Red Moons & Kanrinin's

By: Tezza1502

Disclaimer: Ken Akamatsu and TOKYOPOP® make the money off Love Hina. I'm just in it for the buzz! (Yup! I'm an utter review-whore.)

Notes: Nuthin' to really say here. Still bringing the contestants together.

Chapter Two:- ON A WING, WITH A PRAYER (or, are we there yet?)

The Hinata-Sou was experiencing an unusual lull in the usual chaos. Some of the tenants were enjoying it, on the outside at least. Naru and Motoko in particular were quite vocal about how much of a difference it made around the Hinata since their male Kanrinin had departed with Seta a few days before. Given free reign, they could go on for quite a while on the subject. Although, the longer they talked, the more you could hear a slightly wistful tone creeping into their diatribes. As if what they were saying, and what they truly believed were two different things. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt to those two.

The others, however…

Kaolla Su had been tinkering with some old inventions of hers, dismantling obsolete mecha's to try and make better ones. Giving that up after an hour, she then attempted to repair the toaster she had 'borrowed' for spare parts. To her disgust, she managed to put it back together in the condition it had been before she liberated it from the kitchen. No self-destruct modes. No side-mounted, thermal tracking lasers. Just a plain, simple, harmless old toaster. Sighing deeply, she placed it in front of her and glared at it. When it refused to either wither and die, or spontaneously evolve into a new mechanical life form, her shoulders slumped even further.

"Its just no fun since Keitaro went away." She pouted. It wasn't her fault that the rest of the tenants had gotten their period at the same time, exaggerating their usual reactions to Keitaro's inherent clumsiness. And why do girls have to synchronise that way after living together for a certain length of time, anyway? It wasn't fair! Although, to be honest, she had been just as bad. 'I thought I had left that crap behind after I'd been-'

Before she could finish that thought, a melodious bell sounded from within a tree trunk in the corner of her room/jungle.

'What the…It's been ages. Why would anyone be calling me now?' Su thought as she bounded over. Placing her open hand on the trunk, a light ran up and down the length of her palm and fingers, scanning her biometric readings.

-/IDENTITY, PLEASE?/-

"Princess Kaolla Su." Su replied, providing a voice sample to confirm the other readings.

-/CONFIRMING. PLEASE WAIT…/-

-/CONFIRMED. RECEIVING A TRANSMISSION FROM THE ROYAL PALACE OF MOL-MOL./-

The trunk split open cleanly to reveal a twenty-inch plasma screen hidden within. Upon it, a face was beginning to come into sharp focus.

"Kaolla darling! So nice to see you again." A strikingly beautiful woman appeared, showing only the faintest signs of age. This was Narilla Su, Kaolla's biological mother and Queen of Mol-Mol. "How have you been keeping over there?"

"Heyas, moms! Pretty good." Kaolla answered cheerfully enough.

"That's nice. Your father, Estella and I have been worried. Hina promised that she would look after you, but when we did not hear from you in so long…" She sighed theatrically, pouring on the guilt. Before Kaolla could answer, she continued, "Unfortunately, this is not just a social call, sweetie. We need you to go to an old temple of our ancestors and see who or what has set off the security system."

Kaolla exploded. They swore they wouldn't try and pull any of this crap on her while she was studying in Japan. "WHAT! Why do I hafta…"

"Because it is one of our sacred sites." Her mother interjected firmly. "Only members of the royal family have the authority to enter it unharmed." Her face brightened in an attempt to soften the impact of their request. "And since no-one else of royal lineage is nearby, we thought you-"

"What do you mean, 'There's no-one else close by?' What about Amalla?"

The woman pursed her lips. "Your sister is…indisposed…for the moment." She leant in and whispered. "Amalla and your father had another blazing row the other day. So their not in each other's good books right now."

Kaolla felt a guilt trip coming on. "But-"

"And," Her mother continued, "After your done, it might be a good idea to swing by the palace and visit us. Just to let your people know that you are still okay."

