Kanagawa District, Hot Spring Streets, a quiet intersection by a bridge, 6.25 PM, 2 days before Keitarou and Lee's arrival.
Shinobu was hurrying home. Her rapid foot falls were the only sounds breaking the eerie silence that filled up the rapidly approaching gloom. She had stayed out later than usual today shopping for groceries, and if she didn't get home soon, the other residents would start to worry (about dinner). The sun was already low on the horizon. It was almost magic hour, the time when the sun had set, but day still lingered.
She knew all the myths and beliefs concerning magic hour (especially cause her over-protective parents wanted to make sure she'd follow the 6 o'clock curfew) and thus she increased her pace without breaking into a full run.
She paused for a moment as she reached the intersection by the bridge. A little girl in a light coat and a skirt, probably 6 or 7, ran out onto the deserted street. At that exact moment a sports car was attempting a stunt turn around the intersection.
The driver didn't notice the girl in time to abort his maniacal stunt. Shinobu's scream of terror was barely heard over the screech of the tyres, and then everything went silent. The sports car backed up, then roared away down the road at break neck speed.
The groceries fell with a clatter onto the pavement as Shinobu hurried out into the darkening street. The child's injuries were severe and Shinobu was scared out of her wits as she held the bloody child in her arms.
Her blood slowly seeped into Shinobu's clothes and onto the deserted street. She wasn't even crying or showing any visible signs of consciousness. Shinobu looked about, her panic pitching up to a crescendo. Where'd she go? Where could she get help?
She then noticed a van coming down the road and she hailed it with all her might. The van then suddenly veered off the road…and into a nearby lamppost. 'Oh God, another injured person." Shinobu thought.
But the driver managed to come out of the car and hurry over to where Shinobu and the child were. He was a handsome man, probably in his 30s, wearing a white coat and a concerned look, with blood streaming down the side of his face.
"All right, details later, we gotta get this girl to a hospital!" He said quickly, picking up the child and running over to the van. Shinobu followed suit. The man placed the child in Shinobu's lap as soon as she got on and told her to hold on to her and minimize any shocks.
While in the car, Shinobu ripped off the sleeves of her shirt with her teeth and proceeded to wrap them around the child's wounds. They were immediately dyed red with fresh blood. Shinobu gritted her teeth as she pulled the knots as tight as she could.
Saying that the ride in the van was turbulent would be equivalent to saying Suu was merely overdosed on sugar, both qualifying for the world's record for understatements. Shinobu was contemplating her own chances of survival and she decided they were as slim as the girl's. But despite the breakneck speed and screeching turns, the driver somehow managed to minimize any shocks inside the car itself. As Shinobu started to pray that they would all be accepted in heaven, they were all already at the hospital.
The child had gone really pale. The girl was taken to the emergency room immediately, and the doctor only asked what happened, before hurrying into the E.R.
Another doctor also offered to take a look at Shinobu and to treat any wounds she might have, seeing as she was covered in blood. Shinobu told him that she hadn't been injured in any way, and that it was the child's blood on her. A nurse then took her to a wash room to help her wash off the blood stains. There wasn't anything they could do about her clothes, though. The nurse still insisted on a quick check up for concussions and such, and Shinobu finally reluctantly obliged.
The kind man who had droven them here offered to stay and assist as best he could, and decided to sit beside Shinobu in the waiting room. "So, uhh..., how are you holding up in there?" He asked kindly. She was curled up into a tight ball, hugging her knees, with her head burried in her arms. She looked up, and the man saw that she had been crying silently. She shook her head slowly.
"I see, well…all we could do now is pray and wait." He said. The clock on the wall opposite them ticked slowly. Shinobu slipped in and out of uneasy dreams filled with the ticking of the clock, the child, the culprit's car racing away, as well as many other disturbing images.
The time dragged on…
After 2 hours of suspense, the doctor then came back out and sighed. Once Shinobu saw this gesture, she broke into sobs. "I'm sorry, we did all we could, but it seems we couldn't stop the bleeding. She was doomed the moment that car hit her. I'm sorry for the loss of your sister, little miss."
"She...She wasn't...wasn't...my sister." Shinobu sobbed uncontrollably. "I...I...Don't... even... kn...know her..." She took the handkerchief the kind man offered her and wiped her tears.
