To Zentrodie: If you think Shinobu's parents we're mean in the 1st chapter it only gets worse from there. Just read this chapter for instance.

(o)

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Tokyo Pop and Ken Akamatsu do.

WARNING: Contains scenes of physical and emotional abuse and some choice words. Reader discretion is advised.

ELOPE A DOPE

Chapter 2

The Announcement

It's about 3:30 p.m. the next day. Shinobu and Su are getting off the bus after coming back from school. Shinobu looks up and watches Su run up the long flight of steps acting like she's and airplane. She stands there momentarily before she gives a big stretch.

She interlocks her fingers above her head a stretches. She hears a few of her joints pop as she stretches out the tiredness of another long school day and the 20 minute bus ride back.

"Whew. What a long school day this was. That surprise math quiz was doozy, but I think I managed to pass it at least thanks to Sempai's tutoring. Well better go start on supper." she says to herself as she begins walking up the stairs.

When she reaches the top she begins walking to the entrance of Hinata Sou. But when she looks up she sees Kitsune standing in the doorway looking at her with her sly foxy grin. "Hi Kitsune. Is there something I can help you with?"

Kitsune grins at her some more. "Come on girl. Change out of that uniform. I'm taking you out on the town tonight!" she says. "Um but. What about dinner? And I have homework to do." says Shinobu.

"Oh don't worry about it. Keitaro is going to fix dinner and we'll get back for you to have enough time for you to do your homework. Tonight though you and I are going to have a girls' night out! Sponsored by out favorite manager, Keitaro!" says Kitsune happily as she waves a few dollar bills that were in Keitaro's wallet just a few minutes ago.

Shinobu smiles a bit. "You mean it?" she asks. Kitsune nods her head. "Ok! I'll be right back!" says Shinobu happily. She rushes to her room to change her cloths. Kitsune meanwhile giggles a bit. "I knew she would be happy. And I'm going to make sure she has a great time!" she says to herself.

A few minutes later Shinobu comes out of her room wearing her regular green and pink sweatshirt/miniskirt combo, the one with the pink exclamation point on the chest. "I'm ready Kitsune." she calls out as she walks up to the front door.

"Alright! Well let's go!" says Kitsune with a big smile. "Let's" says a voice from behind them. They both turn around and are shocked to see Motoko dressed in a regular shirt and blue jeans.

"You're coming too Motoko?" asks Shinobu with a lot of shock. "Yes. I figured why can't I have a nice time too every once in a while. Besides you 2 lovely maidens will need protection from perverted males while you're out right?" explains Motoko. All 3 girls laugh a bit before heading to the door.

With a big smile Shinobu reaches up and opens the door. But as soon as she does her face changes to one of shock when she suddenly sees 2 people standing in the doorway. Her face quickly changes again to irritation as she sees it's her mom and dad standing there.

"What do you 2 want?" she asks bluntly. Her father gets a slightly irritated look on his face after that rude greeting. "Shinobu, we need to talk." he says as he crosses his arms. "Humph. I have nothing to say to you 2. Besides my friends and I were about to have a girls' night out. Now if you'll excuse me." says Shinobu as she tries to walk past them.

"Hold it young lady!" says Mr. Maehara as he grabs a hold oh Shinobu's shoulder a bit hard. Shinobu looks a bit angered at him. "Shinobu this involves not just you but the entire Maehara family's future." says her father. "Sigh….Fine." says Shinobu reluctantly and a bit irritated.

A few minutes later everyone from Hinata Sou and Shinobu's parents have all gathered in the den for a meeting. Mrs. Maehara looks at everyone in the room. "Shinobu what we have to say doesn't involve these people." says Mr. Maehara. "Whatever you need to say you can say in front of my friends." answers Shinobu.

Both parents look at each other and then back to Shinobu. Mr. Maehara leans back in the couch and crosses his arms. "Shinobu. Your mother and I have made a decision for you about your future." he says. "My future?" says Shinobu curiously.

"Yes Shinobu. Your father and have decided it's time for you to return to us. We've have given you almost 2 years to make friends here just as you wanted and now it's time you came back to us." explains Mrs. Meahara.

"No! I will not come back. My home is here now. I will not leave." says Shinobu sternly. "I'm afraid you have no say in the matter this time Shinobu." says Mr. Maehara. "Huh?" says Shinobu confusingly.

"You see Shinobu, we have arranged to have you married on your 16th birthday to a neighbor's son of ours." answers Mrs. Meahara. Everyone in the room opens there eyes in shock. "Eh what?" says Shinobu out of shock.

"That's right Shinobu. We have found a husband for you. We have arranged to have you married on your 16th birthday in a few weeks." explains Mr. Maehara. Shinobu gets a bit angry. "You've got to be kidding me?" she yells with disbelief.

"No we are not! Listen Shinobu! Your father and I are fed up with you always ignoring us! This place has been a bad influence on you! You have become more defiant toward us and frankly we're sick of it. What has happened to my little innocent Shinobu?" says Mrs. Maehara.

