Love Hina – New Management
Fanfic by Steven Biggs
Chapter Four – Terms
Tuesday Morning
Keitaro slowly opens is eyes. The room is dark except for a soft glow coming from next to the door. He reaches up and groggily scratches his head.
"Wow, that was the weirdest dream I ever had. How could someone like me ever be lucky enough to have a kind grandmother give me a hot spring and thirty-billion yen?"
He begins to get out of the futon, but his left leg seems heavy. Pulling the cover away, he spots the cast on his leg.
"I knew that would be real. That's more like my kind of luck. Darn, I'm really gonna lose my job and apartment!"
His stomach growls, reminding him that he hasn't had a good meal since yesterday morning. Finding a cane propped against the desk, Keitaro uses it to move out into the hallway. He turns and heads for the stairs, careful to make as little noise as possible. As he reaches the first floor, he looks around for the kitchen.
"Where was it again? I still haven't figured out where everything is around here."
He moves around to the left, but finds himself in the foyer by the front door. Turning around, he checks each door he comes to. He begins to smell something and follows his nose to the aroma. Opening another door, he finds himself in the dining room. Four plates are set on the table in the middle of the room. Making his way past it, he opens the door to the kitchen and peeks inside.
"Excuse me. Could I get something to eat, please?"
Naru, standing in front of the stove and wearing a robe, turns to look at him. Her bloodshot eyes stare at him from under her heavy eyelids.
"Oh, it's you. There's some stuff in the refrigerator. Go ahead and make a sandwich if you want."
Keitaro shuffles over, takes some meat, lettuce, and cucumbers, and places them on the counter. Naru winces as the plates scrape on the counter.
"Could you please not make so much noise?"
As he stares at her, he can detect the smell of sake pouring off her body.
"Narusegawa! You're drunk!"
Naru presses her hands against her ears.
"I told you to be quiet! And no, I'm not drunk! I've just got a hangover. Now let me finish making breakfast so I can go back to sleep."
Keitaro looks around.
"Is Shinobu-chan sick? Shouldn't she be making breakfast?"
Naru lowers her hands and looks at him.
"Who is Shinobu? The only other people her are Motoko, Su, and Kitsune. And our manager, Otohime-san."
Keitaro nods his head.
"Sorry, I guess that I still think parts of my dream were real. Why did you drink so much?"
She turns the heat down on the stove and as she moves towards him, the front of her robe falls open.
"Because I was so worried about you. I felt so horrible about your leg being broken. The others wouldn't let me stay and take care of you, so I just sat in my room and got drunk. It didn't help any though. Is there anything that I can do to make it up to you? I will do anything that you ask."
"Na-na-na-na. . ."
Naru falls against him and he uses his free hand to hold her up. He hears the door open behind him and turns his head. Motoko draws her sword and lunges at him.
"What have you done to Naru-sempai? You vile, deceiving, lecherous male! SHINMEI SCHOOL SECRET ARTS! ROCK SPLITTING SWORD!"
The vortex rolls off the end of the sword and crashes through the air. Keitaro tries to push Naru to the side as the force slams into him.
Keitaro sits up in his futon and screams, sweat dripping from his forehead. Wide-eyed, he looks around the room. Slowly, he falls back onto his pillow.
"Thank goodness that was just a dream! I thought I was a goner for sure!"
Suddenly, the door to his room crashes inwards and Mecha-Tama flies through with plasma balls firing from its mouth.
"AAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIII!!!"
Keitaro sits up in his futon and squeezes his eyes shut. The room remains silent and he risks peeking out. The door is intact and a soft glow next to it gently illuminates the room. He falls back to the pillow and tries to raise his right hand to wipe is forehead. Something heavy keeps his arm pinned and he turns his head to look. Su, a smile on her lips as she purrs, is clinging to his arm. The door slides open, revealing Motoko standing in the hallway.
"Urashima. I thought that I would find Su-chan in here. I am terribly sorry if she has disturbed you. She occasionally walks in her sleep and I must track her down."
Motoko walks into the room and kneels next to the futon. Lifting the sleeping girl in her arms, she turns and heads towards the door. Keitaro clears his throat, causing Motoko to look back at him.
"Is there something that you wish to ask me, Urashima?"
"Am I really awake now?"
Motoko smiles at him.
"Ah, your dreams have been disturbing. That is natural after one partakes of Naru-sempai's cooking. I shall bring you some green tea. It will soothe you so that you may rest comfortably."
A few minutes later, Motoko returns with a tray. Setting it on the kotatsu table, she quietly prepares a glass of tea as Keitaro sits up.
"I apologize once more for injuring you, Urashima. I was too quick to judge your actions."
