A/N: Sorry for the late update, people. I, very unfortunately, got myself hooked on the RPG Ahriman's Prophecy. I finally beat it though, so now I'm back with chapter 13, the start of arc two of Amongst the Dead and the beginning of Harry's short stay in Japan. Sorry, TheDon1023, but no, this will not be a Bleach crossover (though I do have one planned in the far future- see my profile). A fan favorite from another, much loved, manga will show up in a couple chapters, though, and I personally believe he's cooler then Ichigo… or any Soul Reaper, for that matter.

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Love Hina, Harry Potter, and Hellsing, but I obviously don't. Oh, the pain! The agony!

Chapter 13: Enter Shinobu Maehara!

A month later, Harry, Selene, and Michael found themselves in an apartment in Japan, unpacking their stuff as movers came in with couches, cabinets, and other furniture, courtesy of Hellsing Agency.

Harry, who had been enrolled at the local high school, found himself looking forward to being a high school student, something that he had thought impossible before, especially with being forced to go to Hogwarts, then running away from his fellow Alternates and Lycans (Alucard's name for them had quickly caught on). This would give him the chance to make friends his own age who wouldn't faint or stutter at the name of Harry Potter.

Finishing his unpacking, Harry looked around his medium sized room, deciding on what to do. Figuring he might as well start reconnaissance of the areas close by, he grabbed his MP3 player and headed outside, telling Selene and Michael he was going for a walk.

Strangely enough, despite the rigorous military training he received, he soon found himself doing more sightseeing then reconnaissance… which really couldn't be helped, seeing as how he'd never been off the English Isles until now. But that's what you get when you've been abused, killed, and hunted for most of your childhood: you get a little repressed.

…Which explained why he didn't see the short, grocery-laden bluette he was on a straight collision course with.

OoOoO

Maehara Shinobu was walking back from the grocery store, two giant bags of food laden in her arms. It was a Sunday, which left her a bit worried, because she had school the next day and hadn't started the paper she was supposed to write. She still had to decide what to write about, which was a bit hard because her sempai, Urashima Keitaro (who also happened to be the landlord of the girl's dormitory she was currently staying at) wasn't there to help her, as he was studying abroad in America. Despite his clumsiness, forgetfulness, and perversions (He wasn't really perverted, but Naru, his girlfriend-that-really-wasn't-his-girlfriend, kept on calling him that until one instinctively thought of him as such), he was always such a great help to her. It was only because of him and his tutoring that she got into the high school of her choice.

She sighed. Of all the men she had to fall in love with, she had to fall in love with the one man that was already infatuated with someone that, though she would never admit it in public, was madly in love with him, too. She knew it wasn't healthy for her to pine away for a man that was so far out of reach now, but she really couldn't help it! He was the first and only boy to truly try to know her. Sure, the high school had boys, but they were interested in nothing more then cars, games, and how to get into a girl's panties. The other girls may find that charming, but she for one didn't!

She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice the figure walking towards her until they bumped into each other, making her drop her grocery bags and letting all the food roll out. She let out a small "eep" and started apologizing profusely, getting down on bended knee to pick up the escaped groceries. "Oh! I'm so sorry, sir! I must have started daydreaming or something and I didn't look where I was going and…"

The deep chuckle she got made her look up through the blue-black hair bangs that had fallen over her eyes, and she found herself staring into the greenest eyes she'd ever seen. Mesmerized, it took all her will power to break the gaze. When she did, she found herself looking at a black-haired gaijin… a rather handsome black-haired gaijin that worked out, if what she could see through the simple black t-shirt he wore with his jeans was any indication. She couldn't help the blush that crept onto her cheeks.

"Don't worry about it, ma'am. If anything, I should be the one apologizing!" The stranger said. He gave her a disarming grin as he got on his knees and helped her gather the food.

"But-but I wasn't looking where I was going!"

"I wasn't either, even though I should have, since I'm not the one with groceries. So like I said, I should be apologizing." He finished putting all her things back in her bags, then stood up and bowed. "Gomen-nasai," he said, before going on his way.

Shinobu watched as he walked down the street and turned a corner. How strange… the man was obviously a foreigner, yet he spoke Japanese like he was born in the country. Maybe he was…? But it wasn't really her concern; she needed to get home before Su or Naru-sempai tried to cook, which could only end in disaster. Putting the stranger out of her mind, she started for Hinata House once again.

OoOoO

The next day, Shinobu arrived at school to find all of the girls whispering amongst themselves, with accompanying giggles every once in a while. 'Probably talking about some idol or whatnot… again,' she thought to herself before rolling her eyes at the ridiculousness of that particular obsession.

When she walked into her class, she found that the teacher for the first class hadn't arrived yet, and the chatting was even more intense than outside. Sitting at her desk, she asked the girl next to her, her friend Yuki, about it. "What's all the excitement about?"

Yuki looked at her in surprise. "You mean you don't know?" she asked in return.

"Know what?"

"There's a new student coming in today, and he's supposed to be really cute!"

"Cute? And how cute is 'really cute'?"

"Well, you know Hiyasaka from the other class?"

Shinobu's interest was pricked; Hiyasaka Kimiko had to be the most faithful girlfriend on the face of Japan. Ever since she met her boyfriend (now a sophomore) she only had eyes for him… period. The fact that the words "cute guy" and "Hiyasaka" came up in the same conversation, with the "cute guy" not being her boyfriend (presumably; it would have been a mite bit strange if Hiyasaka WAS talking about her boyfriend)… "What about her?" Shinobu asked, very curious.

