Hello! Welcome to another installment of Love Hina Next: Second Phase! I still have a bit of a cold, but the sore throat is gone. Now I'm just sneezing and coughing with a runny nose. It seems like I should be fine in 1-2 days. But it doesn't seem like I'm getting worse, so that's okay. So um, yeah. Let's get started, shall we?

---Kouji Tamino

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Suddenly, there was a huge explosion from inside the casino. It blew the roof off of the building, and people were mysteriously tossed out from the building. Included in this group were our heroines, Shinichi, the Urashima's, and the American Gals. Shinichi groaned. "Owww… Hey, that really hurt… Huh?" He looked up as a huge pillar rose from inside the building, Mishima standing on top.

"Mwahahaha!!" He laughed. "Fools! There is still one Keeper… And that is me, Hachi! I still have the SuichiEarrings, and there is no way to stop me! None of you know how to properly use that sword, which is the only way to truly beat me! Just try and attack me! I'll show you the true meaning of defeat!"

"Oh my god, just shut the hell up!!" Junko screamed. "As if your dialogue could get any cornier!"

"Yeah, really…" Nana muttered, dusting herself off.

Junko switched her attention over to her. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"It would appear that Master Mishima, aka Hachi, has fired us…" Nana said sadly, frowning. Her frown quickly turned into a grin. "So in that case, I will be happy to assist you in kicking his ass!"

Junko smiled. "Now you're talking!"

"And whether you like it or not…" Sakura muttered, the other former keepers standing next to her. "I'm helping too, along with the rest of the keepers…"

Junko walked up to Sakura and glared at her. "Don't think that this changes anything between us…"

Sakura laughed. "Don't flatter yourself… I'm not doing this for you, I'm doing it for myself." She frowned. "All my life, father has never paid any attention to me… The only reason I did all this was to try and get him to accept me… But then he goes and disowns me like that…" She turns away and gasps as Shinichi hugs her. "But… But…"

Shinichi smiled. "Poor girl… Poor cousin Sakura…"

Suddenly, the casino began to rise into the air. Sakura glared. "Oh no, you don't!! Come back here, coward!!" She ran over and grabbed a hold of the bottom of the building. Shinichi grabbed her, Megumi grabbed him. It continued like that until the whole group was hanging from the building. The door was still open, so they all crawled in, looking around.

From a control room, Mishima was watching them. He growled. "They are all nothing but fools…" His eyes widened psychotically as he pressed a button. "They'll all die!!"

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Love Hina Next: Second Phase

Chapter 25: Finish

As Shinichi and the others ran up the staircase of the casino, the stairs suddenly flattened out. They screamed as they slid back down, landing in a heap. "Ow…" Shinichi groaned, rubbing his head. He slowly sat up and found his face in between something soft. Two things, to be precise. Slowly and cautiously, he reached up and grabbed one of them, giving it a nice squeeze. "Um…" He looked up to see that he had groped Sakura. "Ack!! Oh my god!! I'm so sorry!!" He flinched her fist headed towards his head.

Sakura tapped him softly on top of the head with her fist. She sighed, smiling slightly "Idiot…" She glared at the top of the stairs. "I should have been expecting this… My father pulls a lot of dirty tricks--"

"Like father, like daughter…" Junko interrupted.

Sakura ignored Junko. "-- so be careful…"

Shinichi nodded, then looked to Ami. "Ms. Ami, do you think that you can get us all up there?"

She nodded, smiling. "I'll try a little something new…" She closed her eyes, a bubble forming around her. The bubble soon grew and surrounded the whole group. The giant bubble rose and went up the staircase. Soon, they had reached the top.

All was quiet as they followed Sakura to the room that her father was hiding out in. Junko glared at her back. "Everyone be on guard. I wouldn't trust her if I were you…"

Sakura looked back to her and smiled smugly. "Don't make me laugh… My father no longer even acknowledges me… What would I gain by betraying you again?" They continued walking for a little longer.

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Back in his room, Mishima watched their progress. He stared at the screen, flicking a lighter. "Idiots… Did you really think it would be that easy?" He grinned, setting the lighter down. "On the contrary, young ones… The worst is yet to come… Once you've reached me, it will all over…"

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Soon, they were all at a huge door. "This is it…" Sakura started, pointing towards the entrance. "My father is in this room, probably waiting for you…" She began to walk in the opposite direction. "Good luck…"

"Just a minute…" Yamato muttered, grabbing her by her collat. He smirked. "You weren't planning on sending us to daddy like that without helping us, were you?"

