Love Hina: Can it Be? Chapter 1: A shock to the system, a love hina fanfic

" Can it be?"

A/N I do not own Love Hina or anything from it, but I would like to express this is my first FanFic of Love Hina so constructive comments would

be appreciated.

" this symbol means speaking"

this one is thinking

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Here is a man: His name is Keitaro Urashima. He is 22 years old and is striving to get into the most prestigious college in Japan: Tokyo University.

His story does not simply end there; he has also made a promise to a certain young lady by the name of Naru Narusegawa. That promise was to get into Tokyo-U together, and as the tales said: live happily together.

Something has happened, though. This has shaken this man's world…to a point where he is unsure of what he really wants…and even IF he can keep his promise.

This is his story.

He was sitting alone on the rooftop, thinking aloud about all that has happened in the last few days.

"I dont understand how could this happen. I mean… just a short while ago I was so content with getting into Tokyo U, and getting together with Narusegawa… that nothing else seemed to be

any importants to me." He slapped his own forehead at his mistake. "Damn! Now, of course everyone here at the Inn is extremely important to me!" he focused his gaze, again on the city below. "But getting into college and maybe… someday… get married to Naru was what

I had been hoping for…for so long that I-I missed what was going on around me and… how it was affecting the others! Man, sometimes… I mean: am I really THAT dense?" he let out a tired sigh.

"Sempai...? Sempai, are you up here?" a young girl's shy voice interrupted his brooding. Keitaro quickly whipped his face around and saw the inn's resident chef, searching for him on the laundry deck a few feet away from his position.

"Ah, Shinobu-chan. I'm here. What do you need today" he asked her with an unintentional, slightly irritated tone to his voice. Luckily for him, the blue-haired teenager didn't seem to catch it. She looked up at him from the deck and blushed slightly. "Ah, S-Sempai. I-I'm sorry to bother you with this, but…y-you see, I-I think I need your help with some of my h-homework" she blushed further and looked up at him, waving her hands around. "B-B-But if you, I mean…if you are too busy, then I-I can just…c-come back later-" she was cut-off from her quick speech.

"No, Shinobu-chan. That's Ok. I'd be more than happy to help you." Keitaro spoke with a slight smile and a wave of a hand. "Besides, I'm not doing much now, anyway…Just, you know…brooding. Nothing more"

"Brooding? I don't understand, Sempai" Shinobu blinked twice in confusion. "Why is that?" she timidly asked with an adorable look of genuine concern on her pale face.

Even the heart of a Hell spawned ninja would melt with that look. Keitaro sighed.

"Oh, please don't worry about it so much. It's…nothing worth your concern. Really, no need to worry." He said as he made his way down from the roof to the laundry deck. He stood before Shinobu before speaking again. "So. How about we take care of that homework of yours?" he changed the subject with a smile the young girl believed to be honest. She nodded and led the kanrinin to her room.

'Shinobu-chan…I'm sorry. But I…I'm not the happy-go-lucky guy I normally am. There's just too damn much in my mind. I still am not sure on how to deal with it…' he thought bitterly as he followed the bluenette.

Meanwhile, somewhere else in the dormitory…

'Thinking he'd take ME seriously! How stupid is THAT!? Just WHAT can I possibly offer a man…as sweet, humble, caring…loving as he is.'

'Sure. My body…would that be enough to have him want me? I wouldn't…I wouldn't even know HOW to please him like…like a god-damn experienced woman would. Also…I'm MORE than damn sure he loves Naru-chan more than anything in this world…'

'Does that…make me a horrible person? Is it…is it so BAD to try and get what my heart wants the most?'

In Shinobu's room…

Keitaro had just finished explaining Shinobu how the men of the US Army's 1st Infantry Division, otherwise known as "The Big Red One", fought their way through the heavily fortified Sigfried Line at the edge of Germany during World War II.

