A/N: Sorry for the long wait between updates. I'm been on a PC-less vacation for a couple weeks, thus I was unable to write. But now, I deliver. It is your choice to judge if it is a worthy morsel of literary work.

Disclaimer: GASP! SHOCK! HORROR! I still don't own Love Hina! That prestigious honor belongs to Ken Akamatsu, Bandai, and TV-Tokyo. And they need to finish up the series dammit. On a side note, I now officially own Shinobu!! A pin, that is. I still can't get her to cook for me.

Keitaro looked up the steps to Hinata-Sou, rather dreading his return. Regardless, he started up the stairway, absorbed in a fantasy where everyone in the Hinata-Sou respected and adored him. You know, I don't really have to go back there. I could turn around now, tell Aunt Haruka I'm leaving, and then head to a train station and kiss this all goodbye. Ghostly images of his tenants floated in front of him. No. I couldn't do that to the girls. I guess I'm trapped. Keitaro's head hung lower. As he kept going, he bumped into something hard. He looked up, dreading what would happen. He knew he must've somehow walked into one of the girls. Damn! And I just finished walking back, too. He looked up, to discover a very angry...door. He grinned sheepishly. Heh, I got off lucky. He opened the door and walked in, sliding it shut behind him. The living room of the Hinata-Sou was a cheery place now, as the clouds were beginning to break up outside and some sunshine was shining inside.
"This is nice. Peaceful. Maybe it's a good omen?" Keitaro smiled, taking in the sight. He dropped the sake bags, and only then realized that he didn't see any of the girls downstairs. "Hello! Everyone? I'm back!" Keitaro frowned when no one responded. After a minute, he shrugged and picked up the bags, ready to head upstairs. A soft patter of footsteps sounded off the stairs, and Keitaro saw a small form with blue hair come down the stairs. Ah, Shinobu! It's good to see the one person who doesn't beat on me. A picture of Mutsumi popped into his head. Well, OK, I guess she doesn't either. Shinobu's head was down, and it appeared she had not heard Keitaro announce his arrival moments ago. "Hello, Shinobu-chan! How are you?" Keitaro asked. Shinobu looked up, shocked. A small smile crossed her face before she fought to put it away, a small blush creeping into her cheeks.
"Sempai! You're back!" She spotted the bags, and could make out the sake bottles in them. Ah. He landed near the market. She seemed to have forgotten the incident earlier on. Keitaro was quite thankful, he enjoyed seeing the girl with a smile on her face. He decided to tell her.
"Shinobu-chan, it's good to see a smile on your face." Shinobu turned a deeper red.
"A-Arigatou, Semapai. I, ano, need to check the laundry!" She exclaimed quickly, slipping away before Keitaro to see her tomato-red face. Keitaro frowned quizzically.
Did I say something wrong? He thought. He shrugged, picked up the bags, and proceeded upstairs, to Kitsune's room. He knocked on the door.
"Kitsune? I have your sake." Shuffling feet could be heard in the room, and the door slid open. Kitsune looked at his slightly wet figure.
"You know, Keitaro, walking around in the rain isn't good for your health." She smiled an innocent smile and took the bags from him. Keitaro looked at her.
"I didn't really have much choice." Kitsune laughed.
"Hey, a girl has to do what she can, right?" She smiled sweetly, then shut the door. Keitaro stood for a second before walking into his room. He sat down, and looked up at the hole in the ceiling. I wonder what Naru's up to. He thought. Suddenly, he shot straight up.
"Holy shit! Naru! I need to explain what happened this morning!" Keitaro began walking toward his door when the board over the hole slid away and Naru's head dropped down.
"Did you say something, pervert? I thought I heard my name." Keitaro stopped and turned toward her.
"H-hai! Naru-san, about what happened with Kitsune earlier today..." Naru rolled her eyes and pulled herself back into her room.
