Love Hina: Once Again
Twenty
Mutsumi Otohime leaned in towards Tennyo, giving the white haired woman a chance to dodge. When she didn't Mutsumi let their mouths press together, kissing the other woman lingeringly as her summer dress flowed around her.
"Hmm," Tennyo leaned into the kiss, letting a hand run up the other woman's back. Mutsumi's lush body pressed into her's making her heart race as they kissed, her own not as shapely figure confined in one of her casual business suits..
With great reluctance Mutsumi pulled back, her brown hair flowing down her back as she blinked sleepily. "Oh, that was nice," she sighed happily.
"I'm sorry if I've been a bit strange about this," Tennyo admitted as they sat together at one of the Cafe Hinata tables, a just finished dinner scattered on the table.
"You seemed kind of scared of me," Mutsumi sounded more amused than anything else as she smiled at Tennyo warmly.
Tennyo laughed softly as she explained, "Not scared, just cautious. I wanted you to be sure of what you were doing."
"I'm not a innocent child, Tennyo," Mutsumi said as she rested her hand on Tennyo's cheek and looked at her fondly.
Tennyo looked sheepish, "I know, but... it's complicated."
This time Mutsumi took Tennyo's hands in her's, squeezing them gently as she said, "Then tell me about it."
"It might be easier to show you," Tennyo admitted, "want to come outside with me?"
"Certainly," Mutsumi agreed.
The two women settled up with Shinobu and headed out, the younger girl wishing them both a good night. Shinobu smiled as she added, "Kitsune and I will close up tonight, so take your time."
"Thank you," Mutsumi chuckled as they left the cafe.
"Do they think we're going to...?" Tennyo chuckled as they walked together between buildings around the Hinata Inn.
"It wouldn't surprise me," Mutsumi laughed. She had certainly made her intentions clear towards Tennyo when she was asking her co-workers for advice.
Tennyo lead her to the back of one of the buildings, where they were out of line of sight from most of the complex. She stopped them there and looked at Mutsumi searchingly, "What I'm going to tell you has to stay a secret, all right?"
"Of course," Mutsumi nodded, seeing how serious she was.
Tennyo pushed her white hair back nervously, "When I moved here I told Kanako that I was coming back from overseas. That was true... but not totally."
Mutsumi asked quietly, "So where are you from?"
Tennyo reached into her jacket and took out what looked like a wooden sword hilt. "I was born in Japan," she said as she held it, "but my bloodline is from another world,." With that she concentrated and a shimmering blade of blue light appeared, emerging from the hilt like some kind of lightsaber!
"Oh my," Mutsumi blinked, "it's beautiful!"
"Thanks," Mutsumi smiled faintly. "Uhm, it doesn't bother you that...?"
"You might be a alien?" Mutsumi smiled shyly. "Tennyo, I know a magically powered shrine maiden, a mystic swordswoman and a pint-sized mad scientist. What's a alien added to that?"
Tennyo laughed so hard she couldn't maintain the sword, the blade flickering out. "Point," she admitted, smiling. "I'm also... a bit older than you," she admitted.
"Good," Mutsumi stepped close, smiling up at her. "I'm told you can learn a lot from a... experienced woman," she teased.
"Mutsumi!" Tennyo blushed, laughing. "Come on," she said as she tugged her forward, "I think we should continue this conversation privately."
"Let's," Mutsumi agreed as she took her hand and squeezed it gently.
Meanwhile, Kitsune was shaking her head with amusement as they closed up the cafe. The boyish blond smiled as she wondered, "Do you think Mutsumi is finally going to get lucky?"
"Kitsune, don't be crude,." Shinobu laughed, the black haired slim young woman finishing off stacking the clean dishes.
"I am not," Kitsune chuckled. "But she's been mooning after Tennyo for so long..."
"Yeah," Shinobu agreed, "but it was kind of sweet to watch, too. Sort of romantic."
"You think unrequited love is romantic?" Kitsune asked, remembering a certain crush she had on a older man that went nowhere.
"True," Shinobu admitted as they walked out together, locking up the cafe behind them. "I mean, I sometimes wish I had gotten Keitaro."
The two walked outside, breathing deep the evening air. "Is there anyone you're after right now?" Kitsune asked, feeling a bit guilty that she hadn't been keeping up with the younger girl as much as she once had.
"No, not really," Shinobu shook her head. "I'm concentrating on school for now."
"I've been pretty busy too," Kitsune agreed, juggling her duties at the cafe with the Phantom Quest Corp branch she was running.
They went into the Inn itself, both women taking their shoes off at the door. "Want to help with dinner?" Shinobu asked politely.
"If you don't mind I need to catch up with some paper work," Kitsune admitted sheepishly. "You gonna be okay?" she asked.
"It's fine," Shinobu laughed.
As Shinobu passed through the house she looked in on her friends where she could, as well as seeing how many there were for dinner. Rei and Ami were both in, as was Anthy, and she knew that Kitsune, Tennyo and Mutsumi were all likely to join them. Motoko was out, surprisingly, as was their landlady Kanako.
"Evening," Ema Maeda smiled from where the younger woman was sitting at the kitchen table, working on something on her laptop.
"Hello, Ema," Shinobu smiled back warmly. The younger woman was working on getting into Tokyo University, and looked up to her and the others. It was a strange experience for Shinobu, who was more used to following than leading.
"Can I help with dinner?" Ema offered, shutting down her laptop and getting up from the table.
