Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ Irresistible Force ❯ Enter the Juggernaut ( Chapter 1 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: GenocideHeart 
And so it begins... can the Hinatasou girls handle a Keitaro that, while still kind, isn't small and weak anymore?
Anime/Manga: Love Hina Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 09.03.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.7K | Visits: 3.4K | Status: Work In Progress
And so it begins... can the Hinatasou girls handle a Keitaro that, while still kind, isn't small and weak anymore?
Anime/Manga: Love Hina Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Comedy / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 09.03.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.7K | Visits: 3.4K | Status: Work In Progress
(A/N: And yet another fic from The GH. FEAR.
This time, I take a foray in Marvel Comics crossovers, with a LH/X-Men crossover... although, to be fair, I only take a single thing from X-Men. And if the title of this chapter doesn't give that thing away, you're hopeless. :p
Anyway, enjoy. As always, criticism is greatly appreciated. Now on with the story!)
DISCLAIMER:
Love Hina and all its characters are property of Akamatsu Ken, and I don't claim ownership of them, though I sure as hell would LIKE to. The Juggernaut and Cyttorak are property of Marvel Comics inc., and major props go to them for creating such a popular villain in the first place.
CONTRIBUTORS:
Many thanks to:
+ Lord Raa from The Fanfiction Forums for mucho encouraging and feedback;
+ Moshulel from The Fanfiction Forums for feedback and random ideas;
+ EagleCeres from The Fanfiction Forums for suggesting several deliciously warped twists;
+ Everybody else from The Fanfiction Forums for general proofreading and making sure this fic doesn't suck... hopefully;
+ And thanks to you, reader, for reading this fic, of course!
(“This” is speech. Italics indicate thought. 1234567890 is a scene break.)
Chapter 1: Enter the Juggernaut
Hinata district, early afternoon
"Hmm... Hinatasou. It has been so long since my last visit here."
These words were spoken with fondness by a strikingly imposing young man standing at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the old building on top of the small hill. The young man's goofy smile and friendly eyes were a stark contrast with his intimidating body: he stood over two meters tall, and his large, impressively muscled frame dwarfed even those of champion bodybuilders on TV.
The man's name was Keitaro Urashima... and his life had recently become very, very different. He absently rubbed the back of his head, looking at the old inn before him, and sighed.
"Grandma Hina and Aunt Haruka are going to flip when they see me," he sighed again. "I don't look forward to explaining them just what the Hell happened... Next time, I swear I won't touch dubious gems with strange inscriptions on them."
With a resigned expression, Keitaro started plodding up the stairs leading to Hinatasou. He had a feeling this wouldn't be a good day.
Oh, how right he was...
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"Hello! Is anyone here?" Keitaro's voice rang in the empty entrance of the Hinatasou. He waited a few minutes, then looked around in annoyance.
"Where are Grandma Hina and Aunt Haruka, anyway? Granny said I was welcome to stay here anytime, but she's nowhere to be seen, and the old teahouse was closed and empty as well... maybe I'll meet some of the inn's personnel by snooping around..." he muttered, starting down a nearby hallway.
A few minutes of fruitless search later, he chanced upon the hot spring, its waters invitingly warm and steamy. Thinking on it for a while, he shrugged and smiled, deciding that Granny wouldn't mind if he relaxed in the water for a bit while waiting for her to come back.
Quickly discarding his clothes and grabbing a couple of towels, he made his way in the open air bath and lowered himself in the water with a content sigh.
"Ahhh... nothing quite beats a hot bath after a long trip," he murmured in satisfaction, feeling his muscles loosen up and relax. "I really needed this..."
As he let the hot water work its magic on him, Keitaro dozed off a bit. His moment of peace was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the hot spring doors opening. Turning his head to see who had entered, he spluttered and nearly drowned when he saw a redheaded girl wearing nothing besides a towel make her way in the hot springs area. He sank in the water down to his chin, praying that the girl would not approach him and cursing his bad luck. Of course, this has to be a mixed bath! But why... and when was it made mixed?
Unfortunately, the girl spotted him and waded in the water until she was next to him. Dropping down and leaning against the stones behind her, she sighed and then smiled at him.
"Hey, Kitsune. I didn't think I'd find you here at this time of the day," she greeted, obviously mistaking him for someone else. Keitaro noticed her squint a little. She must be nearsighted, he thought as he looked around frantically for a way out of what promised to be a very dangerous situation. While admittedly he'd found that due to his new 'condition' very little, if anything, could actually hurt him, he still found angry women terrifying. And he was fairly sure that his eyes could still be gouged out.
"Say," the girl resumed, causing him to look at her again - and immediately regret doing so as she began holding her own breasts, "don't you think I've gotten bigger here?"
Keitaro mentally started counting to ten and simultaneously cursed whatever had changed him into what he was now. All this strength, and a girl still manages to short-circuit me, he thought darkly as he held his nose. His train of thoughts was interrupted as the girl suddenly moved in closer and reached for him, causing him to freeze in panic.
"Of course, I still have a long way to go before I'm as... big as... you...?" the girl faltered as her hands touched his chest. While under normal circumstances Keitaro would have appreciated a hot, half naked girl feeling his chest up, he had a sense of impending doom that prevented him from doing anything besides look for an escape route.
As the girl suddenly backed up and took a deep breath, reaching for a pair of glasses that he only now noticed she had brought along, he half hoped she wouldn't make a scene, or have him arrested, or something equally unpleasant.
His hopes died a horrible, grueling death as the girl suddenly started screaming: "EEEEEEEK! PERVERT!!"
Cursing inwardly, he bolted out of the water with unsuspecting speed for someone his size and quickly vacated the hot springs, all the while muttering about crazy hot girls who first felt him up, and then called him a pervert.
Yes, today was looking to be a very bad day for Keitaro Urashima.
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Shinobu Maehara struggled under the weight of the clothes she was carrying. As soon as she'd gotten home, she had set about laundering whatever dirty clothing she found lying about - most of it belonging to the resident drunkard and freelance writer, Mitsune 'Kitsune' Konno.
As she shifted her weight again, trying to balance herself, she heard a commotion coming from the hot springs. Taking a peek around the pile of folded clothes she had in her arms, she saw a very large, very handsome and very naked man barreling down the hall towards her with a frightened look on his face. A familiar voice could be heard angrily shouting in the direction he'd come from.
As the man blazed past her, the air displaced by his massive frame caused her to lose her footing and fall backwards. The young girl 'eep'ed and let go of the clothes, flailing her arms in an useless attempt to straighten herself out. Closing her eyes, she awaited the impact with the floor and the inevitable pain to follow.
