Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ K2: The Crimson Daylights ❯ Chapter 3

Hinata-sou Kitchen

 

Dinner Time…

 

Naru stared at Laharl with a sort of shock, not unlike having a person witnessing the creation of the universe. In front of her was the man she thought she and Motoko ceremoniously kicked out earlier. “Wha… What are you doing here!?”

 

“Naru-sempai! Please!” Shinobu suddenly said with a rather uncharacteristic steel in her voice.

 

“Yeah, Naru-san, please,” Keitaro smirked inwardly, a bit impressed by Shinobu and Laharl. The former for shedding her shyness even for a bit and Laharl for helping her do that. The guy was again in his `kicked puppy' expression. “Laharl has no where to go… he doesn't have money, and he's really hungry. You can't be that cruel, can you, Naru-san?”

 

Naru huffed, and frowned. Growling mutinously, she sat down, not really up for arguing. “Fine. As long as he isn't staying here.”

 

“Don't worry, I'm staying on the grounds,” Laharl replied, still his eyes with tears.

 

Naru glared at Keitaro now, who stared at her with disdain. “Naru-san… if I had my way, I'd put him in a room here, but out of the goodness of his heart, Laharl told me he was going to fine outside the cold air. He even burrowed a tent from my aunt.”

 

Naru frowned nastily at Laharl, who was looking at her with teary eyed expression. She sighed, and finally folded. “Alright.”

 

“Thank you, Naru-san,” Keitaro stated.

 

“Thank you too,” Laharl said, wiping his crocodile tears.

 

Motoko entered the room, and upon spotting Laharl, she grabbed her sword and was about to unsheathe it when Keitaro stood up. “Motoko-san, stop. He's only here for dinner… he's not staying in the dorm.”

 

Motoko looked at Laharl who was once again looking like some ten year old kid crying. She cringed. Looking around, she saw Naru who seemed to nod with some sort of regret, so she too relaxed. Taking her seat, she glared one last time to Laharl, who was smiling, gone were the traces of his tears.

 

Motoko and Naru frowned while Kitsune grinned. After the food was served (Shinobu added more to accommodate Laharl's appearance) everyone dug in, and for a few moments, there was peace. The two tenacious women forgotten their anger, and along with the others, ate with gusto in the amazing dinner that Shinobu cooked.

 

After a few moments, though, Keitaro called the attention of Su. “Hey, Su, you think I can show Laharl your room? He didn't believe that it's filled with plants.”

 

Naru and Motoko's voice was about to protest, when Su happily replied, “Sure! I love new guinea pigs!”

 

Motoko and Naru cringed suddenly, and didn't pursue their protest. They knew that their young genius tenant was stronger than she seemed, and quite sadistic at times when it came to treating some people as experiments. They remembered her trying to cook the new turtle that Keitaro had named `Tama-chan'. He said he got it from a friend from Okinawa.

 

Speaking of Tama, the turtle suddenly flew in, much to Motoko's chagrined. It flew towards her that got her to jerk out of the way, and Tama landed in Laharl's head. Motoko stood up abruptly and grabbed her sword, and pulled it out. Everyone else but Laharl cleared the way.

 

“You flying-demonic TURTLE!!!” Motoko began to shout. “LEAVE THIS PLACE AT ONCE!!”

 

Laharl's face went again to his puppy mode, and surprisingly, so was Tama's. Motoko cringed, and slumped her shoulders in defeat. “That is IT! I'm not eating in the same room with this demon!” she exclaimed, grabbed her plate and proceeded out of the kitchen.

 

Laharl watched as everyone seemed to blow a sigh of relief. “What was that all about?”

 

Keitaro smiled, and replied, “It seems that turtles are Motoko's kryptonite.”

 

“Ah…” Laharl nodded, and continued eating. Everyone except Motoko joined in.

 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 

KU's Lab

 

After Dinner

 

“It's been a while since I've been here,” Laharl stated as he exited the elevator.

 

“You've been here?” Keitaro asked, surprised, looking at Su, who nodded.

 

“Yeah… D-Ls helped me built this place, and told me some ideas about new inventions and stuff… which reminds me… SHOW!” Su suddenly pointed at Laharl, who just raised his arm, showing a Tag Huer watch with a red face.

