Love Hina Fan Fiction ❯ Pride and Honor ❯ Dark Fire: Spirit ( Chapter 9 )

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A/N: Okay, this is done. Look for the next chapter soon.

With that done, I'd like to say that I don't own Love Hina and never will. Don't sue me for this.

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Pride and Honor: Chapter 08 - Dark Fire ~ Spirit

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Motoko, along with her companions, the two younger versions of Sora, were still trudging along through Sora's memories. It felt like hours since they had begun, and Motoko could feel her legs starting to wear. This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't the constant arguing between the two children.

"So…" Motoko said, scooping up playful Sora and putting him on her back in an effort to separate him from his counterpart. "Why is it you two are always arguing? Is this normal or is Sora just special?"

Serious Sora sighed, scratching his head thoughtfully. "Well, think of it like this: you yourself have two different aspects in your psyche. And they are both very radical in their views, so every choice you make will result in an argument between these two."

"So you guys don't agree on ANYTHING?" Motoko asked, unbelieving.

"Nope," playful Sora said, sticking his tongue out at his "brother".

"Well... that would actually explain a lot," Motoko said thoughtfully. //Hm... I wonder what MY two personalities are like?// "So, does Sora visit you often?"

"Oh, yeah! Oniisama is the coolest!" playful Sora declared happily.

Serious Sora's features seemed to brighten a bit at the mention of their original. "Yes, he visits us sometime when he's alone. He helps us train or just chats for a while..."

//Really... This sounds like a good opportunity to gather information about Sora's past...// Motoko thought to herself, eyeing serious Sora. "Hm... did he ever tell you why he selected the symbol of `Evil'?" Motoko asked, trying to appear unconcerned.

"Grandfather ordered it," serious Sora replied.

"Ordered? Why?" Motoko asked, confused. "It seems like a rather large burden to place on one so young..."

"It's done all the time," serious Sora replied, shrugging. "All Auron ninjas select a symbol when they are young."

"So why did it have to be `Evil'?" Motoko pried, trying to get the information she wanted.

"Simple: `Evil' is the strongest symbol. It unlocks the most powerful `Trance' forms," serious Sora replied easily.

"But what about the side-effects?" Motoko asked. "Keitaro had selected a different symbol and he is quite powerful."

"Very true," serious Sora replied. "But `Evil' is the strongest. The Auron clan's leader must be strong and fearless," serious Sora replied. "Sora's father and his Uncle Ryo... they were weak. They were afraid of losing their humanity and surrendered the position of `Successor' to a six year-old..." he said coldly. "Sora became `Successor' the day he received his symbol, and had to endure the excruciating pain of `Evil' just because no one else wanted to..."

//So... the leader of the Auron clan must bear the symbol `Evil', but Sora's father and Uncle refused it?// Motoko thought to herself. "But why would Sora accept?"

"Because Grandfather ordered it," playful Sora replied in an uncharacteristically somber voice.

Motoko shrugged. //Oh well, I guess I don't need to know all that much about Urashima-kun.// she thought, sighing.

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"We're here! We're here!" playful Sora bounce excitedly on Motoko's back.

Serious Sora rolled his eyes. They were no longer in the city, but another, seemingly endless void with only a single path to follow. "Believe it or not, my counterpart is almost correct." Serious Sora pointed directly ahead of them. "Continue walking forward and you will be transported into a different area. There you will begin your testing."

Playful Sora separated his self from Motoko and smiled brightly at her. "Good luck, oneechan!"

Serious Sora bowed politely to her, "Yes, good luck."

Motoko arched an eyebrow. "You aren't coming?"

"We'll be right here, so scream if you need us," serious Sora replied, sitting down on the floor.

"Yeah, don't worry, oneechan," playful Sora said, mimicking his counterparts actions. "The two of us combined will be just as powerful as oniisama, so we'll help you if you need anything."

Motoko bowed to the pair. "Very well, then," she said. "Thank you very much for guiding me." Then Motoko turned toward the darkness.

//This seems like a bad omen...// she thought as she began to walk. //Forget it, I should be thinking about a symbol, not worrying over nothing!//

"So, are you the one that will be tested?" an ominous voice called out. A white flame appeared in front of her, hovering at just about eye level. Motoko stepped back, startled. The voice chuckled, it voice very deep and masculine. "Fear not, child, I am the white flame of Justice," it said reassuringly. "Now if the black flame of Evil appears..."

"Watch it," another voice said testily. This one was feminine and pleasant sounding, but it was obvious that the spirit was angry. "Tell me, can someone as beautiful as me possibly be Evil?" the voice said as a black flame appeared behind Motoko.

Motoko tried her hardest to hide her amusement as she replied, "No, you look very lovely."

"Hey, what does she have that I don't?" another voice said as a red flame appeared. "The red flame of Soul is the most beautiful sight in the world."

