The Bonds of Time
Chapter 15
Andrew Joshua Talon, with many thanks to Kanako Urashima
DISCLAIMER: Love Hina is not mine. I'm not making any profit off this fanwork, and the authors used own themselves. "The Love Hina Fan Boy War!" is the property of Kanako Himekazi-Urashima, which she gave me permission a while ago back to write a prequel to.
Therefore...
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This first section was written by Kebinu. Just a heads up...
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December 6th, 2100
Naru exhaled and drew breath again, the scent of steam and chlorine filling her nostrils and lungs as she rested her head against a rubberized cushion. Drawing her left hand out of the hot water she was submerged to the neck in, she rubbed her wet forehead and sighed. Bathing in a hot tub was simultaneously relaxing and draining; the steam choked the already humid and stuffy air and made it somewhat difficult for her to breathe. Given the choice, she would have preferred the feel of a good old-fashioned natural hot spring like the one she had spent so much time in back in Japan, but Kebinu had assured her that the nearest hot springs in America were located in the Yellowstone area to the north, and also that scalding hot sulfur-water would hardly benefit her complexion.
Twisting herself slightly in the hot water, she turned to look out the twentieth story window of what was once the Embassy Suites Hotel of Denver, now her imperial headquarters, wiping some fog away from the glass and gazing out at the cloudy sky. Since she had arrived in America, she had gradually become fond of cloudy days.
Days like these let you savor a bad mood.
Slinking down into the churning, bubbling water again, she closed her eyes and let out a soft moan as she stretched her arms underwater. Being the ruler of a country could be awfully boring; when all responsibility rested on your subordinates, you were often left without much to do. Just sitting around could be frightfully boring.
If Keitaro was here, it'd never be this boring, she thought quietly. He'd come barging in and see me naked, and then we'd get in some crazy argument again…
As fast as she felt the smile creep into her cheeks, it fell off her face. It had been decades upon decades since she had seen him; surely he was dead by now. Scowling now, bitter memories came back. It should never have been this way; he should have stayed by her side before the disaster, and they should have lived on together. But instead he left her, for America.
With her.
Naru muttered a Japanese curse word under her breath, though it came out garbled now that she was sitting with only her nose, eyes and hair above water. Sitting up, she felt the anger rise up inside her and did nothing to suppress it. It was strange, how the people you could feel the closest to could be the ones you could hate the most.
Narusegawa, I'm going to America to study…
What?! Why, Keitaro? Tokyo U. ought to be as good as any American school!
They have field and graduate programs that just can't be duplicated here. I feel like that's where my future lies…
But… what if something happens to you? After all this, I don't want to lose you…
I'm not going alone, Narusegawa.
What?
"Her."
Mutsumi will be coming with me.
What? Why her? Why not me?
Narusegawa, please, don't make this personal.
"How the hell could I not?" Naru muttered to herself.
Mutsumi suggested it to me; she'd already planned to go over there, so we can live together. I think it's a really great idea, since you have to stay here to go to school.
"I should have known. Mutsumi, always playing the stupid ditz. 'Ara-ara, Naru-chan!'" she snarled mockingly. "'Ara ara, I think I'll steal your fiancé, Naru-chan! Ara ara, you won't be upset, will you, Naru-chan? Ara ara!' God damn you, you stupid, anemic, backstabbing, giggling bitch!"
"Empress?"
Kebinu's tenor voice pierced through the steam and caught Naru off guard. Quickly shutting her mouth, she whirled to face the door.
"What? What is it?!" she called out frantically, hoping he hadn't heard too much of her rant.
"May I come in? I have some important news to deliver."
She heard the handle of the door begin to turn, and leapt to her feet—at which point she realized she was in no way clothed and quickly dropped back into the water with a loud splash.
"Wait!" she yelled desperately. "Don't come in yet!"