Sakura shrugged. "He may have disowned me, but he is still the man that assisted in my birth… unfortunately…" She sighed, staring at the ground. "Despite the way he's treated me, I can't just go against him like that…" She looked back up and looked back to the group as Yamato let go of her. "I've helped you get this far, but this is where we part ways… I sincerely wish you luck in defeating my father, and… I'm sorry, I just can't--!!!" She quickly ran away, leaving the others standing in front of the door.

Yamato sighed. "What a misguided girl… Reminds me a bit of myself…" He turned back towards the door and chuckled, raising his leg. "Well, this should take a few kicks, but I should be able to knock this door dow--"

"Hyah!!" Junko yelled, knocking the door down with a single punch. "You were saying?"

Yamato blinked rapidly, his leg still raised. "Holy poop on a stick!!" Keitaro and Ami stared at him in confusion. He shrugged. "Eh, Tokimi doesn't like it when I swear… I'm trying to cut down."

"So, you have arrived…" Mishima said softly. "You will regret trying to stop me and my conquest of the soda world!"

Everyone stared at him. Shinichi began to laugh. "Oh, is that all? In that case, go ahead. Your soda company was one of the only good ones left, anyway…" Everyone turned around and began to leave.

"I don't think so!" Mishima screamed, freezing them with the earrings. "You've gotten on my last nerves, and I will make you all pay! Besides, you've got my nice shiny items, which I need in order for my plan to work…" He snatched the items away from everyone, except for the sword, which he was unable to take out of it's sheath. He unfroze time and grinned. "Do you… notice anything different?"

"Our items, their gone!" Megumi screamed.

"That's right!" Mishima screamed, wearing/holding each of the items. He frowned. "Except for that sword… I couldn't get it out of the sheath!"

Shinichi smiled. "You do know that carrying the sword along with it's sheath makes it almost weightless, right?"

Mishima snapped his fingers. "Damn!! Forgot about that!! Oh well, you can't carry it!! Nyah, nyah!!"

Shinichi sweat dropped. "Yeah, well you're right about that…"

Junko growled. "I don't care if you've got all those items! I won't let you get away with stealing from me!"

"Despite the fact that you con people?" Megumi muttered to herself.

Junko screamed, jumping towards Mishima. "Junko, no!!" Keitaro screamed.

It was too late. Mishima held the ring up. "You idiot! I am all powerful!!" He punched Junko several times, the mask speeding him up and his own natural strength factoring in. He continued punching her all over her body, leaving bruises and welts everywhere. He grinned as Junko fell to the ground, screaming in pain. "You see?! This is what happens when you mess with me!!"

"Big sister!" Naoko screamed, running towards her.

Megumi quickly grabbed the girl. "No, stop!"

Junko slowly looked up and flinched in pain, her left eye swollen closed. "N-Naoko… Stay away, it's too dangerous…" She groaned, blood trickling out of her mouth and down her chin.

"Junko!!" she cried.

Shinichi's stared at the now vulnerable Junko in horror and shock. "But… Junko is so strong, yet Mishima took her down like it was nothing… This can't be happening…"

Ami growled. "Damn you… You monster! You've hurt people for the last time!" Her aura surrounded her and flickered between blue and black. She waved her hands around, lightning surrounding them. "Your fight is with me, now!"

The tall man laughed. "You stupid bitch! Do you not understand that I'm beyond your reach in power now?! I guess not… Guess I'll have to beat it into you!"

Ami grit her teeth. "Bastard. Don't you ever talk to me like that again… I promised someone that I would never let anyone push me around ever again!" Ami sent a blue ball of energy towards Mishima. It hit him directly, leaving only a small burnt spot on his clothes. "What the--?!"

Mishima laughed, dusting himself off. "…Is that all?" He held the staff up and changed into robes of red and black. On his head was a wizard's hat. His staff now looked a lot like Negi's. He pointed at Ami and a wave of magic was sent toward her. It hit it her sent her flying towards a wall.

"Ami!!" Yamato screamed, running towards her and grabbing her. Unfortunately, the speed at which she was moving was too much for him, and they both hit the wall. Yamato, however, took most if not all of the force.

"Yamato-sama!!" Ami cried, hugging his body against hers tightly. "Why did you do it?!"

A little too tightly for Yamato's comfort. He thought for a few seconds. 'Then again, Ami has become quite the looker…' He grinned lecherously. 'And her tits are so soft…' As Ami cried out his name and asked her question, he snapped out of his semi-adulterous thoughts. "Um, well Ami… You're my friend, of course I would do something like this…"

Shinichi sighed. "Yamato-sensei is so cool… I wish I could be like him!"

