A/N: Wow. I'm surprised that I haven't started a Love Hina fic until now…odd, seeing as how it's one of my favorite manga of all time.

For my first time writing in this fandom, I hope you all enjoy this story.

Disclaimer: Don't own Love Hina. Ken Akamatsu does. And that is not my name. Therefore, Love Hina is not mine. So take that, lawyers! *Insert evil laugh*

Chapter One: You want me to do what? With who? For HOW many cookies?

Keitaro Urashima was your typical Japanese man. He was average in all senses of the word-glasses, dark and short hair, glasses, wasn't fit yet not exactly lazy, etc etc.

The only not average thing about him is that he has a goal. Now, most goals in life are fairly simple. Grow up, get a good enough job, bitch about said job, get married, bitch about your significant other, have children, bitch about said children, and so on and so forth.

Keitaro, however, had a much grander goal.

It all started with a promise. When he was four, he was friends with a young girl. Now this is not uncommon for most people, but Keitaro and this girl had something special. Puppy love, as they say nowadays. And with puppy love comes promises of future marriages and whatnot. Or in this case, getting into the most prestigious college in Japan.

"When we grow up, let's go to Tokyo U together. It's a promise, alright?"

Those were the words spoken to him. He had pinky-sweared on it, and even got a kiss on the cheek for doing so.

Shortly after, the girl moved away. Keitaro, saddened, vowed that he would indeed get into Tokyo U. He would fulfill his promise and meet the girl of his dreams.

Unfortunately for Keitaro, reality seemed to have it out for our lovable immortal young man.

"Man, not again…" Was his lament, as he walked home, utterly defeated.

"Two years in a row of failing the entrance exams…I'm such a loser. I bet she's made it in already…"

Fifteen years later, Keitaro Urashima is now a nineteen year old man, full of life and in his prime. Or, perhaps lack of life, given his current demeanor.

"How could I have let this happen? I told mom and dad I would make it in for sure this time…they aren't going to be happy with me at all. They were sick of me last year; who knows what's going to happen this time…"

The normally upbeat man's face was obviously in despair. In fact, right now if you looked up 'despair' in the dictionary, his picture, along with a certain teacher's picture, would be used to describe it.

Keitaro dreaded returning home; he almost gave into his base instincts telling him to flee while his life was still intact. Of course, he knew better than that. If he did that and got caught-which he had no doubt he would be, given his families connections-his punishment would be far worse than what it would be otherwise.

All too soon, he arrived at his front door step. He sighed, and very unwillingly opened the door that led to what he was sure was his doom.

Unsurprisingly, his parents were both there, looking grim. Of course, that wouldn't be very unusual, given the fact that they had no faith in him whatsoever. What did surprise him, though, was the trio of other relatives that were with them.

"Granny! Kanako! Aunt Haruka-!"

WHACK!

Keitaro saw stars, and his head hit the ground. A large paper fan had appeared out of nowhere, and had promptly given him severe blunt force trauma. Vaguely, Keitaro wondered who in their right mind would teach people-especially bipolar women-that hitting others with blunt weapons was perfectly acceptable.

Of course, he was glad that he hadn't said that out loud; his aunt would've tore him a new one, and then some.

"That's HARUKA, Keitaro." His aunt-er, COUSIN, said, putting back her favorite weapon of choice in the dimension that it had came from.

"You old hag, you didn't have to hit him!" Kanako screeched, quickly rushing to her beloved 'onii-chan's' side, nursing his recent head trauma in her bosom.

"It's fine, Kanako; I'm used to it by now." Keitaro said, sheepish at his tendency to refer to his…COUSIN…as an aunt.

"Hmph." Haruka said, taking a drag from her cancer stick of doom.

"Keitaro, my grandson. It's good to see you again." Hina said, smiling.

If there was one person in the world who Keitaro loved, it was his grandma. Kind-hearted, a bit loony, but otherwise the best person in the world, Hina was the embodiment of what grandmas were supposed to be.

Of course, if you asked Haruka, Kanako, or Keitaro's parents, you would also add in that she was manipulative and had some sadistic sense of humor when it came to the matter of love. But of course, who could ever bother to tell innocent Keitaro about THAT?

Well…aside from the fact that Hina would make their lives VERY miserable if they spoiled Keitaro's image of her, but that's besides the point.

"Granny, it's good to see you again, too!" Keitaro grinned, happy to see his favorite person in the world.

"Ahem."

Keitaro turned to his parents. Both had rather odd looks on their faces.

"Keitaro…my son, you…failed again, didn't you?" His father asked.

Keitaro visibly drooped.

Kiesuke Urashima frowned. While he did not necessarily agree with his son's single-minded determination to get into Tokyo U, he did have a great amount of respect for his bumbling son. After all, most people didn't pursue their dream quite like Keitaro did. However, he still cared greatly for his son's well being. He feared that if Keitaro failed enough times, it would crush him. And he would NOT stand for that to happen.

