Disclaimer – Love Hina and respective characters are properties of Ken Akamatsu. This is simply a Fan Fiction, written for non-profit purposes only. Please do not distribute without the author's permission.
Many thanks go out to the amazingly talented people who I am proud to call my beta-readers: TheArchimage, One Man Cult, and dementedchris. My grammar is really poor and yet they were able to put up with it! Special thanks go out to those readers who reviewed Episode 1. Those comments were absolutely great and I am very happy to hear them. Send all mail to: ia_si@hotmail.com
Episode 2 – A Portrait to the Past
"What time is it?" Urashima Keitaro grumbled as he woke up groggily. The night before, the residents of Hinata-sou had thrown a big party to welcome their new guest, Arai Kenichi. With this specific party, Keitaro had downed one drink too many. 'Or was it four too many?' he thought to herself. Last night he had a drinking contest with the newcomer, but not only did Kenichi easily win over him; he challenged Mutsumi and Mitsune right afterwards. Keitaro gave out a sigh and did a morning stretch.
"I must be getting old," he said out loud. "At least my hangover isn't too bad."
*Yawn* "What's going to happen today?"
He looked up to the ceiling of the room and noticed the covered hole. Although Naru suggested that he could sleep in her room while Kenichi was staying in his, he ended up sleeping in his own room anyway. He looked across the room where Kenichi should have been.
"He hasn't changed at all since America," he said to himself. Keitaro went about cleaning the room from yesterday's party.
"I wonder what Kenichi is up to," Keitaro wondered. He gave his arms another stretch as he checked the time. "Ah geez! It's almost breakfast and I haven't done any of my manager duties yet."
Keitaro hastily changed into some working clothes and dashed outside to start his chores.
*Slip* *BAAM* Keitaro slowly picked himself up from the slippery ground.
"Oww…who did the floors this time?"
"Haha, good morning sunshine!" Keitaro looked up and saw an energetic Kenichi with a bucket of water in one hand, and a brush in the other.
"What have you been up to?"
"Well…after waking up, I went around the place looking for something to do. Seeing how tired everyone was from last night, I decided to clean the place up. I think I did everything already…hold on… nope I haven't cleaned the outdoor baths yet.
"Thanks friend, but I'll take care of the baths," Keitaro said. "Besides, I'm the manager, remember?"
"Haha, you go right at it then," Kenichi replied with an honest smile. "I'll just go find something else to do in the meantime. Maybe I'll cook breakfast, seeing how everyone is still asleep."
"Even Shinobu? And are you sure you want to cook breakfast?"
"Yeah Shinobu is still out. Poor girl…probably isn't used to drinking so much sake. And yeah, I'll cook."
"Are you sure?"
"What are you implying? I've cooked for you many times in the past!"
"Haha… go right on ahead then." Keitaro walked toward the outdoor baths and grinned. 'This is going to be an interesting day.'
****************************************
"Is breakfast done yet?" A hung over Mitsune stumbled down the stairs as she made her way to the dining hall. Right in front of her was her friend Kaolla whom, although was up all night too, was already well excited and energetic.
"Shinobu just woke up!" Kaolla exclaimed. "She drank too much yesterday too!"
"Ahh…I'm sorry," Shinobu apologized. Shinobu's balance seemed off as she walked toward the dining hall. "After seeing Arai-senpai drink so much I wanted to try some too."
"Don't sweat it Shinobu," Mitsune said with a laugh. "You'll be able to out drink that guy some day… if you really wanted to that is. He sure gave me a run for my money though… So what's for breakfast?"
"Oh no! I haven't started yet!" Shinobu pouted. She dashed towards the kitchen only to slam into the wall as she saw the dining hall table.
"Shinobu, are you alright?" Mitsune asked. She looked at the table and immediately her senses flared. "Everything smells and looks so good! Who made this?!"
"What's going on?" Motoko said as she, Mutsumi and Sara slowly entered the dining hall.
