Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina or any of its characters.

Special Note: Reading the Love Hina manga and watching the Love Hina anime is highly recommended to help you understand the events and characters that appear in this story. This fic is loosely based off of the manga and anime.

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Chapter 9: Opportune Alliance

After an extended time of deliberation the tenants agreed to set the plan into motion. It was dubbed 'Operation Sabotage' by Kitsune, who became the unofficial leader behind the project. No one had any problem with that, after all scheming was her area of expertise. The new threat of being evicted caused the tenants to bury their suspicions of what had occurred during the exchange of rooms the night before. Still, Kitsune was not one to let something go; she made a mental note to find out the truth of what took place during the nocturnal hours.

Approximately one hour had passed since the residents had dispersed from Kitsune's room and dusk was fast approaching. The fox woman lay back, and for the first time she truly reflected on what had happened on the last few days, particularly the incident between her and Keitaro on the first night. His behavior during their semi-intimate encounter entirely perplexed her. A normal man in that situation would have reacted with desire or maybe even shyness; instead the only emotions Keitaro had shown were anger and disgust. Kitsune could have sworn she also saw look of fear pass through his eyes for a fleeting moment.

Up until now, she could turn any guy into a flustering idiot with her feminine wiles. She could not imagine why a man would turn down an opportunity like that. Did I come off too strong? What if he already has a girlfriend? For some reason she doubted that.

She went over a few plausible possibilities. Perhaps her timing was off due to the condition he was in, but most men would have wanted something pleasurable to take their minds off the pain. Another possibility might be that he was gay and harbored no interest toward women.

Kitsune squinted in confusion, unable to come up with a clear cut answer. She plainly did not know enough about him to explain his behavior. The spectacled man was an enigma. He was unpredictable; his demeanor ranging from genuine concern, to cold indifference, to enraged fury.

I just don't get him, Kitsune had no idea what to make of his actions, there was too many unknowns; however there was one thing that she knew for certain, Keitaro was not normal.

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Rushing down the steps of Hinata Sou, Motoko headed in the direction of the café to retrieve her sword. She had been delayed long enough as it was and anxiously anticipated to begin her training. Once inside the tea shop, she approached Haruka, who was handling money behind the register.

"Haruka-san, I…" Motoko trailed off awkwardly as the elder woman walked back to the storage, showing no acknowledgement that she was even aware of the swordswoman's presence. Haruka emerged a few moments later, holding the sword in her hand.. "I'm guessing this is what you came for," she said placing it on the counter.

"Yes," Motoko grasped her sword, gazing at it with affection. My precious Shisui, she was about to remove the sheath when a firm hand gripped her arm.

"I told you before, I don't want to see the blade inside here," Haruka's expression was unnaturally stern.

Motoko was taken aback. "Yes, of course," she replied meekly, letting go of the sheath. The swordswoman had not forgotten the strength Haruka had exhibited on her during the incident with Shinobu. Even now she could almost feel the infallible grip around her neck.

Haruka released her hold and Motoko silently walked out of the café. On the outside she was faced with a new problem. Where can I train? She wondered searching throughout the area. There was plenty of land around the dormitory to choose from; she could use all of it if she wanted to, her limitation being that it was kept outside. She wandered on and on until she reached the waterfall at the back of Hinata Sou. This is a good place, she thought admiringly. Motoko unsheathed her sword at last and commenced her one thousand strike routine.

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Naru apprehensively descended to the second floor, mentally preparing herself for what might happen. Her first task was to ask Keitaro if he would be willing to study with her. This was the moment she had been dreading ever since she had agreed to Kitsune's Operation Sabotage, the last thing she wanted was another confrontation with the landlord. As she advanced to the landlord's abode, their past confrontation repetitively played through her mind with a distinct emphasis on the part when he had declared her a pervert. The word had disturbed Naru more than she realized.

How am I supposed to explain that I now he's going for Tokyo U? During their planning session no one had given any ideas as to how she would ask Keitaro. To be honest, Naru was almost certain that he would reject her proposal; she was only attempting this out of the obligation she felt.

