Hina Digger Chapter 2, a Love Hina + Gold Digger Crossover fanfic

Due to the overall success of the first chapter...I haven't been flamed yet, here's the second one.

Note: "talking like this" for the moment, represents Japanese.

Chapter 2.

Haruka ground the stub of her cigarette into the overflowing ashtray, a scowl on her face that would have made a mountain get out of her path.

It had been three days now, three days and not a peep out of her errant cousin.

Now Haruka was may things, most of those very dangerous things, but there was one thing she abhorred more than anything else, and that was anything bad happening to her Keitaro, the only family member other than Granny Hina that mattered to her. In her youth, back when she had to baby-sit the boy, they had been nigh inseparable, she spoiled the brat rotten, as he was one of the very few people that could get her to smile simply for being what he was. Whenever he was bullied, he always ran to her, sure it got annoying having to listen to lectures about beating up kids, but it was worth it just to keep him safe.

One time he was run over by a car, it was then that his infamous immortality reared its infamous head. Shortly afterwards he began to spend more time at the inn, for 'treatment' his parents had said. Haruka hadn't said anything back then, but even then she'd had noticed the looks Keitaro's mother had given her own son, how she'd avoided touching him if she could help it, like he was diseased. Haruka had lost count of the times the boy had crawled into bed beside her, how she'd hold him gently until he fell into peaceful slumber denied in his mother's embrace.

A few years later, after the revelation that Keitaro's mother couldn't conceive anymore, the woman badgered her husband to adopt. On the plus side, Keitaro received a little sister to play with; on the other hand, with Haruka starting high school, the two saw each other less and less. They lost contact after she went to college, and it wasn't until Keitaro himself turned up at the converted inn that Haruka saw her Kei-chan again. True he kept mistaking her fer her own, long dead mother, but then that was Keitaro for you.

Now Naru's unfounded act of anger had possibly driven the man away yet again, something Haruka had tolerated thus far through the utilization of every ounce of self-control she'd accumulated over the years since her retirement from the field.

But no more, heads were going to roll, and if Keitaro wasn't found soon they were going to be strung up and set alight as well.

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Inside the dorms, everything seemed as normal. That is, normal for a funeral parlor.

Kitsune lounged, as always on the sofa in front of the TV, a bottle of sake within reach as she idly watched the news. If someone were to ask her what she was doing she'd merely reply with a grunt and go back to viewing. In the kitchen, Maehara Shinobu worked away at the ingredients for dinner, though without her usual luster. If anything, the girl seemed to be only going through the motions, a good sign of this being that the food was only slightly more appetizing than Motoko's cooking, which was bland on a good day.

Speaking of the resident Kendo-ka, she was currently on the roof practicing her strikes, grimacing as she realized that instead of doing better, she was actually doing worse. As a member of the legendary Shinmeiryuu School, she was more in tune with her surroundings than her fellow tenants, so she was the first to notice that the atmosphere around the inn had taken on a dull, almost leaden feeling. It was as if something had sucked the life right out of the area, leaving the tenants in a dull, humdrum shell of what had been their home.

Even the normally energetic Su was acting like she'd run out of juice. She still ate, but it was less than normal, (she didn't try to eat the table), she'd stopped bouncing off the walls in favour of sulking by the windowsills, heck she'd even given up on chasing Tama-chan! Though this was partially because the turtle had disappeared two days after Keitaro, taking the only working Keitaro radar with her, and without a 'sample' to provide the base of another, the Molmolian princess had no way of tracking down her favorite playmate/moving target.

Mutsumi seemed the only one physically unfazed by everything, but seeing as the anemic woman could appear clinically dead for a minute if struck by a passing breeze, that wasn't saying much. However, if anyone were to look closely they'd realize she was acting slightly less ditzy, and that whenever Naru entered the room, Mutsumi would leave either just before or slightly after.

