Disclaimer: I´m not the owner Love Hina or any other Anime/Manga, if I was, I would be happy.
Author´s Note: I´m new at the whole Fanfiction thing, so please go easy on me. Still, critique is welcome. I need it if I wish to become better at this.
This story is based on the manga, not the anime. It takes place in the 9° Volume, during Keitaro and Shinobu´s date. This is Keishin (My favorite pairing), so I will say this now. If you can´t stand the pairing, better not read.
Hope you like the story. Text in "" means dialogue, and text in - - means thoughts. ** is for things as sighs, or to empathize.
DIVISION/DIVISION/DIVISION
Awful.
That's the only way Keitaro could describe his current situation. Actually, that´s pretty much the only way anyone would describe his current situation. Only his omnipotent and mighty bad luck could turn a simple, good-hearted intent to cheer up a girl into a possible charge for underage drunk sex and a swift and painful execution in the hands of his tenants.
Now, for anyone wondering what the problem in which Keitaro was stuck was, he was in the middle of a date with his tenant, secret admirer and friend, Maehara Shinobu. While that was very unlikely to happen (Naru would see to that), the events leading to such thing were quite special ones. For those who want to know, let me explain the whole story.
It had all started at the Seven Night Festival, just a few days after Motoko's incident with his sister. Refractions had been made by the Inn's manager, injuries treated (Minus his leg) and friendships strengthened. During the so called festival it was often said that one´s wishes could come true if written down on a paper. While Keitaro himself had his own wish of a university and a childhood friend, the one that mattered was Shinobu´s. In it, she wished to be able to go with her "sempai" on a date. Why was a mystery to Keitaro (he really is dense, isn´t he?) and even if he agreed, "someone" would most likely kill him; but after the girls accepted the idea under certain conditions, the Kanrinin promised to take the blue-head on one if she could manage and score highest in the upcoming exam.
As beautiful as the situation was to Shinobu, things didn´t go as planned as she scored 0 on the test thanks to a luck similar to Keitaro's, and, while in a depression, she ran away to who-knows-where. Thus, as the caring person he was, Keitaro as well as the rest of the girls had gone out to search for her. Luckily, he managed to find her (with the help of one of Naru's famous punches), and decided to take her out on a date to try and cheer her up.
For the most part the date went smoothly. No accidents, no wind showing off panties and no clumsy trouble. Still, as it was typical of his misfortune (Someone up there in heaven must be laughing his or her ass off) had managed to get Shinobu drunk, made her make up a scene in a public restaurant, caused the girl to begin flirting with the man and finally led them all the way to a Love Hotel; all in less than an hour and because of two gulps of red wine.
He has a talent you have to admit.
So, he was now here, seated in middle of a private room with only one futon and with a drunk and seemingly lustful Shinobu trying to figure out what the hell to do without landing himself in prison or at the end of Motoko's blade. Suddenly, he noticed her staring at him. Immediately after they had arrived, she launched herself to the futon and began praising its softness, inviting the man to join her and see for himself. He had taken her as asleep, but now there she was, staring at him with eyes very difficult for him to decipher.
"Huh? You still here? I thought you were bathing." Shinobu sounded genuinely surprised; to think she would assume Keitaro would just go along with it... Then, she switched to a more seducing tone, a naughty smile on her face, the like more suited for Kitsune and not for a pure girl like the cook. "You better hurry up if you want us to go home before everyone starts wondering where we are. You don't want them finding us in the middle of you-know-what"
"W-wait a second Shinobu-Chan, this is not right. I mean, you´re drunk and…"
"Why not? Are you saying I'm ugly?" She asked while giving him the teary puppy's eyes. Keitaro could never say no to those eyes (That's why Su was able to introduce Plutonium inside her room) and to make it worse she REALLY was worried he thought her as ugly and not sex appealing.
Now he was getting nervous. "O-of course you're not ugly. It's…"
"Why not then?" The schoolgirl was growing impatient; the sooner she knew what she needed to do to make him look at her with love, the better.
*Sigh* "As I was saying, you're drunk; you don't know what you're doing." He really, REALLY wished she didn't, and some part of him really, REALLY wished she did.
That part was getting its ass kicked right now.
