Disclaimer: I, in no way, shape or form, own any of Love Hina. Ken Akamatsu does and I highly doubt he will ever give me the rights to it. So all I can do now is write stories based on Love Hina. Please do not sue! Because if you do... then I probably won't be able to do anything about it at all.
A Moment Worth A Lifetime
Chapter 1: Back to My Childhood Memories
By Yamiga'sLight
"..." – talking
'...' – thinking
Do you believe in Fate? The idea that our destinies are predetermined and that there's nothing we can do about it? To think that everything that happens to us happens for a reason, including the people that we meet, the things that we do, and the events that occur in our lifetimes? Or... to put it more simply, that there are no such things as coincidences? I do... but this isn't my story or my time or my place. This particular story takes place in Japan in a certain building amongst a certain group of people.
The people there are strange, but nice... in their own ways. They have nearly nothing in common, whether it be their age, hobbies, interests or just plain knowledge of each other's lives. At least... that's how they were. But now, they're a family. Not a family in the traditional sense as in having a mom, dad, son, daughter, and the family dog and/or cat. Well, they do have a pet, but it is definitely not the traditional kind. But they are a family nonetheless. They know each other's pasts, presents, and maybe even their futures. They love each other... each in their own special ways.
But that's the end of the story. You still don't know the beginning of it. You don't know how these people's lives were woven together by that mysterious entity known as Fate. Bound together by a promise, a memory, and a house so full of secrets, that you could not even begin to unravel them all. And it all started in the past... Not the beginning of the story past, but even far past that. A long, long time ago when a little boy and girl made a promise to each other, under the watchful eye of that very same earlier mentioned building...
"Did you know that if two people who love each other go to Tokyo University, they'll live happily ever after?"
Two children were playing in a sandbox, making what seemed to be nothing more than a pile of dirt and wet sand. The little girl patted the mound one last time before sitting back down and saying what was written from before. The little boy looked up curiously and sat upon his knees. He looked at the girl in a perplexed manner while she held her stuffed animal in her arms and grinned lopsidedly. "Really?"
The girl nodded her head, put the doll down, and crawled over to where the boy was. "Kei?" He cocked his head. She giggled at the completely confused look on his face. That was just like her Kei... so confused, so innocent, and so cute! "When we grow up, let's go to Tokyo U together, okay?" Before Kei could react, she gently caught his face between her hands and leaned over. Kei's face burst into a furious blush as she planted a soft peck on his cheek. The girl leaned back and stared at him, a mischievous smile on her face.
Kei could do nothing but be frozen to the spot. His mouth gaped slightly open as he gazed straight ahead. Had she... had she kissed him?! Her?! He furiously shook his head. No! This was no time to zone out! "O-okay!" He managed to stutter out. "It's a promise!"
The little girl's face formed into an ecstatic grin. "Yay, thank you, Kei!" Her eyes slanted into an almost evil look. "And your reward is... tickle time!" She launched herself at him, knocking them both onto the mount of sand below. The only sounds afterward were the squeals and shrieks of two happy kids playing the rest of the day... together.
A few days later, and the little girl had to leave. She was only staying at the inn for a few days vacation with her family and now it was time for her to go home. Kei was heartbroken. His best friend and only love was leaving! Sure, they were only five but still... love is love, right? That being said, he only watched from out of his grandma's inn's window as the moving truck slowly began to pack his friend's stuff away. He saw the little girl looking forlornly at the inn, calling his name. But she finally just gave up and climbed into the van's passenger seat, tears streaming down her face.
Kei sighed and turned around, sliding to the floor. He circled his arms around his legs and pulled them into his chest, burying his face into his knees. What was he doing? He was letting his best friend go away without even a goodbye. But it hurt... it just hurt too much to see her face again, knowing he would probably never see her again after that. Just too painful. He began to cry, sobbing softly as his tears ran down his face to the cold floor below.
"Kei? Is that you?"
He looked up and saw a kindly, old, wrinkled face smiling down upon him. He quickly wiped away his tears with the sleeve of his shirt and tried to smile at her, but it only came out as more of a ghastly grin. "Oh... h-hi, Grandma. What d-do you w-want?" He slightly sobbed out.
Hinata Urashima sighed. Her grandson was really going through a rough time with this whole ordeal. Kei had always had a very kind heart, always empathetic about other people's feelings, always trying to care for other people too. So it was only natural for him to be sad over losing someone who was just like him, both very sweet and very naïve about the world around them. She smiled tenderly. "I was just wondering what you were doing in here. Your friend is leaving. Don't you want to say goodbye?"
His face contorted into a mask of pain. "But Grandma, I don't want her to leave. I really, really like her and I want her to stay here...!" His head sunk down in shame after his outburst. How could he be so selfish? He might want her to stay, but he knew she couldn't. This wasn't her real home. She had to go back! But... he...
The next thing he knew, he was engulfed in a motherly hug. Hinata had gathered him into her arms, embracing him warmly. Kei couldn't take it anymore. He burst into tears, crying into her shoulder. Hinata rocked him back and forth, cooing soothing words of comfort until his sobs eventually subsided. She then firmly gripped his shoulders and pushed him back to look at him. He sniffled unhappily, and she smiled before moving a finger to wipe way one of his tear's trails.
"Now," she murmured. "Don't cry. Be strong. No grandson of mine is going to be a weakling, okay?"
Kei sniffled again and rubbed his eyes with a balled-up fist. "Okay, Grandma, but-"
"Ub, bub, bub, bup," she interrupted. Her eyes softened as she watched Kei silently nod his head. She chuckled internally as she saw the battle of emotions being waged behind those warm, chocolate brown eyes of his. He really was a very special boy, and she was proud to have him as a grandson. Hinata laughed softly as she fondly ruffled his hair. "I'm sure you like her, Kei, and I'm sure she likes you too. I'm also quite sure that she doesn't want to leave either because right now, at this moment, she's bawling her eyes out in that moving truck out there."
Kei's head snapped up from its downtrodden position. "She is?" He asked, sounding almost horrified. Why was she crying? Did he-? He mentally kicked himself. Of course she would be crying!
His grandma nodded her head sagaciously. "That's right. She's crying right now, but not just because she's leaving. It's because her best friend isn't there to send her off." Her tone took on a harsher quality. "Because he's too wrapped up in his feelings of selfishness and self-pity to bother!" She clamed down as she saw Kei physically flinch. Maybe she went a little too far. Her grandson was one of the most selfless and giving people she knew of. But he was also one of the densest and most stubborn people she knew of also, so he tended to need a good boot every once in a while. "Now, Kei..." She leaned closer until she was barely an inch away from his face. "What would you rather do? Sit here and wallow in your misery, or..." She leaned up and gently kissed his forehead. "See your friend off, and make her happy to know you care?"
His eyes closed and his face took on a look of concentration. Then his eyes opened again and the corners of his mouth turned up to change from its melancholy look into a tiny smile. "Okay, Grandma," Kei said. "You're right. I'll go right now!" He gave Hinata a quick hug, and then ran for the door. Flinging it open, he rushed out, nearly bowling over another older child. "Sorry, Haruka!" He yelled over his shoulder as he ran down the stone staircase.
"That's Aunt Haruka to you!" She shouted to him as she rose up a fist. But apparently he didn't hear her because he kept on running and quickly disappeared beyond her range of sight. She sighed and crossed her arms in front of her chest. 'That nephew of mine...' She felt a hand land on her shoulder and looked up to see Hinata gazing to where Kei had gone. "Oh, hi, Mom," she said.
"Hello, dear," Hinata replied. She looked down at her and smiled softly, closing her eyes. "Kei certainly is something, isn't he?" She quipped.
Haruka scowled. "Yeah, I suppose. But he should still treat me with more respect. I am his aunt after all."
Her mother laughed and squeezed her shoulder. "You're only seven years older than him, dear. You can't expect him to call you 'aunt' when you're more like an older sister to him." Haruka grumbled in resignation. Hinata laughed again. "You know, Haruka, you're eventually going to get that idea stuck in his head, and he'll keep calling you it even when you don't want him to."
