Disclaimer: I do not own anything. This story is undergoing revision. It currently sucks. Please flame me. Thanks.

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"Great. A tall, random flight of stairs before the prize. I suppose this makes the place more dramatic, eh? Simply wonderful."

Just so you know who I am, I'm Keitaro Urashima, and I'm as ordinary a person as you could ever find. Okay, maybe it'll be harder to find someone who's failed the Tokyo University entrance exams three times in a row, but that doesn't mean I'm any special. Really.

Oh yeah, about those failures? Scratch that. I got in successfully on the fourth try. Amazing stuff.

Anyway, since I live pretty far away from the university and it quickly gets old when you have to spend four hours a day traveling to and fro for school, I've decided to come to this place, Hinata inn, run by my dear old grandmother. It isn't exactly close either, but at least the distance isn't ridiculous. Oh, and I hope it's still an inn. Yeah.

Right. First order of business, check if this place is still an inn. Wouldn't it sucked if it had closed down, or been converted into a place like a girl's dormitory?

Ah, there's the tea shop. My aunt was running it, last I heard. Time to check it out then.

Anybody here?

"Welcome, please take a seat." She didn't seem to recognize me. Interesting. Well, I guess not having really seen a person since childhood will do that.

Hello, Haruka. Don't you recognize me? I'm your nephew, Keitaro.

She looked me over for quite a while, before finally breaking into a smile.

"Right, right. Pardon me, I haven't seen you for quite a while. Sit down, I'll get you a cup. What brings you here today?"

Well, I just got into Tokyo University, and you know where I live; it's insane for me to travel that distance everyday. I was thinking of putting up in grandma's inn, that is, if it's still one?

She set down a steaming cup of coffee on the table, together with some snacks. Smells good.

"It's too bad. this place was converted into a girl's dormitory a year ago, when grandma set out on her round-the-world trip. But, the girls currently living there are reasonable people. I'm sure if you talk to them, you people can come up with a solution."

Alright then, thanks. I'll see what I can do. Do they have an authority figure for me to talk to, and Is it okay for me to just enter the dormitory building?

"They don't really have a manager, so to speak. You'll have to speak with all of them. The common area should be alright. Just don't go doing stupid things like going into the hot springs without informing them prior."

Yup. I don't really like bathing in hot springs anyway.

Time to continue heading up then.

As I looked upon the building, I couldn't help but notice that it was pretty old, it still had a somewhat majestic vibe about it. I knew that I had stayed here for a while some time back in the past, but I couldn't for the life of me bring up any memories of my time here. I hope I hadn't knocked my head somewhere and gotten amnesia somehow.

Come to think of it, if I had knocked my head and got amnesia, then I wouldn't remember that I had knocked my head, and wouldn't know that I had gotten amnesia, right? Right?

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Knock knock.

Nobody answered the door, so I simply stood outside, wondering for a moment if I should go in. Hmm, I suppose it'll be alright...

"Hello... anybody in there?"

Silence.

Well I suppose that was to be expected. It's a bright and sunny sunday; I'll expect most people to be out on a day like this.

While the place looked majestic from the outside, the inside was certainly nothing spectacular. There was a couch, a television, a phone, some potted plants... pretty basic stuff. It doesn't really matter, I guess. All I need was a room to stay in, and my requirements weren't very high.

Footsteps.

I turned around to see a girl with long black hair standing at the top of the steps. She appeared to be taller than me. Damn, I'm a midget.

"..."

Hello, I'm Urashima Keitaro, Grandma Hina's grandson. I'm currently looking for a place to stay in the area, so I was wondering if I could speak with whomever this would concern?"

"..." She just stared at me.

Uh... are the other residents in?

"..." She continued staring at me.

O...kay. Right. Is she ignoring me? Right. She doesn't seem like she's going to respond anytime soon. What's next? Do I excuse myself?

Is this a convenient time?

"... No."

Time to go then. Maybe I'll go sit in the tea shop until the others come back. Or at least until there's someone who'll actually respond to me. I walked towards the door, which was still open, but just before I stepped out, there came another voice from the stairwell.

"Um... um... um... excuse me... you... um..."

I turned around to see a young girl with short blue hair standing beside the black haired girl, who was still staring at me. Perhaps this new arrival will be able to help me on my quest for some lodgings.