At his statement she giggled, as if it was the stupidest thing one could ask (If not the one with the most obvious reason). "You may be right, you might not, but I do know something..." She crept closer to Keitaro until they were face to face, noses touching, faces blushing and inches from a kiss. "I love you Keitaro." The moment she said those four words Shinobu looked like the most honest person in the world for Keitaro. Then the alcohol kicked in again and she continued to giggle while poking his nose playfully, falling asleep over his chest a few minutes later due to the tiring day she had experienced.
The expression on Keitaro's face was of pure surprise all the while.
DIVISION/DIVISION/DIVISION
Shinobu woke up with an aching head, a sore throat and a mysterious need to blush and feel embarrassed. A quick glance at her surroundings told her she was not anywhere familiar to her; not her room nor the Inn or the school. This brought confusion over her, and even more once she spotted her sempai inside the same room looking at her with a serious face.
Had something happened to her and was being treated by her crush?
Shinobu rose from the futon to a sitting position, looking up at Keitaro ready to ask him where they were, why they were alone, where were the others, had Su done something again and how is that they arrived there in the first place, just before remembering. The events since that morning up to the point of her drunkenness came to her like a flood. What happened after she mistook the wine for juice was blurry on most parts, but she still retained the general idea of what her actions were. She couldn't help but understand why she wanted to blush and cry. –I-I b-brou-brought s-sempai to a Love Hotel while drunk. Do-does that mean that we…?-. Shinobu began to imagine all sorts of things, most of them already pre-planned in some of her wildest fantasies.
"Oh! Shinobu, glad to see you´re finally awake. Are you ok? Does your head hurt?" She gulped. Her sempai no longer called her with the "-Chan" honorific, but by her name. Did that mean they were closer now? Had they really done..."it"? Was she going to stop calling him "sempai"? 'Cause she was very used to it by now.
"Don't worry sempai, I'm okay." She smiled inside; he always cared so much for her. "Um, are we in a Love hotel?" It took all of the cook's willpower not to faint while asking that question. She had to remain in control, just like when she practiced with a pillow.
"Yes." Her heart skipped so many beats she was afraid of suffering a heart attack for a second there.
"Do-does that mean…?" A part of her wished he said yes while inviting her for seconds.
He gave her a warm smile. "Don't worry Shinobu, nothing like that happened" At this, she let out a sigh of relief; yet, a part of her was cursing in language not suited for civil society. Keitaro then turned to a more serious face, which surprised the bluenette. "Shinobu, there's something I want to talk with you about"
"What is it?" Now what? As if her heart had not endured enough worry.
"Well, you see..." He began unsure of how to put it in word, scratching the back of his head as was his costume. "While you were drunk, you said some kind of things..." She didn't like where this was going at all.
"What kind of things?" Shinobu was becoming nervous. Had she said something to make him angry? Had she spilled a secret maybe? Had she admitted she was the one who had spilled chocolate all over the laundry the past month? –Did I take my seducing too far? I didn't mean to do anything rash. I hope he is not mad at me-. He being mad at her meant a clear signal for a suicidal attempt.
"You told me that you loved me." He nervously said, saying as delicately as possible; then again, such was not his strength. He then glanced at Shinobu, just to see her totally petrified, her eyes wide and mouth opening and closing in senseless mumbling.
After some minutes she managed to talk. "I-I did?" Or more appropriately, she managed to barely utter two words, just above the whispering tone. Her eyes swirled like drills and her face turned red with embarrassment. It was out of sheer force of will she didn't run away, mainly because she was indoors in an enclosed space; instead she just began sweating.
At that moment the idea of a heart attack was tempting; VERY tempting.
"Yes... Were you actually serious?" Keitaro was very surprised about this. Just after she'd fallen asleep, he began thinking about what she said. At first, he took it as a crush, but she had specified it was love. Then again, she was drunk and probably wasn't aware of what she was saying. In conclusion, he wanted to know how she felt of him; the sooner he knew how to help her, the better.
Shinobu on her hand was panicked to hell. Her heart was beating so fast she would put a Humming Bird green with envy. After Keitaro said she had confessed to him, she remembered everything. Her long hidden secret was now out in the open; much like the vulgar who had entered the Inn three years ago to steal underwear and had been trapped in the act by certain ballistic Kendoka. Still, Keitaro seemed not to fully believe it, so she could try and make an excuse; attribute it to the alcohol, or say it was a joke. Keitaro being himself would probably believe it was something Kitsune asked her to do. That sounded great, but still…
Now that she had taken such a huge step, that she had talked it up without realizing it, she could continue and fully confess. The only thing she had to do was to say *yes*. Backing down now would only make it harder in the future, and with her sempai on a cold fight with Naru, this was a one in a million opportunity.
