Love Hina: A Manlier Side?
by Bug-chan
A/N -- This is my first attempt at a Love Hina fic, so please bear with me. It's going to be slight AU, but I will still stick to the manga storyline.
"Narusegawa!!!" Keitaro yelled as he burst into the outdoor hot springs holding a book and an estatic facial expression. For once, his eyes picked up the scantily clad, if not naked, female residents but his brain didn't register it. The aforementioned person turned to him in shock and disbelief.
"Keitaro???" she asked, very surprised at his sudden appearance and change of behavior. For the whole day yesterday, he was acting like a zombie, totally tuning out the other residents and talking to them only occasionally. Because of this, her brain put her current state of dress in the back seat and focused all on Keitarou. The same could be said for the rest of the tenants, even Su and Sara.
"Look at this problem! I didn't understand it until now, but I finally solved it!" the black-haired ronin pointed on his book, still with that giant smile plastered on his face. Naru looked at the problem, tried to analyze it and gave up.
"Wow, that IS a real stumper!" the long-haired girl agreed, still trying to think of a solution. Finally, she called it quits, "You really solved it yourself?! That's really something!"
Keitaro looked back at her, and if it was possible, with a bigger smile. "Yeah. I was thinking about it all last night and the answer just hit me today!"
Naru, along with the other girls, then realized something. "Then you were preoccupied over this problem since yesterday?" she asked. Keitaro nodded vigorously.
*CLICK*
Naru and the rest of the girls felt a draft going against her entire body, and realized something. 'I'm...NAKED!!! And there's Keitaro here!!!!' Sara prepared her clay face, Motoko unsheathed her katana and Naru clenched her fist; all prepared to make their respective weapons make contact with Keitaro for walking into a shower. But what was said next caused a different form of contact: jaws on floor.
"Well, now that this problem is taken care of, I'd better get back with some of the other problems. Enjoy your bath!" Keitaro happily said as he walked back into the inn and his room, not even realizing for one moment that they were all naked.
BACK IN THE HOT SPRINGS
The girls were in the state that Keitaro inadvertently left them in: slack-jawed and buggy-eyed, not to mention extremely shocked and confused all melded into one.
"Did you...he...walk...pervert..." Naru tried to put together a coherent phrase, but only ended up sputtering random words. Her brain got kick-started by a small splash behind her, followed by a somewhat bigger one. She turned around to see Motoko's kataka floating, and the aforementioned person kneeling in the springs.
"Urashima..." the tall, black-haired girl let out before falling face-first into the water.
"Motoko!" Naru yelled out as she ran towards the now-unconcsious girl. As she started, she heard more splashes around and some mumbling. She turned to the sources to see three of the youngest residents, Shinobu, Suu and Sara float up to the surface, unconscious and unresponsive like Motoko. "Shinobu! Suu! Sara! Get up!" Naru panicked. She then turned to her other side to see if Kitsune was still at least responsive, only to see the short-haired woman fully knocked out, sprawled over one of the stones, due to either her drunkeness, the heat, or both. "Oh no!! Not you too Kitsune!!!" she panicked even more. Naru first ran over to Motoko and grabbed her arm as she tried to pull her to the surface but the longer she pulled it, the heaver it seemed. 'Oh no! I'm about to pass out!' The heat was slowly but surely getting to her as well. Finally, she got Motoko and pulled her upper body out of the water. This, however, was her knockout punch and once she tried to head out to get the others, she fainted. "Keitaro..." she whispered before darkness took over her.
As she plunged into the water, Tama, the resident turtue, who was idly swimming in a quieter section of the hot springs, came about and saw six unmoving bodies. Thinking nothing of the worst, she (A/N -- I'll assume Tama's a female since she's always around with the girls in the hot springs) approached Naru's unconcious form.
