"Haruka, you will take care of this in until the new landlord arrives and help install the new tenants coming soon so please take good care of them until then," said an old lady as she talked to a younger woman.
"Yes mother, so how many new tenants are coming until the new landlord will be here?" the woman, named Haruka asked.
"I think two of them will have arrived by tomorrow and the other will arrive after the landlord's arrival however I would like you to meet them to avoid any unnecessary misconceptions." The older woman said, "Well I think it's best if I inform the current tenants of my leave now so you can drive me to the airport."
"So I will be resigning as residential manager of this dorm and leave for an 'around the world hot spring tour'," The old lady declared as she sat at the table with the current five tenants and the woman she had spoken to earlier. The declaration prompted immediate protests from the resident brunette as her parents would be having problems with her living there without a manager. The old lady quickly raised her hand silencing the young lady, "Don't worry, it will all work out Naru-san." She said as she tried to diffuse the situation as Naru was the only possible hindrance for the moment to her plan giving a reasuring smile as well. The woman had then moved nimbly down the staggering stairs leading up to the large building together with her daughter saying their goodbyes.
"Wait Motoko-chan," Naru called as the raven haired high-schooler was in the process leaving the building.
"Sorry Naru-sempai, but training camp starts today so I will leave everything to you." She said as rushing out the door trying to avoid her followers that most certainly was outside waiting for her leaving. The blonde foreigner just waved good bye to the girl leaving for her camp before she started running to some part of the dorm. It was obvious to Naru that she did not care.
"Kitsune," however Naru's plead went unheard to the blonde who had a bad headache after a night out with to much alcohol. The last tenant had magically disappeared, 'probably doing the laundry' Naru thought. Naru no longer saw any point in trying to persuade the other tenants in the matter as no one seemed to care much about the situation.
"Prepare the papers; they just requested our support for this matter as they themselves are unable to involve themselves without rising suspicions. Give a rundown on the facts and ask your friend to help out as she lives there already and might be able to aid you." Said a man sitting behind his desk.
"Yes sir, I will call her, she should be able to give us a cover for this matter and help out significantly however I do not understand how it is necessary to attend to that place." The woman standing in front of the man said.
"That is just a matter of enhancing the effectiveness of the mission and to learn how to melt in with the surroundings of a crowded urban area. Dismissed." The man said and the woman left the office. 'Damn they are irksome those people always yapping about this or that and now this request but it might be good, I just have to hope that this place Hinata is still standing when it's over.' The man thought while he was massaging his temples.
"Keitaro dear," the old lady said in the telephone on the airport.
"Grandma Hina!?" was the response on the other end of the line.
"Yes it's me; could you please come over to Hinata sou tomorrow? I have a rather urgent matter that I need you to address. So come tomorrow around noon." She said before she hung up the telephone not giving the man on the other end a chance to respond. She knew that he would show up tomorrow, his kind heart would see to that.
It was the day after the former landlord Hinata Urashima had left and now standing atop outside the building was her daughter Haruka and three young women. She had only expected two of them but the third had been added just yesterday after a call from a friend of hers saying she needed help with some matter.
"This is Hinata sou," Haruka said indicating to the large building, "You will each assigned a room from me if you follow me and take your belongings with you." The three women followed the elder and were soon in the lobby.
"Urashima-san you said earlier that you had no landlord here at the moment?" one of them said.
"Yeah, the old owner and landlord left yesterday however there are probably going to come a new one here today."
"Why are you not the landlord?" another woman asked.
"I have my hands full with the teahouse and would be unable to tend to the dorm even though I am going to have a help coming later this week." Haruka said, "Okay Baker-san you take room 305, Calvert-san you will take room 202 and Aoyama-san take room 303. When you are done leaving your things in the rooms I would like you to return here so the other tenants can meet you." She said as she indicated where their rooms were on a drawing over the building.
Five minutes later the women returned back to the common room. As Baker just came down the stair Haruka made an earsplitting whistle. "Everyone meeting in the common room!" she yelled making the women already there wince. Soon the sounds of foot steps could be heard as four girls appeared from different places in the dorm.
