Love Hina: No Promise
Chapter 1: Leaving the Hinata Inn (Prologue)
Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina or anything else that appears in this fan fic
(A/N: This is my first Love Hina fanfic, so it's probably not going to be that good. Please don't kill me for it. Also, most of the stuff in this fic will be made up. Names of citys, vehicles, customs, weapons, and more will most likely be made up right off the top of my head.)
It was an early morning in May as Hiroyasu Urashima sat at the front desk of his mother's inn, The Hinata Inn. He, his wife Ryoko, his 4 year old son Keitaro, and 2 year old daughter Kanako were staying there as he and his wife were waiting to hear about a house they're hoping to purchase for their growing family to live and run their sweet shop. Hopefully, they'd get the house before Ryoko gave birth to their third child; as she was 3 and a half months pregnant.
Hiroyasu was brought out of his musings as the phone at the front desk rang. "Hello, this is the Hinata Inn. How may I help you?" He answered in a respective business tone.
"Yes, I'm calling for a Urashima Hiroyasu." Came an older sounding polite voice on the other end. "Is he available?"
"This is he." Hiroyasu replied.
"Hiroyasu-san, this is Son Roshi." The man said introducing himself.
Hiroyasu mentally perked, hearing this; as Roshi was the kind old martial arts master that he and his wife were hoping to buy a house from.
"Good to hear from you Roshi-san. Are you calling about our bid for the house?" He asked the aged man.
"Yes, I am. It seems that there is a bit of a problem." Roshi stated.
Hiroyasu's eyes widened in surprise. He prayed that it was nothing that would threaten his family's chances of owning a house. Sure, he and his family would always have a place at the Hinata Inn and the homes of his younger siblings, but he and Ryoko wanted to have their own home to raise their growing family.
"What seems to be the problem Roshi-san?" He asked.
"Well, the problem is my grandson has decided that he doesn't want the house and on top of it he and his wife are moving. Now, ironically, they happen to live in a nice mobile home, with a good bit of land, next to me. So, they've asked me to add their land in with the selling of my old house and land. So, I'm now stuck looking for a buyer that would like a house and 3 acres of land to go with it, at no extra charge." The elderly man explained. "You wouldn't happen to know anyone that would be interested in that would you?" Roshi asked after a slight pause for dramatic effect.
Hiroyasu stood speechless for a moment, before recovering and asking, "Are you serious, sir?"
"Yep. As soon as you and your wife can get here and sign the papers, the place is yours." Roshi answered with a light chuckle in his voice.
"Thank you so much, Roshi-san. We'll be there right after lunch today." Hiroyasu replied.
After speaking for a couple of more minutes and getting details on what he would need, Hiroyasu hung up the phone and called a building, plumin, and electric contractor he knew. After speaking with the contractor to start work on remodeling the house, he hung up the phone went to look for his pregnant wife. As he hounded the corner, he saw his father and mother.
"Oto-san, Oka-san how are you doing?" He asked them.
"We are well, Hiro-kun." Replied his father, Hoto Urashima.
"How are you doing, Hiro-kun?" Asked his mother, Hina Urashima.
"I'm doing good mother." He replied, before continuing saying, "I just got off the phone with Roshi-san and the house is ours. I'm going to go and tell Ryoko the good news. We'll be leaving today to go sign the papers. So, could you please watch the kids?"
"Of course. I love having little Kei-kun and Ka-chan around." Answered his mother.
"When will you and Ryoko-chan be planning to move into the house?" Asked his father.
"Well, after speaking with Roshi-san I called a friend of mine, who's a contractor. They're going to start working on remodeling the house tomorrow. The supplies have already been bought, so it should only take them to the start of next month to finish. Immediately after that, we're going to redecorate the rooms and the sweet shop. Once that's complete, we'll be moving in. So, we'll be leaving in about 5 weeks." Hiroyasu answered.