Kenichi walked out from the kitchen with an apron and a chef's hat on.
"Morning everyone!" Kenichi greeted enthusiastically.
"Arai-kun, did you make all of this?"
"Yep, I sure did Mutsumi-san. I woke up early and had nothing better to do…"
"Wait a second!" Mitsune shouted. "You drank more than all of us combined! How come you don't have a hang-over?!"
"He's a young male from America," Sara said while looking at Mitsune. "I bet all he did was drink back when he was in high school."
"Kenichi made food!" Kaolla jumped closer to the table and tried some of the meat that Kenichi had prepared. She sniffed it first to take in the alluring aroma and then placed it in her mouth. "Blaah! It's awful!"
"What?!" Everyone shouted.
"Really? Is it really that bad? Maybe I can't cook after all." Kenichi turned around and began to mumble something.
"Alright then, have dessert first!" He took out a plate of watermelon slices and presented it to Mutsumi.
"Aiyee!! I love watermelon Arai-kun!" She took several slices and stuffed them in her mouth.
"Yeah, I know. Keitaro would never stop talking about you guys back in America. When I got here, it was as though I already knew all of you."
"That's nice Kenichi but we can't just eat watermelon for breakfast." Mitsune grumbled.
"I'm sorry. I'll just toss these out first and start over again…"
"Wait Arai-senpai!" Shinobu yelled. "I know what's missing from them. Give them to me and I can have breakfast done quickly."
"You'll do that? Great! I'll help you then."
****************************************
'It has been rather tiring around here lately,' Keitaro thought to himself. With the school year heading into summer holidays and Kenichi becoming a temporary resident, things around Hinata-sou hadn't been the same. 'But then again, things are never normal around here.' He smiled and continued on with his scrubbing of the outside bath.
"I wonder how Kenichi is doing with the cooking," Keitaro said out loud.
"That is exactly the problem."
Keitaro looked toward the exit and found Naru standing there. Her face, although hidden behind her large glasses, showed that she was not pleased with something.
"Why is Kenichi doing all the work around here, Keitaro?"
Keitaro dropped his broom and braced himself for an argument. He could tell from her mood that he would not be able to easily get out of this one.
"Narusegawa… Kenichi is a very close friend… and he… umm… feels that my duties are also his duties. I never forced him to do anything."
Naru's mood quickly changed to one of annoyance as she listened to what Keitaro had said. "What a pathetic excuse Keitaro. You are the manager! He's a guest! Therefore he should not have to do anything." Naru took several steps toward Keitaro to close in the space between them. The last one she took made her slip and she fell into Keitaro. The force was more then enough to drop them both to the ground, with Naru on top and Keitaro below her.
"The floor is slippery, Narusegawa. You should've been more careful."
In any other situation, Naru would have beaten Keitaro for not warning her sooner. But as she looked into Keitaro's eyes she saw his genuine care. Keitaro didn't know what Naru was going to do to him, and so he prepared himself for the worst.
"Thanks for breaking my fall," Naru gently said.
"Eh? Oh…you're welcome."
The two of them stared at each other for a period of time, recognizing how often they get into this kind of situation, and how interesting it always was.
"This happens a lot doesn't it," Keitaro said quietly. Naru giggled a bit and slowly moved her lips closer to Keitaro's.
"Narusega…."
"Shh…"
"Good morning you two." At the entrance to the outdoor bath was Haruka, pulling out a cigarette and lighter. Her eyes gave away that she had been up all night. "You two are sure right at it today."
Keitaro and Naru jumped back up and cleaned themselves up. They nervously laughed as they realized that they were being watched the whole time.
"Shouldn't you have knocked or something Haruka-san?" Naru asked.
"Just wanted to see how far you two would go this time." Haruka took a puff of her cigarette and turned away from Keitaro and Naru. Keitaro saw the look on Haruka's face and asked about it.
"Auntie Haruka, what have you been doing all night?!"