Haruka puffed out her cheeks and looked away from Hinata, pouting slightly. "That'll never happen," she said defiantly. Hinata did nothing but giggle a little into her hand before gazing back towards the staircase. Yes... it seemed the stubborn streak was an inherent of the Urashimas. Ah well, what could you do? She sighed and turned around, heading back into her inn. Haruka took one last look to where Kei had gone before sighing too and heading in after her mother. She could teach her nephew the proper respect for her when he came back.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned child was running as fast as he could down the staircase to try and make it in time to say goodbye to his friend. He panted heavily as his little legs pumped back and forth, propelling him down the path. Unfortunately, a rock was in his way. His foot caught on it and he went sprawling onto the unyielding ground. He let out a pain-filled whimper and slowly opened his eyes. He hurt all over. He shakily got to his feet and winced as he felt a sharp twang in his knee. Looking down, he saw that it was quite bloody and torn up. Tears welled up in his eyes until he shook his had and began to limpingly run again. No... he couldn't stop now, he just couldn't! he had to say goodbye! He might not ever get another chance.
He gained speed, hardly noticing the searing pain contained within his leg. Seeing the truck ahead of him, Kei slowed down and steadily made his way over to it. He stopped in front of the passenger's door, took a deep breath and knocked on it. The little girl's head perked up and she looked out of the window. Upon recognizing him, her face lit up into a gigantic grin. She quickly put down the window and jutted her head out of it. "Kei!" She cried out happily.
Kei looked up ate her, embarrassed, and scratched the back of his head while grinning sheepishly. "Hi."
She looked down at her lap as an unhappy look flitted across her face. "I almost thought you wouldn't come..." She glanced back up at him and he saw a little wetness gathered in the corners of her eyes. She giggled as she wiped her eyes with her palm. "But you did, and I'm so happy that you did, Kei..."
He sighed. "I'm sorry, I was just being selfish."
She shook her head violently. "No! You're not!"
"But I-"
"No!" She yelled at him. He quickly shut his mouth and looked at her in a surprised fashion. The girl flung her hands over her mouth and blushed. "No..." She continued in a quieter voice. "You're not selfish, Kei, and I don't think you ever could be. But... listen..." She blushed happily and extended her pinky. "Give me your finger, Kei." He did so, reaching up and linking it with hers. "You've got to promise that we'll go to Tokyo U one day, okay?"
Kei opened his mouth to answer. "I-" But he was interrupted when another person's voice, an older man's, deep and smooth, spoke up.
"Okay, sweetie. We've got to go now."
The engine of the truck sputtered then roared to life and the vehicle began to move. The two children's hands were separated as the girl moved away with increasing speed. Kei stood, frozen to the spot, before he reacted, running on after her. He ran alongside the truck, gasping for air as he tried to keep up, tears threatening to fall down his cheeks. Meanwhile, the little girl was crying freely and waving her hand frantically. "Bye bye, Kei!" She cried. "Remember, we've got to meet at Tokyo U one day! Promise?!"
At this request, Kei's legs finally gave out and he quickly sunk to the ground. He stared as the truck soon disappeared, the little girl's head sticking out and looking at him the entire time. "I..." He slowly rose off of his hands and knees to his feet. Clenching his fists together, he shouted out happily, "I promise! Tokyo University!" With that done, he wiped his eyes of their tears and turned around to head back up the staircase to the inn. When he got to the top, he was surprised to find his grandmother waiting for him. "Hi, Grandma!" He yelled as he ran towards her before tackling her in a hug.
Hinata eagerly returned the embrace. Smiling down on him, she asked him, "Well, did you say goodbye to your friend, Kei?"
He viciously nodded his head. "Uh huh," he said. "And guess what, Grandma?"
"What, sweetheart?"
His face exploded with joy as his eyes danced with unbound mirth. "We made a promise to go to Tokyo University together!" He giggled.
"Oh, really?" Hinata laughed. "Well, that's a mighty big promise, Kei." She cocked her head slightly to the side as she looked at him in mock seriousness. "Are you sure you can handle it?"
"Sure I can!" He said indignantly as he struck a heroic pose. Hinata laughed gaily as she hugged him tightly. Kei was so precious to her, her only grandchild. He was so proud, so innocent, so caring, so loving. Everything a grandparent could ever hope for in their descendents. He was a very special and unique boy. She felt him wince as a pain shot through his leg. He let out a whimper and gripped at his knee.
She pushed him away a little and bent down to look at his injury. She gasped a bit at how torn up it was. Looking up, Hinata fixed her eyes on him in a stern stare. "Kei... when were you going to tell me about this injury of yours?" She chided.
"Awww, Grandma..." He groaned. "It's not a big deal! It doesn't hurt one bit!" He slapped it for effect and winced as it stung like hell, gritting through clenched teeth, he said, "See? It doesn't hurt at all. I'm not a weakling. I'm a big boy!"
Hinata giggled into her hand, her eyes softening with warmth. "That might be true, but even big boys can get hurt. You wouldn't believe how many times your father cried over the simplest bruises and scratches." She laughed as she remembered something. "Why... when he was about your age, he came crying to me when he got a simple papercut!"
Kei looked astounded. "Daddy cried?" To him, his father was the strongest person in the world, no, the galaxy, no, the universe! And he cried over a piddling little injury like getting sliced by a piece of paper?
Hinata nodded her head. "Yes. Now, come along. We've got to tend to that battle scar of yours." She extended her hand and smiled tenderly at him. "Okay, Kei?" She said in a playful tone. Kei giggled and nodded back, grabbing her hand and interlacing his fingers with hers. The two of them walked back into the inn, laughing with each other and swinging their arms.
Later that night, Kei, Haruka and Hinata were sitting together in the lobby, playing a good old game of "Go Fish." The two older females were getting their butts kicked by a laughing, ecstatic Kei. Needless to say, neither of them was very pleased by the outcomes of their former games.
Kei slapped down his last pair of cards. "All right, I won!" He shouted joyfully, pumping his fist into the air as a victory pose.
Haruka hung her head in shameful defeat. "Not again," she moaned.
"Dear, are you sure you're not cheating?" Hinata asked.
"I wouldn't do that, Grandma!" He said, a little offended.
"Yes, I know that you wouldn't, dear, but how else could you explain winning ten games in a row?"
"He's got the devil's luck on his side, Mom." Haruka muttered.
Kei tilted his head. "But isn't the Devil bad, Haruka?"
Her face twisted into fury. "That's Aunt Haruka!" She screamed.
The phone ringing halted their impending battle for the time being however. "Excuse me, dears." Hinata said before rising from her seat and heading for the phone. In the background, Kei and Haruka could be heard yelling about what Haruka's proper title was. Hinata laughed before picking up the phone and putting the receiver to her ear. "Hello? Yes, this is she. Who might I ask is calling?" A long pause. Her face registered in shock and despair as it went along. "An accident?! What kind of accident?! Are they alright?!" Another pause. Her face went almost dead. "Yes, yes. Alright, I understand. Thank you." She placed the receiver back onto the cradle and wiped away the vast amount of tears collecting in her eyes. After that, she somberly made her way back to her still warring relatives.
"Aunt Haruka!"
"Haruka!"
"Aunt Haruka!"
"Haruka!"
"Aunt!"
"Haruka!"
"Aunt!"
"Haruka!"
"AUNT!!"
"HARUKA!!!"
"Dears..." The two turned their heads, their faces barely centimeters from each other, to see a silently crying, very depressed Hinata. Her hands were tightly clenched together in front of her, her eyes looking at them with such despair and sadness, that it seemed like nothing would ever make them look happy ever again. "I'm afraid I have some bad news." With that, she leaped forward and captured the two of them in a crushing hug.
"Grandma," Kei's voice strained out within her grasp. "What's wrong? Why do you look so sad?"
