Wraiths: …
Rider: What?
Wraiths: What's this crap about Naru and Keitaro going up to the annex?
Rider: Patience, grasshopper.
Wraiths: Stop being a smart ass! You read the reviews! No one wants another Naru/Kei story!
Rider: Actually, only you and starfire72 seem to care. (pauses to read emails) and HinaGuy749.
Wraiths: That's enough people!
Star: What's he bitching about now?"
Rider: He's mad that there were hints a Naru/Kei paring last time.
Star: (glaring at rider) This had better not be one of those.
Rider: (big sweat drop) Moving on now. Thanks for all the reviews people, but one thing I have to ask.
KylaranAeldin, if your still reading, what exactly did you mean with the review you left on chap five? I've been totally confused since I read it. Please explain if you have a chance.
And now on with the story, enjoy everybody.
---
Disclaimer: Love Hina is property of TV Tokyo, Ken Akamatsu, Bandai entertainment…and I forget who else. But it's not mine. OC's are though, so please don't steal.
In Search Of Her Place
Chapter Seven: Deceptions
Kanako ran from Keitaro's room to her own and slammed the door shut. "Damn it!" She slumped back against the wall and fell to the floor. "Why her?" She pounded her fist into the ground in anger. "Granny told us both that the annex should never be unsealed because of its power." She felt the tears being to form at the corners of her eyes. "I lost…he chose her instead."
"There is a way…"
Kanako looked around. "Who's there?"
"You can still beat her…"
Kanako stood and turned, but could still find no one. "How?"
The voice chuckled. "You just have to be the one to enter the annex with Keitaro…"
Kanako nodded. "Of course." She smiled. "It should be easy enough to trick Naru into being somewhere else at midnight." She went to her closet and pulled out her disguise kit. "And I think I know just how to do it too."
---
Ice didn't turn as he heard the sound of stomping feet on the stairs. "Crap, now what?"
Kaolla came running across the roof with Sarah close behind. Kaolla leapt into one of patented flying jump kicks and scored a direct hit to the side of Ice's face. "Quick Sarah! Immobilize the target while he is stunned!"
"Rodger that!" Sarah pulled a capture net from behind her back and threw it over Ice's body. "Got him!"
Kaolla flashed a v-sign with her left hand. "Victory! Now to bring the subject back to the lab for observation and analysis."
Ice hadn't moved at all during this entire operation. He continued to smoke with the net now covering his head. The only change that could be seen was on his face. He looked at the two young girls with a look that could only be described as a "what-the-hell-are-you-two-doing" look.
Sarah and Kaolla grabbed ahold of the capture net's handles and began to pull, but found they could not move their target at all. They redoubled their efforts, but still saw no results. After a few more minutes of straining, both girls collapsed onto the roof.
"I think we need to rethink your plan." Sarah pointed out.
Kaolla nodded. "I think so too."
Ice shook his head. "Hey, ganguro. Something I can do for you?"
Kaolla nodded. "You can come to my room!"
Ice blinked. "Sorry, not into jail bait." He turned back to watching the city.
Sarah blinked, and then realization hit. "Eww!" She ran up and kicked Ice in the back of the head. "That's not what we meant!"
Kaolla blinked. "Nani?"
Sarah huffed. "Never mind, just tell him why you want him to come along."
"Oh, ok!" Kaolla crouched down to look Ice in the eyes, and gave him a big smile. "We want to study you!"
Ice raised an eyebrow. "You want me to be a lab rat? Thanks, but I'll pass."
"Please!" Kaolla pleaded as she grabbed Ice's shoulder and began to tug. "I've never met an angel before, I just want to see how they're different from humans."
"Yeah, it's for science!" Sarah seconded.
Ice trained a wary eye on Sarah. "I read your file before I came here. I know the only reason you help with the experiments is to zap things with electricity, so don't give me that science speech bull."
Sarah blinked. "My file?"
Ice pointed to the sky. "You think we don't keep records of you people?"
Sarah paled slightly. "Oh…"
Kaolla began to tug at Ice more strongly now. "Please, just for a little while. I promise no electricity."
Ice sighed. "You're not going to leave me alone are you?"
Kaolla shook her head.
"If I give you one of my feathers, will you study that instead and leave?" Ice bargained.
