AN: Yes, I've decided to run another series. My thanks to those of you who've provided advice and encouragement to me, and I hope I can live up to your expectations once again.
As always, Love Hina and its characters belong to Ken Akamatsu. Original characters belong to me and may be used with permission.
Bloodstained Heritage
Chapter 2: Impact
The six council members of the Syndicate met once more in the dark chambers, each watching the businessman with emerald eyes patiently. The man was still breathing hard from being in close proximity to holy ground, and was sweating profusely. Through a show of willpower he shook off his discomfort and bowed to the others, who returned the gesture in mutual respect.
"The situation is a lot worse than expected." The man began. "It would seem that the grounds of the Hinata-Sou is not only blessed by the Shinto priests, but protected by countless generations of ancestrial spirits as well..." The man's eyes narrowed. "I can't even get within a hundred yards of the place, or I'd be ripped to shreds by them..."
The council members began whispering to each other, but was silenced by a gesture as the man spoke again. "Not only that, a person we have identified as the Urashima kid's Aunt lives on the premises, and has already posed a threat by being able to read ki signatures..." He quietly wiped the sweat off his forehead with a towel before grumbling. "Damned witch nearly spotted me when I was performing the scouting mission..."
"Thank you for your report..." The businessman in white nodded. "Perhaps you should take a rest while we assemble a team of operatives..."
"NO!" The man with green eyes quickly shook his head. "This brat has officially annoyed me, the rest of you may do as you wish, but I will be the one to end his pathetic life..." He then narrowed his eyes. "Even if it means suppressing my powers, I'm going back along with the team."
"Very well, I don't believe anyone here will object to that..." The businessman in white smiled, as the other four nodded in agreement. "So who will go as acting backup should things miracously get out of hand?" The council chuckled at the old joke, as all were professional assassins capable of unnatural feats, but they were nontheless careful and looked out for each other.
"I'll go." The businessman with red eyes nodded. "The holy ground means nothing to me, I will lead the offensive."
"Very well." The businessman in white nodded. "Good hunting, gentlemen."
"So, what do you plan to do now?" Haruka asked her nephew, still shaken at his revealation.
The young man simply sighed and shook his head. "I don't know... I was hoping to hide out here for a couple days, then move on..." He then looked to each of the tenants, before looking back at his Aunt. "I don't want to be a burden, and definetly don't want any of you hurt because of me..."
"You're a good kid, Keitaro." Haruka smiled. "We'll be happy to have you around, but you're going to have a few chores, since we won't be charging you rent." She then turned to the other three women. "Unless of course, any of you object to my nephew living here...?" Seeing the three tenants shake their head, Keitaro's mood brightened.
"Thank you all very much!" Keitaro smiled, then turned to Haruka. "I want to help out as soon as I can, Aunt Haruka! So what chores do you have for me?" He winced as he received yet another whap over his head with the newspaper roll, as Haruka raised an eyebrow at him.
"Just Haruka, Keitaro." She puffed out a cloud of smoke, then smiled as she handed him a notebook. "This will show you all the chores and maintence that needs to be done." She then handed him a checkbook as well. "This will give you access to the dorm's funds, but it's to be used only on upkeep costs, understand?" She eyed Kitsune as she handed the checkbook over.
"Shucks, you're no fun!" Kitsune smiled. 'Well, our little janitor has all kinds of money at his disposal!' She thought with a mischievous grin. 'All I have to do is use a bit of my charms on him, and I'll be swimming in sake in no time!'
"Alright, leave it to me!" Keitaro smiled, eager to repay their kindness to him as he read the first few pages of his 'To do' book. Deciding on his first chore, he closed up the book and hummed happily as he went up the steps leading to the second floor. The women watched him leave quietly, then looked at each other after he was out of earshot.
"Hey Haruka?" Naru asked, making the older woman turn to her. "Why do I have the feeling I've met your nephew before...?"
"I don't know what you're talking about..." Haruka grinned, then waved as she left the dorm.
"Oh? Perhaps Naru here has reunited with an old flame, hmm?" Kitsune nudged her friend playfully, drawing a surprised look from the auburn haired woman.
"No! Of course not!" Naru gaped in surprise. "What in the world gave you that idea?!"
"Old flame?" Kaolla blinked, then raised an eyebrow. "Ya mean you used to set him on fire before?"
"Argh!"
