To Love-Ru: The Fight for Love Chapter 5: Hades in a Handbasket, a to love-ru fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own To Love-Ru, or its associated characters.

A/N: Well, let's return to o r҉̀e͘al͠i̴͘͡t͢y҉ -
and-

and-

and-

and-

:/Error/:

:/High Density Energy Pulse Detected.../:

:/Rerouting Potential Disruption.../:

:/Isolation Protocol's Disrupted.../:

:/Error/:

:/F$LE CoR PTion D3t3ct3d/:

:/Rebooting.../:

:/Initializing repair program.../:

:/ERRoR.../:

:/YOU HaVE BEEn CompROMised/:

-and figure out what is now going on in Rito's life...

To Love-Ru: The Fight for Love
Chapter 4.0
The Golden Ruler

Sainan
Ryouko Mikado's Car

"So, how are we going to do it?"Rito asks, staring out into the summer time sky as their school nurse drives toward her house, "Even if I manage to get everything in order, school is coming up again, and I've had my list of excuses wear thin with all the school days I already missed searching for how to fix the Ninth Blade and rescue you..." Lala nods at this, and Rito watches as she turns to the front seat where Ryouko is sitting alone.

"Sensei, did you bring what I asked for?" Lala inquires, a beaming smile emerging on her face as she pulls a duffle-bag from the passenger seat and tosses it back into the pinkette's lap, "Thanks Sensei!" Ryouko chuckles, turning her attention back to the road before speaking up.

"I used some favors, pulled some strings, buttered up the ones who resisted, but it's all there, including some extra credit I managed to get assigned so that you can retroactively fix those struggling grades you two have," the fiery headed brunette says, her smile reflected in her rearview mirror, "It helps that I'm the school's nurse, I'm able to pull all kinds of creative diseases and illness' you could get that requires make-up work like this; this stuff is all your homework and assignments you'll have up to the end of the school-year, most of which you're on your own figuring out since a lot of it hasn't been taught to you yet, Rito..." Said human boy blanches at that, but he unzips the duffle to view piles of textbooks, paperwork, and other things that he's need to complete them with.

"Are you seriously telling me, you expect us to finish all of this before we get home, in a little under a week?" Rito scoffs, looking to Lala and seeing an animalistic glint suddenly in her eye, "Lala, you can't possibly think you can cram six months worth of stuff into my head in three days... can you?" Suddenly he goes to zip the bag up, when Lala squees and pulls something out at the last minute, stopping him and opening it back up.

"Oh, Sensei, is this the nanoscopic D-5 L3 Axis microchip I asked for?" she says, pulling a packaged cylinder from the bag of homework, "This is exactly what I need to finish my Homework Fun-Fun Tutor Memorizer-kun!" Staring at the circuits and elegant engravings in the chip, a shudder went through Rito as he realized the ill omen that Lala's joy heralded for this journey. Suddenly he straightened up as Lala put the item back in the bag and finished checking over everything, before turning back to him. "With all of this, we can get you prepared to do what you can in your spare time without worrying about anything besides major tests that we can carve time out for, and we can schedule everything else in the meantime," she states, a warm smile on her face, "I know you want to do your best, you wanted to finish school and make a name for yourself before I came along, so I'll do all my best to support you while I can; you don't have to be alone in shouldering this dangerous threat to Earth, and I can't make the decisions for you, but I'll help you with everything I've learned to become Queen of Deviluke, to help you maximize your potential to become the best King you can be!"

Rito could see the smile on her face, the joy and sincerity etched into her features as she bared her heart, her truest beliefs to him, casing his heart to flutter ever so slightly. The blush rising on his face was unexpected, but before he could reciprocate her feelings, or even register them, a snicker and cough from their escort broke the illusion, forcing the both of them to turn to her.

"We're here kids," she states, pulling into the driveway of her home, before coming to a full stop and turning back to them, "Get your stuff out of my trunk and downstairs, I'll have Shizu meet you and get everything packed, while I ready the last of my preparations to ensure my practice doesn't go under for a few days with Tearju running the place in my steed..." She chuckles as the two blushing teens part like they were caught doing something terribly naughty, before entering into her house like blushing newlyweds crossing a threshold into their new life. Her smile drops for a fraction of a second, but the irony is not lost to her. 'Perhaps this is their new life,' she thinks, slightly regretful in her tone, 'Kids shouldn't have to have all of this pressure put onto them until they've graduated, but I'll admit these two seem to be handling it well for now... let's hope they can help each other out when things get real.'

