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!
A dark figure sits on the roof of the Hinata Inn. He. A cell phone in his pocket rings, and with that, he picks it up. "Hello?…Master Johann. Is it time?…What of Agent Paper and her three stooges?…Thank God, I wouldn't want to have to go up against that kind of power, now…Now commencing operation…I WON'T fail!…Ok, see ya." A harsh but confident voice came out of his mouth. He turns the phone off and puts it in his pocket with an evil grin on his face. "It's about time." He stands up and looks around the Inn's backyard. "IT'S SHOWTIME!" He jumps off the roof with a maniacal laugh echoing in the background.
GYRAX Presents… Love-Or-Die Hina
Chapter 5: Before the Climax! Let's Rock It, Bee-Yotches!
Back at the I-jin fortress…
"Alrighty, then." Yomiko said, looking at a map. "The fortress is divided into four quadrants, each with its own sound tower, stabilizers, and what not. All the corridors eventually lead straight into the center structure. We just go ahead."
"That's simple enough." Keitaro replied.
"And we're in Quadrant II." Drake added. "Not that it really matters."
"And we have Shinobu here to thank for providing us with a map." Naru chimed in.
Shinobu's face turns red, happy that she was able to help. They were walking down a long and dark metallic corridor that looked like they were in a large tunnel of some sort. Both walls had an array of dimly lit wall lights. As they walked, Keitaro felt uneasy.
Naru noticed that Keitaro was opening and closing his hands constantly. She had a feeling something was wrong with him, so she went to check. "Something wrong, Keitaro?"
"Yeah." He replied. "For some reason, I'm feeling unusually nervous."
"That's normal." Yomiko answered. "We all feel it; it's the feeling you get when you know that all of mankind is depending on you. After all, if we fail every human being on Earth will die."
"Gee, way to add on the pressure." Keitaro sighed. He tried to calm down, and he eventually cooled off a bit, but he suddenly feels a chill on his spine. "There it is, again."
"What?" Naru asked.
Before he even got to answer, a net fell on him. "WAAAAAAARGH! SOMEONE HELP ME!" He was now lying on the floor, trapped under a black net.
"What the hell?" Naru said. Then she looked up and saw a dark figure fall towards her. She quickly stepped back but the figure did a spinning heel kick to her face, sending her to a wall. The figure suddenly moved to Yomiko and kicked her to another wall, and then picked up Shinobu and threw her at Drake. The collision sent them both to the floor.
Drake got up, only to hear an eerie rumble behind him. He turned to see what it was, but he could hardly believe it. "You're still alive?"
Jacques de Vaucanson stood right in front of him with a spear in his right hand. "Monsieur Drake Anderson. That hurt like Hell!" The mecha drove his spear right towards him.
(O)
"It's about time you went back to normal, Motoko." Kitsune said as Motoko walked past her and out of the living room, giving no response.
Kitsune just looked at her funny as she exited the room. "Maybe not." She followed Motoko all the way to the back of the Inn, where she stopped and looked to her left. There, they both saw a male figure stands at the hill.
He seemed to be standing at least six and a half feet tall, with dark skin and bleach white hair fixed in a terrible do, similar to Super Saiyan Gohan, and piercing red eyes. He wore a white buttoned shirt, only buttoned halfway up though, revealing his chest, as well as a plethora of bling, and black bell-bottoms. He wore golden shoes and had a guitar strapped to his back.
The rest of the Hinata crew followed Kitsune outside. Kanako stood behind Motoko and looked straight at the male figure.
Motoko cautiously approached the man. "I felt a strong, but evil aura coming out of your body. Who are you, and why are you here?"
The man turns to them. "We I-jin don't waste our time talking to filthy vermin." He spoke in a harsh voice. Then he ran.
"What was that?" Motoko chased him down the hill.
"Did he say he was an I-jin?" Kanako said to herself as she and the others followed them down the hill. The man stops at the bottom and looks at the girls behind him.
"I'm going to ask you one more time." Motoko said. "Who are you?"
"Did you just say that you were an I-jin?" Kanako asked.
"So what if I am?" The man answered. "Now, stay out of my way or I'll have to use force."
"You were the scumbags that stole my manuscript!" Motoko cried out. "And now everyone knows about it! Everything I wrote on it was an amalgamation of all of my most private thoughts, and you people invaded that privacy (that and that thing that happened in New York). For your injustices, you I-jin must be punished! ROCK SPLITTING SWORD!" With a mighty swing of her sword, she sent a wave of ki towards him.
The man grabbed the guitar that was strapped on his back with his left hand and held it up high, revealing the shape of a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar. With a maniacal grin on his face, he slammed it on the floor, creating a sonic boom of sorts and canceling out Motoko's attack.
"He deflected it." Motoko said surprised at what happened. "And with a guitar no less."
The I-jin held his guitar over his left shoulder and put another smirk on his face. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am the original Rock God. I am Jimi Hendrix!"
Kitsune gasped. "By God, no way!"
"Really?" Sarah added. "Who is Jimi Hendrix?"