The doctor was deeply touched by this display of affection for someone she wasn't even acquainted with. He squatted in front of Shinobu and looked up into her eyes, "There, there, now you hold up in there, 'k, everything's gonna be allright." Though these words would have been better suited for a 3 year old, they did have some effect on Shinobu. "Now we must find the girl's parents and inform them... do you know who they are?" Shinobu and the man both shook their heads.
"I don't even know who she is." He pointed at Shinobu. "I just gave them a ride...ok, tell you what, I'll just drive this young woman home, then I'll ask around the scene of the accident if anybody has a child who hasn't come home." He offered.
"That would be a great help. I'm sorry we can't express our gratitude further than a simple thank you." The doctor said, impressed with the man's helpfulness.
"Just doing my part, as you did yours." he said.
After asking where she lived, he drove Shinobu to Hinata Sou. The drive home was one of the longest car rides in Shinobu's life…though it was a mere few blocks. Lights from the streetlights flashed across her face as she looked out the window…every moment she felt as if she could see the child around dark corners…or in the shadows…
She heaved a sigh of…she didn't know what feeling it was, when they finally reached the Hinata Sou. The man accompanied her up the flight of stairs to the doors of the inn. There, he waited until Shinobu had entered the house before taking his leave. "Wait," she called out. She'd been quiet all throughout the ride home. "I didn't get the chance to thank you, Mr..."
"Seta, just Seta, and I think it was a very brave thing you did today." he smiled and turned away.
Shinobu quietly closed the door and proceded to the living room. There she found a note saying that all the other residents have left in search of her, as they were worried about her not coming home until this late. She looked at the clock on the wall and realized it was 12.32 PM. "No wonder they were worried." She mused.
Naru suddenly rushed into the inn, and she heaved a sigh of relief as she saw Shinobu standing in the lobby. "Huff, never...never ever scare...us...like that." She panted. Shinobu noticed that there were tears in her eyes, and she felt a pang of guilt for not contacting the others.
"Wait...Shinobu...is that...you're covered in...blood..." Naru gasped as she finally noticed the blood stains as over her. She ran over to Shinobu, kneeled down in front of her, and held her steadily by the arms.
"It's not my blood...don't worry. I wasn't the injured one." Shinobu said quietly.
"Huff...that's a relief. I'll have to get Motoko to look at you though. Knowing you, you'd hide a bone fracture just to save everyone else trouble. Now, gotta tell the others I found you. I ran back cause I thought you might have returned." She flipped open a comunicator (That had the trademark triple eye emblem on it) and watched as Suu's face flickered on the screen. "Suu, we found her, she's at the inn."
"Really? Wahooo! Hey, Kitsune! cancel the launch of the Shankachi-kun-X! We found her!" She turned her head away from her communicator to shout at kitsune who was sitting on top of a reconaissance rocket (One that seems to have been made out of a nuclear ICBM).
"What! Really! THEN WHAT'D YOU STRAP MY ASS TO A ROCKET F...!" Naru watched the screen as Suu's head dissapeared momentarily as something exploded behind her.
Then Suu's face returned to the screen and said, "We're on our way back, we just gotta get Kitsune down first." as something made a bright loop the loop in the sky behind Suu, ending in a large crimson fireball and an ear-splitting KA-BOOM. "Correction, after we collect her pieces." Suu said with a maniacal grin. Beside her, Motoko sweatdropped big time.
Naru wore a worried expression as she flipped the comunicator shut. "Hope Kitsune'll be all right. Well, Suu's inventions have never killed anyone in the past, has it? I guess you could tell us what happened when everyone gets back." She said to Shinobu. Seeing the look on Shinobu's face she felt a surge of guilt for having asked her for an explanation. She realised it must have been a really bad experience. She walked over to Shinobu and pulled her into an embrace. "There, there, everything's gonna be fine." Naru said in a comforting voice.
Shinobu's eyes welled up with tears. When Naru finally released her, she walked out of the inn and regarded the night sky, tears still in her eyes. She then noticed a falling star flash across the horizon. Little did she know, that on that cold, starry night, the wheels of fate had suddenly start to turn...on gear 6. And so it began…
OMAKE! OMAKE! (SPECIAL SUMMER BATTLE ROYALE EDITION)
The cast from 'Love Hina: Children of the Exodus', 'Final Hina Fantasy', 'New Mobile Suit Gundam Hina Eternity', 'Love Hina Alternative', 'Soul Requiem', and 'Forevermore', gathers around a campfire in a small summer campsite.
Keitarou: We actually made it to this chapter…in a space of only a couple of months…my, you've been busy.