"Yeah, Mom," Haruka added. "What happened?" The last time she had seen her mother act this way was when her father had died from a heart attack.
"Kei's parents were in an accident."
"Bro?" Haruka asked. If they were in an accident, why was her mother so upset? Unless... Her mind froze when a thought occurred to her. No, it couldn't be... could it? If that had happened, then wouldn't they be... Her mind couldn't even complete that horrific idea.
"An accident?" Kei quirked, totally oblivious to the seriousness of the situation. "Are they okay?"
"No, sweetie..." Hinata's voice broke as she prepared herself for what she had to say next. She blinked, causing big, fat tears to roll down her cheeks and down onto the heads of the children she was holding in her arms. "They're..." She bit her lip and forced herself to continue. "Gone."
Many years later, fifteen years to be exact, a young man woke up inside of his futon. He was awash in a cold sweat and tears were silently streaming down his face. He slowly sat up, resting an arm on his knee while he rubbed his eyes with the other one as he stared out of the window at the starry sky. 'Can't believe I'm having that dream again.' He turned to look at the clock. It read four-thirty. He groaned and flopped backwards onto his futon. 'It's not fair. I haven't had that dream since forever.'
He groaned again and turned over, pulling the blanket over him and trying to fall asleep again. After a few minutes, he realized that it wasn't going to happen. He sighed and slowly rose to his feet before walking over to collect his small mirror from his bag. He took it out and looked at himself in it. A boyish face complete with dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes was what he saw reflected in the small mirror. He sighed again as he rubbed at the bags collected under his eyes before shoving the mirror back into his bag. After doing that, he made his way over to the window to look out of it.
Keitaro Urashima. Nineteen years old and a two-year ronin. For those of you who don't know the phrase, a ronin is a student who couldn't pass the college entrance exams. His reason was because he had made a promise to a little girl when he was about five. That's right... Our little Kei from before had grown into the current Keitaro. But this Keitaro wasn't the same as his younger self anymore. Sure, he's still the kindest person you'll ever meet anywhere, but now... he's a lot more serious, somber, and definitely not at all the playful tyke he once was.
You see, the accident that was mentioned earlier that included his parents... was fatal. A drunk driver had crashed headfirst into them on their way home, killing the both of them instantly. The driver survived and was only punished by a DUI and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. He was let out of prison five years afterward because of good behavior and was now a productive citizen of the country again. Unfortunately, Keitaro was not so lucky...
After the accident, Keitaro lost a lot of his faith in humanity. He became depressed, withdrawn because of the lost of his parents. His last living relatives, his father's mother, Hinata Urashima, and his sister, Haruka Urashima, took him in and took care of him from then on. The two of them gave him as much love as they could, which brought him out of his shell somewhat, but he never really recovered all of the way because even though they were kind and caring to him, it still wasn't the same as a mother's and father's love.
The three of them lived together in the inn Hinata ran until Keitaro reached the age of eleven when Haruka went off to college. That was the last time he ever saw her again. Together, he and his grandmother ran the inn, the last real happy place of Keitaro's childhood. But it wasn't meant to be because at age fifteen he ran away, never to see any of his family again.
After running away, Keitaro basically lived on the streets. He did have some money, inheritance left over from when his parents died, and used it whenever he needed it. But mostly he held little part-time jobs, raising money for his meager existence. He also sometimes did tricks on the streets for change from the martial arts he had learned while he was living with his grandmother. It wasn't much of a life, but at least he was kind of happy.
His life was mostly chaotic, always on the edge, but there were always three constants in his life. One, he always kept in contact with Hinata, who was always happy to know that her precious grandson was all right. Two, he continued to practice his martial arts that Hinata had taught him. And three, he kept on studying so that he could make it into Tokyo University.
You must be asking, "Well, if he ran away, then how could he be hoping to go to college? Wouldn't he have not finished school if her did?" Well, the funny thing is that he never dropped out of school. He finished high school, not very well, he barely passed any of his classes, but he still finished all of his school's requirements. You see, when he ran away, his grandmother never reported him missing. She obviously held him in high enough regard to trust him to be by himself. Pretty good trust in a fifteen year old, but hey, it was her choice. She was his legal guardian.
In any case, Keitaro did pass high school, but because he was hardly ever in class, only the minimum amount to pass, he didn't get a very good education. He was pretty well-built from his training, but he didn't have the brain to match his brawn. So for the past two years, he had failed his entrance exams. But now... well, there wasn't much he could do now, was there? Anyway, enough of that background check, so let us return to our friend Keitaro back in reality, shall we?
Keitaro sighed and pushed himself off of the wall to fall backwards onto his futon. He pillowed his head on his hands and stared at the ceiling. For the past two years, he had been living in this apartment. Now that he actually had a permanent stay of residence, his life had settled down a lot more, giving him more time to study and train. It also gave him the ability to receive money from Hinata so that he could stay in this cozy room of his. His grandmother was always very generous when it came to lending him money. He sighed again and took a look at his clock. Five-thirty. An hour had passed? Well, what could he do now? Training or studying? "Better do training," he muttered to himself. "I feel way too jittery after that dream to try and train."
Deciding what to do, Keitaro rolled back and pushed himself off of the floor to flip himself onto his feet. He stood up and stretched, trying to relieve his muscles somewhat. He then made his way over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and a light, cotton t-shirt in which to train in. He quickly changed into them and exited his room by the door to the inner courtyard of the two-story apartment building. He took one quick look and decided to take the easy way down. Planting his hand on the guardrail, Keitaro vaulted himself off of it to land silently on the grass of the courtyard.
He was very glad that the landlord had decided to put the courtyard there in the first place. It was nice to look at to begin with, a good place to just sit and think in, and a halfway decent place to train. Keitaro gave a quick smirk. 'Might as well get a good start.' With that, he leapt forward and performed a series of flips to land in the center of the courtyard, immediately going into a kata. He still kept the mischievous streak he had as a kid throughout his life.
He practiced a while, starting with his warm-up exercises before going into the more complex ones. The sun had already risen and he was still going at it, his clothes drenched in sweat and him throwing punches, kicks and various acrobatic moves. By this time, the landlord had awakened and was watching Keitaro as he trained. Such a strange young man, so somber and polite, yet also so full of life and energy. Ahh, kids these days. He shook his head and chuckled before heading towards the young man. "Morning, Keitaro!" He called out. "Up already?"
Keitaro flipped forwards once more, bowed and turned to face his landlord. "Good morning, Mr. Tanuka."
Tanuka sighed. "Keitaro, how many times to I have to tell you? Just call me Tanuka." He laughed and put his head into the palm of his hand. "I mean, come on! You've lived here for what, two years? You should know me well enough to not treat me so formally!"
Keitaro's face formed into a slight frown. "But my grandma always taught me to give people the proper respect." He wiped his brow of the sweat on it and smiled. "You are my landlord, so to me you are simply Mr. Tanuka. No ifs, ands or buts about it!"
"Have it your way, Mr. Keitaro," Tanuka chuckled.
Keitaro laughed. "Thank you very much, Mr. Tanuka," he grinned sheepishly while scratching the back of his head.
Tanuka smiled. "Anyway, what are you doing up so early? Have a bad dream or something?"
Keitaro continued to scratch his head as he remembered the dream he had just had a few hours ago. "Yeah..." He murmured in a low tone. "Guess you could say that..." Was that dream an omen or something? It certainly felt like that. He shook his head and bent down to pick up the towel that he had decided to bring along with him. Swinging it around his neck and gripping the ends, he said, "Anyway, I've got to go inside now before I attract a crowd." He wasn't exactly a "people" person. One of his favorite sayings was, "Three's a crowd." See you, Mr. Tanuka!"
"Goodbye, Keitaro!' Tanuka replied. "And good luck with your studies!"
"Thank you!" Keitaro bent his legs and leapt for the railing leading to his room. He grabbed it, performed a handstand for a quick second and landed on his feet before going inside of his room. Tanuka chuckled before shoving his hands into his pockets and walking back to his room. There was never a dull moment around that boy. Never a dull moment at all.