The auburn haired woman was now standing in front of the door. She internally prepared herself taking in a deep breath. He seems to have calmed down towards me. Who knows, he may even accept my offer. She tentatively knocked on the door, secretly hoping that no one would answer. Little did she know, her wish would have been granted, had she knocked a bit softer.

Keitaro was comfortably sleeping, until the sound from the door roused him awake. What the hell is it now? He considered simply ignoring it but grudgingly pushed the sheets off, groggily shuffling to the door clad in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

His foot somehow caught in one of the sheets causing him to slip and fall face first onto the floor. Luckily he was not wearing his glasses, although wearing them might have prevented his fall. Keitaro may have been irritable at being woken up but now he was seething. Not only was his cheek painfully sore, to top it off he was wide awake and would probably be unable to go back to sleep.

"This had better be good," he whispered dangerously, resuming his course for the door.

Standing on the outside, Naru had heard a loud smack come from within the room. Probably just dropped something, she thought casually. Though she was completely unaware of it, her poor timing mixed in with bad luck had made things a lot harder for her.

The door slid open revealing a rather pissed off manager rubbing his cheek. "What is it?" he asked edgily.

Naru had been hoping to catch him in a pleasant mood; however, there was no turning back now.

He looks different without his glasses, she observed mechanically.

It was time to use the line she had been practicing. "I was wondering that since you're planning to apply for Tokyo U and I am too, that we can study together… you know since we have a common goal maybe we can help each other out." She paraphrased a little, but it was close enough.

Her proposition caught Keitaro off guard, leaving him stunned momentarily; after it wore off he spoke. "Why do you think that I want to go to Tokyo U?"

There it was the inevitable question Naru had hoped to avoid answering. I knew he was going to ask that! What the hell am I supposed to say? she thought fervently, wishing to have taken more time to think everything over.

"You have a bunch of Tokyo U prep books so I assumed…" she trailed off, not knowing how to finish.

Now it made sense to Keitaro. "You discovered this when you were being perverted in my room, am I right?"

Naru flinched inwardly at the word, but she managed to recompose herself, determined not to back down so easily. "I was hoping that we could put the past behind us and start with a clean slate."

The landlord was suspicious of her insistence. "If you found out that I wanted to get into Tokyo U, in the past, why are you bringing it up now?"

"I didn't mean for it to be literal," she mumbled.

"So you only want to forget about certain things? You can't just throw away every bad event from the past. People remember what you do to them, sometimes they never forget, and every time you see that person, you're reminded of what you did to them. It becomes a dark cloud that hovers over your head."

Naru gazed at the floor almost whispering. "Maybe they can't forget, but can they forgive?"

"Why, so they can make themselves vulnerable, only to be set up again?"

You don't know how close you are, thought Naru. She pushed herself to ask one last time. "Would you still consider studying with me?"

I thought I already made my answer obvious. "You sure are persistent, but you haven't proven to be trustworthy in the past and I don't trust you now, so no—oh, and by the way, I want you to have that hole fixed and sealed by tomorrow," he shut the door, signaling the end to their conversation.

"Pssst, Naru, over here!" a voice hissed.

Naru whipped around, finding Kitsune standing in the open doorway of her bedroom waving her over.

"I heard everything," she whispered. "We need to talk."

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Motoko wiped the sweat off of her face with a cloth as she walked into the lobby. Her training session had progressed well, although she had to admit she felt distracted, not being able to focus as much as usual.

Perhaps it was because I was in a new environment, she reasoned. Still a samurai must be able to adapt to different settings, I will have to work at it.

This minor setback was not enough to kill off her good mood. During her training, she had released all of the pent up stress that had accumulated over the last couple of days. I have not had a proper training session ever since he arrived. She smiled. It is a much better way of getting rid of stress than squeezing stuffed toys, no offense to Shinobu.

"RIIINNNGGG! RINNNGGG!"

The noise of the phone ringing came from near the kitchen. Seeing as there was nobody else around, Motoko hurried over to the phone and picked it up.

"Hello?" she asked into the receiver.

Only the faint sound of soft breathing came from the other end.

Confused as to why the other person was not responding Motoko repeated herself. "Hello? Can I help you?"

Still there was no reply, yet the hushed breathing continued on until the line cut off.