 

Keitaro briefly wondered what was going on until Laharl just removed his watch and let Su study it. She seemed to remove a part, and asked Laharl what it was.

 

“That is a bug where I place on targets to track them down,” Laharl said with a smile.

 

“But whatcha use to read where the target is?” Su asked.

 

Laharl pressed the knob of his watch once, and suddenly, blinking lights began to appear along the slit dials of the watch. Su seemed to watch with fascination as she moved the bug from one place to another, and watched as the light in the dials blinked towards where the bug was.

 

“Ooh! Nice!” Su said, and then took notes. “Quite handy. We can make the bug magnetic or sticky so has a good chance to stay with the target. Of course… if we use magnetism, we have to use non-iron parts…”

 

Keitaro smiled as Su seemed to study the watch more. “You guys compare tools?”

 

Su nodded without looking at him, her eyes on the watch. “Yups! Every time he comes here, he has to show me something new, or else…” she suddenly cackled. Keitaro looked at her oddly.

 

“Hmmm… not much it has, eh?” Su nodded, giving Laharl back his watch.

 

“Of course… you know my real tools for any job are these,” and he raised his hands, extracting crimson scalpels out. Keitaro wondered where the scalpels may have come from, as Laharl wasn't wearing anything in his sleeves to hide any tools attached to it. Su seemed to nod at the explanation, and then showed Laharl another Omega watch, its face color red.

 

“Here's the new watch I invented and perfected!” Su then pressed the knob of the watch once. “Now, say anything!”

 

“Like what?” Laharl asked.

 

“Okay, that's good!” she pressed the knob again. She then showed them towards the computer room, and she began to type in 3 of the keyboards, and she opened a file which played back Laharl's voice.

 

“Like what?”

 

“Cool,” Keitaro stated. “Recording voice that sends the audio file itself to the mainframe?”

 

“Yup!” Su gave the watch to Keitaro, who raised his eyebrows. “Here! You're new watch! Give me your old one and I can finally add some stuff I've been planning.”

 

“But I like my old watch,” Keitaro stated. “And it has more uses too.”

 

“But you don't need it,” Su looked at him oddly. “You won't have any missions till you complete your training.”

 

Keitaro frowned, and with regret, gave his watch away, and wore the new one. Then he looked at Su, “This is your payback, isn't it? For not letting you touch my baby?”

 

Su grinned. “You can say that.”

 

“Your baby?” Laharl asked.

 

“Yeah… you heard about what happened a week ago, right?” Keitaro asked.

 

“Rumors, speculations, and of course, facts from both Otohimes and Urashimas,” Laharl smirked. “You can't believe how the new rumors made you look like.”

 

“Huh? What do you mean?” Keitaro asked.

 

“Its better if I didn't tell you yet,” Laharl winked at him. “Though I can tell you this, you are now one of the most interesting male humans in the supernatural world… though not really up to par with some other demonic idols, and angelic bishonen angels and gods, but for a human, it's quite an accomplishment.”

 

Keitaro paused, and then just shook his head. “Anyway, to continue, I was given a gift by G, who wanted to pay me for the unofficial mission.” He smiled. “I call it my baby. Here, let me show you.”

 

Keitaro led Laharl and Su towards the garage where there were still engines and bodies of vehicles still under construction. There were even parts of the Ducati that Keitaro drove last week, in pieces, of course, and unfixable. Su kept it for the parts.

 

In the middle of the room though was a brand new Aston Martin DB9 Coupe, color metallic grey. Laharl whistled as he began to look around the car, noting its sleek body frame. He opened the passenger's seat, and looked inside, impressed.

 

“Nice car,” Laharl smiled as he closed the door. “I know why you don't want KU to touch it.”

 

“Hey,” Su frowned at them. “I'd be able to add some more stuff in it to make it more useful to missions. Like adding a booster, add a few more horsepower, making the frame body more durable, more lightweight…”

 

“Self destruct mechanism?” Keitaro asked.

 

“Of course!” Su replied.

 

“Forget it then, KU… Keitaro fell in love with the car, so I don't think he's gonna let you touch it soon,” Laharl smiled.