Naru, of course, refused to accept any responsibility for Keitaro's disappearance, and Mutsumi's shunning of their practice sessions left the Todai hopeful in a foul temper. What had SHE done wrong? Keitaro did something stupid, she or Motoko, or both, retaliated, and he came crawling back to apologize like the good for nothing pervert he was, and everyone was happy. It was standard routine!

Only this time the pervert hadn't returned, so now everyone was shooting HER looks, like it was HER fault everything was going downhill. Motoko said nothing, but this meant little, as the Kendo-ka seemed more withdrawn lately, Kitsune and Su merely lounged around, not wanting to do anything, Mutsumi had all but turned her back on her fellow Todai aspirant, and Shinobu? Naru wondered if she'd even seen the timid girl for more than a few seconds everyday.

It was like they were avoiding her, like she was some dangerous animal that had barged into their lives and was refusing to let them leave.

'This is all that pervert's fault!' the emotionally repressed girl accused, falling back on the old stand-by of 'when in doubt: blame Keitaro', 'he's probably off flirting with some bimbos right now!'

Keitaro just knew he was in trouble when he tripped over the root, this was certified when his desperate attempts to grab onto something resulted in him grabbing a distinctly cloth-like object and pulling it down to the ground with him.

As he lay there, waiting for the BRFW (Blow of 'Righteous' Feminine Wrath), he became dimly aware that what he was holding could only be described as a towel, or failing that, a loincloth. Second, there was a pair of bare, distinctly MALE feet standing next to him, though covered in what looked suspiciously like tiger fur. Looking up revealed the shocked, and most definitely alarmed features of what could only be described as a tiger-man, who seemed to only now be coming to the conclusion that his goods were currently all on display.

Two feminine squeals tore through the air, the males snapping round to espy the Diggers sisters giggling and pointing at the sight. The tiger-man blushed an unusual shade of red, noticeable despite the thick fur, before leaping backwards so a handy bush concealed his lower body from their wandering eyes, though not before Gina could get a snapshot off.

"That ones definitely going onto my hard drive!" Gina exclaimed, lowering the digital camera as she grinned at her sibling, who was giggling like a schoogirl, quite a sight considering she was seven feet of compact muscle "weren't expecting that were you?"

"Did you see the look on his face!" Brittany giggled, holding her sides in mirth as she looked over at the bushes "Looked like a little lost kitten!"

Keitaro, a feeling of odd camaraderie coming over him, looked over at the mortified beast-man and held out his loincloth "Sorry." He offered, his accent heavy and broken, but his meaning clear in his expression "Not mean to."

The striped native nodded and took the loincloth, refastening it and walking out of the bush with as much dignity as he could afford to spare "I'm sorry for startling you." He offered, trying to ignore Brittany's hungry eyes as she eyed him like a slab of meat "But I must ask that you turn back."

"Why?" Gina asked, stashing away her camera as she spoke, swearing to all that was holy that she would not let anything happen to it "Is there something ahead we should know of? And who exactly are you?"

"I am Stripe." The man replied formally "The area you were advancing towards was once my home," his gaze grew heavy "now it is home to a dark evil, and I must prevent you from suffering the same fate as my people."

"Are," Brittany began, looking at the striped man hopefully, "Are you a were-cat like me?"

"I'm afraid not," Stripe countered, looking slightly confused at the term as he shook his head "I and the rest of my kind are called Kryn."

"Jinkies!" Gina exclaimed, her eyes widening in excitement "A race of catlike humanoids living right here in South America!" she nudged Keitaro playfully, "And THIS one in particular is making Cheetah blush!"

"GINA!" Brittany snapped, a flush adorning her features as she rounded on the two, Keitaro taking shelter behind Gina out of instinctive terror. Well, what would YOU do if a were-cat started glaring holes at you?

"You've never blushed over a guy before!" Gina teased, sweat dropping at Keitaro's use of her as a meat-shield "Besides, he's cute right?"