"I wouldn't say no," Shinobu admitted with a smile as they both went into the kitchen. Getting down materials from the shelves she asked, "How are your mock exams going?"
"Better," Ema smiled, "thanks to the tutoring I'm getting from you, Motoko and Ami-sama."
"Ami-sama?" Shinobu looked amused as they got the rest of the cooking pots out.
"She's brilliant," Ema offered with a certain amount of hero worship in her eyes.
Shinobu laughed softly, but she also had to acknowledge the point. Ami had been fast-tracked into advanced courses in medicine, and probably would be a doctor several years early. "Well, be careful not to take too much of her time," she cautioned, "Ami has a very heavy course load."
"I will," Ema promised.
For a moment Shinobu was distracted thinking of the strong partnership that Ami and Rei had. They let each other do their own thing with medicine and miko duties, yet were also there for each other when needed. She sometimes wished she could find that kind of partnership herself, some day.
"Be careful," Ema cautioned, catching a plate that nearly fell out of her hand.
"Thanks," Shinobu looked sheepish.
Ema smiled up at her, "Maybe you could teach me how to cook, a bit?" She looked down shyly, "You shouldn't have to cook as much as you do."
"I like it," Shinobu told her warmly, "but thank you for asking."
"You're welcome," Ema smiled back as they worked together.
Up in their room Rei Hino and Ami Mizuno lay in a tangle of sheets, sleepily relaxing after coming home and nearly falling into bed together. Ami lifted her head from Rei's bare belly as she mused, "I think I like this side of you."
Rei blushed slightly. Normally she was the aggressor in their relationship, but tonight she had let Ami take the lead. It had been surprisingly fun, letting someone else call the shots. "Thanks," she said, reaching out to gently play with her blue hair.
"Too bad we have to be down for dinner later," Ami sat up, stretching then grabbing at her clothes, "or I'd go for round too."
"Me too," Rei admitted, sitting up herself. "Have a good day?' she asked curiously.
"New section on mutating viral subcultures," Ami said dryly, "ick."
Rei laughed softly, "I can imagine. Or maybe not..."
"Just think of some of the grosser things we fought as Sailor Senshi," Ami suggested, "it'd get the point across." Both women put on casual clothes, tossing their school and work clothes in the hamper to be washed later.
"If you need any extras, I got my pay from Kitsune today," Rei noted as she pulled her light shirt on over dark pants.
"How's the work?" Ami asked as they took a moment to tidy up the bed. They weren't expecting company, but you never knew around here.
"Interesting," Rei laughed. "Everything from rogue kappa to real demons and other monsters. It's a change from formal Miko stuff, but fun."
"I sort of wish I could go out with you all," Ami admitted as they shut the door to their suite and walked down to the dining room, "but..."
"I don't think they need to know about Sailor Mercury," Rei said quietly. She smiled wryly, "Not unless things go spectacularly wrong, anyway."
"Let's hope that never happens," Ami said, then smiled at their friends as they entered the dining room. "Hello, everyone."
"Finally leaving your love shack?" Kitsune leered impishly.
"Kitsune," Shinobu scolded, whapping her with the paper.
"Oww!" Kitsune winced as Tennyo and Mutsumi came in, holding hands.
'Well, isn't that interesting,' Rei noted as they sat down to eat.
To be continued...
Twenty One
The creatures boiled out of the abandoned well, howling for blood. Misshapen, warped by dark magic and darker urges the things were utterly inhuman, ripping into the turf with fang and claw. They staggered about aimlessly to start with, then quickly oriented on the defenders.
"I don't like this at all," Setsuna Coral said flatly, the archeologist hefting the bone boomerang with a experience born of instinct rather than skill. She was the reincarnation of a ancient fighter, and it seemed some of those abilities resided in her very soul.
"I've called for more help," Kagome promised, her own black hair shimmering as she drew her bow. Her eyes were narrowed intently as she aimed, watching the beasts as they neared.
Mutsumi Yohino chanted as she shook the staff, her words seemingly hurting the demons that were crawling towards them. "The more I do this kind of thing the easier it gets," she grumbled, shaking her head ruefully. "Damn it, I'm not even a Buddhist!" she complained.
Kagome hid a smile as she looked at her two new friends. A few weeks ago she had gone on a field trip to a archeological site where the demon hunter Sango's village once was, where she had met both women. She had been mildly surprised how much Setsuna resembled her comrade Sango, even as Mutsumi resembled the perverted priest Miroku. She had written it off as a coincidence at first, but when demons attacked the dig Setsuna had taken up Sango's boomerang with supernatural skill.
As the first rank of demons hit InuYasha leaped out from cover, yelling out a attack as he slashed into the creatures. Ichor flew as his silver claws ripped through inhuman flesh, sending the beasts reeling backwards. "Hah!" he smiled, white hair flowing around him as he cheerfully added, "Nice job being bait."
Setsuna grunted with effort as she threw the boomerang, the bone weapon tearing through another rank of demons as they scrambled for cover. "How many of them are there?" she growled as she caught the weapon.
"Too many?" Mutsumi answered her dryly, calmly swinging her staff to clobber a stray that got too close to them.
There was a crash and a loud thump and Kagome looked up as a group of women rushed through the trees. They hurried towards where the four of them were making a stand, the boyish looking woman taking the lead.
"What's the situation?" Kitsune demanded, wearing a heavy backpack and carrying some kind of high tech gun connected to it. Her clipped short brown hair fell into her eyes, the t-shirt and slacks she wore enhancing her boyish looks.