What she felt was a massive hand holding her by the small of her back and gently setting her down, and a friendly, if agitated voice, hastily apologizing to her and asking to borrow one of the towels in the stack she had been carrying. As she cast a quick glance at her savior, her eyes were involuntarily drawn to a certain... dangly part of the man's anatomy that stood out in a rather eye-catching way.
Shinobu felt her head spin slightly as she realized what it was. Auuu, they grow that big? she thought in a panic. The sex education lessons must be wrong! There's no way... that... could fit down there! As Shinobu's mind tried to restart, having stalled upon seeing 'it', another angry yell reached her ears.
"YOU SICK FREAK! HOW DARE YOU MOLEST SHINOBU-CHAN!" an angry Narusegawa Naru yelled as she barreled down the hall. Shinobu watched in a daze as the handsome man covered himself and bolted away at an inhuman speed for someone that big. She sat there blinking for several seconds, not really registering Naru's hasty, concerned questions or her threats of castration directed towards the man. Then, finally, the events caught up to her, and she slid to the floor, unconscious.
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Mitsune Konno hummed as she got ready to take a dip in the hot springs. Today had been a good day for her: for once, she had actually won a bet at the horse races, and while the win wasn't particularly big, it was certainly an nice change of pace.
As she discarded her clothes and wrapped her shapely figure in a towel, she heard a commotion coming from the hot springs area. Curious, she left her room and made her way downstairs.
As she got about halfway down the flight of stairs, she spotted a large man skid to a halt at the bottom of the staircase. He then started climbing it three steps at a time, without apparent effort.
As he whizzed past her, she made out a mumbled 'sorry'. She then watched the man disappear down the corridor, idly nothing how the considerable muscles of his back were doing very interesting things as he ran.
Immediately afterwards, she winced as a familiar voice shouted extremely loudly from behind her, at the stairs' base.
"COME BACK HERE, YOU PERVERTED BASTARD! OR ARE YOU TOO MUCH OF A WIMP TO TAKE THE PUNISHMENT YOU SO RICHLY DESERVE?" Naru screamed as she began climbing the set of stairs in earnest, though nowhere near as fast as the man did. As she reached the top, she stopped, looking around, then addressed Kitsune, who was still slightly dazed by the admittedly attractive man who'd blazed past her.
"Hey, Kitsune. Have you seen a perverted large man with just a sheet covering him run past here?"
Blinking, Kitsune automatically pointed at the direction the man had vanished into, and Naru resumed her chase with a hurried 'thank you'.
As the foxy woman watched her redheaded friend disappear down the hall, she wondered about the man again. He hadn't come across as a pervert to her, and he was certainly delicious... er, interesting to watch. Kitsune blushed slightly, and idly wondered if she'd get a chance to see him again... assuming Naru didn't kill him, of course, she amended as she made her way to the hot springs.
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"This really sucks," Keitaro muttered as he darted through the first floor's corridor and cut a corner. "I can't find Granny Hina, and some crazy chick is chasing me, intent on clawing my eyes out or something... I better get out and look for the teahouse. Maybe I'll find Granny there--"
Keitaro's muttering was cut short as he skid to a half, eyeing the obvious dead end before him. A curse escaped his lips as he realized that in his hurry to escape, he hadn't paid attention to where he was going.
Turning around, he heard the sound of footfalls rapidly approaching from the corner he'd just passed and grimaced. That girl just won't give up, he thought as he quickly opened the only door in the corridor, got in and shut it as quickly and quietly as possible, locking it. Leaning briefly against the door, he let a relieved sigh out. This should slow her down... what the Hell?
He blinked repeatedly, just to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, then stared incredulously at what looked like a jungle in a room. Everywhere he could see, it was plants, plants and more plants. He spotted several banana trees, ripe with fruit, as well as a couple orchids here and there. Incredulous, he took a few hesitant steps in the jungle-room.
As he stepped under a particularly large tree, suddenly an upside-down, friendly face entered his field of vision. He instinctively took a step back, blinking.
"Hiya!" the face greeted him with a large smile. "I'm Kaolla! Who are you? Are you here to play with me?"
"Huh?!" Keitaro intelligently replied as he got a better look at the room's inhabitant. The girl was hanging upside down from a tree, waving at him without showing signs of discomfort from the position. She looked to be in her early teens, and Keitaro idly noticed that the fuku she was wearing was obeying the laws of gravity, leaving her white panties uncovered. While normally the sight would've made him very uncomfortable, his brain was still seized up from the impossibility that this room was.
Just them a series of loud knocks came from the room's door. Keitaro froze as he remembered why he'd gotten inside this room to begin with, and swore under his breath as he turned towards the door.
"Kaolla, are you in there?" the voice of the girl who had been chasing him came through the door. "Are you all right? I was chasing a pervert who snuck in the onsen, and I lost him... is he in here?"
Keitaro turned towards Kaolla, a pleading look in his eyes as he signaled to her to be quiet. Unfortunately, he was too slow.
"Yup! He's in here, Naru!" the tanned girl replied cheerfully. "D'ya want to play with us too?"
"...'Play'? You pervert! Leave Kaolla-chan alone!" came the furious reply from outside as the door started rattling. The girl named Naru kept shaking the door for a few seconds in an effort to get it open, then suddenly, the rattling stopped.
As Keitaro started relaxing, thinking she'd finally given up, there was a loud crash as the door was bashed down with a kick. Keitaro quickly took several steps to the side as a seething Naru stepped in the room, glaring daggers at him and looking extremely intimidating, despite being clad only in a towel.
"This is as far as you get," she growled, a menacing glint in her eyes. "I'm not letting you run away again..."
Keitaro had heard and seen enough. Brushing past Kaolla and ignoring her startled jerk, he approached the closest wall.
Then, he promptly ran headfirst into it, reducing it to so much rubble without even slowing down.
Naru stared incredulously at the hole in the wall as her 'target' made his getaway, the sounds of his footfalls becoming fainter with each second, then slipped to her knees, eyes wide.
"What... the hell...?" she whispered in awe. "Did he just... charge through a wood and concrete wall like it was wet paper?"
Besides her, Kaolla jumped off the tree branch she was hanging onto and landed softly on the ground, thoughtful. When that man brushed me... I felt a tingle all over. Almost like when there is a red moon...
As they stared at the escape route Keitaro had bashed for himself, both girls had the same thought.
Who is that man...?
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"Have I gotten away...?" Keitaro murmured as he reached the stairs again and climbed down, looking behind him. "Good, seems my little show back there stunned that girl long enough for me to lose her. She's cute, but what a temper... oh crap."
