Chapter 9 - Chapter 9

Author's note: This is a crossover with the Love Hina manga and my personal Abiotic Factor stories. This takes place two years before Keitaro and Naru are married. This is my first fic here so be honest in all post.

Legal Disclaimer: Love Hina is not mine nor are the characters, minus Amadeus and the other added characters, are mine either they belong to Ken Akamatsu (lucky guy).



Chapter 9



Later that day as the sun began to set, basking the sky in varying hues of red and pink Deus meditated over the day's events. As he sat in the courtyard watching the surreal picture in front of him he had to almost laugh at how odd the day had been. From waking to find Kitsune in his bed to the run of events at work that took most of the day to fix to finally where he sat at the present.



'Man what a day this has been. If I have too many more days like these, I am going to need a vacation from this vacation. Well I had better go get cleaned up for supper.' he thought to himself as he got up to leave. It was then that he felt the presence of someone watching him from the shadows.



"You know I now see where Motoko got her hobby of spying on people. In fact I'd say that if you two watched me anymore I'd think the two of you where stalking me." he said with amusement to a group of shadows over his shoulder.



"Oh my you could still sense me even though I had masked my signal that's quite impressive indeed." Tsuruko said smiling as she walked out of the shadows. As she came up to him, she gave a small bow. "Sorry to disturb you but I had to find out if my suspicions on what I was told about you where true and I must say that I'm quite impressed."



"Really and what else did Motoko tell you about me?" he inquired knowing instantly who her informer was.



"She said that you are a very powerful warrior this I can tell from the strong presence that surrounds you. She seems to hold you in high regards, but something that she said has me slightly puzzled."



"Really and what's that?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow.



"She said that you fight with a style that she had never seen, and I was wondering if you could show me or tell me the style that you use."



"It doesn't have a name."



"I don't quite follow." she said slightly confused.



"Well early in my studies I found out that all the styles had a weakness of some sort or another. So I decided that I would take the styles from all over the world and peel away there weaknesses until I was left with an unbeatable style. In fact I went as far as designing a sword specifically for the style,” he said as he drew the sword and handed it to her, “as you can see it's not like other swords yet it's made of them all."



"Truly impressive." she said as she looked at the blade she held. She then turn her attention to him again as she handed back the sword. "Could you show me this style?"



"I suppose" he said as he returned the blade to its sheath, "but we might want to move to a more secluded area so as to limit the damage we might cause. Keitaro already has enough bills to pay from the damage he causes when he's dealt punishment."



She smiled and nodded her head in approval, "Very well but I still have more questions that I need answered."



“Well I shall try my best to answer them.”



“Then follow me please.” She said as she vanished from in front of him.



`She's fast.' Deus stated in his mind as he tried to find her signature. As he located her he was off and soon hot on her heels jumping from rooftop to rooftop in a high speed game of cat and mouse. After a few minutes they found themselves deep in the woods surrounding the town. “Well shall we begin?” he asked her as they faced each other.



“By all means but before we begin I'd like to inquire you on something.” She asked as her voice took on a more serious tone.



“What's that?” he asked as he stretched his back.



“What are your feelings towards Motoko?”



“What do you mean?” he asked quizzically, “I mean she cares for her friends and is a skilled swordsman that possesses great potential, but she is held back because she is unsure on how to handle her emotions. This, I believe, is the reason why she is a little short tempered at times.”



“I mean could you love her?” she asked bluntly.



As she said that she saw his expression change more thoughtful as if how best to reply to the question, till finally he looked up and she saw a grin creep across his lips. “How about we make a wager if I lose I'll tell you. How does that sound?”



“Very well then.” She replied as she began to gather her energy causing the winds to swirl around her.



`This could end badly.' He noted as he felt her level continue to rise, and he raised his to match hers.



As their auras continued to envelope them they stood eying each other as they looked for a possible opening. Tsuruko was the first to strike as she charged at him drawing her sword in a horizontal arc. She figured that she was moving to fast for him to block successfully, but to her surprise her sword connected with his still sheathed sword. Then without losing any momentum or leverage he used her blade that was pushing against his sheath to draw his blade quicker than normally.



She was surprised by the speed of his draw and had to jump back, just barely missing the tip of his blade. Dues wasted no time in taking advantage of her retreat, and switched to an underhand grip as he closed on her. He thrusted at her with his elbow which she parried to the side but due to his grip it left them in a struggle for control.