"The owner of the property found the boarded up well," Kagome said briskly, "she thought there might be water, so she pried the boards up."
"And broke a seal," Kitsune anticipated, nodding. "So we need to drive the youkai back inside then restore the seal?"
Setsuna blinked, mildly astonished at her matter of fact tone of voice. "You sound like you do this often," she noted, surprised, as she watched the women form a battle line along with InuYasha.
"We're professionals," Kitsune smiled, then offered her hand, "I don't think we've met?"
"Sorry," Kagome laughed, "this is Setsuna Coral, she's a archeologist who is also a reincarnation of a demon hunter."
"And this is my lecherous girlfriend Mutsumi," Setsuna said as she shook Kitsune's hand.
"Hi," Mutsumi nodded respectfully.
Kagome looked over the crew Kitsune brought, recognizing all of them from past cases they'd worked together. Motoko Aoyama and Tennyo Misaki were hefting wooden swords, while Utena Tenjou carried a shimmering fencing blade. Rei Hino was carrying talismans as the Shinto priestess chanted softly, while Anthy Himemiya stood nearby, her eyes narrowed in concentration. Finally Koalla Su hefted a similar cannon to the one Kitsune carried, while Ema Maeda chronicled the events for her website.
"All right everyone," Kitsune ordered as she aimed the canon, "let's go!"
Twin streams of destructive energy swept across the mob of demons, Kitsune and Su's bolts making them keen in anger and pain. Almost as one the warriors advanced, moving forward slow and steady. As they moved Setsuna tossed her bone boomerang, cleaving into the youkai then catching the weapon on the rebound.
Howling with fury a bunch of the monsters charged the group, but the swordsmen were ready. With the familiarity of long practice Tennyo, Utena and Motoko cut the monsters down before they could reach their friends, splattering their blades with slime.
"Humh!" Mutsumi grunted with effort as the slim woman cratered in one demon with her metal tipped staff. She kept close to Setsuna;s side, watching over her lover as they drove through the demon army to reach the well.
There was a pool of 'calm' around the well, the latest back of demons having moved out to join the group surrounding them. The warriors moved out in a circle around the well, close enough to cover each other, even as the spiritualists went to work.
With several small gestures Anthy reassembled the cover to the well, even as rose petals swirled around the young woman. "There," she sighed tiredly.
Rei examined the torn seals on the wood, all of them weathered with age. "We're going to have to change them," she said seriously, taking out seal-charms from her Miko uniform.
"Right," Kagome helped place them, the two working together much as they did when they practiced together at the shrine.
"Then you have to charge them, right?" Mutsumi asked, watching intently. This was almost living history, and as a historian she was very interested.
"WE have to charge them," Rei corrected, putting her hands over the charms.
"Hurrying would be good!" Kitsune yelled as she blasted the head off another demon then swept the swirling mass with her beam weapon.
"Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" InuYasha cried, channeling his power through his claws to rip and tear through enemies.
Motoko used a Shinmei Ryu school attack to drive back more of them, the black haired woman panting softly in exertion. "This is worse than the last demon breakout," she noted grimly.
Rei, Kagome and Mutsumi all channeled spiritual energy into the seals, the two mikos helping guide Mutsumi in what she was doing. The youkai could feel what was happening and redoubled their efforts, trying to roll over the warriors before the seal could be complete.
Tennyo's sword was pulled from her grip, embedded in a youkai's torso. Cursing softly she kicked it away as she reached into her coat, pulling out what looked like a sword hilt. She focused her will and a energy blade issued from the hilt, with which she began cutting down demons.
"Wow," Utena muttered, slicing a demon's head off with her blade as she panted, "have you been holding out on us?"
"Family secret thing," Tennyo answered flatly.
"Got it," Motoko agreed as she cut another foe down.
The seals glowed brightly beneath their hands as the youkai howled, then all three women gasped tiredly as the barrier formed. The monsters howled their rage at being cut off from the portal they emerged from, but were also weakened by the loss. With a furious cry they tried a final, massed attack to overwhelm the group, but the women and InuYasha beat them back then began to destroy them.
"Everyone okay?" Kitsune demanded as she looked the team over.
"That was fun!" Su grinned, the dark skinned little girl practically bouncing.
Ema was leaning against the well, the young woman looking green from the slaughter. "That was...," she trailed off, unsure how to put her feelings into words.
Setsuna calmly shook the gore off her boomerang, the young woman looking deeply weary. "Does this happen to you often?" she asked tiredly.
"Third time for me," Kagome offered.
"We've had a few too," Kitsune nodded tiredly as she sent a team of Rei, Motoko and Setsuna to hunt down any stragglers.
"Incredible," Mutsumi sighed tiredly, the young woman letting her hand slip down to Rei's bottom before she moved off.
"Pervert!" Setsuna whacked her lover upside the head before Rei could do anything too lethal.
"Oww," Mutsumi winced.
"Grr," Rei made a snarling sound deep in her throat then stalked off after the others.
"Are you trying to get killed?" Kitsune asked the woman wryly. "She's scary enough, but her girlfriend is a med student..."
Mutsumi paled. "You mean they'd never find the body?" she gulped.
"Or worse," Anthy nodded gravely. The violet haired woman looked at Kagome, "Are sealed gates like this common?"
"It's beginning to look like it," Kagome admitted tiredly. She looked over to where Kitsune was guiding the clean up efforts, "Maybe I should put you guys on my speed dial."
"Are Mutsumi and I going to be on your speed dial too?" Setsuna asked, her ponytail flowing down her back. She smiled tiredly, "Because the two of us do have archeology to work on too."
