Disclaimer: i dont own LH or its characters

Original Characters: Hikaru/Kensuke, Sakura

Summer has finally arrived for the people living in the Hinata Province. While most families were enjoying the company of each other, one family was having a terrible argument.

"You are so useless! There was no point ever giving birth to such a useless person! You can't even do as something as simple as asking for money!"

"MOM! I'm not going to do it anymore! I can't just sit here and watch you use drugs, and in front on Sakura nonetheless! She's only SIX! Mom! You've got to quit!"

"Don't you talk back to me, you piece of shit! Oh Lord! What have I done to have such a disobedient child! I would have been better off giving birth to –"

"MOM! Just shut up! I'm so ti –"

SLAP!

"Don't you ever tell me to shut up!"

"Mom! You're not listening – "

"Shut up! If you don't march out that door and come back with some money, I will disown you!"

"FINE! I tried to be a good daughter but NO! You have to choose things the hard way. Go ahead! DISOWN ME! No, you know what… I'm going to save you the trouble. I DISOWN YOU! I am never stepping foot into this house ever again after I leave!"

Hikaru ran towards her room and grabbed some money. She turned around and was about to head out the door, but her little sister stopped her in her tracks.

"Onee-san… are you leaving?"

"I'm sorry, Sak-kun… I just can't take it anymore… forgive me."

Hikaru got up to leave, but Sakura wouldn't allow her. Sakura grabbed onto her older sister's wrist and held it like her life depended on it. Hikaru looked down to see Sakura unwilling to let go.

"Sak-kun…"

"Don't leave me with the crazy woman…"

Sakura was referring to her mother. She wasn't exaggerating. Their mother could be considered crazy. Everyday she would do drugs and get high for the mere pleasure of it. It's not strange for Sakura to think her mom was crazy since her mom does drugs in front of her, and acts very strange when she is high. Hikaru gave it some thought, and she finally spoke to her little sister.

"Would you like to come with me?"

"Yes! Yes! Take me! Promise me you will never leave me…"

"I promise. I have to warn you though. I don't even know where I'm going, and we will probably have no place to sleep and probably nothing to eat… do you still want to come with me?"

Sakura nods furiously, and Hikaru chuckles at the younger girl's enthusiasm. The fact is, the only thing that kept her sane all these years in this house was her little sister. Hikaru took hold of Sakura's hand and left the house, with a very few protests from her mom. As she walked down a few streets, a couple guys cornered her, trying to get her to go out with them. She refused continuously, but they would not give up and started to get touchy. If there's one thing that pisses her off more than her mom, it's guys who don't understand the meaning of 'NO'. She took out one guy with a hard blow on the eye, the rest of the guys wanted to hold her back, but they got scared when they saw her cold, steely eyes.

"Damn bastards! Men are such sick perverts! Can I not walk down a few streets without people leering at me! Boys are such – wait a min…"

Hikaru went to a sporting goods shop and bought some clothing. Then, she went to the barber and got her hair cut. After she got her hair cut, she changed into the clothes she just bought. She tried out a couple male voices and smiled when she found the right one. When she walked out of the boy's bathroom, she went over to Sakura and gave her a few instructions.

"Sak-kun, from now on, I am your brother, okay? I'm no longer your sister; I'm your brother…"

"But… why do you have to dress like that?"

"It makes traveling easier, and I can protect you better this way. Do you understand?"

Sakura nods her head. "Okay, Onii-san…"

"Good girl. And from now on… I need a new name. What do you suggest, Sakura?"

"Kensuke… Kensuke…"

"Okay, from now on, my name is Zumaki Kensuke, and you are Zumaki Sakura."

(A/N: From now on, I'll be calling Hikaru Ken and referring to her as a guy even though she really is a girl.)

Sakura smiles and Kensuke was glad that he has a new surname. From now on, these two have no relations to their so-called mother in any way, shape, or form.

"Come Sak-kun… we need to find somewhere to live."

Kensuke grabs Sakura's hand and they walk around the neighborhood for a while. After what felt like hours of searching for a place to settle, Sakura grabbed Ken's attention by tugging on his shirt.