Brittany scoffed, turning back to face the Kryn while Gina tried to reassure Keitaro he wasn't about to become Cheetah-chow "I appreciate your concern Stripe." The lycanthrope stated, "But we MUST seek out the temple of gold, we won't turn back."

"Then I'll come with you." Stripe replied, gesturing with his hand down a hidden path through the undergrowth "Perhaps together we can ward off the evil that lurks inside."

Even though he could only understand the odd word, Keitaro couldn't help the feeling of impending doom at the Kryn's words.

"Have there been any reports as to the whereabouts of Urashima Keitaro?" the head of the council asked, eyeing his colleagues carefully, only to sigh as they pointedly looked away from his gaze "I see, this is indeed a predicament."

"Chairman." One of the members asked whilst standing up, "So far all of our resources have turned up naught, I'm afraid that we may have to take drastic measures if we are to ensure his survival."

"But isn't THAT going too far?" a second council member asked imploringly, concern and a hint of nervousness in his voice as he looked around the chamber "After all, they may be the cause but they're only children."

"Only two of those involved in this dilemma can be considered children." A third councilman countered, his tone dismissive and decidedly cold "The others are legally adults, or will be in a year or so."

"Still!" the second voice implored, getting to his feet to further illustrate his point, hands wide as he looked around "I'm as desperate to have the man tracked down as you, but there's a limit to how much we can do!"

"Limit?" the first repeated, "Has there been any 'limits' on our budget and profits since Urashima Keitaro took up residency here in Hinata?" he turned his gaze to the other council members "How many of us have seen our once failing venues skyrocket upon his arrival?" at the looks on the faces of his peers he nodded, "Can we really allow ANYTHING to threaten the very lifeblood of our fair city?"

"You have made your point." The chairman muttered, tapping his cane on the floor like a gavel "And I approve it, just keep the damage to the minimum, we don't want Keitaro-kun returning to a war zone."

And with that, the Hinata Inquisition was set into motion.

Keitaro sneezed, grimacing as he realized he'd inadvertently startled Stripe. The Kryn had been guiding them through the jungle for some time now, accessing a hidden door in a mountain side which had led to a massive cavern, big enough to fit the entire Tokyo university campus, with room to spare. The trip had been mostly uneventful; save for the kannrin activating every trap Stripe had set up to protect the entryway, despite being warned beforehand. Luckily said traps had been set up to ward off intruders, rather than kill, so the only thing that was bruised was his pride.

As it was, he was currently squatting near the Diggers, Stripe having gone on ahead to ensure the path was safe, meaning he was removing the rest of the traps before Keitaro could set them off, and for the past five minutes the two had been going on about something, the taller of the two seemingly quite excited.

Now Keitaro was no expert on females, he had the mental scars to prove it, and his English was far too coarse for him to be certain, but he'd seen enough of Kitsune's cheesy soaps to recognize the lycanthrope had developed one HELL of a crush on Stripe, and from the way she was practically swooning and hugging herself Stripe wouldn't know what hit him when she got her hands on him.

"You okay Keitaro?" Gina called out to him, ignoring her giggling sister as she turned to their unexpected party member, noting his slight flinch at being addressed so suddenly "Hope you're not feeling left out."

"Just homesick" he assured her, resting his head against the cavern wall, "That, and worried, who knows what's going on back at the inn."

Gina blinked at the man's words in confusion. From what Keitaro had revealed during his introduction he should be HAPPY to be away from the dorms. She couldn't imagine some of the stuff he'd been put through since being railroaded into the job, let alone how one man could be so unlucky.

'Could it be a curse?' she wondered idly, honestly giving the idea some thought 'It seems to fit the profile, maybe he inadvertently got involved in something when he was a kid?' She was shaken out of her thoughts by the return of Stripe, holding out a hand to help Keitaro up, only to blink as he got up himself.

"Trust me." Keitaro assured her morosely, though with an apologetic smile "Something bad would've happened, I know my own luck."