"I'll try not to," Kagome shrugged eloquently, "but..."
Setsuna laughed softly, nodding her agreement. "Yeah," she admitted, "sometimes it's just not under your control."
"Let's pack up the Proton Packs," Su ordered as she and Kitsune hauled the heavy gear back to the battered Hinata Inn van.
Ema walked up to Setsuna and Mutsumi and smiled nervously. "Uhm," she said tentatively, "would either of you mind if I included you on our website?"
"You have a website?" Mutsumi asked, blinking.
"Yes," Ema used her laptop to show Mutsumi the 'Phantom Quest Corp' site as well as the pictures and youtube videos attached to it. "I got some good footage of you and Ms. Coral, too," she added, running the media player.
"That's kind of cool," Setsuna conceded as she watched a clip of her throwing the boomerang. "Can you blur our faces, though?" she asked.
"Why?" Ema sounded a touch disappointed.
"We're trying to maintain our careers as archeologists," Mutsumi reminded her gently, "movies like this would make that... difficult."
Ema blushed, realizing they were right. "I'll only use clips that don't show your faces," she promised sincerely.
"Fair enough," Setsuna agreed, nodding.
To be continued...
Notes: Setsuna and Mutsumi are both from my fanfic 'Second Lives' and are the reincarnations of Sango and Miroku from InuYasha. I thought it might be interesting to tie that fic into this one, as well as connect all this to my Arisugawa/Crystal Tokyo canon. Heh! I was banging around it being a haunted house unleashing the monsters, but a well was easier to write.
Twenty Two
Keitaro Urashima smiled as he and his wife Naru Narusegawa got off the plane at Tokyo airport, walking together down the ramp. "It's nice to take a vacation," Keitaro sighed, the brown haired young man pushing up his square framed glasses.
"Too bad we're only getting a few days," Naru chuckled softly, her long brown hair flowing down her back. Almost unconsciously the teacher reached out to take her husband's hand, squeezing it softly in her own.
"Well, the kids at the island would miss you," Keitaro pointed out reasonably, "and Seto needs me at the site, too."
Both Keitaro and Naru were employed on the same remote tropical island, one which contained several major archeological sites of a rumored 'turtle' civilization. Naru was a teacher at a small school there, handling students from pre-school to high school, and Keitaro was a high ranking assistant archeologist and digger alongside the students.
"Hey, Keitaro!" a familiar voice called, "Naru!"
Mitsune 'Kitsune' Konno was standing in the busy airport, waving a arm as the boyish sandy haired woman beamed. Beside her was a stranger, a tall woman with long white hair, a gentle smile on her handsome face.
"Kitsune," Naru hugged her, the two old friends beaming at each other.
"Hello," Keitaro bowed slightly to the stranger as he politely introduced himself, "I'm Keitaro Urashima, nice to meet you."
"Tennyo Masaki," the woman bowed back as she added teasingly, "I've heard a lot about you."
"I hope you'll disregard most of it," Keitaro smiled wryly, scratching at the back of his head a bit sheepishly.
"Looking good, Keitaro," Kitsune clapped him on the back so hard she nearly knocked the slim man right over.
"Miss Misaki," Naru smiled while Keitaro was talking to Kitsune, "it's nice to meet you. Several of my friends have mentioned you in their letters."
"I've made several friends at the Hinata Dorm," Tennyo acknowledged as she bowed slightly. "Have you picked up your luggage?" she asked practically.
"We probably should," Naru agreed, glad to have someone a bit more practical around. "Where's Kanako?" she asked.
"Ms Urashima wanted to come pick you up," Tennyo said mildly, "but something came up at the dorm and..."
"She's always taken running the dorm pretty seriously," Kitsune shrugged as they made their way to the luggage pick up.
They collected the luggage and headed out to the parking lot, Keitaro breaking into a smile as he saw the old van waiting for them. "I'm glad to see it's still running," he noted, patting it on the side as fond memories of death defying rides crossed his mind.
"Yeah, we're taking good care of her," Kitsune nodded cheerfully. "Dibs on shotgun," she cried as Tennyo got behind the wheel.
"Excuse me, but why is Miss Misaki driving?" Naru had to ask as they got in the back. Interestingly two new rows of seats had been installed, making it into a six seater.
"Call me Tennyo," the woman smiled as she inserted the key and started up the old van and explained, "and I'm driving because Kitsune nearly lost her license crashing this thing right through a police barrier."
"What?" Keitaro blurted as they drove off.
"This is that Phantom Quest Corp stuff you told me about, right?" Naru asked curiously.
"It was an emergency," Kitsune pouted as she crossed her arms over her chest and continued, "besides, no one was hurt."
"That's true, but the cops were not pleased," Tennyo said as she efficiently drove, "they suspended her license for a month and told her they'd take it away for good if they caught her driving."
Kitsune was still pouting as she added, "I wasn't driving any worse than Seto used to."
"He was a professor at Tokyo U," Naru pointed out mildly, "that gets a lot of eccentric behavior excused, I think."
"Point," Kitsune conceded.
The trip to Kanagawa Prefecture was a entertaining one, Naru and Keitaro remarking on familiar sights. Tennyo was still somewhat new to the region, and the two entertained her with stories of their various exploits.
They reached the small hot spring town by late morning, the van cruising through town slowly. Tennyo exchanged a look with Kitsune and smiled then looked back at the two, "Do you want to get your fortune told?"
"Fortune?" Naru raised her eyebrows.
