Disclaimer:
Love Hina and Mahou Sensei Negima is the creative property of Ken Akamatsu, who created this wonderful anime/manga series. Shingetsugan Tsukihime and Fate/stay night is the creative property of TYPE-MOON. Anything not attributed to Akamatsu-san or TYPE-MOON belongs to their respective owners, such as references to Cowboy Bebop (the Swordfish II) that is a creation of Sunrise and Shinichiro Watanabe, BLEACH is a creation of Kubo Tite, and vice-versa. This story is written purely just for fun, guys; please for God's sake, don't sue me! I'm just a high school student with too much free time on his hands! On the other hand, any specific author created characters I created for this fic (despite how unoriginal they may be at times) are mine. So without further adieu, let's get on with the show!
The Surgeon General's Warning:
Read at your own risk. Multiple pairings inside folks, with KanaxKei and KanaxNegi, just to name a few! You never know what you're going to get so read on (I might even do some alternative stuff, if you know what I mean).
Blue Blue Glass Moon, Under the Crimson Air
I Wanna Go To A Place...
Chapter 45:
Breakthrough - The Final Blow!
A Love Magister Hina Negima! fanfic by James "Ray" Edwards
The ronin grit his teeth in concentration, his body straining under the Herculean stresses, as he squinted at the vague Giant Hollow. His was vision out of focus, pretty much going crazy as he saw double, if not triple the silhouettes of the same wraith. Pinpricks of scintillating "light" emerged in one swoop, giving him more targets than he would care to choose from that many. They were growing brighter by the second, indicating clearly that the wraith was preparing to attack him first.
Keitaro gnashed his teeth in frustration as the tiled pavement beneath his feet shuddered violently under the immense pressure of the forces he wielded, before shattering with a whine. Cracks splintered across the grounds, joining the beads of sweat drifting off his face. The awesome brilliant mass surrounding his outstretched arm was drawing in everything: water from the fountains, pieces of debris, any matter it could sink its invisible claws into and wrench free.
It was growing quickly, expanding out of control as it fed ravenously on his chakra and reiatsu. There was no telling how much longer he could control it, and at the rate its power was exponentially increasing, he doubted it would matter where he hit the Giant Hollow anymore. The important thing now was just to hit the damned thing before his own newly improvised technique killed him.
"AH-ahahahahah! I got my sidewinders, the heatseekers all fired up now!" the Giant Hollow laughed maniacally as the ronin heard various compartments in its half mechanical body hissed open. "Take this! KILL HIM, BOYS!"
Suddenly, the pinpricks of spirit forceflared brightly, nearly blinding Keitaro in the process. He seethed in pain with a hot hiss, watching as streaming yellow streaks of light roared out of the Giant Hollow's body at various angles. They moved swiftly, whistling through the air at high speeds, traveling in exact straight lines before abruptly taking sharp turns in mid-flight, shooting straight towards him with a terrifying screech.
The ronin cursed his luck. Even if he wanted to dodge, he could not now that he was locked into this irreversible technique! Helplessly, Keitaro could only stand there as the deadly barrage of charged spirit energy converged on his position. Several bolts strayed away, smashing explosively into the tiled pavement and blasting his body with shrapnel. Others found their mark, piercing him ineffectually in his sides, legs, and shoulders, leaving burning, sizzling wounds that healed up in a near blink of an eye even as he screamed in pain.
Theoretically, reiatsu was not supposed to be able to kill living corporeal beings, as their living bodies effectively acted as a buffer to halve the damage if not more, but it still hurt like hell! Far from killing him, the bolts of light were only torturing him while his shining arm shone brighter with each lance it absorbed. It was as if it had a life of its own, feeding hungrily on any available source of spirit force or chakra around it, but the Giant Hollow did not noticed this in the slightest bit. The wraith was laughing mad with glee, enjoying the sounds of his screams, while blatantly ignoring the gross difference in power between them.
Keitaro grit his teeth, feeling his very life beginning to drain away before his own two eyes, as increasingly fewer of the charged bolts of reiatsu were hitting him, and more were being absorbed by his arm. In the palm of his knuckle-clenched fist, he literally was holding a miniature sun that shrieked with a piercing, undulating whine, threatening to break free any second now. The awesome power he held was surprising even to him, as he had never seen such a marvelous brilliant thing before in his life.
