This is my first fan fiction ever, so please don't be too harsh in your reviews...even so, I still welcome flames.

I wanted to do something with a character I think always gets the bad rap...he'll be OOC in this fic, but I think things will all work out..this is set just after the 24th episode. As always, I don't own Love Hina, therefore, don't sue me.

So, without any further delay, I present...

The Redemption of Kentaro Sakata

Kentaro sighed.

It really didn't bother him that Haruka had gotten him to practically be a slave to her so much as she made him work on days as nice as this. It was late March, and the cherry blossoms were almost ready to fall. The sun was shining and the chirping of birds filled the air. He could hear Kitsune and Haruka chatting about their plans to go buy all the sake they could find for the arrival of the cherry blossoms. His thoughts turned to the parties and picnics that the festival would bring, but he quickly berated himself for thinking of such a thing. Haruka had already told him that his pay would be late, not until next Thursday. The event would be over by then, and he'd feel out of place at a party he wasn't holding. Sinking deeper into his thoughts, he realized that even if he'd had pay, he probably wouldn't hold a party anyways...his parents seemed to be getting more distant from him everyday, and the last he heard, his father was having health problems. Kentaro had put some thought into buying a plane ticket and going to visit his family in Okinawa. Perhaps they could have a celebration there. He had fond memories of his childhood days going to the celebrations, even if he hadn't been with his...

An angry shout broke his train of thought, belonging to one Naru Narusegawa. It was a commonly heard phrase to anyone that spent any amount of time around the Hinata Apartments: "Keitaro, you PERVERT!"

That could only mean one thing...the bungling third-year ronin had yet again gotten himself into another awkward situation with one of the resident girls, and there was a 60% chance that it was Naru herself.

A loud sound, something akin to a small explosion, could be heard for a mile around. About fifteen seconds later, the figure of Keitaro Urashima fell through the roof of the kitchen of the Hinata Teahouse, right onto Kentaro, where he'd been standing, doing the seemingly never-ending task of washing the few dishes the teahouse had.

"Oww...It wasn't my fault, Narusegawa, Su left a banana peel there!", the manager of the Hinata Apartments replied. He failed to notice the flattened Kentaro right beneath him as he ran back out to try to apologize. Somehow, through means even the genius Kaolla Su couldn't figure out, Keitaro never bore any lasting injury or pain from the assaults of the girls that lived at the Hinata. It was most fascinating...Kentaro wished that he himself were as lucky...the first encounter with Amalla Su's alligator still left a scar on his left arm.

"Hey, Kentaro! Get your worthless butt up here!"

That would be Haruka Urashima, the brains behind the operation of the apartments. She looked young to be an aunt, but no one in their right mind called her that. She wasn't the type to beat around the bush; she was the most blunt person he'd ever met. Kentaro dried his hands from the dishes he'd been washing and headed up front.

"What is it, Miss Haruka?"

"I need you to take these extra cleaning supplies up to the apartment kitchen, then scrub it down. Keitaro's busy studying for the Toudai exams, so you can do something around here to earn your keep."

Earn my keep?! She only pays me 150 yen per hour and she's telling me to earn my keep?

He sighed again. "Yes, ma'am."

Kentaro grabbed the box of supplies and made his way up the long stairs to the Hinata Apartments.

He hoped to himself that he wouldn't run into the residents, but his hopes were quickly shattered by a high-pitched whirring sound behind him. Before he could turn around, a familiar voice shouted, "Mecha-Tama Two, attack the intruder pervert!" Of course, Kentaro turned around to face a rather menacing steel turtle floating a foot away from his face. Before he had any chance to react, the damned thing zapped him with a rather large shock of electricity. Fortunately, the young (non) Indian girl hadn't put the level to "kill", though the burning skin almost made him wish she had. Shakily, he got back on his feet and made sure the contents of the box were still usable.

"I'm busy right now, Miss Su," he said to the girl standing on the steps above him.

Kentaro made it a point not to flirt while he was on the job, and definitely not with a resident, and ESPECIALLY not a junior high girl on top of that.

"Oh, com'on, I need someone to play with!"

Kaolla Su was one of the weirder girls at the lodge-she was the only one from another country, which was often believed to be India (even though it wasn't), being as she put a dot on her forehead. She was also the only one with severe hyperactivity and a knack for building robot turtles that seemed to cause chaos every few weeks.

"Alright, maybe later, when I'm done cleaning the kitchen. Will you leave me alone till then?"

Su contemplated this, and responded, "I suppose, but if I catch you being perverted, all bets are off!" She jumped on the back of the turtle and flew off, probably to bother Keitaro, most likely.

Kentaro didn't really understand why he was the suspect of being a pervert more than Keitaro was...that guy got in trouble over it every day! All Kentaro had ever done was watch Naru, and even then, that was high school!

He continued his long trek up the stairs, not suspecting what would happen when he reached the top...