Hiroyasu then bid his parents a good morning and made his way up to the room he and his wife were sharing, next to the room his children were sharing. He opened the door to see his wife sitting at the table typing away at her laptop. Ryoko had bluish-grey hair that was rather long, as it ended at her mid-back. Her bright amber eyes stared at the screen as she busily typed away at the screen.
While Hiroyasu made the sweets, it was Ryoko who ran the business side of their sweet shop franchise. Originally, the business was started as an online sweet shop for part of her graduating project. It wound up become so successful, that she had decided to keep it after she earned her business degree. Eventually, they decided to open an actual store to go along with the website; which is what they were currently trying to do. With Ryoko heading up the business and financial side, they were practically guaranteed success. Ryoko was many things in her life. She was loving, motherly, affectionate, temperamental, angry, cheerful, and much more. However, when it came to business she was known to be only two things, cold hearted and ruthless. Ryoko graduated at 20 with the start of their web based sweet shop, Sweet Treats, in the two years afterwards, she was able to buy out three other sweet shop businesses. She also started investing the money which has made it grow even more and has become a writer, on the side.
Hiroyasu looked over to see both Keitaro and Kanako in the room. He saw that Keitaro was reading a children's book on turtles; while Kanako was watching a toddler child's program on the television, while holding a black stuffed cat.
He walked over and sat next to Ryoko. He then leaned over and gently kissed her cheek before saying, "I've got some good news for you and our children."
Ryoko blushed slightly at the kiss and asked, "Oh, what would that news be?"
"I just got off the phone with Roshi-san and the house is ours. Also, we're getting more land than originally and the contractor will be out there tomorrow. However, we need to go over their today to sign the papers." He answered.
"That's great news, Hiro-kun!" Ryoko replied as she hugged her husband and kissed him excitedly.
As Ryoko broke the kiss, Hiroyasu said, "I've already spoken to Oto-san and Oka-san and they both agreed to watch Keitaro and Kanako for us, while we go and sign the papers."
"Give me about five minutes to finish here and I'll be ready to go." She informed him. Ryoko then gave him a quick peck on the cheek before turning back to her laptop to finish checking the shop's current balance.
Hiroyasu then stood up and walked over to his two young children. "Hey you two." He called getting their attention. Keitaro looked up from his book and Kanako faced away from the television screen. Once he saw that he had both of their attentions, he continued saying, "Oto-san and Oka-san have to go out for part of the day, so Grandpa and Grandma will be watching you today, okay? We want you both to be on your best behavior for them."
"Hai, Oto-san." Keitaro and Kanako both replied.
Keitaro then closed his book and put it back in his room. He then came back into his parents room and picked up his little sister and carried her out of the room to where ever their grandparents were at.
Hiroyasu chuckled slightly at his son's actions. 'He's an awfully helpful little bugger.' He thought quietly to himself.
Ryoko turned off her laptop and picked up her purse. She and her husband said good-bye to their children as they passed by the lobby; seeing Keitaro and Kanako being entertained by one of their grandmother's stories. The young couple then walked a couple of miles and took the train into Tokyo. Once they where in the large city, they transferred to a bullet train and took it to Aki City. When they arrived at the sea side city, they decided to have a quick stop for lunch and ate at a nice looking beef bowl stand. With their meal finished, they called a cab and gave the driver directions to Roshi's house.
With the couple's destination in mind, the driver began to drive north, heading out of the city. Soon the city began to thin into a slightly more rural area. Showing more houses than apartment buildings, but still having a small city feeling to it. The cab soon stopped in front of a large spacious three story house. After paying the cab fare and paying the man extra to wait, Hiroyasu and Ryoko climbed up the few small steps and made their way across the lawn towards the front door and rung the door bell. A moment later the door was answered by a short, white bearded, balding man wearing kaki shorts with a hawaiian styled shirt.
"Hiroyasu-san, Ryoko-san glad you could both make it." Said Roshi as he answered the door. "Please, come in." He said motioning for them to enter.