"Oh believe me she still has that innocent personality, it's just that she has become more independent and reliable with herself now." answers Keitaro. "You mean more arrogant! Well that ends today! Shinobu you WILL come back with us and you WILL marry the man that have chosen for you!"

"NO! I'm not just going to marry some strange man just to satisfy your selfish wants! When I marry a man I want it to be when I'm a little older and for love! Not to satisfy 2 parents suffering from empty nest syndrome! So you can forget about it." fires back Shinobu.

"Grr! With that kind of attitude you'll never be able to find a man! So it's better that we arrange to have you marry one! Besides his not a strange man Shinobu! You already know him! He's a childhood friend of yours!" yells Mr. Maehara.

Shinobu opens her eyes in shock. She has had very few friends in her life, up until now, any only a couple of male friends, but she doesn't know who they are talking about. "Who then?" she asks a bit stunned.

"Do you remember a Mr. Hibachi and his son Shin?" asks Mr. Maehara. Shinobu opens her eyes wide and gasps in horror as her face turns a pale blue. Kitsune looks up and sees her pale expression. "Gee Shinobu you look as though you've seen a ghost. Are you ok?" she comments.

"She's just in shock that we chose the richest man in the area where we live to be her husband. After all he's an hire to a $125 million business." explains Mrs. Maehara. Everyone in the room gasps. Kitsune can't help but grin. She knows it's wrong to do so at a time like this, but when ever it involves a lot of money she can't help it.

Shinobu slowly shakes her head. "No. That's not it." she says softly. "Then what is it?" asks Mrs. Maehara. "There's no way in hell I'm going to marry that perverted bastard!" shouts Shinobu. Everyone's eyes open again.

"What the hell does that mean Shinobu?" asks Mr. Maehara. "Back when I was 8 and was 12 he use to stick his hands down my shirt and fondle my chest and nipples telling me how beautiful and big I was going to get and how I was going to be such a beautiful wife to him and only him! The way he said it sent shivers down my spine. After that I didn't want to have anything to do with him!" shouts Shinobu almost in tears as she remembers that painful part of her life.

"Heh. IF he did touch you then why didn't he touch you in your 'special area' also?" asks Mr. Maehara not believing a word she says with a smirk. "Because he told me he wanted that on our wedding night!" fires back Shinobu.

The Maeharas look at each other and only smirk. Then they both start laughing! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Nice try Shinobu! But we all know that Shin Hibachi is one of the most prestigious and nicest men you can ever meet. He would never do such a thing! You're only looking for excuses not to have us marry you to him." says Mrs. Maehara.

"No I am not making it up! He really did touch me! I don't want to go anywhere near him!" shouts Shinobu back. Both parents get an irritated look on their faces. "Listen Shinobu our decision is final! You will be married to Shin Hibachi, you will come back with us, and you will do it whether you like it or not!" yells Mr. Maehara.

"NO! I will not be apart this fiasco! I will not go along with this at all! How can you do this to me! I have my own life now! You can't do this to me! I want both of you to leave me alone!" shouts Shinobu back. Mrs. Maehara has heard enough. She stands up and begins walking to Shinobu with an angered glare.

"Why me? Why me? WHY ME? IS THAT ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT IS YOURSELF! WHAT ABOUT US SHINOBU? HUH? WHAT ABOUT US? YOU THINK THAT SINCE YOU'VE MADE A FEW FRIENDS THAT YOU CAN TAKE ON THIS WORLD ALL BY YOURSELF NOW! HAH! DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH! YOU ARE GOING TO BE MARRIED TO SHIN! YOU HAVE ABSOLUTLY NO SAY IN THE MATTER!" Shouts Mrs. Maehara as she closes in on Shinobu face.

"NO! I WILL NOT! NOR CAN YOU MAKE ME! I DON'T EVEN WANT TO BE A PART OF THIS FAMILY ANYMORE! SO BACK OFF OUT OF MY LIFE!" shouts Shinobu back defiantly in her mother face. There is a momentary stand off. Mrs. Maehara gets a really pissed off look on her face and a low growl can be heard deep within her throat.

Then without warning SLAPOW! Mrs. Maehara backhands Shinobu right in the face as hard as she can. Shinobu does a 180 and lands on her stomach. Everyone's gasps and their eyes are wide open now and there is a dead silence for a moment. Then slowly Shinobu starts to sit up.

"You…You actually hit…me." says Shinobu totally stunned as her bottom lip begins bleeding as she holds her cheek. "Whether you like it or not Shinobu it's not your decision to make. We are your parents. And by LAW we have the right to arrange a marriage for you." says Mrs. Maehara. Shinobu slowly turns her head with an angered glare of her own.

"As far as I'm concerned… I have no parents." says Shinobu defiantly as she wipes off some blood. Mrs. Maehara gets another angered look and her fists begin shaking again. She then comes up and kicks Shinobu right the stomach hard with the tip of her shoe.

"ARGH!" Shinobu bowls over in pain covering her stomach. "Hey now that's enough!" shouts Keitaro as he begins to stand. Mrs. Maehara looks right at him. "SIT DOWN!" she shouts at him with a very angered look. Keitaro stumbles backwards back onto the couch after being yelled at like that.