His last remark was caused by him reaching the base of the stairs, only to see a tall, extremely attractive young woman with long black hair enter the Hinatasou and immediately level a harsh glare at him. The fact she wore a classic samurai outfit - white gi and red hakama - and was carrying what appeared to be a real sword made her look even more menacing, in spite of her ethereal beauty.
"What is a half-naked male doing in a girls' dormitory? You have some nerve for a pervert, but that won't save you from your rightful punishment!" she growled as she unsheathed her sword. Keitaro held his hands up and made to protest, when her words struck him like a bolt of lightning.
"Girls' dormitory? Wait a minute... isn't this the Hinata Inn?" he asked in confusion. Granny said nothing about this! When did she change the inn in a dorm?
"You expect me to believe that feeble excuse?" the girl replied angrily. "This place has been an all-girls dormitory for the last three years. Everyone knows it, and even the sign outside clearly states this! Now stand still and receive the punishment you deserve, perverted male!"
"What?! Hey, I didn't mean to--" Keitaro began to protest, but the girl ignored him as she shifted in an attack position.
"Hiken: Zankuusen!" she shouted as she brought her blade down, creating a shockwave that raced towards him, cracking the wooden floor as it swept over it. Keitaro's eyes widened. Holy crap, a ki attack? I thought only anime and manga had this kind of stuff in them--
His thoughts were interrupted by the ki wave slamming into him. He blinked as he actually felt the blow crash into his impressive frame - while it didn't even budge him an inch and felt more like a love tap than something intended to hurt, he still managed to actually feel it hit him. His respect for the sword-wielding girl went up several notches: in the past months he had found that it took a considerable amount of force to even make him notice something that hit him, and that meant this girl had a lot of power in her seemingly fragile body.
He was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of steel hitting wood, and he looked up to see that the kendo girl's sword had slipped from her fingers and she was staring at him wide eyed.
"Wha... how... why did it not affect you? That blow should have knocked you unconscious..." she gasped, struggling to get the words out. Keitaro sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, a forced smile on his lips.
"Uh, well... it's kinda a long story, and I really need to find my relatives..." he began, when he noticed the young woman's gaze stray downward, and her eyes widen even more if possible. Taking a look himself, he realized her attack had reduced the sheet he had 'borrowed' to pieces, and he was currently flashing her. With a grimace, he hastily covered himself and made to apologize, but before he could say one word, a familiar voice came from the Hinatasou's front door.
"Keitaro...? Is that you?" another woman, this one older than the sword girl, asked with an incredulous stare. Keitaro felt a wave of relief wash over him at finally seeing a familiar face.
"Aunt Haruka! Thank God you're here! I-- HEY!" he protested as Haruka Urashima walked up to him in long strides and whacked him on the back of his head, although she had to stand on the tip of her feet to do so. "What was that for?!"
"For the last time, stop calling me 'Aunt'," she admonished him, then took a step back, gave him a good once-over and motioned for his nearby luggage, which he'd left in a corner of the entrance when he'd gone for a soak in the hot springs. "I assume those are yours, right? Get changed... and after you're done you'll explain to me just how you went from pencil-necked geek to Mr. Universe since I last heard of you."
As Keitaro opened his mouth to answer, a soft thud attracted the two Urashima's attention, and they turned around to see that the sword girl had fainted on the spot, the combined shock of her attack being useless and Keitaro's involuntary flashing apparently having caught up with her brain. Haruka sighed as she felt more commotion coming from upstairs.
"Hurry up, Keitaro. I suspect you're going to have a lot of explaining to do," she urged him with a slight push before turning to attend to the unconscious young woman. Keitaro groaned as he retrieved his clothes and slipped away to get changed. He had a feeling that bad luck wasn't done abusing him just yet.
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A while later, the Hinatasou's tenants were all gathered in the living room, all staring at Keitaro with emotions ranging from curiosity to full-on rage. For his part, the imposing young man was doing his best to not wince at the heated glares the redheaded girl, whose name he learned was Naru Narusegawa, was sending his way. Cute, but definitely needs to see a shrink, he thought. All that rage can't be healthy...
"So, Keitaro," Haruka began, a fresh cigarette hanging from the corner of her mouth, "I'm waiting for that explanation you promised..."
"What's there to explain? He's a pervert and a peeping tom!" Naru immediately objected, sending more death glares in Keitaro's direction. "I don't see why you're even bothering asking for an excuse from him! Relative or not, you should've called the police, Haruka-san!"
"You're out of line, Naru," Haruka spoke up in an uncharacteristically stern tone, leveling an icy stare at her. "As for why I'm asking for an explanation, it's very simple: about ten months ago, the man who's seated before you used to be a scrawny, pencil-necked, 1.70 meters tall loser--"
"Hey!" Keitaro protested, hurt by the description. Haruka ignored him.
"--while now he's over two meters tall and larger than most bodybuilders I've seen on television. Not even steroids can account for such a massive change in such a short time, particularly the increased height. So, I want to know exactly what the hell has happened, and why he's here," she concluded. Turning her gaze to Keitaro, she then addressed him: "I recall Grandma Hina mentioning that you were in some sort of trouble, Keitaro, so I imagine that's why you're here. Now spill it!"
"That's ludicrous!" Naru once again spoke up in outrage. Keitaro twitched in annoyance. "It's obvious why he's here - he's a guy, and guys are perverts!" Another twitch. "Hina-san probably mentioned that this had become a girls-only dorm, so he snuck in to peep--"
"For the last time, I did not know this place had been converted to a dormitory for girls!" Keitaro finally exploded, ramming a meaty fist in the thick mahogany table hard enough to crack its entire surface and causing all the girls as well as Haruka to flinch instinctively. "Granny never said a single word about this, and I have no idea why! And by the way, are you a man-hater or something? Because you've been repeatedly making baseless assumptions and accusing me of perversion--"
"You are a pervert! You snuck in the onsen and felt me up, then ran away like a coward--"
"Wait, wait, wait," Keitaro interrupted her, torn between being incredulous at the girl's bold faced lie or annoyed that she'd try to pass him off for a molester. "I did what? You know, I'm really starting to get pissed off at you calling me pervert when you're the one who was groping me!"
"What! I did no such thing!" Naru heatedly denied, glaring at him even harder. Keitaro snorted in mock amusement.
"Oh? Then pray tell, did I imagine you feeling up my chest?" he retorted, causing her to blush in embarrassment.
"I thought you were Kitsune!" she defended herself, and Keitaro cocked his head to one side, eyeing her with a speculative look.
"...so you're a lesbian. Gotcha," he stated with a completely straight face. "And I'm the deviant one, huh?"
Kitsune glanced at her friend with a worried look. Naru looked about ready to blow up like a volcano, and if the situation wasn't defused quickly, someone was bound to get hurt.
