Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Love Hina whether it be it's characters or its plot line.
AN: Well we left off with Keitaro saving Shinobu's innocence from a gang of rapists. Anyways your reviews are always welcome and let's get on with the story. Again "speech" and 'thoughts'.
A Warrior's SpiritA quiet and demure hut, where stories are told over an open fire and a mouth-watering bowl of grilled eel donburi. This was not the seen inside Haruka's teahouse where chaos reigned supreme. The cause of this wave of unrest and catastrophe was none other than Keitaro Urameshi. The whirlwind of chaos was due to the fact that Keitaro was extremely hungry. He had not eaten anything since the half-bowl of ramen that Shinobu offered him.
"Keitaro-san you must slow down or else you will choke on something!" exclaimed an obviously worried Shinobu. "Umh...what...did you say Shinobu? I'm sorry I couldn't hear it over the food I was eating."
"Nothing, Keitaro-san just hoping you have had enough food to satisfy yourself." responded a blushing Shinobu. Nodding his head in acknowledgement Keitaro resumed finishing his "meal" and took his bowl into the kitchen so he could wash it. 'Why am I always blushing whenever he is around? I can't seem to help it. What draws me to Keitaro-san that I feel warmth and love whenever he is near?' Pondering wishfully Shinobu did not notice the new arrival that had just stepped out of the kitchen. Haruka watched the youth and was determined to find out the cause of why a young girl such as her would be in the company of her nephew. Startling Shinobu out of her wanderings Haruka questioned the youth "Shinobu, is it? Well I was just wondering if you could enlighten me on why you would be traveling with my nephew?"
Visibly shaken at the bluntness of Haruka's words Shinobu stammered, "Umm…well I…well that is to say I"
"She is in the company of myself because Auntie I was the one who found her." interrupted Keitaro as he came to the rescue of poor Shinobu again. "Let me explain the circumstances of why she is here Auntie. Won't you take a seat Haruka?"
'He called me by my name this must be serious he usually is more upbeat around me.'
AN: How wrong she is, there is a side to Keitaro that is most terrifying but I am getting off topic better get back to the story sorry.
Sitting down Haruka turns her attention to her stone-faced nephew. "What I am about to tell you is very horrifying Haruka, you must never ever tell another soul. Do you understand Haruka?"
'What the devil is he talking about? What could be so bad that he would so stressed over?' In response to Keitaro's outburst Haruka nodded her assent to the proceedings and encouraged her nephew on.
"I also must now ask Shinobu's permission to recount her most horrible of experiences. Will you let me inform my Aunt on what is going on Shinobu? She is my most trusted of relatives and I would die knowing where her loyalties lie." To the question Shinobu was again putout but recovered quickly enough to reply "Yes, it is alright Keitaro-san. If she is trusted by you then I she must be a good, honest individual."
"Thank you for your consent Shinobu, I would not have told her otherwise. (Seeing the shocked expression on his Aunt's face Keitaro replies with a nod of recognition.) It is true Auntie I would not have told you the cause of her appearance in my life if she had not consented I am terribly sorry." Understanding her nephew's intentions were good Haruka again encouraged Keitaro to continue. 'Great now were back to Auntie again. When is he going to ever see me as a person other than his aunt.' Turning her attentions back to Keitaro's recount of the past few hours Haruka is horrified by what she hears.
AN: If you are looking for the scenes depicted by Keitaro just go back a chapter.
'Who the fuck do those jerks think they were? Thank god that Keitaro was there in time to see the creeps follow Shinobu.' Near tears at the end of Keitaro's retelling of her near rape experience Shinobu clings forcibly onto Keitaro's clothes. Stroking ever so gently to soothe her fears and bring back the sparkle in her eye Keitaro watches his charge and feels intense hatred toward the jerks who did this to her. 'I should have killed them when I had the chance. Damn if it was not for Shinobu's plea for their life they would be in shallow graves by now.'
