Note: I do not own Love Hina, Read or Die, or any other intellectual properties. They are all copyrights of their respectful owners. The rest, however, is MINE, BEE-YOTCHES!
I'm planning a sequel to this fic, which takes place one year after the end of the manga, and during the events of the R.O.D. TV series, called Love Or Dream Hina.
GYRAX Presents… Love-Or-Die Hina
Chapter 3: Motoko's Love, in Manuscript form.
"The British Library also looked up Narusegawa-san's genealogy. What they came across was quite disturbing. Let's go back to the Inn; I'll explain everything from there." Yomiko entered the Hinata Inn, with everyone else following her.
After Yomiko entered the lobby, the Joker's voice came up in her earpiece. "Agent Paper? Are you all right?"
"Yeah; we were attacked by the same I-jin, but we made it out ok. Her motives are inconclusive; she may have wanted the kikou books back. That, and she seemed to have some sort of resentment towards Narusegawa-san. She does bear a striking resemblance to her ancestor, so I wouldn't blame her."
"I just wanted to tell you that the I-jin base has come to a complete stop, its location about three hundred kilometers east of here."
"It stopped?" The Paper asked. Everyone looked at her in curiosity.
"Perhaps you could take this extra time to rest up and prepare yourself. You'll have to get into the base soon." Joker replied over her earpiece.
"Right." Yomiko replied. Then, she turned to Keitaro, who was still carrying Naru on his shoulder. "Guys, the I-jin headquarters just stopped about three hundred kilometers from here. Perhaps we can take this time to take a good break, especially after what just happened."
(O)
Everyone was gathered in the dining room, with Naru and Keitaro sitting next to each other at the dining room table. Yomiko sat across from them with a load of files on the table.
"I already told you that Shinobi Bakunetsu-Maruchan was Shinobu's ancestor, right?" She takes something out of the stack of files. "Here's a picture of her." Keitaro and Naru examine it; the picture was in black and white, and of a teen-age girl with dark, short hair, and gentle eyes, sporting a dark kimono with daisies imprinted on it, and a katana strapped to her back.
"Wow." Keitaro said. "They kind of look alike."
"Kind of?" Naru just looked at him.
(O)
Someone was climbing up the steps to the Hinata Inn. He was a man who looked to be in his late twenties, with short black hair pushed up in the front. He wore professor-style glasses over his blue eyes. He also seemed to be more than six feet tall, wearing a gray three-piece suit. As he reached the top, he saw the Hinata Inn ahead. He looks back at the stairs behind him. "Damn, I hate those stairs already."
(O)
"As for you, Narusegawa-san," Yomiko added. "You seem to be of British descent, oddly enough. Your ancestor went by the name of Molly MacMollyport; she was a British naval officer who also died during the Bombardment of Kagoshima." She takes something else out of the stack of files. "I've got a picture right here." She hands it over to them.
Naru couldn't believe what she saw. "MY GOD, SHE LOOKS JUST LIKE ME! (Why Molly, though?)"
"Molly was close to foreign national Charles Lennox Richardson, and heavily supported him, and Shinobi was already against the British presence in Japan, but during the Namamugi incident, Molly punched Shinobi's mentor, a much talked about "perverted" Ninjutsu instructor known as "Sempai", in the face, sending him straight to the upper atmosphere, where she was never to see him again (Molly later claimed that it was because he had peeked under her dress). The incident made Shinobi infuriated, and when she and Molly met again almost a year later in the Anglo-Satsuma War… well, you know what happens next."
Naru and Keitaro looked at one another in pure disbelief. Suddenly, they hear a knock on the door.
"I'll get it!" Motoko said as she went to the lobby, towards the door. She sees a male figure looking back at her; she didn't recognize him at all. She opened the door. "Yes?"
"Is Motoko Aoyama-san here?" The man asked in reply.
"This is she." The kendoist answered.
The man examines her closely; then, he pushes up his professor glasses. "Pardon my rudeness, but I have a hard time believing that YOU are the future best-selling novelist that I'm looking for."
Motoko's face turns cherry red. "N…n…n…novelist!"
