Note: I do not own Love Hina, or any other intellectual properties. They are all copyrights of their respectful owners. The rest, however, is MINE, BEE-YOTCHES!
After you finish reading this chapter, and if you haven't done so yet, please read and review my latest fic, Tokyo Myuh Myuh. I'd appreciate it.
Sorann – Thanks.
pyrotechnic – I'm glad you think that. Do you want me to tell you decode the Greek Letters and convert them to English, or translate? I don't know Greek, but I make up an English phrase that sounds like a good attack name, and then I translate that phrase in the WorldLingo translator, which might not be completely accurate, I'm not sure. Then, I look up the Greek Alphabet and match the Greek letters on my translated phrase with the letters in the Greek alphabet to discover which letter means what, like Φ means Phi, which is the letters Ph from the English alphabet, or something like that. E-mail me if you want any more info, and I'll tell you the address for the WorldLingo translator and I'll e-mail you a copy of the Greek alphabet. I hope that helps.
Havenoname – I never thought of Keitaro having powers.
Hotstreak RMD – Thanks for the comment by the way. I knew Motoko was able to fight without her sword since I read Volume 12 of the manga.
VoidHawk – Thanks for that. I'm still keeping your idea into consideration. The fact of the matter is I'm using it right now, but only bit by bit, for the sake of the story's pacing. At this point, the other girls will have to grow up, especially that blondie booger T-rex lizard Naru-thing.
bluezone777 of the Dark Icon Writers – I'm glad you liked the omake as well as this chapter.
Lee3 – That may or may not be true. Ayumi is quite a mysterious character. I appreciate you dropping by.
BigFics2 – I understand where you're getting at, and I'll come around and fix that problem when I come around to it. As for Shinobu's power, I'll pretty much stick with VoidHawk on this matter. Don't worry, it'll get clearer in the next chapter.
that man – I got the idea from the fic's title, which is Awe of She. It just came to me.
NefCanuck – He wasn't doing a damn thing about it earlier, and I thought maybe he could finally find a way to intervene.tomdj1701 – Thanks for the comment.
Drgnmastr-Alex – Thanks for the heads up on that. And Happy Birthday; I made sure to update this chapter on your birthday as a gift from me to you.
oblivionknight7 – I can't tell you much, but know that Dr. Ikeda will play a role in this story soon.
GYRAX Presents…
Awe of She
Chapter 6: Awe of He
CRASH! And just like that, Naru flies through the roof of the Hinata House and into the exosphere…AGAIN.
Shinobu walks away from the lobby in a huff. "Dammit! This is getting old!"
Keitaro witnesses all of this and sighs. "How many holes in the roof was that, today?"
"Forty-nine." Kitsune answers. "Twenty-four were holes I was forced to repair because of you were too busy during your trip around the world."
"Damn." Keitaro groans. "It just never ends, does it?" He walks out of the lobby to get some wood, nails, and a hammer; he's off to repair another hole. In his mind, he couldn't help but think about what Motoko said yesterday.
You need to be a man and stop this now, Urashima! You're just watching and looking helpless; you're acting spineless again. I can't take it
So, it's about time that Keitaro decides to take some action, but he'll need to gather a bit of courage to do so. Already, he feels nervous, his skin tingling all over.
(O)
Brooding in her room is Motoko Aoyama, trying to figure out what happened yesterday. Never in her life has she been up against anyone that would come close to an actual magic-user.
"ESSENCE OF THE SHINMEI SCHOOL CONCEALED EVIL CUTTING FIST, SECOND FORM!" She sends a massive ki attack, which shoots towards Shinobu at breakneck speeds.
Shinobu quickly reacts. "BARRIER!" She creates a hemispherical shield that easily deflects the attack. Keitaro and the others gasp as they watch in shock and awe, but Motoko doesn't bother to speak, but she too is still amazed as to what Shinobu was able to do. Out of the blue, Shinobu vanishes out of thin air.
Motoko thinks her mind is playing tricks on her. "Where on Earth did she go?" Her answer comes to her quickly. She feels a presence behind her, but by the time she turns around, Shinobu already has her right palm open, and in front of abdomen. Motoko sees her eyes, and notices that there's no glare or shine in them. Just then, Shinobu cries out at the top of her lungs…
"ΦΑΝΤΑΣΤΙΚΗ ΠΥΓΜΗ ΑΕΡΑ!" A burst of wind comes out of nowhere and hits her stomach, launching her clear across the front yard, and on a collision course with a tree. Motoko gets up and holds her abdomen.
She has heard about how the Shinmei School has had close associations with Magi, magic-users that still walk about, even during more rational times like this. She just never thought she would actually meet one, let alone fight one, and get defeated by one. Even more surprising is the fact that Shinobu could be a Magi. It hits her now: Shinobu's may not be possessed at all. The fact that Shinobu's a magic-user brings clarity to her mind.
