a/n: Hey there. It's been quite a while since I updated and I apologize for that. School has been a major bitch lately but consecutive suspensions of classes have been my only reprieve for the past two weeks. I know I should be doing something more important but screw that, I've been away quite a while. Happy reading.

Disclaimer: Akamatsu-sama is still owns Love Hina and I am still only a fanboy…for now at least. Deathnote ain't mine either.

Chapter 3: Accident

Keitaro ran his right hand through his already messy, dark brown hair as he set the notebook down. His eyes were bloodshot from reading and rereading the rules, making sure that he understood every detail of it. Scanning, re-scanning…"Just one more time, I might be missing something" he told himself as the rules burned themselves to the back of his skull. Abel was sitting in the corner with his chin in his palms, bored as usual.

"You've been reading those rules for a week now. How about seeing if they actually apply?" Abel said with a mischievous smile.

Keitaro simply stared at him. The two year ronin disregarded the comment. He rubbed his eyes and stared up at the ceiling, thinking of the woman upstairs. The notebook opened up rather conveniently on the first page as he set it down on the table. He glanced at the notebook and cringed almost immediately after seeing the poorly written name, both out of guilt for writing her name and pity for his own miserable handwriting.

"Narusegawa Naruto" it said in English letters.

One week has passed since he attempted to take the life of his tenant. They had talked and made contact during that span of time but not like they did before. It just wasn't the same. He did not dare let his temper flare at her or even at any of his tenants again. Even she had toned down the beatings to a certain extent. It wasn't that he missed getting belted up so high that it hurt to breathe, it was just that…well maybe he did miss it to a certain extent. If this was how you felt after just trying to take a life, what more if you actually did? Keitaro shivered unconsciously at the thought.

But how easy it could have been. If I had just stopped myself for even just a second, then maybe…he did not dare finish that sentenceWhy was he still beating himself up for that? Didn't he do a good thing?

Thou shall not kill right?

Then why? Why create something as powerful as this? To take a life with a flick of your wrist and the ink of a pen. No mess, no stress just quick results, gone in a blink of an eye. You even had the choice of how they were going to die. According to the rules, you just fill up a few details in the said time limit and viola, your own personalized death, exactly to your liking. Now he was sounding like one of those Home TV shopping products.

"Call right now and I'll even throw in a free shinigami! Absolutely free and no assembly required! Includes deathly chuckle and glowing red eyes! Our operators are standing by!!!" it made him sick.

"This is why this kind of power belongs to a God and to a God alone" he thought to himself as he set the notebook down on his desk and paid attention to gathering his review modules first. He quickly packed them along with his practice tests, a couple of pencils and a slightly used eraser. He zipped his bag closed as he got up and headed for the door. Before exiting, he took a deep breath and exhaled. He couldn't have these kinds of thoughts now. Not when he had a mock exam for Tokyo U. He might have the power to take lives in an instant but he couldn't exactly use that to fulfill his dreams…at least not in a morally acceptable way.

Keitaro prepared himself for the inevitable meeting downstairs. Even if the tension wasn't evident anymore, there was still the awkward feeling of facing someone you tried to kill. Even if they didn't know that you did. There was always a sinking feeling in his chest whenever their eyes would meet. He would cringe every time she spoke to him in such a casual tone. It hurt every time she would smile at him. It was torture.

It wasn't that he was still angry. Keitaro would be the last person in the world to hold a grudge, regrets maybe, but never something as hateful as a grudge. His predisposition to optimism and happiness made that pretty hard to do. Instead of anger he felt guilt. Keitaro felt guilty for attempting to write Naru's name on the deathnote. He chuckled at the thought.

"She was the one who hurt me and I'm the one feeling guilty." He said to himself out loud. He was answered by a chuckle emanating from behind him. Keitaro had gotten used to that hoarse chuckle somehow.

"And why exactly do you feel guilty Keitaro?"

"I wouldn't expect you to understand Abel" Keitaro replied weakly

"I have been observing you humans for so long I've lost count of the millennia" Abel said with a hint of pride.

"Try me"

Keitaro made sure no one else was in the hallway before speaking. "Because I love her" he said simply. Abel just kept staring at him. "It's just like I said before, I love all of them unconditionally." Keitaro said with a slight smile on his face.

"I would willingly-"

"Die for them?" Abel finished the sentence for him which startled Keitaro somewhat.

"Y-yeah, I would-" Keitaro replied.

"Kill for them?" Abel followed up, his tone seamlessly changing from mischievous to serious.

Keitaro stared at him and just nodded his head slightly.