"Myu myu?" she asked. Silence was her response. "Myu myu?" she asked again. More silence. She then poked Naru with her right wing/leg, only to not get any response again. She then went off to Motoko, who was lying facing up with her upper body lying on the ground and her lower body still immersed. Tama got right in her face and started, "Myu myu myu?" The kendo girl did not even stir, let alone scream. "Myu myu myu?" the turtle asked again. Still nothing. Feeling a bit afraid, Tama went to Kitsune, Sara then Shinobu and did the same thing, to no avail. Finally, the turtle hesitantly approached Suu, the one who wanted to eat her for quite a while. Even under this situation and growing worry, Tama still couldn't shake off the fear she had for the exotic girl. "Myu?" she asked after some hesitation. Suu didn't bulge. "Myu myu?" she asked again, this time even poking Suu's head. Still nothing. At this point, Tama feared the worst and took off for Keitaro's room, screaming, "Mi mi mi mi!!!!"
Keitaro was about to start on another tough math problem when a high-pitched sound interrupted him. Keitaro was more used to a female voice of different pitches screaming so it was easire to tune that out, but not exactly one coming from a turtle. He looked up from the low table he was using to see Tama flying frantically in, just as if she was being chased by some predator (A/N -- Vol 6, Chap 44, aquarium scene). She flew so fast that Keitaro instinctively raised his hands a few inches in front of his face to catch her before she could do harm to him or herself. "Tama, what's the matter? Calm down," he said gently as he patted her head. Tama slowly calmed down but was still nervous; Keitaro could feel her shaking. "What's wrong?" he asked, somewhat worried as he set the turtle down on the desk. After all, he's never seen Tama so scared, except for that one time at the aquarium.
Tama started hovering and waving her wings/legs frantically, "Myu myu mi myu mi mi myu myu mi myu mi mi!!" (Rough translation -- The girls are in trouble!!)
Keitaro looked with confusion. "Say what?"
"Mi mi mi mi mi!!!" Tama "mi"ed frantically and pointed towards the hot springs. Keitaro still looked at her with a blank face. Tama then started flying towards the direction of the hot springs through the hallways of the inn.
"Tama! Wait!" Keitaro yelled but Tama ignored him and sped out of his room. Keitaro started to give chase and followed her. Half a minute later, Keitaro found himself in front of the hot springs, hands on his knees and bent over trying to catch his breath. "Tama, what are you doing?" he asked, more confused than ever. In reply, Tama pointed into the hot springs while continuously "mi"ing. "Something's in the hot springs?" he asked, somewhat understanding the hot springs turtle.
"Myu!"
"All right, I'll check it out," Keitaro said as he entered the springs with Tama close behind. Out of all the things to see, Keitaro did not expect to see six unconcsious girls floating in the hot springs. "What the???" he yelled. He ran to the closest one, Motoko. "Motoko-chan! Are you OK?" he yelled as he shook her shoulder. No response. He waded into the water towards Naru. "Narusegawa! Wake up!" he yelled, without any success. "Kitsune!" he turned to see her on the rocks, unmoving. He then saw a patch of dark skin and, in contrast, a patch of rather light skin off in a corner. "Suu-chan, Sara-chan, Shinobu-chan! Get a hold of yourself!" His yelling did no good and he realized that these girls fainted from being in the hot springs for too long. 'Looks like I'm going to get them out of here! And I'm going to need all the help I can get,' he concluded. He turned around to face Tama. "Tama, go get Mutsumi-san!" he said to the turtle.
"Myu myu!!" she replied and promptly took off to the somewhat sickly woman's house. Keitaro then grabbed the three youngest residents first, without much effort and brought them onto land. He then grabbed hold of Naru, dragged her through the water while keeping her head above it and placed her out of the water as well. He then put Kitsune on one of his shoulders while pulling Motoko fully out of the hot springs and gently laid Kitsune down next to the black-haired girl. As he did that, the door behind him opened and out came Mutsumi, this time with a worried face instead of her perpetual smile. Ironically, this time around, she was the healthy one instead of the rest of the tenants. "Ara, did something happen?" she asked. "Tama-chan was acting very nervously when she came to me."