"Yes Sak-kun?"

"I'm tired… can we stop looking now…"

"No, but climb on. You can sleep while I continue looking."

Ken kneeled down and gave his sister a piggy back ride while he was on his search for a place to settle. As he turned a corner to look in the next street, he found the same guys who were leering at 'her' earlier messing with another girl. Ken's anger was reaching its peak and he decided to intervene. He walked over and put down Sakura, who was now hiding behind him from all the 'scary big' boys.

"HEY! Take the hint! She's not interested!" yelled Ken.

"Who the hell are you!" said one guy.

"You'd leave us now if you know what's good for you" said another.

"You leave her alone now and scurry your asses off if you know what's good for you" retorted Ken.

"Why, you son of a –"

Ken landed a blow squarely on one of the guy's face. All of his friends was about to jump in, had it not been for a crowd starting to form and people starting to talk about them, loudly. When the crowd died down and people started to go about their business, Ken turned to the girl who was being harassed earlier.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-yes. T-thank y-you s-so m-much. I-I d-don't k-know –"

"What you would have done if I wasn't there, right?"

She nodded.

"So what's your name?"

"M-Maehara S-Shinobu."

"It's nice to meet you, Maehara-san. Where do you live? I will walk you home."

"Oh… well… uhmm… actually, I wasn't done grocery shopping… so… i-it's okay…"

"Oh, no problem, we will accompany, just in case they come back when they see that I have left you."

"I-I really don't want to inconvenience you."

"No, it's fine. I insist"

Sakura tugged onto Ken's shirt, causing his and Shinobu's attention to shift to her.

"Can we not walk anymore?" whined the little one.

"See… really, there is no need for you to accompany me. Maybe you should bring your little sister home and let her rest" replied Shinobu.

"It's no problem at all. We will walk you" replied Ken to Shinobu. He then turned to his little sister and spoke "And you can sleep on my back while we shop, okay?"

The little girl climbed onto Ken's back and Ken gave her a piggy back ride while he followed Shinobu around. Shinobu went to the market and bought lots of ingredients. She was carrying so many bags, it looked the bags weighed more than her. Upon seeing Shinobu struggle with all the bags, Ken just snatched half of her load without asking.

"N-no, I couldn't possibly bother you –"

"We are going back to your place now, right?"

Shinobu nods.

"Good, then let's get going."

"Uhm… this is a bit embarrassing… I-I just realized… I didn't ask for your name…"

"Zumaki Kensuke. You can shorten it to just Ken if you like."

"Zumaki-san, aren't you tired? You're carrying your sister and so many bags…"

"I will be, so how about we hurry onto your place before I collapse on the street, eh?"

Shinobu lead the way back to her place, in the Hinata Inn. When they entered, Ken was lead into the kitchen where he put all the bags down, and then he exited to the living room to put Sakura down on the couch.

"I hope you don't mind if my sister rests on your couch"

"No, not at all."

A woman with blondish brown hair comes into the living room. She was at least in college, judging by her looks. She walks in, talking to Shinobu.

"Shinobu, your back already… so what's for din—who's this?"

Shinobu blushes and remains quiet, so Ken introduced himself to her.

"Hello, I am Zumaki Kensuke, and you are…"

"Narusegawa Naru. Why are you here?"

"I'm terribly sorry for the intrusion. I suppose it's best if I leave."

"Zumaki-san, would you like to stay for dinner?" offered Shinobu.

"Shinobu… you barely even know this boy. You can't just invite him to dinner" protested Naru.

"Naru-sempai, h-he helped me away from some mean –"

"Maehara-san, I'm sorry to interrupt you like this, but you are being too nice. Those people were not mean, they were despicable idiots. Narusegawa-san, allow me to explain. As I was passing by, I found Maehara-san being harassed by a couple of despicable idiots. I found the site to be utterly disturbing, so I intervened their actions and walked Maehara-san home."

"Okay, so he saved you, but you don't know anything about this boy."

"Narusegawa-san, may you please stop reprimanding Maehara-san. I will not attend your dinner tonight." Ken turns to Shinobu. "Thank you for the offer Maehara-san, but I apologize for not being able to attend your dinner tonight. I am busy tonight."