"Only the most important electric guitarist in history." Kitsune explained. "His image as a rock star has placed him in the lineage of Little Richard, Chuck Barry, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles. As a guitarist, he was an innovator as well as a true visionary. He died of overdose and choking on his own vomit."
"Sorry." Motoko said. "But I don't like Gaijin music."
"That's too bad." Hendrix replied. "Cuz you're gonna DIE LISTENING TO IT!"
(O)
Naru and Yomiko are standing in front of who looked like Shinobi. The Shinobu clone donned a short blue kimono with daisies printed on it, a katana strapped to her back, and she's now packed with handy arm-blades.
Yomiko whispered to Naru's ear. "I'll provide a distraction for her while you go and free Urashima-san. She's aware that the two of you work better as a duo, so she's trying to keep you two separated."
"Got it." Naru responded. She made a mad dash towards Keitaro. Shinobi went to chase her, but was intercepted by The Paper. Yomiko swung her paper sword, but the clone effortlessly dodged all her attacks. Shinobi jumped back and threw water balloons at her, holding her at bay long enough to catch up to Naru and deliver a swift kick to the back of her head before she reached Keitaro.
Naru gets up and looks back at the I-jin. "Damn! She's too fast. She won't even let me get near Keitaro. And to top it off, Mr. Drake's too busy with Megatron over there."
Jacques fired a hailstorm of bullets at Drake from his machine gun. Drake began encircling him, returning fire with his M16 carbine, only to have his rounds bounce off his tough armor. Drake pulled out a grenade and threw it at him, only to see him shield himself from the explosion. Jacques counterattacked by firing a beam out of his head-mounted laser cannon, but Drake jumped out of the way and barely avoided it.
"Now what do I do?" Drake said to himself as he ran to avoid another hail of machinegun fire.
Yomiko cautiously approached Shinobi, but she had a handful of water balloons to keep the Paper at bay. She threw the water balloons and quickly ran up to Naru, grabbing her by her shirt.
(O)
"God, they're idiots." Johann mused. "They were so focused on infiltrating Laputa that they completely forgot all about their precious inn. Let's see how Jimi-boy's doing."
"Yes, sir." Madame Curie replied.
(O)
At the British Library's War Room…
"I can understand Jacques de Vaucanson, Marie Curie, and Zhang Sanfeng, but Jimi Hendrix?" Joker sweatdropped. "Wendy? Are you sure this is right?"
"Absolutely." Wendy responded. "That's all the data we gathered on the fortress, its personnel, and what they plan on doing once they reach Hinata."
"Right." Joker replied. "Thanks again, Wendy." As Wendy leaves, Joker looks at the files in front of him. One thing he saw caused him to raise an eyebrow.
(O)
Hendrix slammed his guitar on the ground, creating a sonic boom to cancel out another of Motoko's attacks. Kanako quickly ran up to him and attacked with a volley of punches. Hendrix had to use his guitar to block all of them until he had a chance to jump back. He made another sonic boom, but Kanako quickly moved out of the way, leaving the attack to head straight towards Motoko, who canceled it with another Rock Splitting Sword.
"You're stronger than I thought." Motoko admitted, catching her breath.
"Of course." Hendrix replied with pride. "We I-jin are naturally strong, and I have my guitar to do most of my dirty work. Contact with the ground or anything solid, and a sonic boom is made."
"I see." Kitsune said to herself. "It's some modified version of his Fender Stratocaster."
"You seem to know your guitars." Haruka remarked.
"I listen to Metallica."
"Perhaps I can show you what else this thing is capable of." Hendrix held the guitar by its bridge. Then, he pulled one of the strings. Suddenly, it shot a huge sonic boom; sending Motoko and Kanako back.
(O)
Naru was slammed against a nearby wall; Shinobi still held her by her shirt. Then, Shinobi threw her to the ground. Yomiko came from behind and attacked with a paper whip, but the clone used her retracted arm-blades to block it. She threw more water balloons to hold the Paper at bay. After dealing with her, Shinobi began punishing Naru with a barrage of lightning fast punches, then following it up with a kick to the head and sending her further down the hall. She saw Yomiko come back at her with the corner of her eye, but continued kicking Naru across the halls, while at the same time using her retracted arm-blades to block all the attacks thrown at her from Yomiko's paper sword.
With a snarl, Shinobi clearly shows that she's had it with the Paper's interference and gave her a swift snap kick to her face, sending her down the hallway. She came back at Naru, who was now lying on the ground, severely weakened by the seemingly endless barrage of attacks. The clone looked down on her in utter disdain as she extended her arm-blades, ready to slice. "I win." She raised her right arm, it's blade ready for a good decapitation. She was ready to lower it like a guillotine in the French Revolution…
Then, a figure gave her a powerful kick to her face, sending her to a nearby wall.
Keitaro, still trapped under the net, looked at the figure in clear shock. "SHINOBU?"
Shinobu was now dressed in the same attire as her clone, Shinobi. She quickly pinned her against the wall and looked at Yomiko, who now just got up. "Quickly! Get Naru and Sempai out of here!"
Yomiko looked at Keitaro and sweatdropped. Whoops! Forgot all about him! She then looked back at Shinobu. "Are you sure you'll be ok?"