"You really should," Kitsune jumped in with a grin, "I went to that stall, she's very reliable."
"You two know her, I bet," Keitaro guessed, knowing Kitsune pretty well, even if Tennyo was still pretty much a mystery.
"Spoil sport," Tennyo smiled as they parked the van on a side street. "Come on, it might be fun," she encouraged them.
"Well, why not," Naru chuckled, her and Keitaro getting out as the old men from the hot springs shuffled by, mumbling things to themselves.
The shop had been closed when Keitaro had been last been in town, but now it was open and bearing a sign reading 'Fortunes Told.' The front windows were covered by curtains and someone had added roses in planters, the scent washing over them. They pushed open the door to reveal a dimly lit room, a table and a young woman sitting behind it, her purple hair flowing down over her shoulders.
"Welcome," Anthy smiled, her eyes gently amused by something.
"Anthy Himemiya, meet Keitaro and Naru," Kitsune waved as she explained, "brought my friends in for a reading."
Anthy nodded, then looked at Keitaro and Naru and asked, "Which would you prefer, a palm reading or tea leaves?"
"Tea," Naru instantly decided, feeling a bit thirsty after their trip.
Keitaro nodded too as he said, "Tea sounds good."
Anthy removed a tea pot from the cozy and set two cups out, carefully pouring the tea in each. "Drink," she said as she placed the cups before them.
Naru picked up the cup, taking a moment to breath in the warm scent. She sipped cautiously, surprised at how good it tasted. It wasn't English tea, nor did it seem to be a common flavored tea, instead it had a subtle blending of flavors that was pleasing to the taste buds. She finished it much too quickly, putting the cup back in it's saucer with a clink.
"May I?" Anthy asked as she took the cup, Naru nodding. The dusky skinned young woman studied the leaves, her expression thoughtful.
Naru fidgeted, then asked, "Well?"
"You are a teacher, and you will continue to be one," Anthy said calmly, "you are content with that. You teach far away from here, and I see many journeys in your future."
Naru's mouth dropped open a moment. She looked at Kitsune as she demanded, "You didn't tell her what we do?"
"Nope," Kitsune shook her head.
Keitaro was looking at Anthy with his mouth open, then he slugged back his tea. "Me next," he said as he passed the cup over.
"Thank you," Anthy said, taking the cup with a smile. She studied the tea leavings, her expression... oddly annoyed.
"What?" Tennyo asked after a moment.
"It is... very hard to read your future, sir," Anthy admitted, frowning at Keitaro. "You are a focus of chaos and chance, and the patterns of fate bend around you."
"Really," Keitaro blinked.
"Your destiny and the young lady's are entwined," Anthy noted, "you will find each other if parted, and will always accomplish more if you are together." She studied the tea leaves a moment longer then finally shook her head, "I'm sorry, I can read nothing more."
Keitaro tried to decide if she was joking, but in all honesty she seemed dead serious. "Well, thank you," he bowed slightly.
"What do we owe you?" Naru asked, reaching for her wallet. Keitaro seemed oddly shaken by the experience, though he was hiding it pretty well.
"It's fine," Anthy waved her off, "if you want, send a friend to me. That would be more than enough payment."
"Thanks," Tennyo nodded as the group headed back out into the sun.
"That was a bit odd," Kitsune admitted a bit sheepishly as they headed back to the van, "sorry."
"No, it's fine," Keitaro said, smiling faintly. "I guess I was a bit thrown by how accurate it was," he admitted as they reached the van and climbed in.
"Really?" Tennyo asked as she took the wheel.
"He does have the craziest sort of luck," Naru admitted as they drove off. "It's like... anything that can go wrong does, but on the other hand he can literally trip over a rare discovery or something," she said with a smile.
"Must come in handy for a archeologist," Tennyo agreed cheerfully as they took the road up the hill to the Hinata Inn.
"When he isn't accidentally falling down some secret passage or opening a trap door," Kitsune chuckled as she remembered some of their crazier trips.
They pulled up to the inn just as a group of women fidgeted in front of it, then rushed forward as they parked. "Big brother!" Kanako cried as she threw herself at him, her arms closing around him and nearly bowling him right over.
"Senpai," Shinobu smiled, the black haired girl smiling up at him.
"Welcome back," Mutsumi told Naru, taking her hands and smiling warmly.
"It's good to be back," Naru said as Su tried to climb up on poor Keitaro, Ema trying to tell him about her recent academic successes and Motoko smiling at him warmly. Several women she didn't recognize were standing nearer to the inn, and Naru guessed they were the other new tenants.
"Let's get your bags," Tennyo suggested, chuckling as they watched Keitaro get swarmed.
"What do you think of Tennyo?" Mutsumi asked as she helped carry bags.
"She seems nice," Naru shrugged, "why?"
Mutsumi winked, "She's my girlfriend." As Naru stared in surprise Mutsumi hurried off, her long brown hair flowing as she reached Tennyo's side.
To be continued...
Twenty Three
"She has a girlfriend?" Naru asked, looking slightly shaken as she and Kitsune walked the halls of the Hina Dorm. The brown haired twenty-something looked good in her casual clothes, with her long hair flowing down her back.
"Mutsumi and Tennyo have been seeing each other for several weeks now," Kitsune nodded, the boyish woman walking beside her, dressed in a blouse and trousers.
"Wow," Naru smiled as they went along the familiar upper floors. "I guess I shouldn't be too surprised," she admitted, "Mitsumi never had any problems kissing girls."
