LOVE HINA: WARPED DEVOTIONS

CHAPTER TWO: THE FIRST MAN

The black haired menace stood over her, like a volcano, dark, ominous, and ready to erupt. The leather belt he held hung down from his hand like a dead snake, full of poison. The kitchen light was behind him, making him appear as a silhouette. He raised his hand with the belt in his grasp; it seemed to come to life, copying his hand's movement up, up, up, above his head. His eyes narrowed and he thought, Once the punishment is over, I can love you again. You break the rules, you pay the price, but when this is over, I can love you again.

She heard the belt whistle as it ripped through the air to hit her bare arms. She felt the sting as it connected initially, and then the leather strap wrapped around her arm and hit a second time. Sean pulled the belt, still wrapped to her arm, she tumbled to the floor. He raised the belt again to hit her exposed back.

Shinobu was ambivalent about all this. She was torn between her feelings of self-preservation and 'knowing' that this was the proper way to express love. She looked at her arm, there was a bruise starting to form on her forearm. Between winces of pain, she thought, Darn, I'm gonna have to wear some long sleeve shirts for awhile. My back is gonna need a nice long soak, maybe I can go to the nurse for bandages. She contemplated all this and she never once thought that anything was wrong. She was happy that her boyfriend loved her, and she knew that he would later hold her and comfort her, telling her that it was all going to be okay. She would believe him and life would go on.

A few minutes later, Sean stopped. He threw the belt across the room, kneeled down, faced her head, and said, "Shinobu, I'm not mad that you went to meet another guy for lunch, I'm just disappointed that you didn't ask for permission. Besides, what did you think, trying to hide it like you did? I would have let you go, if you had just asked. Do you understand?"

Shinobu looked up at Sean kneeling in front of her face. Most people in her situation would slap him and walk out the door, calling the police on the way out; she tried to see past the bleariness of her eyes, while tears ran down her face, leaving wet trails over her cheeks. Feebly, she replied, "I'm sorry, Sean, I understand, please forgive me."

Sean extended his hand to lift her off the ground, she took it and he pulled her into his embrace. She felt comfortable there, held by arms made powerful by years of baseball and football, and even a little boxing. She felt content there, feeling his warmth radiating off of him. She felt loved; the pain was just a reminder of what he felt for her. She wondered if Senpai ever felt this way after what kept happening to him. She remembered the first time she met her Senpai. She had been at the Hina house for a little more than a week, during which time she had almost completely taken over the laundry and cooking responsibilities, when he showed up.

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Shinobu was much younger when she met Keitaro Urashima. She was only just thirteen, then she was a much shyer person, she rarely ventured out of the house except to go to school, and the occasional trip for groceries. She wasn't very outgoing at school and she didn't make many friends, since Su shared most of her classes. One day she was doing the laundry, she'd just collected the clothes from the line and folded them, and she was walking down the hallway to deliver them to the tenants' rooms.

She heard Naru screaming about some pervert that she found in the hot springs bath. Shinobu looked in that direction just in time to see a young adult male running down the hall, this was unexpected enough, after all the Hinata Sou was an all-girl's dormitory, even odder, this young man was naked.

He tore his way down the hall, stopping only to look at Shinobu's clothesbasket, grab a towel, and wrap it around his person, but not quickly enough that Shinobu couldn't get an eyeful of him. He was of moderate height, chestnut colored hair that matched the dark brown eyes hiding behind his square glasses. He wasn't exactly buff, but he wasn't really out of shape either, all-in-all, he looked like a nice guy. She couldn't stop herself from staring at his lower anatomy. She had never seen that before, the cross-sections from her biology books weren't exactly clear on how it appeared. She was very surprised, to say the least. Keitaro spat out an apology and then ran for his life from Naru, who was also towel clad. Shinobu knew what was going to happen and gently set down the basket and ran screaming to Haruka, whom she figured knew what was going on.

