Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ K2: The Crimson Daylights ❯ Chapter 7

“Father…” the succubus with green hair smiled. “What a surprise, finding you here.”

 

“Hello, Lily,” Laharl greeted, his forehead sweating a bit. “I didn't know you were here.”

 

Keitaro's eyes went back and forth towards Laharl and the succubus he called Lily. He still couldn't get the notion out of his head; Laharl is a father!? To a succubus no less!? When was this?

 

So many questions sprung forth in his mind, but Keitaro didn't vocalize them, not wanting to tear his eyes and mind away from the face of the two. If he had a succubus daughter, does that mean things will go easier for them around?

 

Laharl's reactions though were hacking that idea into pieces. He was not happy to see his daughter. He was more… fearful? Nervous? What was the story between the two?

 

“Lily, is he really Demon Eyes Laharl?” one of the judges called.

 

“Quite,” Lily responded with a smile. “I'm surprised to find him here. Knowing my father, he knows how to go around the courts. Did he offer himself?”

 

“No… he offered his friend here… The K2 agent we've heard so much about,” one of the judges declared. “And the K2 agent offered him in return.”

 

“Hah!” Lily smiled. “I shall take up on the K2 agents offer.” She smirked at Laharl. “I will be gargling your mayonnaise, father.”

 

Laharl and Keitaro both flinched at that, the former looking rather sick, and Keitaro looking disgusted. Looking at Laharl, Keitaro mumbled, “Your daughter has a rather unique tongue.”

 

“She says she got it from me,” Laharl replied softly. “I think its bullshit though.”

 

“Apple does not fall far from the tree,” Keitaro stated.

 

“Dude, I'm not a damn apple,” Laharl countered.

 

“Quiet!” another judge declared. “The court of the Sisterhood is not present for your small quibbles.”

 

“We have to settle with the human's deal,” another judge declared. “Do we take his deal as the same as the hybrid's? After all, he did say they were both after one thing.”

 

“If one loses, we get who they offered,” one of the judges added. “If they win, they get their deal.”

 

“Sounds reasonable,” another judge declared. She looked back down at the two. “What say you both? Do you both agree to enter the rite of Freedom with these terms?”

 

Keitaro looked at Laharl who seemed to nod. “I'm okay with that,” he stated.

 

“I guess I'm alright with that too,” Keitaro muttered.

 

“We have the deal,” one of the judges declared in a loud voice. “We shall prepare the rite of freedom. Bring the prisoners to their cells.”

 

It seemed like ever succubus cheered at this, and Keitaro wondered briefly what he got himself into this time as the succubus guard helped him up and dragged him away from the court, with Laharl following behind him.

 

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

 

Holding Cell

 

A few moments later…

 

Keitaro looked around his rather spacious cell. It looked like some sort of a small bedroom, with a bed, except there are shackles in them. And in the walls, there were all sorts of assorted tools that Keitaro could only guess would be used. He shuddered.

 

Laharl was uncharacteristically quiet and quite relaxed in the surroundings. Keitaro watched him for any changes of reaction, thinking it might just have been shock. When he got nothing, he frowned. “Laharl,” he called.

 

“Yeah?” he replied, looking up at him.

 

“I was wondering… what is this rite of freedom?” Keitaro asked.

 

Laharl paused briefly, seemingly wondering what to say. After a moment, he began, “Well, the Rite of Freedom is basically a `beat your opponent down'. You'll be released in a maze or something like a maze either alone or with a fellow prisoner and then you have to beat the chosen warriors that the Sisterhood will throw at you.”

 

“Sounds simple, I guess,” Keitaro nodded a bit. “So, we both have to beat what they throw at us… easy enough.”

 

Laharl chuckled a bit. “Yeah… easy enough. Here's the thing, there are many forms, or clauses of the rites. If they decide the Rite of Freedom, clause A, they'll have you fight alone. If you lose, your deal is done… which means you're screwed because the succubi here… they aren't the ones the go down easy. Now, if they use Rite of Freedom, clause B, then we pretty much have a good chance.”

 

“What's clause B?” Keitaro asked.

 

“Group battle,” Laharl replied. “Us two, versus another two succubi; sounds easier, yeah, but the condition of a clause B states that each of us has to beat one of our opponents.” Laharl then frowned. “Here's the difficult part. They get to choose what kind of clause they can spring on us.”

 

Keitaro frowned. “They are going to stick with clause A, aren't they?”