Haruka moved towards Keitaro and gave him a walloping punch that sent him flying.
"None of your business, and it's Haruka-san to you," she said in a monotone. She took another puff from her cigarette and gave out a sigh. "Naru, would you happen to know where Seta would be?"
"Eep!" Naru was nervous. The tired and yet passive mood of Haruka did not seem very pleasant at all. Any answer Naru gave her could be trouble. "Ah… he could be… digging around here."
Haruka looked at Naru with slight annoyance. She turned away from Naru and began to mumble to herself. "How could he leave me after last night…"
"What about last night Aunt Haruka?" Keitaro asked as he finally got back to the outdoor bath.
"Mind your own business!" Haruka exclaimed with another furious punch. She wiped her hands off of herself and looked at Naru again. Her face seemed to have calmed down and showed the normal Haruka that everyone was accustomed with. "Naru, if you see Seta, please tell him that he is in big trouble when he gets back."
"Umm… okay Haruka-san." Naru replied. "I'll be sure to tell him that."
As Haruka left, Naru sighed. She then turned around and headed toward the direction Keitaro flew off to. "Stupid, big-mouth Keitaro. Always causing trouble for yourself. How badly will I have to bandage you up this time?"
****************************************
Finally breakfast was served and everyone was at the table. When Keitaro showed up, everyone questioned what he did to Naru this time. They were surprised to find out that Keitaro got Haruka-san angry this time.
"Wow Kenichi!" Keitaro said. "This is actually good! How did this happen?"
"It's because I wasn't the one who made it. Shinobu was the chef this time."
"That isn't true!" Shinobu exclaimed. "I only fixed it up a little bit. Arai-senpai was the one who prepared all the dishes."
"What idiots those two are," Sara commented.
"Ara ara." Mutsumi laughed. "You two argue like a couple!"
Kenichi and Shinobu blushed a dark colour of red and looked away from each other.
"Haha… I don't think that is the case Mutsumi-san," Kenichi tried to point out.
Keitaro saw how uncomfortable Shinobu was and tried to change the topic.
"I knew Kenichi could never cook this well. Back in America he would always try to cook for Seta and I. Haha… the problem would always be the same though. Kenichi had a habit of forgetting an important ingredient or skipping a step in the recipe. So the appearance of the dish was always deceptive of its actual taste.
"So that's why you didn't want me to cook," Kenichi said to Keitaro. "How come you just didn't say that?"
"I thought you would remember. Oh well… it's still really good, even if it did need a little bit of Shinobu's help."
Motoko placed her rice bowl down. She remembered the times she had tried cooking for everyone. The comments that she got were not always pleasant. She looked at Kenichi and Keitaro.
"Even if Arai's cooking skills may not be the greatest, he did try to make us a good meal." Motoko was about to mention the fact that Kenichi was a guest, but the thought of it made her shiver. She could not forgive him yet for what had happened the other day.
Everyone stared at Motoko in disbelief. Kaolla even put her rice bowl down to look at Motoko.
"Am I not right?" Motoko asked. She was very uncomfortable.
'Why did I have to go and say that?' she thought.
"Umm… thank you Aoyama," Kenichi said.
Motoko didn't say anything as she realized the situation that just occurred. She had just supported the pervert and now the pervert was thanking her for it.
"He's trying to thank you Motoko-chan," Naru said.
"Huh? Oh… you're welcome Arai." Motoko looked at Kenichi and saw his honest eyes. A glint of light gave his eyes a dashing look to him. 'Gaah, what am I thinking?! He's a pervert!'
Completely unaware of the two, the others went back to eating breakfast. Kaolla was the first to finish. She jumped out of her chair, and knocked Keitaro right off his.
"Kenichi, you want to play another game after breakfast?"
"Yeah sure," Kenichi replied. "Right after I help Shinobu with the dishes."
Naru gently elbowed Keitaro's side.
