A different Toudai
Author's note: I need to start off firstly by apologizing if I (and I'm almost sure I have) changed what actually happened in Love Hina. I haven't seen the full length of the anime and I don't know what happened during several of the OVAs and specials; so please bear with me. This is my first Love Hina fanfiction as well; so please drop me a line and tell me what you think! Arigatoo!
Disclaimer: I only own the gorgeous, brilliant, popular, and hated-by-Naru Asami Fukuyama.
She remembered the breeze at Hinata Inn being warm and pleasant, plucking petals from the nearby blossoms and sprinkling them over the ground and in her hair. When she was a little girl she'd run under the trees and earned herself scoldings by plucking flowers from the trees. In later years she'd studied under the forgiving trees for the Toudai entrance exams. She'd spent many a day with Kitsune and Motoko-and later Shinobu-leaning over the balcony, simply enjoying the day.
Here the wind was cold and harsh, and Naru felt as if icy, invisible claws were tearing at her locks. She shivered and drew her soft red coat closer around here. The edges were frayed now, and the red that she had remembered was once so bright now dulling by the day. She remembered clearly when he had given it to her for Christmas, when he had-
Naru shook her head and pulled her hand away from the soft white edging again, gazing wistfully out into the Japanese landscape. She could see miles of both city and farmland from her balcony. Automatically her eyes traveled to the tall, gray rectangle on the edge of the city. For the millionth time she cursed it for blocking out what had been her home for the last several years. If only she could see it, then maybe she could dissolve the hard knot of homesickness that had crystallized in her heart.
I should be happy, she thought, turning away from the cold and desolate gray building, leaving one hand on the metal railing.
Naru had finally achieved the dream of her life-to attend Toudai. She'd been overjoyed when she had seen her name posted high on the list-Naru Narusegawa-and had run home shrieking to tell her friends. They had all reacted predictably-Motoko with her quiet, subdued congratulations, Kitsune musing about the fun she would have with the guys she was to meet, Shinobu promising to send packages of her famous cookies, and Su had literally bounced off the walls in excitement. That night Shinobu and Haruka-san had prepared an extra-special dinner and they all shared in it heartily. No mention was made of the only person that should have been there and wasn't.
Urashima Keitaro. No one had heard from him in over a year, since he'd left Hinata Inn.
Naru had responded by pushing herself deeper and deeper into her studies, rarely emerging from her room, acting as if she cared the least. The others were shocked and for weeks a pallid silence hung over Hinata Inn.
Now, looking back, Naru realized that everyone had had a better time of adjusting than she had. They had faced the problem head-on; she had run away. Now she was probably the only one that still thought of him daily.
She went inside and closed the door behind her, letting in the final gust of cold wind with a whoosh. Her roommate, Asari Fukuyama, was out as usual. Asari was a dark blue-eyed black haired beauty who was the apple of every man's eye. She'd been swarmed with boys asking her for dates ever since she arrived-in fact, even her introduction to Naru had been interrupted by a tall, handsome male who led her of without so much as a word to Naru.
Asari's side of the room was covered with pictures of Toudai males, 90% of which had a large red X drawn across their faces. Naru's eye swept over them, an expression of distaste coming over her face. Yes, Asari-san was beautiful, her figure slender and supple, her features perfectly proportioned-but Naru hadn't taken a liking to her. Having spent eighteen years of her life struggling to get into Toudai, it hadn't been easy for her to realize that she had achieved her purpose and wouldn't have to cling so tightly to her studies anymore. Naru was still waking up to her books, studying through lunch, studying through dinner, and using her textbooks for pillows. She didn't appreciate Asami's coming back in the early hours of the morning, giggling noisily; nor did she like coming home late, exhausted from studying, and finding the gorgeous Asari laughing with a guy- who was sitting on her bed. The first time this had happened Naru had walked over and promptly punched him out the window. As they were only on the second floor, nothing too bad short of a few bruises had happened, but Asari was furious and hadn't spoken to Naru since. And due to the fact that everyone loved Asari, everyone was soon turned against Naru.