Apparently, Haruka thought the same thing, as she quickly interfered and hastily changed the subject. "Ahem... how about letting him explain and then ranting? I for one would really like to know what happened. So, Keitaro...?" she egged him on.
The large young man sighed as all eyes in the room fell on him (with Naru still glaring at him with barely restrained rage). He took a deep breath and then opened his eyes, looking at Haruka.
"Okay... how to start... I guess the beginning is as good a place as any. Do you remember how interested I was in archaeology?"
"Yeah, like a certain someone I can think of," Haruka muttered quietly, then motioned for him to continue.
"Well... what happened was, a few months ago I was in an antiques shop, looking for some kind of gift to bring you and Granny, since I was considering taking up temporary residence here - it's close to the school I go to, you see," he explained. "While browsing the selection of antique decorations the shop had, I came across a weird red gem - looked like a ruby, actually - which the shop was selling at an outrageously cheap price. Some nonsense about it being cursed, you see."
"So you bought it and it turned out to really be cursed?" Motoko interjected, her thumb just slightly freeing an inch of her sword from its sheath. Keitaro, oblivious to the action, shook his head, looking at his hands.
"Almost right. I bought it, and it is the responsible of my state, but I am not cursed." He raised his head, looking at all the girls and finally resting his gaze on Haruka. "This will probably sound like gibberish to you, but... have you ever heard of an entity named 'Cyttorak'?"
The clang of Motoko's sword hitting the floor for the second time in the last two hours filled the room, and all heads turned towards the now ashen-faced swordswoman.
"Y-y-y-you found the Ruby of Cyttorak?!" the kendoka stammered, looking at him with a mix of awe and fright. "Dear Kami, that explains everything! Your size, your strength, that unreal endurance you displayed--"
"Motoko, you are rambling," Haruka attempted to calm, down the frantic girl. Motoko looked at her with a panicked look in her eyes, then took several deep breathes and settled down, though she still displayed a nervous twitch whenever she met Keitaro's gaze.
"I... I apologize, Haruka-san. I let panic seize me," she stated, bowing her head. "It is just... this morning, I received a letter from my older sister, where she warned me that she felt the seal upon the Ruby of Cyttorak be unraveled about six months ago in this area. As she was unable to find out who had claimed that dreadful artifact, she thought it wise to warn me, should I come across a seemingly invulnerable and superhumanly strong man or woman, to avoid engagement and exercise exceptional caution..."
"You have an older sister?" Kitsune piped up. "I didn't know that, Motoko..."
"This 'older sister' of yours, could she undo whatever it is this Ruby of Cyttorak did to me?" Keitaro interrupted the foxy woman, addressing the kendo girl. Motoko shook her head with an almost apologetic look in her eyes.
"I very much doubt it, Urashima," she replied. "Cyttorak is, for all intents and purposes, a God. You are, in essence, his avatar on this world..."
"So that's what the inscription on the ruby meant..." Keitaro muttered. At Haruka and Motoko's questioning look, he explained: "The ruby had an inscription on it. For some reason, I could make sense out of it, even though it became obvious that it wasn't written in Japanese. Let me see... it read..."
Keitaro's eyes took on a distant look as he recalled the words he'd read on the ruby. Not that he could forget them, as they had totally changed his life...
"Whosoever touches this gem shall be granted the power of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak! Henceforth, you who read these words, shall become... forevermore... a human juggernaut!"
Dead silence followed those words, as Keitaro resumed looking at his hands with an unreadable expression. Eventually, Haruka broke the uncomfortable atmosphere with a cough.
"So, now we all know your situation. Okay, girls... I was thinking that since Hina-san invited him, we could allow him to use one of the empty rooms in the dorm--" she began, only to be cut off once again by Naru.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" the redhead exploded, nearly frothing at the mouth with rage. "With all due respect, Haruka-san, that's insane! This is a girls' dormitory! Males shouldn't be allowed in there, especially not perverted slimeballs like him! He even flashed poor innocent Shinobu-chan with his thing! She must have been traumatized!" she ranted, not willing to let things go so easily.
"...auuuuu...!!!" Shinobu wailed as she developed an atomic blush and went swirly-eyed. "That's not... I mean, I didn't... au!"
Kitsune sighed as the Hinatasou's young cook fainted. "Congratulations, Naru. I think you reminding her of 'it' did more damage than the actual experience. Although..." she added with a shrewd look at Keitaro, "I'm curious as to why she'd faint like that. Can't be that big, can it?"
"...can we please change the subject?" Keitaro pleaded, shifting uncomfortably on his feet.
"Well, if it is proportional to the rest of the body..." Haruka remarked casually, then her cigarette nearly dropped from her mouth as she realized just how big Keitaro's new body was. "Uh... forget it. I didn't say anything."
Unfortunately, Kitsune had heard her remark and quickly made some calculations herself, which first made her go wide eyed and then caused her to take on a calculating, predatory air. Shifting slightly closer to Keitaro, she almost started purring, causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end.
"So... mind if I take a peek, stud?" she asked, and Keitaro suddenly understood how a mouse felt when faced with a hungry snake.
"KITSUNE!!" Naru screamed in frustration.
"Hey, hey," Su jumped up and down, just as Shinobu regained consciousness. "What is this 'it' you're all talking about? Is it something yummy?"
"Well, it can be eaten..." Kitsune drawled with a lascivous expression. Shinobu's brain, which had just then caught on, decided it was best to take some more time off, and the young girl fainted again with a thump. Haruka sighed.
"Okay... how about we vote? All in favor of letting Keitaro stay, raise their hands," she said, raising her own. Looking around the room, she noticed Kaolla and Kitsune had also raised their hands. She then blinked in surprise as she saw that Motoko had also raised hers. Never thought I'd see her take a male's side, she mused.
Naru looked at Motoko with a betrayed expression. "You can't be serious, Motoko-chan! He's a pervert! He'll molest you!" she protested. The kendo girl flinched, but didn't lower her hand.
"I have my reasons for letting him stay, Narusegawa," she explained. "I am sorry, but it is best that way."
"...do whatever you want! I wash my hands of all this!" the redhead yelled angrily, turning around and angrily stomping her way uipstairs. Haruka sighed again.
"Well, Keitaro, looks like you've got a place to stay for now. You can use the old manager's room. I'll show you, so get your things and follow me."
As Keitaro and Haruka left, Kaolla Su's gaze followed the large man's retreating form, an unusually serious expression on her normally cheerful face.
Cyttorak... This must be a sign, she thought. My family needs to be informed of this...