(O)
"Shinobu?" Keitaro says. "Can you come upstairs?"
"Sure, Sempai." Shinobu responds. She leaves the kitchen, walks upstairs and follows Keitaro to his room. When Shinobu closes the doors, Keitaro looks back at her with concern in his eyes.
"Shinobu?" Keitaro says. "We need to talk."
"I'm here, Sempai." Shinobu replies.
"I'm concerned about you." Keitaro says. "Ever since that trip to Fujisawa, all you've been doing was fighting Naru. I understand that you're trying to defend me and all that, but you're doing it all wrong. If anything, you're not really acting any better than Naru."
"But I think the only way to make her see the wrongs that she's doing is to give her a taste of her own medicine." Shinobu responds.
"It doesn't always work that way." Keitaro says. "Sometimes you need to be patient and let things settle themselves. It'll take time, but Naru will come to her senses soon."
"I just don't see that in her anymore, Sempai." Shinobu replies. "I think that her head could be too thick to get it all in, so I feel that I have to thin it out a bit."
"This isn't getting anywhere." Keitaro sighs. "Look; I have a better idea. I understand that you have affections towards me, so I thought of this. Don't tell the others about it, but under the conditions that you refrain from engaging in any kind of conflict with Naru, I'll take you out on a date tonight. You know, the summer festival starts tonight."
"Really?" Shinobu's eyes light up, shining in pure glee. The depths of her heart quickly grow warmer and warmer with every second, and nerves fill her senses.
"Sure, but only as long as you don't get in a fight with Naru. And don't tell anyone, either, ok?"
"I'll try my best, Sempai." Shinobu says. A challenge for Shinobu, indeed. Now that she accepts this challenge, she'll have to solve this problem of hers with her brains rather than her fist. This may prove to quite difficult, considering her newfound habit.
"All right." Keitaro says, as he stands up and heads for the door. "I'm going to clean the hot springs." He leaves his room.
Shinobu stands and watches him disappear behind the wall. She thinks to herself. I can't help but defend you, Sempai. If you want me to stop fighting Naru, then I'll have to make sure nothing that could be perceived as perverted will happen. Just then, something hits Shinobu's head like a tennis ball. Auuuuuuu! Naru's already taking a bath, but Sempai doesn't know that. I have to stop him, but how? Wait! I got it! And with that, Shinobu disappears.
(O)
Keitaro approaches the door to the hot springs with a plethora of cleaning tools. Suddenly, he sees the door barricaded with what looked like police tape. He noticed something weird written on it, so he examines it a bit closer. It reads…
LADIES ARE TAKING A BATH! KEEP OUT! LADIES ARE TAKING A BATH! KEEP OUT! LADIES ARE TAKING A BATH! KEEP OUT! LADIES ARE TAKING A BATH! KEEP OUT!
"Damn!" Keitaro said. "I get the point. I guess I'll come back later." He leaves, carrying the cleaning supplies with him, the weight bearing down on him, and it shows.
Back at the lobby, Shinobu's catching her breath, with a roll of police tape, a hammer, and nails. Thank God I was able to make it, or Sempai would've been toast!
(O)
Since he couldn't clean the hot springs due to the police tape, he decides to wash the floors. He walks to the second floor and puts down the bucket, placing the washrag on the floor. Then, he runs across the floor, pushing the rag across the hardwood. What Shinobu doesn't know is that Naru already finished soaking before she put the police tape at the door to the hot springs.
As Keitaro runs across the floor, he's unaware the Naru's standing right in front of him, and then the inevitable happens.
CRASH! Keitaro runs straight into her. They both fall to the ground, with his face planted nicely between her legs. An embarrassing situation, considering the fact that she's wearing a skirt, today.
Shinobu goes upstairs to find out what happened. To her dismay, she sees the ronin's head between Naru's legs. Naru herself turns her face red in pure rage.
"BLOOD-SNEEZING LECHERER!" She winds her foot up, but when she uses her Naru kick, she doesn't hit him; rather, when she looks ahead, she sees that she only kicked the air. She missed him, but how? She looks around and finds Keitaro standing in front of an enthusiastic Shinobu.
"Hey! Sempai!" Shinobu says. "Look what I made!" She shows him a metallic dog sculpture of some sort.
"That's nice, Shinobu." Keitaro replies. Though in his head, he's wondering how he avoided Naru's attack.
A vein pops up in Naru's forehead. "Stand still, pervert!" She gears up her fist to attempt a Naru punch, but once again, she hit air. She looks around to see Shinobu dragging Keitaro by his shirt.
"Sempai." Shinobu says. "I need you to help me out with something." She drags him across the hall.
"All right, all right!" Keitaro yelps.
"Dammit, Shinobu!" Naru cries out. She follows them, only to suddenly fall through the floor.