No, attending Toudai was not as dreamily beautiful as she'd always imagined.
Her only happiness had been her grades. Spending no time outside and putting every ounce of energy into studying was earning Naru Narusegawa the top grades of her year. But good grades would never get her the looks or the guys of Asari-whom she was doing everything to avoid now, which was hard as they lived in the same room.
Naru let her mind wander back to the promise. She was supposed to meet someone here as a promise, but along the way she'd met other guys. Seta- san, for one, had resigned before she'd become a student and from what she had heard from Kitsune, was now living in California with Sarah. Naru had tried to write to him and wasted several sheets of paper. Unfortunately Asami had discovered them in the trash can and made them public, only destroying Naru's reputation more as several of the older boys dating Asami had known Seta-san. Naru still cringed at the thought of one of them relaying this news to him.
She sighed. Yes, she was jealous of Asami. Asami who was gorgeous, brilliant, popular. . .
Suddenly the brunette couldn't stand all those images of Toudai's best- looking guys-they were invading her mind and personal space! Then a thought crept into her mind and froze her insides with horror: was it possible that the one she had made the promise with-the very man she had promised to meet at Toudai-was now one of Asami's many dates?
Naru propelled herself up and stepped onto Asami's bed, giving herself full access to the pictures. With her bare hands, baring her unpainted natural pink nails, she tore down image after image, shredding them in her hands. She left the tiny pieces all over Asami's bed, which was now creaking pitifully under her weight. It had never creaked under Asami's light frame, and the thought made Naru even angrier as she tore the last page from the wall, taking off a strip of paint with it. She shredded that too, then let the pieces fall from her hands, suddenly tired. She stepped off of Asami's bed and got onto her own.
No, she thought, I don't want to be like Asami. But I would settle for one guy. . . just one special guy. . .
Naru drifted off to sleep, images of Urashima Keitaro standing below the cherry trees flashed through her mind.
Author's note: I need to start off firstly by apologizing if I (and I'm almost sure I have) changed what actually happened in Love Hina. I haven't seen the full length of the anime and I don't know what happened during several of the OVAs and specials; so please bear with me. This is my first Love Hina fanfiction as well; so please drop me a line and tell me what you think! Arigatoo!
Disclaimer: I only own the gorgeous, brilliant, popular, and hated-by-Naru Asami Fukuyama.
She remembered the breeze at Hinata Inn being warm and pleasant, plucking petals from the nearby blossoms and sprinkling them over the ground and in her hair. When she was a little girl she'd run under the trees and earned herself scoldings by plucking flowers from the trees. In later years she'd studied under the forgiving trees for the Toudai entrance exams. She'd spent many a day with Kitsune and Motoko-and later Shinobu-leaning over the balcony, simply enjoying the day.
Here the wind was cold and harsh, and Naru felt as if icy, invisible claws were tearing at her locks. She shivered and drew her soft red coat closer around here. The edges were frayed now, and the red that she had remembered was once so bright now dulling by the day. She remembered clearly when he had given it to her for Christmas, when he had-
Naru shook her head and pulled her hand away from the soft white edging again, gazing wistfully out into the Japanese landscape. She could see miles of both city and farmland from her balcony. Automatically her eyes traveled to the tall, gray rectangle on the edge of the city. For the millionth time she cursed it for blocking out what had been her home for the last several years. If only she could see it, then maybe she could dissolve the hard knot of homesickness that had crystallized in her heart.
I should be happy, she thought, turning away from the cold and desolate gray building, leaving one hand on the metal railing.
Naru had finally achieved the dream of her life-to attend Toudai. She'd been overjoyed when she had seen her name posted high on the list-Naru Narusegawa-and had run home shrieking to tell her friends. They had all reacted predictably-Motoko with her quiet, subdued congratulations, Kitsune musing about the fun she would have with the guys she was to meet, Shinobu promising to send packages of her famous cookies, and Su had literally bounced off the walls in excitement. That night Shinobu and Haruka-san had prepared an extra-special dinner and they all shared in it heartily. No mention was made of the only person that should have been there and wasn't.