*̰̰̖̰̓͊*̦̣̩̫̱͉̠̆͂ͦ*̗̣̞̱͚̙͐ͯͯ̇̽͆̒*̩̯͚̇̔ͯ̎̍*͖̪̠͙̻͔͙̊͒*̺̖̩͓̬̠̹*̼̙̜͎̇̓̏̇̽̉*̖̜̝̩͎͚͍̒͆ͤͥͤ*̖͖̮̦͓̻̝̽̈͛ͪ̿̇*͒͐̉̚*̰̰̖̰̓͊*̦̣̩̫̱͉̠̆͂ͦ*̗̣̞̱͚̙͐ͯͯ̇̽͆̒*̩̯͚̇̔ͯ̎̍*͖̪̠͙̻͔͙̊͒*̺̖̩͓̬̠̹*̼̙̜͎̇̓̏̇̽̉*̖̜̝̩͎͚͍̒͆ͤͥͤ*̖͖̮̦͓̻̝̽̈͛ͪ̿̇*͒͐̉̚*̰̰̖̰̓͊*̦̣̩̫̱͉̠̆͂ͦ*̗̣̞̱͚̙͐ͯͯ̇̽͆̒*̩̯͚̇̔ͯ̎̍*͖̪̠͙̻͔͙̊͒*̺̖̩͓̬̠̹*̼̙̜͎̇̓̏̇̽̉*̖̜̝̩͎͚͍̒͆ͤͥͤ*̖͖̮̦͓̻̝̽̈͛ͪ̿̇*͒͐̉̚*̰̰̖̰̓͊*̦̣̩̫̱͉̠̆͂ͦ*̗̣̞̱͚̙͐ͯͯ̇̽͆̒*̩̯͚̇̔ͯ̎̍*͖̪̠͙̻͔͙̊͒*̺̖̩͓̬̠̹*̼̙̜͎̇̓̏̇̽̉*̖̜̝̩͎͚͍̒͆ͤͥͤ*̖͖̮̦͓̻̝̽̈͛ͪ̿̇*͒͐̉̚*̰̰̖̰̓͊*̦̣̩̫̱͉̠̆͂ͦ*̗̣̞̱͚̙͐ͯͯ̇̽͆̒*̩̯͚̇̔ͯ̎̍*͖̪̠͙̻͔͙̊͒*̺̖̩͓̬̠̹*̼̙̜͎̇̓̏̇̽̉*̖̜̝̩͎͚͍̒͆ͤͥͤ*̖͖̮̦͓̻̝̽̈͛ͪ̿̇*͒͐̉̚

YOͣ̒̍̍̋U̲̺ͬͬͩ̑̍͊̚ ̲̤̪͚̜͉ͧ̎Hͣ͛̃Ȧ̺̾̓ͦ̓V̬̹̦̊͋E̩̲̙̿͛͛̓ͣ̂̑ ̳̪ͦB̯͍̖͔̯̭͑ͅE͉̗̣̰̒̐͒ͧÉ͕N͖̗ͅ ̓͐ͤ̀̈́Ḧ͔̣̙Ḁ͎ͪͪ͋̚C͈̠̬͔̝̋ͮ̓̓K̺ͣ̇ͮͪĒ͕͉̼̣̦ͥ̔̃̿̚D͖̼̊

T̨he D̸oor͡s to͟ ̨o̧t҉her̛ D̨i̕mȩn҉sįons̸ ̧are͟ op̢en̵

h͡ow ̴do ̛u ̵k͟now ͟uŕ ̵n̛ot ͏a robo͏t̨?
̷how͏ do̡ u ͟k̸no̵w ur ̡no҉t ̛a̷ ͟p͟r͠o͝g͞ram͡?͝
ho̷w͠ ͟do̴ u ͠kno̴w̵ ͘ur ̸n͡o̴t̨ ̵a v͢i͢ru͟s̛?́
͞how r̛ ̨u͞ ̸su̶r̕e of ̵a̷n̛y͢thi̧ńg ́a̡t͢ al͠l?̧

[GET OUT]

Aͤ̊͂ͧ̚͜R͊ͮ̓̿Ȅ̉̈̅̑͏ ̨Y̧ͨͭ̊̌̄̑̍Ơͤ̾ͬͤU ̐͑̋̂̇I̢ͮͥͫͦN̑ͤͤ̚ P̝̻͎̠͓̹A̡̖̭̬̻I̞̦̼͓̠ͅṊ?̝̥̦̜̥̞ͅ

[HE'LL KILL YOU]

