai in the back of the head, glaring. "God, you're a perverted little rabbit, aren't you?"

Kai smirked, reaching under the couch cushion and pulling out a dirty magazine. "Heh, who's the one with these under his bed, huh?" He opened it up to a centerfold. "Whoa, I didn't know human girls shaved down there!"

Shima quickly grabbed the magazine and hid back under the couch cushion. "Who said you could go into my room, anyway?"

"Nobody…" Kai replied with a grin. "I just let myself in…"

"Ooh, just wait until I tell Meiruuna!" Tenshi scolded, after flying into the room from the kitchen and seeing the magazine. "You've been a bad bunny!"

Kai stuck his tongue out. "So? What's she gonna do, huh? We're just rabbits, there's not much that she can do to us, y'know…"

Tenshi smiled mischievously. "Hey, remember those yucky old vegetables she fed you last time you were in trouble? Hm?"

Kai's eyes widened. "Ack, no! Those were nasty! Please don't tell, sis!" Kai's eyes watered up, his lip trembling. "P-please don't tell!"

Tenshi stuck her tongue out at him. "Alright, since I'm so nice, I won't tell…" She flew upstairs, humming happily.

Kai snickered as she flew away. "Sucker…" he muttered, as reached under the couch and pulled out the magazine. "Heh heh heh…" Shima suddenly snatched it away from him. "Hey! Give it back, dumb ass!"

Shima shook his head. "No way, Bunny from Hell…" He raised an eyebrow. "How old are you, anyway?"

Kai bit his lip nervously. "Um… I'll be a year old in a few weeks!"

"Uh huh…" Shima said, staring at Kai suspiciously. "No matter how long you guys live, that's still a baby to me…" He got up from the couch and went up to his room.

Kai pouted angrily and crossed his arms. "Fine! I'll just sit here… by myself… alone…" He looked around, getting a bit scared. "It sure is quiet… A bit too quiet…"

Rikina, hiding behind the couch, peeked at the bunny, licking her lips. Kai looked up, but Rikina quickly jumped back. Kai shrugged, then stared at the wall. Rikina stood up, and reached toward Kai, a crazed look of hunger in her eyes. Kai looked up in horror, as Rikina grabbed him and--.

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"Kai!" Meiruuna yelled. "Where are you?" She ran around outside, looking for him. She suddenly glared as she realized something. She ran inside, went upstairs, and knocked on Rikina's door. No answer. She knocked on it harder. Still no answer. She sighed angrily and kicked down the door. "Rikina, have you seen K--" She stared at Rikina blankly. "Rikina, spit him out…"

Rikina, wide eyed and her cheeks puffed up, shrugged. She went back to the little gadget that she was working on. Meiruuna screamed and kicked Rikina in the back of the head, making her spit out Kai. "Ow!"

Meiruuna picked up poor, traumatized Kai and glared angrily at Rikina. "And if I ever catch you trying to eat him again, I'll do much worse than that!" Her expression softened as she cuddled Kai. "Awww… Did the mean goth girl hurt you? Want mama to take care of it?"

Kai whimpered pathetically, looking to Meiruuna with wide eyes. "C-can I have ice cream?"

Meiruuna smiled, walking out of Rikina's room. "Yes, you can have all the ice cream you want…"

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In the kitchen, Shinobu and Ami were preparing lunch. Ami was making some rice balls, the only food she could prepare properly, while Shinobu did the rest. "Ami, could you go get me the flour?"

Ami nodded. "Okay!" She walked over to the cabinet and opened it. As she did she accidentally whacked Tenshi, who had flown into the kitchen, in the face. Tenshi wobbled in the air for a bit. Ami got out the flour, opened it to check on it, and suddenly, Tesnhi fell in, flouring flying everywhere. "Tenshi! Oh my! You're all white!" She thought for a bit before giggling. "Oh, silly me… You're already white!" She frowned. "But Shinobu, now the flour is ruined!"

Shinobu nodded, smiling. "That's okay…"

Ami shook her head. "No, it's not! I'll go get some more!" She ran out of the kitchen, put on her shoes, the ran outside.