That got a chuckle from Kitsune as they passed by one door. "Rei and Ami are sharing this one," she noted.
"Why sharing?" Naru wondered, "Saving money?"
"Ah, no," Kitsune admitted, "they're a couple too." As Naru gave her a odd look Kitsune shrugged eloquently, "I think it was just interesting timing. Or maybe they served as a good example for Mitsumi."
"There's a thought," Naru conceded. "Ami's going to Tokyo U, right?" she asked, "And Rei's the heiress of a shrine?"
"Yup." Kitsune nodded. "What did you think of Tennyo?"
"I think she's older than she lets on," Naru said after a moment, "it's nothing I can nail down, just the look in her eyes."
"Yeah, and I think she's been through some interesting stuff," Kitsune nodded.
"Like we have?" Naru flashed a grin, and when Kitsine nodded she shook her head as she muttered, "Poor woman."
"She's also the heir of a ancestral sword style," Kitsune grinned, "you should ask her to spar with Motoko some time. It's quite spectacular."
The two women headed back downstairs, where the common room was busy with conversation. Keitaro was being chatted at by both Su and Shinobu, while Anthy was pouring tea for the group. Ema and Motoko were sitting nearby, Motoko smiling slightly while Ema looked excited over the return.
Kanako separated from the group and walked over, smiling sheepishly. "I'm sorry I let myself get so caught up in greeting my brother," she said, the black clad young woman smiling gently.
"I'm generally happy when our meetings don't end with you trying to burn me at the stake," Naru teased her gently.
"I think I've broken myself of that habit at least," Kanako chuckled softly. She looked at Naru curiously, "Have you met Anthy yet?"
"Kitsune took me to meet her in town," Naru noted.
"And she nailed the whole fortune thing," Kitsune noted. "If she wasn't so nice, the whole seeing the future thing would be creepy."
"I suppose," Kanako nodded. She hesitated, "Kitsune told you about Rei and Ami, Naru?"
"She did," Naru nodded as she looked at the other girl curiously.
"Anthy is seeing a woman named Utena," Kanako said a bit sheepishly, "I don't expect her to come by, but I thought you should know."
"Maybe there's something in the water?" Kitsune suggested as Naru digested that fact. She grinned suddenly, "Better be careful, or you could end up dumping Keitaro for Motoko."
"Hey!" Naru scowled.
"Not that there's anything wrong with liking Motoko," Kanako noted quietly, a slight blush coloring her cheeks.
"Here you go," Anthy smiled, setting a cup of tea in front of Keitaro. She settled into one of the chairs, having changed out of her fortune telling gear to a blouse and red skirt. "The others tell me you're an archeologist?"
"Well, I'm working to become one," Keitaro said modestly. "For now I'm mostly working with Seto on his Turtle Civilization research."
"Don't put down the work you do," Motoko noted, the black haired warrior looking at him crossly, "you know you've helped him with several major discoveries."
Keitaro sipped his tea, "By tripping over things, usually."
"Good enough," Shinobu said, smiling.
Ema sat nearby, the younger girl rather shy around the newcomer. She mostly only knew him by crashing his wedding some time ago, after all. Still, he seemed likeable, though she really didn't get what everyone else was so impressed by.
Rei and Ami stopped in for a fast introduction, but it was clear Ami was damn tired from school, and Rei had just finished up her duties at the shrine. Both women excused themselves, and headed up to their room.
Shinobu reluctantly got up, "I'd better get some dinner going."
"Can I help?" Ema asked eagerly.
"Sure, come on," Shinobu chuckled as they headed off to the kitchen.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Motoko wasn't sure what had woken her up, but in seconds the familiar crack of wooden practice swords striking together registered on her. Swiftly she got up and pulled on shorts and a t-shirt before hurrying to the back of the dorms to see what was happening.
Stepping out onto the back porch, Motoko saw Kanako, who was watching what was going on thoughtfully. "You're just in time," the black clad girl noted as twin blurs bounced behind her.
The two figures came to a stop, and she was shocked to see Tennyo crossing swords with Keitaro. They were both trying to break through the other's guard, wooden blades crossed as they pressed against each other hard.
"Interesting," Tennyo finally noted, "you're trained in the Urashima school of swordsmanship?"
"I learned bits and pieces of it," Keitaro admitted, "along with some Jeet Kune Do from Seta and whatever I could pick up from Motoko kicking my ass regularly."
Motoko winced slightly, blushing. She had used a certain technique against Keitaro regularly, to the point where he learned it himself. It was something she felt more than a bit ashamed of, though she hadn't admitted it to him.
"I see," Tennyo said with a smile.
"And you're using the Masaki style," Keitaro noted, "from the shrine, right? I met Tenchi once, we had a spar or two."
"Good," Tennyo flashed a much more dangerous smile, "then I can stop holding back against you, as you've experienced my family style."
What followed was a almost biblical spanking as Tennyo easily chased Keitaro around the hot springs while the man barely dodged. Both Motoko and Kanako were rather in awe of how completely poor Keitaro was outclassed.
"wow," Kanako breathed out softly. She shook her head, "I guess just picking up bits and pieces of a style doesn't help against a master."
"Yeah," Motoko agreed, smiling grimly. "I do wonder how Seta would do against her, though. He's... rather unusual."
Tennyo finally pinned Keitaro against a wall, slapped his sword away and then taped him on the shoulder. "I win, as agreed?" she asked politely.
"You win," Keitaro agreed, sighing. "I hoped to do better," he noted as they walked across the hot springs towards where the two women watched.