"Heyas Haruka? Who are they? My new playmates?" the ever cheerful foreigner Kaolla Su asked as she jumped down the stairs.
"If you all sit down the sofas I am going to explain." She said motioning for them to sit. "This is three of your new neighbors I could introduce you all to them but it would be much easier for themselves to perform introductions." The three women in question had remained standing but Haruka while the tenants already living there had comfortably seated themselves.
"Hello I am Lucy Baker, eighteen years old and from the USA and will be living here until I have finished my studies at Tokyo University." The tall slender woman with dirty blonde hair said in almost perfect Japanese.
"My name is Chelsea Calvert, nineteen years old and from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I am also here to study at Tokyo University." Chelsea said as she bowed letting her chestnut brown hair fall in front of her face. The residents at Hinata sou was marveled over the almost perfect Japanese the two obviously foreign women had used.
"Good day, my name is Aoyoma Tsuruko, nineteen years old and I am from Kyoto. I am here to study at Todai and to help my sister train in our family art." The last woman declared.
"So you are Motoko's sister?" Kitsune asked with one of her usually closed eyes open to further look over the last woman. 'Sure seems a lot like her, just great another swordswoman who hates males, there goes all my chances for actually having a guy over here.'
"Yes, is Motoko-han here?" Tsuruko asked.
"No she left for a training camp yesterday but will be back in two weeks," Naru responded. "And I am Narusegawa Naru, it's a pleasure to meet you," she added.
"I am Kaolla Su, nice to meet ya'!" the enthusiastic girl proclaimed.
"Konno Mitsune but call me Kitsune," the fox eyed girl said.
"M-Maehara Shinobu," the shy blue haired girl stammered out.
Just as Haruka was about to dismiss the girls someone she had been waiting for appeared at the door, knocking on it lightly and then entering. "Keitaro I've been waiting for you, come with me here for a moment," she said as she produced a stack of papers from somewhere within her apron taking the man with her into the kitchen. "Wait here girls I have another thing to tell you, be right back," she declared from the kitchen.
"What is it Haruka-obasan?" the man, Keitaro asked.
"Just Haruka-san," she said as she thwacked a fan to the back to his head, "These are the papers for Hinata sou, Hina gave it all to you, you just need to sign and then you become the manager of the place." She said as she waved the papers in his face before laying the page in front of Keitaro.
"All right…" he said as he started to think over his situation. His mother wanted to be rid of him after his failing for a second time and he really no longer wanted to remain at home any more and here presented to him was a place to stay, free of charge and he might even earn a little of the whole thing. Soon reaching conclusion he started to sign all the papers. "Here," he said as he gave his aunt the papers now all signed.
"Oh yeah, forgot to mention this but Hinata sou is no longer an inn but an all-girls-dormitory." Haruka said as she got the papers. 'Dang, should have told him before, aw well.' She though as she saw her nephew on the floor unconscious with a small steady nosebleed.
"Okay now for another major announcement, you now have a new manager for Hinata sou, who at the moment is indisposed." Haruka said as she walked back into the common room to see all the tenants; both old and new conversing in the sofas.
"Who is it?" Naru asked.
"It's my nephew," Haruka simply said.
"What! We can't have a male manager here! It's an all-girls-dormitory! He's probably a big pervert!" Naru yelled.
"Nothing to do about it, he already owns the place you know." Haruka said unfazed as she waved about the papers just recently signed in front of Naru. "Be glad, without manager we would have to close this place up meaning all of you would have to return to your homes which of different reasons wouldn't be that opportune." This logic went home to the other tenants, except the foreigner which did not seem to entirely grasp what the whole problem was about. 'He was a male, so what? Can't be worse than my old school' they both thought remembering their days in high-school and the guys there.
"Hmpf, I will accept it albeit reluctantly as I have no other choice but if he does anything perverted he will wish he never entered this place." Naru declared. "If there is nothing else I will go to my room now." As Haruka shook her head the girl stomped up to the stairs. 'Knowing my nephew he's going to be wishing so this afternoon.' Haruka thought.