Tenshi came to her senses and followed Ami. "Ami-dono! Wait for me!"

Shinobu smiled as she watched them go. She decided to work on something else for now. She began chopping vegetables, when soon, the door rang. She put her knife down, walked out of the kitchen, and opened the door. "Um, hello!" Shinobu said, greeting the tall man in front of her nervously. "May I help you?"

The man nodded. He was dressed in a red Yucatan and wooden sandals. He was a big, muscular man with scraggly short black hair and dark brown eyes. He nodded. "Yes, I am looking for my daughter, Tokimi Matsuda. I'm her father, Kazuma, and I am taking her home for the month."

Shinobu nodded. "Yes, I see… Please come in…" She watched as the man walked in. Strangely enough, she had never met Tokimi's father, despite the fact that he often came over to take Tokimi home for a while.

Kazuma looked over to Shinobu. "Are you staring at me?"

Shinobu gasped. "Um, no sir, I--"

"Don't lie to me!" Kazuma yelled, grabbing her arm. "Now tell me the truth… Were you looking at me?"

Shinobu flinched, as he was hurting her. "Yes, I was looking at you…" She glared at him. "But sir, I must ask that you let me go…"

Kazuma growled. "Oh. So now a woman is back talking to me now, huh?!" He raised his free hand back and slapped Shinobu.

Shinobu flinched, but continued to glare. "Mr. Matsuda, I am not one of those old-fashioned woman who will sit back as a man beats her…" She quickly knees him in the gut. "Sorry about that, but…"

Kazuma kneels over a bit, grabbing his stomach. He still has a grip on Shinobu, however. "Why, you bitch!" He clenches his hand into a fist, rears his fist back, and… his fist is quickly caught by someone's hand. He gasps and looks over to see Shima glaring at him.

Shima sneers at Kazuma, anger in his eyes. "I think that will be enough of that, Mr. Matsuda…" He spits on the man's shoe. "Y'know if there is one thing that I really hate, it's old fashioned scum like you beating on women… It's the year 2026, get with the times. Women are just as good as us, and don't need to be beaten to be 'put into their place'…"

Kazuma growls, letting go of Shinobu. "Why you insolent little…" He yanks his other hand away and attempts to punch Shima in the face.

Shima dodges the punch and motions toward the door. "Look, I don't want to get blood all over this nice clean floor. You wanna take this outside?"

Tokimi, watching from the stairs, smiles.

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And so, they went outside. As the news spread, the girls all went outside to cheer Shima on. Kaolla began passing out foam fingers that said 'Shi-kun's #1!' and Rikina, with the help of Nina and Tokimi, waved a banner made by her that said 'Yamato! Go! Fight!'

Shima sweat dropped as he watched them treat this as an event. "Um, thanks, everyone… I think…"

Rikina frowned. "Hey, we put a lot of work into these things!"

"Heh, sorry…" Shima apologized, waving his hands. "They're really nice, everyone! Thank you."

Kazuma rolled his eyes. "Ugh, disgraceful… Are you going to let that woman speak to you that way?"

Shima looked to Kazuma and smiled. "Um… Well yeah! Rikina's my friend, and it doesn't matter if she is a woman or a man! You should really try some open minded-ness! It's all the rave these days!"

Kazuma smirked. "You gotta smart mouth, kid… I'll have to shut you up!" Kazuma screamed, running toward Shima.

"And here it is, the fight of the year!" Sarah yelled, microphone in hand. "Yamato 'Shima' Urashima vs. Kazuma 'The Asshole' Matsuda! Who will win in this epic battle?"

Kaolla tossed the extra foam fingers and sat next to Sarah, also holding a microphone. "I dunno! Coming in at 7 feet, 3 inches and looking quite muscular, he'll be quite a challenge for our 6 feet, 5 inches Shima!!" She whispered over to Sarah. "Poor kid doesn't stand a chance…"

"I know…" Sarah whispered back. "That's why I bet on Kazuma…" Sarah and Kaolla were smacked in the head with a fan. "Hey!"

"How dare you bet on my future!" Tokimi yelled, putting the fan away. "If Shima loses, I'm going home for another month of torture!" She begins to whimper. "I can't believe that you all are betting on my fate!"