Meanwhile, Keitaro was back inside of his room. He stripped his dirty clothing off and made his way to the shower. He washed himself and then went back into his room to quickly change into more appropriate attire. He sighed as he grabbed a cereal bar from his stash and began to munch on it while searching around the mess in his room to find one of his books. Finding it under a pile of dirty clothing, he opened it and began to work on the problems inside. However, his mind kept drifting back to the dream he had had.
He groaned as he slammed his book shut and flopped back onto the floor. He wouldn't be able to study at all because of that damn dream! 'Gah... I'm too easily distracted,' he thought to himself. 'I have really got to learn how to focus like I do when I train.' But... this was no ordinary distraction, this was a dream about his childhood. About his jaded past... well maybe that dramatic, but it wasn't exactly a walk through the roses. His childhood love and the death of his parents. Funny that they would both leave him forever on the exact same day. So ironic...
Keitaro shut his eyes, trying to remember what his first love looked like. But he couldn't remember her face or her name, only that she always carried a stuffed animal around with her... and that promise. The promise to meet again at Tokyo University. To be together once again. That promise... That pro-
"Rrriinngg!!!"
Keitaro's eyes snapped open and he jumped to his feet in a fighting stance, ready to battle the enemy that invaded his territory. It was then he noticed that it was only the phone ringing, not some dangerous, unknown foe. He let out a short laugh. "Damn, I'm getting too paranoid. Think anyone'll attack me at any second." The phone rang again, interrupting his self-chiding. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," he muttered. He walked over, caught the receiver on one finger and flung it into the air before swiping it with one hand and raising it to his ear. "Keitaro Urashima speaking. Who may I ask is calling?"
"My, so polite," the voice on the other end of the line said. "But is that any way to talk to your little, old granny?"
Keitaro's face burst into a huge grin. "Grandma, it's you! How are you? Are you doing well?"
"I'm doing fine, sweetheart," Hinata laughed. "And what about you? Are you doing okay?"
"As well as any two-year ronin can be," he snorted.
"Oh, don't be so down on yourself," she said. "You may not have the brains, but you do have the heart."
"I'm beginning to think that heart isn't going to be enough, Grandma." Keitaro sighed unhappily. "But what's this about calling out of the blue? Usually I'm the one to call you."
"What? Can't an old woman just want to have a friendly conversation with her one and only grandson?"
"Grandmaaa..." Keitaro drew out. He knew that his mother wasn't the type to just call him like this without wanting something in return. He had lived with her long enough to learn that. "Come on. Tell me."
Hinata sighed. "Oh, all right," she muttered. "Listen, Kei..." He began to become worried as his grandmother used his childhood nickname. This was going to be something big, he just knew it. "I want you to come back to Hinata House."
He gasped. "Hinata House? Your inn? But Grandma, I-"
"Oh, please, Kei," she pleaded. "It would mean so much to me if you came back. It's been five years since I last saw you and I'm getting on in my years and I just want to see my only grandson's face one more time before I go on to the afterlife."
Keitaro was shocked. "Grandma, you're not-"
"Oh, goodness heavens, no, dear," Hinata interrupted again. "This old bag of bones still has some kick left in her." She laughed for effect and Keitaro couldn't help but chuckle along with the belly-laughing of his dear grandmother. "But in any case, dear, I really would appreciate it if you came back. It could be like old times again. Just you, me, and Haruka."
"Haruka still lives there?!" He asked excitedly. "How is she? Better yet, does she still insist on being called Aunt?"
"Well..." She laughed for a short while. "No, quite the opposite actually. When she came back from college, we made fun of her because of it and surprisingly enough, she hated it. Now, whenever someone calls her it, she bashes them over the head and tells them to 'just call me Haruka.'"
"Yep, just like Haruka," he chuckled. He then shook his head. No, this was no time to get sidetracked. Hinata was asking him to return to her inn, the Hinata House. That place of so many good, yet also so many bad memories. The place of his childhood love and promise, and the place where he learned of the death of his parents. The place where he lived for nearly ten years. The place that he had run away from. What was he to do? He cleared his throat and spoke in a serious tone. "But really, Grandma, you want me to return to Hinata House?"
"Yes," she sighed, a little annoyed. "I want you to return to Hinata House."
Keitaro thought a bit before cautiously asking, "What's the catch?"
"Catch?" She said in an innocent voice. "There is no catch. I just want to see my sweet and only grandchild, that's all."
He pursued the matter. Living with his grandmother made him tend to walk on eggshells when anything big came up. He learned to never take anything at face value, to always read between the lines and to never trust anyone completely on anything. You might call him paranoid, but being paranoid is when no one is after you, and Keitaro's grandmother was definitely one of the people after him. Strange, yeah, but hey... that's family. "You sure you aren't going to ambush me when I arrive to see how well I've done in my training?"
"I wouldn't dream of doing that, Kei." He scoffed at her remark. "Well, okay, dreaming and actually performing it are two completely different things..." Yep, that sounded like his grandmother. Keitaro mentally sighed as he shook his head in exasperation. "But I swear, Kei, I won't do that. I promise."
"You promise?"
"I promise-promise."
"Well..." Well, what could he do? Say no and stay in this lonely apartment, futilely (or at least that's what it seemed like) studying to get into one of the most prestigious colleges in the country to just accomplish a promise he made to some girl fifteen years ago, whose face and name he couldn't even remember? Or... could he say yes and return to the place of his childhood memories, see his remaining family members once and try to start all over again? Maybe he could even try to find out more about his promise girl. Or maybe begin training with Hinata again. Or maybe just go to make fun of Haruka once more. To him, the pros pretty much outweighed the cons. Besides, he was just visiting, right? Right. "Okay, Grandma, I'll come back, but...!" He yelled, interrupting Hinata's response. "Only for a little bit, to see if it's worthwhile staying."
"Oh, thank you so much, Kei!" She cried out. "I promise you won't regret it!" She calmed down and spoke more steadily. "Well, I suppose I'll see you later today then." She broke down into giggles. "Bye, Kei!"
"Wait, Grandma! Today?! I can't just-" But it was too late. She hung up the phone before he could protest any further. Keitaro sighed heavily as he placed the phone back on its base before falling back onto the floor. 'Great,' he thought. 'Now what the hell am I supposed to do?' He stared at the ceiling before clambering to his feet. 'Well, not like I got anything better to do.' However, a feeling of dread was beginning to settle in the pit of his stomach. That dream Hinata calling him out of nowhere. It was as if someone was piecing his future together like a simple puzzle. Freaky...
He walked over to his dresser and pulled out the small amount of clothing contained within it. He always traveled light, only keeping a few changes of clothes even though he barely went anywhere anymore, considering he hadn't lived out on the streets for the past two years. He quickly packed them into his bag along with a few other essential items, including toiletries, some textbooks, his scrapbook of photo booth pictures, (he had this strange fetish with them) and some other random things. He also packed in a photo of his entire family before the accident. It showed his mother, father, aunt, grandmother, and of course, him. It was the only picture left that reminded him of a happy time in his childhood. After finishing, he slung his pack over his back and cleaned his room a little, shoving his dirty clothing in one corner, his remaining textbooks and studying stuff in another, rolled up his futon and put it in his closet, and then walked out his door, locking it behind him.
As he walked along the balcony and down the stairs, he gazed at the sky and wondered what would happen once he returned to his grandmother's hotel. Would there be a lot of changes? Places knocked down, rebuilt or new additions all together? New people living there? Or would it be just like before, with no one staying there and just him and his last living relatives? He sighed and continued. Well, he wouldn't know till he got there, now would he? But little did he know that he would be in for a quite, hmm... big surprise when he arrived.
When he came to the lobby of the apartment building, Tanuka noticed him and waved. "Hey, Keitaro."
"Hello, Mr. Tanuka." Keitaro responded.
