Okay, time for another chapter. It may seem a little familiar… And if your guess for the next couple of chapters is what I think it is, you may be right…

---Kouji Tamino

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Love Hina Next: Second Phase

Chapter 43: Farewell for Now…

Shinichi raised an eyebrow as he heard the grunting of a woman coming from a room that he thought that no one currently in the house except himself knew about. He walked over to a plant, a switch for the secret door, and sure enough, it had been slightly adjusted and the door to the gym had been opened. "Odd… How could anyone have found this place? It hadn't been built when Megumi had been visiting, so…" He sweat dropped. "And another thing… Why does father have so many hidden rooms here?" He sighed, trying to shrug off that last statement. He slowly walked into the gym, wincing. The place hadn't been used in a while, so a lot of the machines and exercise equipment was covered in dust and the air had a strong 'musty' scent. Despite this, most of the equipment was top of the line. A few were even above top of the line! Shinichi's family was one of the only places that could get them. Shinichi sighed in embarrassment. "You know, I think that there's such a thing as being too rich…" He turned a corner and almost fell over at the sight.

Junko was dressed in a gray sports bra, black gym shorts, and purple headband. She was currently bench pressing at an unbelievable speed. She stopped as she spotted Shinichi, smiling as she picked up a towel to dap a bit of sweat off her forehead. "Hey, Shinichi! How you doing? Sorry about coming in here, but I accidentally found the place and decided to do a little training!" She rolled her eyes as she walked by Shinichi and left the room. "But your dad really needs to get some better equipment! I barely broke a sweat!"

Shinichi walked over to the machine and stared in shock. "She… she… she was bench pressing at the machine's max!!"

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Megumi stared at the pie sitting at the counter with a sad look on her face. "Sooo hungry… Need fooood…"

Naoko giggled. "No, Megumi-nesan… That pie is for after dinner…"

"Where did you learn how to make pies, anyway?" Megumi asked.

"Sarah-sempai taught me! It took a while, but I finally got it down after the 7th or 8th one! Sarah-sempai sure swears a lot when she's angry, though… She said some things that I don't think I've even heard Junko-nesan say…"

Megumi sweat dropped. "That's… kinda scary…"

Ami walked into the house, kicking off her shoes. "Hey, everyone! Mail's here!" She shouted happily.

"What does it matter?" Sakura muttered, slouching on the couch. "It's not like anyone knows we're here…"

Ami's expression fell as she looked downwards slightly. "Oh yeah…" She had forgotten something important: If your parents aren't dead and you live in this house, then they are either in jail, they completely ignore you, or they are ashamed of you. She groaned. "We all have pathetic lives, don't we?"

"Life sucks…" Sakura said, picking earwax out of her ear and flicking it away. "Deal with it…"

Ami bit her lip slightly, thumbing through the mail. Hopefully there was something for her… For any of the girls, even. No such luck. The only one of interest was one addressed to Shinichi. "Might as well give it to him…" She walked upstairs and walked down the long hallway. Without thinking, she opened the door without knocking. Her eyes widened as her face became bright red.

Shinichi, who was changing, looked towards the open door. "Hyaaah!! Ms. Ami, don't you know how to knock?!!" He screamed again as the other girls came rushing upstairs. "Why are you all up here for, huh?!" He shouted, his properness quickly fading away.

Naoko's face flushed pink. "Oh my…" She quickly turned away.

Junko grinned, chuckling evilly. "Well well, Shinichi… The tables have turned!" She got a good look at his developing muscles and abs. "Oh my… Yamato's been working you harder lately, hasn't he?"

Shinichi blushed. "Quit making fun of me! I may accidentally run in on you occasionally, but at least I don't make comments!"

Megumi giggled. "He's right, you know… C'mon girls, let's leave him alone for now…"

Ami gasped. "Shinichi! I almost forgot!" She held up a green envelope. "This came in the mail for you!"

Shinichi walked over and took the envelope. He sighed. "These green envelopes… Their the ones my dad's business uses…" He opened it up and began reading. As he read the expression on his face became more shocked. Soon it turned into sadness. He dropped the letter. "I can't believe it…" He muttered, turning away from the others.

"Shinichi-kun, what is it?…" Ami asked.

Megumi frowned. "Did something happen to your parents?"

Shinichi shook his head. He turned around, a glare on his face. "It seems that my father messed up his schedule… He has two very important business trips in a month that are running around the same time! And guess who he chose to go to one of them?"

Junko shrugged. "Yeah, so? You go, you come back… And you said it was in a month, so there's still time to hang out and--"

"His business trips take more than a few short weeks, Ms. Junko… He and mother are usually gone for months… And according to this letter, I need to leave immediately for special training… That'll take at least a month…"

"But… The wedding… That's in May…" Ami said sadly. "I was hoping you could come as well…"

Shinichi smiled to try and cheer her up. "Don't worry, Ms. Ami… According to this letter, I shouldn't be gone for more than four months… I'll be back in time for the wedding, you'll see!"

"4 months without Shinichi…" Kairi began. "My, what an experience that will be…"

'4 months without Shinichi? Good, then maybe I can get over these feelings for him… Bah, I can't believe that I could ever--'

"Did you say something, Junko-san?" Ami asked.

"Ack?!" Junko screamed, jumping up a bit in surprise. 'Shiiit!! Her mind reading ability must be flickering in!! Okay, um… Think of something else!! Um…'

"Nice try, Junko-san…" Ami whispered, leaning over to the tomboy's ear. "I heard what you thought… Don't worry though, I won't tell anyone… I think it's cute, though!"

Junko blushed. "Thanks, Ami…" she whispered back.

