Love Hina


Disclaimer: This episode of Love Hina is of my own creation. I do not own any portion of Love Hina. "Love Hina" and all related characters, names, etc. are ©1999-2004 Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. Love Hina is a trademark of TOKYOPOP®. All rights reserved.

Note: This series takes after the "Love Hina" manga since I haven't seen any of the anime, but I will someday. I do not know when or where, but I will. I promise.



Different Promises
Chapter 7:
An Uneventful Morning


The last week in the Hinata House has passed by rather smoothly and without any major life altering incidents. Keitaro has busied himself on fixing his new property and making it an even better place to live for all of its residents. Every problem, be they minor or major, from the woodwork to the electricity, has been repaired. To the girls' delight, he spent nearly an entire day scrubbing down the hot springs, making them much cleaner and a lot nicer to bathe in. Between cleaning and repairing, he spends time hanging out with the girls, getting to know them better, from drinking with Kitsune and training with Motoko to playing around with Su and cooking and doing laundry with Shinobu. The only person he really hasn't spent a lot of time with is Narusegawa, who has begun to study diligently for her upcoming Tokyo University entrance exams. He's only seen her during mealtimes and when he fixed up the hole on her floor.

Currently the young landlord is down in the basement replacing the old and very rusted hot water heater. Several days ago he got a letter in the mail from his grandmother, which informed him that now as the new landlord of the Hinata House, he has access to all of the savings and funds Granny Hina kept aside for the residence. The vast amount is more than enough to keep the old building in tip top shape until he reaches his grandmother's age, possibly even longer.

Keitaro finishes installing the new hot water heater and stands up, sweat dripping off of his body. "Man its hot down here!' he comments, taking off his yellow construction worker's hardhat and waving it in front of his face. The young Urashima takes off his glasses and then removes his shirt and uses it as a sweat rag to get the stinging sweat out of his eyes. He tosses it aside and adjusts the straps of his denim overalls since they were digging a bit into his shoulders from the extra weight the tool belt around his waist is adding. He looks down at his arm and runs a finger along it, grimacing at the amount of dirt and grime that has accumulated on his skin. "I think its time for a shower."

He puts the yellow hardhat back on and walks up the stairs and opens the door, sighing in relief as the fresh cool air hits his face. Just at that moment, Shinobu walks by with a basket of freshly washed towels and blankets. She takes one look at him, with his sweaty and dirty body and shirtless top, and blushes an amazing shade of red. 'He...he looks so manly!' she thinks, covering her face with her hands and dropping the basket of clothes while doing so.

The Tokyo u student reaches down and is about to pick up the basket, but then remembers that he is quite filthy and the laundry is all nice and clean. He instead rubs the back of his head, a goofy smile on his face. "Uh, sorry I can't help pick that up Shinobu, but I don't want to dirty up all that laundry that you did such a great job cleaning."

The young girl's face, if humanly possible, reddens even more upon his compliment. "T-T-Thank you sempai," she stutters out.

Su suddenly hops down the stairs, running hurriedly away from something. She skids to a halt in front of Keitaro, looking him up and down. "Heyas Keitaro, lookies like you had a lot of fun!" She giggles. "Why didn't you tell me?"

He's about to answer when Kitsune's voice shouts, "Damnit Su! Where'd you put it? That was a very expensive bottle!" Su giggles in excitement and rushes away, skipping with each step. The fox eyed girl gives chase, sprinting down the steps. She glances at Keitaro when she passes him, and promptly falls over while trying to stop and look at him again. "Well hello Mr. Urashima!" she greets with a sly smile, her eyes soaking in every detail. 'Damn he looks hot!' she thinks to herself.

Keitaro tilts his hardhat up with his thumb and smiles. "Hey Kitsune, how're you doing?"

"Lousy," she grumpily answers. "I just got a very expensive bottle of vintage saké from Tokyo and Su nabbed it from me and hid it somewhere! Ooh, when I get my hands on her..." she trails off as she makes a strangling motion with her hands.