'Oh fine, bring the great unwashed into it, why don't you!' She thought sarcastically. "But I-"

"And your father would be so happy to see his daughter again after so long away." She whispered again. "He really misses you. We all do."

"I know that-" Yup! Guilt trip. About level two.

"Excellent!" She clapped her hands together gleefully. "It's settled. You can fly over to the Island of the Waning Moon with one of those delightful inventions of yours, investigate, then come home for a visit!" She shuddered slightly as she mentioned Kaolla's gift for invention. She loved her daughter dearly, but the girl did not know the meaning of the word 'restraint'. It's a part of why she had ended up the way she had.

"Oh come on! I never agreed-"

"Kaolla!" Her mother cut in sternly. "I know that you were never really comfortable with the responsibilities that came with being a member of the royal family, but you are still a princess of Mol-Mol. You have certain obligations that you must occasionally perform. This is one of them."

"But Mom?"

"I am not arguing with you on this. Do it!"

Kaolla gave in with as much grace as she could muster. "This sucks." Which wasn't much.

"Indeed, but it is your duty as the closest member of the royal family-"

"Yeah alright, I understand."

"-to go to our sacred places, where no common person may tread, and-"

"I get it, okay!"

"I know dear. But hearing isn't the same as listening with you." Her mother retorted sweetly. "Now be a good girl, and go and see what is going on. While its probably just one of our old temples finally crumbling in on itself, it is still nonetheless a sacred site."

"Fine." Kaolla sniffed, turning her nose away from the monitor.

"I love you."

At that, she faced the screen again and returned a small smile to her mother. "I love you too."

"I know, sweetie. Even if you don't say it enough. See you soon." She waved as the screen winked out.

"Bye." Kaolla said softly to the blank screen before it was retraced back into the tree. 'Great! I'm the smartest person on the Pacific Rim, but I still can't win a conversation with my mother!' Su fumed to herself. Its not that she doesn't want to help out every now and again. Its just that after what happened to her the last time she was capable of performing her royal duties, she was understandably reluctant to take up the load once more. Even in a small way, like this appeared to be. 'This really sucks!' She repeated her earlier comment on the subject. 'Ah well. Nothing for it, I s'pose.' She shrugged in defeat, before brightening slightly. 'At least it'll keep me busy for a bit. An' who knows, I might bump into Keitaros out there. After all, he an' Sarah's pop said that they'd all be out that way somewhere, didn't they?' She tried to recall exactly which island Keitaro had said they were heading to, before remembering that before he'd had a chance to say the name, Naru had belted him through a wall for abandoning them again.

Opening the door to her room with the intention of letting the rest of the house know that she was going away for a bit, she was surprised to almost bump into her favourite person who wasn't a food provider. Looking up at the sheepish face of Motoko, Su realised that she had been listening in for whatever reason.

"So, ya heard all that?"

Motoko flushed slightly at being caught. "I-I did not mean to intrude, but it seemed like you were being pressured into doing something. I would like to help, if I can." She offered.

Su stared at her, as if weighing up whether to trust her with this or not. Actually, she was touched that her friend and sometimes bed-sharer was willing to get involved in something without knowing what it was. Besides, it'd be nice to have some company for the duration. Deciding to take the chance, she smiled.

"Actually, there is something you can do. You up for a road trip?"

"Well, its not exactly a road trip. But ya get the idea, right?" Su shouted gleefully over her shoulder at Motoko, who had her eyes firmly shut. Not so much for the fact that they were currently cruising at an altitude of about five thousand feet and doing approximately mach-two, but because they were doing all of this on the back of a giant mecha-turtle.

Motoko ignored her cheery travelling companion in favour of staying in the foetal position she had curled up into at the first sight of their ride. Luckily, this mecha-tama was purpose built for long hauls, as opposed to the usual heavy arsenal.

It was actually a very unusual mecha-tama, being a bit more stripped down and safety-conscious than Su's usual models. No weapons systems, (well, not too many) just a lot of fuel and spare parts for repairs. It even had seats! And an enclosed cockpit! Normally, Su wouldn't bother with all that stuff. But considering that this was official business, it meant that she had to be able to get home no matter what. Without calling her parents for help.