"We are not in the world, actually…" a purple flame said, appearing to her left. This voice was masculine in nature, and sounded rather bored at the moment.

"Can it, purple flame of the Mind," soul snapped.

"I believe that we are scaring our visitor," another voice called out. It was a feminine voice that belonged to a blue flame. "Greetings, young one. I am the blue flame of Spirit."

Another flame appeared, this one masculine. "The yellow flame of Body."

"Well, I believe that's everyone," Justice said. Motoko sweatdropped.

"Um, I was always under the impressions that spirits of the Fire were... well..." Motoko trailed off, shaking her head.

"More serious?" Evil asked. "Do not worry, girl, we'll get plenty harsh when it comes time for your trials. For now we are merely greeting each other."

Motoko looked around a moment before bowing respectfully. "I am Aoyama Motoko of the God's Cry school..."

Justice started a moment. "The God's Cry, you say? We haven't seen someone from that school since..." the white flame trailed off. "Never mind that. Let us begin with your testing. Have you selected a symbol yet?"

Motoko shook her head. The black flame let out an impatient sigh. "Well, now is as good a time as any. Hurry it up."

Motoko sweat-dropped again as she looked over the symbols. She remembered Keitaro telling her that the tests for Justice and Evil were very brutal and shouldn't be attempted if she could avoid it, so she glossed over those two. Motoko also didn't want to become a crazed demon whenever she fought so Body and Soul were crossed off her mental list as well. //So, either the Mind or Spirit…//

"Hurry up..." Evil prodded.

Motoko snapped out of her train of the thought. "Very well, I choose the Blue Flame of Spirit."

The blue flame moved in front of Motoko. "Very well, then. Open your mind to me..."

The world around Aoyama Motoko faded and distorted once again.

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"Um... do you think we should have let Oneechan go off by herself?" playful Sora said bouncing around impatiently.

"Not really," serious Sora replied, shrugging. "But what are you suggesting we do? She must complete her test on her own. We're only here to pull her out if she fails."

"But aren't we too far away?" playful Sora said frowning slightly.

Serious Sora's eyes widened slightly. Without another word, the two children walked across the bridge.

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Aoyama Motoko opened her eyes lazily and found herself sitting on the flat roof across from an unconscious Sora. //Huh? What's happening?// Motoko stood up and brushed herself off. "So, Urashima-kun, am I done?"

Sora didn't reply, falling over to his side. Motoko walked over and nudged him with her foot, but there was no response. Shrugging, she strode off to prepare herself for school. When she reached the top of the stairs, however, she nearly collided with Keitaro. Normally when Motoko was near him she was unable to sense any strength, even less than most people. But at this very moment, Keitaro's power level was jumping around crazily, soaring way high before diminishing to nothing and back again.

//Amazing...// Motoko thought. //Keitaro's power level is a lot higher than I would've expected... but what the hell is wrong with him?// "Hey, Urashima..." Motoko began.

Keitaro raised his face slightly, but didn't reply. Motoko gasped when she saw Keitaro's eyes glowing yellow, with a cold and empty look to them. Her question forgotten, Motoko stood aside, her hand going to her sword.

Without a word, Keitaro continued up the stairs and walk over to where Sora was lying unconscious on the floor. He then nudged the boy roughly with his foot, drawing a tired groan from the boy.

Sora sat up slowly, blinking a few times to clear his vision. Then he too began to experience the same surges of power in his system. His expression darkened and his eyes began glowing red. Keitaro then sat next to his son as the both stared off into the distance somewhere.

Motoko watched all this with a confused look on her face. This was certainly not very normal behavior coming from either of them, and it could be dangerous considering their fighting strength. //Whatever. I can't do anything here... This will require a bit of reading.//

Hurrying up to her room, Motoko slid the door open and selected a book from her shelf. She opened up the first page, but started when she noticed there was nothing but jumbled words and nonsense on the page. Thumbing through the book quickly she confirmed that all of the pages were unreadable. Motoko pulled off another book, then another, and another. They were all completely useless.

Motoko threw the book to the floor angrily. //I thought something was strange when I left the meditation and not being able to read my books confirms it...//

"Yes, Momo-chan," a voice called out behind her. Motoko turned her head slightly to see Sora in his Majin form drop down from the ceiling. "This is your test of the Spirit."

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*In the Void*

Both Soras watched helplessly as Motoko floated high in the air. Playful stepped forward slightly as he saw Motoko wince, but Serious Sora held him back.

"She is okay. But, you know what we must do if that changes..." Serious Sora said nodding towards the blue flame.

Playful Sora only looked back at Motoko.

"Be careful, Oneechan..."

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A/N: Okay, I'm done. The next chapter won't take this long, I promise. Anyways I won't bore you. Till next time.