"With what?"

Sakura stirs and she wakes up just in time to hear Ken decline the invitation to dinner. She sat quietly, until now.

"Because onii-san and I have to find a home… but onii-san, can we please stay for dinner? Please, please, please"

"Oh! Who is this cute little girl?" Naru squealed.

The sight of Naru squealing frightened the little girl and she ran to hide behind her brother.

"My apologies. Sakura-chan doesn't react well to things she finds strange… squealing, for instance, qualifies for strange."

"How does squealing qualify for strange! You are – Oh… you're sister is not afraid when I yelled..."

"Yes… she does not find yelling strange… as it happens in my house every hour of the day and everyday of the year. I'm sorry we intruded. Goodbye"

Ken starts to leave, but notices that Sakura would not budge.

"I want dinner…" whined Sakura.

"Naru… let them stay for dinner. The cute little girl wants to stay…" protested Shinobu.

"I'm not stopping her. I'm just stopping him" argued Naru.

Ken smiles. "Okay, Sakura, you can stay for dinner. How about I leave to find a place to settle while you stay here with Maehara-san for dinner? I will be back to pick you up."

"NO! Onii-san stays with Sak-kun! Onii-san has to promised to never leave Sak-kun…"

Ken sighs in defeat. "Okay Sak-kun…" He looks up and speaks to Shinobu. "Maehara-san, I will be staying only to accompany my sister, so you will not have to cook my share…"

"Why…?"

"Because it seems as though Narusegawa-san does not enjoy my company. It would be rather rude of me to eat at a place that I am unwanted."

Shinobu goes back into the kitchen to cook dinner for the night. Ken and Sakura went on a home-hunt for the while being. At around six, the two siblings walk back to the Hinata Inn with no more luck than they had started this afternoon. Ken is sitting at the table with all the residents of the Hinata Inn, feeding his younger sister occasionally when she was having trouble with the chopsticks. All of the other residents seem to like him when they first introduced themselves to him.

"Mm… Shinobu made another great dinner!" Su commented. "Time for dessert!"

"Well… I'm going to my room for some more sake now. Goodnight everyone." Kitsune announced.

"I must start training" departed Motoko.

"Ah… yes, I should go do some of the other chores I never finished this morning" reported Keitaro.

The only ones left around the table now were Kensuke, Sakura, Su, Naru, and Shinobu. It seems that Naru was keen on keeping an eye on Ken, because her eyes never left him since he first sat on his chair. Now, dinner was over, and the two were on their way again.

"Okay, you got what you want Sak-kun. Now our only problem is a home…"

"Zumaki-san! Wait…!"

Ken stopped and turned around to see Shinobu running in his direction.

"There is something that I'm curious about. Aren't you hungry? You haven't eaten anything all afternoon"

"How did you know? Never mind. It doesn't matter."

Ken stomach grumbles, giving him away. Shinobu holds up something that looks like a lunchbox.

"Here. Take this."

"No thank you. Right now, the least of my worries is hunger."

"Why do you say that?"

"I need to find a place to stay for the night. Sakura is only six. She wouldn't be able to live sleeping on the streets."

"Why don't you just go home?"

Ken twitched at the word 'home'.

"Home? I don't have one…"

"But… surely you have parents…"

"They're dead…"

"But if that's the case, shouldn't you be in an orphanage?"

"My father is really dead. To me, my mother is dead, but the lady who gave birth to me is still alive, somewhere getting high."

"What?" Shinobu was very confused right now.

"Allow me to explain. For the last sixteen years that I have been alive, I was abused, physically and emotionally by my mother. I got tired of her so I left the hellhole that was once my home, with Sakura. I'm not going to let her continue her ways with me, and I'm not going to have Sakura grow up with a drug-addict mother. I simply disowned her as my mother. In other words, to me, she's dead."

"Oh… that's so sad…"

"Save the pity for someone else. I'm happy to finally be away from her. All I need now is a home and a job…"

"Why don't you stay at the Hinata Inn?"

"I can't. It's an all girls dorm."

