A/N: Thanks for checking out this story! This is going to be the first fan-fiction I've posted on here. This is taking place just after the first Ippo vs. Sendo fight, and since I'm only on chapter sixteen of the Love Hina manga I'll try my best to get everything at least somewhat correct. Please don't hesitate to give me constructive criticism. Enjoy!
Keitaro Urashima let out a sigh of satisfaction after sipping the last few slurps from his teacup, causing Shinobu to giggle and for Naru to get onto him about manners. "I can't help it, I'm tired!" He retorted, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat.
They were currently in his Aunt Haruka's teashop, which was right outside the Hinata House. He was glad for it, too, since he had just gone through another day of cleaning up the entire inn, top to bottom. As he rubbed his sore shoulders (forcing Naru to resist the urge to rub them) he noticed Kitsune looking out of the window.
"What'cha lookin' at, Kitsunes?" Su asked, hopping next to the older women and following her line of sight. "Just some eye-candy, sugar," she replied, resting her hand in her chin. This got the other girls' attention, including the usually stoic Motoko. "Whoa, that one's huge!" Su said, pointing to something. Out of curiosity Keitaro rose from his seat and took a look out of the window, resorting to having to tiptoe and peek over Naru's head.
Four men were jogging down the path leading to the teashop. Even though they were all wearing jogging suits their constitution was obvious. Especially the shortest one, who was just about two inches shorter than Keitaro himself, had broad shoulders and a wide chest. He saw who Su was referring to. The man was in the middle of the four, and he was tall for a Japanese man, well over six feet. Their faces couldn't be distinguished from this distance.
"They're heading this way. They've come to the shop a few times now but only for a few minutes," Haruka said, scaring everyone by her sudden appearance. She took a drag of her cigarette with her signature emotionless face as everyone caught their breath, clutching their rapidly beating hearts.
W-what do you mean? I don't think any of us have seen them here before," Shinobu said, the first to get her breathing to a normal level. Those joggers scared her. Before Haruka could answer the bell hooked onto the door jingled as it opened, and the four men entered, sweating and panting. As they dabbed at their foreheads with towels they had slung over their shoulders, Kitsune gasped and practically jumped out of her seat.
"What is the matter, Kitsune!?" Motoko asked, reaching for the hilt of her sword. Her hand shook however; she had never felt this kind of pressure before, even against several opponents. "T-t-t-that's Takamura Mamoru!"
Although she pointed directly at his pompadour, no one reacted. "You guys don't watch boxing?!" As she ranted and raved to them the four boxers stood there, sweatdropping. The one with black hair and a blue shirt with a "K" on it asked, "Umm…is she gonna be alright?" "She'll be fine, Kimura" Haruka replied. "She's practically the only one who watches sports." "You wear your name letter on your shirt? Lame!" Su said as she hopped on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and locking her legs around his waist.
As Kimura ran around the shop in a panic as Su tried to take him down, he called for his friend. "Aoki! Help!" He shouted, the small girl's hands covering his eyes so he couldn't see where he was going. The tan man with short brown hair quickly rushed at the two. "What am I supposed to do?!" He asked. "I can't just throw her!" "Well, do something!" Su was giggling, having a grand old time as she made Kimura run into chairs and tables, knocking them over. Kimura was already getting bruises while Su seemed completely unharmed. As that ruckus continued Haruka just let it happen, much too tired to even attempt to stop them.
Meanwhile Kitsune was absolutely fawning over Takamura, and he was eating it up, posing with a wide grin and laughter while she did a classic faint pose, falling with the back of her hand against her forehead. Motoko caught her, a tick mark appearing on her forehead at being forced to be in such a position. The only people who were left were Shinobu, Naru, Keitaro and the shortest of the four newcomers.
He already introduced himself and shook their hands after almost excessively wiping his hand on his shirt. Ippo was his name. Makunouchi Ippo. "You sound familiar," Keitaro said as they sat down at a table, Shinobu blushing as she sat down next to Keiaro, her eyes on her lap. Naru, who took the only seat left next to Ippo, silently cursed herself for not moving there first. Then she chastised herself once more for even wanting to sit next to that idiot.
Ippo blushed and rubbed the back of his head, his eyes closing. "Ahh, yeah, I'm a boxer. And…I'm the Japanese Champion." It felt so good to say that. He wasn't expecting it to feel that good. It really began to sink in; the fact that he was the Japanese champion. "Really? That's probably why I've heard about you. You sound super strong!" Ippo laughed in an embarrassed tone.
"N-no, not at all! I still have a long way to go before I can consider myself strong." They were all surprised at that. He was the nation's strongest boxer…but he didn't consider himself to be strong. "What do you mean?" Keitaro asked, leaning forward. Both Naru and Shinobu looked surprised. The only time they had ever seen Keitaro look this concerned was when he was fixing up the inn, and they had to secretly spy on him. He didn't know about that, of course.
Ippo's face had bandages and a bit of discoloration from healing bruises. "Looks like you fought pretty hard," Naru said, gently touching one of the bandages on his cheek. Ippo jumped a little and placed his hand over the bandage. "The fight was only two weeks ago, right?" Keitaro asked, forcing his jealousy down. Although Ippo seemed like the total opposite of someone who would hit on random girls.
"Mm, it was. It still doesn't feel real," he said, looking down at his fists. Now that they got a look at them, his fists looked rough. Marks all over them, especially his knuckles, with callouses and tough skin all over. Keitaro looked down at his own. They weren't much smoother. With all of the repairs and work he did daily, his hands had seen their fair share of abuse. Keitaro thought about his life. Getting kicked out of his house, his repeated failure to get into Tokyo U, the constant teasing from the girls at the Hinata. His eyes looked up at Ippo's face, which had a soft smile. He must have great memories and such pride. Keitaro wanted to feel that. True happiness. Strength. The feeling of victory swirl around his fists, instead of the heavy weight of disappointment. "Ippo…what does it mean to be strong?"
A/N: WOW, that took me longer than I thought, especially for how short this chapter is. I hope I didn't botch everyone's character. I feel like I did a good job with Ippo but I seriously need to work on dialogue. Anyways, once again don't hesitate to give me all of your criticism. It'll just make me better! I'll try to post a chapter once a week, hopefully every Monday.