Watching the scene with a hint, well maybe a glomp of jealousy Haruka cannot help but wish that she were the one in Keitaro's arms. "There is also another reason I came to your teahouse Auntie. I want to find Shinobu's parents and get her back to them as fast as I can. And I hoped that you would know them since you have been living here longer than I have." Snapping out of her daydreams of Keitaro in most compromising positions Haruka again focused on Keitaro. "Oh…of course. Now Shinobu what is your last name so I can look for your parents?"
Growing tense ever since the mention of the word "parents" Shinobu clung much more tightly to Keitaro. "What's wrong Shinobu, trouble with your parents? I just want to know who they are so they won't get worried about you. I won't hand you over to them if you don't want to go." Shocked by her nephews words Haruka exclaims "And who are you to judge them worthy of Shinobu or not? Huh Keitaro?"
Determined to ensure the well-being and happiness of Shinobu, Keitaro responds "I am not her father or her mother, but I am her friend and I will do whatever is in my power to ensure Shinobu's happiness." Touched by his words Shinobu finally states her last name to Haruka. "My last name is Maehara. I hope I am not a burden to you all. And I thank you both very much for helping me." Bowing deeply to both Keitaro and Haruka, Shinobu then faints due to the pressure of both the experiences beforehand and the tension in the room.
Running toward his fallen friend Keitaro examines her and states "She's fine just fainted. And no wonder with all the things going on in her life. Poor Shinobu." Realizing that Keitaro will most likely not go back on his promise Haruka sighs and wanders to the back of the restaurant in search of a phone book. "Thanks Auntie Haruka I know that this must be a real pain. You have a good heart Auntie, thanks." Giving his stunned Aunt a kiss on the cheek Keitaro soon walks toward the fallen Shinobu. "Well I better get you to the inn before your parents find you in a teahouse. Anyways, Auntie could you tell Shinobu's parents, if you find them, that I took their daughter to Hinata-sou."
Giving a final wave to his Aunt Keitaro exits the teahouse and starts the journey up the massive flight of stairs. 'He kissed me, he really kissed me. But damn, why didn't he give me a real kiss instead of one on the cheek. Oh well better look up the girl's parents so they can pick her up.' Dialing the number shown in the phonebook Haruka cannot help but ponder on the girl's frail condition and the ramifications of Keitaro's kiss.
Meanwhile, Keitaro has finally managed to get both him and Shinobu to the Hinata-sou. 'Damn who the hell designed this place it must have been an idiot. Who the hell would put so many stairs to get to an inn? No wonder nobody came here anymore, who could actually scale that many stairs and be alright?' More than a little put out by the arduous climb Keitaro walks the few final steps to the inn's sliding doors. Entering the establishment Keitaro shouts "Hello, anyone home? It's your new manager with a guest. Hello?"
'Where the hell is everybody? I know that they aren't in bed it is way to early for sleep. I wonder where they all could be?' Further pondering on this strange turn of events is interrupted by a faint moan. 'Where am I? And why do I feel so much warmth around me? I feel like I am in somebody's muscular arms…wait a minute it can't be.' Venturing a look upward Shinobu soon realizes that she is in the arms of her rescuer. "Oh so your awake Shinobu, well let me just set you down on the couch. Then I can get you something to drink to ease your tension."
Nodding rather dumbly to his remarks Shinobu eases once again into his warm embrace. 'That was why I was so warm and safe he was holding me tightly. Against his hard abs and pecks, okay girl gotta calm down. Breathe, breathe. Must not think of my rescuer as a piece of meat.'
Depositing Shinobu upon the couch Keitaro then heads toward the kitchen to fetch Shinobu a glass of water. 'Wonder why she was so quiet back there? Better get her that water before she faints again. I still wonder where everyone is, anyways first things first gotta get that water.' Marching toward the kitchen Keitaro does not notice that Su has entered the foyer and is watching Shinobu interestingly.
"Hi who are you? My name's Su how bout you? Do you want to play?" Shinobu startled by the sudden appearance of Su responds immediately by screaming bloody murder. "Jeez calm down, not like I will eat you or anything. But just in case are you tasty?" Truly terrified now of this foreign devil Shinobu tries to run away but soon finds she does not have the energy to escape this gaijin.