Keitaro shakes his head.
"Don't worry about it. I don't blame you for doing what you thought was right."
Motoko lifts the glass and gracefully hands it to him.
"There. This will help you. I am sorry that we did not provide it earlier, but you passed out after you received the gifts from Granny-Hina and we thought it best to allow you to recover from that shock."
He drops the glass and looks up at her.
"Then, then I really did, I really am the. . ."
Motoko nods her head.
"You are the owner of Hinata-sou. And you are now a wealthy young man."
Keitaro leans back and looks up at the ceiling. He sees Naru looking through the hole at them. Hearing a small sound, he looks over at the door. Kitsune, Shinobu, Mutsumi and Su are peeking in from the hallway. Naru drops through the hole as the others rush in the door.
"Motoko-chan! I thought we all agreed not let any of us be alone with Keitaro!"
"But, but I was just bringing him some green tea to relieve the stress of your cooking. Su-chan had walked in her sleep again and I found her clinging to him."
The other girls take places sitting around Keitaro's futon, each of them trying not to stare at the millionaire in their midst. Shinobu is the first to break the silence.
"Sempai, what does it feel like to be rich? I mean, do you know what you are going to do now? You, you're not going to evict us because we almost poisoned you and broke your leg?"
Keitaro reaches out and pats Shinobu on the head.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to change anything here. I'll trust Mutsumi-san to handle things properly. My only instruction to her is that all of you can live here as long as you like."
Shinobu wipes a tear from her eye and leaps into his arms.
"I knew it! You really are kind, Sempai!"
Kitsune grabs Shinobu's shirt and gently pulls her off Keitaro.
"Let the man have some air for cryin' out load!"
Su pulls out a stick and pokes at the cast on his right leg.
"How ya feeling? The plaster aint to heavy for ya, is it?"
"I'm fine, but I won't be dancing for a while."
His stomach begins to growl. The girls turn their heads to hide their smiles.
"Sorry, I guess that I'm kind of hungry. I'll go make a sandwich or something."
Naru pushes him back onto the futon.
"You can't go moving around. Shinobu will have breakfast ready soon and we'll bring some up for you."
Keitaro places his hand on his head and smiles.
"I'm sorry to be trouble for you. It's a shame we never got to study last night. I really need to work hard if I'm going to make it into Toudai."
Kitsune crosses her arms.
"Why do ya need to worry about that anymore? Ya'll are rich now. Ya can do anything ya want to."
He blushes and smiles again.
"Well, I kind of have this promise to keep. It doesn't matter if I'm rich or not, but I still feel that I have to do my best and work to make it."
Motoko stares at him.
"That is very honorable, Urashima. What was this promise?"
"Well. I promised this girl that we would both try to make it into Toudai."
The room becomes piercingly quiet and the word 'SHOCK' appears above the girls' heads. Mutsumi claps her hands.
"Oh my! that is so sweet! What is her name?"
Keitaro blushes again and shakes his head.
"To tell the truth, I don't remember her name. We were just children when she moved away fifteen years ago. I can barely even remember what she looks like. I'm hoping that if I make it into Toudai, we will find each other again."
Naru holds her hands to her chest.
"That is so romantic!"
Shinobu wipes another tear from her eye.
"That is such a sweet story!"
Su pulls a banana from behind her back and tosses it to Keitaro.
"It's mush! Not the banana, the promise. In a nice sort of way."
Kitsune places her hand to her chin.
"Then we still got a shot at him."
Naru looks over at her.
"What was that?"
Kitsune waves her hands.
"Uh, then she will not be apart from him! If Keitaro-san makes it into Toudai, I mean!"
The door suddenly flies open, revealing an out of breath Haruka standing there.
"Keitaro, did you read the back of the letter Granny Hina sent?"
Keitaro shakes his head.
"No, I never made it that far."
Haruka rushes over to the desk and opens the folder. Finding the letter, she turns it over and hands it to Keitaro.
"You better read it for yourself."
He takes the letter and begins to read aloud.
"Keitaro, I hope that you are happy with my presents to you. I know that you will do a fine job as the new owner of Hinata-sou. There is one stipulation to my giving the thirty-billion yen to you though. You must get married within three days of when Haruka and you read this. I hope that I'm not putting you through to much trouble, but I really want to see some great-grandchildren. Love always, Granny Hina."
Keitaro lowers the letter and scratches his head.
"Granny Hina always had a good sense of humor. This is really. . ."
He pulls the letter up to his glasses again.
"WHAT?!! GET MARRIED!!! THREE DAYS!!!"
He falls back onto the futon and the letter flutters on top of his face. Su pokes him with the stick.
"He's broken again!"
