Author's Note:

Hello, everyone. It's been a while. This is actually an old fanfic that I submitted to the _ryosaku community on LiveJournal as part of the 2008 Fanfiction/Fanart exchange. It was done for Bunny Sailor Moon. I hope no one minds that I posted it here. It's been more than 3 years, so I'm sure it got as much of a run on the community as it's going to get. Special thanks go to Bunny for being the inspiration for this fic and for reminding me that I haven't posted it on this site. Standard disclaimers apply.

Chapter One: The Pilot

It started with an idiotic idea from his old man.

"Ne, Shonen! How about you get a summer job when we get to Japan?"

"No thanks," Ryoma had irritably said. The slave driver of a baka oyaji. He was only fourteen.

It continued with the old man's habit of annoying the hell out of him.

"Ne, Shonen! I got you a summer job! It's at the beach. An old friend of mine owns a resort there and needs some help during the busy season. He's expecting you tomorrow!"

"I don't want it!" Ryoma had yelled, turning around to find the old man had already turned tail and left.

It would have ended with Ryoma just not going, but the old man was too tricky for that.

"Shonen! Phone!"

Like an idiot, he picked up the phone, even though there was no one that would call him at his home.

"Moshi moshi."

"Ryoma-san? Oh, I'm so thankful for you helping me out this summer! My poor assistant is always running herself ragged. It's our busy season and she really needs some help. She smiles at me all the time and tells me not to worry, but I can tell she's exhausted. It's all my fault for not hiring a nice young man to do most of the heavy lifting that she does all the time, but I was hesitant to hire because she's so cute and I feel responsible for her protection. I didn't know what to do. And then Nanjirou-kun called! I'm sure I can trust the son of Nanjirou-kun. You're such a godsend! I can't tell you what this will mean to me and my assistant."

Ryoma sighed. There was no way his kind heart and honorable nature would let him turn the man down. Although, it was very tempting with his father standing in the doorway and looking so damn smug. Bastard.

"Betsuni."

"Right. Well then, I'll see you tomorrow. My assistant will pick you up from the train station. Thank you very much."

Then there was a dial tone and he couldn't back out. He glared at the old man and went upstairs to pack.

The train ride was boring, just a bunch of houses and trees and plains to stare at. None of the passengers were very interesting, all of them talking happily in their own little groups. There were no cute girls or kindly old men getting hassled by idiots who didn't know an Eastern grip from a Western grip. There were no senpai-tachi to annoy the hell out of him. So, by the time he stepped off the train, he was ready to start working at the hotel just for something to do.

The station was crowded, full of tourists and vacationers looking for a little fun in the sun. He looked all around the terminal for the hotel owner's assistant. Surely she would be holding up a sign or something to let him know who she was. The only thing he recognized was a familiar head of auburn hair tied back in two long braids.

There was no way it could be her. It was too much of a coincidence.

"Ano, please let go. I-I'm waiting for someone."

There was no mistaking it. It was Ryuuzaki. The stupid girl was in trouble again, judging by the two guys that were hanging all over her, one of which had her by the wrist and was trying to pull her closer. He would have to save her again. If he missed his rendezvous with the hotel owner's assistant, he was going to be super pissed.

"Don't be like that, sweet little lady," he heard the prick who had her by the arm say. "If your boyfriend kept you waiting like that, he must not be very nice. Come with us instead. We'll show you a good time."

"Ano—"

"Ryuuzaki," he called, striding up to the three of them like he was the emperor himself. "Come on."

"Ryoma-kun!" She was glad to see him. And why wouldn't she be? He smirked as he broke the guy's grip on her wrist, taking her hand and pulling her away.

"Oi, oi! You can't just—"

The glare Ryoma sent shut the pathetic loser up right quick, but whatever. As soon as the two guys were lost in the crowd, he dropped her hand and started looking for the hotel owner's assistant again.

"Do you ever stick up for yourself?" he lectured as he searched.

"Gomen, Ryoma-kun. A-arigatou."