Kaolla nodded. "Hai!" She startled back as six large white wings suddenly appeared before her and shredded her capture net.
"Pick one and get lost." Ice ordered. He watched as Kaolla and Sarah ran back down stairs after plucking one of his feathers. There was a flash of light and the wings vanished again.
"I didn't think you would give them anything." Motoko said as she sat next to Ice.
Ice shrugged. "Small price to pay for quiet." He turned. "But that's not why you came to talk is it?"
Motoko shook her head. "When I saw you hanging in the sky before, I had a flash of something, like a memory or a dream. Do you have any idea what that was?"
"Could be anything." Ice replied. He watched as Motoko nodded. "I saw you fight before."
Motoko nodded again. "For all the good it did. I'm from a school which specializes in slaying demons, but I failed miserably."
Ice nodded. "Yeah, you did." He smiled as Motoko glared at him. "It's not entirely your fault though. You lack training, and the proper equipment for that kind of scourge."
"I am the heir to the God's Cry School of Swordsmanship, charged with protecting people from the threat of demons." Motoko continued to glare at Ice. "Don't talk to me as though I know nothing!"
"The demons you have faced before this point are the dregs of hell. Weaklings that neither my fellow angels nor Lillith's fellow demons wish to expend energy chasing down. The ones you faced today, and will most likely face in the future, are in a completely different scale." Ice smiled as Motoko's face seemed to fall. "Do you know why the demons you struck rose up again?"
Motoko looked away quickly. "Well, no…"
Ice tapped his head. "Only way to make sure a demon stays down, otherwise they just regenerate." He tapped Motoko's sword. "Give it here."
Grudgingly, Motoko handed the Hina Blade over to Ice. "What's wrong with the sword?"
"It should be obvious to you demon slayer, there's a demon within the blade." Ice pulled the sword from its sheath and studied it.
"I sealed the demon though." Motoko shot back.
"Sealed, but not cleansed." Ice replied.
Motoko jumped as Ice's wings flashed into existence again.
"Select three feathers." Ice ordered. "Any three."
Motoko shifted behind him and ran her hands over the feathers, before selecting three. "Now what?"
Ice took the first feather. "To exorcise." He placed the feather on the blade. The feather glowed and sunk into the sword.
Motoko jumped as an inhuman scream sounded from the black steel.
"To purify." Ice laid the second feather on the sword; it too glowed and sank into the blade. As the glow faded one could see that the black steel had shifted to luminescent silver. "To strengthen." Ice laid the final feather and watched as it disappeared in a flash. He handed the sword back to the woman beside him.
"What have you done?" Motoko asked in wonder as she gazed at the new sword in her hands.
Ice's wings flicked out again. "Just a simple restoration. Take care of that blade. Use it well to defend your friends." He stood and began to walk away.
Motoko also rose and sheathed her sword. "Where are you going now?"
Ice didn't answer.
---
Lillith watched as Ice walked away from Motoko. "I knew it."
---
Naru entered her room and dropped onto her futon. Her clock read ten-thirty on the floor beside her. "To early to head up to the annex, and the others have all gone to their rooms for the night after that spectacle in the bath. She rolled onto her back and pulled her journal from beneath her pillow. She turned to the last page and looked at the tiny photo booth sticker that she took with Keitaro on their trip to Kyoto. "Wonder why he wants to meet me their anyway?"
She closed the book and placed it back under her pillow. She rested her head in her hands and stared at the ceiling. "That creep better not try anything funny, or I'll break his face wide open." She paused and felt a slight blush come over her face. "But, if he did try something…maybe I wouldn't attack right away." She giggled as the thought passed. "Yeah right, Keitaro would never try something that straight forward, he's to much of a coward. Still, it would be fun to mess with his mind a little bit."
She rose and moved over to her window, her attention focused on the crescent moon in the sky above. She nearly fell from the window as she heard a knock at the hole in her floor.
"Naru? You there?" Called Keitaro.
Naru glanced at her clock, it now read eleven forty-five. "Damn, I nearly missed meeting Keitaro." She murmured. She stood and removed the floorboard that covered the hole. "What's up?"
Keitaro helped Naru down into his room. "Come on." He took her hand and began to lead her out of the Hinata-sou.
Naru looked around in confusion. "I thought we were going to the annex at the back of the apartments."
Keitaro shook his head. "I only said that in case Kitsune was listening through the wall like she usually does. We're going some where else."