BTB: HAhahaha…hard work's my middle name!
Asuna: And 'grammar mistakes'…
Lee: And 'cliché'
Rayce: Not to mention 'obviously out'
BTB: Ok…what have I done wrong this time?
Lee: We're having a bit of an issue with the 6 stories you're writing…
BTB: What exactly is the issue?
Naru: The fact that there ARE 6 stories. I mean, what kind of fanfiction writer could manage to juggle 6 stories?
Mitsune: Not to mention 2 different versions of Soul Requiem…that makes it 7 stories.
BTB: Errr….I guess I did mess up a bit there…
Haruka: You'll have to prioritize. Choose one to focus on and finish it off first.
BTB: Errr…how should I decide? I mean, I like all of them just as much…
Motoko: Well, BTB, it's definitely Soul Requiem, my version, isn't it? (Unsheaths katana an inch)
Shinobu: Anou…anou…demou…can we please make it Love Hina Children of the Exodus? I like that one.
Rayce: Hey! Hey! I like my part in New Mobile Suit Gundam Hina Eternity! Let's continue that one! It's the most epic anyway!
Tsuroko: Oro…but I think BTB's got plenty of good ideas for 'Forevermore'. Let's continue that.
Nodoka: Anou….can it please be…aah…Love Hina Alternative?
Makie: Yeah, definitely. I like Love Hina Alternative! It's the best! We get to live together like that! What can be more fun!
Kaede: Zazie says she likes Final Hina Fantasy best, de gozaruyo. (Zazie stands in the background, the infamous T-rexaur beside her.)
Naru: Well…you've gotten us into quite a mess, haven't you, BTB? Now what?
BTB: I dunno. Vote, perhaps?
The votes were tabulated…
Asuna: They're all…equal…
Setsuna: What a coincidence…
Fumika: Now what?
Fuuka: Let's just fight!
Rayce: Let's decide this with a contest.
Fuuka: Yeah! A fight! A fight!
Rayce: Contest rules: Everyone forms groups according to the story they're supporting. Every group may use the abilities they have in the story they chose. For example, since Shinobu-chan has chosen the 'Love Hina Children of the Exodus', she's allowed to use her white mage abilities.
Haruka: Interesting…what kind of contest will it be? (everyone separates out into different corners of the large field that suddenly materialized according to each group. They all start preparing their stuff.)
Rayce: Yagyu Janken…(baseball janken, from Mahou Sensei Negima)
Asuna: IDIOT! (busts Rayce on the head with a paper fan)
Lee: Then let's make it a quick game of janken (rocks, papers, and scissors) and get it over with. (everyone face faults) BTB-san?
BTB: Yeah, whatever.
Lee: All right, everyone, JANKEN!
Everyone: JANKEN! (nobody wins in the end. Frustrated, everyone starts fighting. All hell breaks out as magical spells, positron laser blasts, phantoms, katanas, and even mobile suits fly about.)
Tama: mii
BTB: As Tamago said, please wait while the democratic decision making takes place. As you can see, Love Hina has a very good idea of democracy. It's power to the masses. It's especially useful when the said masses are at gunpoint. Now, since we're out of time, we'll have to skip the battle-royale scene. Sorry…
After a long and grueling fight….
Haruka: Nothing was resolved, BTB…
BTB: No worries, I've decided the story I'm going to continue anyway.
Everyone: WHICH ONE!
BTB: 'The Amazing Adventures of Urashima Hinata-chan!'
Everyone (with the exception of pacifists such as Shinobu and Nodoka): NANI!
Hinata-chan: Yatta! Arigatou, BTB-san!
Motoko: Can't be….beaten by a 7 year old!
Naru: BTB….(eyes flash)
Everyone (with the exception of pacifists such as Shinobu and Nodoka): Let's kill him instead.
BTB: Haha! I'm ready for this, this time! Which is why I brought this! Transform! (takes out a ninja scroll which explodes into a cloud of smoke. After the cloud of smoke dissipates, BTB was gone, leaving a log in his stead.
Motoko: as if we'd fall for that. (unsheathes katana)
Rayce: let's kill him. (takes out Scythe)
Naru: Yeah…(puts on gloves)
Everyone(with the exception of pacifists such as Shinobu and Nodoka): (bears down on the log, which sweat-drops. They start beating up the log.)
Lee: All right, everyone! Please have an enjoyable summer holiday and remember not to try this at home. See you after the summer! Thanks for your support so far!
Everyone: Till next time!