To her relief she heard the door handle click back into its stationary position. That was the fundamental difference between the two men; Keitaro would have just barged in anyway. Exhaling, she rose from the hot tub again and reached for a towel. Deftly wrapping it around her body and knotting it in one motion, she stepped out of the spa and onto the tile floor. Shaking her head to clear her hair out of her face, she cleared her throat and announced in her calmest, most authoritative voice:
"All right, I'm decent. You may enter."
The handle twisted again, and Kebinu stepped through the doorway. She noticed immediately that his eyes made a brief detour to her terry-cloth-covered breasts, and smiled slightly at the reddish tint that snuck onto his cheeks. She cleared her throat loudly, jarring his attention away from her figure and towards her face.
"My lady," he began quickly, visibly humiliated at being caught looking at her, "I have received some remarkable information from our intelligence agents. I believe you will be very happy to be informed of it."
"I could use some good news," Naru grunted. "What's up?"
Kebinu drew a deep breath, and when he spoke it was firm but very unenthusiastic. "According to the sources, we have discovered the existence of a man who fits your description of Keitaro Urashima."
Naru's heart leapt into her throat.
"Are you serious?"
"Quite. I wouldn't have gone to you if I didn't think the information was reliable."
Suddenly the bitter memories were shoved out of her mind. Keitaro was alive. If he had survived for a hundred years, then he must have become ageless as well—and that meant they could start over, without the stupid entrance exams, without the bullshitting around, without the ditz getting in the way—
"You were right, Kebinu," Naru smiled, pacing across the wet tile floor to stand in front of him, now looking positively radiant. "This just made my day. Where is he?"
"I don't know the exact location, but he's believed to be residing in the eastern United States, in the territory of…"
"…the Otohime Union," Naru finished, her voice rising in alarm as she felt her new future with Keitaro starting to fall to pieces before it even began. "Do you think she knows?"
"Queen Mutsumi? Who knows?" Kebinu responded. "We're not exactly welcome in their territory, in case you forgot. It was hard enough just finding out where this guy was."
"I see," Naru frowned. She thought for a moment, then stepped towards him again. "Kebinu, if I may be so bold…"
Kebinu raised an eyebrow and smirked. "In the bathroom? Empress, how scandalous…"
"I didn't mean bold like that, you pervert!" she barked, incensed. "Yeesh… now listen to me."
"Forgive me," he said quickly. "You have my undivided attention."
Naru stared right into his eyes, hoping to impress the urgency of the situation into him. "There are two things I need you to do for me. The first, and most important, is to find Keitaro and bring him back to me. I don't care what you have to do to do it, but failure is not an option. We have to get to him before Mutsumi does. The second…" she trailed off as she turned away from him, then faced him again, "Is to build me a replica of Hinata-Sou."
"The inn you lived in when you lived in Japan?" Kebinu replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes. I want it finished as fast as possible. When Keitaro gets here…" Naru said as she gazed towards the ceiling, "I want him to remember how it was between us in the old times. It's the only way I can convince him he belongs with me again."
Kebinu was silent. Naru turned to look at him and recognized the emotion in his eyes immediately. She could see the pain burning behind brown eyes, knowing that every fond word she had ever spoken of Keitaro over the many years they had been working together had pierced him like a dagger through the heart. She watched this struggle within him, observed the battle between the side bound by duty and the other, jealous side that wanted to fail, that wanted for Keitaro to fall off the face of the earth.
"Empress," he said finally, standing straight up and looking her squarely, "I have never failed you, and I never will. Anything you need, I will give it to you. As long as you are happy, my problems are inconsequential."
"Do you really mean that?" she said calmly, her voice betraying no emotion.
"Always," he replied. Then, in her native language: "Zutto."
She wordlessly paced towards him until she stood even with him, and closed her eyes. He did not react.
"Thank you," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. For a second she kept her eyes closed, before opening them to gaze up into his face. He looked down at her with a mixture of elation and shock, and she couldn't help but smile. It was a wonderful feeling, to know she was wanted.