"You have potential," Tennyo nodded, "but you need to take the time to really develop it. Until you do, you will only be a lucky novice."
"Fair enough," Keitaro agreed.
"Do you need a towel, big brother?" Kanako asked, smiling as she handed the shorts and t-shirt clad man one.
"Thanks," Keitaro took it, even though he looked faintly uncomfortable.
"That was incredible," Motoko told Tennyo with a warm smile, "I'm just glad you didn't treat me so harshly." She hesitated, "Did you hold back when fighting me?"
"No," Tennyo shook her head firmly as the woman in white shirt and pants continued, "you're more than skilled enough to face me."
Motoko frowned, "But when I fought Keitaro, he held his own against me."
"Then the fault may not be in your skills," Tennyo reached out to gently tap her forehead, "but in your mind."
"I see," Motoko murmured, just as Naru raced from the building.
"Are you trying to murder my husband?" Naru asked jokingly, hurrying over to his side.
"Just testing his skills against me own," Tennyo said quickly, "someone told him I was a swordswoman and he wanted a match."
"I see," Naru smiled faintly, "did you kick his ass?"
"Pretty much," Keitaro admitted, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
Motoko quietly slipped away, her thoughts racing as she considered what Tennyo had said. Was it true that she had let Keitaro win against her? She had studied the Shinmei-ryu school of swordsman-ship for many years, but had never really considered herself a master of it. Had her confused emotions around Keitaro lead to her defeat? And if so, could she change that?
A soft knock on her door jarred Motoko from a troubled attempt at meditation. "Yes?" she called out.
"It's me," Naru smiled as she peeked in. She slipped inside as she looked around the asture rooms that Motoko preferred, "It's looking Spartan, as usual."
"Well, yes," Motoko agreed. She suddenly realized her desk was cluttered with work and her romance writing, and hurried over to stash it before Naru got too close.
"Ooh, let me see!" Naru leaped forward to try to grab at the documents. The two women wrestled for the papers as she complained, "Come on! Kitsune told me you got published but won't let anyone see! It's not fair."
"It's just a short story," Motoko complained, "and it's my first work. Of course I'm going to be hesitant to let anyone see it!"
"Come on, please?" Naru batted her eyes cutely.
Motoko shuddered involuntarily. "Please don't do that, it creeps me out," she complained.
Naru pouted, "Meanie."
To be continued...
Notes: One bit that drove me nuts in Love Hina was how good a swordsman certain characters could be with no serious training. That never made sense to me, so I thought I should show what a skilled swordswoman could do to a unskilled one.
Twenty Four
"I wish you could have stayed longer," Ema complained as they gathered at the airport to see Naru and Keitaro off. "I wanted to hear more abut your archeological work."
"I'll try to include some photos with my next letter," Keitaro promised, the tall young man standing with Naru as he carried their bags.
"You'd better," Koalla Su said mock threateningly as she added, "or we'll take the Tama-robo and go visit you."
"Please no," Shinobu shuddered visibly as she remembered other harrowing trips perched on the back of the rocket powered giant robot turtle. "It's been good to see you, too," she added, smiling warmly at Naru.
"I've missed you guys," Naru agreed, ruffling the shorter girl's hair fondly.
"I intend to challenge you when you return," Motoko warned Keitaro seriously, "so prepare yourself. This time things will be different."
Keitaro blinked, "Uhm, right."
"Be careful, both of you," Kitsune added as she hugged them both, "I want you back at the dorm eventually."
Kanako smiled wryly as the black clad girl noted, "Just hopefully nothing as exciting as this weekend ended up being."
"Oh yeah," Keitaro laughed sheepishly.
The Phantom Quest Corp branch that Kitsune was running was asked to look into something at a small shrine, and on a lark Naru and Keitaro asked to come along. Somehow Keitaro ended up unleashing some kind of sealed stone monster, and the group had been lucky to escape with their lives. Well, luck and the existence of several strange girls calling themselves Hime.
"I thought it was fun!" Su said cheerfully.
Shinobu sighed, "You would."
"Take good care of each other," Mutsumi said, the bosomy young woman hugging her two childhood friends.
"We will," Naru promised as their flight was announced. There was a final run of hugs as the plane was announced, then the two hurried away.
Kanako watched them go, her expression oddly blank. "He's really happy, isn't he?" she mused softly after a moment.
Motoko looked at her thoughtfully, the swordswoman standing nearby. "Yes, I think he is," she said simply as the group headed out to the waiting van.
Cramming everyone into the van was a challenge, as usual. Luckily Ami, Rei and Anthy had stayed back at the dorm with Tennyo, or they'd never get the whole mob in. As it was, it took a bit of doing to get everyone inside. With that they were off, trucking off to the dorm at the best speed the old van could manage.
Ema, sitting in the back mushed between two people, asked Kitsune, "Have you decided if we should include those girls on the website?"
"Considering the dark haired one threatened to shoot us, I'm thinking no," Kitsune said dryly. "Not to mention that cybernetic wolf thing she had kept growling at me..."
"Fair enough," Ema said, secretly relieved. The three girls had been pretty scary, really, and she didn't want to cross them.
"I don't think magical girls should act like that," Motoko noted seriously, frowning.
"Do they count as magical girls?" Kanako asked reasonably, "They didn't seem to transform or wear special costumes."
"Heck, if you eliminate costumes and transforming we could say Motoko was a magical girl," Mutsumi teased.