 

“Eh, phooey. I'll be your next favorite thing, K2! You just watch!” Su crossed her arms. “I'll get big ample bosoms, and my legs will be long, sleek and sexy.” With that, she left the garage, leaving both Laharl and Keitaro alone. The former was smirking at Keitaro, who rolled his eyes.

 

“What's your car, Laharl?” Keitaro asked as he began to pat his car.

 

“KU likes you,” Laharl laughed as a tick appeared in Keitaro's head. “My car is a simple Toyota Echo.”

 

Keitaro looked at Laharl with a sort of disbelieved face. “… A Toyota Echo…”

 

“Hey, it's a good car to go around with,” Laharl smiled. “No beauty like this one, but it functions well as a car, and has good gas consumption too. I was going to get a hybrid, but I thought what the hell, I love my red Echo.”

 

Keitaro began to nod. “Well… that's not so bad, right? I heard it was a good car.”

 

“Yeah… my CD collection is in it too… though I may have to give your car a house-warming present. What music do you listen to?” Laharl asked.

 

“Jazz… mostly. Some blues. You?” Keitaro asked.

 

“Rock all the way. Some classics, some techno… really depends on the song.” Laharl then approached Keitaro, and asked, “You're going to start your workout tomorrow, right?”

 

“Yeah…” Keitaro nodded. “Why are you asking that?”

 

“Here,” Laharl gave Keitaro two elastic wrist bands, and two elastic ankle bands. Keitaro looked at them for a moment, before Laharl told him to wear them. As he did, he wondered briefly what they were for.

 

“What's this for?” Keitaro asked.

 

“Give me a minute,” Laharl then grabbed one of the bands and closed his eyes. After a moment or so, Keitaro suddenly found the wrist band that Keitaro was touching weigh ten kilograms. Laharl did the same to others, and Keitaro frowned as he found his movement weighed down. “There ya go, Laharl muttered.

 

“The weight… what did you do to the bands?” Keitaro looked at the bands, seeing no notable difference. No mana, or ki.

 

“Altered them a bit,” Laharl smiled mysteriously. “Now… it may not be much weight, but it will definitely show its effects and helps you build your mass back up on your workouts faster than normal. When you're used to them, tell me and I'll increase the weights more.”

 

“Nice…” Keitaro lifted his arm, and looked at the band in his right wrist. “It won't even affect in fighting… the band, I mean.”

 

“Yup,” Laharl nodded. “Look, its late, so I'm gonna go and hit the sleeping bag. Do whatcha need to do.”

 

Keitaro watched as Laharl left, and wondered what the hurry was. It was only 7 or so in the evening and the night was still young. As a stroke of inspiration, Keitaro's mind suddenly began to move its wheels as he thought of a way to train himself. But first… he needed to find Su, and get to her good side… if she really was mad at him as she sowed earlier.

 

Spotting her in the in the invention room, where she was seemingly fixing a black jacket, Keitaro wondered briefly what she was up to, but gently coughed to get her attention. Su turned around, in her eyes were the weirdest goggles Keitaro has ever seen. Ignoring that, Keitaro asked Su if she could have a moment.

 

“Whatcha need, Keitaro?” Su asked, removing her glasses, smiling at him. Keitaro smiled inwardly. Well, at least she isn't mad… or was she?

 

“I wanted to ask for some additions in the lab,” Keitaro asked.

 

“Oh… alright, let me listen,” Su smiled.

 

Keitaro proceeded to tell her what was on his mind.

 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

 

Next day…

 

Keitaro briefly opened his eyes, and looked at his new watch. It was 4 in the morning, and he got up, feeling the weight of the bands on him. He did a few punches and a few low kicks, seeing how far it limited him. He then put on some clothes… his jogging pants and sweatshirt and rubber shoes.

 

While the weight of the bands themselves were no problem for him, he noticed the longer he went with his workout, he was being drained of a good stamina, and it seemed to weigh more the longer he went. He was able to barely complete his 4 mile hike, but he sucked it up.