"You don't have to Kenichi," Keitaro said while looking nervously at Naru. "I'll do the dishes."
****************************************
Motoko was meditating in her room; her thoughts now focused on Kenichi. She had many questions she wanted answered, but she could never just go up to him and ask. He bothered her to no end. Just yesterday Mutsumi-san said something about a strange energy within Kenichi. What exactly had Mutsumi picked up? Seta, Keitaro and Kenichi just laughed it off and so Motoko thought nothing more of it. But there was something to Kenichi that she could not put her finger on. Something about him made her feel weird inside. 'A presence,' she thought. At times like this, she only wished her older sister, Tsuruko, was there to guide her. A notion that she may feel love for Kenichi was quickly suppressed as she told herself that she knew what love was. Love, she told herself, was the feeling she had for Keitaro, and definitely not for Kenichi. She began an ancient family meditation to help her understand more. She was falling into a trance…
********************
She was transported to another world. A world that could have been Kenichi's, she wasn't sure. The meditation technique was never accurate. She looked around her surroundings. The world around her was heavenly. She looked around and felt at peace. White clouds and a calm light flooded the skies. The landscape was peaceful as her eyes saw the lush amount of life. It was tranquil and serene as she took in each breath of air. It was a world that had no chaos or disorder. But this was not the answer she was seeking. Although she would have enjoyed staying at such a magnificent garden of life, she needed to continue on her quest. She took a step, and then another, and she followed wherever her instinct told her. After a short while of travel, she saw a large settlement up ahead. What she was seeking for must be in that area she thought. The pathway towards the gates was good-natured as animals of all kinds came out to greet her. She knew that danger could be lurking near. After confirming that her sword was with her, she took the last leg of the path to the gates.
What she saw only confused her more. The gate had a face-like mask in the middle of it. On one half of the mask was a demonic face, sinister and foul. On the other half was an angelic face, empathetic and honest. It made no sense to her. It was not the answer she was searching for. Just then the world became dark and gloomy. She heard a beast-like cry from behind the gates. Preparing herself for what could be a battle, she unsheathed her sword. The gates exploded and out came a ferocious beast. With a monstrous body and demonic claws it began its attack on her. Using all the skills and techniques she had obtained through her life, she tried to her best to put up a fight. The demon beast was too much as it slowly, but surely, out fought her. Although she had never in her life given up so easily, it was clear who was the stronger fighter. Suddenly, a man-like angel came out beside her. It charged at the demon beast and managed to push it back into the gates. After seeing such sights her morale was boosted and she tried to help the fight. She took up her sword again and braced herself for battle. The angel, seeing this, charged at her. It was not a harmful charge she realized as she gently fell. The angel only wanted to save her. As her sight began to blur, she saw the demon beast living the gates and striking the her saviour.
********************
Motoko came out of her trance. 'What was all of that? Was this about Kenichi? How could it?' Thoughts and questions flooded her mind as she tried to come in terms with what she just witnessed.
'Could it be my fate that I just saw?" she thought. That question made the most sense to her. She quickly recounted every fact she knew about Kenichi and still, nothing was any clearer. She stood up and wiped sweat off of her brow.
"I should change into something else," she said to herself.
She took off her top and looked at the mirror. Lately she had been wrapping her chest really tightly causing her some troubles breathing.
'Maybe I should just wear that bra Keitaro got me.' She smiled at how he gotten her such a silly gift for Christmas that one time.
Suddenly Kenichi charged into the room. "I finally found you, Kaolla!" He stopped right away when he realized the fatal mistake he had done. "I… uh… me… ran… AHH!"
A raging aura was being emitted from Motoko. With one hand she covered her chest. The other hand unsheathed her sword. Her eyes were maddeningly evil and the sight of it took away the colour from Kenichi's body.
"PERVERT!"
"I'm so sorry!" Kenichi finally pulled himself together again and started running.
"Ougi Zangan Ken!"
"AHH!"