But it doesn't matter, if I can't hit the damned thing! the ronin cursed his deteriorating vision in growing despair. How was he supposed to commit himself to such a desperate attack when he doubted his own two eyes? Everything in the distance is practically black to me now! And I can see ten of him out there, even though I know there's only one. ...ugh, there's so much reiatsu! Those pinpricks of light. They're everywhere! In the trees, the stones, the air --- everything!
Oh, how he wished Kanako was here with him right now. He could trust her eyes like they were his own. In fact, he would dare say, he trusted her eyes, her judgment better than his own feeble judgment in a situation like this because if he missed...
...there would not be a second attack.
Suddenly, Keitaro felt it, a raging feminine presence by his side that was no better off than him, doubtful and desperate, and yet she was utterly determined to finish what she had set out to do. The hammer was cocked, the bullet chambered in the barrel, and all there was left to do was pull the trigger. For some reason, it felt --- soothing to be near her.
"Can you see it now?" an eerily familiar voice hissed at him. It was not like Yuuko's or Tsuruko's proud voices with full, rich melodies, more closer to Kanako's voice, younger and softer, but it was not his dear little sister's voice either.
He tore his gaze away from the Giant Hollow for a second, just a second, to see who it was, and the sight of her neatly took his breath away. Great wings with black glossy feathers had sprouted out of her back, tearing straight through the back of her school uniform's white blouse, and her nails had sharpened into nimble claws --- no --- talons. Black tattoos and sigils in sharp angles and jagged twists now adorned her flesh along with two black slashes gracing her left cheek.
Her expression was unforgettable, a feral snarl that stirred his heart as crimson tears streamed from the corners of her ethereal amber eyes, glowing with power, the black pupils like slits. The white ribbon that had held her hair had unraveled, leaving her long raven locks to billow freely in the trembling wind. He might have been nearsighted, unable to see things at a distance, but when he was this close to someone else, even his eyes could not lie to him.
"It's --- it's you, Ojou-san!" Keitaro cried in wonder.
"Bah, bakamono --- you're still calling me that at a time like this?"
"Huh?"
She hissed angrily at him, "Listen, can you see yet?"
"Wha? But --- what happened, Ojou-"
"Stupid human! Even I have a name too!"
Keitaro winced at her snappy rebuke and then --- he blinked. Did she just call him specifically a stupid human? Wait a second here! Black wings, claws, the sudden tattoos, the glowing golden eyes that were indicative of demonic powers (usually), her pupils like slits...!
"No way, you're a-"
"A demon," the demon girl spat back at him bitterly with a sneer. "And the name is Sakurazaki Setsuna, bastard child of the Uzoku."
I can't believe it! She's a real demon --- a tengu, well specifically a karasu tengu (or kotengu for short) --- a crow demon no less, which explains the black wings and --- wait, did she just say, 'bastard child? What the heck does she mean by that? Does it mean she's a half-demon or something?
"Concentrate on the task at hand, human!" Setsuna screamed at him as the sickening smell of sizzling flesh and blood finally caught in his nose, shaking him from his stupor.
Keitaro's eyes affixed themselves to the raven-haired girl's outstretched arm, skimming along the lithe yet peculiarly toned length that seemed to be fit for a swords...well, swordswoman --- and found her hand wrapped around his wrist. No, it was not just her hand! The entire length of her arm that had plunged straight through the powerful, indiscriminate aura surrounding his right arm was burning, much to his shock. Now, he realized that the purifying influence of "The Seal of Heaven" was most powerful around his own body, creating a buffer zone where most low level demons and evil creatures would be obliterated instantly!
Thankfully, she was not that weak, but...
"Look, can you see the Giant Hollow now?"
"But you're-!"
"Never mind me! Can you see the Giant Hollow or not?" she rebuked him once again with growing irritation.
Seething grimly, the ronin turned his gaze back onto the Giant Hollow. Not a single destructive bolt of charged reiatsu was even touching them anymore as his arm was devouring every shot, growing ever more powerful by the second. There was no doubt in his mind that with this much power all he would need to do at this rate was just graze the Giant Hollow, and it would be purified instantly.