Motoko thought about the whirlwind of events that had led her to being in this position in the first place. After she had agreed to help Su with her task, she had found herself being dragged down into the bowels of the Hinata-Sou. Even telling the young girl that if they left now they would miss out on dinner did not slow her down. The only concession Su was willing to make in her rush to go was to leave a note for the others, explaining their absence.

Heyas! Su here!

Am going out for a bit. Might be gone for a few days or so. Will be back sooner or later. Am taking Motoko with me to keep my toes warm at night. , )

-Su

P.S.: Save me some dinner Shinobu! KS

Motoko was broken out of her fugue state by a jabbing sensation in her ribs. Cracking an eye open slightly, she saw Su pointing excitedly down at something. Fighting down the bile trying its best to escape, Motoko crawled over and glanced briefly at what the other girl was pointing at.

Which turned out to be a large, crescent-shaped island in the middle of nowhere. "Where are we?" She said through clenched teeth.

"We are currently circling 'The Island of the Waning Moon'. My people used to occupy it, centuries ago, before we fell from the favour of the Gods." Su explained enigmatically.

Right now, Motoko just didn't care. "Are we landing on it?"

"Yup! Just about to now." She replied, banking their craft sharply and pointing it's nose towards the base of the volcano rising out of the middle of the island.

"Good!" Motoko gulped as their personal gravity lurched. 'Land this hard-shelled nightmare so I can get off it as quickly as possible.' Despite being made of metal, it was still in the shape of a foul, loathsome, green, slimy, disgusting, demonic, flippered, evil, snapping, turtle.

Yup, Motoko has issues.

"Hang on to your hakama, its time to land." Su shouted as they bulldozed a path through the jungle, straight towards the overgrown stone wall she had spotted from the air on the way down.

Seeing what they were heading towards at full speed, Motoko roused herself out of her misery long enough to let out a piercing shriek. It only ended after they had come to a complete stop, a good ten centimetres from the wall.

After she was sure that all forward motion had halted and all her body parts were in their proper positions, Motoko clambered off the mecha-tama and streaked off into the jungle to hug and kiss a random tree. "I'm alive!"

Su looked at her travelling companion with a smug expression. "Fraidy cat." She teased, leaning over the front of their craft to slap the wall with the palm of her hand. "We stopped with heaps of room to spare."

After Motoko had pulled herself together, she set about adjusting her backpack so that it sat comfortably on her shoulders and did not impede her access to her sword, Shisui. Helping Su shoulder her own oversized pack, they carefully made their way into the ruined city.

"What did you call this place again?" The kendoist asked. Now that she was off that wretchedly-shaped machine and back on solid earth, her curiosity had returned.

"The Island of the Waning Moon." Su answered. "Like I said, my people used to inhabit this place, ages ago. According to the legends my moms told me, my people used to be able to communicate with our gods in person from here. Back then, they were a lot more interested in what used to go on down here on earth. We even had a couple that offered to be our patrons amongst them. But, something happened." She trailed off.

"What?" Motoko asked. Su rarely talked about where she had come from, even to her. And she had never hinted at possessing any form of belief system before, other than t-t-t…those infernal creatures.

"Our records are hazy. An' there are several versions that my teachers have told me about. The only thing they seem to have in common is that my ancestors became too demanding in our petitioning of the gods, and too conceited in our dealings with them when they arrived to grant the favours. We had flaunted our position as favourites too much, and so for our arrogance we were abandoned. Those that had not enjoyed our accomplishments turned on us, seeking our prosperity for themselves. It was a falling out of epic proportions, which caused us to withdraw completely from the rest of the world for centuries." Su shivered, coming out of her memories. "Ever since, we have dealt with outsiders cautiously." Blinking, her usual high-wattage smile returned to her face again.

"Sorry 'bout that. It's been a long time since I thought about those old stories." She squirmed slightly. "In fact, they're kinda why I wanted to see the outside world so badly when I was younger. To find out whether the rest of the world still hated us for what had happened all that time ago." She giggled. "Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Mol-Mol had been all but forgotten by outsiders."