“You're skill is admirable.” She said as she pushed against him.



“So is yours but I wouldn't expect less from a Master of the God's Cry School.” He said as they pushed away from each other.



They launched themselves at each other again with greater ferocity than before and where soon entangled in a deadly dance of blades. Again and again they collided, with such speed that they soon appeared as two blurs. Then as Deus was about to try again Tsuruko vanished in front of him.



`What… Where'd she go?' he thought to himself before he picked up on her from, `above.'



He looked to see her high above him with her sword above her head as she charged her energy into it. “God's Cry School Ultimate Strike! Shin Lightning Slash!” she cried as she launched the powerful energy bolt towards him.



The attack came at such speed that he was barely able to raise a barrier to block the blast. As the energy pushed against the wall of the shield he strained as he applied more power to his defense. After a few moments he was able to deflect the blast, but to his dismay Tsuruko had once again seemingly vanished.



`”That was a little close for comfort.” He said as he scanned for her signature, and he tried to formulate some kind of strategy on how to deal with his opponent. “That attack along with the others that I've observed from Motoko shows that their form relies on launching powerful, energy laced, wind attacks. So the only way to counter them is to get in close as she gets ready to launch her attack, but someone of her skill will expect this. So how to do it?”



He was knocked out of his thoughts as he picked her up and was just able to sidestep to avoid her blade. He lashed out with his leg hoping to knock her down but she jumped away and disappeared into the surrounding trees once more.



`This isn't going to work. In this environment she has the advantage and if this keeps up it'll only be a matter of time till she wears me down. Plus I cannot risk turning into Death because I may loose control and hurt her. So the only option left is to even the playing field.'



He quickly flew into the air barely avoiding another attack as Tsuruko flew past where he had stood only moments before. As he watched her jump up after him he raised his hand toward her approaching figure and began to concentrate his energy into his palm. When he had gathered enough he began to fire a series of blast that headed towards the swordswoman but they zoomed past, missing by mere centimeters.



“Your aim is quite poor Mr. Gallimus.” She said as she swung her sword towards him.



He raised his sword in time to block her attack and a small grin crept across his face, “Is it?”



She looked to see that he had indeed hit his intended target. The blast had cleared an area of the forest big enough so that she couldn't effectively use the trees for cover. She didn't dare look away long from her opponent and she soon renewed her attacks as they fell. Before they hit the ground she managed to grab onto Deus's shirt and place him between her and the approaching earth. As they hit Tsuruko's knees where implanted into Deus's ribs forcefully knocking the wind out of him.



Tsuruko quickly got to her feet as he fought to regain his breath; she raised her blade over his now crouching form to deliver the final blow. “Boulder Cutting Blade!!!” She yelled as she brought the attack down to bear on him.



But before the attack struck him he raised his sword in his right hand, blocking the main blunt of the blade but it still cut deep into his shoulder, and he placed his left firmly against her stomach. “Gottcha.” He said with that same grin, and he launched a powerful shockwave of air before she could raise a defense.



As she flew back her sword was thrown from her grip and she landed on the ground a short distance away with a thud. She laid there for a moment before she tried to get up but her arms where sore and she struggled as she sat up. As she sat there trying to revive from the attack she heard him softly approach, and as she looked she saw him leaning on his sword while gripping onto his bleeding shoulder.



“Do you wish to yield or shall we continue?” he asked as extended his blood soaked hand.



“No, you have proven to be the better swordsman.” She said as she took his outstretched hand and as he helped her up she noticed the cut in his shoulder. “I'm sorry for your wound.”



He smiled, “Don't be I've always been a fast healer. But I'm not the better swordsman I mean you almost had me on more than one occasion. If anything this fight has shown me that I still have a long road ahead of me till I reach my goal, my victory was only by pure chance. Therefore, by admitting my own loses I shall keep up my side of our wager from earlier. Motoko does hold a very special place in my heart.” He said as they sheathed their swords, “Now I think we should get back to the dorm before the others begin to wonder where we are.”



“Yes I believe that we should.” She said as she smiled at what he had told her, and they began the long journey back to the dorm.





Well that's the end of Chapter 9. Sorry, if the story so far doesn't make much sense (example: the dark figure that's been watching) but I hope the next couple of chapters will explain where I'm going, and you might even see Motoko finally confess her feelings. Until next time. Bye

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