Rider: Konbawa Minna-san. Thanks for all the reviews so far.

Wraiths: Yeah, otherwise this bum won't write as quickly.

Star: That's certainly true.

Rider: -.- Remind me again why I let the two of you hang around?

Star: Because we are so damn cute and loveable? (glances at wraiths) Well, I am anyway.

Wraiths: Hey!

Rider: Yeah, anyway. Lets try to answer some questions that were tossed my way.

To Jack B. Quick, good eye. I did forget the disclaimer again. Gomen.

To HinaGuy749, sorry I made your brain hurt. How Kuro became a cat wasn't the question I was alluding to, but I'll give you kudos on it anyway cause that will come up later. As for Kuro being a girl in the anime, you do have a good point. However, I use the manga for most of my source info. Let's face it; the manga is a thousand times better than the anime.

To watanuki, super kudos to you for getting the question I was hinting about to HinaGuy749. More on that later.

To soon to be ShadowDragonZero, super kudos to you as well for getting the question. And for the cards reference. More on that later. Also, bonus points for your name.

Wraiths: Bonus points?

Rider: The dude, or dudette, (sorry I don't know, so I'll cover both :-p) has Dragon in the name. That's worthy of a few bonus points in my book.

Star: You are so weird.

Rider: This from the woman who has spent the last two days reciting a Tamarainian's lines word for word. (turns back to readers) And now on with the story

---

Disclaimer: Hey! I remembered this time! I don't own Love Hina. The OCs are mine though, please don't steal them.

In Search Of Her Place

Chapter Six: Another Seal

She glanced over to the clock on the far side of her room. "Four in the morning." She muttered. "Can't sleep, so I may as well get this over with." She opened the door to her room and stepped out, she pulled her foot back quickly as the floor boards creaked. She frowned at the ground, and then a small smile crossed her lips. She removed her shoes and socks, and stepped out again. There was no sound this time. She grinned and made her way to the roof.

"You're up awfully early Vulpis." Called a voice as she took the final step.

The woman turned, and glared at Ice as he sat in the darkness. At first all that could be seen was the burning end of his cigarette, but her eyes adjusted almost instantly to the dim light of the moon. "That's not my name any more."

Ice shrugged. "Fine. What do you want?"

"You gone." The woman replied. "Keitaro may not know what you are, but I do."

Ice grinned. "Even if Keitaro knew what I was, he wouldn't kick me out."

The woman grit her teeth. She knew that was true. Keitaro was, at times, too nice for his own good. He would never kick someone out. "Even if he did grow the balls to do something like that, one word from Kanako about Ice saving her yesterday and Keitaro would back off real quick." She thought silently.

"Something wrong?" Ice questioned with an amused smile.

"You bastard." The woman muttered.

Ice shrugged. "If that's all you have to say, we're done here."

"I know what you did to Motoko." The woman pressed. "I'll tell the others."

"Tell them what exactly?" Ice chuckled. "The only way you'd be able to back up anything you'd tell them is to reveal exactly what you are." He laughed a bit louder. "And you won't do that now will you?"

The woman bit at her lip. "If it means protecting my friends, I will."

Ice shook his head, still not concerned. "No, you won't. Know why? Cause the moment you do, they will come for you. You will be put on trial, found guilty, and sentenced. And given your past, both criminal and social, you've never been so devoted to someone to risk the outcome you know will happen."

The woman's hands tightened into fists. "You…"

"Blah, blah, blah." Ice mocked. "I know. I'm a bastard or whatever else you had at the tip of you tongue."

"I would risk it for these people."

Ice stopped, surprised by her determination, but again shrugged. "And then I seal them once you're gone. They forget everything, you go to prison, and I go on with my mission." He smiled as she realized she was beaten. "Good try child, but don't think you're big league material yet."

"Don't call me a child!" The woman spat at him. "I have lived…"

Ice glared at her. "I don't care how long you've lived, how much tragedy you've seen, or how much grief you hold! You will never be anything but a child to me."

"It's no wonder you're alone." The woman muttered. "She was smart to get away…" She gasped as Ice's hand wrapped about her throat.

"You…don't…talk…about…her…understand?" Ice's words came through clenched teeth, and he tightened his grip with every word to emphasize his point. He dropped the woman as she nodded. "Despite your stupidity, you get to live a while longer. I've placed my seal around you, for the time being, to prevent any of my associates from picking you up. I may have need of your abilities at some point, and you will obey my commands during such times."

The woman rubbed her throat. "Go to hell."

"You first." Ice turned and faced the steps. "She's beginning her morning routine. If she sees you here, she may begin to wonder. Fade, now."

The woman glared at him one last time. She was beaten, for now.