Hmm… probably a wrong number, Motoko thought hanging up the phone. She headed to the open bath to wash up before dinner.

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Later that night, Keitaro ventured down to the café for dinner. Haruka had closed down shop for the night and was stocking up, while he ate.

"Are you going to come here for every meal?" she asked finishing with the cabinet.

"You don't want me to?"

"It's not that, but the only time you ever come down here is when you want to eat, I'm going to have to start charging you soon."

Keitaro smiled, he could not leave that hanging. "At the prices you charge, I'll go broke in a week."

"I've got to make a living too you know," she approached the table and sat down across from him. Reaching into her apron, she took out a carton of cigarettes.

Keitaro eyed the carton laying the table within arms reach. "Can I have one?"

"No smoking is bad for your health," she brought a cigarette to her mouth, lighting it. "Besides, you completely kill the art involved with it."

"I suppose someone as old as you is the epitome of cool, huh, Aunt Haruka?"

"Watch it."

Keitaro laughed.

"So how's the management position going? Anything new happen?" she inquired, changing the subject.

Before he could reply the phone started to ring.

"Hold that thought," Haruka went to answer the phone.

Keitaro absently watched on. That reminds me, I still need to call up Shirai and Haitani. It feels like I haven't seen those guys in ages, I remember that one time in Prep School we--, his reminiscence was cut short at his sudden realization. –oh, dammit! Tomorrow is Monday, Prep School starts up again.

Haruka returned with an irritable mood. "These damned pranksters have nothing better to do than waste time on useless crank calls! This one was a real genius, just breathed the whole time, its ridiculous!"

"That's great, I'm glad you found it," Keitaro said distractedly standing up. "I just remembered that tomorrow is the first day of Prep School. Thanks for the dinner I'll talk to you tomorrow!" he hastily rushed out of tea shop.

Haruka proceeded to clear the table, grumbling about not being his maid. Whilst wiping the tabletop, she realized that the carton of cigarettes she had left there were gone.

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During the dinner, from which the landlord was once again conspicuously absent, Kitsune clued the others in about Keitaro's refusal to study with Naru. A debate on what to do next sparked between the samurai, the fox and the Tokyo U aspirant. The two middle school girls retained a passive role, offering no input, silently watching on as spectators. Ever since the development of 'Operation Sabotage', the both of them just sort of tagged along with whatever the older tenants decided, not knowing what else to do.

The conversation between the three elder boarders raged on until the noise of the front door opening silenced them. For a brief instant the form of the manager was seen through the rectangular archway of the kitchen as he passed through the living room. Eyes darted back and forth between the residents, no one daring to speak. After a few tense minutes, conversation resumed to different subjects. There would be absolutely no risks taken to jeopardize the secrecy, because if they were caught, it would be all over.

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At a time far too late in the night, a dim lamp cast its white light onto a desk where Keitaro was seated, his legs neatly folded underneath. A cigarette loosely dangled from his mouth, while he busily scraped one of the matches he had found in the kitchen against the rugged strip on the box.

I really need to get a lighter, he thought bringing the ignited match up to the cigarette in his mouth. Upon lighting it, he shook the match to douse the fire, cursing under his breath as he burnt himself.

Keitaro coughed when the smoke entered into his body, though he recovered rapidly since his body beginning to get used to it. Having been unable to go to sleep, he opted to study rather than lie uselessly awake staring at the ceiling.

Throughout the course of the night, Keitaro persevered in his studying, without so much as stopping to blink. Though he had vowed to speed up, he found himself struggling with almost every question. The young man had to repeatedly look up formulas, quite often finding himself working backwards by using the correct answers from the index of the book to help him understand how to solve a problem. This tedious process went on till 4:00 in the morning when he finally collapsed into his futon falling into a disturbed sleep.

Amidst his tossing and turning he dreamt about showing up to Prep School naked, getting a zero on his practice test and receiving a verbal thrashing from a female professor. These dreams faded out and an all too familiar one began:

A little girl wearing a striped shirt and overalls stood with her back faced to a five year old Keitaro.

It's the promised girl. He wanted to call out to her, but no sound came out. Her name, what's her name?

"Kei-kun, have you forgotten my name?" she asked, her back turned to him.