"Betsuni," he answered, ignoring her. He thought she would just walk away and get back to whatever she was doing here with a disappointed look like she usually did, but this time she stayed by his side. She wasn't really doing anything. She was just standing there and watching him look for that stupid assistant.

"If you're just going to stand there, you could at least help me look," he grumbled. Her face went red with a deep blush. At least some things were normal. What the hell was she doing here anyway?

"R-right. O-Of course," she said and started to scan the crowd with him. "Ano, Ryoma-kun. What are we looking for?"

"I'm looking for this hotel owner's assistant. She's supposed to be here to take me to the hotel, but the idiot hasn't shown up yet," he grumped.

"H-he didn't t-tell you?" she asked quietly.

"What? What are you talking about, Ryuuzaki?" he asked, focusing on her for the first time since he came across her. She was wearing a strange uniform, with a neat white button-down tee and navy knee length skirt. There was a dragon logo on her sleeve and above her right breast.

"I-It's me. I-I'm the hotel owner's a-assistant. I…I'm here to pick you up."

He was going to kill his old man. The bastard was probably laughing his head off right now back at home. Damn him.

He pulled his cap down over his eyes, trying to hide his anger from the innocent girl. He took a few breaths and managed to rein in his temper.

"Come on," he said to the girl, walking off. She followed behind him obediently, but not without saying something.

"A-ano, Ryoma-kun, it's the other way," she said, pointing in the opposite direction they were headed.

He sighed and shifted his bags on his shoulder in annoyance.

"Why didn't you say so?" he asked agitatedly, stalking off in the direction she pointed.

"Demo, I just did. Ryoma-kun!"

She had to almost jog to keep up with his fast pace. Eventually, he took pity on her and slowed down so she could walk beside him.

"Beni-kun's car should be around here," she said once they reached the outside of the station and the street that sat in front of it. "There!"

She pointed to a little, beat-up sedan that a tall man in a straw hat was leaning against like he was some badass. He was wearing the same uniform that Ryuuzaki was, except he had on a pair of navy shorts instead of a skirt.

"Beni-kun!" she called, waving her hand around wildly.

The man looked up at her with a face younger than Ryoma would have expected from his height. He couldn't be older than seventeen. He had bright blue eyes and dark red hair. He was very handsome and his face lit up when he smiled at Ryuuzaki.

"Sacchan! Took you long enough. What did you do? Stop to see the trains go by?" the man teased.

Ryuuzaki blushed. "No! It's just that these two guys wouldn't leave me alone, but Ryoma-kun saved me."

"Did he?" The man turned a speculative glance his way. "So, you're Echizen's kid, huh? Name's Benimitsu. Put her there."

Ryoma shook the hand Benimitsu held out to him. "Ryoma," he mumbled, finding the man extremely annoying and wishing they could just take a cab and leave the guy behind.

"Nice to meet you. Let's get your stuff in the car and go, huh? Get in, Sacchan. I'll drive this time," Benimitsu said with a laugh.

She smiled at the joke and got in the back seat while he and Benimitsu put his stuff into the trunk of the car. When her door shut, the man turned to him a very disarming smile that reminded him of Fuji-sempai just before he used one of his Counters.

"You may be Echizen's kid, but if I find out you laid so much as a finger on my Sacchan, I'll break every bone in your body. Understand?"

Ryoma didn't care much for threats. He didn't really care what anyone said. He would do what he wanted, especially when it came to Ryuuzaki. So, he smirked and turned away from the tall, menacing man.

"Betsuni."

Benimitsu laughed. "You've got guts, kid. I think I could grow to like you. Just remember that if you do anything to my little cousin, I'll make your life a living hell. Besides that, I think we'll get along great, the two of us, huh? Get in. Oyaji's probably tripping all over himself just to meet you. You sit up front or else he'll get on to me, huh?"