Gina blinked as they fell into step behind Stripe, missing the Kryn's introduction to his home until a glint of gold caught her attention. "ZOINKS!" she yelped, eyes widening in shock at the sheer amount of gold presented before her. Every street, every bench, hell even the buildings themselves was made of the stuff!

"EL DORADO?!" Keitaro squawked, eyes widening as he gaped around him in confusion "HOW? WHEN?!"

"I don't know exactly how long," Stripe replied, a hint of pride in his tone as he took in their awestruck faces "But apparently this gold was the only building material here when my ancestors built the city." He sighed, gazing at the silent towers sadly, whilst in the background Gina and Keitaro began gazing at the carvings in awe. He blinked as Brittany placed a hand on his shoulder, her sympathetic gaze warming his heart.

"I've hit the mother load!" Gina exclaimed, ignorant of the fuzzy moment (pun intended) going on between her sister and the Kryn Prince, "Take that archaeology weekly! Gina Diggers strikes again!"

"Gina-san!" Keitaro called out; holding up an urn that looked oddly out of place for the blonde to see, the three eyes gazing back at her certainly didn't look Aztec, or indiginous to peru for that matter "Check out THIS beauty!"

"Good find!" Gina exclaimed, marveling over how the Kanrinin had apparently pulled the thing out of thin air, especially since there wasn't anywhere to dig in except a nearby garden "I've never seen a relic like this, and it's in perfect condition!"

"What did you find there?" Stripe asked, walking up to them with a grumbling Cheetah on his heels, the were-cat muttering something about nerds, the Kryn blinking at the sight of the urn in the Ronin's hands "Where on earth did you get that?"

"Keitaro found it," Gina replied, holding it up for the Kryn to see better, marvelling at how well preserved the piece of pottery was after so long underground "Is it one of your relics? Should I leave it here?"

"I can honestly say I've never seen a pot like that before in my life." Stripe replied with a straight face, a little unnerved by the ever-watching eyes "And all our ancestral relics have been accounted for, whatever this is must have been here before El Dorado was built."

"Jinkies!" Gina exclaimed, eyeing the urn in amazement, a little unnerved at the ever-watchful eyes gazing back at her "This is incredible! Right Keitaro?" she blinked as she realized the man had disappeared "Keitaro?"

"Wow! Gina-san!" the kannrin called out, startling the group as he held up another urn, the same eye motif around the neck looking out at everyone "This thing looks like it's hundreds of years old!"

"How the heck is he finding those things?" Brittany asked, a bead of sweat running down her head as the kannrin decimated some poor flowerbed in his desire to unearth as many things as possible "He doesn't even have any tools!"

"I'm not sure I want to know." Stripe replied nervously, as Gina leapt into the fray, the two nattering away in Japanese about Keitaro's latest find. He flinched as a shiver ran up his spine, dodging to the side as a stone fist missed his jaw by a hair. "Watch out!" he warned the group "If they come in contact with your blood you become like them!"

"DASKETE!"

Gina blinked, gasping as a veritable horde of stone Kryn, mostly female, ganged up on Keitaro, who was running around like his ass was on fire, arms waving comically in the air. "Hold on Keitaro!" she called out, pulling out one of her patented 'death star cannons', as Brittany put it and taking aim "Set phasers to flame-broil!" she yelled, before a concentrated burst of energy erupted from the barrel of her gun, knocking her off her feet. "Jinkies! That was my Tachyon Beam! I meant to use my Photon Charge!" she looked around desperately, "How many did I hit? And where's Keitaro?!"

"You totally missed all of them!" Brittany countered, sighing in relief, "The friggin' shockwave from the blast took out half though." She sweatdropped as she pointed at a singed figure staggering towards them "that is…I THINK you missed…"

Gina gaped at the staggering form of Keitaro, who had taken the brunt of the blast that could have leveled a small mountain, coming out of it looking like he'd been covered in soot. "Are you okay?" she asked, only for him to give a victory sign before passing out on her chest.