"Well that's all for now, you may do whatever you want now," Haruka said. 'Damn I need a smoke, now.' she thought as she saw the tenants leave the room and was just about to walk outside to take that smoke she desperately needed when Keitaro made his way outside the kitchen into the common room.
"You couldn't have said that earlier Haruka-obasan?" he asked obviously talking about the inn going all-girls-dormitory, earning him another thwack and reprimand about the suffix, as he seemed to have forgotten about the earlier one.
"I forgot, sorry but there is nothing to do about it now." The elder Urashima said. "Here are the profiles for all your tenants; the older ones have notes from granny Hina on them. Just take care of the building and try to avoid accidents to the highest degree. Your room is the manager room." She declared as she walked out intent on taking that smoke she had been thinking about and then return to the teahouse.
The newest tenants had been invited for a welcome party in the onsen by Kitsune where now all the tenants were talking loudly with each other as the subject turned to the newly appointed manager. Soon that was replaced with only one voice complaining about the whole matter.
Sitting in his room was said manager sitting reviewing the profiles with minutes soon turning into hours and as he eventually was done reading everything he noticed that it was late in the afternoon as he walked out from the room.
He soon encountered one of the oldest tenants, counting the time she had been living there, Narusegawa Naru. She was apparently also against his staying there. He had been walking towards the kitchen when he met her and after that she had been hovering around him watching his every movement as a hawk ready to strike upon its prey. After looking around the place for fifteen minutes he had grown tired of her tirades and watching eyes.
"What are you doing following me around like that!" he exclaimed angrily at her.
"Just watching you so you don't do anything perverted, pervert." She said.
"I am not a pervert," he said as he turned his head towards her to talk to her face to face and that was the moment that his bad luck determined it was time to kick in. Somehow he managed to trip on his own feet and was sent stumbling forward until he collided into something. 'Feels warm and mushy' he thought as he felt his head land on something soft. As he opened his eyes and looked up towards whatever it was he collided with he saw it was one of his tenants, Konno Mitsune. He quickly bounced back and started to bow in front of her. "Sorry, it was an accident," he said but before he could explain he made the first encounter with the Naru-punch, sending him flying through the wall.
"I knew it, damn pervert," Naru muttered under her breath as she stomped away from the scene leaving the slightly tipsy 'Kitsune' standing there before she continued her walk to her room thinking nothing of the matter.
A couple of hours later Keitaro returned just as the sun went down under the horizon after taking a walk and talking to Haruka to see if there was anyway that they could switch. Apparently that would happen when hell freezes over and swarms of flying pigs clouds the air according to Haruka. At least he knew that she wouldn't be there everyday as she had high-school to attend to and just as he had Juku in the afternoon so at least he had a couple of hours where he would be free of her and probably only have to deal with the elder tenants of the dorm. It was only a minor relief however as after the flight he was given he was amazed over still being alive. However that didn't stop his new mantra from being recited as he walked through the entrance, 'I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die.'
Since his arrival this last Thursday Keitaro had managed to avoid the danger to his existence at Hinata sou Naru so he 'only' had been sent flying an additional two times since his first accident. Keitaro was happily cleaning the hallways glad that Naru wasn't there anymore as she was in school, thus the danger to his existence was currently not present. He had actually found all the other tenants nice and fun, the British and American women in particular as they could help him polish up his English which was horrible. But just as he was about to walk down into the kitchen and eat some lunch he was surprised to see Naru walking through the doors.
"Don't you have school now?"
"The school ended early due to an accident. We got this transfer student today from the United Kingdom and he seems to only speak English, he is practically like Su except he is cold and serious, long story short, he blew something up and we had to evacuate the school thus it ended early. The guy is scary, and he walks around the school with this really long stick wrapped in cloth on his back." She explained. Keitaro could only imagine, he certainly wouldn't want to meet that guy he decided as he knew Su, one destructive foreigner was enough.