****************************************
"Where did he go?!" Motoko snarled to herself. After she struck him with one of her secret techniques, she tried to chase him down as he ran. "He is pretty fast for a pervert. Huh? What's this?"
She picked up a wallet. Checking to see whose it could've been, she was shocked to see a picture of a beautiful, young girl.
"This is Arai's wallet," Motoko said as she saw his name on a card. "But this girl… she looks a lot like Naru-senpai."
"You must've found Kenichi's wallet." Keitaro walked up to her and gently took the wallet away. "He has a habit of dropping his stuff and looking for it later. Don't worry, I'll save you the trouble and give it back to him myself."
As Keitaro walked away, Motoko found herself unable to speak. 'Could it have been a picture of Naru-senpai?' she thought to herself. 'Does Keitaro know about the picture?'
****************************************
The attic of Hinata-sou was the usual ground for any plan of action. Dank and dark, the attic could keep whatever that has been discussed a secret. It was the place where the residents could get together and strategize against a foe.
"Is everyone here?" Motoko asked. "Where is Naru?"
"Naru-chan and Urashima-kun went for a walk together," Mutsumi replied.
"It's okay, we do not need her just yet."
Motoko organized her thoughts and prepared what she was about to say. "When I was trying to track down Arai today I found his wallet on the ground. At first I did not know that it was his, but his name inside confirmed it."
Everyone was now paying attention to what she was about to say. Motoko would never call upon a meeting if it were not a serious matter.
"What surprised me was a picture in his wallet of a young girl. The young girl looked a lot like Naru-senpai."
Shock filled the room as everyone was trying to come to terms what this could mean. Mitsune was the first to pick up on what Motoko was worried about.
"If the picture is of Naru, then that could mean that Keitaro may not be her promised one."
"That is exactly what I am worried about, Kitsune," Motoko said.
"But Motoko-sempai, Kenichi was born in America," Shinobu said in a worried manner. "Urashima-senpai told us that."
"Just because he was born in America does not mean he may have traveled here when younger," Motoko replied calmly. "His poor memory also supports that fact. Nonetheless we need to get a better look at that picture. We may even need to show it to Naru."
Mitsune had the look of a tactician. "Our only option… is to get that picture."
Everyone looked at Mitsune and Motoko. Although they were unsure of what this all could mean, they agreed to support Motoko. Following the agreement, they all began to plan on what actions to take.
****************************************
"Although I wanted to get away from Aoyama, I wonder where everyone else is." Kenichi was now wandering the great halls of Hinata-sou. He took several turns at each hallway and ended up in an area he hadn't gotten around to venture in before. "This place is pretty big once you realize it."
"Arai, you have something that I want!" Motoko said as she appeared from out of a corner. She unsheathed her sword and slowly walked towards Kenichi.
'What is it that she wants this time?' Kenichi asked himself. 'Does she really want to kill me? That's seems like a possibility… better not stay and find out though.'
Kenichi turns around and ran for his life once again. 'Why am I always running from this girl? She isn't very nice now is she?'
"Hold on Arai!" Motoko yelled. "You don't understand."
He took several turns and secret passages Kaolla had shown him earlier. When he thought he had lost her, he slowed down and tried to catch his breath.
"Could… we… not… talk… about… it?"
"If you really want to Arai-kun." He looked up and what he saw sent his nose bleeding quickly. Mitsune and Mutsumi were up ahead and they were wearing some very revealing clothing.
"Why are you wearing that?!"
"It's because we have a favour to ask you," Mitsune said as she and Mutsumi got closer to Kenichi. "You see… you have something in your pants… and we want it now!"
"Eh?!" Kenichi's nose gushed out even more blood.
"If you lose any more blood Arai-kun, you are going to faint," Mutsumi said.
"But… hold on a second… what would Keitaro say about this?"
"There you are!" Motoko turned from a hallway and ran toward Kenichi. "Stop running away or you are going to make me angry!"