Keitaro could scarcely believe it when he realized he could see his foe perfectly. "Hey, I can see it!"
"It's about time, bakamono! Listen, right now, my eyes are your eyes, a little --- demon magic if you don't mind."
"Uhh..." Geez, what's her problem? Do I look ungrateful or something?
"It works only by direct contact, however, so as soon as I let go of you, your vision will start to deteriorate to its natural state. You'll only have a small window of opportunity, so make it count, understood?"
The ronin nodded affirmatively, committing the grotesque visage and the distance to the wraith in his mind's eye. He would not have asked Setsuna to come with him, even if she could; because of the tremendous destructive power of his technique in its current state would endanger her too. Besides, the young man figured he might have just stumbled on an entirely new waza despite the obvious consequences of using it:
"I got'cha! We'll do this on the count of three!"
"DIEDIEDIEDIEDIE-EHE-HEHE-HAHAHAHAHAH!" the Giant Hollow cackled, mad with power, as it continued fire round after round of those homing reiatsu missiles through the air.
Keitaro grinned in anticipation with a fire in his eyes. His target did not seem in the slightest bit interesting in moving nor did the wraith seem to notice that the tables had turned at last. Demon or whatever, he was definitely going to have to thank Setsuna after this mess was over.
"Ichi..." they shouted together in perfect unison, sending his confidence soaring.
If she was really that bad, why would she even help me like this?
"...Ni..."
Besides, it's not like I'm in any position to argue right now.
"...San!"
Heh, I wonder how Kana-chan's going to react when I tell her a demon saved my life? She'd be pretty surprised, I'd bet.
"Now, go for it, Keitaro!" Setsuna shouted to him as she let go of his arm and promptly leapt aside, her flapping wings carrying her out of harm's way.
"Leave it to me! Toorrryaaaaa! POWAA ZENKAI! LET'S --- IGUNISSHON!"
An explosion of power soared to the heavens, the earth shook, the dark night blossomed into day, and Keitaro roared, a golden blazing light enveloping his body, turning everything gold. He was shining like the sun, a brilliant beacon of might held in his knuckle-clenched fist, as he kicked off the ground, rocketing towards his goal at near-light speeds. Moving faster and faster with each raging heartbeat, he seemed to transform into a streaking beam of light that flared brightly, leaving blooming halos in his wake!
Shine.
"Wh-WHAT THE HELL?" screamed the Giant Hollow, staring in wide-eyed disbelief. Suddenly, it had awakened from its madness into incorrigible clarity, paralyzed and unable to move in the slightest. This was impossible; this could not be happening; unbelievable! "GAH! WH-WHAT-! WHAT'S THAT LIGHT? IT'S SCREAMING LIKE A JET ENGINE! LOUDER AND LOUDER! UWAH!"
Shine!
It's a miracle. Really... It's a miracle, thought Setsuna in wonder as she stared breathlessly at the dazzling spectacle. Her were eyes not hindered in the slightest bit by the immense golden light, and despite her own demonic heritage, it felt --- good to be bathed in this light, like the warming rays of the sun. "This man, Urashima Keitaro... This man is... Really. He's a miracle."
Shine brighter!
"Oraoraoraoraoraora! Urashima Shinkage Ryu --- Shin-ougi! --- SHAININGU! SADON. IMPACT!"
The Giant Hollow shrieked in shock as Keitaro's shining fist ripped straight through its body, disintegrating all of the outer "shell" in an instant, and leaving behind only the original body, its true self behind. In the majesty of that brilliant golden light, all lies were laid bared, revealing the truth beneath the macabre white mask that shattered like glass. Stripped of the power of its false self, the Hollow in its humanoid form could do nothing as his fist tore straight through its chest, the fingers of his clutching its black beating heart. A gurgling scream echoed out of the writhing body, ballooning and spurting grotesquely, from which beams of golden light pored out of every pore and opened orifice.
"Finally. I finally caught you!" the golden young man declared triumphantly. "The source of your power is this black heart!"