"Yep!" He said with enthusiasm. "I heard an excerpt from your manuscript over the phone. I couldn't believe what I was hearing; the words you put together to conjure up real emotion. It almost brought me to tears."
"Hold on, mister." Motoko said, almost leaving the lobby.
"It's Yoshi Kutaragi." He replied.
"Yeah, thanks." Motoko hurried out of the lobby.
Yoshi stood there and spoke to himself. "I wonder what her deal is."
(O)
"WHERE THE HELL IS SHE!" Motoko stormed in the dining room with an angry demonic glare in her eyes.
"Who?" Naru asked.
"WHO DO YOU THINK! KITSUNE, DAMMIT! WHERE IS SHE!" Veins were popping up all over her head.
"I have no idea." Keitaro answered. "Last time I checked, she was right here until she heard a knock on the door, then she left."
"Figures." Motoko said in disgust. She left the room with a huff. She tried so hard to forgive Kitsune for what happened almost a week ago…
Kitsune was creeping oh-so-quietly to Motoko's room, with Su and a reluctant Shinobu following.
"Umm…Kitsune?" Shinobu said out of nervousness. "Don't you think this is a bad idea?"
The sly fox turns to her. "Did I ever steer you wrong?"
"Yes." The young girl replied.
"Never mind." Kitsune interrupted. "Besides, Su and I are bored as hell, and you just finished your homework. What is there to do around here? Nothing. Let's just have a little fun." With that, she crept silently up to Motoko's door. In a split second, she violently opened the door. "I AM THE FIBER QUEEN!"
"WAAAAAAAARRRRRGH!" Motoko almost fainted she was so scared. In front of her lied a stack of papers.
Su went to the stack and picked it up to observe it. "Ooh, what's this?"
"Let me see." Kitsune walked over to her and took the stack of papers. After a minute of looking over it, she suddenly burst into tears. "Man, that's compelling! Motoko, I didn't know you had it in you!"
"ACK! My manuscript!" Motoko ran over to Kitsune, only to end up chasing her all over the room. "Give it back, dammit!"
"I don't wanna! I like it! You know you could make a book out of this."
Motoko was fuming as she went up the stairs, going on a Kitsune hunt. She eventually caught her sneaking across the hall near Shinobu's room and, with lightning speed, ran up to her and grabbed her shirt.
Kitsune put on an "oh (bleep)!" look on her face. "Umm…Hi, Motoko."
"Don't 'hi' me!" Motoko growled. "You know very damn well that manuscript was TOP SECRET!"
"Don't worry." Kitsune replied. "I didn't tell anyone."
"Then why is there a man here that knows about it, huh?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Kitsune answered. "Who is this guy?"
"Not buying it."
"Oh, come on! I didn't call anyone! I swear!" Kitsune was flailing her arms wildly.
"Not buying it."
"Alright! I'll just come up front and tell you…" A long pause fills the halls. "I didn't do it."
"KITSUNE!"
"Excuse me?" said a male voice. "Am I interrupting something?"
"No! Of course not!" Kitsune replied. "You could've never come at a better time!"
Motoko lets her go. "You got lucky."
(O)
The Hinata crew sits at the dining room table with Yoshi as he discusses Motoko's manuscript.
"My name is Yoshi Kutaragi. I'm with the Dai Senryaku Publishing Company." Yoshi said.
Keitaro whispers to Naru next to him. "That name doesn't sound right."
Yoshi continued. "Our company doesn't just publish novels, but we also publish magazines, manga, pamphlets, and we also plan military coups."
"What are you here for?" Naru asked.
"Simple. Your friend over here shows plenty of potential." He motions his hand to Motoko. "A friend of her called and recited the manuscript through the phone. It was really heartwarming."
Motoko gave Kitsune a glare.
Yoshi continued. "I believe her friend's name was… Shinobu, was it?"
Motoko's glare turns to a look of surprise as she looks at Yoshi. "Shinobu?"
"When I heard her recite it, she was completely in tears." He turns to Motoko. "You just may have what it takes to be the next Danielle Steel, a goddess of romance novels."
