::: A New Tenant :::

by

- GlazedAndConfused -

DISCLAIMER

TokyoPop and Ken Akamatsu own Love Hina; I don't. If I did, I'd not be writing this; I'd be making a manga out of it instead.

"..." - denotes speech.
"(...)" - denotes whispering.
Italics denote thoughts and Japanese dialogue.
Chapter One ::: Arrival
"Next stop is Hinata Town... Hinata Town."

A young boy, presumably a teenager, stood from his chair and stepped off the tram, onto the platform of the station, hoisting his rucksack over his shoulder. He looked around, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at his surroundings. It was completely different to his hometown, but still nice enough, and a lot more serene and tranquil. There were a few people walking around the streets, mainly couples and groups of friends, making him look like an outcast in a way. He had been around the rest of Hinata in search of accommodation, but was unable to find anywhere thathad any vacancies. Either that, or the prices of some of them were out of his price range.

Taking a piece of folded up paper out of his pocket and unfolding it, he read through it before starting to make his way through the town, going in the directions that the sheet had written on it. Eventually, he found himself at the bottom of a particularly large flight of stone steps, and looked up.

"Hinata Sou... so this is the place I was told of."

He stood at the top of the massive stone steps that led to the old but nevertheless elegant, charming old inn. Or, at current times, an all girl's dormitory; a place where no man would be safe, as Keitaro, the hapless kanrinin, could testify, being smashed through the walls and the ceilings day in, day out. The calm summer breeze weaved in and out the long strands of his hair - which looked like a light brown with a shade of grey - blowing them around slightly. Putting the folded up piece of paper in the pocket of his black trousers he inhaled deeply, and breathed back out. Adjusting the collar on his white button-up shirt as it billowed in the wind, he stood perfectly still, admiring the giant structure that stood before him that looked as if it were about to tower over him and engulf him at any given moment. He closed his eyes and sighed contentedly, a smile forming on his almost pure white face.

"Such an elegant building. I was told it was big, but I never thought that it would be this... massive." He paused in thought. "Hmm... if I remember correctly, I passed a tea shop at the bottom of these steps on my way here?"

He hoisted his backpack over his shoulders and onto his back, slowly starting the second of the seemingly endless journeys down the giant stone steps towards the Hinata Tea Shop, taking as much time as he wanted to admire the picturesque scenery around him. The sky was clear, with thin wisps of silky-looking clouds scattered across the sky. He opened the door and walked in, the bell above the door ringing as he entered. The inside of the tea shop looked quaint and homely enough, a few customers either talking to each other over a hot drink of tea or just sitting alone, reading the daily newspapers. Haruka Urashima walked out from a small room behind the counter wearing her usual café garb, with her ever-present cigarette hanging from ther corner of her mouth. He walked over to the counter, wearing a polite smile on his face as he sat on a stool.

"How can I help you?" Haruka asked in her usual indifferent voice.

"I've a question about the inn at the top of the stone steps." The teenager replied. "I was wondering... are there any vacancies? I need somewhere to stay."

"I'm afraid there's a bit of a problem in that department," the Urashima woman muttered. "You see, the building used to be an inn. But the woman who originally owned it turned it into an all-girls dormitory." Inwardly, she was glad that the young wanderer hadn't had the incentive to actually go inside and look for someone unknown to her. If that had happened, things could well have turned out the way they did when Keitaro first arrived at the dormitory; getting off on the wrong foot with the residents after a mishap in the women's hot springs between the former ronin and Naru Narusegawa, the auburn-haired Toudaisei, leading to a chase to the rooftop that culminated in him getting attacked before the intervention of Haruka.

Even so, he did not look like the type of person who was not cursed with such bad luck as Keitaro.

Then again, nobody could be that bad.

Surely?

The teenager's face never lost the polite smile it wore, though a hint of disappointment could be seen in his eyes. "I see. Never mind, I'll look elsewhere." He said, taking his duffel bag and bowing politely. "Thank you for your time."

Haruka smiled slightly as she turned around and started to prepare a drink, the coffee machine on the worktop whirring as it did it's task. "There aren't any other inns or hotels around here for miles. But I wouldn't worry about it, though; my nephew is the kanrinin. I'll explain your situation to him, and he's bound to understand - after all, he was in the same position himself when he first came here." She looked up at the clock hanging on the wall above the door. "I'll be finishing in about half an hour. Why don't you go up there and wait?"

"Hai. Oh... where's my manners? Arigato." The teenager picked up his duffel bag and walked towards the exit, opening the door and closing it behind him.