Later, once everything had calmed down, everyone was gathered in the living room where Haruka told the girls about Grandma Hina leaving Keitaro as the manager of the Hinata Sou. Predictably, Naru and Motoko both objected harshly. Both spouted off on their 'all men are perverted' rants. Naru forgetting that she was in fact the one who walked in on him. As for Motoko's part, when she saw him, she drew her sword and, thinking that he was just some peeping tom who got caught, she slashed at him to scare him away. When she accidentally cut off the towel, she started her own crusade to cause severe harm to the 'pervert.'

Surprisingly, Kitsune accepted, as did Su. Kitsune remembered that when she saw him on his towel-clad romp through the house, he was really just lost and confused; he was looking at her as though she would help him. Besides, she heard from Haruka that Keitaro was supposed to be in Tokyo U by now, so she figured that he would be worth some money someday. She also helped perpetuate the story, until Keitaro finally spilled the beans on being a second year failure.

Su saw him and figured that she could test the to scale missiles from her small robots and that no one would care what happened to him, but much to her surprise, he dodged all the little missiles she fired from her miniature robots. Kitsune was glad to finally have a manager again, the house was looking a little…unsanitary, and having somebody else to clean it meant that she wouldn't have to. Su was just happy to have somebody new to play with, though her definition of 'play' included missiles, explosives, and giant robots.

The entire house looked at Shinobu, eager for her answer. Naru sniggered; she figured that she had the ultimate leverage against Keitaro. Naru snuck down by Shinobu and, in a hushed voice, reminded her of what Keitaro did to her. Shinobu blushed heavily and said, "I think that Keitaro should stay."

Naru threw up her hand in a victory sign, "So there, three people have voted against…What did you say, Shinobu?" Naru's brain finally heard what Shinobu had said, even after the little girl had been reminded of what the perverted male had done to her. Or perhaps because of it, thought Naru. She looked suspiciously at the young lady, unsure of how to press on.

"I s-said that I think t-that he s-should s-stay," Shinobu stuttered back, a little apprehensive about what Naru would do. Instead of saying anything, Naru shot a glare at Keitaro that said, "You put one foot out of line and I'll punt you through the ceiling."

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After that things quieted down, Keitaro did all of the jobs that a landlord should, cleaning the place, even the hot springs. That particular chore had caused quite a fluster when he started, since the girls did not use his 'occupied' sign to warn him that someone was in there.

Naru would punch him with enough force to literally send him flying out of the springs. Motoko had been a student of the martial arts for long enough to be able to use her ki, or inner energy, as a projectile attack. Using that energy she also was able to send him flying out. Kitsune, Su, or Shinobu were able to summon either of the two more physical girls to eject him with just a scream. Until the issue with the warning sign was resolved, Keitaro had to deal with quite a few extra bruises than he was used to. It didn't seem to faze him, though. Most of the girls thought that he liked it, but Shinobu was the only one who dared to ask him.

"Um, Senpai," Senpai is an honorific term used to address one's senior, especially one who was trying to teach. Shinobu had begun using it once Keitaro agreed to help her with her homework; after all, if Keitaro was trying to get into the most prestigious school in all of Japan, Tokyo University, she figured that he would help her with her elementary school homework. Naru claimed to be too busy studying to help her and Shinobu didn't feel like imposing on Motoko. Su and Kitsune were out of the question, since Su was only a year older and Kitsune was usually not sober.

Besides, Keitaro was the manager and it was his duty to help his tenants. Shinobu also liked having him help because she had a crush on him. It was the first boy she knew who didn't make fun of her like the ones at school; in fact, he seemed to be more mature than most of the Hinata Sou residents. Shinobu admired that quality. She remembered the first actual day of landlord duties he had to perform.

She heard from some of the other residents that Naru had given him a mop and bucket and forced him to clean the entirety of all three floors of the former inn, the hot springs, the basement, all the empty rooms, and the roof. Then she jury-rigged a pulley system and hung him up to clean the windows. She was incredibly cruel to him. Shinobu heard the story second hand from Kitsune, so she doubted the authenticity of it, but when she asked Keitaro about it, his answer made her both sad and angry.

"Well, Shinobu, I'm just doing the kanrinin's job. That's all," Keitaro replied sheepishly.