 

The cold air was a welcome to him as he passed through stores that were still closed. He passed the bridge twice… once going halfway on his jog, and the other going home. He ended his run with a mad dash up the Hinata-sou steps. When he arrived up there, he was gasping for some breathe; his arms and legs were sore. He cooled down with a little brisk walking along the grounds.

 

He heard Motoko doing her early workouts. 1000 strikes with her sword, and later on, a jog for 2 or 3 miles, he would guess. He was tempted to join her, as working out with someone is usually better than alone. His eyes then went towards Laharl's tent, and briefly wondered what kind of workout the demon hybrid did.

 

Entering the tent, he was suddenly surprised to see a rather spacious surrounding inside the tent compare it to its shabby look on the outside. There was a small bed, a desk, a lamp, and even a closet.

 

Shaking his head, Keitaro went towards Laharl's bed, which was occupied by the man who seemed to give not a care in the world, sleeping silently. On the desk though was a scatter of papers.

 

Curiosity getting the better of him, Keitaro began to look at the papers, and frowned as he recognized the para-legal symbols used. These were official papers from hell.

 

Reading a few, he got files of multiple of male and female demons that were stamped with MIA in their pictures. He slowly read their files, and his mind suddenly began to click on some of the circumstances that they disappeared.

 

“They were agents authorized from hell,” Laharl's voice suddenly pierced the air, surprising Keitaro. He dropped the papers he was reading, and looked at Laharl, who was now sitting up the bed. He didn't look slightly mad, smiling rather with a sad smile. “Demons with passports, you can say. Since last year, a large number began to disappear ever 2 months.”

 

Keitaro frowned. “Okay… so, why do you have their files?” he asked.

 

“I've been asked to do a favor from my contact in hell,” Laharl stood up, and walked towards the closet. “She asked me to investigate the disappearances of the demon agents as NOC agent… you know, non-official cover. She wants me to know where they are disappearing, and why.”

 

Keitaro frowned, and looked at the files again. A lot of missing demon agents. Was this why Laharl wanted to leave the Inn early last night? To study the files? “So… this is your job in hell?”

 

“Not really a job I'd usually take, but there are some stakes that got to my attention,” Laharl was now dressed in black jeans, black boots and white sleeveless shirt. “Let's go, and work out. I'll tell you more as we fight.”

 

There was no chase this time, as Keitaro and Laharl walked side by side, rather silently towards the empty field lot. As they got to the center, Laharl went to fighting position again, and Keitaro didn't waste time, and charged with the offensive this time.

 

The next 30 minutes or so, Keitaro attacked and tried to hit Laharl, who would nimbly dodge almost all his attacks, and counter, and shift to offensive, making Keitaro defend. The longer it went again, the heavier his arms and legs felt, and Keitaro's movement slowed by a third. When Laharl was getting his hits in, he began to berate Keitaro.

 

“If you're any slower, K2, dogs will pee on you,” Laharl muttered in a rather serious tone. Keitaro gritted his teeth, and forced his hands to speed up. Laharl nodded. “Better.”

 

But Keitaro didn't feel he was doing any better. Laharl was moving slightly faster than yesterday, and he had no trouble anymore mixing his attacks. His battle tactic was still the same, except he seemed to skip it at times, fooling Keitaro that instead of him blocking from the opposite direction Laharl was going to hit him, he was going for straight forward attacks.

 

At times, it seemed the direction of his attacks were random, and at the same time, precise. Laharl didn't even seem remotely tired, and was doing attacks like nobodies business, and Keitaro briefly wondered how much Laharl trains himself. He didn't look that chiseled, but quite lean, and with a few amount of muscle mass.

 

Laharl officially ended the match when his outside crescent kick caught Keitaro in his neck, and he pinned Keitaro down, his neck between Laharl's bent knee. Letting him up, he nodded, and said, “Better than yesterday, considering the fact you were fighting with weighed arms and legs. You got the point of studying your opponent well.”

 

Keitaro frowned, dusting himself. “You kept changing your tactics.”

 

“Of course,” Laharl replied easily. “It'd be stupid if you stuck with just one tactic all the way unless you can do a little micro-management in between your attacks.”

 

“Micro-management?” Keitaro asked.