"I don't want to here any more of your pathetic excuses. Save your breath." The sound of the board being pulled over the hole was like a dagger to Keitaro's heart. He sat looking at it for a second, before he dragged himself to his futon, and laid down. His eyes were dull. There really is no point to this. It's the same thing, time and time again. I don't know why I stand and take it. But he knew why. Keitaro had a kind, caring personality, and he hated to see anyone hurt, especially those close to him. And living with a small group of people for two years tends to form a bond, a certain comradely closeness. And with Naru, a bit of romantic fondness. No, Keitaro wouldn't dream of leaving the girls with no landlord. He knew he'd lie awake, wherever in the world he was, and wonder how well the girls were getting along without his presence, if indeed they were getting along without him. There was always Haruka to take over, but she had her hands full with her teahouse. Keitaro briefly entertained the thought that he could call home and see if maybe his younger sister, Kanako, could take over, but then remembered that she was with Granny Hina on her around-the-world tour. He was stuck in a veritable quagmire of emotional attachment and responsibility, with no lifeline to get him out. A dark bleakness began to steal over his thoughts, and his face looked hopeless and pained. He dozed in and out of a fitful rest for the next few hours, and had a small headache when he heard Shinobu's voice call for dinner. He slowly stood up, trudged to the door, then decided he wasn't going down. Not tonight. Maybe he could ask Shinobu if she could bring him leftovers later, but he was in no emotional mood to deal with his tenants at the moment. He was sure Motoko was probably still slightly angry with him, and knew Naru almost certainly was. No, he'd just stay in his room. He walked over to his small study desk and brushed his textbooks off the table. Reaching to his small bookshelf, he pulled out a manga and began to read in dim yellow light provided by his desk's reading lamp.
Downstairs, meanwhile, the girls were noticing his absence.
"Where is that baka?" growled Narusegawa. She eyed Keitaro's empty chair warily.
"He must be ashamed of his damnable actions this morning. A lack of food serves a wretched man like him right." Motoko sniffed. She looked around, as if daring someone to challenge her. The silence suggested that no one felt up to the task. Grinning, Kitsune piped up.
"Why does it matter to either of you? Perhaps you're hiding something?" Kitsune continued smiling as a barely noticeable blush crept over Motoko's face.
"That...that is impossible. You know nothing! I could never have any feelings for a pathetic man like that." Replied Motoko, a little too hastily. Naru's face just darkened, and she said nothing. Kaolla seemed to not really even notice Keitaro's absence, and after a perfunctory glance up from her food, she continued eating at a wolfish rate. Shinobu, meanwhile, was barely touching her food. She kept rolling the meal around on her dish, and taking glances at Keitaro's seat. She looked around at the other girl's as the short round of kanrinnin-bashing (this time merely vocally) proceeded and closed. She actually seemed to wince at Motoko's words. After pushing her food around a little more, she took another look at Keitaro's seat, then looked at Naru and Motoko. A look of determination came over her features, and she stood quickly.
"I'll be back in a moment. I'm going to take some food to Semapi." Naru glanced up.
"I wouldn't go into that pervert's room alone if I were you, Shinobu- chan. With what he was trying in plain sight this morning, I shudder to think of the things that he may do if you go up there alone. I wouldn't chance it." Shinobu looked at Naru, the determined look still on her face.
"You've been in there alone a few times, and nothing's happened, Naru- sempai." Naru grinned at Shinobu's words.
"I must just not be young enough for him then."
"Sempai wouldn't try anything! He's just a bit...clumsy. You shouldn't be saying such bad things about him!" Naru cocked a quizzical eyebrow at Shinobu's rather uncharacteristic outburst, and Shinobu seemed to wilt right there.
"Ano...I'm sorry for shouting..." She said, though she had been even quieter than usual. Then, the look of determination stole over her face again. "But, I'm still going to take some dinner to Sempai! He needs to eat too." Shinobu marched into the kitchen as Naru shrugged and returned to dinner. She fixed a plate, and grabbed some tea as well, and put it on a platter. Taking the stairs by the kitchen, so as not to go through the dining room, she went upstairs and to Keitaro's room. She knocked on the partition.
"Ano...Sempai, I have brought you your meal. And some tea!" She added the last part in a flustered tone she always seemed to take when speaking to Keitaro. After about a minute, when there was no sounds in the kanrinnin's dorm whatsoever, Shinobu became worried. What if something bad has happened? Maybe he fell...or, maybe, he was looking really sad after all...what if he...Shinobu couldn't finish the last thought, but a near panic coursed through her at what the unfinished sentence could imply. She hesitantly opened the partition, so she wouldn't interrupt anything...or see a dead body anytime soon. She closed her eyes when the door finished, for she was now mostly convinced that Keitaro had indeed committed suicide, and was lying dead in front of her now. She slowly opened her eyes, and had another quick rush of panic. Keitaro was laying slumped over his desk, his eyes closed. Oh no! He really has ki-done that! Shinobu calmed down a second later, when she realized she could see him moving up and down in time with some light snores emanating from him. Ah...he's just sleeping. Relief washed over the young girl, and she walked softly into the room. She went over to his desk, and set the platter of food and tea down by his head. She reached down and gently shook his shoulder, in an attempt to wake him up. It worked, and Keitaro wearily opened his eyes.