"So is painting the bottom of the roof just part of the job?" Shinobu asked from the safety of the ground. She figured that Kitsune was just spicing up the story to scare her, but now Shinobu knew better. That night in the hot springs, Kitsune confronted Naru about it. Shinobu kept quiet, but on the inside, she was very angry with Naru about trying to get Keitaro to leave.

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Three weeks later, Shinobu's birthday rolled around. She figured that everyone would have a big party ready once she got home from school that day, but there was nothing. Nobody decided to jump out of behind the couch to yell surprise. There were no presents waiting for her on her bed. Shinobu didn't even get a call from her grandparents. It looked like everybody forgot about her. She morosely fixed dinner, she worked rather absent-mindedly, but everyone liked it, even if it was a little bland compared to what Shinobu usually cooked. Keitaro opened up the book that Grandma Hina used to put profiles of the residents into. He noticed that it was Shinobu's birthday and was astounded that no one bothered to tell him.

Luckily, Keitaro was a genius at making desserts, his family was quite famous for their sweet shop and he had gotten very good at making cakes. Once he had one finished, he headed for Shinobu's room, not finding her there; he went up to the roof, but only after alerting the rest of the house of the gravity of the situation. Apparently, they all forgot about it and hurried out to get a present.

Shinobu was looking out over the balcony, and she saw the girls run from the house in a mad rush. Shinobu thought that they had all decided to go to karaoke, and they didn't even invite her, and on her birthday no less! She leaned over to see if Keitaro was with them. At that moment, Keitaro burst through the door and yelled her name.

Shinobu jumped a little, but it was enough, she was falling, that was going to be it. She was going to die at fourteen, everyone forgetting about her, and she was going to be a big mess for her crush to deal with later.

She opened her eyes and looked down, Yay! I'm not dead. Why am I not dead? She looked up and saw that Keitaro had jumped out and grabbed her ankle at the last moment. After spending the next few minutes getting her up, he apologized to her. What? Was all the little girl could think, You apologized for saving my life? That's so mean! She was too furious to start crying and ran to push him over when she slipped. She had fallen face first into cake frosting. She took a closer look at Keitaro, who was covered in it. Oh, he was apologizing for messing up the cake. Now I feel stupid.

Keitaro tried to pull her up and ended up slipping too. Finally they both pulled on each other enough to get up. They started to walk to where the cake frosting didn't cover the ground when the door opened up. Everybody jumped out and screamed, "SURPRISE!!" Keitaro and Shinobu both fell down, Shinobu slipped on cake frosting, Keitaro slipped on Shinobu. They lay like that for a few seconds, Shinobu blushing with a passion as she realized that Keitaro's face was only inches from hers. Keitaro pale as white out because everybody was glaring daggers at him. He jumped up off of her and immediately slipped again.

Naru and Motoko both pummeled him, while Kitsune and Su helped Shinobu get up. She looked sadly at Keitaro and wondered why he didn't do anything about getting hit like that. She remembered that one day when she asked him about it during homework.

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"Um, Senpai, why do you let Naru and Motoko beat up on you like that? Doesn't it hurt?

"Well, Shinobu, it does hurt. I won't lie. But, I have my benefits. Nothing that they do lasts for long and that proves that they really do care. They put up a mean front, but it's like when friends make fun of each other, it's just for fun." Keitaro Urashima had a good deal of time to sort this out, because after Naru or Motoko pummeled him out of the house, he went on very long walks and during that time, he conceived his idea of why they hit him, why there was no permanent damage, and why they were just around the corner when the accidents occurred. "As for the why, I think that they are attempting to use classical conditioning, like Pavlov's dogs. You know…stimulus response."

"Who was Pavlov? What did he do to the poor doggies? What is a stimulus response?" asked Shinobu. She had never heard of these terms before and she really wanted to understand what Senpai was thinking. If she knew what was going on, then she could help.

He explained about Pavlov's experiment, about how he found out that the dogs would salivate, expecting food at a certain time when a bell rang. Then, Pavlov noticed that the dogs would salivate just to the bell and Pavlov went on to test his ideas. But Shinobu really didn't listen to any of this. She thought about all the times she had seen Keitaro without a smile on his face.