He tried as hard as he could to recall the name that always seemed to elude him. "Maybe if I see your face I'll remember, can you turn around?"

Slowly the little girl twirled as if dancing, he was about to see her face when the image distorted, replaced with a giant ringing alarm clock.

His eyes fluttered open, and he craned his neck to check the buzzing clock. A second later, Keitaro bolted out the door to the private bath. Apparently he had been sleeping so deeply, that his alarm clock had rung for a half hour straight without waking him. After showering and dressing in record time, he strapped on his backpack running down the lobby.

"Where you be goin' manager?" Su asked prancing about with her books. "Are you going to school also?"

"Sasagi Seminar," he replied breathlessly rushing out.

From inside the kitchen, where breakfast was currently being served, Kitsune overheard his reply. Sasagi? Isn't that where Naru headed off to this morning?

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From Hinata station, it was a one hour train ride into the city. To avoid eye contact with the other passengers, especially the females, he gazed at the scenery through the window behind him. Keitaro had paid little heed to his dream about the promised girl, blowing it off as random musings of his subconscious.

He could barely conceal his anticipation as a jittery sensation coursed through his body. This was it, a fresh start and a new beginning. Everything would be different this year. He was going to fulfill his own dreams, his own goals.

I'll grab any opportunity that presents itself, no matter what, he vowed, clenching his hands.

The train arrived at its destination, and from there it was about a five minute walk to the school. Before he knew it Keitaro was walking down the same halls that he had walked through for the past two years. Getting lost in the moment, he accidentally bumped into a woman passing by.

"Excuse me," he said nonchalantly brushing past her, not noticing the astonished expression etched on her face.

Class had not begun yet, the students were scattered about in groups chatting with each other.

"Yo, look who finally decided to show up."

"Lucky for you, we have a new teacher and he hasn't arrived yet."

Turning around, Keitaro was greeted with the grinning faces of Shirai and Haitani. "How's it going guys?" he asked sporting a grin of his own. It was a touching reunion between the three friends, involving a lot of dumb jokes and gossip.

"So you guys see anyone you recognize?" Shirai asked scouting the perimeter.

Haitani crossed his arms in dismay. "Judging from the fact that basically everyone we know from last year actually got into the colleges of their choice, I'd have to say no."

Their searching was interrupted by a man walking through the center of the aisles. "Everybody, please find a place to sit. Class is now in session!"

The classroom was set up like a coliseum. There were five rows of desks, each of which consisted of three long desks which could seat six people. The desks on the outer edges curved around to the sides and in the front center was where the teacher's desk lay.

Shirai, Keitaro and Haitani relocated themselves the desk on the second row, left hand side.

The man waited patiently, his arms behind him as he leaned against the center desk. He was tall with a slim figure, dressed casually in a forest green jacket and brown pants. A white band was tied around his forehead keeping his neck length bangs away from his eyes.

Eventually the chatter died down as every student focused their attention on the man -most likely their new teacher- waiting for him to speak.

He lightly cleared his throat before addressing the class. "First off, I would like to welcome you all to the first day of Preparatory School, here you will learn the skills you need to become successful and hopefully be accepted into the college of your choice. I always encourage you to aim high; anything you want can be reached as long as you are willing to put the work into it."

He randomly ceased talking for a few moments, glancing at the ceiling and the walls with avid fascination.

Keitaro, among with many of the other students watched on silently, puzzled by his eccentric behavior.

"I'll keep my introduction short. As many of you might have guessed this is my first year teaching at this school, I live in Kyoto with my wife and will be commuting back and forth on the weekends. As for my name, you can simply call me by my first name Hayate. I'm not one for formalities so that will do just fine."

For the next hour, Hayate lectured on various subjects that would appear on the tests, and although he was soft spoken, he still somehow managed to command the attention of the students. Later on he allowed them to break into groups to work on the practice problems. Of course most students took this time to socialize with each other, the bespectacled trio being no exception.

"Look it's the results from the old practice tests," Shirai said bringing the list over. "This is you right here, Keitaro," he gestured to the near bottom of the list.

Haitani let out a low whistle. "Get ready for another year of ronin hood. I sure as hell wouldn't want to admit that low of a rank."