"Empress," he began, "I—"
Knowing he was about to confess his affection, she quickly silenced him with her lips, closing her eyes and prompting him to do the same, though she didn't dare to open her mouth and deepen the kiss or even give him a chance to respond. After just a second she broke away, though hardly without regret, while gently stroking his cheek with her hand and smiling at him.
"You always talk about how bad your luck is, so… consider that a kiss for luck," she winked. "You are a godsend, and you deserve the best in life. I pray that you will find someone who can show you any measure of the devotion you have given me."
"Empress," he started again, his cheeks burning and his expression grave.
"My name is Naru."
"Naru, then. I thank you as well, but know that no one on this planet will ever be as important to me as you. And…"
"…and?"
"…um, could you please let me go?" he stammered sheepishly. "You're getting my clothes all wet…"
"Oh, you! You're impossible!" Naru growled. "Can't you just shut up and appreciate it when a hot girl hugs you? Mou!!!"
She released him and he stepped back quickly, his face crimson, and bowed rapidly.
"I will find and return Urashima to you, and you will both live at Hinata-Sou once again. This I swear to you, Empress Naru."
"Very well. I will be expecting more good news from you, Kebinu," Naru responded, once again speaking authoritatively.
He nodded quickly and excused himself, touching his lips with his fingers as he stepped out of the room and closed the door. Naru stared at the door for a moment before sighing again as she let her towel fall to the floor and slipped back into the hot tub, quietly wondering why she had stopped the kiss so quickly. Was it that she feared she was giving Kebinu the wrong idea?
Or was it fear that she might decide he was a better kisser than Keitaro?
She hugged her shoulders, shivering despite the warmth all around her. There were now two men in her life; one whom she loved, but had been betrayed by; and one who loved her, and whom she had betrayed. In the end, there could only be one.
She shook her head and resolved to focus on Keitaro. This time it would be different. This time it could be just the two of them, together, living happily ever after. The way they were always supposed to.
And this time, forever. Nothing would interfere. Not a giggling former best friend, and not a tall, long-haired American boy.
"Forgive me, Kebinu, for everything I've put you through," she whispered into the steam. "I'm the lowest sort of woman."
***~''~***
"My lady?"
Mutsumi paused, and looked up from the myriad of papers scattered across her desk. Standing in the doorway was a young woman, red-headed and pale. She coughed slightly to clear her throat, as Mutsumi sat back in her chair.
"Yes, Mary?"
"Your majesty, the Wanderer leader has arrived."
"Ara... So soon?" Mary sweatdropped.
"Er... Yes, your majesty." Mutsumi smiled in her innocent, 'oh dear' sort of way, before nodding.
Send him in, she ordered telepathically. Mary bowed, and walked out the door again. A moment passed before she was back, leading in a cloaked figure.
"Presenting Lord... er..."
"Keitaro Urashima," the figure behind murmured, a kind smile in his voice. Mary nodded, smiled nervously, before bowing herself out of the room. Mutsumi couldn't contain a small giggle at the new secretary (or herald, as traditional royal titles had come back into fashion). She was like a young chick tottering around the yard, scared out of her wits when there really was no need.
But, there were more pressing matters to attend to.
"Hm..." Keitaro lowered his hood, his face the same after seventy years. His smile, the light in his eyes, the softness of his gaze, the warmth of his aura-all remained unchanged from the last day the two had met. Mutsumi rose, and walked around her desk to the former manager's embrace.
"Oh!" Mutsumi tripped over a bump in the carpet, and instinctively Keitaro reached out, catching the queen before she hit the floor. Keitaro smiled fondly down at the queen, while Mutsumi looked up with her innocent smile again.
"Ara... I'll have to get that hammered out in the morning,"she murmured, their eyes locking once again.
"Yes, it'd probably be a good idea," Keitaro said quietly. They looked at eachother a bit longer before they began to laugh.
They pulled eachother close, the joyful guffaw fest being answer enough for what they were feeling at the time...