(5 minutes prior to the events in the foyer)
Keitaro enters the kitchen to find both Narusagawa and Mitsune there drinking tea and chatting. "Oh so this was where you guys were, why didn't you answer me when I screamed hello back there?" Perplexed at the appearance of a well-built man in the presence of herself, Mitsune just turns a raised eyebrow to Naru. "Oh Mitsune I haven't properly introduced you. This is Keitaro Urameshi the new manager of the dormitory."
"Hello nice to meet you, Mitsune is it? But you still didn't answer my question Naru why didn't you answer? I was worried that you guys were somehow injured in the recent fire and needed medical attention."
"Oh Keitaro that fire was a normal occurance at this dorm. But I do thank you for your concern for our well-being." stated Naru with a gentle smile. "Yeah thanks bub, whoever you are. You must be the one that carried me out of my room after it was set ablaze. My poor, poor sake damn the rotten luck." stated a depressed Mitsune.
"I am truly sorry for your loss ma'am but you do know that having that much alcohol is bad for you right?" But before Keitaro could receive an answer to his inquiry he heard a blood-curdling shriek emanating from the main foyer. 'What the hell? That's where Shinobu is. I'd better go check it out.' Running quicker than the wind itself Keitaro took off to again rescue his newfound friend.
Upon arriving at the scene he was shocked to say the least. Su was slowly crawling toward an obviously terrified Shinobu. And it seemed that Su was planning on having Shinobu for dinner with the way that Su was holding the knife and fork in her hands. "What exactly are you planning to do with that knife and fork Su?" shouted Keitaro as he forcibly removed Su from the foyer into the adjacent hall.
"Just going to taste her Keitaro-kun. Never going to hurt her, me promise." responded a cowed Su as she backed away from the terrifying glare of Keitaro Urameshi. "What the hell are you doing Urameshi? Why are you scaring Su so much you jerk?" spoke Naru as she came upon the scene. Slapping Keitaro across the face for good measure, Naru then knelt to cradle Su in her arms and bring her upstairs. Stunned by the absurdity of the situation Keitaro could not act quick enough to catch Naru. 'What the fuck happened? I mean, one minute I am trying to keep Su from eating Shinobu the next I get slapped by a teenager.'
Clearing his head of distraction Keitaro goes to check on his young ward. "Hey Shinobu are you alright? Su didn't want to hurt you, just taste you. I know that seems rather odd but that's how it is in this dorm." Shinobu was a bit shook up by the experience but no worse for wear. "It's alright Keitaro-san, but what I don't understand is why that girl slapped you for no reason. Is she your girlfriend Keitaro? Oh…um…never mind forget I even asked." Terribly embarrassed that she had spoken her heart's desires Shinobu was soon waving her arms around wildly while her eyes became swirls. "Calm down Shinobu, calm down. To answer your first question the girl slapped me due to my outburst against Su. She believed I was being overly aggressive against Su. And in answer to your second question no she is not my girlfriend. She is just another tenant of this all-girl's dormitory."
Relieved to hear that Keitaro does not have a girlfriend Shinobu returns to the couch to wait until her parents come. Confused by Shinobu's silence Keitaro sits across from Shinobu and examines the girl for any outward emotions. "Shinobu is there something you wish to tell me about your folks." questioned Keitaro. "No!! Well I mean…yes…or no. Oh, I don't know I'm so confused. Why does my life have to be so complicated?" screamed Shinobu. "I'm sorry."
"No, no it's alright Shinobu I just wanted to know if there was anything I could do to ease your weary shoulders. You seem overly stressed for a teenager in this day and age. Maybe I should get that water I promise you now; you sure seem to need it if you ask me."
While Keitaro and Shinobu were speaking downstairs there was a commotion happening upstairs concerning the past residents. "Su didn't mean to scare…(sob)…her. Just wanna play with her that's all. Maybe taste her little bit." glumly stated Su. "I know Su don't worry that mean pervert won't ever scare you again. He was just trying to show his manager power, that jerk." responded Naru. "Hey, hey don't be so harsh Naru it's not like he took her head off or nothing. All he did was stare at her a little hard nothing more, chill okay?" defended Mitsune. "Stop defending him he is a pervert and power hog that's it. And I know the only reason you defend him is that he kinda saved your life." snapped Naru.