It was time for her to show some (Rhetorical) balls.
And thus, using the little amount of courage she had, she said on a very low and shy voice: "y-yes". Keitaro was now shocked, pretty much the way Shinobu was half-a-minute ago. Was that the way she truly felt? If it was, may Kami have mercy on his soul.
Shinobu, with a little more of determination, proceeded. "I l-l-love you a lot, s-sempai" The more she said it, the easier it was becoming.
Yep, it was.
Keitaro didn't know what to say. He thought he knew Shinobu well, but this proved that, like many times before, he was mistaken. He needed to know more.
"Why?"
"Huh?" Shinobu was taken aback. She didn't expected him to ask that, or to talk at all. She had hoped something more among the lines of "I love you too" She started to feel even more nervous, and sweat began to slide down her face and to her neck. But, at such heights, she could not retreat. She was in such a traumatic state that her body wasn't allowing her to.
She sincerely thanked her lips for not failing her.
"W-well you see, it's everything you do. How you talk to me, how you glance at me, how you praise me" Now she was starting to calm down; her emotions taking control of her mind and tongue. Also, she continued to talk on a more fluid way, like when she wrote in her diary. "How you always tell me *Don´t give up Shinobu!* or *Come on, you can do it!*. How you compliment my cooking. How you try to cheer me up when I'm down, or how you always take your time to help me with school even though you have your own problems as well. How you took the bother to throw me a surprise birthday party, or how you always try to make amends. How you show me to never give up, and…" By now she was beginning to sob. Okay, too much emotional decontrol. "…how you are the only man out of my family to actually care about me..." She couldn´t take it anymore, and so, she launched herself straight to Keitaro and started to cry in his chest, hugging him so tightly Su was going to have serious competition.
Keitaro was confused, but he knew he had to calm her down (He was beginning to get short of air).
It took her fifteen minutes to be back to a calmer self. When she did, Keitaro decided to resolve his newly acquired drama.
"You okay now?" She nodded. "Care to explain what did you mean?"
"No" *sniff* "As you might have already noticed, I'm not the most *developed* girl around. And so, the boys at my school don't bother in knowing me or trying to be my friends, they prefer to go for prettier girls and simply mark me off as an ugly flat-chest." She knew that was true. Both boys and girls said so behind her back when they thought she wasn't listening. "That is how it has been for as long as I remember, but you… You actually made an effort to know about me and tried being my friend. That's what I love about you the most. You take me into consideration no matter how I look. All those things, and more, are why I love you."
The smile she now had on her face: beautiful.
Shinobu felt relieved. She had carried all this private matters for so long that it actually felt nice to open up and say them out aloud. Like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. That didn't last long though, as a new weight fell upon her, this one filled of doubt. What did her sempai think of this?
Keitaro was really mad, that's how he reacted. To think her very classmates ignored such a nice and gentle girl as Shinobu just because of the physical appearance...no wonder she preferred to stay at the Inn or hang out with Su instead of hanging out with other girls besides the tenants. Still, he was taken out of his murderous train of thought as she asked:
"So...how do you feel about me sempai?"
That was a good question. On one hand he genuinely wouldn't mind being his boyfriend. The thought of Shinobu being by his side seemed really pleasant, even with what people would say about the relation; her cooking was a plus. And even more, he would really hate to break her little heart. But on the other hand, there was Naru and the typical fear for his life on these kinds of situations.
He was sure he loved her, or did he?
Had someone asked him that question some weeks ago, he would have immediately responded that he loved Naru with a passion the size of 1 thousand suns, etc., etc. But now, with him knowing how Shinobu really felt, and with Naru's reaction (or lack of reaction really) to his whole-hearted confession, he didn't know anymore.
With Keitaro beginning to get frustrated about his indecision, he decided to do some insight.
First of all, was he going to answer Shinobu's question? Of course. He knew firsthand how it was to be held in limbo, and he wasn't going to let her pass through it. Besides, the girls were sure to notice the tension between the two; questions would be asked and things would get out of hand quickly.
Next, how did he feel about Naru? He loved her of course.
So, a better question would be, why?