Ice watched as the woman was consumed in a blue-green flame and then vanished. "Good." He turned toward the steps again. "I don't have the patience to deal with her now." He looked back out toward the rising sun, flickered, and vanished.

---

Naru entered the bath and slowly let her towel fall away. Breakfast had been unusually quiet. Kanako had hardly said a word to anyone, and Keitaro had seemed concerned with that. As a result, Naru hadn't been able to talk with him much. When she had tried to ask Kitsune what was going on with the two of them, she had replied that she had a hangover and passed out in her miso. "The only good point of the meal was that Ice wasn't around." She turned as the door to the bath slid open.

Kanako entered the bath. "Hello Naru."

Naru nodded in greeting. "You seemed distracted at breakfast. Everything ok?"

"Just a rough night." Kanako replied with a small smile. "But I did get a good night kiss from onii-chan though, so it wasn't all bad I suppose."

Naru felt the vein in her temple throb. "Kiss?" She didn't have a chance to vent her anger however as the rest of the household also entered the bath. "Never going to find out now…"

Kaolla took a running leap and cannon balled into the water. "Nothing like a nice hot bath after breakfast!" She moved over toward Shinobu. "When's lunch?"

Shinobu laughed and shook her head. "You're a bottomless pit aren't you?"

"I'm a growing girl!" Kaolla cheered with a laugh. "I can't help it if I'm always hungry!"

Sarah walked over and poked Kaolla in the stomach. "You could try eating less. You're not going to be able to eat like that forever you know. Someday you're going to get fat."

Kaolla shook her head. "There's never been a fat Molmolian in all of history."

Sarah smirked. "There's a first time for everything."

Kaolla splashed her friend. "Oh shut up! I will not get fat!"

Motoko sighed as the two younger residents began a splash fight. "I don't think we should let them have coffee at breakfast anymore."

Lillith laughed. "Aww, but they're so cute playing together."

Kitsune laughed. "You just think they're cute because you've only known them a couple of days."

Naru nodded. "Give it a few more days and the cuteness will wear off."

Kanako sighed and allowed a small smile to turn her lips. "Yesterday was pretty bad." She thought silently as she ducked her head under the water. "But really, nothing has changed. The others don't know about my secret yet, and there's no reason to tell them. Life continues on unaffected. So, I'll just live my life the way I always have." She stopped as she remembered the kiss from Keitaro, and blushed. "Well, maybe I'll try to live a little differently." She surfaced once again and watched as the other girls talked or splashed about. "Proved you wrong…"

Motoko turned as she was splashed. "Enough! Kaolla! Sarah! Some of us come here to relax! Not horse around!"

Across the bath Kaolla and Sarah blinked in surprise.

Sarah looked across the distance. "We're a bit to far away to splash you Kendo."

"Yeah, and we weren't splashing that big anyway." Kaolla agreed.

Naru looked down and saw that the water was churning quite violently. "Kaolla-chan? Did you put a wave machine or something into the bath?"

Shinobu looked at the water with a certain measure of fear. "I think we should leave for now."

"I think the girl is right." Kitsune stood and began to head for the exit.

Lillith studied the water for a moment, and muttered her displeasure in a single word. "Fuck…" She turned to Kanako and motioned for her to leave the bath.

Kanako didn't understand entirely what was going on, but she understood Lillith's look. She stood and turned for the door.

The bath suddenly exploded sending water and the girls to all corners of the bath. Each slowly rose to her feet and took in the sight before them.

Kanako shuddered as she recognized the beasts that came out of the water. "Demons…" In her room, the demons had been forced to enter one at a time because of the narrow mirror; such was not the case with the bath. Dozens of demons rose and stepped out on to the dry land, and more follow almost immediately.

"Kanako!" Kuro flew down from the upper floor of the Hinata-sou and stopped before his mistress. He was the sole line of defense between Kanako and the demons now. He growled in challenge.

"Easy boy." Lillith walked over to join Kanako. "See to the girls, I'll take care of Ms. Popular here."

Kuro hesitated. "But…"

Lillith shook her head. "You're a tough fighter, but I'm better suited for this kind of situation and you know it. Now, off you go."

Kuro took one last look at the increasingly large number of demons, and then ran off.

One of the demons turned and pointed to where Lillith and, behind her, Kanako stood.

Lillith flipped her hair with her hand, and grinned in challenge. "Well, who wants to test their luck first?"

Kanako watched as the demons seemed to pause at Lillith's challenge. She turned to study Lillith's demeanor. She stood completely confidant of herself. Her lithe, pale body glistened with the water of the bath and stood out sharply against her pitch-black hair. But it was her grin that most caught Kanako's attention. Lillith's incisors were unnaturally long.

Lillith cocked her head to one side. "No takers? Guess the first move is mine then." She brought her hand forward and held it parallel to the ground. She closed her eyes and began to chant. "By the oaths you swore and signed in blood, honor your promises and serve my needs now."