"She's the one who let it slip about the cute new guy."

Shinobu's eyes nearly popped. Hiyasaka… noticed? It was either the end of the world, or this guy was the god of all sex gods.

Before she could get anymore details, the teacher walked in, followed by someone who was, unfortunately, blocked from Shinobu's sight by all the girls that had stood up as soon as the door opened, trying to get a better view. She could hear sighs coming from the front of the room.

"Settle down!" The teacher shouted over the clamor, and all the girls sat down, "Class, we have a new student." He turned to the rather familiar looking stranger, whose eyes had widened almost incomprehensibly upon laying eyes on Shinobu before going back to giving the class in general a friendly look. "Potter-san, if you would introduce yourself?" the teacher asked.

He nodded to the teacher before giving the class a respectful bow. "Konnichiwa. My name is Harry James Potter, and I just recently moved here. I was previously home schooled, so please, excuse me if I act a little… weird; I really have no idea what of what I'm supposed to do as a high school student," he said, giving a charming grin that had several girls visibly swooning."

"Thank you, Potter-san," the teacher said when he finished, "Please take your seat. It's the empty one in the back."

Potter-san nodded once more before making his way to the back, the girls staring at him the whole time… well, most of them, anyways.

Shinobu was the one exception; she just sat there in shock. It was the man from yesterday! Or… she had thought he was a man. But now, on closer inspection, she saw that he was really around her age, though there was something about him- something she couldn't quite place a finger on- that made him seem older. Either way though, she was shocked to see him again.

"Shinobu-chan? You alright?" Yuki quietly asked her, rousing her from her surprise-induced stupor.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She whispered back, before grabbing her notebook and pencil and taking notes on the teacher's lecture, trying her hardest not to turn around and look at the not-so-new boy.

OoOoO

Later that day, Shinobu stepped off the bus in front of the local library, intent on doing some studying for another paper she had to do. The day had been altogether tiring for her, what with having the mysterious and handsome stranger show up in her class like in some shojo manga, having to hand in her half-assed paper (that she hadn't finished until this morning due to an impromptu drinking binge started by Kitsune the night before, a drinking binge that had involved all the older residents and eventually degenerated into a noisy and rather distracting- though funny- karaoke sing-off) and getting a tongue lashing for it, being bugged by Yuki about her reaction to Potter-san. At the end of the day, the teacher had assigned them a short research paper (200 words. Argh) on the discovery of the heliocentric nature of the solar system, due the next day. She sighed as she made her way to the library entrance; her life, as of right now, officially sucked.

After grabbing as many books as she could, she made her way to the table she usually used during research projects such as these, put her stuff down, and grabbed one of the books from her pile. She settled herself down to read, glanced up at the clock to see how much time she had… and promptly had her sight land on a certain black-haired gaijin sitting at her table and across from her, engrossed in a book.

It was then that the gaijin looked up from his book and, when he saw Shinobu staring at him in shock, dryly said, "You know, I think someone up there is trying to tell us something."

"What, that I have a stalker?" Shinobu uncharacteristically let slip out before she could think- the day had really been getting to her. She immediately gave a soft "eep" and covered her mouth, realizing what she had said. "I'm so sorry! That was so rude of me…"

The gaijin gave a pleasant, deep laugh that, for some strange reason, sent a shiver down her spine. "Don't worry about it, ma'am. I probably would have said the same in your position."

"Oh…" There was an awkward silence as the gaijin went back to reading his book. The silence getting too oppressive, Shinobu tried to start another conversation, "Well… erm… are you here to do the paper we got?"

"That? Nope. I finished already. It's not all that hard."

Shinobu's eyes bugged. He finished? Already? It wasn't even an hour after school ended!

"Need help?" the gaijin offered, seeing her look of distress.

"I… yes please," She sighed, blushing slightly.

"Alright." He put his book down, then stuck out his hand. "By the way, I'm Harry Potter."

She took the hand and shook it. "Shinobu Maehara," she returned, saying her family name last, as in the western tradition.

"Alright, Maehara-san." He gave her a grin, and she felt her legs get strangely weak for a moment, though she was already sitting in a chair. He pulled out a book from somewhere underneath the table and flipped it to a particular page. He pointed at a particular passage and began.

"Now, popular history tells us that the heliocentric theory was first proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus in 1514, but the origins of the theory go back further then that, to ancient Greece, when the Pythagoreans…"

A/N: Wow… fluff is surprisingly hard to write. It's really a challenge trying to keep it from being too cheesy, but still give people that romantic setting… that, and trying not to wretch at the seemingly corniness of it all. I think I did a pretty decent job for a first time, though… well, actually, I must make a confession: this ISN'T my first time writing fluff. I'd actually tried before with a Tenchi Muyo!/Dragonball crossover, but my Sasami/OC fluff was beyond crap. Thankfully, it's been a few years since then, so I've been able to refine my talents a bit… that, and I grew up- I'd written it when I was fourteen.

Oh, and before you ask, no, I never posted it up; I never even had it typed, and it's still written down on a pile of binder paper somewhere at home, hopefully never to see the light of day ever again… though you never know… heh heh heh…

Review!