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Shinichi sighed, packing up his suitcase. Kairi floated in, sighing. Shinichi looked over, smiling grimly. "Wow, lots of sighing today…"

"Yes, the entire household seems more… down…" Kairi looked at the suitcase. "So, packing up already?"

Shinichi nodded. "Yeah, a chauffeur will be picking me up soon…"

"It's going to be so different around here without you… I wish you didn't have to leave…"

"I know…" Shinichi groaned. "But look on the bright side… The sooner I leave, the sooner I can return!"

Kairi smiled. "Yes, good to thing on the bright side… Well, see you later, Shinichi…" She floated out of the room.

Shinichi chuckled. "I'm starting to think it's pointless to ask them to knock anymore…"

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"Um… Shin-sama?" Naoko asked. It was dinner time, and everyone was at the table. 'Oh no, why did I pick now to ask him?' Tet-chan and Ken-chan were happily sitting next to Naoko's plate, eating some lettuce. Tenshi, in bunny form, was nibbling on a carrot on the ground.

Shinichi looked up from his plate, raising an eyebrow. "What is it, Ms. Naoko?"

Naoko blushed. "I was just wondering… Now that I'm 13... Would you take me out somewhere before you leave?"

Junko, who was drinking water at the time, spit it out in Megumi's face. Sakura began to choke on a piece of food she was eating. Megumi glared at Junko, while Ami and Kairi just giggled.

Shinichi simply smiled at her. "Sorry, Ms. Naoko… It's too late to go anywhere tonight and I leave sometime tomorrow morning…"

"Tomorrow?!" Everyone except screamed. Well, except the crabs, of course.

Shinichi sweat dropped, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Oh yeah, I kinda forgot about that part…"

"So how long were you planning on keeping this from us, Shinichi?" Junko asked, glaring.

Shinichi sighed. "Actually, I was hoping that you'd all be asleep when I left… Sorry…"

"So that's it, huh?" She clenched her fist, feeling hurt and angry. "Don't you think we care about you more than that?! What do you think would be our reaction to waking up and finding out you left without saying goodbye?! Damn you!!" She stood up and stormed out of the room.

Shinichi watched her sadly as she left. He looked to the others. They seemed to be disappointed too. "I'm… sorry, everyone… I should have told you that I was leaving tomorrow sooner…"

"Shinichi-kun…" Ami asked. "Why would you do something like this?"

Megumi nodded in agreement. "It's not like you…"

Shinichi looked to his plate. "I really screwed up…"

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Shinichi groaned, laying on his bed. "I'm such an idiot! Why did I lie try and lie to them?"

"Because you didn't want to worry us?" Ami asked, walking in. "Sorry for not knocking… But you know, Shinichi… How do you think we would feel if we woke up in the morning and our favorite guy wasn't there?"

Shinichi frowned. "Favorite guy? Heh. What a laugh… There's nothing great about me…"

"That's not true!" Ami shouted. "You're polite, and you're talented, and you always bring a smile to our face when we're down! Every girl in this house owes how much they've overcame their problems thanks to you!"

"Thanks to me?" Shinichi asked. "Sure, I let you all live here, but that's all… My family has enough money to support several large families, if not every family in Japan, so why not?"

"But Shinichi… You've helped bring out Naoko's better side, you saved Sakura from her old self, you've stood up for us a few times, and I think Naoko may be breaking out of her shell! None of the things that have happened to us in the past few months if it hadn't been for you bringing us all into your home! I dunno, it's like… Fate!"

"Maybe… But what of me? Still the same dull, cowardly, pathetic Shinichi…"

Ami glared. "I'm sorry, but you're an idiot if you believe that… You've changed a lot since I first met you…"

Shinichi looked away. "Maybe a little, but I'm still usele--"

"That's enough!!" Ami shouted. "Quit putting yourself down like that! If there's one thing to hate about you, it's your low self esteem!" Ami rushed out of the room, growling.

"Great…" Shinichi muttered, rubbing his forehead. "How could this get any worse?" At that moment, his bed fell apart. "Me and my big mouth…"

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The next morning, Shinichi stood in the cold driveway alone. "They didn't even come to say goodbye…" He sighed. "Oh well… I don't blame them…"

Inside, Naoko looked at Shinichi sadly. "Shin-sama…"

Shinichi slowly walked towards the car as it drove up. He took one look at the mansion and smiled. "Even though you're all mad at me and can't even hear me right now… I just want to say that I'm sorry, everyone… I never meant to hurt any of you…" He turned back around and started his short trip to the car.

"Shinichi!!" Megumi shouted. "Wait!"

He turned around and raised an eyebrow. He almost fell over in surprise. Everyone, including Ami and Junko, was standing together. They smiled and waved. "Good bye, Shinichi!! And good luck!"

Shinichi smiled, tears running down his face. "You guys…"

Megumi grinned. "Come on, Shinichi… We're your friends! Even if we make each other mad, we'll make it through!"

Shinichi gave the chauffeur a 'wait a moment' movement, then ran over to the girls. "Look everyone, I'm really sorry about lying to you… It was wrong, and I should have told you that I was leaving so soon… Is there anything that I can do to make up for it?"

They all grinned evilly, including Naoko. "Oh, there is one way…" Junko muttered. "Let's get him, girls!!" With that, they pounced poor Shinichi. They all had a big group hug, then got up.

Shinichi laughed as he stood up, then sighed. Again. "Well, looks like I have to go…"

The girls all nodded sadly. "Bye, Shinichi…"

Shinichi smiled. "Hey, don't be like that! I could never live with myself if I knew that my leaving would make my favorite girls sad…" He turned around towards the car again. As he walked back towards it, he looked back and waved, winking. "I'll see you again soon!"

The girls all blushed. When did Shinichi become so… charming?

End of Chapter 43

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Oh yeah, you know what's coming next… Poor girls. P

---Kouji Tamino