It was heartbreaking to her; several times after the beatings, she would be the one that he would go to for the minor first aid that he required. She had bandaged many cuts, put ice on many bruises, put balm on many burns; she even set his nose once. She was familiar with his injuries and was very worried about him.

Still, Motoko and Naru kept up the regimen, assaulting him anytime he managed to find himself fallen onto one of the girls, usually Kitsune, who managed to set up the accident in the first place. Later in the day, Su would launch herself, foot first, followed by launching the payload of missiles in her most recent Mecha Tama. What Keitaro had to go through daily would likely kill a lesser man.

Shinobu, in the middle of Keitaro's explanation, suddenly remembered that he never answered her first question.

"So Pavlov called the bell ringing a stim--."

"Senpai, you never told me why you let Naru and Motoko hit you." Shinobu practically yelled out, she realized that she had interrupted her Senpai and then her face turned a deep crimson color.

Keitaro put his hand behind his neck and laughed guiltily, that was his 'darn, I've been caught' gesture. To Shinobu, it made him look insanely cute, and because his cuteness suddenly increased tenfold, Shinobu blushed twelve times deeper.

"Well, it's like this," then Keitaro paused for just a second. Try as he might, he himself had no idea why he let them hit him. He supposed that it was because he couldn't kick them out. Even though he was manager, he wasn't heartless. It took him a few seconds to do something that he swore he would never do again, lying to Shinobu. "I am trying to change them too, I am just using a different method. It's called nonviolence. I'm refusing to fight back as a protest, like Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and César Chavez. I fight back by not fighting. Does that make sense?"

To Shinobu that last question sounded like it was meant as much for Keitaro as for Shinobu. She answered yes and thought, Wow, Senpai is so wise. He's found a way to fight back without hitting back. So smart. That's why he helps me, even though I already understand most of this. I just like him being with me when he smiles.

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Sean had moved to end the hug and turned back to the kitchen to get some ice for Shinobu's back. She almost fell from not having the weight to lean back on. She slowly made her way to the couch and flopped down on it.

She knew from the way she felt that there was nothing serious, likely just a lot of red. Maybe one or two bruises. That's what I get for not trusting Sean. He would have let me go if I'd asked him, I guess I should wait for awhile before I see Senpai again. Oh, darn it! He's probably already getting reservations for next Saturday. Better wait a few days before I tell Sean.

"Hey, Shinobu, I'm back and I've got ice. Let's see what we're dealing with." She felt him lift up her shirt in the back, there wasn't very much pain and it was already feeling tingly. "Well it just looks red. I'll get some more ice and how about we watch that new movie you rented."

"I love you, Sean." Shinobu meant every word. The affection she felt for the young man standing before her was genuine and full. She loved the way his hair fell over his face in the front, she liked the way he held her, she fit in his arms so well. She loved his eyes; they were a deep, dark brown, like his hair. She wanted to experience the moment. He picked her up off the couch and looked into her eyes. He smiled, she rejoiced. She loved to see people smile. Ever since she was feeling depressed and Keitaro sketched her in his notebook with a smile instead, she found smiles irresistible.

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She waited several days before talking to Sean about going out, she was dropping hints about it until Wednesday, but didn't actually ask until next Friday. Sean was livid.

"What?! Just a week after this guy shows up you want to meet him again? And you won't at least take me along? What if this guy's a pervert or something?" Sean asked, his utter calm belying his intense fury.

"He's an old friend and don't you dare call him a pervert!" Shinobu screamed back, her dislike showing a touch more openly.

"Well, it's not like I was planning on us doing anything that day so I guess I don't really have a problem with it. Do as you like." Sean crossed his arms over his chest. He had just played the Cheater's Gambit he heard so much about from his friends when they couldn't make a poker game or a night at the bar. Their girlfriends said that and his friends immediately backed down because they knew that going through with the previous plans were tantamount to suicide.

"Thank you, Sean. I'll be back by two." Shinobu turned on her heel and walked out of the room.

Sean sat down on the couch with his arms crossed over his chest. He thought to himself, She's going to have to have another lesson; I think I'll give her a surprise.