"Hello, I'm Urashima Keitaro. I'm currently looking for a place to stay, so do you know who I should speak to about this?

"Uh... um... well... uh... Mitsune-san... um..." She then hid behind the other girl, who, as you would correctly guess, was still staring at me.

I guess getting a name is better than nothing. But the girl didn't look like she'll be of much further help. I'll just try my luck.

How would I talk to Mitsune-san? Is she in? Could you take me to her?

The girl shook her head, before turning around and disappearing down the hallway. I never did have much luck. Good. Time to go back to the tea shop. Come to think of it, why didn't I ask Haruka about the residents before coming up? It'll have saved me from being ignored and trying to speak with a white, fluffy rabbit.

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Hey Haruka, I'm back. She was behind the counter, arranging some cups.

She didn't look up. "You're fast. Rejected?"

I'm not sure. I don't even know what exactly happened, really. First, I got ignored by a black haired girl. Then, this little girl appeared, but she wasn't able to do much more than stutter out a 'Mitsune-san' before she turned around and ran away. What gives?

"Looks like you met Motoko and Shinobu then. Don't take it too hard, that behavior's quite standard for them. Motoko, that's the black haired girl, hardly speaks, and Shinobu, the other, is extremely shy. You're lucky that the two even responded to you, in fact."

I realized that I was an idiot for not asking you about the residents before going up, so I came back down after well, getting rejected. So, tell me more about this Mitsune person. I gather that she's the one to who's closest to being the manager figure in the dormitory?

"Sheisthe oldest, and I suppose she's reliable enough... but she has this way of speaking that can spin you around before you even realize it."

Sounds dangerous.

"I didn't say that; you did."

Oh yeah, from Shinobu's actions, I'm guessing that Mitsune isn't at home, so I'll be sitting here for a while. Is that fine with you?

"It's alright. There's not too many people at this time of the day anyway."

I sat my behind on the nearest chair to me, and stared off into space as I wondered what I should do next. However, for some reason I couldn't concentrate properly on my thoughts. It was as though I had forgotten to do something very important... OH. Right. Haruka, you're not exactly busy now, right?

"What now?"

Tell me more about the residents. Start with tell me how many there are in the first place, it'll help a lot. I honestly can't believe that I had forgotten about this, especially when it was a pretty much the other major point after asking about MItsune.

Haruka looked up at the ceiling, as if she were trying to remember something. "There are... five residents currently residing in the dormitory. In order of age, they are, Konno Mitsune, Narusegawa Naru, Aoyama Motoko, Kaolla Su and Maehara Shinobu . You already know about MIstune, so I'll skip her. Naru is... hmm, I don't exactly know what to say about her. Motoko's been staying here forever, but I hardly know her at all, since she pretty much stays in her room all the time. Kaolla's a... really energetic person. You'll know when you see her. Shinobu's really shy, so I don't know much about her either."

... You don't seem to know much about them.

Haruka sighed. "It's not really my fault, you know. Those girls keep to themselves, except for Mitsune who drops by sometimes."

Okay then. How weird is this Naru?

"... You'll have to find out yourself, that one."

I sighed. This isn't very much help. Maybe I'll give up and go look somewhere else.

"It's your decision."

I guess I'll wait.

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The sun was setting when I looked out and saw a girl walking up the stairs to the dormitory.

"Who? Oh, that's the person you're looking for. Mitsune Konno. Good luck."

Should I run out after her now? If I do, should I call out to her, or follow her like a creepy stalker? Or maybe I should just wait for her to do all that she has to do before I head up to the building again. Ah, what the heck.

Excuse me, are you Konno Mitsune-san? I have something I need to talk to you about regarding...

She turned around, looked at me for a second, before smiling. "I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've met."

I was getting odd vibes. Her smile, which was quite dazzling, appeared both genuine and fake at the same time. Her face was arranged in such a way that I felt as though I had did something very wrong, even though I hadn't even done anything that would logically lead me to feel like this. I mean, I hadn't even really said anything before I got cut off!

I shuddered. Somehow, I got the feeling that this wouldn't be the last time I'll get it.

I'm Keitaro Urashima, Grandma Hina's grandson. I'm currently looking for a place in the city, and so I decided to come try my luck to see if grandma is still here. She isn't but...

"I assume that you know that it's already been converted to a girl's dormitory?"