 

“Yeah. For example, you can choose to speed up your attacks, keeping your basic tactics so to hit your opponents even if they know how you'll attack… or overwhelm your opponent with power. Lots of stuff you can add to your tactics to give them an edge without actually changing them. Of course, it's easier to just change tactics at times to keep your opponents confused.”

 

Keitaro nodded, and both began to walk towards the grounds again. After a few minutes, Keitaro asked Laharl what was bothering him for a while. “Laharl… did you mind when I was looking at those files?”

 

Laharl shrugged. “Not really. I'm glad you did though. I was going to ask you if you wanted to help me with this one.”

 

Keitaro stopped on his tracks. Laharl noticed him stopping, and stopped to. Keitaro looked at Laharl. “Why would you ask that? And why do you think I'll accept?” he asked.

 

Laharl shrugged again. “I thought you might want to do something considering that the U faction isn't giving you any missions until you complete training with me. Unless you consider baby-sitting me a good mission already.”

 

Keitaro watched Laharl give him a lop-sided grin. “You know about G telling me to protect you?” Keitaro asked, not really surprised.

 

“Well, it is the most logical thing to do… I am definitely weaker without any mana because I can't use magic, or even some of my demonic properties, but really though,” Laharl rolled his eyes. “If I have any enemies, most of them would be helpless too around the Hinata grounds. And I can take care of myself well without mana.”

 

Keitaro nodded. “So… why would I even accept the mission? I'm a U Agent… neutral, not in Heaven or Hell's side.”

 

“Because this is about this world,” Laharl responded. “The missing agents… they are causing unrest in Hell, and they are demanding Heaven for an explanation, and consider the gods responsible. Of course, they deny any involvement, telling Hell it was their own fault, and washing their hands out of it. If the two continue butting heads, I'm afraid that they are going to wage a war against each other, and this world will be caught in the middle.”

 

Keitaro frowned. “This is a rather big step for me… my last few missions were what…? Getting a target alive… I failed that miserably. Then there is that test of yours… then with the neko-lycans, but now you are asking me to help you save the world.”

 

 

“Believe me, its easier than it sounds,” Laharl smiled. As they entered the grounds, Laharl entered his tent, and came out with a very nice orange jacket. Keitaro briefly wondered how he was going to make himself look like an otaku, until he saw Laharl wear those coke bottle glasses.

 

That single accessory killed his cool look factor. Keitaro almost blanched. Laharl seemed to notice, and gave a toothy grin, much to Keitaro's chagrined. “Otaku look is perfect,” Keitaro stated.

 

“Thanks,” Laharl replied. He did a thumbs-up and a toothy grin that was so Otaku that Keitaro couldn't hold it anymore and rolled his eyes.

 

Keitaro and Laharl walked again towards the dorm. “So… if I accompany you and help you in your mission… what's the first thing in order?”

 

“The last agent who was investigating the disappearances was talking about visiting the vampire hideout in Tokyo. I was going to go there after lunch or so,” Laharl replied.

 

“After lunch?” Keitaro asked. “Why? Busy in the morning?”

 

“Heh… we both will be. We're still sparring after breakfast,” Laharl replied.

 

Keitaro chagrined again. “Aren't you going to tire me out?”

 

“Nah. We'll take sufficient rest in between. Besides… hearing things about you from both Mutsumi and Haruka, you can take it,” Laharl grinned.

 

Keitaro groaned. As they entered the dorm for breakfast, Keitaro looked at Laharl, and asked, “Do you really need my help?”

 

Laharl frowned a bit. “In this business, you'll need all the help you can get. I can do it alone, but… I think it would be easier if you joined with me here.”

 

Keitaro sighed. “Looks like I'll be doing another un-official mission,” he muttered. “Oh well… at least when I'm with you, I can do what G told me to. Protect you.”

 

“Except for one thing,” Laharl stated.

 

“What is that?”

 

“If we succeed… you may have saved the world,” Laharl smirked as Keitaro seemed to revel at that fact. As they went entered the kitchen, Laharl continued, “Don't look happy, though… the world's been saved countless of times, its not that impressive anymore.”

 

To Be Continued…

 

Tokyo… to meet the vampires. What new information will they reveal and who are their suspects? Next.