The young landlord chuckles heartily and Shinobu covers her mouth with her hand, stifling her giggle. "Well if you want to get your bottle back, I think you're just gonna have to chase Su around for a while until she's happy. She did that to me a few times this week with my notebook."

Kitsune hangs her head down with a large sigh. "Ugh, I'm not meant for all this running around. Its just not my thing." With another sigh, she drags herself outside, intent on getting her precious saké back, by any means necessary.

Keitaro shakes his head with a smile and walks upstairs to get a change of clothes. After doing that, he comes back downstairs and goes over to the changing rooms next to the showers and hot springs. He removes his dirty clothing and tosses it aside. The young man walks into the showers first and turns the nozzle so the water comes out cool. He sighs in content as he feels the dirt and grime wash off of his body.

______

Upstairs two levels, Naru finishes up some practice math problems and leans down onto the floor, her arms spread out. "Oh man, I need a break!" She pulls her cardigan sweater up to her nose and takes a whiff, cringing at the smell. "Phew! I also need a bath!" She goes to her dresser and gets some clean clothes and makes her way downstairs. She enters the changing area and removes her clothes, tossing them aside next to another pair that she doesn't notice. She wraps a towel around herself and walks into the showering area. She is about to take of her glasses, but freezes at the sight before her. Keitaro is standing under one of the nozzles, the water cascading over his naked body. Luckily for Naru, he is looking up into the water, his face covered up so he can't see her.

Blushing heavily, the long haired young woman starts to leave, but the landlord raises his arms to rub his face and she pauses at the sight of his lean muscles at work in his movements. He appears to have just entered the showers a bit before her, judging by the dirt and grime that is still falling from him. Time seems to slow as her eyes soak in every detail about him, some of the water splashing off of him while the rest slowly slides down his body. 'He's got a cute butt,' she thinks with a near giggle, a nervous blush replacing her initial shocked one. 'But I wonder how...' her mind trails off as he turns a bit to get the water to wash the back of his head. Her eyes widen as her blush deepens several shades. '...Oh...oh my!'

Keitaro sticks a finger in his ear and wiggles it around, getting the rest of the grime out of it. He suddenly freezes as his senses tell him that he isn't alone in the showering area. He slowly turns his head, his eyes focusing on Narusegawa, who isn't exactly looking at his face. He blushes deeply as he realizes what she is gazing at.

It takes a couple of seconds for Naru to realize that she has been spotted. Her face darts up to meet his, the shock and embarrassment on her face perfectly matches his. "Uh...heh," she begins, smiling nervously. "Well...you see I was just..." she trails off as her head slowly begins to lower itself, her gaze resting again on a certain part of the young man.

Keitaro quickly grabs the small towel by him and covers up, shouting, "What are you staring at you pervert?!"

At the shouting of the word 'pervert', Motoko instantly appears, her sword ready in her hands. "What has happened?!" she shouts, clearly not noticing the scene before her. "Where is the pervert?!"

"There!" Keitaro yells, pointing at Naru. "She was peeking in on me in the shower! Get her!"

The samurai girl begins to advance on Naresegawa, but pauses, suddenly realizing what she is doing. She stands up and turns around, a disbelieving look on her face. "She was peeking at y..." the young woman trails off as she finally notices Keitaro's extremely revealing state of undress, the tiny towel chastely wrapped around his waist showing off a lot of his body. Her face rapidly heats up as her body stiffens, not accustomed to seeing a man in such a revealing state.

The landlord hunches down and checks that the towel is still on, making sure nothing is showing. He looks up at the two flabbergasted girls in front of him. "What the hell are you two doing?!" he shouts incredulously, "GET OUT OF HERE!"

Both Motoko and Naru jump at his shouting and dart out of the showering room. After they exit it, they lean against the wall by the entrance and slide down at exactly the same time, with identical blushes and shocked expressions. Keitaro suddenly bursts out of the showering room, wearing only a pair of dark sweats and his glasses back on. Narusegawa guiltily looks up at him. "Um...sorry?"