Tanuka's eyes switched quickly to the bag on Keitaro's side and then back to his face. He raised an eyebrow. "Going somewhere?" He questioned.
"Yeah," Keitaro nodded. "I'm going to visit my grandma."
"Oh, really? That's nice. Well, hope you have a good time."
"Thank you, Mr. Tanuka. Goodbye."
"Goodbye, Keitaro." Keitaro bowed once more and walked out the main entrance. Tanuka chuckled before settling back down in his chair. He knew that this was actually a big thing for the young man. He held his grandmother in very high regard from the way he spoke about her. Tanuka also knew for a fact that Keitaro hadn't seen Hinata for a long time now because he had confided that information to him about a year ago. He chuckled again before opening his newspaper and looking at the headline. "Well, would you look at that. 'Neighbors complain about strange noises and explosions from an inn in the Kanagawa prefecture.' Hey, wasn't that where Keitaro was heading?"
Meanwhile, the aforementioned male was heading for his motorcycle. Ironically enough, he received it as a present for his seventeenth birthday from Hinata. Ironic because this gave him more of a reason to not return home and live on the streets. But instead, he opted to live in his now current accommodations. So now he just used the bike to get around. It certainly saved on money for buses and other public transportation and besides, he enjoyed the way the bike rode. It was thrilling to him quite frankly. He climbed onto it, kicked the jumpstart and rode out of the parking lot. It was time to go... home.
A motorcycle pulled up to a parking lot and stopped in a lane. The engine died down and the driver put the kick-stop down before climbing off of the bike. He removed his helmet and placed it on the seat before stretching his arms. Keitaro scratched the back of his head as looked around the lot. No cars were found in his sight. Well, that meant two things. One, that no guests were staying at the hotel, at least ones that owned vehicles. And two, his grandmother wasn't home because otherwise he would have seen her rickety, old van. Well, she could have sold it, he supposed.
Keitaro sighed as he hitched his bag and began to walk. He went along his way until he finally reached his destination. Craning his neck, he took in the view of the over-towering building standing before him. "Wow," he said in a little bit of awe. "Forgot how big this place was." He chuckled softly and closed his eyes. "Guess I've been away longer than I thought, huh?" He murmured to himself.
He then shrugged his shoulders, stood up straight and moved forward to the entrance. He slid the door open and took a step inside. "Hello?" He called out. "Anyone home?" He moved completely inside the inn and closed the door behind him. "Grandma? It's Keitaro. You here?" Nobody answered his question. He sighed and slowly took off his shoes to slip on the slippers waiting by the door. "Great, now what should I do? She's not even here to greet me. Ungrateful..." He muttered a couple of phrases that the author would rather not repeat.
After calming down, he walked through the hallways of the hotel, trying to remember how to get to Hinata's room. He had been gone for so long, he got lost a couple of times before finally finding the place he was looking for. And not one sound was heard throughout the entire house. It was like everything was frozen in one instant of time. Pretty freaky, to say the least. "Oh, hey, here it is." Keitaro opened the door and walked in. "Guess I'll just wait here."
He sat down, leaning back on the kotatsu. He sighed and closed his eyes, beginning the wait for his grandmother. After a while of waiting, however, his patience began to rapidly grow thin. He groaned in frustration and rose to his feet, patted his backside, and then walked out of Hinata's room. 'Grr... damn it. Where is that grandmother of mine? She pleads for me to come back and the doesn't even have the decency to make sure she's here when I arrive.' A flash of red and white caught his eye and he turned to look at a banner hanging over an opening. A smirk rose to his face. 'Oh well, guess I could just entertain myself here.'
Minutes later, Keitaro was naked and lounging in a very comforting hot spring. He sighed happily as he laid a wet towel over his forehead. "Ahh... feels so nice and warm." He chuckled as he scratched his nose. "Maybe I should stay here after all. They don't have hot springs like this back in Tokyo." A noise was heard behind him and he swiveled around to see what had caused it. A petite foot stepped out of the door and onto the wet stones. 'Crap, person alert.' He sighed and took a deep breath. He then dove down into the hot water. He'd rather not scare the tenants by seeing some random guy just sitting in their hot springs. Might cause a panic. 'Let's see who this guy is.' He opened his eyes and took a quick look. Doing so caused his mouth to drop. 'Oh... crap...'
A gorgeous young woman, with long auburn hair and a pretty decent pair of... attributes had slowly walked into the hot spring and sat down. "This is so nice and hot!" She giggled to herself. "I love taking a soak during the day. Total heaven!' She raised her arms into the air, giving Keitaro a perfect view of her chest area. His face burst into a horrible blush before he forced himself to look away from her lovely form and huddled into a ball in the water, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. His face was beet red as he struggled to keep calm and not go into a panic attack.
You see, Keitaro did not interact very well with girls. The only one that he ever did well with was his childhood love, and she was long gone. Right after the death of his parents and lost of his friend, Keitaro had become detached from the world around him. He really didn't care about anything, not family or friends. Eventually, he began to care about his family again, but still had a problem with making new friends. Girlfriends were a totally different story all together. Considering the pain he went through when he was so young, he never really went through the silly crushes and infatuations that many people did during the span of their school years.
That being said, days such as Valentine's Day really harbored no significant meaning to him. To him, it was just a day where other people wasted money on each other. It was nothing special, just another day in the despicable world he lived in. He lived separate from the world, from everyone, and so a relationship was far beyond his grasp. To put it simply, Keitaro Urashima had never had a single girlfriend throughout the entire nineteen years of his life. So it was easy to say that he definitely did not have very good experience when it came to women. What happened next didn't exactly help matters at hand.
"Hey, Naru? You enjoying yourself?"
Keitaro turned his head to see a new female coming into the hot springs. This one had short, brown hair, strangely slanted eyes, which reminded him of a fox, and, if this was even possible, bigger breasts than the first girl. She walked over and sat right next to the first girl. Meanwhile, Keitaro was beginning to get a panic attack as he noticed more things than he usually saw on a girl's body. He screamed internally while feeling he was about to burst. 'Double crap!'
"Hi, Kitsune," the first girl, Naru, said. Ahh... Kitsune... That would explain the slanted eyes. "Yeah, I am." Her tone got a cheekier. "And guess what?! I think my boobs are getting bigger! See?" She planted an arm under her breasts and presented them to the other girl, Kitsune.
Kitsune sighed, and then smirked. "They have to be. You eat like a horse!"
Naru scowled. But then her eyes shone with a mischievous glint. "Maybe..." She slid over to Kitsune and laid a hand on her shoulder. Kitsune opened one of her eyes and looked at her curiously. Naru sighed dramatically. "They're still nowhere near yours, though." She then grinned wickedly. "Let's give 'em a squeeze!" She then leapt onto the fox girl and... Sorry, perverts, this is a PG-13 story, not R, so no graphic scenes. A few seconds later, the two girls had fallen into the deeper part of the hot springs, a tangle of limbs.
That was the last straw for Keitaro. He couldn't take it anymore. First that girl, what was her name...? Naru, that's it. Naru literally hung her breasts out for her friend to see, and now the both of them were playfully wrestling with each other, both of them naked no less. His blood was boiling like crazy and his lungs were becoming a vacuum. Actually, the latter problem was more or less caused by him holding his breath for about five minutes straight. And the blood boiling? Let's just say a certain member was awakening from its slumber and was very happy with its alarm clock. And that's what caused the upcoming chaos.
It happened. One of the girl's hands brushed against his little friend. He yelped and burst out of the water, gulping in huge amounts of fresh air. The girls saw him erupt from the hot spring's surface, clutching at a towel around his waist. All three of them froze, the girl's mouths agape and Keitaro's face in a look of pure embarrassment. Naru lifted and pointed a finger at him, trying to speak, but not being able to. He raised a hand behind his head and laughed nervously. "Umm... so sorry. Didn't mean to see anything." He than began to edge his way to the exit. The girls' eyes followed him the whole time. "I'll... just be going now. Bye!" He bolted, leaping out of the hot springs and through the door.