Shinobu was almost swirly-eyed by so much information on how "The Big Red One" fought against Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps under the scorching heat of North Africa, Benito Muscollini's fascis forces on hillsides of Italy, the nearly epic battle on Omaha beach on D-Day, in the northern coast of Normandy, the fierce house-to-house combat during the darkest days of occupied France, and the merciless freezing temperatures of the Ardennes Forest.

Shinobu let out a tired sigh as she finished taking her notes, setting the pencil down, and rubbing her hand to get the feeling back into it. She gave Keitaro a most grateful look.

"Thank you so much, Sempai. I couldn't have possibly done it without you. I would have gotten a headache, instead." She smiled shyly and blushed when her Sempai placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh, come on now, Shinobu-chan. Don't say that about yourself. In all honesty, I think you are one of the smartest people I've ever met" he gave her shoulder a little squeeze and smiled warmly at her.

She nearly fainted by the sudden, massive rush of blood up to her face. She gulped and got herself under control again. She looked up at Keitaro.

"T-Thank you s-so much, Sempai! That…that's r-really…that really makes me happy!" she squealed at the end. Her blush would now put a Ferrari F1's red painting into shame. Keitaro just sweat-dropped and laughed uneasily.

"W-Well, I'm glad, then. Now, I'm sorry but I have to go. There are some chores I have to take care of" he stood up from the chair next to Shinobu on her desk and placed his hand over her head. "Or else, I'll get another round of Naru-Punches or Ki Attacks" they both laughed for a moment as Keitaro ruffled the younger girl's blue hair affectionately.

Shinobu failed to hear the young man's bitter tone to his laughter.

He bid her goodbye and walked out of the room. He went to the storage closet to get the supplies for his daily duties. Once he had everything he needed, he walked down the hall to go and clean the hot springs. He stopped; however, when he thought he heard what he could have sworn was a choked sob, coming from within one of the residents' room.

He stood in front of the closed rice-paper door for a moment, considering if he what he heard was even real. No other sounds came from the other side of the door, so he simply shrugged it off and kept walking.

'No way SHE would be crying, now. Must've been my imagination…'

Oh, how wrong was he. Inside the room, the woman was biting her lower lip to stop whatever cries that would catch Keitaro's attention from coming out. She had let out that sob just as the young man's shadow appeared on the other side of the closed door.

She wanted him! No…she NEEDED him! She WANTED to open that door…! But her body would just…not move. Why? Why couldn't she let the young man know how she truly needed him?

Little time later, at the hot springs…

"WAIT, NARUSEGAWA! THIS IS NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!"

As always, Naru's fist made contact with his lower jaw in a vicious uppercut, cutting him off and sending his nigh invincible body high up into the sky.

'You know? THIS is starting to get a little old.'

'I mean come on! ALL I did was walk into the springs to clean them, just like I ALWAYS do at this time of the day and there is Narusegawa, Motoko-chan and even Auntie Haruka, taking a bath!'

'Just HOW was I supposed to know they were there in the first place!? And then, WHY didn't they put up that OCCUPIED sign I gave them the last time THIS happened!?'

'You know…? I SWEAR I believe both Narusegawa AND Motoko-chan do this on PURPOSE, just so they can FREAKING HIT ME!'

These were his angry, yet calculated and accurate thoughts on the situation as he saw the roof of a fruits delivery truck coming in to meet him.

After what seemed like an eternity, Keitaro finally made his way back to the Hinata Inn. He walked up the flight of stairs leading up to the building, flung open the front door and announced his arrival.

"Oh, yay! Keitaro's back! Can we eat now!?" the always hyperactive Kaolla asked everybody, and her nose quickly perked up when she smelled a familiar scent. Her eyes turned into small, pink hearts and she leapt over to Keitaro, sniffing all over his face and shoulders.

"Ne, Keitaro! You smell like bananas! Kaolla loves bananas! YAY!" she cheered happily. She blinked in confusion, though, as she couldn't see the young man's face, with his bangs of brown hair hiding his eyes. Kaolla jumped on his shoulders and looked at him upside-down.

