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 ©1999-2005 Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. Love Hina is a trademark of TOKYOPOP®. All rights reserved.

Note: This series takes after the "Love Hina" manga. It's an AU from the very beginning so some of the characters may act a bit OOC here and there, please bear with me. Things have been tough, but I am resilient and I will continue to pump out great-quality stories for this and my other fics. I promise.

Different Promises
Chapter 13:
The Tides of Change

Two days have passed since the whole incident between Keitaro and Naru and things have finally settled down around the Hinata House and everyone has adjusted to one of its longest staying tenants not being present for the present. Shinobu was very upset at Naru's eviction at first and broke into hysterics at even the mention of her name for the first day, but Keitaro quickly had a deep, heartfelt talk with the young chef and assured her that Naru is in fact not evicted and will return probably within a week or so. After that, the young girl's mood rapidly improved and she seemed to warm up to her 'sempai' even more for having such a kind and forgiving heart.


In expectance of Motoko's return later in the evening from her kendo club's training camp, everybody is pitching in and cleaning up the dormitory. Even Kitsune is lending a hand, though her idea of helping to clean is to pick up her saké bottles she has scattered in random places all throughout the Hinata House and finish them off. Within twenty minutes of her 'help', she is passed out on the new cozy couch in the living room, the warm early afternoon sun and a pillow Keitaro placed under her head after discovering her passed out form helping to make her rest very comfortable.

Su originally opted to use a few of her new inventions to help clean at a much faster and efficient pace, but since everyone has had a taste of what her inventions can do, they hastily convinced her to not 'improve' in the cleaning and just do it by hand. With an adorable pout, she agreed and is now downstairs furiously dusting anything she can reach whether it is the furniture, the walls or a passed out Kitsune.

The landlord is cleaning the second floor with his youngest tenant, the two holding rags in front of them and running back and forth scrubbing the old wooden floors to make them shine. Though Keitaro is working hard, his mind is otherwise elsewhere…namely on all the women he lives with.

He was already pretty close to Kitsune before but when he revealed his tragic past to her, she was ready to take their relationship to the next level. Unfortunately for them both Su decided at that moment to barge in with her sleeping gear, intending to bunk with the landlord until Motoko's eventual return. Kitsune, having experienced the young foreign girl's sleeping habits firsthand, made a very hasty retreat, but not before giving the landlord a quick peck on the cheek and a wink with untold promises behind it.

That night Keitaro learned a new level of pain courtesy of Su. Though he trained heavily with Seta and was accustomed to some pretty rough beatings from the older and much more experienced man on a regular basis during their excavations and the occasional spat with Sarah, nothing would have ever prepared him for the human pain machine called Kaolla Su. He quickly found out while drifting off to sleep that she has a certain…habit of grabbing things while she sleeps and pulling them into a painful, no escape, ultra glomp, squeezing the landlord so hard that he was sure he could feel his spine rearrange.

He spent a quarter of the night struggling in vain to free himself but soon succumbed to the inevitable. As Keitaro gave in, he discovered to his immense surprise that the young girl softened her grip on him, as if she was able to sense his tension leave. Shortly after she loosened her killer glomp, she muttered out, "Big brother," while snuggling into him. It was in that moment that he began to understand Su a bit more than he originally did before. Despite her perpetually cheerful nature, she is still just a thirteen-year-old girl who is living very far from her home country, her family and any old friends she had. What she needs more than anything is for someone to make her feel like this is her home too. With his trademark 'make 'em all swoon' smile, Keitaro pulled the young girl closer and they both had a great nights sleep, both that night and the night after.

After that incident, the young landlord has now vowed to himself to spend more time with all his tenants and learn as much about them as he can. He has already set up some plans for the two youngest tenants and will set them into motion very soon. Keitaro smiles to himself while cleaning the floor, thinking of how much fun Shinobu and Su will have on their day out.