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It isn't spying. No, it most certainly is not spying, Talon reassured himself.
I'm just looking out for my Goddess, with our mind link... Without her knowing. But then, so what? I've done that plenty of times... Yeah...
Andrew Joshua Talon, Duke of the Shenandoah Valley, Count of the Potomac, and Supreme Commander of the Otohime Union's military, sighed dismally.
And here I am, "watching" her with that... that...
"Jikei?" Talon blinked, and turned his head. Outside the cockpit window, Lucia Tanaka stood on a ladder, looking concerned.
"Hm? Oh... Hello, Lucia," returned the general, smiling wanly. He sighed, and fell back into the ejection seat of his old plane; A Tanaka Corporation, F/A-22C Raptor strike fighter, one of the first off the assembly line during the New York War of 2067. He absently ran his fingers over the familiar control stick, slightly worn from all the times he'd held it, but...
"You know... As a General, you are entitled to a new fighter," commented Lucia, crossing her arms and leaning against the plane's hull. "One of the new G models would be a good choice. I've got one myself... Very sweet." Talon raised an eyebrow at his "little sister".
"Hey... My plane's still state-of-art, and loads of other pilots still use the C."
"Yeah... Just a thought," Lucia commented airily, shifting slightly, her silver hair falling over her eyes. "So... What's wrong?"
"Mm?"
"You're out here, sulking in your plane-"
"I am not sulking," Talon said indignantly. Lucia smirked.
"Yeah, right. You're sulking, because Queen Mutsumi's with that really cute guy she made a promise with when they were both little kids, and I'm willing to bet that they're getting 'reaquainted'. And 'cause of this, you're jealous."
"..."
"Right?"
"... I loathe you."
"You're a lot easier to read than other people think," Lucia shot back with a smirk.
"Other people haven't had the luxury of knowing me for seventy years," Talon growled, sighing and hitting the starboard side of the Raptor's hull in frustration.
"...So... Are they, you know...?"
"... I'm not sure. It wouldn't be... Ethical of me, to check on them."
"You're really hurt by this, aren't you?"
"..." Talon sighed, and looked up at the hanger's ceiling, as if beckoning some agent of Heaven down to aid him.
"I've... Been with her, for nearly a century... I've served her, protected her, comforted her... We were... Well, I was... Thinking about starting a relationship, you know. Mutsumi does care for me, and I do for her..." Talon narrowed his eyes to furious slits.
"But, the moment that idiot comes back into her life, she's all gaga over him! I mean, I should have... I could have..."
Talon took a deep breath, and lowered his head to stare at his feet. He felt Lucia's hand on his shoulder, comforting, real...
"... It's, you know... Still not too late," Lucia murmured. Talon sucked in another deep breath.
"I know... I'll just. Wait. If she wants... You know... I'm fine. As long as she's happy... I'll be fine..."
"Eventually."
"Yeah..." Talon shook his head, before looking at Lucia quizzically.
"You know... I haven't been flying in this thing for over a year."
"You have been behind a desk or over a map alot lately," agreed Lucia, smiling like the Mona Lisa. Talon turned in his seat, clipped open a few locks, and pulled open a small "trunk" in the plane. Pulling out his old flight helmet (rather like a spacesuit's, with a transparent face shield), he tucked it on, pressed a button near his ear, and cleared his throat.
"General Talon to Control Ops. Do you read, over?"
"Aye sir, this is Control Ops. It's a pleasure to hear from you, sir."
"The same, Corporal... Miller, I believe? Over."
"Yes sir, that's me. What do you need, sir? Over."
"Any patrols scheduled for tonight? Over."
"Yes sir. Captain Argus and Lieutenant Finch are due to launch in 30 minutes. Over."
"All right then... Call up Lieutenant Finch, tell him he's got the night off. I'll be taking his place. Over."
"Er... Roger that, sir. You sure? Over."