Humming cheerfully to herself, Kitsune was en route to her room with an upopened bottle of sake when she saw Keitaro. Curious, she watched as the young man worked on cleaning the hallway windows from the outside. Keitaro had worked up a sweat and had removed his shirt, and while he was no musclebuilder, he still had a toned body which made the fox woman blink in surprise. She then whistled and winked at the young man, causing him to turn to her.
"Looking good, handsome!" Kitsune smiled. "You don't have to work so hard, you know..."
"Nah, it's the least I can do for the kindness you people showed me!" Keitaro smiled back. "Besides, this is actually easier than it looks!" He then resumed wiping down the windows while she watched on.
"By the way, Keitaro..." Kitsune leaned out of the open window next to him. "Think you can do me a small favor?"
"Sure Kitsune, what can I..." The young man froze in mid-sentence as he turned to the fox lady, and found himself looking perfectly down her shirt collar and revealing an ample amount of clevage to him. Gasping, he stubled backwards and covered his nose up, which was threatening to geyser with blood. The poor man would have fallen off the steep roof as well, save for the rope which secured his safety around his waist.
'Too easy...' Kitsune thought with a grin. 'Now for the finishing touch...' She then leaned forward even more, purposely pressing her breasts against the railing. This caused Keitaro's eyes to bug out further in shock as she smiled. "Well, seeing as my sake supply is running a bit low..." She began, but stopped in surprise as the railing she leaned on fell apart from age and her weight. Her casual grin turned into a look of horror as she began to fall forward...
"Kitsune!" Keitaro yelled, and rushed forward. He barely managed to catch her in time, as he had only managed to wrap an arm around her waist. The two dangled in the air for a moment, before the two broke out in laughter. "That was close...!" Keitaro laughed.
"Sure was!" Kitsune chuckled, then gasped as she realized that the rope holding Keitaro up was beginning to snap under their combined weight. Keitaro had noticed as well, and in a moment of selflessness, reared back from the roof, and used the momentum to hurl Kitsune through the window opening before the rope snapped, sending him tumbling down the roof before falling a good two stories below to land on hard concrete...
"Keitaro!" Kitsune gasped, and rushed to the opening. Her heart weighed down with guilt that her tricks had only managed to hurt the innocent man who had saved her from harm without even considering the consequences. "Keitaro! You okay...?"
"Ow..." Came a weak voice from several floors below.
After recovering from his fall, Keitaro had volunteered to go grocery shopping for the dorm. Despite the protests from the other tenants, he assured them that no one would attack him in broad daylight. And after promising an embarrassed Kitsune bottles of sake to avoid further 'accidents,' he set off for the market...
It was well in the afternoon when the young man made his way back towards the Hinata-Sou, carrying two enormous bags of groceries and supplies. Stopping along a bench on the public path to take a breath, he noticed a high school girl sitting on a bench near him with a sad expression on her face. Curious, he unconsciously withdrew a sketchpad he bought and began sketching her face. Soon he managed to capture everything - From her shoulder length hair which seemed to give off a dark blue hue, to the sparkling blue eyes she sported. But instead of a sad expression, the sketch showed her smiling brightly.
Satisfied with his sketch, Keitaro was about to put away the book when a hand reached down from behind him and took it away. Surprised, the young man turned and found himself staring at two beautiful women who seemed to be admiring his work. Aside from one wearing a business suit and the other wearing an oriental dress, the two were identical twins in every way.
"Skillfully done, young lad." The woman in the business suit smiled, holding the sketchbook in one hand. "You must be a famous artist on vacation, to have this kind of skill!"
"I'm not that great, really..." Keitaro chuckled weakly, making a lunge for his sketchbook. He was dismayed as the businesswoman simply sidestepped his feeble attempt and tossed the book nonchalantly to her companion.
"I'd have to agree!" The woman in the oriental dress smiled as well, holding the book. "You should take more pride in your work!" Keitaro lunged for the book again, but failed as the woman tossed it back towards her companion. Unfortunately, the wind happened to pick up at that moment, and carried the book past the businesswoman to land in front of the high school girl, opening up to the page with her picture...
The high schooler gasped in surprise, as she looked down at a mirror image of herself on paper. She then looked up and saw Keitaro standing there with a guilty look on his face, while the other two women simply watched on. She then choked back a sniffle, as her eyes teared up.
"Why...?" The young woman asked, on the verge of tears.
