'We Fell in Love'
Disclaimer: Ken Akamatsu wrote 'Love Hina' and he owns the rights. This tale written for fun, and I seek no re-dress from it.
Writer's notes: This is a fun story and thoroughly Alternate Universe/Out of Character from the manga series, as I enjoy going off canon for this quite different romantic tale.
This story is set in more contemporary than the manga was. Also, it has nothing to do with the anime.
An opening thought…
For some the hand of fate has never brought true love into their lives. For some it might be love at first sight and the red string of enishi has the pair recognizing it right away. For others, recognition by the participants will be absent at first and just might need some help in seeing the missing pieces. When you are young, enishi could go unseen, as many people need seasoning by life's experiences before they are ready to see that certain someone with whom they will be with on their life's journey together.
And now we begin…
-Chapter 1: Kitsune-
"Kitsune, are you up yet?" queried her roommate from the top bunk barely conscious.
Having not heard an alarm clock go off, she naturally assumed that the other woman was still asleep down below.
"Kitsune, come on," the woman said again in a whiny tone about an hour later. Opening her eyes, she regretted doing so because the bright morning sunshine was flooding the room.
Squinting, she then looked over at her clock.
What did she see you may ask? 7:45 a.m. read the LED lit little monstrosity that has been the bane of every college student the world over.
Having groaned after she had rolled onto her other side, the young woman then leaned over the edge of her upper bunk to see if Kitsune was still in bed. Almost calling out the other woman's name again, she spied that her bunk was not only empty but was somewhat made today. Sure, the job was not perfect but the occupant did not appear to be a total slob.
"Hmmm…," she mused and sat up. With a quick look around her room, she took a deep breath taken and climbed out of her bunk. Reaching the floor, the young woman stretched to get the kinks out of her limbs.
When she leaned forward to work out her hamstrings, she caught a glimpse of the hand written note on her desk:
Mariko-san,
I got up quietly this morning because I have an early shift at the Urashima Confectionary in downtown Tokyo today and I did not want to wake you.
I did not drink your OJ because I will get a good breakfast at work.
I will bring dinner home.
See ya tonight, Kit
Mariko read this and realized that her roomy was back to being busy after she had returned from her summer holiday in Osaka.
"Okay," she said as she went to grab her orange and have breakfast.
Seated at her desk after she washed her few dishes, Mariko wondered what she was going to do this day.
-Meanwhile-
On a tram headed to the business district of downtown Tokyo, is one Konno Mitsune aka Kitsune. Having turned twenty back on August 1st, she is also student at the Tokyo University of the Arts majoring in journalism. Taking this particular tram on a regular basis, she waited for her stop to come up.
The reason, Kitsune was headed to a place she enjoyed working at because her employer treated her extremely well. Also, she liked the people who worked there along with the items that they served. They made the candy and bakery products themselves on the premises and her salary there was relatively good. When she volunteered to help at any of their six stores in the metro area, he paid her extra. The latter came in handy along with the treats that she took home after closing time.
When she left her dorm room, Kitsune had her backpack slung over one shoulder. Just like most of today's modern college students, it has her life inside. In it was her wallet, a new laptop, cell phone, the syllabus for her upcoming semester and a new agreement from the Tokyo Shinbun, so she did not hurt financially. She could quit the bakery, but she was having too much fun working there. (Shinbun= newspaper)
Her editor told her that her columns were becoming very popular with young people her age. They want her to write more about the happy times and problems that University women are going through these days to get ahead. Kitsune is very familiar with this particular subject. She has many experiences from her own life to write about.
The last check she received from the Shinbun not only paid for half a semester of school, but her ticket home to see her mother and older brother during the summer break. 'That trip was a lot of fun' she thought as she hopped off the tram at her stop.
The sidewalk outside of the store is as busy as ever. The owner has always stated that getting this location was an act of good Karma and/or divine intervention. In Romaji and Nihongo, the sign over the entrance read as follows, 'Urashima Chocolatier and Bakery, est. 1997'.
It seems that everyone in Japan had a sweet tooth and seemingly wished to satisfy it here.
"Ohayō, mina. Ohayō Urashima-san," said Kitsune breathlessly coming in the front door and stepping behind the counter. (Ohayō= Good morning (informal)) This was her first day of work since she had returned from her summer holiday.
In the back office, Kitsune placed her bag on the desk and grabbed a clean apron off a shelf nearby. She perused the latest schedule that her boss had posted on the pegboard after saw that she was the acting manager after the owner Urashima Kenichi left for the day.