The car ride was silent, the rock station Benimitsu liked to listen to blaring out of the radio. Was this straw hat wearing freak really Ryuuzaki's cousin? The idea made the crazy guy less annoying, but Ryoma still couldn't find it within himself to like Ryuuzaki's overprotective cousin.

He looked in the back seat once, just to see if Ryuuzaki was still back there. She was so quiet that he wasn't sure. She was just sitting there, looking out the window and singing silently along with the songs. He smirked and turned back around.

It was almost ten minutes into the trip that a thought occurred to him.

"Do you even have your license?" he asked Benimitsu, who was doing a decent job driving through the almost empty streets.

"Nope," Benimitsu answered happily, waving to a police car that was passing them on the other side of the road. "Don't really need one in a town this size. Everyone pretty much knows everyone else. It may seem like there are a lot of people here, but most of them are tourists. All the people that actually live here know that I'm a good driver, so no one really cares if I have a license or not. Besides, during this time of day, most of the tourists are down at the beach."

"But even with all the tourists, it's a quiet town. We keep it small and relaxed for a reason," Ryuuzaki said from the back seat, not really talking to anyone in particular. "This is one of the most sought after vacation spots for people in high positions because of the laid-back atmosphere. Our resort's books are usually filled three months in advance and we don't accept walk-ins."

"Yep, we're the premiere resort in this town," Benimitsu bragged. "We've been here since the 1920s, back when old great-grandfather set up his inn and beach house. Those first ones were lost in a typhoon about thirty years ago, but we've built something better since then. We even have our own restaurant in the resort, run by yours truly."

"You're a cook?" he asked incredulously.

"I prefer chef, but yeah. Kind of mind boggling, huh? But that's nothing compared to what Sacchan does. She runs the whole hotel part of it by herself. She keeps all forty rooms looking spotless and all the guests happy. I was a little worried when she first started doing it when she was ten, but she's a pro at it now."

"You were working when you were ten?" he turned around and asked her. She looked sheepish and gave him an embarrassed smile.

"It's a family owned operation, Ryo-kun," Benimitsu said. "Even the pool boy is a Ryuuzaki, although he's more of a grounds keeper than a pool boy. Don't worry about Sacchan though, huh? Oyaji used to help her with all the hard stuff, but she gradually took over. She said she was happy to do it and every summer she's right back here ready to get the job done. She's actually really stubborn when she wants to be."

Ryuuzaki blushed heavily and pointedly stared out the window. He turned back around and watched the road while Benimitsu went on talking about the hotel.

"The restaurant opens out right on to the beach and we get a lot of beach goers, not just the resort guests. The water's only a five-minute walk from the resort, but be careful about going because you'll end up staying a lot longer than you expected. You'll see when we get there, huh? This place is the best-kept secret in Japan. Hell, we only get the train through here because a member of the Diet likes to stay here on vacations. It's just plain beautiful."

When they got to the hotel, he saw that Benimitsu was right. The blue ocean was just out in the distance beyond crystal white beaches and sand dunes. He was sure that the water would be crystal clear and he wondered if there would be any reefs. There were quite a few people milling about on the hot sands, but even at the busy food, rental, and souvenir stands there was a lazy and relaxed feel to it. Big palm trees and hibiscus and crepe myrtles of every color grew here and there, probably tended with great care by the locals. Even Ryoma had to say it was beautiful.

The hotel was another matter. It was amazing. There were supposedly forty rooms, but they were all on the first level. It was built in the traditional fashion and looked like it came out of the feudal era. There was probably a stone garden and a koi pond in there somewhere. He could see where the restaurant started by the slant of the tiled roof. It faced the beach, so he couldn't see much of it, but it had to be big from what he saw. There was vegetation everywhere, making the hotel look like a picture from a tropical paradise manga or something. He was going to go soft in a place like this.

"Sacchan!"

An old man with long brown hair tied behind his head came running out of the gate-like front door of the hotel. He ran straight to Ryuuzaki, who had just stepped out of the car, and hugged her, picking her up and swinging her around in the process.