Naru couldn't help but be a little impressed with Keitaro's planning. "So where are we going?"
Keitaro smiled. "You'll see." He raced down the stairs that lead to the street and continued to run leading Naru to a small playground. "Remember this place?"
Naru nodded. "Yeah, I used to come here with my parents when we vacationed to Hinata." She looked around. "But why'd you bring me here?"
Keitaro smiled again. "It's a surprise, now close your eyes."
Naru shivered a little as Keitaro smiled at her. "He looked different that time…" She thought silently as she followed his instructions and closed her eyes.
Keitaro glanced down at his watch. "Eleven fifty-five…" He whispered so Naru couldn't hear." He slowly began to back away and once back on the street turned and ran back to the Hinata-sou, leaving Naru alone in the park. As he ran, he pulled at his clothing and passed through a dimly lit corridor. As he emerged from the other side, his clothing and form had changed drastically.
Kanako looked back at where Naru stood, still waiting for her surprise, and smiled. "Surprise." Kanako whispered as sprinted to the annex. "Onii-chan is mine Naru, I won't lose him to you. Not after I've found him again after so long."
---
Haruka was closing up the teahouse for the night when she saw Kanako rush by. She blinked and looked at the young woman with a hint of interest, but it quickly passed. She tossed the last few bills and pieces of paperwork into one of the drawers and turned to leave the restaurant for her own small apartment. She locked the doors and turned to head upstairs.
It was at that moment she realized that something was out of place. She crossed the room quickly to the drawer she had just put the papers into. She pulled it open and sifted through the contents; her hands came up empty for that which she searched. "God damn it!" She ran for the door to try and chase after Kanako, but remember too late that she needed the key to unlock the doors.
After retrieving the key, Haruka raced up the stairs toward the annex. "The key is gone, and Kanako has that look of desperation. This isn't good." Haruka knew even as she raced that she wouldn't reach them in time. Her few minutes lost at the teashop gave just enough of a lead to Kanako.
---
Keitaro waited nervously at the entrance to the annex. He knew the legends about this place, everyone in the family did. Behind him something scuffed against the ground. "Naru?" He smiled as he saw her hiding in the shadow of the support pillar. "It's ok, you can come out." He wondered why she was hiding.
"This place is kind of creepy Keitaro, why are we here?" Naru asked.
Keitaro smiled and pulled out the annex key. He walked up and brushed away the seals that his family had used to close off the old building. "This place is very special in my family, I just wanted to show it to you." He reached out and tried to insert the key into the lock, but something pushed the key away. "Nani?"
"Is something wrong?" Called Naru.
"No, nothing at all." Keitaro tried again to unlock the door, but again the key was pushed away. He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "This shouldn't be happening." He whispered. He tried once again, harder this time, and the key flew from his grip and slid across the ground. He raced after the key, and stopped cold as someone stepped on it. "Uh oh, I recognize that shoe…" He looked up into the extremely pissed off glare of his aunt. "Haruka-obasan…"
Haruka buried her elbow into her nephew's head. "Just Haruka damn it!" She pulled Keitaro to his feet. "Want to explain this?" She reached over and grabbed at Naru's hiding form. "And this?"
Keitaro blinked as he saw not Naru, but Kanako, was pulled into the light. "Imouto?"
Kanako looked down at the ground.
Haruka pushed both of the younger Urashimas in front of her and rubbed her head. "I'm getting to old for this kind of shit." She glared at her relatives as they turned around. "Move!"
Keitaro glanced over at Kanako, and then began to walk.
Kanako saw the look. "Onii-chan…" Whatever she had planned to say would not be known, as Keitaro continued to walk away. Dejected, Kanako followed behind him.
Haruka turned and placed the seals back on the doors of the annex. "That was too close." She turned and began to walk away, but stopped. Her eyes went wide and she spun. It was faint, but she could see it. Someone was slowly pulling in a barrier. "Who's there?" She watched as the barrier disappeared completely, but the source of the barrier was not to be seen. Haruka pulled another cigarette out and lit up. "Yeah, definitely to old for this shit."
"Where is he?!"
Haruka smiled as she heard Naru's enraged demand for Keitaro at the dorm. "Guess I'll let them sort it all out. As long as the annex is out of the picture…" She began to walk down to her apartment. "But whose barrier was that?"