"I see…I'm sorry to hear that, son. I know you've been trying hard…"

"No…I didn't study enough, that's all." Keitaro said, smiling slightly. "I can always just bunker down and study intensely for next year."

Yokito Urashima glanced at her husband. While she did not quite understand her son's determination to get into Tokyo U (her husband had merely told her it had something to do with Keitaro's pride as a man), she, too, wanted to support her son to her fullest extent. However, with what her mother said…she was sure her unlucky son's life was about to be turned upside down.

"About that…Keitaro…" She began. Keitaro turned to her, sending her a questioning gaze.

"Granny has been…talking to us. And…we agreed that if you weren't able to get into Tokyo U this year…"

"They agreed to having an arranged marriage with another influential clan." Hina finished, smiling brightly, as if she was merely discussing the weather.

Of course, Keitaro thought otherwise.

"YOU WANT ME TO WHAT?"

~Kyoto, Shinmei-ryu Dojo

"YOU WANT ME TO WHAT?" Came an cry that oddly enough happened at the exact same time as our lovable ronin.

Tsuruko Aoyama sighed. Where had she gone so wrong, that her sister had turned into such a man-hater…?

"Like I said, due to a request from the Urashima clan, I have agreed to let the heir Keitaro have your hand in marriage."

Motoko Aoyama was mad. No, not just mad. She was livid. How could her sister betray her like this? How could her sister force her to get married to a man?

Of course, she had no interest in the fairer sex either; it was just that men in general were perverts, good-for-nothings, and all around evil beings of sin that should be annihilated and otherwise destroyed. As far as she was concerned, the only thing they were useful for was backbreaking labor and reproducing. And even then, they were still useless.

"Motoko…please, listen to me. I know you aren't particularly fond of men, but trust me, they aren't nearly as bad as you think they are…"

"Says the one who left me for a man! I'll never forgive them…any of them!" Motoko argued back. Normally, her self-preservation would've kicked in and prevented herself from saying such things, but this was such an injustice that she could not-no, WOULD not, stand for.

Tsuruko sighed again, a headache quickly forming. She looked to her other sisters. She could always talk to them and see how they would like to be married off instead (although, honestly, that sounded a little hollow in her ears; what were they, livestock?), but she had to somehow cause Motoko to go through with this. She just wanted her youngest sister to be happy. All she had to do was throw away her hatred for men. And judging by all that she has heard of the young Keitaro, he sounded like the perfect match.

"Why can't one of our other sisters marry the man? It's not like it makes a difference!" Motoko accused, unknowingly saying what was just on her sister's mind.

Tsuruko again looked at her sisters.

Tamiko, the next youngest. Seventeen years of age, she looked nothing like her sisters. Her hair was blonde, which was rare in the Aoyama line, and as such, she was frequently considered a delinquent by those who did not know her. Her eyes were a striking bright blue, and it felt like she was staring directly into your soul when her gaze turned on you. She was currently watching her youngest and eldest sister argue with a bored look on her face, clearly wishing she was anywhere but there.

The twins, Chika and Yukiko. 19 years of age. Despite being twins, the only way you'd be able to tell that they were related would be due to their faces. Chika had long, luscious brown hair, while Yukiko had short white hair. Chika had green eyes; Yukiko had grey. Their personalities were different, too. Chika was lazy and frequently dozed off, while Yukiko was more like the stereotypical teenager, listening to boy bands and all that fun stuff. Chika had long ago stopped listening, and was snoozing against the wall. Yukiko looked like she was listening, but her eyes were glazed over.

Mizuki. 20 years of age. Her hair was identical to Motoko's, and she had dark brown eyes. The most withdrawn of the sisters, she was shy and did not interact with people much. She was also the shortest, although admittedly that was only a couple of centimeters shorter than Motoko, who was the next shortest. She was hiding in a corner, cleaning her blade, and kept throwing nervous glances towards Motoko, obviously concerned.

Finally, Yoshie. 22 years old. The most outgoing of the sisters. Ironically, she looked almost identical to Mizuki, the only difference being the height difference, and Yoshie's hair being an orange color. Her appetite was legendary in the Aoyama family, and she was usually found eating something. Right now was no different; an apple was being slowly devoured, and she had her attention set on Tsuruko.

Tsuruko sighed yet again. Clapping her hands, she brought attention to herself again.

"Alright, since Motoko seems so unwilling to go through with this, what about the rest of you? What's your thoughts about being married to the young Urashima?"

Yoshie snorted. "We already promised them our youngest daughter for their heir. And if Motoko doesn't want to, too bad. She's the youngest, therefore she's the one getting married."

"That's another thing!" Motoko yelled. "That…MAN…is four years my senior! It would make much more sense to have one of the twins or Mizuki marry him since they are closer to his age!"

Chika yawned lazily. "I dunno about that. I don't fancy marrying for awhile…and if I had a husband, it would interrupt my sleeping schedule. Besides, I think it would calm you down a bit."