"Not kinda Naru he did save my life. If he had not taken me out of my room the sake would have burned me alive. And yes I do really appreciate that he saved my life but that's not the only reason I am defending him. The other reason is because he is so damn sexy when he's mad." Fox ears suddenly appeared on Mitsune's head as she assumed a most seductive position earning her the nick name Kitsune(fox).
"Ugh…disgusting, how can you like such a muscle-bound idiot? I mean all he does is fight and train nothing else." exclaimed Naru. "Well you are entitled to your own opinion but I like him and his muscles are more than enough to attract me." Smirking at the way Naru was reddening Mitsune could not help but feel happy that she could still get a reaction like this from Naru.
During the terse conversation between Mitsune and Naru a young girl slipped out of the room. Su was tired of all the yelling and she was going to Keitaro-kun to apologize and end this stuff. 'Now, Su must say sorry. What else? Oh yeah also say sorry to new girl. What her name again? Shinobu, right?' Heading downstairs Su could not foresee the trouble she would soon be causing.
(Back to Shinobu and Keitaro)
"Here you go Shinobu? Hope the water is cold enough?" stated Keitaro as he entered the foyer. "Oh it's fine Keitaro-san. Thank you very much."
"Umm…Shinobu could you not call me Keitaro-san, Keitaro is just fine. I mean Keitaro-san seems a little much, it makes me feel like a old fuddy-duddy."
"Yes, Keitaro-s…I mean Keitaro-sempai."
'I guess that will have to do, oh well can't help it.' Smiling at his ward's attempt to cover her blunder. Suddenly a clatter was heard coming downstairs, Keitaro braced himself for another encounter with the ever lovable Kaolla Su. The young gaijin tumbles down the stairs and pops right back up again. "Hello, hello Keitaro-kun. Me want to say sorry for bad, bad. Also want say sorry to Shinobu."
Amazed at her endless amount of energy, Keitaro at first does not follow her little speech. Finally processing the information detailed to him by Su herself Keitaro smiles warmly. "It's alright Su, I forgive you but you must speak with Shinobu to see if she forgives you." Surprised by his sudden mood change Su can only nod dumbly while approaching Shinobu. "Me very sorry Shinobu-chan, hope you forgive Su? Please?" Bursting out into a fit of giggles Shinobu could not respond to Su's request. "Hahaha…oh I'm sorry but Keitaro was making funny faces behind you. Of course I accept your apology Su. There are no hard feelings put it there." Shinobu tried to shake Su's hand but Su was unfamiliar with the custom so shied away from the extended limb. "It's okay Su, Shinobu just wants to shake your hand. It's sort of part of the apology, so just stick your right hand out and take her hand." spoke Keitaro. Nervously placing her right hand into Shinobu's grasp she was relieved to learn that all Shinobu did was lift her hand up and down.
"There now that wasn't so bad now was it? Alright since you were such a good girl Su I will make you a banana split." stated a smiling Keitaro. Jumping for joy at the word "banana", Su followed Keitaro into the kitchen to watch him work.
Thinking this a great opportunity to spend more time with Keitaro Shinobu also followed him into the kitchen. The next few hours were spent getting to know the few resident's of Hinata-sou, Shinobu had a great time and soon forgot about her problems at home.
That is until her parents showed up during the welcoming dinner prepared by Shinobu herself. Laughing out loud and blushing due to the proximity to Keitaro, Shinobu did not hear her parents come into the foyer. "Shinobu Maehara? What the devil are you doing? You should be at home packing for our move out of this god-forsaken town." screamed Shinobu's mother. Panicking Shinobu did the one thing that she was the best at, she ran away. "Now look what you did? Why do you always yell at my daughter?" screamed Shinobu's dad. "What do you mean your daughter? You only come around 3 times a year. You're not entitled to call her your daughter." argued back the mother.