As the young unofficial chef of Hinata House pushes her rag across the floor she steps on a slick spot and stumbles forward a bit but manages to catch herself before she falls flat on her face. Unfortunately she stopped moving to regain her balance and Keitaro, who is still lost in thought, is only a short distance directly behind her and still coming forward. He looks up just in time to get a face full of Shinobu's derrière.

The young girl's face instantly reddens to shades never before reached as she feels the landlord's face push into her backside. "S-S-S-Sempai!" she stutters out, too shocked to move, "wh-what are…I…um…"

Keitaro quickly backs off and rubs the back of his head, a light blush gracing his face. "Heh, sorry about that Shinobu," he apologizes while staring at the floor, "I should've been paying more attention to everything around me." He places his hands down in front of him and politely bows to her. "Please forgive me for my foolishness."

Shinobu turns around and faces the man who, just moments ago, had his face pressed up against her most private of places. 'I know it was an accident,' she thinks, 'but he was still the first guy to ever touch me…down there. It felt funny…but it was a good kind of funny.' That last thought deepens her blush even more and before Keitaro gets a chance to look up, she leaps to her feet and rushes away to her room, covering her face with her hands.

The landlord sits back up, a mixture of confusion and sadness playing across his face. "I guess she's a bit upset with me." With a regretful sigh, he returns to his work. "I'll finish with this floor then go up to her room for a talk. I really hope she'll have calmed down a bit by then."


Some distance away sitting on the back seat of a school bus, Motoko stares out the window next to her, watching the scenery as it passes by, her expression jumping back and forth between boredom and anticipation. The training trip with her kendo club went along as well as could be expected…even better considering that they have left much earlier then originally planned, but now that it's over all she wants to do is go back to her home…back to her friends…back to Keitaro.

As her mind wanders onto the landlord who has stolen her heart, a faint blush graces her beautiful face. 'It has only been a few days,' she thinks to herself, ' but without him around, it has felt like it was much longer.' That last thought gets her to look up in surprise. 'I…I cannot believe how attached I have gotten to him in such a short time. What is it about him that makes me feel so…good?'

Memories flash through her mind of Keitaro…the day she first met him, their first sparring match and the accidental kiss that followed, when she first realized she had developed feelings for him shortly afterwards, when she had fallen asleep in his arms and how warm and comfortable and complete she has felt, their first date followed by their first amazing official kiss and of course the time when she saw him nearly nude in the shower and how every tiny drop of water slowly slid down his slim, yet muscular frame and…

"AAAAHHHHH!" the swordswoman shouts as she feels a hand on her shoulder, startling her out of her little daydream. She looks up to see one of her fellow kendo club members Faye gazing at her from above the seat in front of her, looking quite shocked at the other swordswoman's outburst.

"Um…are you okay Motoko?" she hesitantly asks. "I didn't mean to startle you like that."

"Y-Yes, I am fine," she answers while placing a hand over her rapidly beating heart. "I was just lost in thought. I apologize for losing focus and startling you like that." She diverts her gaze back out the window, mentally berating herself for loosing focus and letting her guard down so easily. 'Damn,' she thinks, 'it has been a while since I have done such a thing…but I cannot help it. Whenever my mind focuses on Keitaro, everything else around me becomes…insignificant.' She pauses for a moment at the faintest blushes graces her cheeks. 'Normally I would think that this is a burden…but thinking about him makes me feel so good inside that I simply cannot think of it as such.' With a light frown, she gazes back out of the bus window, her thoughts once again returning to the young landlord. A smile quickly replaces her frown.


Up in her room, Shinobu is curled up on her bed cradling a rather large and quite adorable stuffed teddy bear that her sempai gave her for her birthday not too long ago. A look of confusion mars her cute young face. Ever since Keitaro's face accidentally pressed into her rear, she has felt a warm, tingling sensation down there ever since…something she has never felt before. 'What is happening to me?' she thinks to herself. 'Why do I feel so funny? And why do I want sempai to…to do that to me…again?'

A light knocking on her door interrupts her thoughts. "C-Come in," she quietly replies. The young lady's eyes widen as the door slides open and Keitaro walks in, carefully watching her. "Sempai!" the young woman squeaks out, her face instantly reddening several shades, a fact that doesn't go unnoticed by the landlord.