Paying no attention to his remark, Keitaro started on the assigned practice problems.

"Hey look at her over there. Doesn't she look like a big time bookworm?" Haitani snickered.

"Huh, you guys don't know her, she was tops on the last practice test," Shirai explained. "She holds the number one rank in all of Japan. The best of the best."

This captured Keitaro's attention, "Who ranks number one?" he asked almost demandingly.

"Her right there," Haitani pointed.

By then it was obvious to the woman that they were talking about her, though they were to far away for her to make out their words. She tried to concentrate on her work, doing her best to ignore them.

Keitaro observed the woman, an obscure part of his brain telling him that it recognized her from somewhere. She looks rather familiar…

An intense glare reflected off from her large circular glasses, causing much of her face to remain hidden.

Keitaro readjusted his own glasses, squinting to get a better look. …in fact if it wasn't for the braids, she'd look exactly like that tenant Na…

Shirai interrupted his line of thought pointing to the top of the list of scores. "Here it is, her name is Narusegawa, Naru."

A sudden sharp intake of breath left Keitaro nearly gasping. "No… there's no way in hell..." he whispered snatching the list from Shirai. Lo and behold, there was her name listed on the number one spot, the undeniable proof of her accomplishment.

How can someone who acted so ignorantly, attain the top position in the nation? I've been trying for two godforsaken years and still have nothing to show for it. This is complete and utter bullshit, I…

He shot a look at the woman, now identified as Naru. And what's with the getup? I can't believe she's in the same class and I didn't even…

"You all right?" Haitani waved his hand in front of Keitaro's face, bringing him out of his mental diatribe. "You look like you want to kill someone."

"I'm fine…" Keitaro rubbed his temples and exhaled slowly, hoping to get his blood pressure back to normal levels. "…I'm fine."

"I think we should get to work guys," Shirai suggested. "This assignment is going to be collected."

"How the hell does Shirai always know these things?" Haitani muttered under his breath to Keitaro, who stifled a laugh.

However Keitaro's mind was elsewhere, the recent revelation swarming inside his thoughts, mocking him over and over again. For the duration of the class period, he found it tremendously difficult to pay attention to the lesson, his gaze frequently shifting to Naru, instead of the teacher.

Why does he keep looking at me? Naru wondered as she jotted down her notes during the lecture. She threw a wayward glance across the room, confirming that Keitaro was still staring in her direction. She felt her cheeks grew hot. Why am I blushing? It's not like I like him or anything! To her horror, the thought made her blush even more. Oh my God! I probably look like a cherry! I need to get out of here! She hurriedly stumbled out of the classroom, excusing herself to use the restroom.

Keitaro watched her leave with an arched an eyebrow, l find it hard to believe that someone like her managed to get the highest score on the practice test.

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Naru cupped her hands under the running faucet, scooping the water into her hands and splashing it across her face, sighing at the cooling sensation.

That's much better, she thought looking up into the mirror above the sink, watching the droplets of water slide down her cheeks. Geez…I can't believe I got so worked up about nothing. I'm probably just nervous because it's the first day… yeah that's it.

That was the least of her problems at this point, there was a more pressing issues at hand. The situation was more dire than she had expected. He must be serious about getting into Tokyo U if he's attending Prep school.

She thought back to the conversation between her and Kitsune the day before, following her failure to convince Keitaro to study with her. They had whispered in hushed voices, the landlord just on the other side of the wall. Naru had wavered, suggesting that they perhaps try an alternative approach.

Kitsune's tone had been grave, her mind clear of any intoxicants. "Listen, Naru, I know you feel guilty for what you did to him before, and I understand that you don't want to affront him again. But he's way too unpredictable. Have you noticed the way he acts? He's not normal, Naru; we can't bet on the fact that he'll randomly decide to change his mind."

She put a hand on Naru's shoulder. "It's either him or us. I love living here and I know you do too. We may be down for now, but if you get another opportunity, whatever you do, don't let it slip Naru… don't let it slip."

The memory dissipating and Naru returned to the present wiping her face with a paper towel. I guess I can ask him one more time, she thought tossing the crumpled wad into the trash bin.

