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!
More than 6100 hits! HUZZAH!
NefCanuck – And I know how much that hurts.
that man – At least your computer is back up right? That's nice to hear.
encyser – But it is all the rage these days.
VoidHawk – Thanks so much for your support.
Lee3 – It's going to get better and better, that I promise you.
Havenoname – Thank you for the comment.
de bombz – Thanks for the suggestion.
tomdj1701 – Thanks.
Kogasgirl142 – It's coming soon. Patience is virtue, my friend.
Hotstreak RMD – Ayumi's last name will be further explained here. I never really thought about that, before.
Drgnmastr-Alex of the Dark Icon Writers – You have Love Hina: Evil Edition to thank for that. :p
oblivionknight7 – Patience is virtue, my friend.
Four children are playing in a sandbox. Two of them are building what seems to be a little sandcastle in the middle of the sandbox. One's a small boy who seems to be five, and another is a small girl who also seems to be five. A smaller girl who looks like she's almost three sits not too far from the older girl, and a girl who looks like she's four sits next to the boy. The four-year-old has blue hair extending to her back. She approaches the small boy.
"There's a fairy tale," The blue-haired girl says. "That if two people go to Tokyo U together, they'll live happily ever after."
"Really?" The boy asks.
"Mmm-hmm." The girl replies. "How about we make a promise…to go to Tokyo U together…"
Her voice echoes through the air as everything goes white again.
GYRAX Presents…
Awe of She
Chapter 10: She's Quite the Puzzle
Naru could hardly believe what she saw that time. How did that little blue-haired girl get there? How could she not remember her? How do they know it was her who made the promise? Questions run about her head like unruly hyperactive children who have nothing better to do. What is she to do, now?
Su and Shinobu finish unpacking the Virtual-kun as the others explore the rest of the house. Naru still sits there, thinking about all the events that took place, everything that happened within the confines of the Virtual-kun's screen. To the rest of the world, she seems motionless, sitting there like a marble statue that was put down on the floor because the owner was rearranging the room.
Ayumi notices her in her motionless state and walks over to her to take a look. She looks around and figures that she's in some kind of vegetable state. She waves her hand in front of her in hopes to get an answer, but she gets nothing in return. She then starts to poke her, but still nothing. Then she pulls her hair, but that doesn't work, either. She stands in front of her and just looks at her in the face. "You gave me no choice, little one." Ayumi says, with the smile in her face growing bigger. She takes out a paper bag from seemingly nowhere and blows into it. After a minute of blowing, she takes out a large pin and jams it right into the bag.
POP!
"WAAAAAAAAAAH!" Naru jumps to the ceiling, her head crashing right into it. She doesn't fall back down on the floor. In fact, her head is now stuck in the ceiling.
Kitsune comes in and sees Naru stuck in the ceiling. "Hey, Naru. Watcha doin' up there?"
"Gee, I don't know." Naru says. "You tell me."
"Looks like you're having a hell of a time up there." Kitsune responds. "I'll get you down." Kitsune reaches for Naru's feet. Ayumi grabs them too, and they both pull. Eventually, they pull her down, and she crashes right into the floor. Naru gets up and rubs her head.
Ayumi just laughs. "That was fun." She turns to Aethra, who just watched the whole thing unfold. "Well, I'm going off to the Konoes' place. I want to have a chat with Eishun and little Konoka."
"Well," Aethra replies. "Ok, see you later."
"Okay!" Ayumi waves and runs out of the house.
Keitaro hears a rustling noise and looks around. He notices a duffle bag violently shuffling. "What's that doing there?"
"That must be Ayumi's." Shinobu replies as she approaches the bag. She then unzips it, and out of nowhere, a lizard comes flying out of the bag and into the floor.
"WAAAGH!" Shinobu cries out.
Keitaro goes over to investigate. He sees Beardie lying on the floor, dizzy. "Oh, it's Beardie."
Suddenly, he springs to life. "Ayumi! Where on Earth did you go?"
"She went out." Aethra answers. "Ayumi went to Konoe-san's house."
"The gall she had, putting me in a bag and forgetting to unzip it!" The lizard says. "Well, I'm off to the Konoes', too."
"See you later, then." Aethra replies. Beardie leaves.
"This house has its own hot springs." Kitsune says to Naru. "Maybe we can go and wash those troubles of your away, huh?"
"I guess." Naru complies. The two of them leave. Naru looks back at Keitaro. "Don't do anything stupid, got it?" They both leave the foyer.
"What does she mean by that?" Aethra asks.
"Don't want to talk about it." Keitaro answers.
(O)
"This feels good." Naru sighs, relaxing in a hot springs located in the house's backyard. "Good find, Kitsune."
"Thanks, Naru." Kitsune replies. "I found it when I was looking for a secret stash of sake the Maeharas might have. Did I say that out loud?" She desperately tries to change the subject, so she looks at Su. "Hey, Su! Makes you wish Sarah was here, doesn't it?"
"Good thing I brought Robo-Sarah!" Su exclaims. Suddenly, a robotic Sarah comes out of nowhere repeatedly saying, "Kekekekekekeke."