Naru and Kitsune first looked where the strange man had disappeared and then back at each other. Naru was finally able to speak, but shakily at best. "W-what just happened? Did a g-guy just jump out of the water?"
"I think so," Kitsune responded. She tapped a finger to her chin and added, "And you know what? He was pretty cute." That actually wasn't all too uncommon for Keitaro. No, not the busting out of the water while two females were wrestling each other mere feet away. I meant the part of being called cute. Many girls actually did find him physically attractive. Unfortunately for him, whenever a girl told him that, he would break down into frantics.
The girls finally realized what had happened, though, and when they did, they did the first thing that came to their minds. They screamed, very loudly and very angrily.
"KYAAAAHHHH! There's a peeping tom in the hot springs!"
Keitaro cringed in the changing room as he heard the screeches emanating from the open doorway. 'Oh crap, oh crap,' he thought hysterically. 'Grandma's going to kill me when she hears I saw some of her tenants naked! This so bad!' He grabbed the basket containing his clothes and ran out of the changing room, holding the basket to his chest. On the way out, he ran into a tanned girl carrying a basket of girl's clothing. "Wha!" He stopped short and gazed nervously at her.
The girl tilted her head and looked at him curiously. "Who are you?" She asked innocently.
Keitaro sweatdropped. "Umm... I'm just visiti-"
However, he was interrupted as Naru burst through the door, clutching a towel around her body. "Su!" She shouted. "Stop that pervert!"
Su snapped her head to stare at him. Keitaro chuckled nervously before taking the basket from her hands. "Sorry, miss, but I need to borrow this!" He then tossed it and its contents at a rampaging Naru. She slowed down to avoid being hit, and he took his chance to run. It wasn't long before he nearly collided with another young girl coming out of the kitchen with a ladle in her hand. He gasped in surprise before reacting to the only thing he knew of, if an obstacle was in his way, go around it in any way possible, even if it meant going through it. Grabbing the girl's shoulders, he spun her behind him to impede even further the cataclysmic disaster coming quickly after him. "Excuse me, miss!"
The blue-haired girl stumbled backwards and nearly fell, but was caught when Naru put her arms out. She was fully dressed by now and watched as Keitaro disappeared from sight around the corner. "Damn," she muttered. That pervert had seen her naked and was getting away! She wouldn't stand for this! But first she had to make sure that her friend was okay. "Shinobu, you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"
Shinobu snapped out of her daze to gaze, startled, at Naru. "N-no," she stuttered. "I-I'm okay. But... what the heck just happened? Who was that?"
Naru's eyes flattened into enraged slits. "That," she growled, malice and spite lacing her every word. "Was some slimeball that was peeking on us in the hot springs." The corners of her mouth curved up into a sadistic smile. "That pervert's gonna wish that he never set foot in this place." Oh yes, she would make him pay. She would make him pay dearly. Her thoughts were interrupted as a teenager with long, raven-black hair ran up to them, carrying a bokuto.
"Are you two all right?" She asked.
"Yes," Naru responded. Her voice became low and dangerous. "Motoko, kill."
She nodded. "With pleasure."
Meanwhile, Keitaro was still running as fast as he could. "Argh! Why do I keep running into girls?! This is an inn, isn't it?! Why aren't there any guys?! I'm going to go insane! What was grandma thinking?!" This didn't make any sense! Why was this happening to him? All he did was try to visit his grandmother, and now he was getting chased by a bunch of angry girls. "This sucks...!" He then heard one of the girls' voices calling out to him from behind.
"Halt, vile male!"
"Vile male?" He stopped short and turned around to see Motoko baring her bokuto at him. He sweatdropped as she took a fighting stance and then, launched herself at him. He was shocked as she covered the vast distance between then in a mere instant, and barely had time to dodge as she swung her katana down on his head. He stumbled to the side, regained his footing, and stared angrily at her. "What was that for?!"
"Quiet! No male is allowed within these walls! I must punish you for violating this place with your vile presence!"
'What is with this girl?' Keitaro thought worriedly. Not once had he ever known a woman to act this way, and frankly, he was getting both a little nervous and annoyed. Of course, he was also afraid of what his grandmother would do when she found out he had been in a... he looked down at the wooden katana gripped in the girl's hand. A rather... interesting fight with one of the tenants. Even though his Grandma was a very sweet, old lady, when she was angry, she was just downright scary.
"Look," he said calmly, trying to make the hostile girl in front of him more tranquil. "I don't want to fight you, miss. So please, put that sword away and let's talk about this like civil beings." However, her reaction was not what he had hoped for.
Shaking her head furiously, Motoko growled, "No! I will not be persuaded by your deceitful words. Now take your punishment like a man!" and with that, she leapt at him. Keitaro sighed internally. Well, if that was what she wanted, he would give it to her. But he would not hurt her, he would never hurt an living being ever again. After the death of his parents, he never wanted any person to feel the pain that he had felt, whether it be physical, mental or emotional. Never again. Moving into a battle stance, he received her attack, reflecting it to the side with a quick slap. Thus the dance of fighting had begun.
Time after time, Motoko swung her bokuto at Keitaro, and time after time he dodged her strikes. He moved in and out of her attack's path, swiftly melting between her jabs, slashes and overhead swings. He flipped backwards, forwards, side-to-side, all the while trying to move as little as possible to try and conserve energy. His strategy worked. By the time the other girls had arrived, Motoko was beginning to pant and her movements were becoming more sluggish by the second. However, the girls did not notice this as they cheered her on.
"Woo-hoo! Go, Motoko!" Su cried out. "Kick that pervert's butt!"
Kitsune perked up an eyebrow and leaned over to Naru. "This is weird, isn't it?" She whispered. "The way Motoko's moving..."
Naru nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, doesn't it seem like she's... losing? I mean, that guy's dodging all of her attacks like they're nothing."
And it was true. The young man was easily avoiding all of the female's attacks, a small smile gracing his face as he moved back and forth between her onslaughts. Gazing upon his face, Motoko only became more enraged by the second. How dare this... male, do this to her? She could tell he was just playing with her, as if she were nothing but a joke to him. The smile on his face was proof enough. She would not allow this! She would never allow a male to harm her honor! 'That's it!' She thought angrily. 'The gloves are off! I will defeat this man even if it kills me!'
Jumping backwards, she bent over slightly and panted heavily. Keitaro looked at her with concern. She didn't seem so well. They had been fighting for about fifteen minutes now and he hadn't even broken a sweat while her clothes were already getting fairly damp. He raised a hand to say something, but was shot down when Motoko stood up and pointed her sword straight at him. "Do not mock me, slime," she warned darkly. "I will not take your fake pity. Now, stay still and let me punish you!" She leapt through the air at him, raising her bokuto over her head with one hand and then slashing it down in one strike on his head with all of her strength. "Boulder cutting blade!" The sword sped up, turning into nothing but a blur of light and wood.
"All right," Naru said excitedly. "It's going too fast! There's no way he can dodge it!"
And she was right. The sword was moving too fast, too fast to dodge or evade. Keitaro's natural ability wouldn't help him at all. But if there was anything he had learned during his training, it was never to depend on any one thing too much. If he could not dodge... he would parry. Kicking his foot straight up, he blocked the blade with the sole of his foot. This accomplished two things. One, he was able to stop the katana, knocking it from Motoko's grasp and to the floor. And two... well, think of it this way. A man, wearing nothing but a small towel around his waist, moves his leg straight up to his other one. What happens? It's simple. Certain organs that only males have are put into clear view. The reaction to that was quite simple as well.