The young man crosses his arms and shakes his head slightly, several drops of water falling out of his hair. "Just how long were you peeking at me?" he asks, a smile tugging at his lips.

"I just got in there!" she shouts, jumping to her feet. "It was only..." she then sees the clock on the wall over Keitaro's shoulder. Her shoulders slump and she lowers her head, her face becoming so red and hot that you could cook an entire meal on it. "Uh...ten minutes..." the Tokyo U aspirant finishes, shuffling her feet.

"TEN MINUTES?!" both Motoko and Keitaro shout, forcing the other girl back several steps. The younger woman takes the lead. "Narusegawa! How could you do such a thing to Urashima?! I had thought better of you!"

Naru backs away, a twinge of fear in her eyes. "I didn't mean...well...uh...sorry?" she finishes lamely, shrugging her shoulders.

The samurai girl advances menacingly, but stops as Keitaro places a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay Motoko. I mean, I really don't like the thought of Narusegawa staring at me naked...for like ten minutes!" he adds exasperatedly, getting both women to blush heavily, one in remembrance and the other in thought, "but I can forgive and forget, can you girls?"

They both nod at him. Motoko turns and begins to leave, but gives Naru a look that clearly says, 'This isn't over.' She calmly walks up the stairs back to her room, keeping her fury under control.

Narusegawa gulps at her look, knowing that she is in for a serious talking by the younger woman later. Pretty much everyone in the Hinata House knows about the 'date' she is having with Keitaro later. The only thing that the young man doesn't know is how excited the samurai girl has been about it. She doesn't express it, but the look in her eyes when she is around him or when the dinner date becomes a part of the conversation is a dead giveaway that she really likes the guy.

Naru was quite surprised to hear about their date, seeing as how he was making out with Kitsune that exact same day. At first she was ready to pound the life out of Keitaro, but had a brief talk with her best friend beforehand, and she was surprisingly mellow about the concept of the new landlord taking Motoko out, even somewhat encouraging. When asked why, the fox eyed girl responds, "They're just gonna go and get a bit to eat and talk at some old Chinese restaurant, how boring is that?! When I take him out, I'm gonna give him such a good time that he's gonna be out of it for weeks!" Shuddering off the possible ideas her friend has in store for the poor guy, Naru starts to leave, but pauses as Keitaro walks in front of her.

"You wanted to take a dip in the hot springs, right?" He moves aside, his arm directing her towards the entrance. "Go on ahead, I'll go in after you."

"A-Are you sure?" she asks. He nods in response. "Okay, thanks." She walks over to the entrance to the changing rooms, showers and hot springs. Naru takes one quick glance back at Keitaro and blushes a bit before going in.

The young man takes his glasses off, his wet hair dripping water all over them. With his free hand he slicks his hair back then dries his rectangular frame glasses. He slowly begins to chuckle. "Never a dull moment around here."

______

A few hours later, Keitaro is sitting down on the couch in the living room, anxiously awaiting for Motoko to come down so they can have their dinner date. He is dressed in a very nice dark blue button up dress shirt with black dress pants. He did have a tie on, but decided to discard it, not wanting to look too flashy. Su, Shinobu, Kitsune and Naru all have walked by a few times, some telling him to have a good time and others wishing him luck in that he doesn't screw up and get on the business end of the samurai girl's sword.

A very short time later, when the old grandfather clock strikes six, Motoko walks downstairs, wearing a very beautiful red Chinese sleeveless dress with high slits up each side. Her hair is up in another ponytail, only with a red tie in her hair instead of a white one like she has been using. As usual, she walks with the poise and grace of a supermodel, her eyes closed and a calm, collected look on her beautiful face. The young man is awed at her appearance, completely amazed at his luck. 'She doesn't even need make-up to look gorgeous,' he thinks. 'She's one of those rare natural beauties.' He stands up, nervously running a hand through his hair. "W-Wow Motoko. You look...incredible."