"Ack, bad hand! Bad!" Keitaro smacked his own right hand repeatedly and laughed nervously. Seeing that his antics didn't cheer the high schooler up, he decided to make a hasty retreat rather than making a bigger fool of himself. Surprised, the high schooler picked up the sketchbook while the two women watched Keitaro run off in the distance.
"What a gutless fool, doesn't even have the courage to talk to her..." The women in the oriental dress scoffed. "I wish I could crush that pathetic fool with my own hands..."
"So bloodthirsty all the time..." The businesswoman smiled and shook her head. "You just might get your wish, sister. There is a blood moon due in a couple nights..."
"You say this as if you know the strike team is going to fail their mission..." Her companion smiled. "Wishful thinking, or do you know something we don't?" The businesswoman was about to respond, when they noticed that the high schooler from before was now standing next to them, holding the sketchbook from earlier.
"Um, excuse me...?" The high schooler asked timidly, drawing raised eyebrows from both women. "... I wanted to return this book to that man, do you happen to know where he went?"
"Of course, darling." The businesswoman smiled, and pointed to an alleyway. "He went that way, I think towards that old inn called the Hinata-Sou." The high schooler bowed in thanks and left, while the woman in the oriental dress frowned at her companion.
"The heck was that for? You know you're sending her to death, right?"
"More for us later, sis." The businesswoman smiled. "Be patient..."
"An all girl's dorm...?" The high schooler blinked at the sign hanging by the Hinata-Sou's main entrance. "Wonder why he's staying here...?" She then knocked on the door, and as the door opened both she and Keitaro stared at each other for a long moment, neither able to say anything.
"Ah!" Keitaro was the first to recover, and bowed deeply. "I'm really sorry about earlier, please forgive me!"
"It's alright..." The high schooler smiled. "I know you were just trying to cheer me up." She then took a sniff of the air, before turning to him. "Steaming fish for dinner?"
"Yeah, but I'm not that good of a cook..." Keitaro chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.
"It's not a problem, but I believe you missed a few ingredients..." She then smiled. "Do you mind if I help you cook dinner? It's the least I could do for scaring you off earlier..."
"It's not really necessary, really!" Keitaro blinked, then smiled. "But if you insist, I won't turn down the offer!" He then offered his hand. "I'm Keitaro, by the way."
"I'm Shinobu." The high schooler smiled, shaking his hand. "Now lets go see about this fish of yours..."
A couple hours after the sun had set, Keitaro called the other tenants to dinner, who arrived to find a surprising number of delicious dishes which seemed professionally prepared. He also introduced Shinobu to everyone, who was responsible for the culinary masterpieces and was invited to stay for dinner, to which everyone agreed happily.
"Wow, your cooking is great!" Kitsune smiled at Shinobu, who beamed at the compliment. "This sure beats Naru's cooking anyday!"
"Hey, at least I make an effort to cook for everyone, slacker!" The auburn haired woman bit back, causing everyone else to laugh cheerfully.
"Hey, Shinobu?" Kaolla asked between bites, having started on her fourth bowl of rice while everyone else was still on their first. "What 'cha doing here today anyways, ya signing up for a room at the dorm?"
"Well, actually..." Shinobu began timidly, but blinked as the lights in the dorm suddenly shorted out. Everyone in the dining room looked around in confusion, with what little light available being from the moon outside.
"What the heck...?" Keitaro asked, but yelped in surprise as the paper screen windows burst open, and several figures leapt through to land on the dining table and vacant seats, causing the tenants and Shinobu to scramble out of the way in fright. Huddled together, they got a chance to see the figures that had broken in. Three figures wore ski masks over their faces, most of their body hidden in the darkness due to their choice in dark clothing. All held knives in their hands as they eyed the tenants evily, but it was the fourth figure behind them that sent a chill down their backs...
The fourth figure was only visible through his two glowing red eyes which seemed to emenate an aura of hatred and evil, as his very form seemed to meld into the darkness and shadows which encompassed the room due to the sudden blackout. The shadowy form then extended two arms, which seemed as dark as the shadows themselves, the hands ending in sharp black claws...
"This merry game of hide and seek is now over, Urashima!" The shadowy figure hissed, revealing two rows of gleaming teeth in an evil smile. "I've come to collect the formula and your head!"
Like? No like? Please review!
Cliffhanger? You betcha! Hope you folks enjoy what I've written so far, and as always I greatly accept ideas and criticism, just direct them to my e- mail or yell at me on AIM! Stay tuned! More coming soon!