"Ahh! I hate to see what she would be like when she's angry then." Kenichi told himself as he sprinted away.
****************************************
It was a gorgeous Saturday morning. Not a single cloud was seen in the bright blue sky. The weather was not too hot nor was it too cool. In the town, many people were out shopping and having a good time. Two people were especially enjoying their time together outside as they walked along the market hand in hand.
"We don't get that much time to simply walk and shop together, do we Narusegawa?" a happy Keitaro asked.
"Yeah… we should do this more often." Naru placed leaned her head against Keitaro's shoulder. "Wipe that grin off your face! People will think that I'm walking with a pervert."
"Haha, really? I'm hurt by that comment, Narusegawa," Keitaro said sarcastically.
"Really? Fine… I'll buy you an apology gift." She walked up to one of the stores and looked for something in the anime section.
"I was just kidding. You really don't have to buy me a gift"
"I know you were joking dummy." She picked up a Liddo-kun plush action doll and paid the cashier. "I just feel really happy right now."
Naru gave the doll a big hug and then handed it to Keitaro. Keitaro was speechless and blushed a deep red as he accepted the doll.
"Besides, how cute would I be if I didn't buy my special guy something every now and then?" Naru asked.
"You would still be cute," Keitaro said as he leaned over and kissed Naru on the cheek.
"Keitaro…"
"Mama! I want a new toy!" A little girl asked her mom as she ran to the toyshop. Her mother quickly grabbed a hold of her and gently pulled her away.
"I'm sorry sweetie, but mama doesn't have the money for it right now."
The little girl turned toward her mom and tried to reason with her. "But mama, I've been really good… lately… and… I…. Waahh!"
"This is really sad, isn't it Keitaro?" Naru asked.
Keitaro looked at Naru with an apologetic face. He walked ahead toward the two. He crouched down until he was around the same height as the little girl.
"Hi there! I'm a little old to play with dolls, so do you want mine?"
The girl was reluctant at first but slowly took the doll away from Keitaro's hand.
"Thank you mister," she said politely.
"It's alright. Just don't cause any more trouble for your mama and always be a good girl, okay?"
Keitaro stood up again and looked at the mother. "She can have the doll if it makes her happy."
"Thank you… thank you very much kind sir," the mother said. "You are so very kind."
She looked at Naru who was in shock the whole time. "Miss… you have a very special gentleman here."
Naru snapped out of her shock and smiled. Wrapping Keitaro's arm with her own, she snuggled closer to him. "I know… I know."
****************************************
On this certain morning and particular day, a young man could be seen running around the hallways of Hinata-sou.
"Why is this happening to me?" Kenichi asked himself while running. "Sure I took a peek at Aoyama, but that was an accident. I didn't do anything wrong to the other girls so why are they chasing me?"
"Kenichi!" Kaolla yelled. "You're not getting away that easily! Sara hand me my large laser gun."
"But they are all big!"
"Just grab the largest one then!"
"You grab it! It's too big for me."
"But I'm the one hunting down Kenichi!"
"So am I, remember?"
As the two girls continued arguing Kenichi managed to get away without getting shot. "Where is Keitaro when you need him?!"
"Myuu myuu." Tama flew in from a window and was flying alongside Kenichi.
"You can fly too, little buddy? I'm impressed!"
"Myuu myuu."
"What's that? Go this way? Wait a second… I'm talking to a turtle?"
He quickly thought of all the situations since he came to Japan. Especially the time spent at Hinata-sou.
"Why am I not surprised?"
He turned toward the direction Tama was telling him to go.
"I hope you're right little buddy"
The secret passage that he went into led him into the dining hall. Not wanting to be chased anymore Kenichi dashed for the hallway leading towards the exit.
"Shinobu-chan!" Kenichi yelled excitedly as he sees her in front of the exit. "Thank goodness you're here.