'Jeeze, I guess she's still upset about earlier,' he thinks while nervously rubbing the back of his head. He slides the door shut, takes a couple of steps in, and then kneels down in front of his youngest tenant. "I'm really sorry about earlier Shinobu," he apologizes again. "I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing and…well it was all my fault." He looks away while rubbing the back of his head. "I hope you're not angry at me for being a big fool." His eyes widen as the young girl suddenly leaps forward and wraps her arms around the landlord very tightly, tears pouring from her eyes.

"Oh sempai!" she wails while sobbing onto his shirt, "I could never be angry or hate you…never!" She sniffs a few times and then adds, "I'm sorry I made you worried about me."

Keitaro sighs softly and places his hand on top of the young chef's head, gently stroking her hair in an attempt to calm her down. After a few moments, she has and he disengages himself from her and moves her up so they are eye-to-eye. "Shinobu," he calmly begins, "you have nothing to be sorry about. Nothing's your fault, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." The landlord begins to smile brightly as a thought comes to him. "Tell you what, I was planning on taking you and Su out for a whole day soon, you know, just the three of us doing whatever you girls wanted, but how about I take just you out instead?" At Shinobu's surprised glance, he adds, "I can always take Su out some other time and I don't know a whole lot about you…and I'd really like to." He reaches over and gently wipes away her tears. "So how about it Shinobu, would you like to spend the day with me…sorta like a date?"

The young lady's breath catchers in her throat. 'A d-date?' she thinks to herself, 'with sempai?' It takes her a millisecond to decide her answer. With a furious blush, she nervously nods once.

The landlord smile widens. "That's great!" He stands up from his spot of the floor. "Well I'm gonna get back to work now. You can come down and help me if you want. I was going to ask Su to help too…but her idea of helping scares me a little." Her scratches the back of his head with a chuckle while Shinobu giggles mildly. "Later." He turns around to leave…only to walk right into the doorframe with a resounding thunk. Keitaro stumbles backwards while grasping his face and his heel gets caught on the youngest tenant's rug, causing him to fall backwards, his head landing comfortably on Shinobu's lap.

Just as their eyes meet, the door slides open and Su comes rushing in waving around a large feather duster with a bounce to her steps. Her deep green eyes focus onto the pair on the ground as a wide grin spreads across her face. She turns around and yells, "Heyas, Keitaro and Shinobu are getting freaky in here!" out the door.

The landlord and his youngest tenant both blush a deep crimson. Keitaro quickly gets to his feet and rushes towards Su, who lets out a shrill giggle before rushing out the door while her favorite plaything gives chase. "Su! That wasn't what it looked like! I swear!" he shouts in desperation.

The young chef covers her mouth with her hand and giggles lightly. She gets to her feet and dusts of her skirt before staring out her open door, her eyes filled with admiration and deep affection. "I can't believe sempai sort of asked me out on a date!" She begins to spin around her room with her arms spread wide open. "I'm in heaven!"


Back downstairs Kitsune is unpleasantly awakened by thunderous footsteps that are getting louder and louder. She opens her eyes just as Su leaps over the couch she's napping on and continues on her way while looking extremely happy. The fox-eyed woman sits up just in time to collide with Keitaro, who was still giving chase after the young foreigner. The two fall to the floor and the landlord quickly grabs Kitsune and twists their bodies so he takes the brunt of the fall. The landlord's body hits the floor, though the fall was a lot softer than he expected. He relaxes and places a hand over his eyes, the chase after Su and collision with Mitsune having taken a bit out of him.

On top of him, the eldest resident shakes off her surprise at what just happened. 'Okay,' she slowly thinks, 'I just woke up cause of Su makin too much damn noise…again. She then jumped over the couch I was so peacefully sleeping on and then I sit up to shout at her and the next thing I know…someone hits me from behind and I fall down.' She opens her eyes only to come face to face with her handsome landlord. 'And lookie what I have here!' she adds with a wide smile. "My, my Keitaro," the fox-eyed woman begins in a sultry voice, "if I'd a known you were gonna be so frisky today, I woulda worn something a little more…entertaining!" She leans down and playfully kisses his nose.