Mrs. Maehara looks down at Shinobu gasping and coughing for air after having the wind kicked out of her. She reaches down and picks Shinobu up into the air by her collar and brings her closer to her face. "Now listen here you little BITCH. We have the legal right to throw you in jail for disobeying the law if you don't attend this arranged marriage. So unless you want to end up someone's bitch in prison you WILL attend this marriage! And you WILL be happy about it!" shouts Mrs. Maehara into Shinobu's face. She then literally tosses Shinobu onto the ground.

Shinobu's feet don't even hit the ground before her butt hits it 1st with a loud thump. Silence once again settles over the room, except for Shinobu's sniffling. Finally the tears come. She slowly stands back up nursing her now throbbing stomach.

A few tears roll down her face and splatter onto the floor. "How can you do this to me? I hate you!" she says with a quivering voice. She then slings her head up really quick causing a few tear droplets to fly out of her eyes. Her bottom lip trembles in a mixture of pain, anger, and sorrow. GASP "I HATE THE BOTH OF YOU!" she screams at the top of her lungs.

She then literally shoves her mother out of the way and runs out of the room. She turns the corner and runs down the hall and into her room where she slams her door shut extremely hard causing it to echo though out all of Hinata Sou. The next thing everyone can here is Shinobu sobbing heavily in her room.

Everyone in the den gives the Maehara's a disapproving look. "Humph!" says Mrs. Maehara and she turns her head with her chin up. "Don't give us that. You know that parents in Japan have a legal right arrange a marriage for their children. So there's nothing you can do about it. You all are invited to the wedding if you wish to attend. However don't be offended if you aren't the guests of honor." says Mrs. Maehara arrogantly.

"Don't even bother showing us the way out. We can let ourselves out thank you." says Mr. Maehara. Both the Maeharas bow and then leave to the sounds of Shinobu's sobbing. Everyone else meanwhile is trying to let everything they heard settle in, but just can't.

"Damn them…" is all Keitaro can say. "Motoko why didn't you help Shinobu?" asks Kitsune a bit bluntly. "I'm sorry Kitsune there was nothing I could do." she answers. "What do you mean there was nothing you could do? Doesn't your honor code including defending young maidens from harm?" yells Kitsune back.

Motoko slams her fist into the arm of the chair. "Damnit don't you think wanted to help! But I couldn't! As much as I hate to admit it Shinobu's parents are right! Parents have the right to discipline their children and to arrange marriages for them." fires back Motoko.

"They have the right to discipline them yes but not to BEAT them!" shouts Kitsune back. "ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! Shut up!" shouts Keitaro to both of them. "Right now arguing with each other is the last thing we need to be doing right now! Just down the hall is a girl who really needs her friends' comfort right now. I'm going." says Keitaro loudly.

Keitaro stands up and begins walking to Shinobu's room. Everyone else follows. When Keitaro reaches her door he knocks on it. He can still hear her sobbing loudly. "Shinobu may I come in?" Keitaro asks calmly. "Go away! Please. I don't want you to see me like this. sniff. sniff." answers Shinobu.

"Shinobu I'm coming in anyway." says Keitaro. He opens the door and sees Shinobu with her face buried in her pillow with her holding a tissue up to her now swelling lip with streams of tears coming out of her eyes. Keitaro stands there for a second not knowing exactly what he should do. He suddenly feels a light shove from behind and he turns around to see Naru doing the shoving.

He nods his head and walks in. He walks up to her bed and gently sits down beside Shinobu. He places he hand on her back and begins rubbing it which causes her to twinge a bit but then relax. Shinobu begins crying a little louder. She suddenly comes up and plunges her face into Keitaro chest and begins crying a bit louder. Her sobs are sounding so filled with pain that a few of the other tenets are beginning to shed a couple of tears.

Keitaro is caught a bit off guard by Shinobu and he looks up at Naru. Naru only smiles and nods her head. She knows at times like these Keitaro won't do anything perverted. He then wraps his arms around Shinobu and begins to comfort her.

"Why? Why are they doing this to me sempai? Why?" shouts Shinobu as she begins to sob even more. "It's ok Shinobu. We'll figure that out later. Right now just let out. Let it all out." answers Keitaro calmly as he begins to rub the back of Shinobu's head. Shinobu goes back to crying.

Naru turns and begins to push everybody away from the door and they all begin to go back to the den. "Naru is it ok to leave them alone together right now?" asks Kitsune calmly. "It's ok Kitsune. Right now all Shinobu needs is a shoulder to cry on. And I can't think of a better shoulder than his." answers Naru. Everyone else nods in agreement and they all head back to the den to discuss what they need to do.

End of Chapter 2

To be continued in Chapter 3: The Sorrow

Author Note: Whew I really made Shinobu's parents really mean in this one! I now Shinobu's parents would probably not do something like this but oh well. The next Chapter will deal with how Shinobu copes with knowing that her time as a carefree teenager is quickly coming to an end.

Story Note: It is legal in Japan to arrange a marriage for your children at any age under 16. Keep that in mind. Also this story is based off of the Anime series not the manga. It happens just before Love Hina Again.