Hello everyone. Well here's my first stab at a LH ffic. Hope you enjoy
Oh yeah, Love Hina and Mahou Sensei Negima are the works of Ken Akamatsu. All I'm doing is using his characters and the setting
I: Meet Hasegawa Chisame
It is midday, sometime in late-March. He doesn't know exactly what the date is, or which day of the week it is for that matter. Ever since he learned of his third failure to enter Tokyo U, Keitaro no longer seems too concerned about keeping track of time. He hoped that his impromptu vacation would at least give him some comfort, but all that brought him was more stress and troubles.
It is his first day back at Hinata Inn since that trip, and he is tired. Keitaro looks up to the curtain which blocks the sunlight from entering the room. He knows that he should be getting back to his job of maintaining the grounds, yet lethargy is weighing him down. He doesn't want to do anything at all. He is disoriented. This is the third time he failed, and he no longer has any sense of direction on what to do next.
Keitaro then hears a grumbling sound.
It was his stomach.
He dreaded this. He knew well that sooner or later, he'd have to get out of his room and face everyone, whether out of hunger, or out of a need to go to the bathroom. He told everyone that he'd make it to Tokyo U, though everyone, including himself, was somewhat aware that chances of that happening was slim. Slim indeed. He's probably thinking that everyone has lost what little respect they had for him…well, maybe except for little Shinobu.
The thought of Shinobu cooking food for everyone was enough to get him out of bed, and step out of his room. Then, he somehow got reminded that it is midday, and Shinobu is most likely at school at this time. He soon regrets the fact that he had stepped out of his room. Then again, Su, Naru, and Motoko are probably also at school at this time, though in Naru's case, this would probably end in the next week or so. With only Kitsune on his case…if she's awake…Keitaro decides to venture into the kitchen.
And so Keitaro enters the kitchen. He looks over at the table, and sees not Kitsune, but his aunt Haruka. Well, he's been gone for about a couple of weeks, and she probably wants to know how his little 'excursion' went.
"Good Morning Aunt Haruka…"
Keitaro receives a knock on the head
"…sorry…Haruka. I guess you want to know what I have been doing the past two weeks, huh?"
"Well, yes, but that can wait later. Right now, I'm here on business concerning the Inn"
Keitaro breathed a sigh of relief for once, even though he usually doesn't like talking about the Inn. Anything to avoid reminding anyone what happened recently, namely his failure, is welcome help.
"I know, I know, I went away for a couple of weeks and neglected the Inn. I swear I'll make it up and resume the maintenance…"
"Keitaro, calm down. I'm not here to reprimand you, at least not yet. Two days ago, I received a fax from your Granny Hina. It seems that you will be having a new resident here."
Haruka handed Keitaro the papers. Keitaro scanned it, hoping the newcomer wouldn't be another wild one like Naru, Motoko, or Su, nor a sleazy one like Kitsune.
"Hasegawa Chisame…formerly of Mahora Academy…will be attending Tokyo University…will be paying so and so yen a month…", mumbled Keitaro.
Then, it suddenly hits him: "SHE'S GOING TO TOKYO U!!!"
"Keitaro, you are missing the important part. As in you-have-a-new-tenant-and-you-have-to-get-a-room-ready kind of thing." Haruka sighs, thinking that Keitaro isn't over his failure from his entrance exam yet.
"Yawn! So you mean Naru passed after all?" grumbled a sleepy looking Kitsune standing by on the kitchen door.
Haruka replied, "I don't think so, but the new tenant did. And apparently, the girl won a scholarship too. Something to do about being in the 99th percentile of the test. Oh well, these details aren't that important."
"Why does everything have to remind me of Todai?" thought Keitaro.
"Anyways, the spare rooms we have are currently being used for storage, for some weird reason. And I definitely know that those stuff belong to the girls since the Inn's stuff are stored in THE Storage Room. So the two of you better start cleaning up before she arrives tonight."
"TONIGHT!?" exclaimed Ketaro and Kitsune.
"Besides, why do I have to get involved in this in the first place?" Kitsune complained.
"Because, the last time I checked, half of those junk are yours." replied Haruka. "Now, get moving!"
Haruka stood, and motioned her way to the front doors as she makes her way back to the Tea Shop.
Keitaro's hungry stomach grumbled. It's going to be a long day ahead of him, even though half of it has already passed.
Keitaro sighs as he continues the daunting task ahead of him, namely cleaning out one of the so-called 'empty' rooms. Of all the spare rooms in the building, this particular one right across the manager's room (i.e. Keitaro's) seemed to have the least amount of boxes of them all. Only 75 per cent full! Kitsune explained that this was probably because this was the room where Granny Hina kept her unused, yet too-precious-to-be-thrown-away belongings.
Keitaro and Kitsune open and check the unlabeled boxes one by one, just to make sure to know whom they belong to. Some old clothes. Some black-and-white-photos. Some weird souvenirs that no one knows what they are. Pictures of Keitaro's father when he was young. Some 'jackpot' (according to Kitsune) pictures of Haruka as a child. Kitsune herself is quite tempted to keep those pictures for herself, but considering that those belong to Granny Hina and she would be getting the beating of a lifetime from both aunt and grandmother if she did so, she opted not to.
The pair then begin to haul the boxes out of the room one by one. Hauling them out of the room was no easy task. The lightest of them were the clothes, then the metals, then the wood. The boxes with books and papers in them, which consisted of half the boxes in the room, were quite deadly on the back. In the end, Keitaro found himself lying flat on the floor, realizing that Kitsune never lifted a finger moving his grandmother's belongings out of the room. Suddenly, he realizes his predicament: Where on earth would he take all these boxes to?