As the day came to an end, two girls hastily prepared to contact their families, while another darkly plotted revenge.
One Keitaro Urashima, unstoppable juggernaut and avatar of Cyttorak, shivered.
He had a distinct feeling that Fate was not done stomping him in the ground.
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(A/N: First chapter... over! Hope you enjoyed. Not much to say other than R&R. GH out!)
This time, I take a foray in Marvel Comics crossovers, with a LH/X-Men crossover... although, to be fair, I only take a single thing from X-Men. And if the title of this chapter doesn't give that thing away, you're hopeless. :p
Anyway, enjoy. As always, criticism is greatly appreciated. Now on with the story!)
DISCLAIMER:
Love Hina and all its characters are property of Akamatsu Ken, and I don't claim ownership of them, though I sure as hell would LIKE to. The Juggernaut and Cyttorak are property of Marvel Comics inc., and major props go to them for creating such a popular villain in the first place.
CONTRIBUTORS:
Many thanks to:
+ Lord Raa from The Fanfiction Forums for mucho encouraging and feedback;
+ Moshulel from The Fanfiction Forums for feedback and random ideas;
+ EagleCeres from The Fanfiction Forums for suggesting several deliciously warped twists;
+ Everybody else from The Fanfiction Forums for general proofreading and making sure this fic doesn't suck... hopefully;
+ And thanks to you, reader, for reading this fic, of course!
(“This” is speech. Italics indicate thought. 1234567890 is a scene break.)
Chapter 1: Enter the Juggernaut
Hinata district, early afternoon
"Hmm... Hinatasou. It has been so long since my last visit here."
These words were spoken with fondness by a strikingly imposing young man standing at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the old building on top of the small hill. The young man's goofy smile and friendly eyes were a stark contrast with his intimidating body: he stood over two meters tall, and his large, impressively muscled frame dwarfed even those of champion bodybuilders on TV.
The man's name was Keitaro Urashima... and his life had recently become very, very different. He absently rubbed the back of his head, looking at the old inn before him, and sighed.
"Grandma Hina and Aunt Haruka are going to flip when they see me," he sighed again. "I don't look forward to explaining them just what the Hell happened... Next time, I swear I won't touch dubious gems with strange inscriptions on them."
With a resigned expression, Keitaro started plodding up the stairs leading to Hinatasou. He had a feeling this wouldn't be a good day.
Oh, how right he was...
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"Hello! Is anyone here?" Keitaro's voice rang in the empty entrance of the Hinatasou. He waited a few minutes, then looked around in annoyance.
"Where are Grandma Hina and Aunt Haruka, anyway? Granny said I was welcome to stay here anytime, but she's nowhere to be seen, and the old teahouse was closed and empty as well... maybe I'll meet some of the inn's personnel by snooping around..." he muttered, starting down a nearby hallway.
A few minutes of fruitless search later, he chanced upon the hot spring, its waters invitingly warm and steamy. Thinking on it for a while, he shrugged and smiled, deciding that Granny wouldn't mind if he relaxed in the water for a bit while waiting for her to come back.
Quickly discarding his clothes and grabbing a couple of towels, he made his way in the open air bath and lowered himself in the water with a content sigh.
"Ahhh... nothing quite beats a hot bath after a long trip," he murmured in satisfaction, feeling his muscles loosen up and relax. "I really needed this..."
As he let the hot water work its magic on him, Keitaro dozed off a bit. His moment of peace was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the hot spring doors opening. Turning his head to see who had entered, he spluttered and nearly drowned when he saw a redheaded girl wearing nothing besides a towel make her way in the hot springs area. He sank in the water down to his chin, praying that the girl would not approach him and cursing his bad luck. Of course, this has to be a mixed bath! But why... and when was it made mixed?
Unfortunately, the girl spotted him and waded in the water until she was next to him. Dropping down and leaning against the stones behind her, she sighed and then smiled at him.
"Hey, Kitsune. I didn't think I'd find you here at this time of the day," she greeted, obviously mistaking him for someone else. Keitaro noticed her squint a little. She must be nearsighted, he thought as he looked around frantically for a way out of what promised to be a very dangerous situation. While admittedly he'd found that due to his new 'condition' very little, if anything, could actually hurt him, he still found angry women terrifying. And he was fairly sure that his eyes could still be gouged out.
"Say," the girl resumed, causing him to look at her again - and immediately regret doing so as she began holding her own breasts, "don't you think I've gotten bigger here?"
Keitaro mentally started counting to ten and simultaneously cursed whatever had changed him into what he was now. All this strength, and a girl still manages to short-circuit me, he thought darkly as he held his nose. His train of thoughts was interrupted as the girl suddenly moved in closer and reached for him, causing him to freeze in panic.
"Of course, I still have a long way to go before I'm as... big as... you...?" the girl faltered as her hands touched his chest. While under normal circumstances Keitaro would have appreciated a hot, half naked girl feeling his chest up, he had a sense of impending doom that prevented him from doing anything besides look for an escape route.
As the girl suddenly backed up and took a deep breath, reaching for a pair of glasses that he only now noticed she had brought along, he half hoped she wouldn't make a scene, or have him arrested, or something equally unpleasant.
His hopes died a horrible, grueling death as the girl suddenly started screaming: "EEEEEEEK! PERVERT!!"
Cursing inwardly, he bolted out of the water with unsuspecting speed for someone his size and quickly vacated the hot springs, all the while muttering about crazy hot girls who first felt him up, and then called him a pervert.
Yes, today was looking to be a very bad day for Keitaro Urashima.
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Shinobu Maehara struggled under the weight of the clothes she was carrying. As soon as she'd gotten home, she had set about laundering whatever dirty clothing she found lying about - most of it belonging to the resident drunkard and freelance writer, Mitsune 'Kitsune' Konno.
As she shifted her weight again, trying to balance herself, she heard a commotion coming from the hot springs. Taking a peek around the pile of folded clothes she had in her arms, she saw a very large, very handsome and very naked man barreling down the hall towards her with a frightened look on his face. A familiar voice could be heard angrily shouting in the direction he'd come from.
As the man blazed past her, the air displaced by his massive frame caused her to lose her footing and fall backwards. The young girl 'eep'ed and let go of the clothes, flailing her arms in an useless attempt to straighten herself out. Closing her eyes, she awaited the impact with the floor and the inevitable pain to follow.
What she felt was a massive hand holding her by the small of her back and gently setting her down, and a friendly, if agitated voice, hastily apologizing to her and asking to borrow one of the towels in the stack she had been carrying. As she cast a quick glance at her savior, her eyes were involuntarily drawn to a certain... dangly part of the man's anatomy that stood out in a rather eye-catching way.