The samurai girl blushes, but only slightly. "Thank you Urashima. Your aunt thought this would look very nice on me. She also picked out these shoes," she adds, pointing down to the red dress shoes with straps that are wrapped around her legs up to her knees, "and assisted in putting them on me. She originally picked out ones with heels, but I am...I cannot walk in them." She blushes slightly after this.

"That's okay Motoko, I'm just glad that you actually wanted to go on this dinner date with me." A coughing from behind diverts their attention. They both turn to see the other tenants watching them pointedly.

Kitsune walks up to Motoko, looking her up and down. "I must say, you're looking pretty hot!" she says with a smile. Her eyes move over and rest on Keitaro. "And you're looking pretty snazzy yourself! Ya know Motoko, I'm kinda jealous of you right now!"

Both begin to blush under the fox eyed girl's compliments. Shinobu clasps her hands together, her eyes big and sparkling. "Oh wow! You both look really nice!"

Su leaps into the air and latches herself onto the nicely dressed young woman. "Yeah! But somethin's a little funny." She unlatches herself and stands in front of Motoko, staring at her chest. "I don't remember those being this big!" She starts to poke her left breast. "You stuffin' them or something Motoko?" Everyone except for Su blushes deeply, even Kitsune.

The samurai girl scoots back, her hands covering her chest area. "N-No! Of course not! I would never do such a ridiculous thing to flaunt my body! I just...I am just not wearing my chest bindings," she finishes, hanging her head down in shame.

Keitaro, being the kind-hearted savior that he is, pats her on her shoulder lightly. "Hey, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. Now earlier though..." he adds with a cringe, getting deep blushes from both Motoko and Naru.

Su and Shinobu look between the three, clearly confused. Kitsune, on the other hand, smiles evilly. 'It looks like I'm gonna have to prod some info out of Naru when those two leave!' she thinks while rubbing her hands together.

Keitaro starts to back off, rubbing the back of his head. "Well I think its time me and Motoko get going now, so see you guys later!" He takes the younger woman by the hand and they quickly escape, not wanting to be interrogated anymore.

"If that was just for us leaving," Motoko begins as they reach the stone steps that will take them down into town, "I dread to think of what will happen when we return."

"You and me both," the young Urashima agrees. It is now that he notices that they are still holding hands. He is about to let go when she grips his hand a little tighter, not quite ready to let go yet.

At his curious look, she replies, "Well we are on a date now, are we not?" He nods in response. "I assume this sort of thing is a natural occurrence on dates, though I am not certain."

"Yeah, I don't really know either, seeing as how this...well this is my first date," he says with an embarrassed blush. He is completely taken back at the genuine smile Motoko gives him.

"This is my first date as well, so let's go out and have a good time!" With a small giggle that has just recently become more of a regular thing to hear from her, Motoko pulls Keitaro down the steps, feeling more excited about the date than for anything she has done in recent years. 'This is strange,' she thinks to herself. 'I feel so comfortable around him in this revealing clothing, and I seem to not want to release his hand.' She blushes a little bit in thought. 'I feel...so warm right now, and it is not just the warmth of his hand or his nearness to me. His aura is so kind and caring and loving, I feel very drawn to him and I wish to be closer to him physically to bask in his warmth.' She smiles again. 'I like this feeling!'

______

Back in the Hinata House, Naru is busy studying again when someone knocks on her door. "Come on in," she calls out. The door slides open and Kitsune calmly walks in, though her smile is beginning to make her good friend slightly nervous. "What's up Kitsune?"

"Oh nothing," the older woman replies airily, looking around the room. "Just wanted to see how the studying's goin'."

Naru closes her textbook and glances up at the fox eyed girl. "It's going alright," she answers with a shrug. The long haired girl stares at Kitsune with a pointed glare. "But that's not what you came here to ask me, so spill it."