The logical place to put them would be at the Tea Shop, except that with all those heavy boxes and with the little time he has left, it's simply too far away. Oh how he wished he picked some other room instead. At least the junk in those rooms belong to the girls, and they can take their belongings in their respective rooms, or better yet, throw them out if he's feeling evil enough.
The big move to the Tea Shop will have to wait until tomorrow. Right now, he has to fix up and clean up the room.
His stomach growls again. He hasn't eaten ever since he returned the night before. He's decided that it's about time he grabbed a bit to eat. But only if he could get up from his exhaustion first. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, getting ready to get back up.
BAM!
Suddenly, something fell on him. It's warm, and soft, though has a sweaty smell to it. Keitaro opens his eyes, and to his horror, he finds himself underneath and face-to-face with Motoko.
"What are you doing you pervert! Is this your idea of your latest trap to seduce women?"
"No, no, Motoko…I can explain…"
"Justice must be executed. Now prepare to die." Motoko said as she unsheathes her sword.
That got Keitaro back up to his feet. Unfortunately, is now at the receiving end of Motoko's ki attack, and he is running for his life just to avoid it.
Back at the Tea Shop, Haruka is seated at one of the tables, reading the newspaper. She takes a cigarette, taps it on the ashtray, and puts it back in her mouth. Suddenly, the peace and tranquility was suddenly disturbed by a crashing sound on the front door. She calmly gets up, walks towards the door, and sees Keitaro on the ground in a very unnatural and uncomfortable pose.
"So, doing some yoga lessons while you were away, eh Keitaro?" remarked the shop owner.
"Nah, I was just given a free flight by Motoko. Why on earth does it always have to be me?" complained Keitaro.
"Well, besides that, have you finished preparing a room for the new tenant?"
"Almost, but we have to bring the boxes here. They belong to Granny."
Haruka sighed. "Of all the rooms, why did you choose that one? Least amount of boxes, is it?"
Keitaro nodded.
Haruka continued. "Well, you can bring them in here tomorrow, though that wouldn't bring a favourable first impression on Hasegawa-san. Well, you could inform the rest of the residents about her arrival. They should be back from school around now."
"Yes. I know."
Keitaro then proceeds to untangle himself and make his way back to the dorm. He doesn't really want to, with all the girls coming back, but there are some things that he still had to do. He just hopes the woman moving in is not like the other residents.
"Wow! A Todai student will be living here," exclaimed Naru, "and a real one at that. This is probably the chance that I've been waiting for."
"But you didn't get in either." said Keitaro.
"Shut up!" Naru yelled as she elbows Keitaro in the stomach. "It's all your fault for distracting me anyways."
"Um, I wonder what she's like." Shinobu asks.
"Probably a genius" said Su.
"Well, duh." Naru thought.
"Yay! I'm going to get a new playmate!!!" exclaimed Su.
"Mahora Academy. Probably some rich spoiled brat." Kitsune speculates as she looks at the papers Haruka left earlier. "But I do have to wonder, Mahora has their own university. Make's you think why she's going to Tokyo U instead."
Naru scratches her head. "Yeah, especially considering that the two institutions are rivals."
"Are brats delicious?" Su asks.
"I think you're thinking of bratwursts, not brats." Keitaro said. With the mention of food, his stomach growls once more.
"I guess I'd better start cooking." said Shinobu, as she heads for the kitchen.
"Ahem…Urashima-san, just because the lady will be new here doesn't mean that you can deceive her. And I will be watching you, especially after that stunt that you tried to pull back there." Motoko warned Keitaro.
"But I didn't…"
Motoko unsheathes her sword, which was enough to force Keitaro to stop complaining.
Suddenly, everyone hears someone knocking on the front door.
As it was still afternoon, Keitaro expected that Haruka dropped by to check up on them one last time. However, as soon as he opened the door, he saw that it was not Haruka.
In front of him is a young girl, somewhere between Shinobu's and Motoko's age. She has her long brown hair tied back, and wears a pair of thin-framed oval spectacles. She's wearing a white, long-sleeved blouse and a long, grey skirt that reach all the way to her ankles. She's carrying a huge backpack, a suitcase on her left hand, and a briefcase on her right hand.
Keitaro looks puzzled. He thought the person before him is simply too young to be a student at Tokyo U. On the other hand, it's that time of year where everyone gets off school for the break, and she may simply be a lost traveler. That's probably it, a lost middle schooler or high schooler.
"May I help you?" asks Keitaro.
Even though the girl before him looks calm and composed on the outside, he could sort of feel that she's nervous. He hopes this is not the new tenant. She's not expected to arrive until evening.
"Umm, sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for Hinata Inn."
The girls in the background then turned their heads toward the front door realizing the voice does not belong to Haruka. This is probably the new person everyone's talking about.
"This is Hinata Inn." Keitaro answered.
"Well, may I speak to the building manager?"
"Umm…you're speaking to him." Keitaro doesn't like where this is going. She could have been just a normal person if she's a little bit older and going to University, or had the briefing said that she were to attend high school. The last thing he needed was another weirdo on the house, though she doesn't look like one on the outside. To confirm his worst fears, he finally asks, "Are you the new tenant we're expecting?"
The girl sighed in relief. "Yes, Mr. Manager. My name's Hasegawa Chisame, and sorry for the short notice."