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At the lunch break in the cafeteria, Shirai and Haitani listened with rapt interest as Keitaro outlined what had occurred to him in the past few days, telling them everything except for the part about the room exchange. Come to think of it, he had not told Haruka about it either.

"Dude, I always thought Kanako had a few screws loose," Haitani commented. "She takes after your mom."

Shirai offered his input. "That's quite the predicament you're in. I'm glad to hear that you're fairing well, those tenants at Hinata Sou sound like--,"

"Total bitches," Haitani cut in.

"That's not what…" Shirai started only to be cut off again.

"Seriously, Keitaro," Haitani said taking bringing the fork to his mouth and taking a bite. "I would not go back there without a gun or something – I mean you shouldn't even have to deal with these psychotic people."

"Will you let me finish!" Shirai yelled.

Both Haitani and Keitaro gave him baffled looks, including the other students in the cafeteria, wondering what the commotion was about. Shirai nervously chuckled pretending to have no idea of what had happened. Eventually they went back to their own conversations, the noise of chatter resonating throughout the cafeteria once again.

"Like I was saying," Shirai said flustered at his earlier outburst. "You shouldn't act too rashly, in spite of everything these tenants are your responsibility, especially the younger ones. I'm not saying that you have to be friends with them, but you should try to remain civil."

"What are you talking about, Shirai? After all the crap they pulled?" Haitani retorted.

"I know, I also know that the younger tenants did nothing wrong to him so he should --,"

"Are you kidding me? They're just as bad! One of them is all googly eyed over Keitaro and is going to get him accused of being a pedophile, while the other one is an immature genius that has a forest for a room… that's right a forest!"

Keitaro felt a smile tug at his face as his two friends bickered with each other. It felt good to know that they were concerned about him.

"Excuse me?" a feminine voice disrupted the ranting at their table.

It was Naru standing at the foot of the table. "Can I speak to you privately?" she asked Keitaro.

He gave her a questioning look. "No, I don't trust you. Anything you can say to me, you can say in front of my friends."

Naru sighed heavily, "Since we're attending the same cram school, I think that it would be beneficial for both of us if we studied together. We don't have to be friends-- just allies helping each other get into the same college."

A huge opportunity had been presented to Keitaro, the top ranked student in the nation not only lived under the same roof, she was extending an offer to study with him…again. His late study session the night before had been rather disappointing in terms of progression; he needed all the help he could get.

Obviously she's doing something right to be ranked so high.

However a part of him felt a strong suspicion as to why she was so adamant about studying with him, not to mention he still carried a grudge against her.

To get to where you need to go, sometimes you have to suck in your pride, I'm not going to get anywhere at the rate I'm going at, he thought appeasing his doubts. He would utilize her skills to help him reach his goal, a stepping stone to aide him to the top. I told myself to grab any opportunity I could, no matter what it was. I'm taking this one.

"All right, Narusegawa, I accept, but I only on one condition. You must seal the hole in your room, before we can begin studying together."

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Fourth period: the noise of frantic scribbling pencils filled the room as the students hurried to finish the timed test.

"Three more minutes," Hayate called out, glancing at his wrist watch.

"Ara… excuse me?"

Hayate turned to the woman, welcoming her with a warm smile. "Can I help you?"

She smiled back, handing him an application form. "I'm a student from the Okinawa region and just got transferred into this class."

"Another commuter, huh? I'm not from here either, but it's not as far as Okinawa, that's quite impressive," he said, copying down the information from her form onto the attendance sheet.

"Well it looks you're all set, uhh…" he shot a quick glance at her application. "…Mutsumi is it?"

She nodded.

"Well I'm glad that you've decided to take this class, Mutsumi. By the way, my name is Hayate, I'll be your instructor for this course."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Hayate-san" said Mutsumi.

"Please, just call me Hayate; I hate formalities," he scanned the room, searching for open seats. "Ahh…there's one. You can sit over there next to…hmm… I'm still not quite familiar with everyone's names yet… I believe his name is Keitaro."

Upon hearing the teacher call his name; Keitaro looked up, his eyes first on Hayate and then traveling to the woman standing beside the desk…

…their eyes met.

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