The young wanderer made his way up the stone steps for the third time that day, the journey up the steps never losing it's feeling of endlessness. He reached the top again and walked closer to the building, noticing the sign that was to the left of the door; 'Girls Dormitory: Hinata House'. So, she was right, he thought. She did tell me to wait up here, so I assume there's no harm in waiting in the lobby. Though... I should still watch my step; I don't want them thinking that I'm a pervert or a peeping tom. He slid the door open cautiously and stepped inside, sliding it shut. He removed his shoes and placed them near three other pairs on the floor next to the door. The silence within the complex was penetrated only by the monotonous ticking of the clock on the wall. Walking further inside slowly, he adjusted the shoulder strap on his duffel bag and looked around at the surroundings. Removing his bag, he sat down on one of the sofas and placed the bag by his feet, taking out a CD player. He placed the earphones in his ears and started playing what sounded like classical music. After a few moments, he noticed a woman with short, sandy brown hair walk down the stairs, holding a bottle of saké in one hand and a small cup in another. What was odd about her was that her eyes were closed, giving her face a fox-like look. She stopped as she noticed the teenager, and walked over to him.

"Hi," she said. "Can I help you?"

He removed the earphones and pressed the 'Pause' button on his CD Player, smiling politely. "No, I'm just waiting for the woman who owns the café at the bottom of the stairs. She told me to wait here for her."

"I see." She took a seat next to him, placing the bottle and cup on the table in front of them. "You're pretty young," the fox-eyed woman commented. "How old are you --"

"Kitsune-san?" A petite girl with short, neck-length violet hair and shimmering blue eyes came walking out of one of the other rooms. "Is that you?" She noticed the teenager sat next to her fox-eyed friend. "O-Oh! Gomen... I didn't know we had a guest."

The teenager smiled up at her, his eyes meeting hers. "Hello there," he said. "I'm not a guest. I was just told to wait up here for someone."

The woman named Kitsune grinned and slipped an arm around him. "Oh, really?" she cooed, shifting closer to him as her grin widened. "Shinobu-chan, that's not what he told me..." She started running a finger up and down his chest. "He said he came up here for a secret rendezvous with me --"

"Kitsune-san!!"

"Yare yare..." She opened the bottle and took a large swig directly from it, a sigh escaping from her as she pulled the bottle away from her lips. "Ahh..."

"What's going on down here?" came another voice from the top of the steps. Looking up, the three already in the room noticed a raven-haired girl dressed in a button-up white shirt and black dress with a black necktie, a black cat with abnormally large ears and a bell on it's tail, giving out a purr as it rubbed the side of it's head against her neck. She had an emotionless look on her face as she slowly walked down the stairs and up to the three, walking up to the three. Her attention was directed to the teenager. "May I help you?"

"I'm just waiting for the owner of the café at the bottom of these steps." He replied, still smiling politely.

"Hey, Kanako," Kitsune asked. "Where's Keitaro gone? When I came back, him and Naru were gone."

"Him and Naru have gone to the Toudai campus for information about their courses," the girl named Kanako replied.

"Okay."

All of them were alerted to the sound of the double doors opening up and sliding shut again, revealing three other girls. One was another raven-haired girl, taller than Kanako. She was dressed in a white gi and crimson hakama, carrying a training kendo bokken in one hand and a bag of what looked like training kit in another. The second was obviously a gaijin, with tanned skin, rosy cheeks, blonde hair anddeep green eyes, wearing a school uniform. The other one was also a blonde-haired gaijin, except she was a lot paler and hadblue eyes. "Tadaima!"Theebony-haired girlcalled, but stopped as soon as she noticed the boy sat on the sofa. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, not the best of intentions in mind. She lowered her bokken as she slowly approached.

"Hiyas!" The tanned girlgreeted cheerily,a bright smile adorning her face."Are you here to play with me and Sarah?"

"Who is he, and why is he here?" the kendo girl hissed, her aura slowly but surely beginning to increase in hostility.

"Hello," the teenager said. "I'm waiting here for the owner of the café at the bottom of the steps."

Motoko was not convinced. She pointed her bokken at him and glared menacingly. "Pervert...you tried defiling poor, innocent Shinobu-chan, didn't you?"

His face lost the smile and was replaced by a neutral one. "There's nothing perverted in just sitting here the whole time."

"Enough of your lies! This is an all girl's dormitory; you are a male, therefore you have no right to be here. Now, leave before I throw you out myself."

He closed his eyes, shaking his head. "For one so young, you are full of such hostility."