Yeah, I did.

"Yet you're still asking about this?" Her smile dropped. I got scared. Then, she dropped the serious expression and put on a grin instead. I noticed that it still had that ambivalent quality to it, but it was less jarring this time.

I took the chance to take a better look at her. She had short, light grey hair, but oddly enough, her eyes had remained closed throughout this exchange. She was rather good looking, and I suppose under normal circumstances I'll be attracted towards her, but the way she acts... I don't know. Something's doesn't sit right with me, but I can't put my finger on it.

I don't think it'll be anything toodangerous though.

I tried to put on a smile, and my lips twitched as if to obey orders, but I ended up looking like I had lost control of my facial muscles. Dang it, this wasn't supposed to be happening!

She turned back towards the building. "Follow me then, we'll go talk to the other's regarding your situation."

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"Sit there. I'll go fetch the others. Naru's not here though, so you won't be seeing her today. It's okay, she doesn't really mind new people. But that's only if we admit you, of course."

Great.

She walked up the stairs and beyond my line of sight. Sitting on a chair in the common room, I waited patiently as i heard doors opening and footsteps approaching the area. Then, I heard running. I looked up in time to see a flying foot heading straight for my face. Great. Just great. I'm not special, so of course I couldn't dodge it.

You know what? It hurts to get kicked in the face. It really does. It hurts. A lot. It's like getting kicked in the groin. Maybe even more. Ow.

"Heya, Keitaro Urashima! That's the way I like to greet new people!"

I'm sure they love it.

"Su, did you kick the newcomer again? I should've knew it..."

"Yeah, I did! But somehow, I'm getting an odd feeling that I'm the only one who's doing something natural for my character! You guys are all...wrong!"

A nut. The attacker, judging by her exotic looks, was probably Kaolla Su. Narusegawa Naru sounded kind of... Japanese.

Mitsune walked to over to me an extended a hand to pull me up from my slumped over position on the ground, where I had landed after I got kicked straight off the chair. "Sorry about that," she whispered. "I got kicked too when I first came, if that makes you feel better."

Strangely, it did make me feel better, knowing that this person, who was my superior got kicked in the face too. But wait, why am I getting feelings of inferiority? I'm the Tokyo University student here! I'm an elite!

"Everyone, take a seat please. We'll review this person's case and see if we should make an exception for him and let him stay." Everyone took a seat.

She turned to me. "Alright, let's hear your story."

Oh come on. It isn't a story. I just need a place to stay that's near Tokyo University. That's it.

"Let's see if the other agree to let you stay then. Motoko?" She glanced towards the black haired girl, who was staring right at me. Again.

"Yes."

Yes what? I think it means she's saying it's okay.

"Shinobu?"

"Um... uh... uh... well... okay... um..."

That's twos vote allowing me to stay here. That's good. I looked towards the the foreigner girl.

"No way. Nope. I don't like this guy!" She crossed her arms and shook her head.

Oh man, I'm crushed. Hated by a little kid. Am I so... detestable? Oh the horror!

Mitsune turned me, and smiled. I'm freaked out. Say yes?

"Well then, it looks like you'll have to look for lodgings elsewhere," There was a glance from Motoko to her. She didn't acknowledge it. "I don't really want you to stay here either. It was nice meeting you. Goodbye."

I stood up. I guess it just wasn't meant to be. Although, it's pretty late. I'll probably have to put up at a hotel tonight. I may be a student, but I'm not broke. Seriously.

It's alright, it was nice meeting you people. Motoko was still staring at me, while Shinobu had tears in her eyes. What? What did I do?

"I'll see you off." Mitsune stood up, and the two of us walked to the door. As I was walking out, she put her hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see that she had an exceeding relaxed expression on her face, as though she didn't care about anything in the world.

"Keitaro. What I'm about to say may come in important later, so please just keep it in mind."

Huh?

"There's something going on here, and you, simply by coming to this place today, might have been caught up in it. I hope not letting you stay will save you."

What the heck? Is this going to be detrimental for me?"

"Go. Go before Naru comes back."

Right then, we heard foot steps coming up the stairs.

She sighed. I sighed. Something is screwed up here.

Great.

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A/N: Sigh, looks like I can't write a story. I'll just spew out more 500 word one-shots, even if it gets annoying, since I actually like doing those.