The seriousness in his tone disappeared at the instant Abel grinned behind his porcelain mask.

"We shinigami understand you more than you know"

"W-What do you mean?" Keitaro asked as he blinked twice. Abel didn't answer. The 7 foot monster simply turned around and phased through the floor.

Shinigami were the gods of death, they couldn't possibly die…could they? Keitaroasked himself. Shinigami can't die…let alone love. Keitaro thought once more. What exactly did he mean by that? A thin ear piercing noise suddenly knocked Keitaro out of his trance. He reaized the alarm in his digital watch had gone off. He was going to be late.

He quickly dashed downstairs and said his goodbyes before grabbing a piece of bread and sprinting out into the courtyard. He had been told that Naru had already left which only made him hurry all the more. He was already on the tram even before the two minute mark. That's gotta be a world record or something. He sighed to himself in relief as he checked his watch. "I'll have to remember to pat myself on the back for setting my watch 15 minutes in advance"" he told himself as he breathed deep and let out a relieved sigh.

"Today is going to be a good day"

-Hinata-Sou-

Keitaro's personal death god could not restrain the bellows of laughter that forced themselves out from his throat. He had not had a laugh this good in over a week. It was good that no one else could hear him or else all hell might've already broken loose from all the ruckus he made.

"Humans can be so stupid at times" he said as he wiped the tear from his eye and sat down on the tatami mats, his chains rattling with his movements. His eyes curved into a smile behind his mask as he stared at the death note lying facedown on Keitaro's desk.

"Looks like hell's gonna be coming a little bit ahead of schedule"

-Sasaki Seminar Testing Center-

Keitaro dashed up the stairs of the building, he was going to take the test on the 5th floor. He cursed the test administrators in his mind as the deathnote popped up in his head. No not now, I have a test. He thought to himself as he forgave the testing administrators, for now.

He was too busy spacing out that he didn't notice someone else in front of him. He accidentally bumped into the stranger and both of them fell to the ground. He rubbed his rear end which absorbed most of the impact of the fall before checking to see who he had bumped into. It was a guy, thank god. If it were a woman, one of his tenants would probably suddenly pop up from out of nowhere and accuse him of perversion which would subsequently lead to a very painful and undesirable beating and so on, and so forth, Ad Nauseam.

He stood himself up and extended his hand to the young man. He helped him up and was surprised to find him about half a head taller than he was, maybe about as tall as Motoko he thought. His hair was brown and he wore casual clothes but something about him exuded a natural brilliance and intelligence. His hair was medium length and draped only a little over his eyes. His facial features were the kind that would have women swarming all over him. Add to that his natural charisma and you have one hell of a pretty boy. He gave Keitaro a friendly smile as the the 2 year ronin apologized.

"Gomenasai, I was in a hurry" he said quickly as he bowed at the waist. The young man he had bumped into simply chuckled.

"That's quite alright, I guess I should have been hurrying too huh?" the young man said as he scratched his head. Keitaro was immediately clamed by his warm disposition. "I guess I'm just getting to complacent nowadays" the young man smiled.

"I'm Yagami Light, you're taking the Toudai mock too?" the young man asked with his hand outstretched for a handshake. Keitaro shook and introduced himself as well.

"Urashima Keitaro. Yeah, I am" he said with a smile. "I'm in room 502" Keitaro followed up, making Light chuckle. "Excellent, me too" he replied.

The two walked briskly toward their room and entered to find it already in dead silence which isn't that uncommon for testing rooms. They had already started the mock. Light simply smiled embarrassedly as Keitaro slammed his fist against his face in his subconscious for being late. They were led to their seats by the exam proctor and given the tests.

"Game time" Keitaro said to himself a he flipped the test booklet to the first page.

-Hinata-Sou-

Shinobu was busy cooking lunch for the tenants but never too busy to not notice Su sneking behind her, looking for something to eat.

"You'll spoil your lunch if you eat now Su-chan" she said while chopping carrots with blinding speed. "Awwww but I'm hungry!" Su argued as she collapsed on the floor.

"Lunch will be ready in a few minutes Su-chan, it's you're favorite too" the blue maiden said in her usually cheerful disposition as she tasted the sauce and smiled with approval. "Oooh! Curry!" Su squealed with delight as she leapt into the air and bounced out of the kitchen full of life once more.

Shinobu smiled contentedly to herself as she transferred the curry into serving dishes and brought them out to the dining area. She then happily made her way throughout the dormitory calling out the remaining tenants for lunch. Motoko was on the rooftop as usual, doing her katas.

The big surprise howerev was that the resident fox was unusually sober today. Shinobu was just as puzzled as everyone else.