"I swear!" Brittany seethed, picking the recumbent Ronin up and slapping him back to semi-consciousness "This guy's like bad luck personified!" she blinked as a stone hand grabbed her collar, hurling her though the air and into Stripe like a feline shot-putt. She whirled around to protect the Kryn, only for the last of the living statues to shatter under a burst of Photon energy.

"Isn't technology wonderful?" Gina asked, blowing on her barrel coyly, her free hand resting on her hip as she eyed her sister in bemusement "You can get up now Cheetah, and I SAW you coppin' a feel on Stripe! The shame!"

"I was NOT!" Brittany shot back, blushing at being caught out but willing to go down fighting, "I was bracing for a counter-attack." She sighed as she helped the Kryn to his feet, "Anyway, thanks for the save." She eyed the moaning form over her sister's shoulder "How's Keitaro?"

The Ronin, lying face down on the ground, raised his soot-stained face and repeated the victory signal with a weak smile that was more of a grimace, his glasses sporting numerous cracks. "Okay…desu." He managed to get out, a spurt of blood erupting from the top of his skull, earning sweat drops from the others.

'Looks like old Gold Digger struck it big this time, both in the wealth and the risk!' a figure noted, decked out in similar attire as Gina, only with an explorers hat rather than a stylish homage to Indiana. 'I've got to get to the really good stuff before she does though, the trouble is if I roam around in the open I'm sure to get jumped by those stone things!'

She turned to the concealed tunnel she'd uncovered with a smirk, 'Fortunately, this is just what the doctor ordered!'

All was quiet on the Hinata front, which was decidedly unnatural. Even on a slow day there should have been some noise coming from the old inn turned dorms. It was so quiet in fact, that most people were already heading for the hills, having attained sudden enlightenment that being in the general vicinity of the dorms would prove detrimental to their health and insurance policies.

Konno Mitsune, or Kitsune as she was more commonly known as, yawned lazily as she shut off the television. Not only had her horse failed to win the race again, the blasted nag actually had the audacity to drop dead just as the race started.

'Stupid thing didn't even clear it's freakin' stall!' she exclaimed miserably, arms behind her head, accentuating her bust as she walked down the hall with a huff 'on top of that, it's dull as hell around here! All the excitement's gone!'

Unlike the other tenants, Mitsune wasn't one to let much faze her. It took something big to startle the resident fox, but oh so little for her to startle others. Keitaro had been a primary source of her entertainment since he got here, not to mention the inspiration for her work as a writer, and source of a lot of her guilty nighttime fantasies, and with him gone the opportunities just seemed to dry up.

"God I wish something would happen around here." She muttered, only to scream as someone smashed trough the screen doors, dressed in full riot gear and carrying the biggest damn shotgun she'd ever seen. She turned on her heel, only to tumble over as a net was launched at her, wrapping her up tighter than some of the outfits she had stashed away in her 'private' chest.

Motoko came barreling down the stairs at the noise, sword at the ready as she prepared to handle the intruders, only for something that looked like an 'X' to be fired at her, slamming into her side and smashing her against the wall, out cold.

Su's cackling heralded the resident mad scientist descending the stairs, 'Ride of the Valkeries' playing on hidden speakers, her guns and a fleet of Mecha-Tama at the ready, only for the turtles to abruptly shut off, falling to the ground like hail as her guns sputtered and died, their energy drained, leaving the stunned Molmolian to secured before she could figure out what happened, handcuffed and set down beside a nervous Shinobu, who was the only one unrestrained.

"Majority of targets acquired." One of the assailants reported over an intercom in his black helmet whilst the others silently swept the area around them "Currently apprehending prime suspect."

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE YOU PERVERTS?!"

And with that, Narusegawa Naru launched herself at the intruders from around the corner, fist at the ready, preparing to vent all of her frustration on them in lieu of her usual punching bag. However, the difference between Keitaro and the group of armed assailants were that unlike the hapless Ronin, these guys were QUITE used to dealing with far worse threats than Naru provided.