He ran up and hugged Shinobu. "You will not believe what every… *BONK*"
Kenichi's head tilted to his side as a frying pan from Shinobu's hand made impact.
A frightened Shinobu dropped the frying pan and began to speak very quickly and incoherently. "You shouldn't have come so close and I get nervous when guys get close and I hit you, but I didn't want to and…"
Shinobu stopped talking and ran away weeping.
"Hold on Shinobu! I am not angry at…" Kenichi stopped half way through his sentence when he saw whom Shinobu ran behind.
"So you have made Shinobu cry." Motoko was standing with a resolute face. No anger was displayed, but that wasn't assuring for Kenichi. He got even more nervous when all of the other girls came in the room and stood alongside Motoko.
'Why me?'
****************************************
A gentle summer breeze warmed the air around the park. Keitaro and Naru were under a tree, enjoying each other's company. The warm inviting air was not enough to keep them separated. Keitaro was lying down, his head on Naru's lap. He looked up and admired Naru's beautiful face. He noticed that Naru was studying the scenery. He decided that it was the best possible moment to ask such a question.
"Naru… would you like to… try 'it' again?"
Naru changed moods quickly. She took in the question and realized what Keitaro was suggesting. The situation was perfect for it she thought. He would have to be an idiot not to ask. She couldn't do it today though. Although they have been together for so long, she didn't know how she should tell him that. Thoughts swirled her head as she tried to decide on an appropriate choice of action.
Keitaro saw Naru's hesitation. He loved her and was pretty sure she felt the same for him. Whatever reasons Naru had against doing 'it' right now were probably good ones.
'I won't force her,' he thought. 'Our love is more then that.'
"Actually I'm pretty hungry Narusegawa," he said. "How about we postpone this one more time and go back to Hinata-sou and eat."
Naru looked at Keitaro and gave him a warm, gentle smile.
'The idiot,' she thought. 'He can be so lovable sometimes.'
"Hey wait!" Naru yelled. "How come we have to go back to Hinata-sou to eat? Can't you treat me to a lunch after what I bought you?"
"Ah… I would but… I'm broke again."
"What? That's not fair! Keitaro, where are you running? Come back here!"
****************************************
"You can't run anymore, Arai," Motoko said passively. "You don't understand the situation here. Just give us what we want and everything will be okay."
'Haha… she's funny isn't she… in a cruel way.' Kenichi thought as he pictured Motoko cutting off his head. He was on the edge of the roof. It was true that he had no way of running anymore. His options were quite limited he thought. He could stay and give Motoko what she wanted or he could take his chances and jump off.
"It's not a difficult choice once you think about," Kenichi said out loud. He turned away from Motoko and looked down.
"Wait Arai!" Motoko yelled. "Don't do something so foolish!"
Keitaro turned halfway to give Motoko a grin. "Well if you were me and I were you then this wouldn't seem so foolish now would it?" He faced the ground again and leapt off the roof.
"NO!" Motoko screamed. She put away her sword and jumped in pursuit of Kenichi.
'Arai you fool,' she thought. 'It wasn't my intent to hurt you.'
Everyone else was on the roof, witnessing the whole scenario from a far.
"I can't believe he jumped like that," Shinobu cried.
"Maybe Kenichi is immortal like Keitaro," Kaolla suggested.
"I doubt it," Mitsune said. "Maybe he can take a hit, but no one else could be like Keitaro. Maybe he will just break a bone or two."
"Hey! What are you girls doing on the roof?" Keitaro yelled from the ground.
"I think something happened while we were away," Naru said to Keitaro.
"I agree… hey Motoko… what are you looking for?"
"He jumped… and I followed… but he's not were he should be… Where did he…?"
"Slow down Motoko," Keitaro said. "Now tell us what happened with…"
"KEITARO!" Kenichi jumped out from a secret hiding space. He ran toward Keitaro and tried to hide himself behind Keitaro.
"She's been trying to kill me! Do something about it! She's nuts!"