"Oh, Sacchan! My sweet, little Sacchan! I missed you so much!"

"Uncle, I was only gone for an hour," she said with a smile.

"I know! I could barely stand you being gone so long! Don't ever leave again!"

"Uncle…"

Ryoma ducked to avoid her braids as her crazy uncle in a kimono spun her around. Benimitsu touched his shoulder and pointed to the trunk.

"Come on. This will take a while," Benimitsu said.

The two of them unloaded Ryoma's stuff and brought it into the lobby of the hotel. The hotel owner followed, hugging and carrying Ryuuzaki all at once.

"I know that you're my assistant, but do you have to run all my errands?" the man whined. "Can't you just tell me no sometimes? You know how much I wish you would!"

"Uncle…don't forget about Ryoma-kun."

The old man pouted as if he were a child being scolded by his mother. "Fine."

Ryuuzaki was back on her own two feet and the old man was jerking his hand up and down in what might have been a handshake.

"Nice to finally meet you, Ryoma. Nanjirou and Sacchan have told me all about you! I'm Ryuuzaki Shouichirou. Nice to me you. Let's not waste any time, right? Your room will be number forty-six. Beni will take your things there. Rooms forty-one through fifty are all reserved for staff members, so don't hesitate to knock on our doors if you have any questions. Now, let's get you a uniform and then I'll give you a grand tour of our fine establishment."

He was pushed along by the old man, only able to glance back at his stuff and a waving Benimitsu. It was really annoying. He could walk by himself, damn it! His only comfort was that Ryuuzaki was being pushed along with him.

"On second thought, Sacchan will give you a tour of the resort. She's so much better at it than I am."

Suddenly he was pushed inside a linen closet. He turned around to see Shouichirou shutting the door on Ryuuzaki.

"I'm sorry, Sacchan, but this is no place for you. Women's pure eyes should not gaze upon the contents of a male's uniform," the idiot said with great dramatic flair.

"Uncle, I've been washing those uniforms for years now," she said with a humoring smile.

"I know! Haven't I corrupted you enough, my sweet, little Sacchan? Haven't I? Just wait outside, right?"

He shut the door on her. Ryoma didn't know how Ryuuzaki put up with such a crazy and rude uncle.

"Oh, I'm just so happy to find someone that won't fall for my cute Sacchan! It's been so hard," the owner sighed. "I couldn't hire anyone around her age, and a cute girl like that would turn any respectable older man into a dirty old man."

"What the hell makes you think I won't fall for her, then?" he asked, annoyed that he was being dismissed so easily.

"Well, Nanjirou only liked older women when we were young. I just thought that you would be the same," Shouichirou said with a stupid looking frown on his face. "Are you telling me that you're interested in my cute little niece?"

"Of course not!" he yelled automatically, his blushing face belying his claim.

"Then welcome to the Ryuuzaki Resort staff," the owner said.

With a smile he held out the white shirt and navy shorts that would be Ryoma's uniform. With a certain amount of trepidation, Ryoma took the uniform. It was going to be a long summer.

"Moshi-moshi."

"Ah, Sacchan. Just who I wanted to talk to. How have you been? That crazy son with a niece complex and grandkid with a cousin complex are treating you well, right?"

"Hai, Obaa-chan. I'm fine, but what are you doing calling so late?"

"Nanjirou just called and said that Ryoma's working with you. How is that boy getting along? Those two crazies haven't killed him yet, have they?"

"No. Why would they?"

"No reason. No reason. I was a little worried, but if they haven't killed him yet, I'm sure that kid will be fine. Be sure not to flirt with him too much, or you might get him in trouble."

"Obaa-chan!"

"Ha, ha! Have I embarrassed you? Knowing you, you'll hardly speak to him now, am I right?"

"Obaa-chan…"

"Ha, ha. Just a little joke, kiddo. Well, I'm about to go through a tunnel, so I'll talk to you later. Goodnight, Sacchan."

"Goodnight, Obaa-chan."