Urashima Keitaro. No one had heard from him in over a year, since he'd left Hinata Inn.
Naru had responded by pushing herself deeper and deeper into her studies, rarely emerging from her room, acting as if she cared the least. The others were shocked and for weeks a pallid silence hung over Hinata Inn.
Now, looking back, Naru realized that everyone had had a better time of adjusting than she had. They had faced the problem head-on; she had run away. Now she was probably the only one that still thought of him daily.
She went inside and closed the door behind her, letting in the final gust of cold wind with a whoosh. Her roommate, Asari Fukuyama, was out as usual. Asari was a dark blue-eyed black haired beauty who was the apple of every man's eye. She'd been swarmed with boys asking her for dates ever since she arrived-in fact, even her introduction to Naru had been interrupted by a tall, handsome male who led her of without so much as a word to Naru.
Asari's side of the room was covered with pictures of Toudai males, 90% of which had a large red X drawn across their faces. Naru's eye swept over them, an expression of distaste coming over her face. Yes, Asari-san was beautiful, her figure slender and supple, her features perfectly proportioned-but Naru hadn't taken a liking to her. Having spent eighteen years of her life struggling to get into Toudai, it hadn't been easy for her to realize that she had achieved her purpose and wouldn't have to cling so tightly to her studies anymore. Naru was still waking up to her books, studying through lunch, studying through dinner, and using her textbooks for pillows. She didn't appreciate Asami's coming back in the early hours of the morning, giggling noisily; nor did she like coming home late, exhausted from studying, and finding the gorgeous Asari laughing with a guy- who was sitting on her bed. The first time this had happened Naru had walked over and promptly punched him out the window. As they were only on the second floor, nothing too bad short of a few bruises had happened, but Asari was furious and hadn't spoken to Naru since. And due to the fact that everyone loved Asari, everyone was soon turned against Naru.
No, attending Toudai was not as dreamily beautiful as she'd always imagined.
Her only happiness had been her grades. Spending no time outside and putting every ounce of energy into studying was earning Naru Narusegawa the top grades of her year. But good grades would never get her the looks or the guys of Asari-whom she was doing everything to avoid now, which was hard as they lived in the same room.
Naru let her mind wander back to the promise. She was supposed to meet someone here as a promise, but along the way she'd met other guys. Seta- san, for one, had resigned before she'd become a student and from what she had heard from Kitsune, was now living in California with Sarah. Naru had tried to write to him and wasted several sheets of paper. Unfortunately Asami had discovered them in the trash can and made them public, only destroying Naru's reputation more as several of the older boys dating Asami had known Seta-san. Naru still cringed at the thought of one of them relaying this news to him.
She sighed. Yes, she was jealous of Asami. Asami who was gorgeous, brilliant, popular. . .
Suddenly the brunette couldn't stand all those images of Toudai's best- looking guys-they were invading her mind and personal space! Then a thought crept into her mind and froze her insides with horror: was it possible that the one she had made the promise with-the very man she had promised to meet at Toudai-was now one of Asami's many dates?
Naru propelled herself up and stepped onto Asami's bed, giving herself full access to the pictures. With her bare hands, baring her unpainted natural pink nails, she tore down image after image, shredding them in her hands. She left the tiny pieces all over Asami's bed, which was now creaking pitifully under her weight. It had never creaked under Asami's light frame, and the thought made Naru even angrier as she tore the last page from the wall, taking off a strip of paint with it. She shredded that too, then let the pieces fall from her hands, suddenly tired. She stepped off of Asami's bed and got onto her own.
No, she thought, I don't want to be like Asami. But I would settle for one guy. . . just one special guy. . .
Naru drifted off to sleep, images of Urashima Keitaro standing below the cherry trees flashed through her mind.