That's why, rather than sending the closest intruder through the wall with her patented Naru-punch, the violent tempered ringleader of the Hinata Harem found herself staring down the barrels of several Riot Guns as they opened fire with a hail of rubber bullets, her last conscious thought before her head hit the floor being that this was somehow Keitaro's fault.

Keitaro regained consciousness with a jolt, wondering why on earth he had the sudden urge to beg for forgiveness. He sat up, looking around to find he was currently alone with Gina, who was muttering to herself as she poured over some information in a book. "Gina-san?" he called out, startling the adventurer out of her mutterings "Where are Stripe-san and Cheetah-san?"

"Getting better acquainted." The blonde muttered sullenly, pouring over the data again with a huff, "I swear, guys just fall all over her, whilst I gotta practically knock 'em over with a spiked club to get them to notice me!" she snorted, pouting in a manner that caused Keitaro to flush slightly "God must hate me or something."

"That can't be right," Keitaro countered reassuringly, "I mean, you look pretty good to me." He blushed at what he just said, waving his arms before him defensively "I mean…what I meant to say was…PLEASE DON'T HIT ME!"

Gina blinked as the Ronin held up his arms to defend his face, fighting the urge to giggle at how adorable he looked, before shaking her head, "Like what you see huh? Go ahead, it's free to look." She held up her blaster playfully, "But you touch it you buy it, got it?"

"Yes ma'am." Keitaro agreed, sighing in relief at not being accused of perverseness, only to blink as she stood up.

"Come on," Gina instructed, shouldering her pack as she looked over the details in her computer-book "Let's see if we can find the center of the tower."

Keitaro nodded, blinking as he picked up what felt like an arrowhead, gazing at it in confusion, wondering where it had come from. Shrugging it off, he put the sliver of stone in his back pocket, hoping it didn't fall out due to his clothes state of disrepair.

"Gina-san." He called out nervously, eyeing the silent city as he caught up to the woman, "Don't you think it's a little too quiet?"

"Stripe said the whole city was turned into those stone things." Gina replied, not looking up from her book as she walked along, her brow furrowing cutely in thought "It's only natural it would be quiet."

"Great," Keitaro moaned, shaking his head ruefully "I always wanted to play Biohazard, now I'm living it." He shivered as his hackles rose, looking up to espy the figure dropping towards Gina from above "LOOK OUT!"

Gina gasped as she was pushed out of the way, the two falling in a tangle of limbs, the contents of her backpack scattering across the floor, the fossilized Kryn landed badly on the floor behind them, legs shattering from the impact. She looked up, only to blink at how close Keitaro's chocolate brown eyes were to her own baby blues. A closer examination revealed they were currently in a rather precarious position, something that would have given Cheetah quite a bit of blackmail to lord over her if the Lycanthrope had been there.

"S-sorry!" Keitaro exclaimed, backing away from her prone form as if she'd pulled a gun on him, a prospect that terrified him considering the type of heat she was packing "I, I only meant to…I didn't mean to-!"

"Keitaro-san! Calm down!" Gina exclaimed, righting herself with a grunt "It was an accident okay? You were just trying to…LOOK OUT!"

Keitaro blinked, only to scream as the Kryn from before leaped at him, the two tussling on the ground as Gina dived for her gun, which had landed not too far away, the Ronin nearly wetting himself in terror as the things fangs clipped closer to his neck with each try.

"Hang on Keitaro!" Gina called out, trying to take aim, but the two were far too close for her to get a decent shot. Deciding to go with what worked, she fired a warning shot, which the Kryn dodged, leaving a gasping Keitaro on the dirt. She yelped as the Kryn leapt at her instead, her stone hand slapping the weapon aside and pouncing on the blonde in one smooth motion.