The Hollow squealed. "KI-KISAAAMMAAAAAA! What the hell are you?"
Wait a second, when did Hollow's have hearts anyway?
"Human! Something you've forgotten how to be when you took on that mask! HAAAA-aaaaaaaa!"
Focusing his strength, Keitaro swung over his free left hand, clamping it down firmly on his occupied upper arm to control the rapidly destabilizing flow of the "star" that had blessed his arm. The Hollow writhed uncontrollably as he lifted it clean over his head, holding it perfectly parallel to the ground, a Herculean effort that left his expression in a determined snarl. He did not want to prolong its suffering any longer, but there was a question, he had to ask it. It was an important question.
"Mada mada! Not yet; I'm not finished with you yet!"
"Ko-KONO! I HOPE YOU EAT S---T AND DIE!"
The ronin frowned lightly at the insult, but he held his ground stronger yet, as the Hollow continued to writhe and struggle.
"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
"Before I give you your rightful soul burial, answer this question for me-"
"NO! NOOOOO! WHY CAN'T I BREAK FREE?"
"Who gave you this heart? Hollow's aren't supposed to have hearts."
"KEH-KKUKUKk! AHHHH-AHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh!" the twisted face of the man beneath the mask laughed at him maniacally. "YOU CAN GO F--- YOURSELF, KUSOYAROU!"
Keitaro sighed inwardly, retaining his brave face; it seemed he would have to wait for another fight to find his answer. "I see... I guess, it's time to say goodbye, Hollow-san."
"EHEHHE-HAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAH! THIS WON'T BE THE LAST TIME, BOY. AH-AH-HAHAHA!"
"SEIBAI: Judgment be upon you!"
His glowing aura flared brilliantly, golden like the rays of the sun, enveloping the entire plaza in its majestic serenity, before coalescing into a pillar of light that roared to the heavens.
"This is the final blow! Chou hi-satsu..."
Ripples of blooming halos materialized throughout the rising column that shined ever brighter, parting the clouds. Its blinding luminescence was like staring into the raging heart of a star, as cracks splintered across the shattering polished surface of the black heart.
"YOAKE --- HIKARI NI NAAAA-REEEE!"
Light.
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes:
Hey, y'all, I'm back once again, same time as usual, with the goods as promised! Blammo! Episode 45! Keitaro brings down the hiz-ouse and opens a righteous can of spiritual whoop-BLEEP! on some poor you-know-what. But what's this? Setsuna transformed into her "full demon" mode without her sword, even though she said she can't without it? How the heck did she manage to bypass that? Dang, that's crazy, and on top of that --- Hollow's have hearts? Black hearts? That's the source of its power? What's going on around here? How will Setsuna's revealed demonic heritage affect Keitaro? How will he affect her? What's going to happen next?
Well, maybe we'll find out on the next episode Glass Moon-desu!
Reviewers and readers alike, I'd like to thank you all very much for your continued patronage. Remember, I encourage each and everyone of you to feel free to comment, review, and/or discuss the story. Your comments can really make a difference, I assure you, and if you're up to it, feel free to ring me up on AIM, or even send me an e-mail (although you really don't need to boost my ego too often). You know how to get in touch with the maestro here.
Of course, with that said, and as much as I hate to do this, I've recently received an anonymous review from a "Mister Reviewer" that has forced me to get up on my soap box in public again. Folks, I really shouldn't have to tell you this, as it's something your parents or parental figures should've taught you already: basic courtesy goes a long way, y'all. Respect is a two-way street, along with a bunch of other things, because truth be told, I do respect you guys and gals, and that's why I bother to listen to you and try to interact with you. If I didn't care, I wouldn't be doing this now, would I?
If you've got a concern/critique/gripe with this fic, which I've already posted up to 45 chapters, you really should read the "Author's Notes" I've included in pretty much every chapter. It's there for a reason, folks, namely to address issues, get you all to think about things in the story so you don't get lost, how to enjoy this story, and vice-versa. Plus, my past author's notes have already addressed a lot of common issues/gripes, i.e. "you update infrequently," seeming lack of a cohesive plot, "randomness," "poor" planning, "I suck as a writer," sarcasm, etc. I think I've grown some since chapter 1, ladies and gentleman, so please give me a little respect. If you really need some help, just PM me or e-mail me then.