Į̸ am t̸h͞e ͞Vil̛lain o͜f͡ ҉this s͟t͞ory

Y̟̯o͙͖̯̱̮̬͠ͅu̼̻͜'̖͓͍r̸̙e͈̘̤͟ ̘p̼l̫̺a̬̤̜ý̤̹̘̣̫ͅi̵̳n̖̜g̻̩̭ ̴͍̱M҉̫y͏̮̖̳̗̖̲ g͖͓͜a͈̱͇m͖̦e̲͜ ̮N͓͉̣o͚̹͡w.̠

[HA-rd to explain]

[Something about You]

Yo̗̜̮̖͈ͅu̢͙̪̹̙̲͈͍r̩͠ ͓̲̘͔̼̙̩͟Ş̥̬̮̻i̶͓͎̰̜͈̙ͅl̵͓̫̪͉e̻n̸̜̟͕c͉̹̤̹̖̗͡ͅe̩̙͕̟̻̜ ̵͍͓͓S̨̬̥̟p̖̼̜͜ȩa̗̜͖̲̠̱͜k̶̻s̖̜ ̧͈͙̣̺̟͇̲V̷͚̥͇o͕̭̼͓l̨̫͍u̡̼̱̺͓͓̱m͏͖̤̟̙͔͚͓e͔̹̲͔͎̙

[They wanted a Monster.]
[I decided to give them one.]

Ì̢̕f͘͟ ̡͞yo̡̡͞u̸͢ ͡͝s̕u̵d҉d͟͟͡e͘n̸͞l̸y̢͠ d́̀͞is̸ą̢p̵̴͝p̴̕͢e̶͠á̀r̀͢e͜͠d̕͘ ̀͞t̨͟o͟͝͞m͘͟o̧̨͘r̷͏ŕ̨o̸͘͏w̴̵,̸͜͞ ̢̨̢wo̸͝ų̕l̷̢d̛͢ ̧͜áǹ̸y̵͟b̵̶od͟ỳ̛͡ ̵̕n̵o̶̕t̀̕ice͡ ̴́͠i̶͘t̴͏͏ ?

[I think I am dangerous now.]

[Kill Him First]

1. yes
2. no
3. Of CoUrSe NoT, n͢͠o ̷o̧ǹ̨e̷ ̵͘c̀a̴͜rę͟s̸͢

[Would it be easier if it was all MY fault?]

o͝h, you'͞re͝ alĺ ͢alone͜,͜

[DARLING, I'm lost and everything That I Have Loved has turned to Stone]

I k̡no̕ẁ ̀what̶ ̢it͠'͏s l͏i͠k̢é t͢o̴ be s̀a͡d
I ͜kn͠o̧w̧ h͠o̕w i̷t̛ fe̢el͘s͝ to̡ be de̵ad̀

[I AM THE MONSTER YOU CREATED]
[I Don't Like What I'M Becoming.]

[voices inside of me]
[won't let me go to sleep]

I͊̽͡ ̸ͪͫͤ̀̎ͣA̒̍ͯ͗̽M̿͛ ̉A̋̈̔̑LŠ̓̿Oͪ͑̃̃̑͠ ͬͭ́̽͐Ã̐ ̎͗ͨ̈́ͨ̅W̑͒̏͢Eͤͧͫ҉

[i think there's a fault in my code]

Ḑid͠ yo͜u ́co̡m͞e̡ in͠to͘
҉co͠n̡ta͜c͟t͡ w͞įth U͏n͜kn̨o͟wn̨
M̸agic̵al̵ F̢orcés͢

[You may not be interested in war,
but war is interested in you.]

{[Insert something Shakespearean involving death and Your inevitable doom here]}

[i'm afraid because I know i can't
fight forever]

Spoiler Alert:
Everybody dies.

[You said you would be here for me]

YOU HAVE BEEN HACKED!

[Where are you?]
[Where Are YoU?]
[WHERE ARE YOU?]