There was a long list that rivaled Shinobu's. For starters, she was beautiful, strong (really strong), intelligent, and many more things he wasn't. There was also the possibility of her being his promise girl, and the fact both had gone together to Tokyo U even if it was only for one day. Fate may have put them together, and she could be such a sweetie at times even when most days she was mean to him.
But, were those REALLY good reasons?
Shinobu had given him valid ones, telling his specifically why she chose him over others, but Keitaro could say the same for himself. Everything she liked of Naru could be found in someone else. Beauty in Kitsune, strength in Motoko, Intelligence (Even if Insane) in Su, Kindness in Shinobu and the childhood promise in Mutsumi. And that was not mentioning each girl's individual talents and qualities.
Was some childish promise of happiness a good base for a relationship?
Could going to a university together mean they would become a happy and prosperous couple?
Could he really love someone based on physical attraction and admiration?
Of course not.
Was it time to move forward and try new things?
Maybe.
But still there he was, falling for her for reasons beyond him. Now that he thought about it, his situation was similar to Shinobu's. With the exception of the promise girl, not one single woman had shown romantic interest for him, and now that Naru showed some care for him from time to time, he felt really good.
-She was nice to me when I first came, even after she discovered I wasn´t a Tokyo U student. But that was before she knew I would become her manager. After that, everything became harder between us.-
-But what about the trip to Kyoto? We… no, that was just plain coincidence and my bad luck acting. There was also Mutsumi. She told me and Naru we liked each other, but Naru herself never corroborated it when I tried to talk about it. Then again, we almost kissed...-
-Well, there is also the whole Pararakelse (I believe that's how it's written) incident. Still, she said she just went to look for me because she wanted me to confront my exam results however they ended up-.
-Uh, no matter how many things occur, each time I'm sure she might feel something for me, something happens that tells me otherwise. And now she just acts as if I had never confessed to her. Even if she did love me, Naru would never say it herself. It has taken miracles for us to end up like this, and even now I need a really big one to get out of our new mess.-
In the middle of his internal fight, he noticed he had been silent for a long time now. Long enough for Shinobu to start worrying for him and his emotional stability.
"Sempai, are you okay?" Another good question lady.
This brought him back to reality. –Ok, enough insight. I need to give her an answer now, or else I will continue to hurt her further. The sooner we end this up, the better.-
This was it.
It was either to make an effort and try a relation with Shinobu, or to wait to see if something happened with Naru. He wasn't sure yet, so he decided to say what came to his mind first.
He closed his eyes, opened his mouth, and answered both of their questions.
DIVISION/DIVISION/DIVISION
Little by little, keitaro opened his eyes.
He didn't know what he had told Shinobu (which surprised him, since he shouted his answer), so he opted to see her reaction and discover it.
He glanced down, and saw her crying loudly in his chest.
-I must have said no- *sigh*the girls were sure to execute him, and it would take weeks for them to be comfortable around each other again. As if he didn't already have enough drama.
He'd made his decision, and now was time to confront the consequences, like it or not (And he didn't).
He reached down for her face to try and wipe the tears, but, as he lifted her face, he saw the wide, bright smile she had. It was infectious.
"I-I love you too sempai" She hugged him almost getting the air out of him for second time. "Thank you".
-Or maybe yes-
Keitaro smiled. He lifted her face once more, and gave her a deep kiss on the lips. She was happy, he´d moved forward, and was happy about it as well.
But a different answer hadn´t changed the fact that there would be consequences to face, especially with Naru. But still, no matter what happened, he would have that little, cute blue-haired girl by his side. Suddenly, facing the consequences didn't seem all that bad.
And that was reason enough for the situation Keitaro Urashima was currently on to turn from awful to one of the most treasured moments he´d ever had.
DIVISION/DIVISION/DIVISION
Hope you enjoyed it.
You´re free to post whatever you like in the reviews, but please, please have mercy.
I intend to keep this as an oneshot, but only because I can´t manage to put an ending to long stories. And I know many people hate good stories that aren´t finished (not that mine are good, but you know what I´m talking about).
If you want me to continue this story, just type it, and I will try to finish it. Also, if you have any ideas as to how to continue this story, you are welcome to post them, I might get inspired from it and I will give full credit to the reviewer who gave me the idea.
That's all for now. Have a nice life.
Peace.
UPDATE: Revised and updated the chapter, still a oneshot as I decided to focus on my other ideas. Yet, if someone wishes to adopt this story feel free to do so, you just need to ask.
Until then and bye for now.
Peace.