 

Laharl nodded with a frown. “They know me by reputation. They know that I can take almost anything they can throw at me. But you? Even with your reputation of being a playboy and a killing machine, they are going to believe that you are not as strong as a demon or as a succubus. It's their pride as a demon, and as women.” Then he frowned. “But Lily… why the hell did she accept your deal, though I don't know. She can't fight in the rite of freedom. She was basically betting against the odds.”

 

“Why can she not fight?” Keitaro asked.

 

“Only those who have not accepted the deals can be put in the rite, which basically means the judges, the strongest of this succubi convent, and Lily can't participate in the Rite,” Laharl then began to contemplate. “That sounds good, but there are still powerful warriors here that you can't beat alone.”

 

Laharl went back to his thinking again, and Keitaro briefly wondered what to do. Thinking nothing, he asked without much thought, “So… daughter?”

 

“Lily? Yeah…” Laharl mumbled.

 

“How… did it feel? Doing a succubus, I mean,” Keitaro asked with a small smile. If they were the hottest thing to bed, according to Shirai, anyway, he briefly wondered how they were actually. And he wanted to get this nervous shiver out of his system.

 

“I haven't slept with anyone,” Laharl replied.

 

There was a pregnant pause, and Keitaro looked at Laharl with incredulity in his face. “Excuse me? You… haven't slept with anyone?”

 

“Nope… I'm a pure and un-adultered demon hybrid,” Laharl rolled his eyes.

 

“… Someone stole your genetic data?” Keitaro asked, still trying to figure out where Lily came from.

 

“No…” Laharl stood up, and began to pace around. “Lily comes from the future. Well, she claims to be from the future. And I believe her.”

 

“From the future you say? Why do you believe her then?” Keitaro asked, interested.

 

“She knows my fighting tactics, moves, martial arts, has my `demon eyes' ability,” Laharl looked at Keitaro who seemed confused for a moment. “Demon eyes… my ability to create illusions by looking at someone's eyes.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Last time I saw her, I barely beat her… if it wasn't for Kyu-chan… I'd prolly have been one of her bats,” Laharl sighed, and sat down again.

 

Keitaro didn't bother to ask about the Kyu-chan person. “So… why does she want you?”

 

“She wants to get my soul… and all my powers,” Laharl explained simply. “She said that in the future, I didn't give her anymore than the demon eyes, and she demanded that she gets all my powers. Of course, she couldn't, claiming that in the future, I always beat her, hence why she came back to the past to get me before I become strong enough to beat her in a regular basis.”

 

“But wouldn't taking your soul here and now forfeit her chance to be born?” Keitaro asked. He didn't know much about time displacement, but he watched `Back to the Future' enough to understand the basics of it.

 

“She said she can still use my soul and transform herself into me and then sleep with her mother,” Laharl chuckled in a weird way.

 

“And I thought only vampires were the only incestuous creatures,” Keitaro frowned, finding the whole thing quite disturbing. “Who's the mother?”

 

“No idea… though I have a theory. Lily's got green hair... and I only know one succubus with green hair, but she's married already. It doesn't make sense anymore,” Laharl stated with a big frown. Looking at Keitaro, he smiled sadly. “What a life I'll have eh? Fucked and skewered.”

 

“One sympathizes,” Keitaro grinned, and then frowned. “Even if you tried to sell me out.”

 

“Still mad about it?” Laharl asked.

 

“No bad blood, but I'm still ticked off,” Keitaro replied.

 

Laharl then looked at Keitaro weirdly, seemingly an idea popping in his head. “You know what… I finally found a way we can both get the clause B.”

 

Keitaro's eyebrows rose. “How?”

 

“Simple,” Laharl replied, then without warning, punched Keitaro in the jaw.

 

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

 

Sisterhood Council

 

The judges were on their way discussing the rites of freedom, and were about to vote for which clause they'd use when there was a sudden commotion outside. Some guards were suddenly rushing somewhere, shouts and scuffles can be heard about. Wondering what's going, they stood up, and exited the council room, only to see their two prisoners getting down on the ground, seemingly trying to punch each other's lights out.

 

“What in Aensland's name is going on!?” one of the judges demanded.

 

One of the guards saluted. “Judge, the two prisoners started fighting in the cells, and when we tried to separate them, they got to here.”

 

“Separate them now!” one of the judges declared. “We cannot have them damage themselves before the rite! It's unheard of! We'll be laughed at by other convents!”

