Author's note: Aloha people of all ages. Being an avid Love Hina fan for four or so years, I decided it was finally time to dip my quill into the inkwell of fanfiction. I bet you're all wondering how Shirai and Motoko are going to work, huh? I bet you're wondering how a fluffy kinky romance would work, huh? Well too bad, you'll have to read. Don't worry, I can pull it off. I am master of strange and stranger couples, you know. So buckle up kids, this is going to be a ride. And don't make me turn this story around.
Shirai quietly stepped through the large double doors of the Hinata House. He looked around at the empty lobby, eyes of confusion shining behind his large round glasses. He ran one hand through his long hair, no longer pulled back into its normal ponytail, and scratched his head in vain curiosity.
"Keitaro?" He called out, putting one hand to his mouth. "Keitaroooo!" He called again. His own voice answered as it echoed through the halls of the estate. "You here, man? I need a place to stay, Haitani got…" There was a silence, as Shirai collected the energy to speak the next contempt ridden word to pass his lips, "…arrested… I can't cover the bail, never mind our rent, and the landlord kicked me out." He was speaking to himself now, more than the absent Keitaro, recapping the past half-month's endeavors. He clenched his teeth, but let his anger go quickly. "I guess no one's around."
"You're guessing wrong." Motoko emerged from the kitchen, adjusting her tied hair. Her pink, sleeveless top exposed her newly growing breasts more than she liked, though her denim shorts were long enough to keep one guessing about the contents of what lied underneath. She finished adjusting herself and looked at Shirai, studying his face carefully. "You're Urashima's friend…you're…"
"Shirai." He rolled his eyes. No one in this house ever remembered his name. "And you're that…" Shirai stopped momentarily to choose his words carefully. 'Crazy sword chick' may not have gone over so well, he quickly deduced. "…girl that lives here, we've met a few times."
"Aoyama is fine." She was curt in her normal fashion. An awkward silence settled over the room as the two exchanged glances.
"So…" Shirai turned and looked back at Motoko, "I suppose you heard everything I said before, huh Aoyama-san?"
"Mm." She didn't look up, only nodding in consent. "Don't think you'll be staying here though." Her eyes suddenly snapped up to meet his, and her voice spoke out in a chillingly harsh tone, "One sick pervert is enough."
Shirai had no words to react to this. He was completely offset by her sudden contempt. With mind-blowing speed however, as though a shotgun had been fired, Keitaro Urashima shattered through the ceiling and crashed into the floor, leaving a considerable crater in the hardwood. Shirai's eyes widened at the sudden disarray, though Motoko stood unfazed. "Oh, hey Urashima. Trouble with Naru?"
"Heh heh heh…you could say that." Keitaro picked himself up and brushed himself off. His attention suddenly turned to Shirai, who was still frozen in shock. "Hey! Shirai! Long time no see, how have things been? Where's Haitani? I haven't heard from you guys in forever."
Shirai looked at Keitaro, blood flowing down his face, in spectacular awe. He lifted his hand, one finger up, and opened his mouth, as if to say something completely pertinent to the situation, but all that came out was "New glasses? I like them."
"What! Arrested! For what!" Keitaro shrieked.
"He was drunk, and he hit on a girl and fell over and, er…" Shirai lowered his head and looked around "accidentally bit her…you know where…" He made circular motions on his own chest.
Keitaro stared at his friend in disbelief. "Wait…she called the cops?"
"Not quite. She was a cop. Is. Whatever."
Keitaro stared at his friend in disbelief again. "I…haha…hahaha, oh jeez, you know, we really should have expected something like this to happen, huh? Hahaha!"
"Oh laugh it up! At least you have a place to stay!" Shirai's arms flailed in frustration. "While I'm stuck on the street! Nowhere to go! A homeless man!" It was obvious Shirai wasn't very serious, just irritated and trying to embellish everything.
"Right, right, without Haitani's half of the rent, you're-"
"Homeless!"
"Hahaha, relax, you can stay with us for a while." Keitaro's voice was calm and soothing, something different from the often-spastic vocals Shirai was once used to.
"Really? The girls won't mind? That sword girl seemed pretty adamant about me not staying."
"Who, Motoko? Oh, she just needs to warm up to you, really, it'll be fine." Keitaro's voice was confident enough to put Shirai's mind to rest momentarily. "Now c'mon, let's just make sure it's okay with the rest of the girls."
"Yeah, it's alright with me, I guess." Naru shrugged, and plopped down on the lobby couch.
"Me too." Kitsune said, also shrugging, seeing Shirai as no threat or prize, though perhaps some entertainment for the Hinata household.
"If you can vouch for him Sempai…" Shinobu's answer was shaky, still wary around men aside from the ones she saw normally, namely Keitaro and Seta.