"Yes, all the girls fainted from the heat in the hot springs. Please go to the rooms and bring down and set up futons and blankets to the living room. And also, please bring six sets of robes," he requested. Mutsumi left to go to each of the rooms as Keitaro first picked up Sara and Suu, both being the smallest and lightest residents, under each arm and headed towards the living room. He saw two futons already set up with a robe on each one of them and Mutsumi setting up another one next to them. He dressed them, placed both girls on them and covered them with a blanket. He headed back and fetched Shinobu and Motoko, who was quite light herself given her height, and brought them back to the living room as well. By then all the futons were set up and the brown-haired anemic was looking at the kanririn, awaiting further instructions. "Please go get many bowls, fill them with cold water and dip some towels into them," he further instructed. Mutsumi nodded and headed off to the changing room to get the requested items. Keitaro tucked both girls in and went back, fetched Naru and Kitsune and tucked them in. By then, Mutsumi and Tama had covered the other girls' foreheads with cold towels in an attempt to cool them off and let them relax. Keitaro took two more towels, squeezed most of the water from it and gently placed it on Naru's and Kitsune's foreheads.
"Ara, I feel so tired," Mutsumi said, the smile finally replacing the worry. Although she was happy, Keitaro wasn't and not wanting to deal with another unresponsive woman, suggested something.
"Mutsumi-san, please go up to my room. You can stay there for tonight, I shall watch over them," he suggested, or more like ordered. Mutsumi happily agreed and sauntered up the stairs. The kanririn watched her movements, and when her feet was out of sight, kept his ears open for a *thud*. Instead, he heard a door open, and a door close, and he sighed in relief. 'At least that's one less person to worry over,' he mentally said to himself and smiled slightly. A minute later, he saw Tama fly down, back in her leisurly pace. "Did Mutsumi-san go to bed properly?" he asked, wanting to make sure.
"Myu myu!" Tama said, and landed on Keitaro's head. He sighed in relief, and turned his attention back on the unconscious girls. He noticed no change in their behavior and, along with Tama, proceeded to cool their towels and place them on their foreheads again. 'Well, I should go and bring some books from upstairs,' he thought. "Tama, keep an eye on them while I go get my books," he told. After hearing a "Myu!" he went back, fetched some books, came down and started reading. Every now and then, he'd take a peek at the girls to see if anything changed and he'd change their towels every so often. Finally, he finished reading an entire history book and learning its details and decided to take a break. He placed the book down and looked at all the girls.
'It's strange to see them like this, it makes me go into reminiscence about them,' he thought to himself as he eyed each girl's face. 'How long has it been since I've known them, a year? Or more?' He thought back to the first day he came to Hinata-sou, how almost everyone was so against him becoming their kanririn. Of course, all his memories were not unpleasant. He also remembered the three days of torture he went through when Motoko wasn't around trying to survive through Suu's "nightly activities". He chuckled at that particular one and noticed how calm Suu was right now.
'Suu-chan, I still don't know what to make of you. Sometimes you can be so hyperactive, and yet, at other times, you can be so...quiet. Truly a mystery. I still wonder, what brings you here? Of course, it's not my business to ask, but I still can wonder, not? I still think I'll need more than just a year to fully understand you,' he thought to himself as he saw Suu. He brushed away a few strands of hair, which Suu reacted to by smiling and mumbling, "Oniisan..." Keitaro smiled, heartfelt. He changed her towel, then looked over to Sara.
'Sara-chan, another foreigner in Hinata. Not only that, but the adopted daughter of Seta-san. It's quite an interesting mix. Sometimes you are just like Suu-chan, so hyperactive and full of activity, but yet, at times like these, you can be very quiet. You know, if you weren't so into breaking everything, I would love to have known you better, but then again, I don't think I would know you that well if that were the case. I guess destruction is what makes you up,' he concluded with a smile as he changed her towel. He paused for a minute to watch her steadily breathing, and moved to Shinobu.