Ami growled, standing up and walking up to Mishima. "You hurt Yamato-sama! I won't forgive you!" Secretly, she had been charging up a blast to send at Mishima. She was aware that he would use one of the skills of the items to avoid/block it, so she had put enough power in it to make the thing a homing blast. She raised her hand and sent the blast into the air.

As it came down, Mishima teleported from one end of the room to the other. He chuckled, right before being hit by the blast. Smoke spread across the room, and everyone stared at the smoke, wondering if maybe…

Suddenly, a blur sped by and struck Ami in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Her pupils dilated as she grabbed her stomach, backing away. She fell back as Mishima stood over her. He grabbed his bleeding arm. "The bitch really messed me up…" He waved his staff over her. "I won't give her another chance to do that…" Without warning, the 7 former keepers jumped on top of him. "What the--?! How dare you fight against me, your master!"

Go-Roku laughed mischievously. "Hey, you're not our master anymore!"

"Yeah, remember?" Shi Yon asked sarcastically, flipping some stray hair out of his face in slow motion. "Ah, that's the stuff…"

The keepers all gasped as Mishima disappeared. Suddenly, they were all being beaten around by unknown forces. They were hit, kicked, punched, burned and smashed to the ground. 7 Mishima's appeared, laughing triumphantly. "Ha! No one can beat me!" They shouted in unison.

"Father, you have to stop this!" Sakura shouted, running into the room.

Mishima looked to her, turning back into one being. "Who are you? I do not know you…"

Sakura frowned. "I know that you have disowned me, but I will always consider you my father… No matter what you do…" She walked over to her father and hugged him. "I will always love you…"

Mishima's eyes softened. "Sakura…" He slowly wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. "I had no idea that you felt that way…"

Sakura looked up and smiled. "Oh, father…" Tears of happiness rolled down her face. She soon, however, felt something go right into her stomach. "F-father?!" As quickly as it entered her, the dagger that her father had stabbed her with left her body. She quickly grabbed her bleeding abdomen and gasped. "Father… How could you?! I… I…" She soon lost consciousness, falling to the ground.

"You bastard…" Junko groaned. "Not even she deserved that…"

Mishima licked the blood off of the dagger and laughed. "What an idiot… How could she believe that I loved her, after the way I intentionally ignored her… She was nothing but an accident, the result of a one night fling with some dirty whore…"

"Damn it all to hell…" Shinichi muttered under his breath, looking to the ground. Everyone that was still conscious turned to him. "I'm completely worthless… I'm a loser, a nerd, a spineless wimp…" He grabbed a hold of the sword on his back, easily sliding it from it's sheath. "I may be all of those things, taunt me if you will…" He looked up, his eyes devoid of any pupils. "But I am a true friend to those that need it, and I will not allow you to destroy them! And don't you dare say such things about Sakura!!" He screamed, running towards Mishima with the sword pointed straight at him.

"You moron! You cannot st--" He gasped as he realized that none of the items worked. "It… it can't be… he… he…"

"That's, right!!" Shinichi shouted at the top of his lungs, switching the sword to the other side and smashing Mishima in the face with the handle, once again splitting the mask in half. "I know how to use the thing now, dumb-ass!"

"Holy shit…" Yamato said under his breath. "Shinichi's completely lost it!"

Everyone watched in amazement and horror as Shinichi sliced each item off of Mishima's body. He then head butted the man and watched as he fell to the ground. He took his sword and pressed it against Mishima's neck. "And now, to avenge Sakura… I will spill the blood of the one that---"

"Shinichi, no!" Sakura screamed, reaching out towards him, still holding her stomach. "Shinichi-kun, I'm going to be okay… He missed my vital organs by a few centimeters, so please… Please don't become a man like my father… Stay the innocent man that I fell in love with…"

"Gyah-wah?!" Shinichi yelled, face faulting. "What the heck's the matter with you?!"

Mishima, now scared beyond belief, attempted to crawl away. He bumped into someone, looked up, and saw Keitaro, who grinned. "Hello, there!" Keitaro greeted, stomping on his head and knocking him out.

And so, the casino began to float back down to the ground… And then…

To Be Concluded…

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Bam. Done 2 hours early. Heh, anyway… I will be back next time, with the conclusion to this storyline. Then we get back to the craziness and hanky panky. I'm sensing a serious lack of comedy, romance, and blatant fan service.

---Kouji Tamino