Keitaro mildly blushes at the woman's antics. He smirks as a sudden thought comes to him. "Well since you're all up and spunky now Kitsune, then you'll have no trouble helping again to clean this place up."

"Sorry hun," she says while hastily sitting up, "but all work and no saké makes big sister a very dull girl." She stands up and sits back onto the couch, crossing her legs and smiling cheerfully.

The landlord sits up and mutters, "I know you're a great person and all, but do you ever do anything else around here besides lounge around and drink?" He puts his hands on the floor and is about to push himself to his feet when he realizes something. "And why did you call yourself 'big sister'? I'm almost a whole year older then you."

The saké expert of the dorm shrugs her shoulders in casual indifference. "It just sounds good to me." She pauses to chuckle slightly. "Now I don't really appreciate all that 'only drinking and relaxing' thing ya just said there. I do plenty more around here…in fact," she pauses to smirk widely as a sudden thought comes to her, "I've got a very, very important job to do tonight." At the landlord's inquisitive look, she leans in very close to where their noses are practically touching. "Don't tell me you forgot that it's Monday?" Keitaro's clueless expression causes her smile to turn a good deal slyer. "My 'private time' remember?"

As he finally realizes what the lovely oldest tenant is talking about, the Tokyo University student's face becomes an impressive shade of red. "K-K-K-Kitsune!" he stammers out while sliding backwards as fast as his feet can take him, slamming into the wall hard enough to shake the pictures hanging a few feet away.

Mitsune crawls forward slowly, looking much like a predator stalking its prey…which in a way is exactly what she is doing. She puts her hands on either side of the landlord and leans towards him, giving Keitaro a rather good look down her V-neck shirt to her rather ample assets. "You know," she begins while leaning forward even more, "my offer still stands hun. My door is open for you anytime. All you gotta do is open the door." She pauses to give the young man a kiss on his neck. "I promise you…" she is cut off by a stern voice from the front door.

"Whatever you promise," a woman begins who is wearing a dark blue high school girl's uniform and a large straw-hat covering her face, "I am sure you would have waited to do until I had returned yes?" She lifts up the hat, revealing their resident swordswoman, finally returned.

"MOTOKO!" Keitaro and Kitsune simultaneously shout while leaping to their feat, one looking utterly delighted while the other is trying to hide their displeasure…you guess which one's which.

The aforementioned young woman nods with a light smile. "Yes, I am back from my trip a little earlier than expected," her smile is quickly replaced with a frown, "and I had expected a much more welcome sight upon my return." Her eyes slowly move back and forth between the two in front of her, an accusatory glare in her eyes.

The Tokyo U student rubs the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "Yeah…well um…you know how Kitsune is. She was just teasing me a little bit." Acting on impulse, he suddenly pulls Motoko in for a warm embrace. "I missed you while you were gone," he softly whispers into her ear, earning a rather pleasant shiver to course through her body as he hits her one weak point.

Despite trying to appear stern Motoko's façade quickly disappears as she allows herself to fall into the landlord's arms, feeling truly content for the first time in days. 'This,' she thinks, 'is where I belong.'

Kitsune watches the two with increasing discomfort. 'I know Motoko and I agreed to take turns going out with him and all…but I gotta admit I really liked having him all t' myself these last few days.' She looks away and uncomfortably tries to look anywhere but the cute looking couple who have just deepened their embrace, not paying any attention to anyone nearby. 'Alright…something better happen to break this touching little moment up soon cause I'm just about at my limits here.'

As if some guiding force had answered her call, Su and Shinobu make their appearance on the main floor, undoubtedly attracted to both Keitaro and Mitsune's shouting…and the name they had shouted as well. The young foreigner squeals in utter delight at the sight of her best friend and favorite bedmate (the yummy smelling landlord comes in a very close second) and rushes forward at top speed, shouting, "MO-TO-KO!" She leaps into the air with her arms and legs spread wide open.