'Shinobu-chan...you were so quiet and so unsure of yourself when I first met you,' he started, then paused, trying to recollect as many memories he had with her, 'You were just like a turtle, only sticking out the head when the coast is clear and pulling it back in the moment there is even the slightest disturbance. You were brought down by a lack of friends and poor grades. But now,' he paused, again, 'you've lost your shell. You're more confident of yourself, and you've grown stronger as a person. In fact, stronger than a turtle's shell.' He paused yet again, 'I know...you have a crush on me, and that makes me feel good too. It makes me feel appreciated to some degree, even though a crush is something childish and immature. I truly hope you move on. You have made much progress, if you keep it up, you will truly succeed,' he finally finished as he changed her towel and pulled her hair back gently. As he did that, he saw her slowly let out, "Sempai..." He turned to Motoko.
'Motoko-chan, as known as master swordswoman and inheritor of the Shimeiryu dojo. You always say that I am weak, and to tell you the truth, I have to agree with that. I am weak, I consider myself as weak, and that's why I respect you a great deal. Your determination and your swordsmanship amazes me to no end and that is something I cannot see myself in. Despite your weakness against turtles and your lack of a more femenist part, you strive to move on. Even with odds like these, Motoko, I'm sure you will become successful in all walks of life, whether it be swordsmanship or weather it be feminism. Keep it up, Motoko-chan,' he finished. He brushed a few strands of hair to the side and changed her towel as well. As he did that, he heard her mumble something, "Thank you..." as if she heard what he was saying. He just smiled like before and turned to Kitsune.
'Kitsune-san...resident fox. Not to mention another mystery. I never fully understood you, you never really went out to work, you hung around in the inn drinking sake and betting on horse racing and you always pulled off pranks...hence your foxy nickname. But behind all your pranks and laziness, it seems like there is something else, like the Konno Mitsune behind the Kitsune. Even if your pranks were at the cost of someone, you never intended to harm or maim anyone, you had a gentleness inside of you. I still wonder, why don't you work? Why don't you study? And there are a whole list of Whys I'd love to ask but I don't want to because I have no right. But it's strange, I know, deep down inside, that despite your current attitude, you will be successful, like everyone else. It must be your gambling spirit inside, but I'm sure your success will be within reach eventually. Cheers,' he pretended to have a drink, and changed Kitsune's towel. Finally, he was at the last girl, Narusegawa Naru.
'Narusegawa...Naru. On my list of tenants, you take the "most" for everything. Best national student, prettiest, most determined, etc. etc. You are like Motoko, in a way, because you have things I could only wish I have. I'll bet being the smartest student is probably one of the best feelings in the world. But more than anything else, my feelings I have for you are the strongest of all, promised girl or not. It never wavers, even if you send me to orbit every two hours,' he thought, then chuckled, 'It's a surprise, I somehow got used to it after a while. I guess it came with the feelings.' Keitaro paused for a minute as he changed Naru's towel, then continued, 'I started gaining feelings when you saw through my unintentional lie as a Tokyo U student, and it kept on growing as you continued teaching me for the past year, how despite my slow wits and my stupidity and perversion, which I still deny,' he stopped momentarily to chuckle, 'you still taught me and helped me. If it weren't for you, I would never have made it this far, and for this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I also realized that I had strong feelings tonight, when I finally solved that problem. Indeed, it is because of you I can do things like these. Now, is it love I have for you? Maybe. Maybe I love you, but I sure as hell like you a lot.' he stopped and changed Naru's towel again. Before he placed it, he bent down and kissed her forehead, to which she smiled and whispered, "Keitaro..." Keitaro was pleasantly surprised. 'Thank you, Narusegawa Naru.' He placed the towel on her head. 'Oh man...so tired,' he complained, last night's fatigue catching up to him. He headed over to the sofa and plopped down, feeling much more lighthearted and much happier, and promptly fell asleep.
TBC?
or The End?
A/N -- This work is the result of a sleepless and boring night that took up roughly 2-3 hours of the night. It's my first fic so please don't flame me extensively. If you would like this to continue, or this to stop as is, please leave me a review. PLEASE, REVIEW!!!
by Bug-chan
A/N -- This is my first attempt at a Love Hina fic, so please bear with me. It's going to be slight AU, but I will still stick to the manga storyline.