Kaolla patted her on the back. "Sorry… We didn't really mean it!" She glared at Sarah. "Did we?"

Sarah looked to Kaolla. "Hm?" She was whacked in the head. "Oh! Yeah, sorry…"

And so, Sarah and Kaolla commented on the fight. Sarah flinched. "Ooh, looks like Yamato couldn't dodge that one!"

"He's gonna feel that in the morning!" Kaolla Su added.

Sarah's eyes widened. "Oh, but he retaliates with a kick to the face, then a head lock! But now, Kazuma is trying to shake him off!"

Kaolla jumped on Sarah's back. "It's a power struggle!"

Sarah tossed Kaolla off. "But oh no! Kazuma grabs him by the neck… straps him over his… knee, and… spanks him?"

Kaolla tilted her head. "Ew, kinky…"

Shima struggled to get free as Kazuma spanked him. He screamed out until Kazuma picked up Shima by his foot, held him upside down, and began punching him in the face over and over again.

Tokimi clenched her fist angrily. She suddenly screamed out and ran toward Kazuma. "Leave him alone!" She jumped up kicked her father in the back, knocking him over. He dropped Shima over to the side. Tokimi began breathing heavily.

Kazuma slowly stood up, shocked that his daughter would do that. He walked over to her, rage in his eyes. "How dare you…" He stomped over to a shivering Tokimi, grabbing her arms and picking her up. "You unappreciative little…"

"That will be quite enough, Mr. Matsuda…" a voice said from the stairs. Everyone looked over to see who it was.

"Kimomo!" everyone except Kazuma yelled.

Kimomo smirked. "Hello, everyone…" She glared at Kazuma and disappeared.

Kazuma looked around in confusion, before Kimomo appeared right in front of him, her sword drawn and at his neck threateningly. "You, Mr. Matsuda, are the worst kind of scum that I have ever laid my eyes upon… You are stuck in the past, and are in need of some serious help…"

Kazuma's eyes widened, sweat running down his brow. "You wouldn't…"

Kimomo smirked. "Perhaps… But if you ever set foot near this place again, I may have to…" She pressed her sword harder. "Get the point?"

Kazuma suddenly burst out screaming, running. He suddenly tripped, falling at someone's feet. He looked up to see Jin. Jin stared in disgust at Kazuma. "You make me sick… I too will make sure that you get taken care of if you ever come here again…"

Kazuma stood up and started running again, tripping and falling down the stairs. Kimomo watched, then looked to the others. "Alright, that's that!"

Shima smiled. "Kimomo, that was awesome!"

Kimomo waves. "Hi, Shima! Thanks!" Suddenly, something catches her eye. Jin is hiding something. She runs over to him and attempts to see what it is, but he evades her over and over. "Mer?" Dodge. "Mer, mer?" Dodge, dodge." Mer? Mer? Mer?" Dodge. Dodge. Dodge. Finally, she catches him. He has a bokken. "Ah ha!"

Jin blushes. "Okay, so I was training a bit…"

Shima runs over to Jin and gives him a noogie. "So that's what you've been doing all this time, ya sneaky bastard!"

Jin chuckles. "Heh, yeah…"

Ami and Tenshi, carrying bags of flour, walk up to Hinata House. "Hey, everyone!" Ami greets everyone, smiling. "I'm back! I didn't know which brand to get, so I bought one of each!" She looked at the current scene, confused. "Um, did I miss something?"

Tokimi patted Ami on the forehead, giggling. "Oh, nothing important…"

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Later that night, Shima and Kaolla were quietly talking in the kitchen. "So, when do we tell them?" Shima asked.

"We don't…" Kaolla said sadly. "Sorry, but they can't know… We'll… just act natural…"

Shima shook his head. "I dunno… I just don't know…"

Kaolla sighed. "I don't like it as much as you do… But it has to be done…"

End of Chapter 30

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Hm, interesting… What could be going down, huh? Well, we'll just see… Mwahahaha…

And remember… vote! =) Linky is in my profile…

---Kouji Tamino