The girls gasped in shock. Kitsune and Naru put one of their hands over Su and Shinobu's eyes to prevent them from noticing Keitaro's appendage while covering theirs with the other. Kitsune, being her usual self, slyly peeked through her fingertips. Motoko took a step back, tripped over her own feet, and fell backwards onto her butt. For Keitaro, it took a couple of seconds for him to realize what had happened, but when he did, his reaction was ordinary. He squawked in embarrassment, flung his foot down, covered his lower region with his hands and towel, and squatted down, hanging his head. He looked back up at them, his eyes closed and face flushed, before speaking. "See?" He said unhappily. "You couldn't let me get dressed first? You had to fight me when I had nothing but a towel on?"
The girls were still in shock after seeing Keitaro's... well, you get the point. Their faces were nearly as red and they were just as embarrassed. Naru was the first to recover, however. Her eyes slanted into an angry look, and she stomped over to where Keitaro was before stopping right in front of him. She looked down on him and spoke in a venomous voice. "Okay, fine, now that you've managed to not only peep on us but also flash yourself to a bunch of innocent girls, what do you have to say for yourself?" Keitaro looked up and saw her. His blush became worse when he realized this was one of the girls that he had seen totally naked. He opened his mouth to talk, but only a strangled noise came out. Naru got angrier as she saw the somewhat lecherous hint in his features. "Well?!" Her voice rose. "Tell us!"
Keitaro shut his mouth, stood up slowly, and nervously scratched the back of his head. "I'm... sorry," he managed to say. "I truly did not mean to do those transgressions from before. I only meant to visit my grandma here at this hotel."
Naru's eye twitched violently and her mouth drew into a grim line. "What do you mean, 'hotel?'" her shoulders began to shake and she looked down at her feet. "You expect us to believe your stupid lies?!" She looked back up at him, her eyes full of fury. "This hasn't been a hotel for ages! This..." She shot her hand back to wave at the rest of the girls. "Is a leased apartment complex for women! In other words, a girls dorm!"
Keitaro's mind froze. This was... this was... "A girl's dorm?!" He squeaked out.
"Right," Naru nodded. "Now, you just stay tight while we call the cops." She turned around to go.
"Hey, wait!" Keitaro took a step forward and grabbed her shoulder. She shivered at his touch. It was strange, she had just met this boy, and yet her heart was pounding like a jackhammer and felt like it had been swimming in her stomach. Why was she acting this way? Hmph... probably just because of her anger towards him, that's all. Nevertheless, she obeyed his silent command and turned around to face him. When she did, he realized what he had done and let go of her shoulder as if he had been burned, putting it to his side. He blushed and Naru looked at him with a strange expression on her face. "What do you mean, 'a girls dorm?'"
She sighed in annoyance. "Just what I said, a girls dorm."
"I heard you the first time! It's just that-"
"What's with all the noise?" He was interrupted as a woman's voice called out to the group of girls crowded near him. "I'm trying to relax and all I hear is yelling and screaming." Keitaro's head jerked up as he sensed her walking up to them. Her aura seemed so familiar to him, so... calming. Who was it? The girls were saying something, but he didn't hear them as a woman in her late twenties walked into view, a lit cigarette clenched between her fingers. His eyes gained some warmth as he realized who it was. "Well, well," the woman said in mock disbelief. "If it isn't my prodigal nephew, Keitaro. How you been?"
Keitaro smirked and scratched his nose. "I'm doing okay. I'd like to ask you the same, but I can't." His smirk grew as his eyes twinkled with mischief. "You've gotten old, Aunt."
Haruka's eye twitched, but then settled back down as she chuckled softly. Moving over to him, she put a hand on his shoulder. "Keitaro, my boy..." she abruptly took her hand off of his shoulder and smacked him in the back of the head. "Just call me Haruka." He grinned sheepishly as he nodded and rubbed at his injury. But whether she was warmly embracing him or kicking the crap out of him, the other girls were totally and absolutely confused as to what was going on.
"Huh?"
"So you're telling me this a girls dorm now?"
After the... incident, everyone had piled back into the lobby. Keitaro was fully dressed now and was sitting on a couch across from Haruka as she explained what was going on. The girls were in various places of the room staring as the two conversed with mixed feelings of curiosity, anger, disgust... mostly just the latter two. Keitaro leaned back and looked at his aunt while she continued.
"Yep," Haruka replied as she took a drag of her cigarette. "Mom left on a world-wide sightseeing tour about a year ago. We only get faxes from her every once in a while. She said she wanted new thrills, so she took her failing hotel and turned it into a girls dormitory."
Keitaro sweatdropped as he imagined his grandmother cackling off on the other side of the world. He then sighed. This was exactly something that he expected Hinata to do. But why would she lie to him like that? He said as much. "I don't get it. If she's been gone for a year, why didn't she tell me? Better yet, why didn't she tell me she turned Hinata House into a girls dorm?"
Haruka closed her eyes, sighed, and shook her head. "I honestly have no idea. She didn't say anything to me. But you say she just called you this morning?" He silently nodded his head. She sighed again. "Well, I'm sure she had a good reason to. Maybe you should stay here a little longer until she calls and tells us what's going on."
Up until this point, the girls had silently kept to the side, only observing as the two relatives talked to each other. But after this suggestion, they were silent no more. Naru slammed her hands down on the table and everyone's head shot around to look at her. "Absolutely not!" She yelled in defiance.
Keitaro raised a hand to try and respond. "Excuse me, miss, but I-"
"I said no!" She screamed even louder, literally forcing her face right into his. "This is a girls dorm! We can't have some sicko like you here!" Kitsune, in a futile effort, locked her arms under Naru's and pulled her back away slightly from the anxious ronin.
"B-but...!"
This only managed to enrage the young woman even further. She broke away from her friend's grasp and surged forward, sticking a finger right in the hapless boy's face. She began to rattle off his past perverted crimes. "You saw us naked, threw our underwear at us, and did all sorts of disgusting things. You also showed your thing to all of us, even poor Shinobu!" She motioned towards the blue-haired girl sitting only a few feet away. "She's only in seventh grade! What if she's traumatized for life?!"
"Umm... I'm fine!" Shinobu interrupted as she waved a hand. "Narusegawa covered my eyes before I could really see anything. All I saw was..." Her head snapped up and she blushed before looking at the ground in embarrassment and poking her fingers together. "Urm, never mind. Forget what I just said."
"Listen..." They turned back to see a somber Keitaro. "I really do understand," he said as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm a guy, and a guy can't stay in a girls dorm, right?" He stood up and hitched on his bag. "Besides, I don't know why I'm here in the first place if Grandma isn't." He bowed to them. "I'm sorry for bothering you all. I'll just be going now."
Haruka crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Sorry, Keitaro," she smiled ruefully. "I know you would have saved rent here, but the commute would have been hell!"
"Yeah," he chuckled weakly. "You're right."
"If I remember correctly..." He twisted his head to look at her. She smiled warmly at his glance. "You're at Tokyo U now, right?"
"Huh?"
She raised an eyebrow at his baffled expression. "You'd be a sophomore right about now..."
He remained silent for a second before laughing softly. He scratched his head as he shook it. "What? Didn't Grandma tell you? I've spent the last two years..."
"T-T-Tokyo U?!" Keitaro turned around, only to be bombarded by a cascade of shocked and awed females. "Tokyo University?!"
"Umm..." He sweatdropped from their reactions and took a step back. "Yeah?" He answered, a little confused as to what they were asking him.
"You're a student at Tokyo University?!"
"That's so awesome!"
"Wha?! It is?" He only managed to sweatdrop even more as he kept twisting his head to look at the girls. This was starting to get really weird! This girls thought he was a Tokyo U student? Heh, yeah right! Well, he'd just have to set them straight, now wouldn't he? "Excuse me, but I don't — hey!" The next thing he knew, Kitsune forced him down back onto the couch as she held his shoulders and looked him in the face.
She stared at him like she was appraising some kind of item at an auction. "Hmmmm..." She murmured, taking in the details of his face. "They say you shouldn't judge by appearances..."
Su, totally oblivious to what was going on, pointed at him and asked, "What's Tokyo-Ewe? A snack?" Keitaro stole a glance at her. What was with these girls? They were all too weird. Funny, yes, and caring to each other, that too, but they were also the strangest people he had ever met in his life, and he had met a lot of weirdoes in his lifetime.