"Oh yes, Corporal. Don't worry about it. Just tell Lieutenant Finch to have dinner someplace with a nice young lady... Or man, whichever. On me."
"Aye sir."
"You just love making your troops love you, General," Lucia commented, grinning widely at the demi-god. Talon grinned back at her.
"Hey, what good's government money if it doesn't make people happy? Now, where did they put my pressure suit..."
***~''~***
"Lord Kebinu? We have entered Otohime Union airspace." Kebinu, sitting in a seat behind the two pilots, nodded.
"Very well. Have you continued to broadcast our 'Peace envoy' code?"
"Well sir... If we weren't, I'm not sure we'd be here right now," commented the co-pilot, pointing out the window of the NC-2 Mei long-range transport. "Those missile batteries down there don't look very friendly..."
"No, they don't, do they?" Asked Kebinu with a wry smile. "Continue on course. We should be coming up on their air patrols in an hour, at most."
"Aye sir." Kebinu stood, stretching to the ceiling, before turning and walking out of the cockpit. He came upon the small galley of the government transport, and, pulling open the proper cabinet, poured himself a drink. He sighed deeply, before downing it in one gulp. He coughed violently, clutching his throat.
"Ack! What the hell-?" Kebinu held the bottle up to his gaze, narrowing his eyes.
"Official Kitsune Fan Hoarde Sake... 2029. Hm... Sounds like a good year," Lord Kebinu mused, before taking a smaller shot of the stuff. He still coughed anyway, his eyes watering.
"Damn, that's good stuff," he rasped, clearing his throat. He shook his head, before walking across the cabin to a small viewport. He looked down upon the receding majesty of the Mississipi river, far below the large transport. The fire demi-god sighed deeply, looking down at the glass and bottle.
"I... Live to make my goddess happy," he murmured to himself firmly. "And I will..."
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And the saga rolls on...
NEXT TIME: Under the guise of opening trade relations, Kebinu begins his quest for Keitaro. Though he hasn't far to look...
Meanwhile, in the SASA, Shinobu and Kana talk...
The war is only a few chapters away! Stay tuned!
Oh… As Tuxedo Jack is putting together a Flash® Trailer for this fic, I thought it only prudent that everyone else should go about devising a soundtrack for TBOT. Any thought to it?
Contemporary, classical, rock, alternative, jazz-Any and all music pieces we would do well to consider, if they fit the following subjects (which would, in a sense, be the tracks):
1. The Cataclysm
(Something dramatic, smacking of doom and destruction, but hope at the end)
2. The Goddesses
(A mixed piece, that feels of the consequences of power and immortality, both good and bad)
3. The Prophecy
(Music that is quietly dramatic)
4: The Champions (all the Ocs ^__^)
(A mixed piece of devotion, but with contrasts)
5. The Light of Evil
(Music for a great battle - Think Star War's Duel of the Fates, only something… Better.)
6. The Dual Empresses
(Coronation-type music.)
7. Naru's Betrayal
(Dark music with lots of activity, confusion, and a battle-type air about it.)
8. Kanako and Kana's Love
(Dark, romantic music)
9. The Second Goddess War
(Hm… Something that would sum up the Fanboy War nicely- Quirky yet serious, dramatic and action-packed. Hm… Something by Mozart, perhaps? Nah…)
10. The Sacrifice
(Sad music)
11. Peace
(Just what it says ^__^)
12. The End of Evil
(Kebinu should know what I'm talking about - Therefore, I leave it to him to determine this specific track)
13. The Knight (Talon's Theme)
(Well… I'm not exactly sure how to describe myself in music. My little sister, Lucia, could probably do a far better job of it than I)
14. The Consort of Fire (Kebinu's Theme)
(Same thing with my theme applies here)
15. The Necromancer (Kana)
(Meh… Something dark and scary should do nicely)
16. End Credits
(I was actually thinking "My Song", the last track on Christina Aguilera's Stripped album. It would seem to sum up this fic - At least for me. Anyone have different thoughts?)