Everyone looks at her with smiles in their faces.
Naru speaks. "Really, that's awesome, Motoko."
Everyone else begins to clamor around her. Poor Motoko begins to grow nervous every second of it. Eventually, all the chatter has caused her to finally snap out of social anxiety and she ran out of the dining room. "WAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Everyone looks at each other in bewilderment.
Naru spoke. "I think we put too much pressure on her."
"Well," Kitsune added. "She told me that manuscript was top secret.
"Top secret?" Everyone asked.
"You think it could've been her diary?" Naru asked.
"I don't think so." Kitsune answered. "At least it didn't sound like one."
"Kutaragi-san?" Yomiko asked.
"Please. Call me Yoshi." He replied.
"Shouldn't you just ask for her consent before you do anything with it?" Yomiko added.
(O)
Later, we see Motoko lying on a couch in the lobby in a fetal position.
Yoshi looks at her in confusion, and then approaches her. "Ok… I'm just going to bring this to Dai Senryaku Headquarters, ok? Don't worry, they'll love it." He exits the Inn.
Just then, Naru and the others enter and notice her.
"So, Motoko?" Naru asked. "Did you give him your approval?" A long pause fills the lobby. "Motoko?"
The samurai still lies there.
"She must've really been bent on keeping that manuscript a secret." Keitaro said. "Because she's acting quite out of character."
"Pathetic." Kanako said to herself.
"Ummm…" Naru added, tapping Keitaro's shoulder. "Keitaro? Yomiko? Isn't that the blue robot from yesterday?" She points outside.
(O)
Naru, Keitaro, and Yomiko went outside and barely saw the blue mecha land at the bottom of the staircase. They quickly descended down and saw it land beside Yoshi. They could barely believe their eyes.
Yoshi quickly turns to them. "OH (BLEEP)!"
Yomiko sees a female figure sitting on the mech's left shoulder, donning a short kimono. "Shinobi!"
"You mean she's still alive!" Keitaro replied.
"Whoever's running the show is really looking out for his comrades." Yomiko spoke.
"Hey!" Yoshi interjected. "What if the leader was a woman!"
"He has a point." Naru said. Then she turns to Yoshi. "Okay, now who the hell are you?"
Yoshi cracks a smile. "Allow me to show you my true self! (Damn! I couldn't hide my identity for five minutes.)" He takes off his professor glasses and puts on a different, bigger and thicker pair of coke-bottle glasses. "THIS is my true form!"
"That's it?" Naru asked.
"Well…Yeah." Yoshi's head hung low. Then, he looks up again. "Anyway, allow me to introduce myself, and I hope you have pen and paper with you."
"I have plenty of paper." Yomiko chimed in.
"I know that." Yoshi said. "You're The Paper for God's sake. Anyway, my name is Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg! Try to remember it."
The Paper turns to her earpiece. "Mr. Joker. Did you hear that?"
"That's an affirmative." The Joker responded over their earpieces. "Johann Gutenberg, circa 1398 to 1468, pioneered the printing press by inventing moveable type, the improvement over block printing already present in Europe during the time. The invention allowed for rapid printing of materials, which led to an information explosion in Renaissance Europe. His most famous work was the Gutenberg Bible, which opened doors to the mass production of books in the West."
"This guy has quite a pedigree." Keitaro replied.
Suddenly, we see Kanako run quickly to the scene. "Onii-chan? What the hell is going on?"
The threesome turns around. "Kanako!" Keitaro exclaimed.
"I believe I'll take this manuscript with me, now." Johann said. Everyone turns back to him. "One thing was true, Motoko WILL make a better author than Danielle Steel could ever HOPE to be." He throws a copy of Lone Eagle to the floor. "I have to go, now. Sorry I couldn't stay here longer than I wanted to." Naru and Keitaro now have their guard up, Kanako was ready to attack and Yomiko was preparing to use her paper magic, but the I-jin had other plans. "Shinobi!"
"I know!" The girl responded. She throws a slip of paper on the ground below them.