Kitsune's current smile has certain devilish qualities to it. "Well, since you asked so nicely..." she pauses to chuckle menacingly, "I was going up to Motoko's room to she what she was doin', you know, since her date with good ole Keitaro was in just a couple of hours. Any way, I was about to knock on her door when I overheard her mumbling quite loudly to herself." Her smile widens at the blush on her best friend's face, knowing full well where this conversation is leading. "Well she seemed really upset about whatever she was mumbling about so naturally I had to listen in and find out what was bugging her."

"Kitsune," Naru begins in a pleading tone, "please..."

"Ah, ah, ah!" the older girl interrupts, waving a finger back and forth. "Don't interrupt me! I'm getting to the best part!" She pauses to stretch, deliberately delaying the inevitable. After a few seconds, she continues, "Well listening for a while, I found out everything I needed to know." She suddenly leans in close, her eyes opening slightly with barely contained mirth. "So is it true?! Did you walk in on Keitaro in the shower?! Did you see him naked?!"

The younger woman nods slowly, a heavy blush reappearing on her face. "Y-Yeah...I did."

Kitsune falls to the floor, holding her sides and laughing with all her might. "Oh...this is priceless!" She suddenly jumps to her feet, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "So...tell me."

Naru looks up, clearly confused, though her mind is starting to think of what she may want to know. 'Oh god no!' she thinks in horror. 'I can't tell her that! Keitaro would be so embarrassed that I discussed this with her! I'm really glad Motoko didn't ask, though she would probably readily commit seppuku before admitting she'd be interested in even knowing.' She nervously asks, "Uh...w-what are you talking about?"

"You know," she responds, shoving her playfully. "You saw our landlord's best friend. What was he like?"

The younger woman fears her head is about to explode from how quickly it heats up from her best friend's analogy. "I-I-I can't tell you that!" she shouts, a mortified look on her face. "What would Keitaro say?!"

Kistune shrugs slightly. "I don't see what's the big deal about discussing this. I mean, this is normal girl talk. Girls talk about this stuff all the time." She pats Naru encouragingly on her shoulder. "So come on! Tell me!" The younger woman shakes her head vigorously, too shy to say anything. "Okay, okay, then show me!"

Naru's head snaps up, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape. "S-Show you?" her voice comes out in a strangled squeak.

"Yep!" the fox eyed girl chuckles. She holds her hands out in front of her and spaces them different distances apart. "I want to...no...scratch that, I need to know!" The Tokyo U aspirant shakily moves her hands out and shows the exact size, the memory still fresh in her mind from staring at...him earlier. Kitsune's jaw literally hits the floor. "Really?!" she asks in an excited whisper. "Is that how..." she trails off as Naru nods again, her body trembling slightly. "And he wasn't even..." she barely gets the words out before her friend nods ever so slightly again just before she rushes from her room, desperate to get away from further extreme embarrassment. The short haired woman sits down on the floor, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. An old foxy glint reappears in her eyes. 'Looks like I have to go back to town,' she thinks to herself. 'I need to buy some bigger aspirin!'


To be continued...

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Author's notes: Hey there. I'm sorry I didn't get to the actual dinner date like I said in last chapter's notes, but I was really going with that whole peeking in the shower and such. I was just too good of an idea to not add in. You agree with me, right?

I was going with the progress of my 4 fic with only doing one at a time, but this one just came out so easily. I am currently working on my Tenchi one and I've got half of it done, so hopefully it'll be done soon. My two Inu-Yasha fics will soon follow.

Well I will definitely get to the date next chapter, I promise you that. It's gonna be all nice and romantic like and stuff, not to mention a surprise bump into an 'aspirin' buying Kitsune! Classic Love Hina wackiness will soon follow. Keep in touch! – lighthawkdemon

Questions or comments? E-mail me at: lighthawkdemon@yahoo.com