Amid the chaos that ensued Keitaro silently exited the foyer and went after Shinobu. 'Man and I thought Naru was bad. Those two should really calm the fuck down. Don't they see that their daughter is hurting? What selfish parents.' Following the tear-stained trail on the floorboards, Keitaro soon found Shinobu hiding on the highest point in the inn. Moving swiftly but still trying to make as little sound as possible Keitaro edged closer and closer to Shinobu. Grabbing around the waist Keitaro threw both himself and Shinobu onto the roof of the inn.
"Ahhh….oh my god it's you Keitaro-sempai. I thought it was somebody who wanted to throw me off. Why are you laughing that was the scariest moment of my life." huffed a upset Shinobu. "Sorry, sorry couldn't help myself. You were right at the edge of the roof I thought it proper to remove you from danger." stated a smiling Keitaro.
"So are you going to tell me the reason you ran away from home or not?" queried Keitaro.
Startled by his bluntness Shinobu stared for a moment at the night sky to formulate some coherent thoughts. "Well to start with you saw my father and mother, right? Well as you could see they are not on the best terms."
"Yeah I kinda got that with all the screaming and everything. I mean sheeze do they really have to do that."
"Well, anyways they are filing for a divorce and are fighting which parent will get me. Isn't that just great I am now a trophy to be won?"
"Now, Shinobu that's not what their thinking at all and you know that. They just want the best for you, but they just see the situations differently. Is that the reason you ran away from home?"
"Yes, and no you see if I go with either of them I still have to leave town. And I don't want to leave(since I meet you, but you don't have to know that). I don't want to go to a new school." sobbed Shinobu. Taking her into a loving embrace Keitaro held Shinobu until she stopped crying about life in general. Loving the time spent alone with her "sempai" Shinobu savored the aroma that was truly Keitaro. 'Mmm…smells like a spring morning and he has a woodsy smell to him as well. I could get used to waking up this way.' Blushing throughout her daydream Shinobu tightened the embrace to brand this memory into her mind forever.
Caught off guard by the sudden tightening Keitaro was also blushing due to the fact that Shinobu's face was near his most private of sections. "Okay well now we got that taken care of let's go talk to your folks." Puzzled by the sudden change in temperature Shinobu soon learned that she was no longer holding Keitaro but his jacket. 'Wait how did he do that? I was just holding him there is no way he got out of my embrace so quickly. Is there?'
Walking quickly to distance himself from Shinobu's prying questions Keitaro reached the stairs first and looked behind him. "Hey are you coming or not? Don't worry we'll settle this nice and fair-like." Racing to catch up Shinobu soon followed Keitaro downstairs to the foyer.
'Oh man got to go and face my parents again. And what did he mean by nice and fair-like. Oh well at least I got a hug from sempai.'
Finally arriving downstairs they were greeted by the most odd of scenes; Shinobu's parents were actually not fighting and sitting for a cup of tea. "Oh Keitaro you finally arrived, we were waiting for you. Come sit down nephew, you too Shinobu." stated a stone-faced Haruka. Gulping audibly Keitaro took a seat knowing that he had a lot of explaining to do after. 'Oh great Auntie is really mad, must be that little break me and Shinobu took. Oh well back to the matter at hand.'
Turning his attention to the two individuals seated opposite of him, Keitaro introduced himself "Well let's get the introductions over with first; I am Keitaro Urameshi the manager of this dormitory. And you must be here for Shinobu right?" Nodding their heads in unison Shinobu parents were not in the talking mood and wanted to take their daughter away. "Oh…okay…well let's get down to business. Shall we? You both want your daughter to be happy right?"
"Yes…of course and what does this have to do with you manager." spoke Shinobu's mother.
"Yes I would also like to know why my daughter is hanging around such discrepant inn such as this." voiced the father.
"Now there is no reason to get harsh. I just want to show you that you are not listening to your daughter." spoke Keitaro.
"What do you know you have only known her for a few hours? How can you tell what she needs?" riddled the mother. "Because I listened to her instead of telling her what to do." responded Keitaro. "How dare you! You think you can come into our lives and ruin it with your stupid mumble-jumbo. Well you got another thing coming." screamed the father while punching Keitaro right across the face.