"Yes, I am!" Shinobu said. "My ancestor was a ninja!" The clone, still pinned to the wall, gave her a blank stare.
Yomiko began to see something in Shinobu; she released Keitaro and picked up the barely conscious Naru. She and Keitaro ran for it, with Naru on the Paper's shoulders.
Jacques saw them escape and went to follow them, but Drake shot a lob grenade at him, destroying his jetpack.
"Hey ugly!" Drake called out. "Where are you going? I'm over here!"
The two Shinobus are now standing within five feet of one another; you couldn't tell which one was which. They quickly went into fighting stance. They stood absolutely still and stared at one another, one waiting for the other to attack. A pause fills the hallway (except for Drake and Jacques who are creating absolute havoc). After staring one another down, they quickly came at each other. They were nimbly and acrobatically dodging and attacking one another, the duel beginning to resemble a performance at the Cirque du Soleil.
As Yomiko and Keitaro ran with Naru, Joker's voice came over their earpieces. "Is everyone all right?"
"Unfortunately," The Paper responded. "Narusegawa-san is out cold. Besides that, we're all just fine."
"Oh, my." Joker said. "Ok, we may have an idea of what the I-jin are really up to. We discovered that Hinata is known by few for an anomaly called Love-Love."
"Love-Love?" Keitaro said, puzzled.
"It's an inexplicable phenomenon exclusive to the Hinata Inn's forbidden annex." Joker answered. "It is believed this phenomenon, what people believed to be magic, is strong enough to even bind two men together. The fortress you just infiltrated is called 'Laputa'."
"Laputa?" Yomiko spoke. "As in the flying island from 'Gulliver's Travels'?"
"Precisely." Joker replied. "And the orb on the center structure is the 'Lillith's Egg'."
"As in 'End of Evangelion'?" Keitaro said.
Joker didn't say anything for the moment. Then he came spoke again. "Apparently, the Lillith's Egg was designed specifically for harnessing the strange energy trapped in the annex to where it can increase its storage capacity. It can also use that power so the broadcast of the recital of Aoyama-san's manuscript can be effective all over the planet. An I-jin would be sent to the Hinata Inn's annex to trap this energy in a medallion which was said to be designed by a man known as the Southern Master, believed by some to be a real wizard. They would then put the medallion in a compartment on the fortress, and they would successfully harness the power needed to carry out the The Human Genetic Selection Plan, a plan that was attempted by the I-jin a year ago. This is lovingly dubbed 'Operation Find an Ass of a Chicken', because like a bird using its warmth to nestle its eggs, Love-Love is supposed to nurture the Lillith's Egg."
"My God." That was all Keitaro said.
"How far is Laputa away from Hinata, right now?" The Paper asked.
"About one hundred kilometers." The Joker answered. "Hurry up! It won't be long until they reach the annex!"
With that, Yomiko and Keitaro picked up speed, with Naru on Yomiko's shoulders.
(O)
Hendrix slammed his guitar on the ground, creating another sonic boom, but Motoko cancelled it out with another Rock Splitting Sword.
"SUMIMASEN PUNCH!" Kanako comes from behind him and thrusts her palm onto his face, sending towards Motoko.
The samurai saw him coming and prepared for another attack. "MOTOKO SLASH!" With a mighty strike of her sword, she sent him flying a good distance before he hit the ground.
The I-jin got up and growled at the martial artists in front of him. "Damn! We studied them extensively and they weren't supposed to join forces!"
"Well," Kanako replied. "For now, we have a common goal, which is whipping your candy ass."
"Hah!" He held his guitar up high. "Good thing Lady Shinobi has anticipated this!" He pressed a silver button on the guitar's bridge. Suddenly, a female voice came out of it! It spoken, "Yoo-hoo! Tama-chan!"
Even if that moment was awkward, she was well aware of what that name meant to her. Suddenly, Tama-chan came out, flying towards Motoko. "Myuu!"
All Motoko said was, "Oh God!"
(O)
"Marie?" Johann turned to Madame Curie.
"Yes, sir?" Curie responded.
"Continue the operation without me. I'm going out for a walk." With that, Johann left.
"Sir?" Madame Curie asked again.
End Chapter 5
Now review and tell me what you think.
Next Episode of Love-Or-Die Hina
Chapter 6: I've Reached Climax!
Author's Notes:
The Fender Stratocaster was the guitar Jimi Hendrix was most associated with. It was also the biggest selling electric guitar in history. Stratocasters were owned by the likes of Buddy Holly, Frank B. Marvin, and guitarist Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top.
We all know about Miyazaki's Laputa, Castle in the Sky, but even that flying castle was based on the flying island in Gulliver's Travels. Laputa's inhabitants can steer it any way they like. Its tyrannical user used it to threaten rebellious regions of the mainland with the islands shadow. Credit goes to Star Otaku's fanfic Ripped from the Pages.
Most of this information is based on research on Wikipedia (which is a site you just HAVE to go to, by the way), and interpreted by myself. If I'm wrong in any way, feel free to correct me, because there may be a good chance that I put this all down wrong.
See you next chapter.
GYRAX