End of Chapter Four.
Fanfic by Steven Biggs
Chapter Four – Terms
Tuesday Morning
Keitaro slowly opens is eyes. The room is dark except for a soft glow coming from next to the door. He reaches up and groggily scratches his head.
"Wow, that was the weirdest dream I ever had. How could someone like me ever be lucky enough to have a kind grandmother give me a hot spring and thirty-billion yen?"
He begins to get out of the futon, but his left leg seems heavy. Pulling the cover away, he spots the cast on his leg.
"I knew that would be real. That's more like my kind of luck. Darn, I'm really gonna lose my job and apartment!"
His stomach growls, reminding him that he hasn't had a good meal since yesterday morning. Finding a cane propped against the desk, Keitaro uses it to move out into the hallway. He turns and heads for the stairs, careful to make as little noise as possible. As he reaches the first floor, he looks around for the kitchen.
"Where was it again? I still haven't figured out where everything is around here."
He moves around to the left, but finds himself in the foyer by the front door. Turning around, he checks each door he comes to. He begins to smell something and follows his nose to the aroma. Opening another door, he finds himself in the dining room. Four plates are set on the table in the middle of the room. Making his way past it, he opens the door to the kitchen and peeks inside.
"Excuse me. Could I get something to eat, please?"
Naru, standing in front of the stove and wearing a robe, turns to look at him. Her bloodshot eyes stare at him from under her heavy eyelids.
"Oh, it's you. There's some stuff in the refrigerator. Go ahead and make a sandwich if you want."
Keitaro shuffles over, takes some meat, lettuce, and cucumbers, and places them on the counter. Naru winces as the plates scrape on the counter.
"Could you please not make so much noise?"
As he stares at her, he can detect the smell of sake pouring off her body.
"Narusegawa! You're drunk!"
Naru presses her hands against her ears.
"I told you to be quiet! And no, I'm not drunk! I've just got a hangover. Now let me finish making breakfast so I can go back to sleep."
Keitaro looks around.
"Is Shinobu-chan sick? Shouldn't she be making breakfast?"
Naru lowers her hands and looks at him.
"Who is Shinobu? The only other people her are Motoko, Su, and Kitsune. And our manager, Otohime-san."
Keitaro nods his head.
"Sorry, I guess that I still think parts of my dream were real. Why did you drink so much?"
She turns the heat down on the stove and as she moves towards him, the front of her robe falls open.
"Because I was so worried about you. I felt so horrible about your leg being broken. The others wouldn't let me stay and take care of you, so I just sat in my room and got drunk. It didn't help any though. Is there anything that I can do to make it up to you? I will do anything that you ask."
"Na-na-na-na. . ."
Naru falls against him and he uses his free hand to hold her up. He hears the door open behind him and turns his head. Motoko draws her sword and lunges at him.
"What have you done to Naru-sempai? You vile, deceiving, lecherous male! SHINMEI SCHOOL SECRET ARTS! ROCK SPLITTING SWORD!"
The vortex rolls off the end of the sword and crashes through the air. Keitaro tries to push Naru to the side as the force slams into him.
Keitaro sits up in his futon and screams, sweat dripping from his forehead. Wide-eyed, he looks around the room. Slowly, he falls back onto his pillow.
"Thank goodness that was just a dream! I thought I was a goner for sure!"
Suddenly, the door to his room crashes inwards and Mecha-Tama flies through with plasma balls firing from its mouth.
"AAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIII!!!"
Keitaro sits up in his futon and squeezes his eyes shut. The room remains silent and he risks peeking out. The door is intact and a soft glow next to it gently illuminates the room. He falls back to the pillow and tries to raise his right hand to wipe is forehead. Something heavy keeps his arm pinned and he turns his head to look. Su, a smile on her lips as she purrs, is clinging to his arm. The door slides open, revealing Motoko standing in the hallway.
"Urashima. I thought that I would find Su-chan in here. I am terribly sorry if she has disturbed you. She occasionally walks in her sleep and I must track her down."
Motoko walks into the room and kneels next to the futon. Lifting the sleeping girl in her arms, she turns and heads towards the door. Keitaro clears his throat, causing Motoko to look back at him.
"Is there something that you wish to ask me, Urashima?"
"Am I really awake now?"
Motoko smiles at him.
"Ah, your dreams have been disturbing. That is natural after one partakes of Naru-sempai's cooking. I shall bring you some green tea. It will soothe you so that you may rest comfortably."
A few minutes later, Motoko returns with a tray. Setting it on the kotatsu table, she quietly prepares a glass of tea as Keitaro sits up.
"I apologize once more for injuring you, Urashima. I was too quick to judge your actions."
Keitaro shakes his head.