Motoko was furious that Kenichi misunderstood the circumstances. More importantly, he insulted her. Her rage began to build as she looked at Kenichi's pathetic attempt to hide. "You stupid…"
"Motoko, the picture!" The others shouted as they ran toward her.
"Motoko, what picture?" Naru asked.
"He has a picture of someone like you inside his wallet!" Kaolla yelled.
"Oh… do you mean this picture?" Kenichi pulled out the picture from his wallet. He looked at the picture and hesitated before handing it over to the girls.
"She does look like Naru," Mitsune said.
"I think she looks more like my sister, Mei-chan," Naru stated.
"It's neither." Everyone looked back at Keitaro.
"What do you mean Keitaro?" Sara asked.
"This picture is of my sister," Kenichi said.
He took back the picture and placed it in his wallet. His muscles were tired from the running, so he went to a rock and sat on it. He gazed at a nearby cherry blossom tree.
"My sister's name is Arai Sakura. She was born very sick. The doctors did not know how long she would live. So my loving parents named her Sakura, the short cherry blooming festival that occurs here in Japan every spring. Miraculously our combined love and compassion gave her the will to stay alive. Since that time I would always try to keep a picture of her in my wallet."
Kenichi turned back to everyone. His eyes had little tears forming in the corner. Everyone was aware of the very private information that had just been revealed to them.
"She is very special to me. I'm sorry but if it is the picture you want I will not allow you to keep it."
Shinobu's eyes watered up as she listened to Kenichi's story. "That's got to be the sweetest thing I ever heard." She ran up to Kenichi and hugged his arm.
"Ahh?!" Kenichi was confused. "It's not that sweet if you think about it."
Kenichi's comment was enough to change the mood again as everyone began to laugh. 'He was always good at that,' Keitaro thought. 'I think I made the right choice to let him stay here.' He looked around and saw that everyone was satisfied with the latest turn of events.
"Good thing we have this problem settled," he said. "So what's for lunch?"
"Ah! I haven't even started on it yet!" Shinobu yelled. She dashed off to the kitchen.
"Slow down Shinobu-chan. I'll help you." Kenichi ran after her.
"Let's go inside too," Mitsune suggested. "I have a feeling we should keep an eye on Kenichi's cooking."
"Hahaha," everyone laughed.
They all started to walk inside except Motoko. She went to the rock that Kenichi was on and sat down. Naru noticed this and walked toward Motoko.
"Are you alright Motoko-chan?"
"Yeah… I'm just a little tired from chasing Arai around."
"Alright, come back inside when you are done resting."
"I will, don't worry."
She looked at the tree and thought about what Kenichi had told them.
"He has a younger sister," she said gently. "And he loves her very much too. Perhaps he loves his sister as much as I love my own."
"Don't you agree Tama-chan?" she said to the turtle on her shoulder.
"Myuu myuu."
"Tama-chan…? AIYEEEE!
End Episode 2
Author's Comments
I finally got episode 2 up! I had this done over a week ago but for some reason I really hated it. Thank you beta-readers! After getting their opinions was I able to understand what went wrong. Now I shall explain why I am writing this series. After seeing all of the Love Hina anime and reading all of the manga, I felt really sad that it was all over. I wanted… no… I NEEDED more! That is when I went online to look for LH fanfics. Most of the stuff I read was really well done, but I wasn't satisfied. (btw all of this was happening around Christmas 2001) That is when the idea of writing Love Hina Once More popped up in my head. There was a problem… what should I write about? Keitaro and Naru's relationship was pretty solid, and any separating and restoring of the couple would be repetitive (IMO it was already done WAY too much in the manga). Left without a plot to work with I started watching other anime series. Without a doubt, Kare Kano (Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou) influenced the idea of introducing a new character. The people behind Kare Kano were geniuses to be able to add new characters and make the plot work around them. So there you have it. My reason to write! No silly question this time ^_^ Hopefully I will get Episode 3 online soon.