"What was that?" Keitaro asks.
"I told you the floor needs to be more sturdy." Shinobu answers.
Naru lays on the first floor, looking up at the hole on the second floor, the one she just made. How did that happen, anyway? Naru's sharp, so it doesn't take long until it all comes crashing down on her. Shinobu.
(O)
"Why did you bring me up here to the roof?" Keitaro asks.
"I just want to talk, Sempai." Shinobu answers.
"So…" Keitaro says. "What do you want to talk about?"
"I'm thinking…" Shinobu holds her chin, while Keitaro sweat drops.
"It's about Naru, isn't it?" Keitaro inquires.
"I just want to help you." Shinobu says.
"At least you're not direct or aggressive about it." Keitaro replies. "I'll give you that, but know that you just can't do things like that to her. You should be thankful Naru isn't aware that you were the one who loosened the floor to make her fall through it. I'll let you go this one more time." Except that Naru does know about it…
"Shinobu!" Naru cries out, as she approaches the two.
Oh crap! Shinobu thinks to herself. She knows, and she's itching for a fight, too! How do I get out of this now? Stay calm, Shinobu. Trust your instincts. "Yes, Naru-sempai?" She says casually.
"What the hell did you do to the floor?" Naru demands. "I could've gotten hurt! It's bad enough I have to live with two different eye colors! Is that not enough for you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Shinobu replies. "The floor's just frail, and you fell through some bad wood."
Naru knows she's lying through her teeth. She isn't going to take any more of this crap. Her muscles get extremely tense to the point that her fist shake. "Shut-up! I don't care if you are defending him! I won't take any more of this from you! I have had it! Go ahead and try your stupid attack again! I'm ready!" Every step she takes makes her grow increasingly furious, with her fist shaking more violently.
I can't fight her! Shinobu thinks. Or else I'll disappoint Sempai! If I don't do something, though, I'll get beaten the crap out of!"Naru, wait!" Keitaro cries out. "She's sorry, all right? Don't do anything rash…"
"I'm taking you out first, Pervert!" Naru runs to him with her fist poised for attack.
Crap! Sempai! Shinobu panics. She knows she has to act fast if she doesn't want another incident. She does. "Wind flower! Wind Flower! GIVE ME CONTROL OF HER BODY!" And with a breeze, Naru stops in her tracks, and just in time; she was just about to hit him. Shinobu sees that she stopped another incident, but now what to do about Naru.
Naru herself is now confused and surprised over what just happened. "This is not cool."
She walks to her and points towards an end of the roof. "Run that way!"
Naru runs towards the end of the roof, even though she doesn't want to. "This is SO not cool!"
"Shinobu!" Keitaro yells. "She's going to run off the roof!"
"Auuuuuuuu!" Shinobu cries out. "I only made her run in one direction! Wind Flower! Wind Flower! RETURN HER CONTROL OVER HER BODY!" It's too late, however. By the time Naru regains control of her own body she falls off the roof. The whole thing seems like it's playing in slow motion in front of both Keitaro's and Shinobu's eyes as her feet leave the roof and her body drops to the ground below.
"NARU-SEMPAI!" Shinobu cries out, as she is helpless to stop her freefall. Naru closes her eyes tightly and waits for the inevitable.
Shinobu then closes her own eyes and falls into what seems to be a Zen trance. "Wind Flower! Wind Flower! Να είστε το δεξί χέρι που πιάνει εκείνη την πτώση! ΛΥΤΡΩΤΗΣ ΤΥΦΩΝΑ!"
Naru opens her eyes for a moment to catch a glimpse of Shinobu, standing on the roof. That language. It was just like when she fought Motoko yesterday.
Suddenly, a gust of wind comes from out of nowhere and blows Naru upwards like a wind tunnel at a skydiving simulator, slowing down Naru's fall drastically until she finally makes a safe landing on the ground. Naru plants her feet on the ground and tries to recover from that fall. She now couldn't help but wonder how Shinobu was able to do that. Hell, she doesn't even know what Shinobu did, but she spoke a foreign language. She sees Shinobu and Keitaro rush towards her.
"Naru-sempai!" Shinobu cries out. "Are you all right?"
"Sort of." She responds. "What the hell did you do?"
"Well," Shinobu replies. "I couldn't stand seeing you fall like that. It frightened the hell out of me, so my body went into autopilot and I suddenly spoke that gaijin language from yesterday, and the next thing I knew, I saw you standing down here." She turns to Keitaro. "Sorry, Sempai. I just couldn't control myself. It seems now no matter what I try, I just can't help it. I want to help you."
Keitaro pauses for a moment. Then, he speaks. "At least you tried to find an alternative route. However, there were still better ways to solve that problem. You could've told her the truth and apologize for what you did. You didn't seem to have a problem doing that at Fujisawa."