Nodding at this, Kitsune smiled and moved on.
Next, she stepped over to where a thermos of tea and one of coffee sat on large table along with some pastries.
After downing some of the strong coffee and a couple of Danish, she started in on her day.
"Welcome back, Kitsune-san," said Kenichi who smiled at her and then asked, "Did you have fun in Osaka while you were away?"
He liked having the ash-blonde Osakan behind the counter, as she knew how to please the regular customers with her smile, friendliness and wit.
'Just maybe,' mused Kenichi as an afterthought. He had been going hard at it since 4 a.m. and when finished here, he still other places to go. It helped that he had trained a good staff to keep his places going until closing time, so life here was good.
"Yes, Urashima-san," answered Kitsune who stepped behind the counter after her impromptu breakfast. In the early morning, it was usually so busy around the shop that she did not have a chance to say anything more than just a quick greeting. Everyone was now almost running flat out just trying to keep up with their customers. This was the usual scenario around here, so it is a good thing that she ate those pastries when she did because her lunchbreak today would be a late one.
"Oh, Kitsune," said Kenichi a short time later as he rolled out another rack of sweets to re-stock the fast-emptying shelves, "Before you leave today, take a look in the walk-in. There are two bags of special treats for you on the back shelf because I know tomorrow's your birthday."
The normal cacophony and kerfuffle of store activity just about muffled his words.
"Oh yeah, also check the schedule Kitsune if you haven't yet," added her boss, "You're acting manager for the rest of the day. I have to leave in a short while, family business."
Even so, the register kept ringing while product flew out the door and into the open mouths of some extremely happy people.
"Okay, Urashima-san," said Kitsune who happily acknowledged her boss, "I've read it already."
Then it was right back at it.
-Early in the evening-
"Hey, Kit. What've you got there?" asked Mariko who knew that Kitsune usually returned home from work at about this time.
Having set the bags of goodies from her boss on the floor for a moment, Kitsune closed the door behind her. After she changed into her slippers, she then walked the short distance over to their little kitchenette and placed the bags on the counter.
Out of curiosity, Mariko came over to where Kitsune was as she emptied the contents from the bags.
"We have treats of all kinds plus those meats buns you love from Urashima's," said Kitsune in a breathless manner as she smiled at how generous her boss was for her birthday, "Mariko-chan, look at this, here's those Choco-cherries that you love. You can have them, but these dipped pretzels are mine. These bags are really full." The generosity of her boss is one of the reasons why she works so hard at his shops.
"Are the meat buns for dinner tonight, Kit?" asked Mariko who made a pitcher of fresh ice tea for the two of them, and then added, "I stopped at the market earlier and picked up deli made nori and fresh wasabi."
"They'd be good together," said Kitsune, "as I like wasabi with just about everything."
"Yeah, I know Kit," said Mariko as a comeback in mock disgust, "you even added a big dollop in the nabe I made for us last winter."
"I only put it in my portion after it was already in my bowl. You just like everything so plain," said Kitsune as she giggled at her roommate's dislike of spicy food and condiments.
Afterwards, Kitsune sat her desk, unloaded the contents of her backpack and thought about what had transpired that day. It was a very busy day that only got more so after her boss had clocked out.
The product that they made today just flew out the front door boggling her mind with how popular Urashima's had become. The bakers and candy makers everyday have their work cut out for them, but that made the day go by faster until the 5 o'clock p.m. closing time. Locking the place up before she and her fellow employees get the place to look immaculate for the next morning, they all knew that Urashima-san or one of his senior bakers would be back at 4 a.m. to start everything up all over again.
Kitsune, after having her tea, grabbed her basket and headed over to the locker room in their dormitory to clean up from work.
Not lonely because of all her friends, she did not have anyone special in her life right now. The young man she dated in high school tried to take advantage of her because she was better developed than her classmates were. Breaking up after kicking him in the balls, she held her older brother back from ripping her ex-boyfriend in half. Mitsune and her brother are very close to their mother since their father had deserted the family when they were young. The whole of the Konno family had drawn together and had become very tight. When accepted into the Tokyo University of the Arts in Yokohama, her mother and older brother took her out for dinner, before they presented her with her first laptop and a statement which said that her first semester was paid-in-full.
Yes, she was also very beautiful, though she did not care about that right now. Mitsune could use her looks and body as a weapon, but she was having too much fun right now with school, her friends and work. She was not into the dating scene, as that held no interest for her.
She wanted to wait for the right man to come along.
-End of Chapter-