---
"You were going to take me to a cursed annex to make sure you and I would fall in love?" Naru cracked her knuckles and socked Keitaro in the face hard. "And just what makes you think I would want to be stuck with you for all time any way!"
Keitaro picked himself up off the ground. "Before I headed off to America we had that conversation at the airport. You seemed so upset that I was leaving, I just thought that this was what you wanted."
"You didn't even ask me though!" Naru stormed off through the door.
Keitaro watched her leave. "Gomen nasai Naru."
---
On the second floor the other residents watched as the young almost couple fought.
Motoko shook her head. "I will never understand Naru's actions around Keitaro."
"What's not to understand?" Sarah yawned. "She doesn't like the dork."
Shinobu shook her head. "I don't think that's it at all." She shook her head. "But I don't understand why she would call a place that could allow her and Sempai to be together forever a curse."
Sarah turned. "Would you want to be stuck with that idiot for all eternity?"
Shinobu blushed brightly.
Sarah sighed. "Forgot who I was talking to." She looked around. "Where's Kaolla?"
Motoko nodded to her back, where Kaolla was fast asleep. "Passed out after Naru stopped screaming."
Lillith shook her head. "I feel bad for Naru."
Ice grimaced as Naru began to beat the crap out of Keitaro again. "I feel bad for Keitaro."
Kitsune yawned and headed back to her room. "He'll live, I'm going back to bed."
The others nodded in agreement and went back to their rooms.
---
Kanako sat in her room huddled in the corner. "I messed it all up. Now he hates me for sure." Her head dropped in shame for what she did. "Maybe I should just leave Hinata. Onii-chan doesn't need me, and the other girls really don't like me much anyway." She stood and began to gather items from her closet. "Yeah, it'll be for the best."
Kuro flew in from the open window. "Kanako?"
"I'm taking your advice Kuro." She hoisted her pack on to her back and pet the small cat. "It's time for me to get out of here, I don't belong."
Kuro shook his head. "That wasn't what I meant before when I wanted you to leave!"
Kanako nodded and smiled sadly. "I know, but it doesn't change the truth at all."
"But you do belong here Kanako-chan…huh?" Kuro blinked as he saw tears in his mistress' eyes.
Kanako picked the little feline up and gave him a kiss on the head. "Thank you, but please stop making this so much harder." She placed Kuro back down, turned and ran with all her might.
Kuro floated up into the air and followed after her. "Where you go, I go." He whispered. "I pledged to protect you with my life if needed." He poured his magic into his speed.
Having the ability to fly, Kuro didn't have to follow Kanako's path exactly. Instead, he flew out one of the upper windows and kept a safe distance from her as she ran through the streets of Hinata City. "At least with her on the move, the other demons will have a harder time locating her. So she'll be safe even without Ice and Lillith around." He flew a little lower to keep a better eye on Kanako. "So all I have to do I make sure that she remains safe until she comes to her sense and returns home to the Hinata-sou." He slowed as Kanako came to the bridge. "That aura…" He looked down and saw the waters around the bridge were beginning to boil. Cold sweat trickled down the feline's back. "This is so not good."
---
Wraiths: …
Rider: Now what?
Wraiths: You never give Kanako-sama a break do you?
Rider: You have no faith in me do you?
Star: I do!
Wraiths: I'm emailing HinaGuy749 your address so he and I can beat the crap out of you for what you're doing to her.
Rider: (Whistles sharply, Ginryuu appears) Ginryuu, if Wraiths moves, even so much as blinks, eat him.
Wraiths: (now locked in a staring contest with a huge silver dragon) O.O;;;
Star: O.O Holy shit! A dragon!"
Rider: Alrighty then, hope everyone enjoyed this. And I hope to see you all soon. As always, I'd love to hear what you think so far, so please drop me a line. 'Till the next, live safe and be well all. (falls to ground as star glomps him)
Star: I want a dragon too!
Rider: (glances at wraiths, grins evilly) Well, let see what I can do…
Wraiths: What!? You said you had to be an author to get a power! (pauses as he hears Ginryuu growl) Oh shit… (starts running as Ginryuu snaps at him)
Star: Didn't know wraiths could move that quickly. (glances at rider) You are going to call Ginryuu off though, right?
Rider: (shrugs) In a little while…