"I dunno. There's just something wrong around here, can't any of you feel it?" Kitsune said as she rubbed her right forearm with a shiver. "It's not letting me enjoy my sake" she said in a frustrated tone. The two younger girls merely stared at her while Motoko paid close attention.

"I'm serious!" Kitsune exclaimed once she felt that Shinobu and Su were now smirking. "I believe you Kitsune-san" Motoko said as she looked around the corridors. "Something evil is afoot" she said as she continued to scan the area. The smirks were immediately wiped off of the faces of the younger tenants.

"E-evil?" Shinobu asked, her voice audibly shaking. "Hai Shinobu-chan" Motoko said. "I can't be certain what it is" the swordmistress laid her hand on the katana strapped to her side. "But I've been feeling a strange presence lingering about Urashima for the past week"

Silence filled the corridors as the girls stood together in the corridors of the huge mansion. "Maybe we should just talk about this over lunch" Kitsune suggested nervously. Shinobu and Su were more than willing to get away from the now eerie corridors, Shinobu more out of fright while Su more out of hunger. The three left rather quickly, Motoko staying behind, alone.

A brief shadow fluttered past her peripheral vision and was too fast for her to follow. She quickly turned around, but saw nothing. Then she felt a presence growing stronger behind her. It was nothing like when she felt Su sneking up behind her to surprise her with a bear hug. This was different. This wasn't human. Then she heard it.

"Hehehehehe"

In a bright flash of light, Motoko had already drawn Shisui and had done an entire 180- degree turn, Shisui carving out a crescent moon-like path to where an average human's neck ought to have been. But it wasn't human and neither was it there to begin with. Her blade sliced through nothing but air as it came to a stop right before it cleaved through the wooden walls of the dorm.

Nothing.

The sword mistress's eyes darted from side to side.

Still nothing.

"Impossible" she said as she continued to scan the room, Shisui held at the ready. "I know I heard something. I felt it, it was right behind me!" she said mentally to her self. "What are you?" she asked.

It wasn't usual for an Aoyama to feel fear. All their lives, their clan had dealt with the forces of evil and had exorcised demons. Shisui was proud to have vanquished its own share during its time in Tsuruko's hands. But this is different. Maybe this time, fear might be considered a natural thing for an Aoyama.

"This is no demon" Motoko whispered to herself.

Abel was already standing behind her when she lowered her guard. His monstrous, seven foot frame towering over the tallest person in Hinata Sou. His eyes glowed red as he smiled behind his porcelain mask. "This one is strong" Abel noted to himself before turning his gaze down the other end of the corridor leading to the dining room.

"And so is that other one, the drunkard" he said with a hearty laugh. "I wonder who will find the deathnote first?" he asked himself.

"Either way, this will be interesting to watch" the death god said.

A sudden movement from the young woman in front of him startled the shinigami a little. She had turned around once more, and was now facing Abel, sword now at level with the ground. Abel grinned behind the porcelain as he bent over and looked Motoko straight in the eye.

"You will be seeing me soon enough, little one" Abel said menacingly.

Motoko stood still. She did not dare move. She was staring at nothing yet at the same time she had the sinking feeling that there was something staring back. She couldn't shake the feeling, yet she couldn't rest it either. It was right there in front of her face but she couldn't strike it. She couldn't even see it.

"How do I fight something that's not here?"

-Sasaki Seminar Testing Center-

Keitaro lay sprawled on his desk after the five hour mock exam, wasted physically, mentally and spiritually. He didn't want to move. He knew he bombed the Toudai mock exam just like he did each and every time he took it but somehow he felt even shittier now than he did then. It was probably because of the deathnote rules suddenly popping up inside his head while he was trying to solve a trig problem.

Yeah, definitely the deathnote rules.

He had spent so much time studying the deathnote and thinking of a way to get rid of it that it had eaten up his study time. The result? The usual impeccable failure, only with an added dash of frustration.

"That notebook is ruining my life" he thought out loud.

"What notebook?" A painfully familiar, feminine voice inquired from behind him. Keitaro thought of the best excuse he could.

"AHAH! Nothing, Narusegawa! Just the-um, uh…Sticker notebook! Right, that!" he said while flailing his arms about. Naru only stared at him. "I keep fantasizing about the sticker we had together and then I space out…" Keitaro said now getting rather embarrassed.

"Geez, it isn't the first time you flunked the mock. Get over it! Why'd you have to ruin my day too?" Naru said as she turned around rather annoyed. Keitaro was left with his mouth hanging open and once again sprawled himself across his table as he continued to mope.