"Narusegawa!!!" Keitaro yelled as he burst into the outdoor hot springs holding a book and an estatic facial expression. For once, his eyes picked up the scantily clad, if not naked, female residents but his brain didn't register it. The aforementioned person turned to him in shock and disbelief.
"Keitaro???" she asked, very surprised at his sudden appearance and change of behavior. For the whole day yesterday, he was acting like a zombie, totally tuning out the other residents and talking to them only occasionally. Because of this, her brain put her current state of dress in the back seat and focused all on Keitarou. The same could be said for the rest of the tenants, even Su and Sara.
"Look at this problem! I didn't understand it until now, but I finally solved it!" the black-haired ronin pointed on his book, still with that giant smile plastered on his face. Naru looked at the problem, tried to analyze it and gave up.
"Wow, that IS a real stumper!" the long-haired girl agreed, still trying to think of a solution. Finally, she called it quits, "You really solved it yourself?! That's really something!"
Keitaro looked back at her, and if it was possible, with a bigger smile. "Yeah. I was thinking about it all last night and the answer just hit me today!"
Naru, along with the other girls, then realized something. "Then you were preoccupied over this problem since yesterday?" she asked. Keitaro nodded vigorously.
*CLICK*
Naru and the rest of the girls felt a draft going against her entire body, and realized something. 'I'm...NAKED!!! And there's Keitaro here!!!!' Sara prepared her clay face, Motoko unsheathed her katana and Naru clenched her fist; all prepared to make their respective weapons make contact with Keitaro for walking into a shower. But what was said next caused a different form of contact: jaws on floor.
"Well, now that this problem is taken care of, I'd better get back with some of the other problems. Enjoy your bath!" Keitaro happily said as he walked back into the inn and his room, not even realizing for one moment that they were all naked.
BACK IN THE HOT SPRINGS
The girls were in the state that Keitaro inadvertently left them in: slack-jawed and buggy-eyed, not to mention extremely shocked and confused all melded into one.
"Did you...he...walk...pervert..." Naru tried to put together a coherent phrase, but only ended up sputtering random words. Her brain got kick-started by a small splash behind her, followed by a somewhat bigger one. She turned around to see Motoko's kataka floating, and the aforementioned person kneeling in the springs.
"Urashima..." the tall, black-haired girl let out before falling face-first into the water.
"Motoko!" Naru yelled out as she ran towards the now-unconcsious girl. As she started, she heard more splashes around and some mumbling. She turned to the sources to see three of the youngest residents, Shinobu, Suu and Sara float up to the surface, unconscious and unresponsive like Motoko. "Shinobu! Suu! Sara! Get up!" Naru panicked. She then turned to her other side to see if Kitsune was still at least responsive, only to see the short-haired woman fully knocked out, sprawled over one of the stones, due to either her drunkeness, the heat, or both. "Oh no!! Not you too Kitsune!!!" she panicked even more. Naru first ran over to Motoko and grabbed her arm as she tried to pull her to the surface but the longer she pulled it, the heaver it seemed. 'Oh no! I'm about to pass out!' The heat was slowly but surely getting to her as well. Finally, she got Motoko and pulled her upper body out of the water. This, however, was her knockout punch and once she tried to head out to get the others, she fainted. "Keitaro..." she whispered before darkness took over her.
As she plunged into the water, Tama, the resident turtue, who was idly swimming in a quieter section of the hot springs, came about and saw six unmoving bodies. Thinking nothing of the worst, she (A/N -- I'll assume Tama's a female since she's always around with the girls in the hot springs) approached Naru's unconcious form.