"GET BACK, NOW!" Yomiko cried out as she pulled the other three back before a huge Old Faithful-sized gush of water came from the ground had a chance to engulf them. They see the water plume skyward from what looks like a five-foot radius of the slip of paper.
"What the hell was that!" Kanako exclaimed.
"A talisman, I assume." Yomiko answered. "The Japanese character for 'Water'. She intended on rendering my paper magic useless. Only a few of my sheets of paper are waterproof."
"Why do they want that manuscript, anyway?" Keitaro asked.
"In New York, the I-jin recited an excerpt from Danielle Steel's Lone Eagle, sending the entire population to a state of pleasure. Then they absorbed all of their souls into a black orb on top of the center structure of their fortress. If I'm right, they'll recite Motoko's manuscript for the same purpose, in hopes of achieving better results."
"Motoko won't like that at all." Kanako replied.
Keitaro turns to her. "Kanako. I suggest that you go back to the house, now. This is going to be extremely dangerous."
As much as she wanted to be with him, she knew she had her nose into British Library Business, and knew better than to complicate things for herself, so she went back up the staircase.
At the same time, Drake went down the stairs to find out what just happened.
"Mr. Drake." Yomiko said. "Good thing you're here. We're following the I-jin."
"We're what?" He asked.
"We're following them. I have an idea."
Drake made a face of irritation. "Oh boy." He knew exactly what she was thinking.
Paper flew out of her coat and briefcase and flew around her. Yomiko was moving her arms around like a mad maestro at an opera as the paper began to bind together. Naru and Keitaro watched in total astonishment, as the mess of papers became a giant paper airplane before them.
Yomiko turns to Keitaro and Naru. "Well, get in." They do, fitting snugly in the center crease, with Yomiko getting in with them.
Drake knows what to do and lifts the paper plane above them. "Ready?"
"Yeah." Yomiko responded.
"Alright, then!" Drake took a running start to attain takeoff speed and threw the plane with all his might. As the plane began to sail, he ran to it and grabbed its left wing, climbing in and sitting with the others. The paper glider then gained altitude and headed to the east, where the fortress supposedly awaits.
"Well, this is a nice change of pace." Keitaro said. "I hope this is safe."
"Don't worry." Drake replied. "She won't drop us THIS time."
"Wh-what!" Keitaro didn't like the sound of that.
Naru loved the view of the town and beach from the paper plane. "The view here is wonderful." Her eyes were shimmering in delight.
Yomiko had her hands on both wings, doing a good job of stabilizing it. The crew could hear the sound of a jet engine; it was getting louder and louder, sounding like it was approaching them.
Drake turned to see what was behind them and saw a brown glider quickly gain on them, then quickly decelerates as it approached them, retracting its wings. "Guys, I think we have company."
They turn to see the glider now hovering above them. Otto Lilienthal was looking at them with a wicked smile on his face. "If you ever hope of reaching master Johann, you'll have to get past me first!"
Naru and Keitaro looked at one another. "MASTER Johann?"
"So Gutenberg's the leader, then." Yomiko pondered out loud.
Otto continued. "I am the German Glider King, the Great Otto Lilienthal!"
"Otto Lilienthal?" Keitaro said, recalling the time Shinobi mentioned that name.
The glider above them then did the unthinkable; it used its bird-like wings to latch on to the paper plane, and then it took a nosedive.
"WAAAAUUGH! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!" Keitaro screamed as the two gliders went on a collision course towards the ground.
"NOW DIVE TO YOUR DEATH! MUA HA HA!" Otto's glider let go of the paper plane and pulled up, leaving the paper plane spiraling towards the ground below.
End Chapter 3
Now review and tell me what you think.
Next Episode of Love-Or-Die Hina
Chapter 4: The Eye of the Storm! You Mean to Tell Me It's Hurricane Season, Already!
Author's Notes:
"Naru couldn't believe what she saw. 'MY GOD, SHE LOOKS JUST LIKE ME! (Why Molly, though?)'"
Why Molly? That's simple. If you ever saw Sailor Moon, then you're familiar with the character Molly, right? In the Japanese version, her name is Naru.
See you next chapter.
GYRAX