"Girl troubles, huh?" another familiar voice asked. "How many people have to console me today anyway?!" Keitaro screamed mentally but he did his best to put on a smile for his new friend.

"Nah, she's always like that" he said to Light as he got up and resigned himself to his fate with a deep sigh.

"So how'd you do?" Light asked him, his cheerfulness rubbing off on the ronin.

"I've done better, you?"

"Same old, same old" Light said humbly as he patted Keitaro on the back. "Maybe you were just nervous, happens when you don't feel confident enough" Light suggested, Keitaro only sunk lower.

"It's pretty hard to be confident when you've flunked the exam twice" Keitaro said simply. Light let out a chuckle. "All the more to be confident, you've already been here before" He said encouragingly. This seemed to lift Keitaro's spirits somehow.

"Oi! Baka! Yagami Light won't tutor you for free now come on we're going to miss the train!" Naru said form outside the door, effectivel bringin him down to the ground once more.

At least she waited for me this time. Keitaro thought with a sigh as he trudged on.

-Hinata-Sou-

The previously eerie halls of Hinata-sou now resounded with the sweet and gentle humming of the blue maiden as she carried a basket full of laundry to be hanged. It was a song Shinobu's mother used to sing to her when she was very little and it always seemed to calm her down no matter what. She continued down the hall, humming her tune, her steps coinciding with the beats only she could hear. Bright red eyes shined through one of the more shadowy corners on the inn, following her movements.

"Not a bad candidate either" Abel thought as he played the scenario in his head. "If she were to find the deathnote…oh what fun that would be" the mischievous god said to himself. He let himself have a few chuckles before devising a plan.

"But she isn't going to find it like this" he thought as he emerged from the pool of shadows. "She'll need a little help without heightened senses like the two older ones" Abel crept behind Shinobu quietly even though he couldn't be heard.

She was just about to pass Keitaro's room. This made the shinigami grin.

"Perfect"

Abel quickly phased through the floor in his pool of shadows and emerged inside Keitaro's room. He moved over to the sliding doors and listened for the young girl's humming. It was getting stronger and so were her footsteps. Abel could hardly contain his excitement.

Shinobu noticed that she had just passed her sempai's room. She had noticed the wooden plate that said "Kanrinin: Urashima Keitaro" she smiled as a thought of him fluttered past her mind. His face never ceased to brought a slight blush and a sweet smile to her petite face. She was now practically skipping down the corridor.

CRASH!

The thunderous sound emanating from the room behind her made Shinobu stop in her tracks. She almost dropped the basket of laundry but was quick enough to grab onto it at the last second. Her head snapped back, scanning the corridor. Whatever cheer and happiness in her face apparently wiped away now. Shinobu had heard the noise form her sempai's room.

She quietly set down the basket of laundry and walked carefully over to the sliding door of the manager's room. The hairs on her neck stood at its ends as she felt a chill breeze past her, accompanied by what she thought was a hoarse chuckle. She was shaking now, as the hallway slowly became strangely darker.

"At 3:00 in the afternoon?" she thought to herself as she was sure the place had dimmed somewhat.

"hehehehe"

She snapped her head back as she heard it, cold sweat now slowly trickling down her neck.

"Is this what Motoko-san and Kitsune-san felt earlier?" she thought as she yearned to scream for help but something inside was stopping her. She heard the slightest sound of dust rubbing against smooth, varnished wood as the door behind her slid open ever so slowly, revealing about a two and a half inch gap open.

Her muscles tensed with fear but she was somehow still managed to twist around, curiosity getting the better of the blue maiden. She noticed that the sliding door to Keitaro's room was now open, the light from where she stood casting her shadow on the tatami mats inside through the small gap. The light illuminated only that thin stip of the room which appeared to be submerged in pitch-black darkness. The solitary ray of light fell upon Keitaro's desk, on which lay silently and undisturbed, a black notebook.

Shinobu tilted her head sideways at the sight of the notebook. Abel waited in the shadows as he noticed her gentle hand push away the sliding doors, giving way to the light. He chuckled ever so softly as the innocent little girl stepped into the room and moved carefully towards the black notebook. He could no longer control the smile behind his porcelain mask.

-Hinata-sou Steps-

"What do you mean he's the smartest person in Japan according to national rankings?!?!" Keitaro demanded as he followed the auburn haired beauty up the seemingly endless steps of the place he called home. She merely stared at him and shook her head.