"What did you just say?!" Motoko's eyes flashed an ominous glint of red as she readied her bokken to attack. A potential fight - or, to phrase it more appropriately,one-sided attack which would have resulted in the murder of a normal person before long - was averted when their attention was switched to the opening and closing of the sliding front doors again. Haruka, Keitaro and Naru walked into the lobby.

"Eh? What's going on here?" Keitaro and Naru asked at the same time, noticing the grouping of the rest of the tenants around the sofa.

"Oh, hey there," Haruka said, waving at the young teenager sat on the couch, who waved back.

"Haruka-sempai," Motoko enquired. "Who is this pervert?"

The older Urashima smirked mentally. I see he's met Motoko, then... She cleared her throat and put her hand on the sandy-haired teenager's shoulder. "He came into my café earlier today, enquiring if this was an inn and had any vacancies. I informed him of the situation, but I told him that there is a chance Keitaro might let him stay here, as he has nowhere else to go."

"He is not staying here, if that is what you are implying!" Motoko hissed.

Haruka frowned slightly. "The last time I checked, you weren't in charge, Motoko; Keitaro was." Motoko opened her mouth to speak again, but slowly closed it. Haruka turned to face the kanrinin. "So, Keitaro, what's your decision?"

Keitaro walked up to the teenager and stood in front of him, smiling politely. "I see no reason why he can't stay, but for the sake of the girls, I'lllet himtell his side of the story before coming to a decision."

The teenager reciprocated the smile. "Arigato." He cleared his throat. "By birth, I'm from Nagasaki. I have lived there for nearly all my life. I have no parents, for they died in an accident when I was still young. Up until now, I have lived in an orphanage. But the problem is, I don't like it there; I just don't feel settled enough. I took a leave of absence of sorts so I could have the opportunity to travel."

"But what about your education?" Haruka asked.

"I moved to the Hinata High School, as part of the exchange student scheme," he continued. "I searched for accommodation all around the other districts of this town, but there were either no vacancies, or the price range was too high. This was the only place I could find in this area."

"I told you, this is an all-girl's dormitory," Motoko stated. "This property is no place for perverted males such as yourself. Take your bags and leave."

"Motoko-chan..." Haruka said, sending a withering glare in her direction. "Let the boy finish."

"What do you think, Keitaro?" Naru asked.

Keitaro stood silently for a moment, his lips pursed in thought with a hand on his chin. After a few moments, he came to a decision. "Well, I see no problem with him staying here. His reasons for coming seem genuine enough."

Motoko and Naru shot up, both with angry looks on their faces. "WHAT?!?!?!"

"Keitaro," Naru said. "You're not letting him stay here! Having you here is bad enough, but he could try perverted stuff on Su, Sarah and Shinobu!"

"She is right," Motoko acquiesced, glaring at the teenager. "Who knows what he could do to those three... he might even walk in on us while we're in the hot springs!"

"Not that Imind that..." Kitsune teased seductively, grinning.

"Kitsune-san!"

"Okay, okay... you two just can't take a joke..." she replied, taking another swig from her saké bottle.

"Come on, you two," Keitaro said in an attempt to reason. "He doesn't look like that type of person. Besides, he has nowhere else to go... and we have several spare rooms here, so he could use one of those." He turned back to the teenager. "So, welcome to Hinata So --" Hewas unable to finishas Naru landed a direct hit with her fist on his jaw, sending him crashing through the front doors, skidding across the stony ground and down the stairs, several cries of pain being heard as he fell.

Haruka shook her head disappointedly. That girl will never change... She turned to the teenager. "So, what's your name?"she asked.

The teenager stood up in front of everyone and bowed politely. "My name is Kaworu... Kaworu Nagisa. Nice to meet you all."

::: END CHAPTER ONE :::

::: AUTHOR'S NOTES :::

...Don't even bother asking. I just HAD to write a fic that included Kaworu Nagisa from Evangelion as one of the tenants. Let's just say I gave in to temptation. I would have used Shinji rather than Kaworu, but I felt that the latter would be a more interesting character to 'experiment' with. Ahem... I know Kaworu doesn't really come from Sapporo (well, he's an Angel in Evangelion, so...); I just made it up.

I know this chapter is short. Then again, all of the first chapters of my stories are, usually at between 2000 - 3000 words long. I'm hoping to make the next chapter around 7,000 - 10,000 words long; a new record.:P

This story will borrow a few facets from both the anime/manga.

Anyway, as stated in the summary, the story is an AU, and the title is only temporary since I can't think of a good one. If anyone has any suggestions for a new one, it'll be much appreciated.

Blah blah blah... all feedback welcome... blah de blah blah blah.