 

The guards moved at once, separating both Laharl and Keitaro who didn't seem to want to be separated. They struggled out of their clutches, and then came to cuffing each other again. It wasn't until when one of the guards hit Keitaro and Laharl both in their chests that they got them to pause long enough to put handcuffs on them.

 

“You're the bastard!” Keitaro shouted, spit flying out his mouth. “YOU SOLD ME OUT!”

 

“It was the only way!” Laharl grunted back, struggling on his bindings. “And like you are any better! My DAUGHTER is going to do me IN! You sold me out too!”

 

“You should have not dangled me like some piece of meat!” Keitaro stated with a very cold and even voice. “If I had my gun here, I'm going to put two in your head, and three in your heart.”

 

“ENOUGH!” a judge declared. “Put them on separate cells! We shall not have our prices damaged when we receive them,” she ordered the guards. “Now!”

 

The guards moved, grabbing the two men back to the holding cells. The judges looked at each other, and frowned.

 

“They are angry at each other…” one of the judges declared.

 

“Angry? Hate is more like it,” another stated. “Interesting notion, isn't it sisters?”

 

“Quite,” another judge declared. “We can use this to our advantage. Demon Eyes Laharl may be quite difficult to beat one on one, but having two succubi against him would shift the advantage to ours.”

 

“I can see what you mean,” another judge declared. “If we chose clause B, we can practically have both of them, especially since they are not working together on this.”

 

One judge frowned. “What if this is a ploy?” she asked. “A ploy to make us pick the clause to their advantage. As I recall… Demon Eyes Laharl knows about our rules. This could be a set up to make things easier for them.”

 

“I don't think so,” another judge declared. “I watched the human agent. He wasn't faking that.”

 

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

 

Back in the holding cells…

 

Keitaro spat on the ground, holding his jaw. What the hell was Laharl's problem? He suddenly suckered punch him, and demanded to know why sold him out. Then began to call him a number of things that got to Keitaro's temper, and he exploded back soon after. The other man was now on the opposite cell, his face now on the bars.

 

Laharl looked out and tried to spot if there were any other guards. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't see in a certain angle. “Hey, Keitaro… can you see any guards?”

 

“No…” Keitaro muttered coldly. “What is your problem dude?”

 

Laharl seemed to smile nervously. “Sorry about that… I needed you to really hate me for a moment in front of the judges. Make them think we're having a really bad feud, and hate each other, and put some odds against us. If we're lucky, they might decide to use the clause B.”

 

Keitaro massaged his jaw a bit. “You could have warned me though…” he muttered. Looking around again, he sighed. “When is this Rite going to take place?”

 

“First process is the longest one… voting and deciding for which clause. Then the second is getting the people who will join on the fight,” Laharl replied. “It may take a few more hours, so relax.” Keitaro watched Laharl move himself away from the cage, and guessed he was going to go to bed in his cell. With really nothing else to do, Keitaro looked towards the bed in his cell, and sat down.

 

The waiting was probably the most nerve racking part of this whole ordeal. No guards came to check on them, or even gave them food for dinner. Keitaro probably guessed that succubi don't eat anything other than lust of other beings… or it can also be to weaken them just before the fight.

 

Still, he wasn't that hungry. Even if he was, he didn't have the appetite to eat. His mind was more visualizing how to fight succubi. According to his training, the standard iron shots were effective enough to wound the succubi but to kill them, like vampires you had to take their heads off. Unfortunately, he didn't know if he was going to get his gun back, and even if he did… how was he supposed to take their heads off?

 

Succubi are considered like vampires in many aspects, but they don't share the same strengths or weaknesses. Unlike vampires, they are as powerful as their normal selves in the light. And instead of age, their powers increase with how many souls they gather on to themselves. Also, they are ageless, their beauty flourishing as they grow. But unlike vampires, though, they are weaker in a few aspects.

 

They get wounded by iron shots… more so if the iron used were cold iron bullets, the ones that were formed without using any kind of heat. They aren't also as agile as vampires that are in pitch black surroundings, although agility and strength is really more of an issue of the individual supernatural creature. Some are plain faster than the other.

 

On his thoughts, he didn't notice the time passing by, so he was quite surprised when his cell door was opened, and the succubus guard that brought him there was standing outside, motioning him to go out. The moment he did, she roughly turned him around, and cuffed him. Behind him, he heard Laharl complain about the rough treatment… he was probably cuffed too.