As the couple entered they saw that the house was barren. "Where's all of your stuff, Roshi-san?" Asked Ryoko.
"I've already had everything moved out." He replied, before continuing saying, "As soon as we sigh the papers and make the exchange, I'll be heading for the airport and on my way to my new house in Amsterdam."
Ryoko's eyes widened slightly, as she hadn't been expecting the retired martial arts expert to move to another country. Although, it was the man's life to live and Amsterdam was a beautiful place.
They walked into the kitchen and saw the notary standing thereat the counter top with the deed to the building and the documents that would need to be signed. Ryoko and Hiroyasu picked up the document and looked it over. After finding it acceptable, they signed it and passed it to Roshi, who also signed it. The notary then notarized it, as Ryoko wrote out a check for the house and land. Once everything was signed and the check was in Roshi's hand, the old martial arts master handed the young couple the keys to the house, garage, front gate, basement, and the master key.
"Well, enjoy your new home." He said, bowing to the couple. He and the notary then left, leaving the couple alone in their new house.
Hiroyasu walked slowly, out into the living room with his wife Ryoko by his side. "Can you believe it, Hiro-kun? We finally have our own house." Ryoko said excitedly, squeezing his arm.
"Yeah. It feels great, to finally have our own place." He replied.
He then turned towards his wife and began to kiss her on her wonderful, lushes' lips. The kiss was soon growing more and more passionate with each passing second. Ryoko moaned softly into her husband's mouth. Hiroyasu soon broke the kiss, much to Ryoko's displeasure. "We need to get back to the cab and head back to the Hinata Inn." He said.
"Aww." Ryoko said pouting slightly as they both turned and walked away. As they were walking, Ryoko got a sly grin on her face. She silently reached behind her husband and gave a hard pinch to his ass.
Hiroyasu gave a yelp of surprise and turned his blushing face onto his wife, trying to glare at her, but failing as she looked on with a mock innocent look. "You're going to be a mother of three and you still act like you're a naughty school girl." He said.
"What can I say? You're a bad influence on me." Ryoko replied, as she made her way to the cab as he locked the door to the house.
When they got back into the cab, they had the driver take them to the building contractor's office. Once there, Hiroyasu spoke with the owner, a man named Pedro, about what he and his wife where wanting remodeled and changed in the house. After getting everything lined out, Hiroyasu handed the man the keys so the works would be able to get into the house. He and Ryoko then left and headed back to the train station. Once back on the bullet train, heading to Tokyo, the couple sat silently in peace as they waited for their stop.
It was early evening when Hiroyasu and Ryoko arrived back at Hinata city. The young couple stopped by the local grocery store and bought some fresh vegetables and some meat to make homemade soup for supper. After making their purchase and walking down the road toward the Hinata Inn, they heard a voice yell behind them, "Nii-san."
Hiroyasu and Ryoko both turned around to see Hiroyasu's youngest sibling and only sister, Haruka, running up behind them. "Hey Nii-san, Hey Nee-san. Where did the two of you go today?" She asked as she came to a stop in front of the young couple.
"We went out to Aki City and bought a house." Hiroyasu answered.
"Ah, so the two of you were able to get your own house?" Haruka asked for confirmation. Seeing her eldest brother and his wife nod she asked, "So, when well you be moving out?"
"We're having the house remodeled first, so it'll be five to six weeks before we move in. However, during those weeks, we'll be busy getting everything ready for the move, starting Keitaro in school, and getting things ready for the baby." Ryoko answered.
"Well, good luck to you both Nii-san Nee-san," Haruka said before running ahead towards the steps of the Hinata Inn.
That night, at supper, Hiroyasu and Ryoko told Keitaro and Kanako that they would be moving to their new home in a few weeks. The two young siblings seemed excited about living in a new house. Although, Kanako wanted to know if Hina-oba-chan and Hoto-ojii-chan could come. The couple had to explain that grandma and grandpa couldn't come as they had to watch over the Hinata Inn, but they could always come and visit. Kanako seemed to accept the explanation and went back to happily eating her supper.