"So? I can talk to sempai for you. I'm sure he'll make an exception."

"I don't know… I'm not so sure Narusegawa-san would agree with it. She doesn't seem to like me… at all. Plus, I don't know how I could pay the rent, I don't have much money."

"We can always work something out. Sempai worked it out for me. I get to pay a little less than the others because I cook and clean."

"There's nothing much I can do… maybe I will come back when I do find a job."

Ken starts off to leave, but he felt someone hold onto him. He assumed it was his sister, but she was too occupied skipping around on the cracks of the floor. He looked over and saw Shinobu holding onto him with pleading blue eyes.

"Maehara-san…"

"Please, why don't you just give it a try?"

"Why are you so insistent on this? You barely even know me. For all you know… I could be using you…"

"Because I believe you are really kind-hearted… I believe that I have excellent judgment in a character…"

Ken gave a long sigh, and agreed to see the manager about it. So now, they are sitting in the living room with all the residents. Since Ken is a guy, all the residents have to be there to approve.

"So you see sempai… Zumaki-san really needs a place to stay…" explained Shinobu.

"Hmm… yes… very interesting. I suppose I can make an exception. All in favor of letting Zumaki Kensuke stay…"

All the residents except for Naru raised their hands.

"So there goes the vote. Zumaki Kensuke is now a resi—"

"Hey! This is wrong! Wrong! Zumaki Kensuke is a BOY. This is an ALL GIRLS' dorm" protested Naru.

"So? Keitaro is a man and he is our manager…" commented Su.

"Besides, the poor boy's sister is only six. You can't have her stay in the streets…" defended Motoko. "And it seems that the girl refuse to part from her brother." Motoko looked over at Sakura, who was now sleeping on Ken's lap.

"Yeah Naru, you let Keitaro stay…" stated Su

"Well… Kei- he… uh…" After a few minutes, Naru settled on a thought. "Keitaro is a student from Tokyo University! He's not –"

"Then does it make you feel any better if I tell you I intend on attending Tokyo University…" asked Ken

"Humph… talk to us when you pass the entrance exams" stated Naru sternly.

"Okay. Since I've already passed the entrance exams, would you like to talk now?"

"WHHAAAATTTTT!"

All of the residents are shocked about this boy's intelligience.

"Is there… a problem?"

"How could you have passed the exams! You are only sixteen! You're only supposed to be a-a sophomore in school right now…"

"Uhmm… junior. I don't know… I got bored one day so I decided to sign up to take the exams. Originally they didn't allow me to because of my age, but I had a teacher write me a referral and a recommendation. Surprisingly enough, I thought the test was going to be harder, but oh well."

"YOUU!" Naru said through clenched teeth.

"What?" Ken gave her an innocent look.

"You cannot stay here because you are a sixteen year old boy!"

Ken turned to Shinobu. "See, I told you, Maehara-san." He turned to the rest of the residents. "I'm so sorry to intrude once more. I will be going now… goodnight."

When Ken got up, he woke his sister up.

"Onii-san… where are we going?"

"I don't know… somewhere. Come on, let's go."

Ken carries his sister and exits the building. He could hear all the residents contradicting with Naru, but he didn't care. He was not in the mood to do anything. He just needed a place to stay the night. Is that so much to ask? When he got to the bottom of the stairs, Aoyama Motoko ran towards him, and stopped him in his tracks.

"What is it, Aoyama-san?"

"We have all out-voted Naru so you can stay in the Hinata Inn."

"I'm sorry. I feel unwanted there. I spent most of my life feeling unwanted; now all I want is to have a home, where I'm not unwanted. I don't have to be wanted, just not unwanted."

Motoko was confused by this statement, but she shrugged it off and just persisted for him to stay. By now, all the residents are insisting that he stay, with the exception of Naru. When all those people are tugging onto you and saying all these things to you, it's kind of hard to decline, so he accepted.

"Ok, I'll stay, but only until I find a new home…"

NEXT CHAPTER: Ken adjusts to life in the Hinata Inn... and well... Naru just decides to strike...

Thanks for reading, now would u please review? Sak-kun wants a review...