Shinobu felt her head spin slightly as she realized what it was. Auuu, they grow that big? she thought in a panic. The sex education lessons must be wrong! There's no way... that... could fit down there! As Shinobu's mind tried to restart, having stalled upon seeing 'it', another angry yell reached her ears.
"YOU SICK FREAK! HOW DARE YOU MOLEST SHINOBU-CHAN!" an angry Narusegawa Naru yelled as she barreled down the hall. Shinobu watched in a daze as the handsome man covered himself and bolted away at an inhuman speed for someone that big. She sat there blinking for several seconds, not really registering Naru's hasty, concerned questions or her threats of castration directed towards the man. Then, finally, the events caught up to her, and she slid to the floor, unconscious.
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Mitsune Konno hummed as she got ready to take a dip in the hot springs. Today had been a good day for her: for once, she had actually won a bet at the horse races, and while the win wasn't particularly big, it was certainly an nice change of pace.
As she discarded her clothes and wrapped her shapely figure in a towel, she heard a commotion coming from the hot springs area. Curious, she left her room and made her way downstairs.
As she got about halfway down the flight of stairs, she spotted a large man skid to a halt at the bottom of the staircase. He then started climbing it three steps at a time, without apparent effort.
As he whizzed past her, she made out a mumbled 'sorry'. She then watched the man disappear down the corridor, idly nothing how the considerable muscles of his back were doing very interesting things as he ran.
Immediately afterwards, she winced as a familiar voice shouted extremely loudly from behind her, at the stairs' base.
"COME BACK HERE, YOU PERVERTED BASTARD! OR ARE YOU TOO MUCH OF A WIMP TO TAKE THE PUNISHMENT YOU SO RICHLY DESERVE?" Naru screamed as she began climbing the set of stairs in earnest, though nowhere near as fast as the man did. As she reached the top, she stopped, looking around, then addressed Kitsune, who was still slightly dazed by the admittedly attractive man who'd blazed past her.
"Hey, Kitsune. Have you seen a perverted large man with just a sheet covering him run past here?"
Blinking, Kitsune automatically pointed at the direction the man had vanished into, and Naru resumed her chase with a hurried 'thank you'.
As the foxy woman watched her redheaded friend disappear down the hall, she wondered about the man again. He hadn't come across as a pervert to her, and he was certainly delicious... er, interesting to watch. Kitsune blushed slightly, and idly wondered if she'd get a chance to see him again... assuming Naru didn't kill him, of course, she amended as she made her way to the hot springs.
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"This really sucks," Keitaro muttered as he darted through the first floor's corridor and cut a corner. "I can't find Granny Hina, and some crazy chick is chasing me, intent on clawing my eyes out or something... I better get out and look for the teahouse. Maybe I'll find Granny there--"
Keitaro's muttering was cut short as he skid to a half, eyeing the obvious dead end before him. A curse escaped his lips as he realized that in his hurry to escape, he hadn't paid attention to where he was going.
Turning around, he heard the sound of footfalls rapidly approaching from the corner he'd just passed and grimaced. That girl just won't give up, he thought as he quickly opened the only door in the corridor, got in and shut it as quickly and quietly as possible, locking it. Leaning briefly against the door, he let a relieved sigh out. This should slow her down... what the Hell?
He blinked repeatedly, just to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, then stared incredulously at what looked like a jungle in a room. Everywhere he could see, it was plants, plants and more plants. He spotted several banana trees, ripe with fruit, as well as a couple orchids here and there. Incredulous, he took a few hesitant steps in the jungle-room.
As he stepped under a particularly large tree, suddenly an upside-down, friendly face entered his field of vision. He instinctively took a step back, blinking.
"Hiya!" the face greeted him with a large smile. "I'm Kaolla! Who are you? Are you here to play with me?"
"Huh?!" Keitaro intelligently replied as he got a better look at the room's inhabitant. The girl was hanging upside down from a tree, waving at him without showing signs of discomfort from the position. She looked to be in her early teens, and Keitaro idly noticed that the fuku she was wearing was obeying the laws of gravity, leaving her white panties uncovered. While normally the sight would've made him very uncomfortable, his brain was still seized up from the impossibility that this room was.
Just them a series of loud knocks came from the room's door. Keitaro froze as he remembered why he'd gotten inside this room to begin with, and swore under his breath as he turned towards the door.
"Kaolla, are you in there?" the voice of the girl who had been chasing him came through the door. "Are you all right? I was chasing a pervert who snuck in the onsen, and I lost him... is he in here?"
Keitaro turned towards Kaolla, a pleading look in his eyes as he signaled to her to be quiet. Unfortunately, he was too slow.
"Yup! He's in here, Naru!" the tanned girl replied cheerfully. "D'ya want to play with us too?"
"...'Play'? You pervert! Leave Kaolla-chan alone!" came the furious reply from outside as the door started rattling. The girl named Naru kept shaking the door for a few seconds in an effort to get it open, then suddenly, the rattling stopped.
As Keitaro started relaxing, thinking she'd finally given up, there was a loud crash as the door was bashed down with a kick. Keitaro quickly took several steps to the side as a seething Naru stepped in the room, glaring daggers at him and looking extremely intimidating, despite being clad only in a towel.
"This is as far as you get," she growled, a menacing glint in her eyes. "I'm not letting you run away again..."
Keitaro had heard and seen enough. Brushing past Kaolla and ignoring her startled jerk, he approached the closest wall.
Then, he promptly ran headfirst into it, reducing it to so much rubble without even slowing down.
Naru stared incredulously at the hole in the wall as her 'target' made his getaway, the sounds of his footfalls becoming fainter with each second, then slipped to her knees, eyes wide.
"What... the hell...?" she whispered in awe. "Did he just... charge through a wood and concrete wall like it was wet paper?"
Besides her, Kaolla jumped off the tree branch she was hanging onto and landed softly on the ground, thoughtful. When that man brushed me... I felt a tingle all over. Almost like when there is a red moon...
As they stared at the escape route Keitaro had bashed for himself, both girls had the same thought.
Who is that man...?
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"Have I gotten away...?" Keitaro murmured as he reached the stairs again and climbed down, looking behind him. "Good, seems my little show back there stunned that girl long enough for me to lose her. She's cute, but what a temper... oh crap."
His last remark was caused by him reaching the base of the stairs, only to see a tall, extremely attractive young woman with long black hair enter the Hinatasou and immediately level a harsh glare at him. The fact she wore a classic samurai outfit - white gi and red hakama - and was carrying what appeared to be a real sword made her look even more menacing, in spite of her ethereal beauty.