"Don't worry about it. I don't blame you for doing what you thought was right."
Motoko lifts the glass and gracefully hands it to him.
"There. This will help you. I am sorry that we did not provide it earlier, but you passed out after you received the gifts from Granny-Hina and we thought it best to allow you to recover from that shock."
He drops the glass and looks up at her.
"Then, then I really did, I really am the. . ."
Motoko nods her head.
"You are the owner of Hinata-sou. And you are now a wealthy young man."
Keitaro leans back and looks up at the ceiling. He sees Naru looking through the hole at them. Hearing a small sound, he looks over at the door. Kitsune, Shinobu, Mutsumi and Su are peeking in from the hallway. Naru drops through the hole as the others rush in the door.
"Motoko-chan! I thought we all agreed not let any of us be alone with Keitaro!"
"But, but I was just bringing him some green tea to relieve the stress of your cooking. Su-chan had walked in her sleep again and I found her clinging to him."
The other girls take places sitting around Keitaro's futon, each of them trying not to stare at the millionaire in their midst. Shinobu is the first to break the silence.
"Sempai, what does it feel like to be rich? I mean, do you know what you are going to do now? You, you're not going to evict us because we almost poisoned you and broke your leg?"
Keitaro reaches out and pats Shinobu on the head.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to change anything here. I'll trust Mutsumi-san to handle things properly. My only instruction to her is that all of you can live here as long as you like."
Shinobu wipes a tear from her eye and leaps into his arms.
"I knew it! You really are kind, Sempai!"
Kitsune grabs Shinobu's shirt and gently pulls her off Keitaro.
"Let the man have some air for cryin' out load!"
Su pulls out a stick and pokes at the cast on his right leg.
"How ya feeling? The plaster aint to heavy for ya, is it?"
"I'm fine, but I won't be dancing for a while."
His stomach begins to growl. The girls turn their heads to hide their smiles.
"Sorry, I guess that I'm kind of hungry. I'll go make a sandwich or something."
Naru pushes him back onto the futon.
"You can't go moving around. Shinobu will have breakfast ready soon and we'll bring some up for you."
Keitaro places his hand on his head and smiles.
"I'm sorry to be trouble for you. It's a shame we never got to study last night. I really need to work hard if I'm going to make it into Toudai."
Kitsune crosses her arms.
"Why do ya need to worry about that anymore? Ya'll are rich now. Ya can do anything ya want to."
He blushes and smiles again.
"Well, I kind of have this promise to keep. It doesn't matter if I'm rich or not, but I still feel that I have to do my best and work to make it."
Motoko stares at him.
"That is very honorable, Urashima. What was this promise?"
"Well. I promised this girl that we would both try to make it into Toudai."
The room becomes piercingly quiet and the word 'SHOCK' appears above the girls' heads. Mutsumi claps her hands.
"Oh my! that is so sweet! What is her name?"
Keitaro blushes again and shakes his head.
"To tell the truth, I don't remember her name. We were just children when she moved away fifteen years ago. I can barely even remember what she looks like. I'm hoping that if I make it into Toudai, we will find each other again."
Naru holds her hands to her chest.
"That is so romantic!"
Shinobu wipes another tear from her eye.
"That is such a sweet story!"
Su pulls a banana from behind her back and tosses it to Keitaro.
"It's mush! Not the banana, the promise. In a nice sort of way."
Kitsune places her hand to her chin.
"Then we still got a shot at him."
Naru looks over at her.
"What was that?"
Kitsune waves her hands.
"Uh, then she will not be apart from him! If Keitaro-san makes it into Toudai, I mean!"
The door suddenly flies open, revealing an out of breath Haruka standing there.
"Keitaro, did you read the back of the letter Granny Hina sent?"
Keitaro shakes his head.
"No, I never made it that far."
Haruka rushes over to the desk and opens the folder. Finding the letter, she turns it over and hands it to Keitaro.
"You better read it for yourself."
He takes the letter and begins to read aloud.
"Keitaro, I hope that you are happy with my presents to you. I know that you will do a fine job as the new owner of Hinata-sou. There is one stipulation to my giving the thirty-billion yen to you though. You must get married within three days of when Haruka and you read this. I hope that I'm not putting you through to much trouble, but I really want to see some great-grandchildren. Love always, Granny Hina."
Keitaro lowers the letter and scratches his head.
"Granny Hina always had a good sense of humor. This is really. . ."
He pulls the letter up to his glasses again.
"WHAT?!! GET MARRIED!!! THREE DAYS!!!"
He falls back onto the futon and the letter flutters on top of his face. Su pokes him with the stick.
"He's broken again!"
End of Chapter Four.