 

Without much pause, both Keitaro and Laharl found themselves dragged back towards the court, where once again, the judges and the succubi community seem to be waiting for them. Most of them were quiet once again, seemingly also waiting for the judges' verdict, probably, in Keitaro's opinion. Keeping quiet as well, one of the judges stood up.

 

“The Council of the Sisterhood has finally decided on the terms of the Rite of Freedom,” she said in a clear voice. “The human U-Agent, K2 and Demon Eyes Laharl will both take the rite of freedom together, as stated by the B clause.”

 

Keitaro chanced a look at Laharl, who didn't seem to react. He followed suit… he didn't want them to change their minds.

 

“The rite of freedom will start in 10 minutes. Bring the prisoners to the maze,” the judge stated. “Let the passage begin!”

 

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

 

Maze: Rite of Freedom

 

Keitaro grunted as he was unceremoniously pushed inside the maze along with Laharl. The force was strong enough to bring him to the floor. Shaking his head, he stood up and dusted his clothes.

 

Laharl didn't bother to. A wet black stain was on his jacket, but he didn't seem to mind it at all. “You okay, K2?” he asked in a formal tone.

 

“Don't worry too much about me, D. L.,” Keitaro smirked. “Plan?”

 

“Two. One is safe, but a bit slow. One is riskier, but faster in the elimination process,” Laharl replied. “Plan A, stick together, and take out the succubi they got for us. Plan B, divide and conquer… of course, we have to be relatively close enough in case each of us need each other's help.”

 

“Suggestions?” Keitaro asked.

 

“Either way works… it just depends on your mood,” Laharl smiled.

 

“Plan B, then,” Keitaro replied.

 

“Kick ass, K2,” Laharl said before he dashed away.

 

Keitaro smirked, and then slapped his face gently. He did some stretching, and some katas to loosen his limbs a bit before he also started the hunt. He may not have a gun, but he still had his training to fall back to. Hiding his presence immediately, he then began to softly stalk the grounds, trying to find a clue or a scent where his enemy might be.

 

Taking a left in the corner, he wondered briefly what Laharl was doing, and if he was more successful than him. But so far, he hasn't heard a peep, and no one was that good, especially on this maze. The enclosing makes it more of a stealth game rather than an all out battle. Keitaro could hear the wind blowing from the other side, echoing across the walls. Any noise would instantly magnify and travel across, giving your enemy your position.

 

Then… fleeting footsteps. Keitaro's ears listened intently as it tried to register in his head the noise… where was it coming from? Moving quietly, Keitaro's back hugged the wall, his body moving sideways. The steps were getting louder and louder, and Keitaro briefly wondered if the two chosen warriors for him and Laharl were amateurs for giving their position away… or possibly smart, maybe setting a trap for them.

 

Then he saw them… two succubi, walking together. One of them was holding a mage's staff wand. His eyes narrowed. Looks like he's going to be fighting a magic using succubus, possibly along with her partner… Both the wand and partner screamed `western magic user' to him.

 

Basic strategy: the mage goes down first. In analogical terms, they are the ones holding the guns… the dangerous individuals. The partner acts like a shield, blocking anyone who targets the mage, giving him time to raise invocations, create spells, and possibly even add to the firepower as a magic user as well.

 

Waiting for the right moment to strike, Keitaro took some quiet breathes, preparing himself. The two succubi were now had their backs on him. He smirked. With a dash, he went towards the mage, his footsteps now making sounds, and his target's head was turning around. Well, it wouldn't matter. He'd twist that head completely, and leave Laharl the soon-to-be ex-partner of the mage. His hands came towards her head… but she suddenly grinned. Keitaro realized what was happening too late, and his target suddenly kicked him in the gut.

 

Flying away for a few meters, crumpling in the ground, Keitaro watched with a mix of disbelief as the mage he was targeting threw her staff towards her partner behind him. The partner was now invoking a spell. He'd been duped.

 

“Sa Vera Das! Magic archer! Consecutive blast!” she began to chant fast in Latin. “17 arrows of darkness!”

 

Keitaro rolled on the ground as the 17 dark arrows came flying towards him. 6 hit the floor he was in earlier, exploding in dark energy, while the 11 other arrows either hit the walls, or grazed him. He was about to run for it, when her partner, the `mage' he was targeting earlier was now coming at him, grinning.

 

They baited him with a switch. They fooled him by thinking that he was targeting the mage, when in actuality he was really targeting the partner. Blocking the punch coming at him, he was barely able to dodge her physical attacks. The last attack threw him out of balance, and her attacks were keeping him off. He briefly wondered why it seemed the succubus he was fighting was more content in making him trip than actually getting a hit in. And after a few moments, he realized why.