"Shinobu-chan? Why are you in here?" Keitaro slowly set up, momentarily taking off his glasses and wiping the weariness out of his eyes.
"I brought you dinner, Sempai. You didn't come down and eat with us." She paused a moment, as if unsure of herself, then continued. "Why didn't you come? You always eat with us, even if you study all day." Keitaro looked down at his desk, not meeting Shinobu's eyes.
"I'm...really not in the mood to see the other girls today. Or...ever, really. But I guess that's unavoidable." Shinobu looked at Keitaro, a sadness filling her eyes. Little bits of moisture began to grow in the corners.
"You...really h-hate us th-that much?" Keitaro hastily stood up and grabbed Shinobu's shoulders.
"No! No, it isn't like that Shinobu-chan..." He paused. "Well...I guess I do kind of resent them. It's hard not to when they beat you because you tripped, then beat you again because your duties aren't done. And why aren't they? Mostly because you've spent the majority of the day walking back from wherever the hell you landed." He realized he's swore in front of the girl, something he felt a tad ashamed for. "Gomen, Shinobu-chan." Shinobu smiled wanly.
"It's nothing I've never heard before, Sempai." She tried to keep smiling, but her face broke down, and she began to quietly cry. "I...I wish you didn't hate us...because, I...I..." She couldn't seem to articulate what she was trying to say, even though she knew just why she was aching inside. "I...ano....really wouldn't like that..."Well, that was about the lamest thing anyone's ever said. Nice one, Shinobu. He probably thinks you're some sort of idiot now. Instead of some sort of negative or laughing reaction, like she had been expecting, Keitaro grabbed her shoulders again.
"I don't hate you Shinobu....you've never been anything but kind to me. You're the only one...I mean, even my Aunt beats on me now and again. I guess I don't really hate the other girls either...though, at the moment, I'll admit I feel quite a bit of disgust and loathing. But never, EVER, think that I don't like you. You're like a little sister to me. I couldn't ever not like you." He smiled and gave the now quieting girl a friendly hug. This feels nice. Shinobu thought. Gah! What am I thinking? He just said I'm like his little sister. And...and...that's all I ever will be. Shinobu reluctantly pulled away.
"Well...arigatou, Sempai. Your dinner is likely getting cold." Keitaro looked back at his plate and tea. He chuckled.
"Ha...I forgot about the food. Thank you, Shinobu-chan. It was good to finally...be able to talk to someone. Aunt Haruka works well...but you have some special thing about you that makes you a high-quality confidant." He smiled. "I feel much better. Maybe I should do this more often. But, now I better get at this food. Wouldn't want the best cooking in the world to get cold on me!" Shinobu, who had been blushing slightly since entering the room, seemed to glow from his comment on her cooking.
"Ano...It's not that great..." Keitaro just smiled at the familiar exchange, and Shinobu shut the partition as she walked out.

A/N: Ah, Chapter 2 is done. It took forever, but with vacation, tests, and writer's block, it was a challenge. Hopefully, additional chapters will come a bit fast than one ever 4 weeks, but unfortunately I can't promise anything to the 6 of you who read this. As for pairings...as of this time, I think I'm leaning heavily toward a Shinobu/Keitaro. I'm a bit reluctant to take that route, though, because then you always get the flames about being some sick pervert. It's a cartoon, people, and these are fictional characters. Besides, it's an under-utilized pairing (likely for those aforementioned reasons) that comes with some built in conflicts. Plus, Shinobu's fun to write, in my opinion. Very cute character, not to mention she's the only one who doesn't beat on our poor landlord. (Hey, Mutsumi falls on him sometimes. That's got to hurt a bit.) As always, R/R, though I swear if you make any flames about a K/S pairing, Me and my Spetsnaz friends will hunt you down. Then take over your pitiful "America" just for the hell of it.