Everyone suddenly imagined Motoko in a short skirt waving a want while chanting a magical phrase, and visibly shuddered. "No no, let's not go there," Kitsune said firmly.
"Please no," Motoko shuddered too.
Changing the subject Shinobu suggested they stop for shopping on the way home, which everyone agreed too. When they did stop Kitsune used it as a excuse to head off on her own, while the others headed back up the long hill to the inn.
Kitsune smiled and waved as they left, then headed off to run a few errands. Ever since she had found out Motoko had gotten published, she had wanted to find out what her friend wrote. But of course, Motoko was too shy to show her. But careful research had helped Kitsune track down which magazine had published it, and she had ordered a copy.
The little bookstore in the small town wasn't a place Kitsune frequented, but she knew the guy running it. Kitsune knew most of the younger people in town to one degree or another, having been a bit of a partier over the years. Since taking over the cafe and running her company she had settled down a lot, but she still knew the faces.
"Hey Kitsune," the young man said, giving her a slightly odd look.
"Hey, Yoshi," she teased, using his hated nickname. "What's up? Is the item I ordered in?"
"Yeah," Yoshi agreed, aking the book down from a shelf behind him. "Uhm," he hesitated, "did you know what you were ordering?"
"Just the name," Kitsune admitted, wondering what he was getting at.
"Ah," Yoshi looked a bit relieved. "It's a yuri publication," he explained as he processed the order for her.
Kitsune blinked, taking a moment to process that. "As in, two women...?" she said as she took the bagged magazine.
"Yup," Yoshi agreed.
"Damn it, maybe there IS something n the water," Kitsune muttered as she left the shop, making Yoshi look at her in confusion.
Making her way to one of the many parks in the sleepy hotsprings town Kitsune settled down on a bench and idly flipped through the pages. The manga stories were all very sweet, with schoolgirls being a major theme. Not bad, but not her thing.
The prose story by Motoko was in the back of the book, and Kitsune quickly found herself engrossed in it. It was a school story like the others but set in university, about a stand offish smart girl who fell for a wild partier. It was kind of cliché, but it worked, and Kitsune had to laugh at some of the trials the two went through. She finished the story and put the maazine back in her bag, already wondering how to go about congradulating Motoko when she didn't offically know about it.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"And that's all we know," Ami Mizuno finished speaking into her wristwatch, the hidden communicator within instantly sending the voice and data away.
"I can't say I've heard of these Hime," Luna admitted, the black cat sounding faintly disturbed at Ami's report.
Rei Hino shrugged, the black haired woman sitting by Ami on the bed in their room in the Hinata Dorm. "Could they have come up after the fall of the Moon Kingdom?" she asked reasonably.
"It's possible," Luna conceded reluctantly. "I'll consult with our various sources, see what I can find out," she said.
"Try hard," Rei said, sighing. "I don't now what these girls are involved with, but they were deadly serious. It could be bad news."
"Understood," Luna nodded then ended the conversation.
"I feel vaguely guilty passing these reports about your ghost busting to Luna," Ami admitted with a sigh, leaning against Rei tiredly. It had been a long day, with her studying, the goodbyes to Keitaro and so on.
"It's not much more than what Ema puts on the website," Rei noted mildly, putting a arm around Ami's shoulders. "Besides, I don't want something like what we run into with the Corp biting us in the ass later," she added.
"We've been pretty lucky so far," Ami admitted.
Since the Sailor Soldiers had first debuted, they had faced many enemies and their monsterous minions. But many foes had been defeated only after scattering servants and creating other threats. On a regular basis they ran into creatures left from enemies they'd defeated years ago, and in some cases innocents had been hurt.
"Think we should hire Kitsune to help hunt the things down?" Ami suggested, only half-joking.
Rei laughed, shaking her head. "We'd be in debt forever paying her off," she noted.
Just then they heard the rattling thump of the old van arriving, signaling that the others were back. "Want to see how things went?" Ami asked, smiling.
"Might as well," Rei sighed as they both got up and headed down to where the mob of women were coming in.
"Hey," Tennyo Masaki smiled, her startling white hair framing a youthful face.
Rei made a mental note to ask Luna about her, too. There was something odd about Tennyo, and it worried her. "Hey," she smiled, but didn't have a chance to say more as Mutsumi hurried in and glomped the other woman.
"I missed you," Mutsumi noted cheerfully, her full breasts bouncing.
"How'd it go?" Ami asked politely as they ignored Tennyo being knocked to the ground.
"Oooh, that's going to hurt," Shinobu winced. She looked at Ami and smiled, "Not bad, really. We got them on the plane and nothing went wrong."
"It went wrong before?" Rei had to ask.
Motoko Made a face as she said, "Oh, you have no idea. The bad luck that both of them have is legendary around here."
"Ugh, Mutsumi is a worse driver than Kitsune," Ema sighed as she staggered by, looking green.
"I'm not that bad," Mutsumi pouted as Tennyo and her got up from their sudden snuggle.
"Yes, you are," Kanako said dourly. She looked at Rei and Ami, "Do either of you drive?"
"I have my learners," Ami admitted as Rei shook her head no.
"I might have to ask you to back up Tennyo, at least until Kitsune gets her license back," Kanako sighed as she headed to the kitchen to see if they needed to make lunch.
"Do we want to tell her how bad a driver you are?" Rei whispered.
"We'll save it as a surprise," Ami shrugged helplessly.
To be continued...
Notes: Yes, that's a reference to Mai Hime. Or My Hime if you like dubs. I already tied it into my Crystal Tokyo canon, so might as well toss them in here.