Heck, if you've read this far, are still having issues, and don't want to talk to me: either you really don't like me, you've got some issues yourself, and/or you really didn't like the story anyway but you felt the need to put on a tough guy act and then show up to be a bigot and spit in my face some 44+ chapters later. That's a big no-no, guys. Like I've said before, I'm not trying to win any awards here, I'm not trying to win everybody's heart and soul here, and I can accept the fact some people aren't going to like it. On the other hand, I do sincerely enjoy writing this story and giving the people who like it something enjoyable to read to brighten up their week some.
If you're going to honestly critique my style, please talk about something new, or at least try to be objective and actually do your homework properly before you throw around deluded accusations. This story in itself is an experiment, although if you're looking for a more traditional story with a "straightforward" narrative, you'd be much better off reading my Naruto and Evangelion fics. So Mister Reviewer and all your EMO-ilk henceforth, please have the bloody decency to leave your e-mail, so I don't have to waste other people's time with your EMO-issues. I'm not afraid of anybody and I'd be happy to respond with an e-mail or PM to you, but I will not stand for you instigating me so you can get your five minutes of attention because you know I will have to say something.
And no, your sarcasm bites and this story updates pretty well fast enough on a weekly basis. If you think you can do better, prove it and more power to you if/when you succeed. Don't say you're sorry unless you're sincere because I'm telling you and anybody else who wants to start something with me, I'm not sorry. I'm not a punka--b---- or a b-----a--punk. I'm not afraid to stand up for myself or anyone else who needs it. If you just wanna talk, we can talk like civilized human beings, man --- no pressure, and who knows we might be able to become decent acquaintences if not casual friends. But if you do stuff like this to me, man, you're barking up the wrong tree. I'm not your mom, your dad, whatever, and I don't have to take that kind of EMO-BS from you, period.
Sorry if that offended anybody, but you can't run away from problems because they only get bigger in the long run, as we shall certainly see in this tale at some point.
So without further adieu, that wraps it up, folks (see you around the same time as usual): With COURAGE, anything is 100-PERCENT POSSIBLE!
Omake!
Naze Nani Glass Moon Desu
Highlight Techniques!
Shining Sudden Impact - A rather remarkable improvised three-part waza (technique), presumably from the Urashima Shinkage Style,used by Keitaro Urashima first in episode 45 to dispatch a Giant Hollow. This consists of a charging phase, the attack itself, and actually, an optional "chou hi-satsu" or "super sure/certain-kill" attack. Powered by Keitaro's huge spirit energy potential combined with his chakra, this technique requires vast amounts of energy and time to properly "grow" before it reaches its full power, wherefore it has siphoned energy from the surrounding area as well as some of the user's own life force. The phrase "yoake --- hikari ni nare" translates approximately to "daybreak --- (now) become the light/turn into light" or "dawn --- (now) become the light/turn into light," which may have been inspired a particular favorite mecha anime of his, that is GaoGaiGar Final.
The attack speech goes something like this:
"Leave it to me! FULL POWER! LET'S --- IGNITION! Urashima Shinkage Style --- New Secret Technique --- Shining Sudden Impact!"
(With hi-satsu)
"Judgment be upon you! This is the final blow! Super Certain-Kill... DAYBREAK --- NOW BECOME THE LIGHT!"
Definitely, this is not the sort of thing, Keitaro can use more than once, plus it leaves him completely helpless during the "charge" phase, but the results are nothing to be trifled with. Not to mention, he might be the only one who can do it due to its steep energy requirements. It is arguably a powerful technique worthy of an A Rank that is super effective on spiritual beings, though it remains to be seen what it can do against more corporeal beings.
And where would we be without the...
Episode Preview!
Chapter 46:
The Crow
"Well, like Kana-chan says: 'You're allergic to close physical contact with intent from females, Urashima Keitaro, and when your allergy gets irritated, your blood production skyrockets, resulting in a spectaaaaa-cular nosebleed!' Or something like that..."
Tsudzuku!