Naru huffed. "Even if he's a Tokyo U student, he's still a pervert."
"What are you saying?" Kitsune asked her friend, a little annoyed at her stubbornness. "We're talking about Tokyo University!" She turned back to Keitaro, who was watching all of them in a confused manner, and lifted her finger as if making a point. "Is it true?! You gotta be in the top percentile for Tokyo U..."
"Huh? Oh, umm, well right now..." He put his fingers to his chin as he tried to remember what the acceptance grade for the college was. "I think it's the 69th percentile..."
"Did you hear that? 69th percentile!"
"O, my gosh! 69th percentile!"
""Wow! 69!"
"Does Tokyo-Ewe taste good?"
"I don't mean me..." Keitaro said desperately. This was really getting out of hand! Now these girls thought he was in the 69th percentile? That was pretty much impossible for him. He had to set them straight! "Listen to me, I-"
"So, which college?"
Kitsune's question caught him off guard again. His mind raced as he struggled to put an answer together. Poking his fingers together, he was able to mumble out. "Um, well... The law program is..."
"Did you hear that?!" Kitsune shouted to the others. "Tokyo U's law program!"
Keitaro tried to speak up. "Actually, what I'm aiming for is..." But he was only interrupted again as Kitsune continued her rampage.
"He's going to be a big-shot lawyer or at the ministry of finance!"
Keitaro was frozen in his seat as the girls continued to speculate on his life in Tokyo U. He couldn't help but feel embarrassed and ashamed as this assault on his fake life kept going on. An ominous feeling settled into the pit of his stomach as he watched the girls converse excitedly with each other. 'This is bad!' He thought anxiously. 'I'm really nothing but a second year ronin, and I'm only in the 48th percentile! This is getting completely out of hand! I've got to do something about it!"
While he was thinking of a way out of this mess, another was thinking of an idea that would only manage to entwine him even further into the tangled web that was being created by the girls' hasty conclusions. Kitsune put a hand to her mouth as her mind did its best to put this situation to her best advantage. 'So, this guy is in the college of law in Tokyo U? Plus, as the grandson of this dorm's owner, he must be a rich little bon-bon.' She giggled internally as she imagined her glorious victory. 'This is my chance!' Flinging a finger into the air, Kitsune made a proposition. "How 'bout it, guys?! Why don't we let the counselor stay here?"
Keitaro's face registered in shock and amazement. His head swiveled from its position to stare as Kitsune spoke. "Huh?! Counselor?" Where the hell did that come from?
Kitsune turned back around to tap him on the nose. "Of course, this is still a girls dorm. If you try anything pervy like you did today, you're out on your butt!" She faced the tenants once again and winked. "Don't you think so?"
Motoko nodded as she crossed her arms in front of her. "I agree," she said peacefully. "We should be able to trust a university student."
"Me too!" Shinobu shouted happily.
"So, it's all decided then!" Kitsune grinned.
Keitaro tried to speak but was cut off yet again when Naru spoke up. "Hold on, Kitsune!" She said angrily as she advanced on her friend. "This is still a girls dorm. You can't just change it on a whim!"
"Ohhhh?" Kitsune responded. She rested her chin on a hand, opening one of her eyes to gaze at Naru. "What, Narusegawa?" She asked coyly. "You'd throw out this poor man?" She smiled slyly, her one open eye containing a devious glint within it. "This sweet boy who's stressed over missing his dear grandmother?"
She was back up when Motoko nodded again. "We all know him now. It'd be so uncool to refuse him." Naru took a step back, surprised at the young girl's agreement. Motoko was allowing a man to stay at Hinata House? This was getting interesting to say the least.
She turned to try to get help from the youngest two tenants. Unfortunately for her, their reactions weren't what she had hoped for. Shinobu had turned on the innocent puppy-dog eyes, tears gathering at their corners as she pouted sadly. "Don't be mean, Narusegawa!"
Su followed her up, a giant grin on her face, shooting insult after insult at the pleading female. "Meanie!" She grinned wildly, waggling her fingers in a demeaning fashion. "Old hag!"
Naru let out a strangled noise before looking down and clenching her fists. She trembled a little while, her emotions and feelings battling within her very soul. She looked back up at them, a defeated frown adorning her flushed cheeks. "Fine!" She said in resignation. "We'll welcome him in... for now!"
Kitsune nodded her head in approval. She then motioned to the others and they followed her example. Moving in a friendly and welcoming manner, they yelled to Keitaro, "Welcome... to Hinata House!"
He scratched the back of his head before managing to stutter a reply. "Th-th-th-th-thank... thank you for your hospitality."
'I hope...'
A/N: Wow! The first chapter of my new fic is done! I hope all of you enjoyed it! As anticipated, the updates will be long and in-between, the chapters will be quite long, and it will be along story. But hey, you've enjoyed my stories so far... right? Anyway, I'll do the interview now, with Keitaro only and no interruptions, just so I can give you a better idea of his personality. Ready? Here we go!
Me: Welcome to the "One Kiss Can Change It All" interview! Today with me I have a one, Keitaro Urashima! Mr. Urashima, hello!
Keitaro: (bows) Hello, Mr. Yamiga.
Me: I made Keitaro a lot more formal in this stories than you'll see in most, but you can expect that when he lost his parents at such a young age.
Keitaro: (frowns) About that, Mr. Yamiga. Did you really have to do that to me?
Me: (smiles sadly) Sorry about that, Keitaro. I really am. But I had to give you a dramatic moment in your lifetime to give you the right personality for the story.
Keitaro: (sighs) That's alright... I did have a lot of fun at Grandma's, and that's going to give me a good advantage while staying at Hinata House, right?
Me: (nods) Yep, that's right. Because you know the inn like the back of your hand, you're going to have a whole lot of fun sneaking around the secret passageways. (grins slyly; winks) It'll even give you the chance to peek on the girls easier.
Keitaro: (blushes) Mr. Yamiga! I wouldn't do that!
Me: I know that, Keitaro. (chuckles) You're way too proper for that. Anyway, about your properness... I sort of based your personality off of mine a little. You could also say you act a like Kenshin Himura from "Rurouni Kenshin." Both of us have this bad tendency to call people Miss or Mr., even when they don't want to. I still call people my own age Mr. Or Miss without even realizing it. (laughs) So when you call the girls Miss, it's not the same as the suffix –san. It's more along the lines of –dono, which show that you respect them a lot.
Keitaro: But I do get along with them, don't I?
Me: Yep, I also rid you of most of your klutziness curse. Those jokes get old after a while. But also, you have the ability to "sense" the others, so the times when you walk in on the girls when they're semi-naked are gone too. I got sick of those after a while too.
Keitaro: Well, is that enough? Or should you just ruin the entire plot?
Me: (scratches back of head) Yeah, I do think that is enough. Okay, well, I guess the two of us will talk again real soon, but until then...
Keitaro: (bows) Please Review!
A/N: Well, is that good enough for ya? I gave a pretty good explanation on Keitaro's new OOC-ness, didn't I? In any case, I really hope you enjoy my new fic just as much as you did "And Life Goes On." And if you don't... I'll just keep writing until someone does. But I'll see all of ya some other time, but until then, please review, and remember, no flames!
Preview!
Next Chapter: Little White Lie
He sighed in desperation. Well, thinking too much about it wasn't going help too much, now would it? He sighed again and began to lean back when something caught his eye. It opened in awe and he stood up slowly before walking over to lean on the railing of the hallway and took in the view. "Wow..." Keitaro murmured. "The sea... Forgot how cool the view was from here." He sighed as he settled his elbows on the railing and gazed at the scenery. Fluffy, white clouds moved lazily through the big, blue sky as the waves of the sea gently lapped against one another. 'Than again,' he thought bitterly. 'I seem to be forgetting a lot of things lately...'