"Hehehe, the hobbit is back! We can play!" Su exclaimed happily. "He can even be my Sarah replacement! All we need is a wig! And then we can scheme and plot!"
"Uh, wig?" Shirai echoed.
"Absolutely not, Urashima! One man in an all girls dorm is enough! Should we start opening our doors for all men to gawk and ogle us as they please!" Motoko's anger had hardly hit its peak, but Shirai's knees still shook at the sound of her voice, and blood rushed to his hands, making them tingle and itch.
"Come on now, Motoko, he's not a bad guy, and he'll be rooming with me. How bad could it be?" Keitaro calmly defended his friend.
"It's the principle of it! Two men in a girl's dorm! Unheard of!"
"Well I'm here already Motoko, and despite a few accidents, things have been alright, right? And I've been here for over two years too. Shirai will be here for a month, tops, most likely less than that, so where's the harm in that? He's not so much unlike me."
"A few accidents?" Was the general group consensus in thought, though his other strong words had virtually hushed Motoko.
"…Fine Urashima, but if your little friend so much as looks at me strangely…" She clicked open her katana with her thumb, and stared strait into Keitaro's eyes.
"Don't worry about it, I'll keep him in line." Keitaro ruffled Shirai's hair, and Shirai play punched him in the arm, almost in reflex. The two laughed it off, and began walking up the stairs.
"Oh, thank you all so much." Shirai quickly turned around, almost forgetting his manners. "I really appreciate this."
The girls nodded and offered tidings of welcome, though it was mostly in blind courtesy. Motoko was the only one who stayed silent, pulling her lip into a half-sneer, not so much as condescending as disappointed. Keitaro and Shirai disappeared upstairs for maybe twenty seconds before Keitaro's voice could be heard saying "Wait, where are you bags?" A long pause settled before the two came running down the steps in a frantic chase.
"I left my stuff on the train! A hobo will take it for sure!" Shirai exclaimed, sprinting out the door.
"Augh! Not your laptop Shirai! Do you know how much por…" Keitaro and Shirai's voices faded off into the distance of the Hinata streets.
"Those two are just as dorky as ever," Naru rolled her eyes.
"Hehehe, I wonder if Shirai has a giiiiirlfriend!" Su giggled.
"Su! That's none of your business!" Shinobu scolded.
"I bet he gets bad grades too, like Keitaro used to get. I bet he's at a bad college, where they serve gruel for lunch all the time!" Su continued her raving.
"Mm, ready to dig up dirt already, huh, Su? A girl after my own heart." Kitsune smirked and rubbed her hand to her chin. "Come to think of it, we don't know much about this guy except he knows Keitaro. What if he's…Keitaro's secret lover!" She began painting erotic love pictures in the air with her mind.
"Eeew, yaoi!" Shinobu shook her head.
Motoko quietly, though forcefully, pushed a breath of air from her nose. She wasn't interested in playing anyone's childish games that day. She silently made her exit, to change into her training uniform and retreat to the roof.
Naru chuckled as she raised her arms and shook her head, "I don't even know how to react to you people anymore."
The sun was quickly setting, and Keitaro and Shirai found themselves escaping over the rail yard fence.
"Whew, glad we found the stuff." Shirai carefully climbed down the rusty chain link fence.
"Yeah, definatel-eeeee!" Keitaro's pants caught the fence and he found himself dangling upside down, flailing and spazing out.
"Music to my ears." Shirai laughed, tugging on his friends pants so he crashed to the ground. "It's good to see you haven't changed too much." He extended his hand to help his friend up.
"Hahaha, glad to see you'd have missed me." Keitaro pulled himself up and brushed his pants off.
"Man, you sure are lucky Keitaro." Shirai put his hands behind his head and looked up at the purple sky that was quickly fading to black. "Living in a whole building of cute girls…"
"Well…it can be nightmare sometimes…but you're right Shirai, I have been lucky."
"A nightmare, huh? Yeah, I can imagine, especially with-"
"Motoko, yeah. Well, I don't know if she reacts like this with most guys, but when I first moved into the Hinata House, she treated me similarly, and well, in the end it turns out she cared for me more than even she expected." He turned to his friend, and their eyes met. A silence quickly took lead of the conversation as Shirai thoughtfully pondered his friend's words. "Then again, she could just hate you, heh heh."
"Oh real funny." Shirai good naturedly scoffed and rolled his eyes. The two made their way towards the Hinata house again, as the luminescence of the half-moon slowly waxed to its full potential. Stars poked their way out of the blanket of sky, despite the light pollution from neighboring cities, struggling against all odds and all obstacles, just to shine their beauty a little more.
Authors notes...again: So, I hope you enjoyed this little prologue, and I hope your appetites are duly whetted. I do hope I've been able to emulate the characters correctly though. I feel that my weakness in fanfiction is writing the characters not as they are, but how I want them to be. Happy reviewing guys, and I'll see you next time.