"Myu myu?" she asked. Silence was her response. "Myu myu?" she asked again. More silence. She then poked Naru with her right wing/leg, only to not get any response again. She then went off to Motoko, who was lying facing up with her upper body lying on the ground and her lower body still immersed. Tama got right in her face and started, "Myu myu myu?" The kendo girl did not even stir, let alone scream. "Myu myu myu?" the turtle asked again. Still nothing. Feeling a bit afraid, Tama went to Kitsune, Sara then Shinobu and did the same thing, to no avail. Finally, the turtle hesitantly approached Suu, the one who wanted to eat her for quite a while. Even under this situation and growing worry, Tama still couldn't shake off the fear she had for the exotic girl. "Myu?" she asked after some hesitation. Suu didn't bulge. "Myu myu?" she asked again, this time even poking Suu's head. Still nothing. At this point, Tama feared the worst and took off for Keitaro's room, screaming, "Mi mi mi mi!!!!"
Keitaro was about to start on another tough math problem when a high-pitched sound interrupted him. Keitaro was more used to a female voice of different pitches screaming so it was easire to tune that out, but not exactly one coming from a turtle. He looked up from the low table he was using to see Tama flying frantically in, just as if she was being chased by some predator (A/N -- Vol 6, Chap 44, aquarium scene). She flew so fast that Keitaro instinctively raised his hands a few inches in front of his face to catch her before she could do harm to him or herself. "Tama, what's the matter? Calm down," he said gently as he patted her head. Tama slowly calmed down but was still nervous; Keitaro could feel her shaking. "What's wrong?" he asked, somewhat worried as he set the turtle down on the desk. After all, he's never seen Tama so scared, except for that one time at the aquarium.
Tama started hovering and waving her wings/legs frantically, "Myu myu mi myu mi mi myu myu mi myu mi mi!!" (Rough translation -- The girls are in trouble!!)
Keitaro looked with confusion. "Say what?"
"Mi mi mi mi mi!!!" Tama "mi"ed frantically and pointed towards the hot springs. Keitaro still looked at her with a blank face. Tama then started flying towards the direction of the hot springs through the hallways of the inn.
"Tama! Wait!" Keitaro yelled but Tama ignored him and sped out of his room. Keitaro started to give chase and followed her. Half a minute later, Keitaro found himself in front of the hot springs, hands on his knees and bent over trying to catch his breath. "Tama, what are you doing?" he asked, more confused than ever. In reply, Tama pointed into the hot springs while continuously "mi"ing. "Something's in the hot springs?" he asked, somewhat understanding the hot springs turtle.
"Myu!"
"All right, I'll check it out," Keitaro said as he entered the springs with Tama close behind. Out of all the things to see, Keitaro did not expect to see six unconcsious girls floating in the hot springs. "What the???" he yelled. He ran to the closest one, Motoko. "Motoko-chan! Are you OK?" he yelled as he shook her shoulder. No response. He waded into the water towards Naru. "Narusegawa! Wake up!" he yelled, without any success. "Kitsune!" he turned to see her on the rocks, unmoving. He then saw a patch of dark skin and, in contrast, a patch of rather light skin off in a corner. "Suu-chan, Sara-chan, Shinobu-chan! Get a hold of yourself!" His yelling did no good and he realized that these girls fainted from being in the hot springs for too long. 'Looks like I'm going to get them out of here! And I'm going to need all the help I can get,' he concluded. He turned around to face Tama. "Tama, go get Mutsumi-san!" he said to the turtle.
"Myu myu!!" she replied and promptly took off to the somewhat sickly woman's house. Keitaro then grabbed the three youngest residents first, without much effort and brought them onto land. He then grabbed hold of Naru, dragged her through the water while keeping her head above it and placed her out of the water as well. He then put Kitsune on one of his shoulders while pulling Motoko fully out of the hot springs and gently laid Kitsune down next to the black-haired girl. As he did that, the door behind him opened and out came Mutsumi, this time with a worried face instead of her perpetual smile. Ironically, this time around, she was the healthy one instead of the rest of the tenants. "Ara, did something happen?" she asked. "Tama-chan was acting very nervously when she came to me."
