Love Hina
Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Love Hina. Love Hina and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1999-2004 Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. Love Hina is a trademark of TOKYOPOP®. All rights reserved.
Chapter 4
After bathing himself and getting dressed, Keitaro went downstairs for breakfast. When he entered the kitchen, breakfast was already laid out. The breakfast consisted of a bowl of rice, miso soup, grilled salmon, tamagoyaki, natto, boiled daikon radish, nori, and tsukemono, with green tea as beverage. Haruka was already seated, so he took a seat opposite of her. "Everything looks great!" He complimented. Haruka blushed and thanked him. "Itadakimasu!" They said, before they began to eat.
As Keitaro indulged himself to the delicious meal, he noticed that Haruka wasn't eating. She had a distant look on her face. He stopped eating, temporarily, and asked, "Are you alright?" She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him. He looked worried. After gathering her thoughts, she told him, "I'll tell you later. Don't worry about it, just enjoy your meal." He nodded and continued his meal. Haruka, what's wrong? The meal proceeded with a tense silence.
After the meal, Haruka started to wash the dishes. To her surprise, Keitaro helped her. He smiled, as they worked. "Remember when we used to do this together?" It was her turn to smile, as she recalled the memory. "Yeah. You always wanted to help me with every chore." With that, the tension was broken, as the pair conversed about their memories.
When the task was completed, Haruka led Keitaro to the cafe. As Keitaro looked around, he noticed the vacancy of the place. "Where are all the customers?" He asked. "I decided to close the cafe for today." She responded. "There's something important I have to tell you." She sighed, as she began to light a cigarette. "What is it?" he asked, curiously.
Haruka handed him a stack of papers. She studied his expression, as he read over the pages. He read it out loud, "Real Estate...Deed of Ownership?"His expression changed from curiosity to confusion, and finally to disbelief. "What?! This can't be legal!" He said in disbelief. "It's all legal. Granny said she's giving everything to you. Hinata Sou is all yours...if you become the landlord." She said calmly. She felt sorry for him. Sure, most guys would kill to live in a girls dorm; however, these were not your average girls.
For a few minutes, he was silent. He was still taking everything in. Finally, he laughed. "I'll do it. It doesn't seem that bad. Besides, Granny is relying on me. I can't let her down! Also, I wouldn't want to burden you, Aunt Haruka." Haruka's cigarette fell to the ground. In an instant, she grabbed Keitaro by the the collar. "Listen up Keitaro! Don't you ever say that again! You're not a burden to anyone, especially not to me, got it?!" Keitaro was bewildered, he never saw her get this emotional before. He gulped, out of fear. He nodded. "Y-Yeah." Their faces were inches from each other. He blushed, as he noticed this. She looks very cute. Wait! No no no...bad thoughts! She, then, brought him into an embrace. He returned her embrace. "I'm sorry Aunt Haruka. You've already done so much for me. I thought that this would make things easier for the both of us."
"I know. That's just how you are. You always care so much about others. I'm sorry I overreacted. I just couldn't stand hearing you say that about yourself." She said softly. She lightly bopped him on the head. "And that's Haruka to you." they both chuckled at this. They both released each other. They sat down, relishing the feeling of their embrace. "So, what are the tenants like?" asked Keitaro. Haruka dreaded this moment, for she knew where this would lead. She sighed. "Are they that bad?" he asked. She shook her head. "It's not place to say. You'll have to meet them yourself."
Keitaro stared the table, as he was contemplating his thoughts. He was shy, when meeting new people. He was having an inner battle with himself. He knew that he would have to meet them sooner or later, so why not now? He was afraid of what they might think of him, and how they would take the new of him becoming their manager. Such a thing was never heard of. It was the sort of thing that would only happen some sort of manga. Haruka saw this and rose from her seat. She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. After collecting his thoughts, he finally made a decision. "Okay, I'll go meet them." he said with slight determination. Haruka nodded.
After locking the door to the cafe, the two Urashima ascended the long flight of stone stairs. "How many tenants are there?" asked Keitaro. "There are five girls. Looking to date one?" jested Haruka. "Haruka!" Haruka laughed at his flustered face. He groaned. "You still have your sense of humor, I see." He chuckled. "Besides, I'm not looking to date anyone, at the moment. I'm still focusing on getting into Tokyo U, right now." A question tugged at her, since she heard about Tokyo U. "Why are you trying to get into Tokyo U, anyway? I know it's a prestigious school, but there are others." He was looked down. "I'll tell you later, alright?" She nodded, not wishing to pressure him.
He looked up again and turned to his aunt. "By the way, Haruka, thanks for coming with me. I don't think I could have done this alone." She waved him off. "No problem. I know you're shy, when it comes to meeting new people. Besides, you'll need me up here, for your own safety." At this, he was confused. "Safety? Are they dangerous or something?" She tried to think of the right words. "Let's just say that they're energetic. You see, they each have their own problems that they're trying to cope with. They are nice girls though. I'm here, in case they get too energetic. Also, I'm not sure they'll take this news well." Keitaro nodded, as he took in this information. He was afraid, but determined.
When they reached the top, Keitaro's eyes widened. It had been so long, since he last saw the Hinata Sou. To him, it stood as a grandiose monument of his childhood. It had a spiritual and magical feel to it.
A small smile graced Haruka's lips, as she saw Keitaro's expression. "It's quite something, isn't it." He nodded. "It doesn't look like it changed at all, but seeing it again feels..." He paused, not knowing the right word. "Magical?" Haruka suggested. He nodded. "Yeah, it still has that effect on me too, each time I come up here." After recovering from being awe-struck, Keitaro turned to Haruka. "So, shall we?" She nodded. The two family members stepped into the place that was an integral part of their childhood memories.