 

“Sa Vera Das!” her mage partner chanted. “From my hands, come forth! Dark Cyclone!”

 

Keitaro shouted as the one he fought suddenly went out of his view, and instead was replaced by a black tornado coming at him horizontally instead of vertically. It hit him with a force that got him back towards a wall, making him spin a bit at the same time. The impact was so strong that Keitaro knew he made a slight dent.

 

A strong punch in the gut got him wheezing for air. Keitaro coughed a bit, gritting his teeth, wondering why supernatural women seem to not always hold back when they do their attacks. He was grabbed by his collar, and shoved once again to the wall. Quickly, without much thought, lifted his legs and gave the succubus grabbing him a strong kick to her gut with his two feet. Her little moan satisfied him a lot, and without another pause, used his elbows on the offensive.

 

In close quarter combats as such, his elbows penetrated whatever defenses the succubus had. Her arm was overpowered, and she was kneed this time to the gut. She rolled away, only for Keitaro to see that he was once again in front of the succubus mage, and she unleashed another spell on him. This time, though, he dodged it.

 

He finally got to figure out how they are fighting. The partner concentrates on placing him in a specific place while her partner unleashes a whole lot of magical attacks once Keitaro's lured in. Using that knowledge, Keitaro moved faster, dodging the places where he was being placed to, and now trying to mount an offensive against the partner of the mage.

 

It was nearly impossible. The succubus was too fast for him to get another solid hit in, and her punches were now getting more and more direct. Last one grazed his cheek, cutting him, to his shock, and deciding enough was enough, he grabbed the offending succubus with his arms on her shoulders, and using the base of his neck and spine, pulled back, and head-butted her.

 

Keitaro didn't notice the crown on his opponents head… and even if he did, he wouldn't expect it to suddenly change form from clothe to steel. His head-butt came back to bite him back… hard. The sound of metal clanged across the maze, and Keitaro shouted, holding his head that was now cut open.

 

“Miyara… finish him now!” the succubus said to her mage partner.

 

“Then get out of the way Vilera!” she then closed her eyes. “Sa Vera Das! I invoke the Ice Queen… May the cold steal the warmth, imprisoning even the hot flames! Flash Freeze!”

 

Keitaro watched as everything suddenly froze around her, and the ice went straight towards him. It was too fast for him to dodge… and even if he could, a part of him would still get caught with the ice, and it would leave him open to that fighting partner. He raised his arms, on instinct, trying to protect himself when a Laharl appeared in front of him.

 

“Omega Del Atla! Mother earth, protect your children! Earth sphere!” Laharl chanted in Latin with quick succession. The whole ground then suddenly rose from the front of them, and enclosed around the two men, stopping the ice spell on its tracks.

 

“Laharl,” Keitaro called.

 

“Sorry, Keitaro, but I couldn't find them, so I thought they were working together,” Laharl stated without looking at him. “I didn't expect them to use mages against us… fucking succubi and their fucked up logic. Overkill. And from what I've seen, they're actually close partners.”

 

“New plan?” Keitaro asked without pause.

 

“Yeah… I can use magic to a degree, so I can cover you as you try to beat down her partner,” Laharl said without second thoughts. “I'll try to keep the mage from firing at you, and throw their synchrony out of the window.” He then raised his right hand, while his left hand suddenly formed a crimson katana. “Omega Del Atla! Magic Wall breaker… Spear of Stone!”

 

The two succubi jumped out of the way when a massive stone spear came out of the earth sphere and almost skewered them. Landing on the ground, they looked at each other as they saw the two silhouettes of their two enemies.

 

“The hybrid is a mage?” Miyara, the mage succubus asked, more to herself than anyone.

 

“This is interesting,” Vilera, her partner replied.

 

Keitaro and Laharl's face was now clear in view, and they were staring at them, waiting for them to move first.

 

Miyara smiled. Vilera didn't waste anymore time and charged at once. Keitaro dashed towards her to intercept. At the same time, Miyara raised her wand, and began to chant, “Sa Vera Das!”

 

Laharl raised his right hand as well. “Omega Del Atla!”

 

While in different positions, Keitaro and Laharl both had the same thoughts.

 

They are going to defeat their opponents.

 

Coincidentally, that's the thoughts of their enemies as well.

 

To Be Continued…

 

Magical battle starts… the conclusion to the rite, and hopefully the end of all suffering? Next.