W̪h̬̹o̪͙̟͕̝̬̙ ̘i̠̣s in̹̱̭̞̪͉ ̜̞̠c̘̝̭̤o̘͖̝̖̘n͕͉̹͙͇t̖͎̫̰ͅr͇o̙̺͉̯̜ͅͅl?̣̞̪͖͔̮͔

[I wonder what you{'ll} think when you see{find} me]

Never
Ending
FUN

[Reality is not as stable as it seems.]

you're part of a machine
you are not a human being

[I thought I was]
[Doing the right thing]

[I'm Sorry]
[This is a cry
For Help
Help
H-elp
Ḥ̴̻̰͎̟̲̭̭̈́̽͑̅ͥ̐ĕ̛̬̙̻̥̱̻͕̓́͢ḽ̢̨̲̥͇̖͇̈̑̈́̋͋̂͝ṗ͊͋ͩ͢҉̥͓̥̼͔
H͕̣̩̳̮e͇͔ḽ̠͓̼̤̻p̮̹

You ran O̧̤̯͇̓͛̾u̝̘̭̪̩̮͛̈͟tͨ̐͏͖̥͎͖ of time.
U and ur friends are dead.
G̹̻̮̞̪̹̠͜a̡̪̲̟̘̞͎m̙̞͉̦e̗̫̥̥̠̜ ͇̯̭O̶̯v̮͍̞̬̼͈̯e̼̖͓̝̺͍r̞̰͓̩

We r coming for u next...

F^l$3 4|)^]\/[

:/ProgramRun_Veil{.exe}/:
:/Veil{.exe}_Rise/:

Elsewhere

Green, grassy knolls and rolling hills dotted with worn cottages, crumbling structures showing their age and abandonment, gardens overrun with weeds, and holes in some of the roofs have trees poking through them. The lone child, a blonde teenager, had awoken from the mud and muck into a wet and rainy morning; the morning dew having made his already treacherous journey across unfamiliar landscape difficult, if not impossible. So he had stopped inside one of the more structurally covered abandoned buildings, hoping to take refuge from the small deluge, and dry his soggy clothes in the musty air of the thankfully dry rooms. He had no name to call himself, no memory of who did this to him, nor even a single clue as to where he found himself currently.

He wandered around the area he had awoke in at first, then moved on to the broken down house closest to him, where he found simple furniture that was moth eaten and broken down. While he didn't like searching through strange homes without knowing if he was intruding or not, and feeling guilty for raiding their closets for cleaner and warmer clothes, he knew he had little choice. It seemed as if all around the area, people had evacuated in a hurry leaving their belongings behind to rot to time and natural forces, though this eased his conscious somewhat little. Getting out of muddied clothes and into a somewhat stiff tunic, one that was itchy against his skin, he rummages through whatever storehouses they might have for edible, hopefully well-preserved, food that may have been forgotten in whatever rush forced them away.

He walked through the empty house to search for a kitchen where he stumbled upon the moldy, crumbling forms of a rotten table eaten by insects, and poorly built chairs filled with thick layers of dust. Upon its center was an empty bowl, filled with mold and dust of what once might have been food, and his stomach grumbles in response as he begins to despair at his prospects. Looking through bare cupboards full of empty jars and emptied bags of food, he begins to feel anxious that he might starve before he finds answers to his situation. While he could go without food, he instinctively knew that there would be a dangerous tipping point if he did not get something to eat within a certain amount of time. He was sure if he didn't get the answers to who and where he was, that those would soon become less pressing questions as to what he would eat and drink.

"Why so curious?" a young voice asks him, out of the blue, causing him to look around for the source of the voice, "Here, allow me to at least ease your hunger and thirst..." As the voice speaks, the water from the sink begins to flow as it suddenly turns on, forcing black sludge out of its spout before it is replaced clear flowing water. "And while I'm at it, how about a change in scenery," the voice states, before the house seems to come alive with rushing wind that forces him to close his eyes, "This dreary house has seen better days, so let's return the to it!" Dying down, he opens his eyes to find the abating wind has stripped the years of wear and tear from the once abandoned home. Dust and dirt was cleansed from the walls, revealing beautiful wallpaper that had once been peeling away from the walls, rotted wood replaced with fresh, empty cupboards now filled with products and food, and the chipped porcelain bowl now clean and filed with a mix of fresh fruits set next to a pitcher and glass of water. On top of the pile sat an apple with such a delectable golden color, that he was tempted to go for it first, but chose instead to deny his hunger in favor of satisfying his curiosity.

"Who?" before he can even finish his question, the faint outline of a girl appears in the corner of his eye,causing him to jump in shock at the sudden appearance of the other person, "What the hell?" Jumping back while turning to face the new occupant of the room, he realizes that the voice was actually a teenaged blonde, much like himself, though she was a girl. She seemed to be dressed in a gothic-lolita styled dress, one with a cross motif cut right into its chest line, not enough to expose anything unseemly, but he still averted his eyes at the smaller girl out of courtesy. The girl giggled, with her unsettling eyes turning upward as she covered her mouth to stifle the sound coming from it, though for some reason he still couldn't place, it just seemed unnatural.