"Huh? Keitaro! What's up? Don't you like smelling like bananas?" she asked innocently. On the dinner table, Mitsune, Motoko, Naru, Shinobu and Haruka looked at him expectantly; the oldest woman's eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly.

"I fell into a fruits delivery truck. Now, Su. Will you please get off me?" his voice was almost dead, and cold as ice.

Kaolla's ever-cheerful face turned solemn and she obediently crawled off his shoulders. Standing straight before him, the MolMolian Princess spoke.

"Keitaro, are you alright?" Keitaro looked up, revealing a practically sick mixture of anger, sadness, contempt and all kinds of negative, dark emotions displayed on his face.

"As a matter of fact, Su-chan…No. I'm not alright" his voice was almost threateningly low. "To be more accurate, Su-chan…" he gritted his teeth and hissed. "I…am…COMPLETELY PISSED!" he cried out and slammed his fist against the wooden wall beside him, leaving a clear dent on the hard wood.

A collective gasp was heard from the dinning table; Mitsune's eyes opened all the way. Naru was too stunned to speak. Haruka's face took on a sour look. Motoko's brows soon furrowed and her pale features twisted into a snarl.

"URASHIMA! Don't YOU use such language in front of the children" The swordswoman ordered, motioning towards Su and Shinobu.

She received yet another shock immediately after.

"Motoko-chan…" Keitaro almost normally started…" SHUT UP! SHUT THE HELL UP! Shut your mouth! Do it now and KEEP IT SHUT!" he barked, pointing his index finger at her. "And for YOUR information! My name is Keitaro! K-E-I-T-A-R-O! You hear me, you lousy excuse of a Kendo-girl!? People have first names, you know!? Is that so FREAKING hard to remember, huh!?"

Without realizing it, the infuriated young man had stomped over to the younger girl, grabbed her by the collar of her white gi, and was now screaming on her face. A second later, a loud SMACK! echoed through the room and Motoko was released from Keitaro's grip as he fell on the floor with a loud THUD!

Slowly, carefully, Keitaro stood back up. He rubbed his jaw for a moment, before looking back at his aunt with a look that equaled her stoic face. "Can I know…just what the Hell was THAT for?" he asked in an unusual calm tone. Haruka's normal, stoic and expressionless face was betrayed by a look of clear anger.

"Boy. How can you even ask me that, after what you just said and did Kietaro…" granted. Her nephew had never seen her face like this. But he had other things in mind just now to be surprised. With what could be considered a smirk, Keitaro spoke up.

"I honestly DON'T think you should have done THAT, though. And that's because…" he then shocked everyone yet again, by swiftly bringing his hand to Haruka's neck and wrapping his fingers around it.

He effortlessly lifted the older woman with one arm, keeping a regular amount of pressure on her neck. Haruka, even being the martial arts expert she had been for several years, couldn't think of anything but to struggle against her nephews incredibly strong hold, grabbing his arm with her hands and get him to release her.

"That's because I'm pissed, Auntie. THAT'S why you SHOULDN'T have hit me!" he snarled before squeezing Haruka's neck with a strong force, making her let out a weak cry…

Keitaro's own, cold eyes suddenly went wide as saucers. He immediately released his hold on Haruka's neck, letting her fall on her derriere, choking and coughing for air. Keitaro's knees suddenly started to shake and he soon fell flat on his rear. He suddenly whimpered and scrambled back on the floor until his back hit a wall. He looked on in horror at the girls.

"W-What have I…?" he whispered weakly. 'What have I DONE?' he mentally cried. He quickly scrambled to his feet and ran upstairs to his room, slamming the door closed and locking it.

Down at the dinning table, Shinobu was the first one to snap out of the absolute shock and helped Haruka stand up. The older woman leaned against the table, taking more steady breaths. The other girls soon came back to their senses.