"I'm so sorry, Sempai." She stays silent for a moment. Guilt strikes her like a baseball bat to the head.
"But, what's done is done." Keitaro says. "Let's just go. Besides, we have to prepare for the summer festival."
"Ok." Shinobu replies. As all three get back in the house, Shinobu begins to realize that maybe she won't have that date she wanted; again, regret hits her hard. She used to be so meek, but now she couldn't even go as far as to refrain from instigating a conflict. At the same time, she wonders where these incantations keep coming from; it was like pieces of something that was broken in her mind long ago are finally coming back together.
(O)
Back at the house, Shinobu heads for her room to get her Yukata ready for the summer festival, until Keitaro gets hold of her arm. She turns around so her face could meet his. "Sempai?"
"We need to talk." Keitaro says. "Come to my room."
"Ok." Shinobu complies; she follows Keitaro to his room. When Shinobu closes the doors, Keitaro looks back at her.
"Shinobu?" Keitaro says. "We need to talk."
"I'm here, Sempai." Shinobu replies.
"Don't tell the others about this, but I thought this over." Keitaro says. "Shinobu, we're going on a date."
"Really?" Shinobu's eyes light up, shining in pure glee. The depths of her heart quickly grow warmer and warmer with every second, and excitement fills her nerves.
"Sure, but don't tell anyone, ok? Or else they'll flip out."
"After all that happened, you're still…"
"I'm a nice guy." Keitaro interrupts. "Just stick with it."
"All right." Shinobu complies. "I'll get my Yukata." She leaves the room, but looks back at Keitaro before she walks past the door. "Thanks, Sempai."
"One more thing before you leave." Keitaro interrupts.
"Yeah, Sempai?" Shinobu inquires, question marks dancing in her head.
"I think it would be good to take all the police tape down." Keitaro replies. "I'm sure no one's using the hot springs right now."
Shinobu sweat drops. "Crap! I forgot. Thanks, Sempai."
(O)
"Goldfish scooping! Let me try!" Su exclaimed as she walks past the booth.
"Go knock yourself out." Keitaro replies. He and Shinobu approach the shooting booth across the street. There, they see the plethora of prizes they can get.
Shinobu points to one of them. "Sempai! Can you get me that one?"
"You mean the Cadillac? (How'd they get one here in the first place?)" Keitaro reacts.
All the Hinata girls are wearing matching Yukatas; they're blue with a pattern of pimpernel flowers printed on them. Except for Su, who's occupied trying to scoop a goldfish, they all look on, as they seem to take notice to Keitaro and Shinobu's behavior; the two are acting more like a couple tonight; a date, perhaps?
Naru couldn't help but think about the two. If he's going out with Shinobu, then he has to be insane. What of the promise girl? Did he really forget about her, or is it something else? These thoughts just couldn't leave Naru's mind; like a bad neighbor, they refuse to leave. Similar thoughts also cross the minds of the others. Kitsune sort of likes the potential romance, while Motoko just lets it pass her. Su's still trying to catch a goldfish; she's currently on her seventeenth try.
Keitaro couldn't get the Cadillac, but he doesn't mind, because he knows he didn't really have much of a chance in hell, anyway.
Little do they know, someone is watching all of this behind one of the booths, a woman with brown hair in a ponytail, and glasses over a pair of green eyes, and she getting a kick out of what she just watched. Sporting a fine Yukata of her own, this woman… is Dr. Ayumi Ikeda!
To be continued.
Please review and tell me what you think.
At this rate, I mind as well start signing up to be a writer for frickin' Days of our Lives.
Coming up next chapter… Dr. Ayumi Ikeda
That psycho psychiatrist is back, and she comes to visit the Hinata House to check up on Shinobu, but it's clear that her intentions go further that that. Plus, a past Shinobu herself didn't know about is revealed.
Author's Notes:
That's it for this chapter; I hope it didn't disappoint. Right now, this fic has almost twenty four hundred hits, as well as sixty-nine reviews. Please don't hesitate to review, as I'm aiming for one hundred!
In the language of flowers, the pimpernel represents life change, which is fitting to Shinobu's maturity.
Shinobu's spell invocation at the end of the chapter is "Να είστε το δεξί χέρι που πιάνει εκείνη την πτώση! ΛΥΤΡΩΤΗΣ ΤΥΦΩΝΑ". That says "Na eiste to dexi cheri pou pianei ekeine ten ptose! LUTROTES TYPHONA!" which means "Be the right hand that catches those falling! HURRICANE SAVIOUR!" Once again, I had to go through a lot of crap to convert the Greek letters to English ones. As for the Greek phrases themselves, I used a WorldLingo machine translator to translate an English sentence that sounded like a good spell invocation to me to Greek, so it may not be completely accurate. I should be helping pyrotechnic on that.
Until next chapter, Ciao!
-GYRAX of the Dark Icon Writers