"…" Naru just sits there, silent. Despite her sitting right there in the bath, she still can't get those thoughts out of her mind.
"Now, what's up?" Kitsune says, approaching Naru.
"…" Naru could only respond with silence.
"Hey, Naru?" Kitsune says. "You there? Anybody home in there?" She knocks on her head, hoping for an answer.
"Will you cut it out?" Naru responds.
"Well," Kitsune replies. "At least it got an answer out of you. What's wrong? It can't be about what you seen on the Virtual-kun, can it?"
"You read me like a map." Naru replies. "Am I that obvious?"
"Sure, you are." The fox answers. "It's written all over your face."
"Oh…" Naru says in reply. "It's about the scene where that girl made the promise." She pauses for a moment, Kitsune nodding her head for her to continue. "The thing I like to know is how come I don't remember that?"
"You might not have remembered it very well." Kitsune answers.
"I do remember it," Naru replies. "But I don't ever recall a blue-haired girl there with Mu-chan and Kei-kun. I don't remember that girl at all. I'm beginning think that maybe they just made that up from their heads and called it a memory."
"Didn't look like it to me." Motoko interrupts. "Wasn't the Virtual-kun set up to record everything from only their memory banks?"
"That's how it was set up." Su answers.
"You think there could be a glitch in the system?" Naru asks.
"No." Su responds. "I triple-checked the operating system and the hard drive. I couldn't find a single defect in the entire system."
"Somehow, I don't really believe all of this." Naru says. "I don't believe a single thing about Shinobu being the promise girl at all. Didn't the girl have brown hair?"
"I don't know." Motoko answers. "I wasn't even there. That's obviously something you should remember."
"…" Naru only replies in silence. She stands up.
"Uh-oh!" Su cries out. "Robo-Sarah has a few kinks!"
"Kekekekekekekeke!" Robo-Sarah reiterates as she shoots a laser out of her eyes, zap-frying Naru to a crisp.
"Oops. Sorry about that." Su apologizes. "Guess I need to work a few glitches in the system."
"I can't take this." Naru says. "I'm going to get changed. Then, I'm going to leave." She does.
"Something's not right here." Motoko says. "Naru's been acting weird ever since we came to this house. It got even worse when we had the Virtual-kun set up. It's as if Naru is trying to shield herself from something. I'll have to talk to her."
"Best to leave her alone for a while." Kitsune replies. "That look in here eyes says she wants some solitude."
"Guess I should agree with you on that." Motoko answers. "You know Naru better than any of us here." She sighs.
(O)
Ayumi takes in the sight that is the Kansai Magic Association's Head Temple as she stands in front of the building's façade. After a moment of looking, she walks in the building. Once she gets into the foyer, she takes her shoes off and greets the various servants aligned at the foyer. The then turns her head forward and shouts. "Konoe-san! I'm here!"
It takes a few seconds until a figure walks down the steps in front of her and reveals himself. A black-haired man seemingly in his late thirties/early forties comes down the steps and approaches Ayumi. Accompanying him is a small child, a girl with dark brown hair that extends to her lower back, and brown eyes to match.
"Hey, Eishun!" Ayumi greets.
"Ayu-kun, welcome." Eishun Konoe replies. "What brings you here?"
"Just want to chat." Ayumi answers. She looks at the little girl next to him. "Hey there, Konoka-chan. What's up?"
"Yesterday, I learned how to make shrimp scampi." Little Konoka replied.
"That's cute, Hun." Ayumi replies. She looks back at Eishun. "I'm glad to see Shinobu's back to normal."
"Is that true?" The man asks her.
"Yup." Ayumi answers. "She's at our place, right now."
"Good to hear, Ayu-kun." Eishun replies.
"She and Keitaro make the greatest couple." Ayumi says, her smile getting wider. "You just gotta see them together."
"Something tells me you came here for even more than that." Eishun states.
"Really?" Ayumi asks.
"What is it that you really wanted to talk about?" Eishun asks back.
"Ok," Ayumi replies. "I'll ask."
(O)
"You want to wake Kenpachi?" Aethra asks.
"Yeah." Keitaro answers. "He at least needs to know that there are visitors here."
"He's hard to wake up, though." Aethra replies. "But we can always try." She leaves the foyer. Keitaro and Shinobu follow her. As they walk down the hallways, Naru suddenly bumps into Shinobu, her head nicely planted on her breasts. Without second thought, Shinobu freaks.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Shinobu screams, as she gears her fists and socks Naru clear in the face. She violently bumps onto a few walls and skids right back into the hot springs. This alarms Motoko, Kitsune, and Su, who are still bathing. Thinking it's a pervert; Motoko gears her sword for attack. Su gets Robo-Sarah ready.
"Robo-Sarah!" Su cries out. "Fire Anti-Pervert Beam Cannon!"
"Kekekekeke!" Robo-Sarah cries out, as she fires lasers from her eyes, frying Naru to a crisp again. Motoko takes the opportunity to lay in a smack down of her own.
"ROCK SPLITTING SWORD!" With one swipe, Motoko unleashes a massive ki attack, sending Naru straight out of the house. Everyone watches as Naru takes flight over Kyoto.