Both mother and father were shocked to find that Keitaro did not move a muscle. All Keitaro did was angle his head back a little to survey the damage to his right cheek. "Well I see that you have a very strong right hook. But could you maybe save that for another time. We are here to talk about your daughter staying here." spoke a visibly calm Keitaro. Surprised by the words of her sempai Shinobu seemed to take it well. 'This is great I get to stay with sempai and not leave town. But I do worry about mom and dad.'
"B…but Keitaro-sempai what about my rent? I don't have any money." inquired a timid Shinobu.
"Don't worry so much Shinobu. Your cooking is more than enough reason to not pay the rent. The food was fantastic." Returning his attention toward her parents Keitaro queried "Do you find this arrangement satisfactory?"
"No, this is not satisfactory. How do we know that this establishment is safe? And how can we trust you?" responded a worried mother.
"There is no need to worry, Keitaro will take full responsibility of Shinobu. And I have the utmost confidence that this is the right decision." stated Haruka. 'Thanks Aunty, I definitely owe you one.' praised Keitaro.
"So the arrangement is fine now right?" queried Keitaro. "Oh alright but if one hair is lost on my daughter there will be hell to pay. I cannot deny my daughter happiness if she wishes to stay." voiced Shinobu's mother. "I will also consent to this arrangement only if Shinobu calls both me and her mother every week to report her health and happiness. Alright?" responded her father.
Nodding vigorously Shinobu jumped at her parents and gave both a great big hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you" repeated Shinobu. Laughing at their daughters exuberance both parents returned her embrace with equal enthusiasm.
Silently leaving the parents and Shinobu to have a moment Keitaro exited the foyer. He found his Aunt waiting in the hallway for him, "What was that Keitaro? Who said you could let her stay?" queried Haruka. "Oh come on, not you too Auntie. I mean it was the best idea I could come up with on such short notice. Gimme a break will you?"
Noticing the smile gracing his aunt's beautiful face Keitaro charged at his aunt. "You little cheater, you were only faking." accused Keitaro. Soon a battle of tickling began with Keitaro being the victor. "Hahaha…enough nephew we got to get back to Shinobu and her parents."
"Oh your just saying that because I won. Oh phooey your right let's go." beamed a mischievous Keitaro. Smiling at her nephew's youth and beauty Haruka tried in vain to stop the tears from falling down her face. "Auntie Haruka are you alright? You seem to be crying, did you hurt yourself?" spoke a worried Keitaro. "No, no it's just a scratch go find Shinobu. I'll be alright, don't worry so much nephew." Shrugging at her comment Keitaro went in search of his new resident. 'So much like his father. Why, why did you die brother? Why?' Sobbing visibly Haruka headed back to her teahouse down the stairs.
Entering the foyer Keitaro was suddenly clutched his chest feeling a shot of pain. 'What the hell was that? It felt like spike of ice, what the hell? Better watch myself, might be too much training.' Keitaro finished his internal battle and walked toward the chatting family. "So do you guys feel better with your choice? I set up a room for Shinobu already." questioned Keitaro. "Yes we see that our daughter will be well taken care of here. Thank you Mr. Urameshi." stated the mother.
Nodding his assent the two parents stood and walked to the door with their daughter in tow. "Now you behave yourself here Shinobu. I don't want to find another episode of you running away." scolded Shinobu's father. "Yes daddy I promise. And don't worry I'll be very safe here I can guarantee that." responded Shinobu. Waving at the exiting couple both Shinobu and Keitaro burst into fits of giggles at the close call. "Okay let's get you settled Shinobu, this was a very long day." sighed Keitaro.
Entering the house both Keitaro and Shinobu had the same thought running in their heads 'glad that's over'. And there goes another day in wonderful world of Hinata-sou.
Authors Notes: Sorry I haven't been updating for a while but I hope this extra long chapter keeps you guys happy. And don't worry Motoko will be introduced in the next chapter. Anyways remember to R & R please? Peace I'm out.