Kanako watched as the other woman continued to chant. A red circle formed around Lillith's feet and began to grow larger by the second. As the circle radiated out symbols began to take form with in the barrier. Some were Kanji, other were in English, some looked like runes, and others Kanako couldn't recognize. However, for all the pretty lights, Kanako couldn't see how this was going to stop the demons. She looked around and saw that Kuro was indeed taking the other girls to safety, but the demons paid them no mind at all anyway. At last the demons began to advance on the two women.

As the first demon reached the red circle, Lillith's eyes opened and she flicked her wrist to bring her hand up. "Arise." From each spot in which a symbol had rested, sprung a creature.

Their shapes and sizes varied, as did their colors. Some looked almost human, but most were not. Some had wings, others had scales, and a few seemed to be nothing more than amorphous blobs.

Kanako somehow recognized these beings for what they were. "Lower level demons."

Lillith smiled. "I see some of your memory is coming back." She turned back to her attackers, and signaled her own small army forward. "Go."

Kanako watched in a mixture of fear, anxiety, and pleasure as the two groups of demons fell upon each other. Limbs were torn from sockets, and blood flowed freely. Most seemed to resort simply to brute strength to fight, but some of Lillith's demons began to emit fire from their bodies, other released poison and smoke. Most of their enemies simply took the hit and reattached their missing appendages the way Kanako had seen the first night she was attacked, but those who suffered head wounds stayed down.

Lillith frowned. "My summoned warriors are strong, but the enemy has the advantage of numbers. They will break through our lines eventually."

"Then how do we stop them from coming through?" Kanako demanded.

Lillith shook her head. "I don't know how they came through in the first place." She and Kanako turned as they heard Motoko's battle cry.

"Foul demons! I'll send you all back to Hell!" Motoko brought her sword to bear and it began to glow with chi. "Zankyusen!" She smiled as her chi wave cut through a line of demons. That same smile faded just as quickly as she saw all but one of her adversaries stood and pieced themselves back together. "Oh shit…"

The door to the bath opened and Keitaro entered. "What' going on in…" His speech slowed as he took in the carnage of the battle. The smell of blood and torn and burning flesh entered his nostrils. Bits of bone and muscle were scattered all over the bath and blood stained the waters. "Here?" he squeaked.

The demons, now realizing a second threat of Motoko and the unknown entrance of Keitaro, began to move in on both parties. Motoko fought valiantly, but it was clear that she was out matched. Keitaro too fought back, but seemed to be relying heavily on his natural talent of being near immortal more.

"We have to help them!" Kanako began to run towards Keitaro.

"Kuro!" Lillith called.

The small cat flew by and forcefully held Kanako back.

Kanako fought to get free. "Let me go!"

"You can't help him now!" Kuro pushed harder.

Lillith looked up. "She may not have to."

Kanako looked up and saw a single white feather falling toward the center of the bath from which the demons were coming. As the feather touched down, a blinding white light radiated out in all directions and forced Kanako to shield her eyes. As the light died away, Kanako was able to see that there where no demons, alive or dead, to be seen anywhere. The water however, was still violently churning. However, she could see Ice slowly descending from where he hovered in the sky, along with his six, white, feather, wings.

Ice touched down and brought his hand up near is face so that it bisected his view of the bath. His index and middle finger pointed to the sky, while his ring and pinky finger pointed to the ground. His thumb seemed to bend at an inhuman angle and was parallel to the ground. "Guardian of the water gates, close this door." The water began to calm, but not completely. "Seal of sky, seal of ground, seal this portal now." The water became still and quiet. He turned and looked at Lillith.

Lillith made a face at him and huffed. "Show off."

Ice sighed and closed his eyes. His wings seemed to glow for a moment, flickered, and then vanished. He turned to where the girls and Keitaro all sat huddled and wide eyed. "Now to deal with the lot of you. No way your little mortal minds should have seen all of that."

"Wait!" Kanako rushed over to where Ice stood. She paused. "I need to tell them." She waited as Ice stared at her, his face showed no sign of approval or disapproval. "They deserve to know." She continued.

At last Ice shrugged. "Your life kid. Do what you want." He turned and walked away. "Just so it's on record though, I still think we ought to seal them."

Kanako turned back to where he friends all still sat in shock. "Guys? We need to talk…"

---

Keitaro was sitting in the living room alone. The girls joined him a few minutes later, as they had taken a few minutes to get dressed before coming down. Kanako had then told her story. Now, Keitaro's jaw, like the others in the room was slack. His mind, like everyone else, was numb. "So, you're a demon?"