"W-What just happened…? Am I drunk or what?" Kitsune asked no-one in particular. Motoko's hold on her sword tightened until her knuckles went white. Su tugged at Haruka's apron and looked up with hurt and confusion.

"Haruka, why did onni-chan do that?" she asked in a low voice. The older woman got her breath back and closed her eyes.

"Honestly, Su-chan…I've got no idea. Honestly…I'm not sure." she said, taking a quick side-glance at Narusegawa and Aoyama. 'Sorry for lying, Su. But he just snapped. And he had every right to do so…what was I thinking. He was right. I shouldn't have hit'im…'

While Motoko remained silent, holding the hilt of her sword, Naru soon started pointing accusations.

"AHA! NOW you see, Haruka-san!? That pervert is a danger to EVERYONE here! He just CAN'T stay here any longer! No-one is safe with that loser around!" she bickered. Haruka gritted her teeth and faced the younger woman.

"You know what, Naru? Do me and everyone here a favor, would you?" Naru blinked twice in sudden confusion.

"What? What favor?"

"Oh, it's simple really" Haruka closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "SHUT UP!" she barked, enraged. She then grabbed the collar of Naru's sweater and continued. "Look, girl! I now realize I HAD what Keitaro did coming! You're lucky I hit'im before YOU did…because you WOULDN'T have gotten away" she looked at Naru dead in the eye and saw evident fear. "And THIS is all YOUR fault, kid! Haven't you EVER thought about his feelings before!? It doesn't take a Toudaisei to see that EVERY time you hit the boy, it tears him up inside!" Haruka's voice lowered to a cold whisper. "You know? Every time he comes back after his "free flights", he stops by the teashop to say hi to me, or to have a cup of tea. And if you, heart-less BRAT could see that look on the boy's face…he always looks like an innocent man with a death sentence!" she shouted again in Naru's face. She then let go off her sweater and let her to fall roughly on her chair.

Haruka took out a cigarette from her pocket, lit it up and placed it between her lips. She then walked back to her original seat on the dinning table and took a long, slow drag from the cancer stick. She then kept her eyes closed as she spoke.

"Keitaro is braver than any man I've ever met in my life. You know why? All the years he's spent working his fingers to the bone, trying to accomplish his dreams…they've left their mark on him. He was already shattered BEFORE he came up here, girls. But now…he's broken. Nothing less…but probably more" Haruka puffed out a small cloud of smoke from her nose.

"B-But…" Motoko started with a quivering lip, her hold on her sword long gone. "But what about when he comes in the hot springs to peek on us! O-Or when he walks in our rooms when we're changing!?" Haruka gave the swordswoman a cold, angry glare as she spoke.

"Do you HONESTLY believe he does that on purpose? Do you think he's some kind of masochist!?" she barked. "For God's sakes! The boy even gave YOU girls, a sign to put up!" Haruka settled down again with a long drag from her cigarette. She sighed. "Look: if anyone of you gives a damn about Keitaro" she glared at Narusegawa, Aoyama and Mitsune, but then softened her gaze on Shinobu and Suu. "Give him some time and space to sort all this out".

When she was done talking, everyone had lost their appetite for dinner. Naru and Motoko headed back to their rooms, while Su calmly helped Shinobu clean the dinning table. Kitsune, however, stood next to Haruka, and with half-opened eyes, she addressed the smoker.

"Haruka-san, can I talk to you for a moment?"

A/N: now this was my very first Love Hina Fic, and to say it was sucessful is an understatement. I have recently decided to have my Beta-reader go over this whole story with me chapter by chapter, so that we can bring you my wonderful readers a much better reading experience for this story. to say that I don't care about my readers is a flat out lie, because of you is the reason that I write. I want to thank you guys and my beta-reader Major Mike Powell III for helping me make this and any of my stories that I am either now writing or will write in the future a great sucess. So thanks alot guys.