Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Love Hina.
Pre-Read by: Zenapax
I Fell For You In San Francisco: Decisions, Decisions
Keitaro stares at the two round trip tickets to San Francisco, trying to decide who to take with him as he sits on the bus back to the Hinata Sou. He has already decided that he won't take his friends, Shirai or Haitani. Taking one of them would make the other jealous. He also determine that he won't take his Aunt Haruka. As much as he loves his aunt, he can't handle her bossy attitude on a trip like this. After factoring all the possibilities, he decides take one of the girls from the Hinata Sou with him. But with so little privacy there, he can only ask one girl and that's it, regardless if she rejects him or not. It takes the whole bus ride home before finally deciding on who to take. He leave the bus, thinking about the girl he wants to take out. He daydreams about the two of them spending time together in a foreign country, when he walks straight into someone as both of them fall to the ground. When the dust clears, he sees who he bumped into.
"Oh my." He picks himself up and helps the other person to their feet. "I'm sorry Aunt Haruka. I didn't see you there." Once she gets her balance, she smacks Keitaro upside the head.
"It's Haruka. And be careful where you walk!" She brushes the dirt off her clothes as he gets up. "By the way, I was trying to call you, but the phone was dead. What happened?"
"Oh that. My parents are behind on the phone bill, so it was cut off. Have you seen the girls? I really need to talk to..."
"That's what I been trying to call you about. They all left." Keitaro is bewildered and heart-broken with the news.
"They left? What happened? Is the Hinata Sou bankrupt or something?"
"It's nothing like that. While you where gone, some stuff just came up. Motoko went to train in the mountains and won't be back until school starts. Su's home country is in a civil war of some sort and she's the commander in chief. Kitsune is in Madagascar to watch Sarah while Seta is at a dig there. Mutsumi's mom is ill, so she went back to Okinawa."
"What about Naru...and Shinobu?"
"Naru is studying aboard for the summer in Rio de Janeiro. And Shinobu went on a trip to Sydney with her parents." Keitaro drops his head in despair. "What's wrong? Is something a matter?"
"No. No. It's nothing that you should be concerned about." Feeling depressed, he walks past his aunt and up the stairs. During his ascend, he thinks of what to do with the extra ticket he has. He comes up with a few possibilities, but doesn't like any of them. With each step he takes, he feels more and more miserable that he won't go on this trip with the girl that he wanted to ask as he reaches for the front door. When he opens it, he sees the TV on. Without hesitation, he reaches for the remote, which is on top of the couch. He turns it off and starts walking to his room.
"HEY! I was watching that!" Not expecting anyone to be in the living room, Keitaro freezes and shakes uncontrollably. He slowly turns around and smile when he see a familiar face behind the couch.
"Shinobu! What are you doing here? Haruka told me about your trip to Sydney with your parents."
"Oh that!" She looks happy, but a little sadden. "Well...you see...something came up with my parents at their jobs, so it got cancelled." She hops over the couch and lands on her feet, smiling at him. "But I'm glad that you're home, Sempai. It's been lonely the past two days."
"Two days? You been alone in here for two days without Haruka knowing?"
"Huh...yeah. I didn't want her knowing that I was still here because she might drag me along to help her at the Beach Café Hinata." She continues on by telling him how Haruka hired some men to help her out this summer since he was helping his parents, but he doesn't listen to what she is saying. Instead, he looks at her, thinking how much she has changed over the years. She has gotten smarter, getting all A's in her classes. She's also athletic, joining the school's soccer and softball team, leading both to win a championship. She's even a talented artist, drawing pictures that should be hung in museums. But most of all, she's a very attractive 16 year old, who happens to be popular among the guys. She let her hair grow out until her shoulder blades, braiding them in pigtails. She has a figure that makes some of the other girls at the apartment jealous. And had the prettiest face that people on the streets actually stop her so they can take a picture. But as popular as she is, she's still somewhat shy and only brings a few of her closest friends over to the Hinata Sou, where they either study or hang out together. Somehow, no matter how busy she is with school or her friends, she still helps out around the apartment. "... Without you here, anyone left would be forced to go on Haruka's trip to help out."
"Trip?" He smacks his forehead. "I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you then. Last night, I played a raffle game at the mall and won a trip to go to San Francisco." Shinobu tries to looks happy at his news, but looks more distressed.
"Oh. You did? When do you leave for your trip then?"
"In three days."
"Oh. OK." She drops her head in disbelief. "I guess I'll go with Haruka then. Like I said before, she doesn't want anyone here without you. I'll go cook lunch right now and you can tell me about what you been up too." With a smile, she turns around and heads to the kitchen. Keitaro can tell she doesn't want to go with his aunt on this business trip. No one she knows is coming with her and probably will get bored really quickly. Without hesitation, he goes into the kitchen, where Shinobu is starting to boil water.
"Shinobu?" He can tell she's still upset about him leaving.
"Yes Sempai?"
"I was wondering. How are you doing in your English class?" She looks a bit confused at his question.
"I'm doing really well in that class. I'm understand everything like grammar and spelling. Plus, I can almost speak it fluently like you. Why?"
"Because there's something I forgot to tell you about my trip. You see, I won two tickets to fly over there and since it's obvious that you don't want to go with Aunt Haruka, would you like to come with me to San Francisco?" Shinobu's eyes sparkle, getting bigger and bigger with the idea that she can go with him.
"You mean it? I can go with you?" He nods, seeing her jump around the kitchen with joy. "OH MY GOSH! I'M GOING TO AMERICA! I'M GOING TO AMERICA WITH SEMPAI! WHAT SHOULD I BRING? WHAT SHOULD I WEAR? DO I HAVE ENOUGH MONEY?" Overwhelmed with excitement, she bumps the pot of broiling water, which flies off the stove and soaks her from head to toe. The heat of the water makes Shinobu run around the kitchen, screaming in agony. It takes while before Keitaro calms her down.
"I'm sorry Shinobu. I didn't mean to get you all wet."
"It's OK. I'm just thrilled that I can go with you on your trip. But I am sorry for the mess I made."
"Don't bother. You just get change while I clean this and cook us lunch." Surprised by his thoughtful request, she goes straight to the bathroom and takes a shower, thinking of what the two of them might be doing together in San Francisco.
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