"The poor girl." Aethra says. "She has a hawk's luck."
"Actually, that's supposed to be MY luck." Keitaro replies. "What the hell happened?"
"I hope she's all right." Shinobu adds.
(O)
Naru now lies on the foyer floor with bandages wrapped around her head. The others gather around to see if she's ok.
"You think we did her in?" Motoko asks.
"Hope not." Shinobu answers. "Aaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuu! This is all my fault!"
"It was just a bad reflex, Shinobu." Keitaro answers. "And she'll be all right."
Just after that, Naru springs back to life. She stands up and looks around, seeing everyone around her. "What happened?"
"I think you contracted my luck, Naru." Keitaro answers. "Sorry about that."
"WHY ME!" Naru screams. "WHY DO I HAVE TO HAVE YOUR LUCK NOW! IT'S A GODDAMN EPIDEMIC!" She attempts another punch, but she misses and trips on her own two feet. She falls right back on the floor. The others look at her twitching body.
"You all right?" Keitaro says.
"That's a dumb question!" Naru answers. "Of course I'm not all right! Just leave me alone!"
"I'm just trying to help out." Keitaro replies.
"Well, you're doing a terrible job!" Naru spits back.
"Don't be so sour, Naru!" Shinobu interrupts.
"And you stop defending Keitaro like you're his own personal bitch!" Naru spits back.
"This is my house and you treat us all here with respect, GOT IT!"
Naru pauses for a second. Then she sighs. "Sorry about that, Shinobu." She turns to Aethra. "You have a guest bedroom I can use. I need a nap."
"Sure," Aethra complies. "I'll show you around."
"Oh, that's right." Keitaro says. "We still need to wake up Kenpachi."
Aethra only sweat drops. "Heh-heh. Yeah, I guess so. I'll take you to his room once I'm done showing your friend around."
(O)
Hours pass and it becomes early evening. Ayumi comes back to the Maehara residence with Beardie pinching her right cheek.
"Oww! Will you let me go now?" Ayumi pouts. "We're here already."
"Well," The lizard replies. "That's what you get for keeping me in that bag of yours."
"I'm sorry. I forgot, all right?" Ayumi replies.
Beardie lets go of her. "Now, don't try that again, Ayu-kun."
"Ok, I won't." Ayumi replies. "It's too bad Eishun couldn't provide much info. I guess we're back at square one."
"That's true." Beardie agrees. "Now, we'll have to bring the news to Aethra. Where is she, by the way?"
"Don't ask me." Ayumi replies. "Let's just look for her." They leave the foyer and walk up the steps. It's not too long before they find Shinobu's mother walking the hallways. They approach her.
"Hiya!" Ayumi greets.
"Ayumi, you're back." Aethra replies. "It took you a while."
"Well, I got too carried away talking to Eishun." Ayumi rubs the back of her head. "Too bad he didn't know a thing about Acheron's whereabouts."
"That's ok." Aethra replies.
"I found this killer spot for Shinobu's date tomorrow!" Ayumi changes the subject on the fly. "It's a happening new restaurant near the Cinema Village. They'll absolutely love it!" She smiles.
"Why not?" Shinobu's mother says. "This'll be nice, a reminder of what my love life was like."
"You're lucky." Ayumi replies. "Your love was straight out of a romance novel. Not many girls get to have one."
"That's because their expectations are too high." Aethra replies. "You think putting Keitaro in her room with her was a good idea, though?"
"Of course I do." Ayumi answers. "I think it's about time they start getting intimate anyway." Ayumi giggles, as her cheeks turn pink. She and Aethra walk down the hallways, conversing. What they don't know, however, is that Naru overheard the conversation from a guest room she just happens to be using.
"Did I hear that right?" Naru asks herself. "She and Keitaro…sleeping together?" She thinks it over for a second. "I can't allow that. I can't have them doing that on my watch. Of course Shinobu wouldn't do something that depraved, would she? Why do I even care?" Her heart begins to start pounding her chest. Her eyes grow wide as she starts feeling a bit woozy. "What the hell is wrong with me, now? What is my problem? Why should I even care? Why do I feel like this?"
Naru can't shake the feeling off, no matter how hard she tries, but she isn't trying too hard to get it off, even if she may despise Keitaro. Does she even like him, or does she not? Two different sides of her are pulling her, and as they pull, they get closer and closer to tearing her mind in half. Will she choose one side or the other, or will she just let them rip her in two. She is quite the puzzle.
To be continued.
Please review and tell me what you think.
Coming up next chapter…
She's a Jigsaw who Needs to be Solved
Shinobu and Keitaro go out on a real date at Kyoto, except everyone else goes spying from a distance. Things don't go as planned when Naru gets dragged into the fray. Every second of her watching the date makes her less and less stable, and it won't be long until she finally goes haywire. Does she really love Keitaro that much, or is it something else?
Not exactly the most phenomenal chapter, but I had to get it done for the fans. God, it's been a while since I ever updated any fan fictions, but my writer's block is finally gone. HUZZAH!
Until next chapter, Ciao!
-GYRAX of the Dark Icon Writers