"Yes, all the girls fainted from the heat in the hot springs. Please go to the rooms and bring down and set up futons and blankets to the living room. And also, please bring six sets of robes," he requested. Mutsumi left to go to each of the rooms as Keitaro first picked up Sara and Suu, both being the smallest and lightest residents, under each arm and headed towards the living room. He saw two futons already set up with a robe on each one of them and Mutsumi setting up another one next to them. He dressed them, placed both girls on them and covered them with a blanket. He headed back and fetched Shinobu and Motoko, who was quite light herself given her height, and brought them back to the living room as well. By then all the futons were set up and the brown-haired anemic was looking at the kanririn, awaiting further instructions. "Please go get many bowls, fill them with cold water and dip some towels into them," he further instructed. Mutsumi nodded and headed off to the changing room to get the requested items. Keitaro tucked both girls in and went back, fetched Naru and Kitsune and tucked them in. By then, Mutsumi and Tama had covered the other girls' foreheads with cold towels in an attempt to cool them off and let them relax. Keitaro took two more towels, squeezed most of the water from it and gently placed it on Naru's and Kitsune's foreheads.
"Ara, I feel so tired," Mutsumi said, the smile finally replacing the worry. Although she was happy, Keitaro wasn't and not wanting to deal with another unresponsive woman, suggested something.
"Mutsumi-san, please go up to my room. You can stay there for tonight, I shall watch over them," he suggested, or more like ordered. Mutsumi happily agreed and sauntered up the stairs. The kanririn watched her movements, and when her feet was out of sight, kept his ears open for a *thud*. Instead, he heard a door open, and a door close, and he sighed in relief. 'At least that's one less person to worry over,' he mentally said to himself and smiled slightly. A minute later, he saw Tama fly down, back in her leisurly pace. "Did Mutsumi-san go to bed properly?" he asked, wanting to make sure.
"Myu myu!" Tama said, and landed on Keitaro's head. He sighed in relief, and turned his attention back on the unconscious girls. He noticed no change in their behavior and, along with Tama, proceeded to cool their towels and place them on their foreheads again. 'Well, I should go and bring some books from upstairs,' he thought. "Tama, keep an eye on them while I go get my books," he told. After hearing a "Myu!" he went back, fetched some books, came down and started reading. Every now and then, he'd take a peek at the girls to see if anything changed and he'd change their towels every so often. Finally, he finished reading an entire history book and learning its details and decided to take a break. He placed the book down and looked at all the girls.
'It's strange to see them like this, it makes me go into reminiscence about them,' he thought to himself as he eyed each girl's face. 'How long has it been since I've known them, a year? Or more?' He thought back to the first day he came to Hinata-sou, how almost everyone was so against him becoming their kanririn. Of course, all his memories were not unpleasant. He also remembered the three days of torture he went through when Motoko wasn't around trying to survive through Suu's "nightly activities". He chuckled at that particular one and noticed how calm Suu was right now.
'Suu-chan, I still don't know what to make of you. Sometimes you can be so hyperactive, and yet, at other times, you can be so...quiet. Truly a mystery. I still wonder, what brings you here? Of course, it's not my business to ask, but I still can wonder, not? I still think I'll need more than just a year to fully understand you,' he thought to himself as he saw Suu. He brushed away a few strands of hair, which Suu reacted to by smiling and mumbling, "Oniisan..." Keitaro smiled, heartfelt. He changed her towel, then looked over to Sara.
'Sara-chan, another foreigner in Hinata. Not only that, but the adopted daughter of Seta-san. It's quite an interesting mix. Sometimes you are just like Suu-chan, so hyperactive and full of activity, but yet, at times like these, you can be very quiet. You know, if you weren't so into breaking everything, I would love to have known you better, but then again, I don't think I would know you that well if that were the case. I guess destruction is what makes you up,' he concluded with a smile as he changed her towel. He paused for a minute to watch her steadily breathing, and moved to Shinobu.