"You really are an idiot" she said as she chuckled. "Light Yagami is one of the highest scoring examinees in the National Ranking Exam along with some guy named Ryuzaki something…and yours truly ofcourse!" she said with more than a hint of pride in her tone. Keitaro was shocked by the information. He had caused the smartest person in Japan to be late for his mock exam.

"That's why I found it a bit amusing to find someone like Yagami-kun hanging out with a dolt like you" she said cheerfully as she patted Keitaro on the back. Keitaro still couldn't believe it. "You should keep doing that, some of his skill might rub off on you" she teased as she climbed the last few steps and happily made her way to Hinata-sou.

Keitaro followed, still in a daze. He hadn't noticed that he was already inside the dorm and that he had already taken off his shoes. What he did notice was that all his tenants were gathered in the living room, the only blue-haired girl in the middle of the circle, shaking in fear.

"What happened to Shinobu?" Naru asked Kitsune who simply shrugged her shoulders.

"She's been like that ever since we found her" Kitsune said. "Keeps muttering to herself about a 7-foot monster, white face, red eyes or something like that" the fox-lady continued. "Motoko's been trying to figure out what she meant by that for the past half hour"

Naru could only look at her beloved friend in confusion. Keitaro stepped up behind her and asked the same question. Shinobu recognized the voice of her sempai immediately and rushed towards him. Keitaro was startled by Shinobu suddenly hugging him, burying her face into his chest. He could feel wet spots forming on his chest as he felt Shinobu sob, little by little.

The tenants were too shocked to blast him out of the inn for being too close too, so they just let things play as they were. Keitaro gently held the crying Shinobu as he tried his best to console her.

"What happened Shinobu?" he asked gently but the blue maiden wouldn't respond. Keitaro could already feel the weight of five pairs of eyes on him.

"Wait a minute…five?" he thought. A familiar red glow caught his eye as it emanated from the shadows. "You…" he whispered, venom dripping from the single syllable. Shinobu heard him and finally looked up. Abel emerged from the shadows, his 7 foot frame barely fitting inside the living room.

"You got careless Keitaro" Abel whispered as he held the deathnote in his gloved hands. Keitaro was shocked by the sight of the notebook. It all came back to him at that instant. He remembered that he packed his modules, his tests, his pencils, his eraser and rushed out of the door the moment the alarm sounded. He remembered how he leapt down 5 steps at a time just to reach the tram. All the while, leaving the deathnote wide open for anyone to find.

He could already see the events happening in his mind.

Shinobu walked into his room, Abel standing beside his table, still invisible to the blue maiden. He could see SHinobu's hand slowly reach out for the notebook.

Inching closer…and closer…and closer…

He could feel the cold sensation run up from her finger up to her shoulder, and then down to her spine as her fingers made contact with the deathnote's black surface. It was if he had touched the notebook himself. He could feel the fear gripping at her very being at the sound of jingling chains behind her. The very same fear that forced her, twisted her around to see the seven foot monstrosity standing behind her. He could feel her mind be overrun by terror as she took in every single detail of the porcelain faced behemoth, staring at her, boring through her soul with his ruby red eyes. He could feel her lose her sanity for a moment, as she heard the deathly chuckle of a shinigami for the first time. It was like meeting Abel for the first time all over again.

Damn his empathy.

He flashed back to the present to see that Abel had disappeared. The girls were all staring at him, stunned speechless by the fierce look he had on his face only moments ago. Now all that remained was guilt, guilt that stemmed from his stupidity, his carelessness. How could he allow someone as innocent as Shinobu get involved in all of this? Why didn't he just double check his bag for the notebook? Countless regrets weighed him down, just waiting for his knees to buckle.

But they wouldn't give in. He was too enraged to let them give in. He wanted to kill himself. But Shinobu clinging to him for support snapped him out of his enraged trance. He couldn't do that. That would be unfair. Who would look out for the girls if he were to leave? He couldn't leave them. He couldn't leave he, that auburn haired evil that pained him to no end.

All he could do now, was console.

"I-I'm so-sorry s-sem-pai" Shinobu whispered through sobs, forcing the words out. "I didn't mean to…I-I…It…" she stuttered as she felt her sempai hug her tighter. "No" he said gently.

"I'm the one who should be sorry"

"It was an accident" Shinobu apologized as she continued to sob into Keitaro's chest. Abel chuckled hoarsely as the scene unfolded. This was shaping up to be one hell of a show.

To be continued…

Well, I hope you all liked that. It's been a while since I last wrote anything not school related and it feels good. It took a while to shake off the cobwebs but I hope I still live up to expectations (assuming there are any) There may still have been some cobwebs left when I wrote this so please pardon those. Anyways, see you guys next chapter…Happy reading!