"I am the caretaker of this garden of memories, on this side of Paradise of course,' the smiling girls states, extending her hand towards him, "My name is Evelyn, though the others call me Eve; what's your name?" He hesitatingly accepts her handshake, forgetting his hunger and thirst to tackle this new girl.

She caused him to pause and reflect, trying to figure out exactly the answer to that question she asked. The words were on the tip of his tongue, teetering on the edge of his consciousness, yet the answers refused to yield to his mental grasp. With a light giggle she drew closer to him, dangerously so, brushing her fingers up his chest as her breath tickles his skin.

"Don't think too hard and strain yourself, my d-dear," she says, drawing away and turning her back to him, seemingly as a sign she trusted him. "How about I provide you a fitting name?" Her voice changes pitch, laced with what seemed to be eagerness, as she titters around the kitchen, brushing her fingers across the surface as she dances around the subject. "How about... Adam?" she phrases it like a question, yet she seemed to lace her words with finality, "Yes, how do you like that, Adam?" Something seems to resonate within him, though its as if he feels it is accompanied by a chill running down his spine, which causes him to clutch his chest in pain at her words.

"Welcome to our Paradise, Adam," she states as he feels the strength leaving him and causing him to fall to his knees, "Welcome to the world of the dead, Hades, the common grave of all mankind." As those sweet, honeyed words leave her lips, he finally realizes what is wrong as he retches up nothing from his empty stomach but bile, the acidic taste bring him back to reality. Her pale, waxy skin, those cold, lifeless eyes lacking the light of life, her sweet smiles forced upon stiffened muscles seemingly locked in eternal rigor mortis.

It seemed she was a walking corpse.
It seemed 'Adam', or whomever he truly was, had di-*̰̰̖̰̓͊*̦̣̩̫̱͉̠̆͂ͦ*̗̣̞̱͚̙͐ͯͯ̇̽͆̒*̩̯͚̇̔ͯ̎̍*͖̪̠͙̻͔͙̊͒*̺̖̩͓̬̠̹

-nd so Rito took off the 'Homework Fun-Fun Tutor Memorizer-kun', which were just in fact a pair of glasses with bulky circuitry on them, and set them down on top of the humongous stack of papers he had accumulated over the past three weeks of traveling in Mikado-Sensei's spaceship. he looked to the stars as he reflected on the adventures they had had since leaving the comfort of home, stories which could have filled a whole chapter of his life. Getting chased by Solgam ships in one area of the galaxy had been taxing, but stopping over on the way to discover that Mikado had the wrong planet in mind had been embarrassing enough for all of them. The extra stop over on the way had been unexpected, a long and arduous experience he wished he would never have to repeat to anyone again, but finally getting that thrice damned Kitsune to fork over the location of the Tenth Relic in exchange for lacking knowledge on the location of 'Anubis', he was happy that they could find something like that so close to home after they finished up their next stop. They were heading through the Devil's Playground after all, a dense globular cluster near a localized black hole that obscured the location of their final destination.

It was this place that the Lala had stated one of the oldest known races in the universe had created a universal banking system, one of the oldest and most trusted in five or six galaxies. They were almost there, and Rito had decided to finally take a break from all the homework, all six months of it, to enjoy the amazing stars and formations whose light wouldn't reach earth for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years. It was so full of life, something Rito appreciated very much, and it was exhilarating to witness something he never could have stuck on Earth. Now, if only he could feel at ease, hoping that everything from no on would go smoothly, even though in his heart he felt that some kind of foreboding darkness was c R͕͘E͙͍ͅE̠̦̳̳P̵̬I̦̱̳͈͘ǸG̛̥͍ in.

A/N: Wow, can't believe it took so long for me to get my grove back. Been a busy life, but thought I'd at least update this story. man, who would have thought I could pack all of those fight scenes into one chapter! Sorry it's such a long chapter though, I would have made it shorter, but I had all these ideas I just had to get out and onto the page. Who would have thought Inari knew Oshizu in her past life, she barely looks a day over fifty, yet she's over a thousand! And the way they lost those pirates in that super-novae remnant? Trippy, I know!

Well, until next time my peeps, let me know what you thought in the comments section!