Over the next few weeks, Hiroyasu and Ryoko were both kept busy getting things ready to move into the house. The children's rooms were finished first, just a couple of days after buying the house. So, they went furniture shopping and bought futons for Keitaro and Kanako, a crib fro the baby. As well as, dressers, desks, and bookcases for Keitaro and Kanako's rooms and more stuff for the baby's room. Hiroyasu also had to hire some movers to move the family's belongings out of storage and into the house.
Five weeks later.
With tears threatening to spill from his eyes, Keitaro said good-bye to his grandparents, uncles, and aunt. He climbed into the car and waited for his mother to finish putting a sleeping Kanako in her car seat. A few minutes later, Keitaro's father was driving down the street away from Hinata City and towards their house in Aki City.
After about an hour or so on the road, young Keitaro noticed that his mother had taken her mini-laptop out and was once more busily typing away. "Oka-san, what are you doing?" He asked. He had seen her type many times on the laptop, but never knew what it was about.
"I'm checking the status of our shop, and the invoices for the supplies that I ordered for the shop." Ryoko replied.
"Why?" Keitaro asked, as any normal four-year old would.
Normally, Ryoko would tell Keitaro and/or Kanako to hush when she was on the laptop, as it was rude to interrupt mommy's work, but this morning she felt like saying something different. "I'm checking it, because many years ago before you and Kana-chan were born; mommy and daddy had a dream. That dream was to be the best at their business. So, mommy promised daddy she would do everything to help become the best."
"Did you become the best?"
"Not yet. We're still working on it. And now, we have you, your sister, and soon your new baby brother or sister will with us as part of our promise." Ryoko told him.
"So, I should do my best too? What should I do my best at, Oka-san?" Keitaro asked, wondering what he could do best.
"Well, you're starting school soon. So, you need to do your best by studying hard and passing your classes." Ryoko told him.
"Okay, Oka-san. I will, I promise." Keitaro replied with a big grin.
Ryoko smiled softly at her eldest child's determined look, as she turned back to the small screen on her lap. Little did she know, how that one promise would affect her son and even her other children. Maybe if she had, she would have acted normally, and told Keitaro to be quite while she worked.
Hinata Inn
An Hour after Hiroyasu and family leave
Hina Urashima sat quietly at the front desk of her Inn. She was slightly sad that her eldest son had left, but at least he was making his way in his life and had a good woman to call his wife. Not like his younger brother, who was unfortunately become more of a disappointment. She was brought out of he musings when the phone rang.
"Hello, this is the Hinata Inn. How may I help you?" She asked in a kind, clear voice.
"Hello, I'm Narusegawa Kiato. I would like to reserve a room for three for the summer." Came the voice of a man on the other end.
Hina got the man's information down for when he would be arriving with his family and after hanging up the phone, she looked down at the list.
'So, he and his wife are bringing their daughter for a summer by the hot springs? To bad the poor dear won't have anyone to play with.' Hina thought to herself.
Just as she was about to go and tell Haruka to prepare one of the larger rooms, the phone rang once more. "Hello, this is the Hinata Inn. How may I help you?"
"Hello, I'm Otohime Mika. I would like to reserve a room for three for the summer." Came the voice of a pleasant sounding woman on the other end.
Once she had gotten the woman information on arrival down, Hina hung up the phone and looked at the two lists. 'Well, maybe this won't be such a boring summer after all.' She thought as she stood up and went to go look for her daughter.
Next Chapter: 16 Years Later
Well, that's it for the first chapter/prologue of Love Hina: No Promise. I hope you enjoyed reading it. I apologize for the chapter being so short, but it felt best to do it this way. The next chapter will be longer. Granted, it will also be a while until it comes out. Before anyone asks, yes there will be a small mixture of other animes being blended in into the Love Hina universe. I'll explain more about it in the second chapter. Also, I'm looking for a BETA reader for the story.