"You two shall join us." The she-thing graveled, pinning the blonde adventurer down as she tried to lean forwards, only for Gina's computer book to bounce off her stone head, followed by a canteen and a few rocks.

"Leave her alone!" Keitaro yelled, wondering why he seemed to be the only one who couldn't speak English here, eyes glancing off a red stone near his foot and picking it up to hurl at the beast, only to gape as she turned her attentions to him "Uh…naisu kitty…!" he stammered brokenly, only to yelp as the Kryn turned monster lunged at him, crossing his arms in front of his face defensively. A flash of light emanated from the stone in his palm, followed by something furry barreling into him, knocking him to the floor.

Gina blinked, gazing in shock at the female, most definitely LIVING Kryn as she lay moaning atop the startled Ronin. She could see now what Keitaro had meant by his earlier comment, the way the two had landed would give anyone ideas, most definitely the wrong ones. "Are you okay?" she called out, dashing over and helping the confused Ronin from beneath his furry prison "Jinkies, how'd you do that?"

"I don't know." Keitaro admitted, staring at the unconcious female in confusion, before remembering the stone in his hands, holding it up forGina to see "But I think this had something to do with it."

"The gem of returning!" Gina exclaimed in understanding, taking the gem from the Ronin's unresisting grip and looking it over with renewed interest "It must have some kind of magic power!"

"You won't see ME denying it!" Keitaro agreed, eyeing the recumbent form of the female Kryn concernedly "Should we leave her out here like this?"

Gina frowned, before shaking her head, "We don't have time to wait for her to wake up, and besides, there could be more lurking around." She shouldered her pack, having gathered up everything as she spoke, "Stash her out of sight under that bench, it'll have to do for now."

Keitaro nodded, dragging the moaning form and stuffing her under a bench where, hopefully, no one would notice her "What now?" he asked, eyeing his companion confusedly.

"First." Gina muttered, "We track down Stripe and Cheetah," her eyes flashed dangerously "And if they were making out while we were in trouble I'll give them such a pinch!"

Keitaro sweatdropped at the scowl on her face, secretly glad that HE wasn't the intended victim this time round, only for his eyes to widen as a hand came out of the shadows and covered his mouth. "Keep your hands where I can see 'em Gold Digger!" a voice called out in a stage whisper, loud enough to be heard, low enough to avoid attracting undue attention. "Unless you like the idea of your friend here becoming a pincushion!"

Gina whirled around to gape in shock at the figure behind Keitaro. "Penny!" she exclaimed, partially out of disbelief, partially out of anger, at the sight of one of her fiercest rivals "Penny Pincher!"

"That's PINCER!" the other woman growled, pointing her crossbow at Keitaro's neck for emphasis, much to the man's horror. He didn't like the idea of being used as a shield, immortal or not.

"You screw with MY name and I'll screw with yours!" Gina countered, though she kept her arms in the air. Penny nodded, stepping forwards with Keitaro before her like a human shield until they were up close.

"I believe I'M the one with the upper hand this time." Penny stated, pressing forwards as she disarmed her rival, Keitaro beginning to sweat, as not only were Penny's breasts pressing into his back, his close proximity to Gina meant he was being effectively sandwiched between the two. "So first, I'll relieve you off the horrible hand cannon of yours…" she grinned as she tossed the gun aside, "Then get you back for the 'Melvin' you gave me back in Budapest!"

As Penny's hand shot forward to seek her revenge however, Gina instinctively took a step back, her rival's hand grabbing hold of the first article of clothing it could find, in this case the front of Keitaro's long abused shorts and pulling upwards savagely.

The sound of ripping fabric echoed throughout El Dorado, leaving Keitaro shivering at the sudden chill. 'This won't end well.' He predicted, just before two feminine screams filled the air once again.

oh dear...looks like Keitaro's developing a bit of a 'pants thing' isn't he?

Feed me Reviews and I shall churn out chapters.

And yes, I hate Naru.

R&R or no goods for you!