Yukiko rolled her eyes. "No way am I getting married off. There's that totally cute guy who works at the café, and I somehow doubt that he'll go out with me if I've got a wedding band on."

Mizuki whimpered. That was all she needed to do in order to give her answer.

"And you, Tamiko?" Tsuruko asked.

"I ain't getting involved in this. Besides, I already have a boyfriend. Not my problem." She answered bluntly.

'Figures.' Tsuruko thought bitterly. She turned to Motoko.

"Well, you heard them. We will be leaving to meet him tomorrow at 7 AM sharp. Or would you disgrace your clan by running away from this?"

Motoko gritted her teeth. Figures that Tsuruko would bring honor into it…

"Fine. But that does not mean I will agree to this! It is just to meet him; that is all. And if I don't like him-which I won't-then we will come back home, and never speak of this again!"

Tsuruko groaned. Once Motoko had her mind set, even Tsuruko herself was hard pressed to stop her.

"Very well. But! You will not attack him and you will give him a chance before you pass judgment. Otherwise I will get Mother involved, and we all know what will happen if she interfere."

Motoko shuddered; she feared few things in the world. For those who knew her, she hated turtles. Absolutely loathed the reptiles. If one came anywhere near her, she was prone to flip completely out and go berserk.

That was her irrational fear. Her rational fears were much worse than any animal in the world.

Her sister was near the top of that list. Tsuruko was the most powerful swordswoman their dojo had seen in years, and despite her kind and usually easygoing nature, Motoko knew how scary her eldest sister could become if properly motivated.

Her mother were even worse than Tsuruko. Motoko had never quite liked her mother, and for good reason (in her opinion); much like a certain old hag from the Urashima line had a tendency to manipulate her family members (especially her favorite grandson), her mother LOVED to meddle into everybody's affairs. If things did not go her way, she got violent. In that respect, she was even worse than Tsuruko; at least Tsuruko gave you a little bit of warning before you found a blade at your neck. Her mother would decapitate any who dared crossed her without second thought.

Of course, her mother had yet to actually kill anyone, but Motoko was sure that one day she would really snap and murder their whole dojo.

"Fine. I shall meet with this man. I assume the rest of you shall be there?" Motoko asked, looking from one sister to the next.

Just as Tamiko and Yukiko were about to open their mouths, no doubt to say something along the lines of going out with their boyfriend/crush, Tsuruko's eyes quickly took on a demonic gleam. The kind of gleam that tells you that if you do not agree with what the owner of said gleam says, life will become difficult for you very soon.

Needless to say, all of the Aoyama siblings were a bit too cheerful to go meet Motoko's husband-to-be.

~Keitaro's House

"Okay, let me get this straight," Keitaro said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "The Aoyama family, a prestigious family that is equal to ours in terms of power and influence, has offered up one of their daughter's hand in marriage for the sake of both of our dojos future?"

"Yep." Haruka said.

"And Granny said yes without a second thought, and immediately offered me up, KNOWING PERFECTLY WELL that I had plans of my own?"

"Mm." Yokito nodded.

"And not ONE of you even TRIED to talk her out of it?" Keitaro scowled.

Kiesuke looked away, embarrassed.

"…Unbelievable."

"Well, think of it this way, grandson," Hina spoke up. "Not only will you be able to get into Tokyo U without a problem due to our combined influences, but you'll also be sharing ownership of the Hinata Apartments with your wife! Not to mention that money will never be an issue again!"

At this, Kanako opened her mouth, but a sharp glare from Hina silenced her. Keitaro, despite being as dense as he was, picked up on this, but decided not to comment. He'd likely get it out of Haruka later, anyway.

"Okay…so I take it I'm going to meet this…Motoko soon?" He asked.

"Tomorrow, as a matter of fact. At the Hinata Apartments. Rest up tonight, grandson. I have no doubt that you'll need it tomorrow."

Cackling like the mad old hag she was, Hina stood up, bowed to Yokito and Kiesuke, and ushered Haruka and Kanako out of the house.

Keitaro looked at his parents bemused.

"Just what has she gotten me into this time?"

A/N: And there we go. Wow, I'm proud of myself; I created OCs! I probably shouldn't have started this since I already have four other fics I'm still working on, but when you're struck with inspiration, might as well take use of it. Besides, one of those fics is almost done, and I'm probably just going to discontinue two of the others. Or put them on the backburner. Said backburner being across the world.

Anyway, a bit different than your normal Love Hina fic. Motoko x Keitaro is my favorite pairing, so I thought I might as well give it a shot. The whole promised girl thing will be somewhat of a minor event, just something to cause drama later on. But there will be NO Naru x Keitaro. Moments, yes. Actual pairing, no. I don't really like Naru that much as a character, and I absolutely refuse to pair her with Keitaro. So, sorry to disappoint any Keitaro x Naru fans who are reading this, but that's just how I feel.

Ahem. So, there. I hope to have the next chapter out in about a week, although, knowing me, I'll put it off until next month or so…

Until next time.

~The Doc