Motoko stared at her friend, seeing her in a slightly different way that she had ever before. "So…if this place was abandoned years ago-"

"Actually, I think they only turned off the lights about six hundred years ago."Su interrupted. "The Europeans were coming out of their dark ages about then, and beginning to explore in earnest again. It was getting harder to fly about without being seen."

Accepting the idea that Su's people had flight centuries before the rest of the world easily, (If her ancestors were anything like the genius Su was, it was hardly surprising, Motoko figured.) she continued, "If this place has been abandoned for all that time, how do you know someone is here?"

"Well, we actually don't know if someone is here, or if this place has finally begun to decay badly enough to corrupt the sensors left behind. So, as the nearest member of the royal family of Mol-Mol available," Su gritted her teeth as she said that, "it falls to me to drag my toned tushie out here and see what's what."

"Why you?" Was her first question. Then, what Su had just claimed hit her. "Waitaminute! Royal family? You?"

"Uh-huh." Su nodded, looking at Motoko innocently. "Didn't I ever tell you? I'm a bona fide princess."

"Since when?"

"Since I was born, silly."

"But…that's not what I… why didn't you…" Motoko was at a loss as to what to ask first. Damnit, she had allowed this girl to sleep with her and dried her tears in the dark of night. Didn't she trust her enough to keep a secret!

Su could read some of these emotions dancing across her friends face. Her next words were spoken in a more mature tone. "Part of the reason I came to Japan was to have a normal childhood for as long as I could. If I'd told you, our relationship would have been affected. I just…I wanted you to like me for who I really was, and not treat me any different. I'm sorry I never told you, Motoko. Please forgive me?" She finished with a whisper, fighting back tears.

Motoko absorbed this and walked in silence for a while.

"Very well." She said finally. "I forgive you, Kaolla. I came to Tokyo to get away from my own responsibilities, so I sort of understand, I guess." Being the Heir to the Shinmei-Ryu school of martial arts and ancestral dojo was something she had been born into, and was not a responsibility she was particularly eager to assume any time soon.

"Yay!" Su bounced up and down with relief, before launching herself at Motoko to give her a glomp. Not the easiest thing to do while they are both carrying large, heavy backpacks.

"AAKKKK!" Motoko yelped as what felt like several tonnes of gleeful princess and accompanying spare parts impacted on her, throwing her to the jungle floor.

Dusting herself off a little later and unable to stay annoyed at Su, Motoko attempted to get back on track with their conversation. "Um, why were you asked to come here again?" She asked as they entered a tunnel that seemed to lead through the stone wall they had encountered a few minutes earlier.

"Huh? Oh, it turns out that certain parts of this place are sacred. Only members of the royal family are allowed to enter them. Otherwise the automated defence system activates." Su explained with a shrug.

"Oh" Motoko was quite familiar with the defence systems that guard Su's room. As old as the ones in place here surely were, she guessed that she would be just as lethal. "So, where do we start?"

"Over there." Su pointed to what appeared to be a large courtyard. On the far side to them, a tunnel in the wall appeared to lead off towards another exit from the enclosed city. Streets branched off from the main clearing, leading to different parts. "Ah-ha!"

"What?"

"City map." Su pointed to a wall with a large mosaic set into it. "Lets see now…uh-huh…ummm…right…mm-hmm…" Su muttered to herself as she memorised the map. "This way." She pointed towards the same building Seta, Keitaro and Sarah had entered, a couple of days before. They were just about to cross the threshold when a shouted warning reached them.

"DON'T GO IN THERE!"

Su and Motoko turned to see a small blonde running towards them.

"Sarah?"

Notes: Before anyone gives me crap about the period thing, let me just say that it's the truth. If a group of women live together long enough, their menstrual cycles begin to align with each others. Something about more females being fertile at the same time, to increase their chances of getting pregnant. It's a biological leftover from our very distant ancestors.

Also, I have no idea what Kaolla's parents names are, so I made some up. (I went through my copy of the Manga twice. But I couldn't find them.)