Kanako shifted uncomfortably in her seat at her brother's tone. It was a mixture of confusion and accusation. "Hai…"

Motoko turned to Lillith. "And you are?"

Lillith stretched her arms high over her head. "Also a demon." She placed her hands back in her lap and gently pet Kuro. "And so is the fuzzy here."

Kuro growled lowly. "Ok, you can stop with the cheap shots about my form now."

"Then…" Naru glanced over to where Ice leaned against the far wall with his arms crossed. "You're also a demon."

Ice rolled his eyes. "Moron…"

Kanako shook her head. "I understand now. The other day you said you didn't travel with her kind. So if you're no a demon…"

"Those wings…" Shinobu murmured. "You must be an angel."

Kitsune poured herself another drink. "We've got demons and angels in our house now? Great!" Her voice was heavy with sarcasm as she downed her sake in one shot. "Anything else we should know."

Ice shrugged. "Couldn't tell you Fox."

Lillith turned to Ice. "How was it that the demons came through the bath?"

"They had to find another door after I had Kuro destroy all the mirrors in the building." Ice lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. "While it's true that any reflective surface can act as a portal if exploited properly, I didn't think they were knowledgeable enough to use elemental magic to force the portal open. Still don't for that matter."

"Well, they were certainly able to get through." Motoko pointed out.

"Yeah, through a water door." Ice replied through another cloud of smoke.

Motoko blinked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"That makes sense." Lillith nodded. She sweat dropped as she saw the others looking at her confused. "Right, guess I should explain. The water was reflective so it was fair game to be used as a portal, but upper level demons don't have the power to make use of that. However, the kappa which guard the doors are notoriously corrupt and would open the doors for the right price."

Naru rubbed her temples. "So a demon took a bribe from another demon, to get to Kanako, who is a demon." She turned to Ice. "So how did you close the door or portal thing?"

Ice smirked. "No upper level demon is going to disobey me, hell, most lower level demons won't either."

Shinobu looked out toward the bath. "Are we going to be able to use the onsen anymore?"

Ice nodded. "I've placed a seal around it. The demons won't be able to use that door again." He turned to Lillith. "However, they will keep trying until they achieve their goal. I don't suppose you could talk some sense into them.

Lillith shook her head. "If we could have done that, I wouldn't be here."

Ice sighed. "Great." He walked over and took Kitsune's sake bottle and downed the remainder of the contents.

"Hey! That was mine!" Kitsune turned the bottle upside down and found that not even a drop was left.

Ice turned and began to walk away. "Yeah, thanks for sharing."

The others watched as the angel left the room.

Naru blinked at the man's backside. "I though angels were supposed to be all virtuous and stuff. How'd he become an angel?"

Lillith sighed. "Strange as it sounds, you don't become the top angel in heaven by being a nice guy. He wasn't always the bastard you guys know him as." She smiled. "Once upon a time he was quite gentle and caring but…"

Kuro nodded. "Then the war broke out and Fria…"

"My past is not on display!" Ice thundered from the upper floors, causing everyone to jump in their seats. "Shut your holes now!"

Kuro frowned. "As you can see, it's still kind of a touchy subject."

Everyone rose and began to head their separate ways. One woman slowly climbed up to the roof. Once there, she simply watched as Ice sat and smoked.

---

"Onii-chan?" Kanako opened the door to her brother's room slowly and poked her head inside. "Are you in here?" When she received no response she moved further into the room. She sat down and waited. She didn't like to lay in wait and ambush her brother for answers, but he had seemed so distant as she had told everyone her secret. "I have to tell him that I never wanted to hurt him with this."

She stopped as she heard Keitaro's voice from the room above. She quickly placed a stool on top of the table below the hole in the ceiling. Kanako stood on her tiptoes and pressed her ear against the wooden plank that Naru used to cover the hole.

"Naru, will you meet me tomorrow?" Keitaro asked.

There was a pause then Naru's voice could be heard. "Yeah, sure."

"Ok." There seemed to be relief in Keitaro's voice now. "Meet me at the annex that's behind the apartments tomorrow at midnight."

Kanako's eyes went wide. "No…"

Deep with in Kanako another seal fell, and a pair of red eyes began to open. "Soon…"

---

Wraiths: Mmm, demon battle.

Star: Freak.

Wraiths: Oh, like you didn't enjoy it!

Rider: Yeah, moving on. As always…

Star: I want to do the closing!

Rider: (grabs at chest) Cripes! Don't do that! (breaths deep to try and calm down) Fine, close, knock yourself out.

Star: (clears throat) Ladies and gentlemen. We hope you enjoyed this chapter and hope you will join us again. If you have a moment, please leave a review and tell us what you think. All thoughts are encouraged and accepted. We hope to see you soon.

Wraiths: Peace people.

Rider: 'Till the next, live safe and be well.