"What is a half-naked male doing in a girls' dormitory? You have some nerve for a pervert, but that won't save you from your rightful punishment!" she growled as she unsheathed her sword. Keitaro held his hands up and made to protest, when her words struck him like a bolt of lightning.
"Girls' dormitory? Wait a minute... isn't this the Hinata Inn?" he asked in confusion. Granny said nothing about this! When did she change the inn in a dorm?
"You expect me to believe that feeble excuse?" the girl replied angrily. "This place has been an all-girls dormitory for the last three years. Everyone knows it, and even the sign outside clearly states this! Now stand still and receive the punishment you deserve, perverted male!"
"What?! Hey, I didn't mean to--" Keitaro began to protest, but the girl ignored him as she shifted in an attack position.
"Hiken: Zankuusen!" she shouted as she brought her blade down, creating a shockwave that raced towards him, cracking the wooden floor as it swept over it. Keitaro's eyes widened. Holy crap, a ki attack? I thought only anime and manga had this kind of stuff in them--
His thoughts were interrupted by the ki wave slamming into him. He blinked as he actually felt the blow crash into his impressive frame - while it didn't even budge him an inch and felt more like a love tap than something intended to hurt, he still managed to actually feel it hit him. His respect for the sword-wielding girl went up several notches: in the past months he had found that it took a considerable amount of force to even make him notice something that hit him, and that meant this girl had a lot of power in her seemingly fragile body.
He was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of steel hitting wood, and he looked up to see that the kendo girl's sword had slipped from her fingers and she was staring at him wide eyed.
"Wha... how... why did it not affect you? That blow should have knocked you unconscious..." she gasped, struggling to get the words out. Keitaro sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, a forced smile on his lips.
"Uh, well... it's kinda a long story, and I really need to find my relatives..." he began, when he noticed the young woman's gaze stray downward, and her eyes widen even more if possible. Taking a look himself, he realized her attack had reduced the sheet he had 'borrowed' to pieces, and he was currently flashing her. With a grimace, he hastily covered himself and made to apologize, but before he could say one word, a familiar voice came from the Hinatasou's front door.
"Keitaro...? Is that you?" another woman, this one older than the sword girl, asked with an incredulous stare. Keitaro felt a wave of relief wash over him at finally seeing a familiar face.
"Aunt Haruka! Thank God you're here! I-- HEY!" he protested as Haruka Urashima walked up to him in long strides and whacked him on the back of his head, although she had to stand on the tip of her feet to do so. "What was that for?!"
"For the last time, stop calling me 'Aunt'," she admonished him, then took a step back, gave him a good once-over and motioned for his nearby luggage, which he'd left in a corner of the entrance when he'd gone for a soak in the hot springs. "I assume those are yours, right? Get changed... and after you're done you'll explain to me just how you went from pencil-necked geek to Mr. Universe since I last heard of you."
As Keitaro opened his mouth to answer, a soft thud attracted the two Urashima's attention, and they turned around to see that the sword girl had fainted on the spot, the combined shock of her attack being useless and Keitaro's involuntary flashing apparently having caught up with her brain. Haruka sighed as she felt more commotion coming from upstairs.
"Hurry up, Keitaro. I suspect you're going to have a lot of explaining to do," she urged him with a slight push before turning to attend to the unconscious young woman. Keitaro groaned as he retrieved his clothes and slipped away to get changed. He had a feeling that bad luck wasn't done abusing him just yet.
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A while later, the Hinatasou's tenants were all gathered in the living room, all staring at Keitaro with emotions ranging from curiosity to full-on rage. For his part, the imposing young man was doing his best to not wince at the heated glares the redheaded girl, whose name he learned was Naru Narusegawa, was sending his way. Cute, but definitely needs to see a shrink, he thought. All that rage can't be healthy...
"So, Keitaro," Haruka began, a fresh cigarette hanging from the corner of her mouth, "I'm waiting for that explanation you promised..."
"What's there to explain? He's a pervert and a peeping tom!" Naru immediately objected, sending more death glares in Keitaro's direction. "I don't see why you're even bothering asking for an excuse from him! Relative or not, you should've called the police, Haruka-san!"
"You're out of line, Naru," Haruka spoke up in an uncharacteristically stern tone, leveling an icy stare at her. "As for why I'm asking for an explanation, it's very simple: about ten months ago, the man who's seated before you used to be a scrawny, pencil-necked, 1.70 meters tall loser--"
"Hey!" Keitaro protested, hurt by the description. Haruka ignored him.
"--while now he's over two meters tall and larger than most bodybuilders I've seen on television. Not even steroids can account for such a massive change in such a short time, particularly the increased height. So, I want to know exactly what the hell has happened, and why he's here," she concluded. Turning her gaze to Keitaro, she then addressed him: "I recall Grandma Hina mentioning that you were in some sort of trouble, Keitaro, so I imagine that's why you're here. Now spill it!"
"That's ludicrous!" Naru once again spoke up in outrage. Keitaro twitched in annoyance. "It's obvious why he's here - he's a guy, and guys are perverts!" Another twitch. "Hina-san probably mentioned that this had become a girls-only dorm, so he snuck in to peep--"
"For the last time, I did not know this place had been converted to a dormitory for girls!" Keitaro finally exploded, ramming a meaty fist in the thick mahogany table hard enough to crack its entire surface and causing all the girls as well as Haruka to flinch instinctively. "Granny never said a single word about this, and I have no idea why! And by the way, are you a man-hater or something? Because you've been repeatedly making baseless assumptions and accusing me of perversion--"
"You are a pervert! You snuck in the onsen and felt me up, then ran away like a coward--"
"Wait, wait, wait," Keitaro interrupted her, torn between being incredulous at the girl's bold faced lie or annoyed that she'd try to pass him off for a molester. "I did what? You know, I'm really starting to get pissed off at you calling me pervert when you're the one who was groping me!"
"What! I did no such thing!" Naru heatedly denied, glaring at him even harder. Keitaro snorted in mock amusement.
"Oh? Then pray tell, did I imagine you feeling up my chest?" he retorted, causing her to blush in embarrassment.
"I thought you were Kitsune!" she defended herself, and Keitaro cocked his head to one side, eyeing her with a speculative look.
"...so you're a lesbian. Gotcha," he stated with a completely straight face. "And I'm the deviant one, huh?"
Kitsune glanced at her friend with a worried look. Naru looked about ready to blow up like a volcano, and if the situation wasn't defused quickly, someone was bound to get hurt.
Apparently, Haruka thought the same thing, as she quickly interfered and hastily changed the subject. "Ahem... how about letting him explain and then ranting? I for one would really like to know what happened. So, Keitaro...?" she egged him on.