'Shinobu-chan...you were so quiet and so unsure of yourself when I first met you,' he started, then paused, trying to recollect as many memories he had with her, 'You were just like a turtle, only sticking out the head when the coast is clear and pulling it back in the moment there is even the slightest disturbance. You were brought down by a lack of friends and poor grades. But now,' he paused, again, 'you've lost your shell. You're more confident of yourself, and you've grown stronger as a person. In fact, stronger than a turtle's shell.' He paused yet again, 'I know...you have a crush on me, and that makes me feel good too. It makes me feel appreciated to some degree, even though a crush is something childish and immature. I truly hope you move on. You have made much progress, if you keep it up, you will truly succeed,' he finally finished as he changed her towel and pulled her hair back gently. As he did that, he saw her slowly let out, "Sempai..." He turned to Motoko.
'Motoko-chan, as known as master swordswoman and inheritor of the Shimeiryu dojo. You always say that I am weak, and to tell you the truth, I have to agree with that. I am weak, I consider myself as weak, and that's why I respect you a great deal. Your determination and your swordsmanship amazes me to no end and that is something I cannot see myself in. Despite your weakness against turtles and your lack of a more femenist part, you strive to move on. Even with odds like these, Motoko, I'm sure you will become successful in all walks of life, whether it be swordsmanship or weather it be feminism. Keep it up, Motoko-chan,' he finished. He brushed a few strands of hair to the side and changed her towel as well. As he did that, he heard her mumble something, "Thank you..." as if she heard what he was saying. He just smiled like before and turned to Kitsune.
'Kitsune-san...resident fox. Not to mention another mystery. I never fully understood you, you never really went out to work, you hung around in the inn drinking sake and betting on horse racing and you always pulled off pranks...hence your foxy nickname. But behind all your pranks and laziness, it seems like there is something else, like the Konno Mitsune behind the Kitsune. Even if your pranks were at the cost of someone, you never intended to harm or maim anyone, you had a gentleness inside of you. I still wonder, why don't you work? Why don't you study? And there are a whole list of Whys I'd love to ask but I don't want to because I have no right. But it's strange, I know, deep down inside, that despite your current attitude, you will be successful, like everyone else. It must be your gambling spirit inside, but I'm sure your success will be within reach eventually. Cheers,' he pretended to have a drink, and changed Kitsune's towel. Finally, he was at the last girl, Narusegawa Naru.
'Narusegawa...Naru. On my list of tenants, you take the "most" for everything. Best national student, prettiest, most determined, etc. etc. You are like Motoko, in a way, because you have things I could only wish I have. I'll bet being the smartest student is probably one of the best feelings in the world. But more than anything else, my feelings I have for you are the strongest of all, promised girl or not. It never wavers, even if you send me to orbit every two hours,' he thought, then chuckled, 'It's a surprise, I somehow got used to it after a while. I guess it came with the feelings.' Keitaro paused for a minute as he changed Naru's towel, then continued, 'I started gaining feelings when you saw through my unintentional lie as a Tokyo U student, and it kept on growing as you continued teaching me for the past year, how despite my slow wits and my stupidity and perversion, which I still deny,' he stopped momentarily to chuckle, 'you still taught me and helped me. If it weren't for you, I would never have made it this far, and for this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I also realized that I had strong feelings tonight, when I finally solved that problem. Indeed, it is because of you I can do things like these. Now, is it love I have for you? Maybe. Maybe I love you, but I sure as hell like you a lot.' he stopped and changed Naru's towel again. Before he placed it, he bent down and kissed her forehead, to which she smiled and whispered, "Keitaro..." Keitaro was pleasantly surprised. 'Thank you, Narusegawa Naru.' He placed the towel on her head. 'Oh man...so tired,' he complained, last night's fatigue catching up to him. He headed over to the sofa and plopped down, feeling much more lighthearted and much happier, and promptly fell asleep.
TBC?
or The End?
A/N -- This work is the result of a sleepless and boring night that took up roughly 2-3 hours of the night. It's my first fic so please don't flame me extensively. If you would like this to continue, or this to stop as is, please leave me a review. PLEASE, REVIEW!!!