The large young man sighed as all eyes in the room fell on him (with Naru still glaring at him with barely restrained rage). He took a deep breath and then opened his eyes, looking at Haruka.
"Okay... how to start... I guess the beginning is as good a place as any. Do you remember how interested I was in archaeology?"
"Yeah, like a certain someone I can think of," Haruka muttered quietly, then motioned for him to continue.
"Well... what happened was, a few months ago I was in an antiques shop, looking for some kind of gift to bring you and Granny, since I was considering taking up temporary residence here - it's close to the school I go to, you see," he explained. "While browsing the selection of antique decorations the shop had, I came across a weird red gem - looked like a ruby, actually - which the shop was selling at an outrageously cheap price. Some nonsense about it being cursed, you see."
"So you bought it and it turned out to really be cursed?" Motoko interjected, her thumb just slightly freeing an inch of her sword from its sheath. Keitaro, oblivious to the action, shook his head, looking at his hands.
"Almost right. I bought it, and it is the responsible of my state, but I am not cursed." He raised his head, looking at all the girls and finally resting his gaze on Haruka. "This will probably sound like gibberish to you, but... have you ever heard of an entity named 'Cyttorak'?"
The clang of Motoko's sword hitting the floor for the second time in the last two hours filled the room, and all heads turned towards the now ashen-faced swordswoman.
"Y-y-y-you found the Ruby of Cyttorak?!" the kendoka stammered, looking at him with a mix of awe and fright. "Dear Kami, that explains everything! Your size, your strength, that unreal endurance you displayed--"
"Motoko, you are rambling," Haruka attempted to calm, down the frantic girl. Motoko looked at her with a panicked look in her eyes, then took several deep breathes and settled down, though she still displayed a nervous twitch whenever she met Keitaro's gaze.
"I... I apologize, Haruka-san. I let panic seize me," she stated, bowing her head. "It is just... this morning, I received a letter from my older sister, where she warned me that she felt the seal upon the Ruby of Cyttorak be unraveled about six months ago in this area. As she was unable to find out who had claimed that dreadful artifact, she thought it wise to warn me, should I come across a seemingly invulnerable and superhumanly strong man or woman, to avoid engagement and exercise exceptional caution..."
"You have an older sister?" Kitsune piped up. "I didn't know that, Motoko..."
"This 'older sister' of yours, could she undo whatever it is this Ruby of Cyttorak did to me?" Keitaro interrupted the foxy woman, addressing the kendo girl. Motoko shook her head with an almost apologetic look in her eyes.
"I very much doubt it, Urashima," she replied. "Cyttorak is, for all intents and purposes, a God. You are, in essence, his avatar on this world..."
"So that's what the inscription on the ruby meant..." Keitaro muttered. At Haruka and Motoko's questioning look, he explained: "The ruby had an inscription on it. For some reason, I could make sense out of it, even though it became obvious that it wasn't written in Japanese. Let me see... it read..."
Keitaro's eyes took on a distant look as he recalled the words he'd read on the ruby. Not that he could forget them, as they had totally changed his life...
"Whosoever touches this gem shall be granted the power of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak! Henceforth, you who read these words, shall become... forevermore... a human juggernaut!"
Dead silence followed those words, as Keitaro resumed looking at his hands with an unreadable expression. Eventually, Haruka broke the uncomfortable atmosphere with a cough.
"So, now we all know your situation. Okay, girls... I was thinking that since Hina-san invited him, we could allow him to use one of the empty rooms in the dorm--" she began, only to be cut off once again by Naru.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" the redhead exploded, nearly frothing at the mouth with rage. "With all due respect, Haruka-san, that's insane! This is a girls' dormitory! Males shouldn't be allowed in there, especially not perverted slimeballs like him! He even flashed poor innocent Shinobu-chan with his thing! She must have been traumatized!" she ranted, not willing to let things go so easily.
"...auuuuu...!!!" Shinobu wailed as she developed an atomic blush and went swirly-eyed. "That's not... I mean, I didn't... au!"
Kitsune sighed as the Hinatasou's young cook fainted. "Congratulations, Naru. I think you reminding her of 'it' did more damage than the actual experience. Although..." she added with a shrewd look at Keitaro, "I'm curious as to why she'd faint like that. Can't be that big, can it?"
"...can we please change the subject?" Keitaro pleaded, shifting uncomfortably on his feet.
"Well, if it is proportional to the rest of the body..." Haruka remarked casually, then her cigarette nearly dropped from her mouth as she realized just how big Keitaro's new body was. "Uh... forget it. I didn't say anything."
Unfortunately, Kitsune had heard her remark and quickly made some calculations herself, which first made her go wide eyed and then caused her to take on a calculating, predatory air. Shifting slightly closer to Keitaro, she almost started purring, causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end.
"So... mind if I take a peek, stud?" she asked, and Keitaro suddenly understood how a mouse felt when faced with a hungry snake.
"KITSUNE!!" Naru screamed in frustration.
"Hey, hey," Su jumped up and down, just as Shinobu regained consciousness. "What is this 'it' you're all talking about? Is it something yummy?"
"Well, it can be eaten..." Kitsune drawled with a lascivous expression. Shinobu's brain, which had just then caught on, decided it was best to take some more time off, and the young girl fainted again with a thump. Haruka sighed.
"Okay... how about we vote? All in favor of letting Keitaro stay, raise their hands," she said, raising her own. Looking around the room, she noticed Kaolla and Kitsune had also raised their hands. She then blinked in surprise as she saw that Motoko had also raised hers. Never thought I'd see her take a male's side, she mused.
Naru looked at Motoko with a betrayed expression. "You can't be serious, Motoko-chan! He's a pervert! He'll molest you!" she protested. The kendo girl flinched, but didn't lower her hand.
"I have my reasons for letting him stay, Narusegawa," she explained. "I am sorry, but it is best that way."
"...do whatever you want! I wash my hands of all this!" the redhead yelled angrily, turning around and angrily stomping her way uipstairs. Haruka sighed again.
"Well, Keitaro, looks like you've got a place to stay for now. You can use the old manager's room. I'll show you, so get your things and follow me."
As Keitaro and Haruka left, Kaolla Su's gaze followed the large man's retreating form, an unusually serious expression on her normally cheerful face.
Cyttorak... This must be a sign, she thought. My family needs to be informed of this...
As the day came to an end, two girls hastily prepared to contact their families, while another darkly plotted revenge.
One Keitaro Urashima, unstoppable juggernaut and avatar of Cyttorak, shivered.
He had a distinct feeling that Fate was not done stomping him in the ground.
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(A/N: First chapter... over! Hope you enjoyed. Not much to say other than R&R. GH out!)