The swordswoman's extensive training kicks into full gear as she swiftly moves Keitaro out of the way and catches her young friend, not even losing her balance at the force in which Su came at her with. Next to them, Kitsune murmurs a small prayer of thanks for the young girl's impeccable timing. "Hello Su, I have missed you." The younger of the two easily squirms around the much taller girl so now she is on her back with her arms and legs wrapped around her in a piggyback style, grinning from ear to ear. Motoko ruffles her hair affectionately for a moment before turning her attention towards the young dark blue haired girl. "It is nice to see you as well Shinobu."

"Hello Motoko," the youngest tenant greets with a slight bow, "you're home earlier than we thought you'd be." She pauses for a moment to frown lightly. "We were so close to finishing up cleaning our home too! We wanted to surprise you." She tries to pout at her and look upset but at her current happiness to have Motoko back home she looks more incredibly cute than anything.

Motoko smiles and places a hand on top of the youngster's head. "Well if that is the case then I apologize for coming back as soon as I have and ruining your surprise…but you shouldn't worry yourselves over me like this. I appreciate it, I truly do, but none of this is necessary." She leans down to pick up her traveling pack and her sword Shisui. "All that I want right now is bring my belongings back to my room and take a dip in the hot spring…possibly with some of your delicious tea to help me feel even better Shinobu," she adds with a sly smile at the young girl.

"Of course!" she replies with a brilliant smile of her own, "I'll be right back with some tea." She quickly rushes off into the kitchen.

Keitaro and Kitsune both step back to allow the resident swordswoman to enter fully. "So how was your kendo trip?" the fox-eyed woman asks in a casual manner, hiding her frustration quite well. 'Damn,' she thinks to herself, 'if you'd of just come back later like you were supposed to…this whole rivalry thing woulda been done and over with and my Kei-baby woulda been all mine.' She mentally sighs at the indignity of it all. 'Sure she told me to keep my hands to myself…but who does she think she's kiddin? They don't call me 'Kitsune' just cause of my eyes!'

"It was…uneventful," Motoko replies after a moment's hesitation. She is about to say something else about her trip when she suddenly realizes something. "By the way, where is Narusegawa?" Luckily enough, she doesn't notice the two older people near her to visible tense. "I had expected her to come down and at least say hello…or is she too busy studying for her upcoming Tokyo U entrance exams?"

"Naru doesn't live here right now!" Su cheerfully replies, doing a back flip off of her favorite playmate and expertly landing on her feet. "She left the same day you did!"

Motoko raises an eyebrow in surprise. "She left?" At the young foreigner's enthusiastic nod, she continues, "Why did Narusegawa leave…and where to?"

Su opens her mouth and starts, "Well…"

Kitsune quickly interrupts, "…Well! Naru went to spend some time with her parents." She takes half a glance at Keitaro before going on, "It's been a really long time since they've seen each other and all…and of course Naru's been kinda stressed with all that studyin' she does and those all-nighters. I think some time off's just what the doctor ordered for our Naru."

The swordswoman nods with a thoughtful look on her face. "Hmm, that is a good idea. There is no need for Narusegawa to overwork herself into a right state. Yes, some time away will be for the best for her." She nods to everyone present. "Now if you will excuse me, I must take my belongings to my room."

As Motoko walks away, Kitsune rubs her eyes with a relieved sigh. The landlord turns towards her, a questioning look on his face. "Why did you lie to Motoko for?"

"Would ya rather tell her the truth? The full truth?" Keitaro squirms uncomfortably in response. "The way I see it," the fox-eyed woman continues, "is the less ole Motoko knows about the whole thing between you and Naru…the better for everyone. I know she can be a bit of the jealous type and I don't want Naru's return bein anything less than friendly. I also don't want her losin any trust in any of us cause of this."

The young Tokyo U student scratches the back of his head with an unsure expression. "I…I guess you make a point…but I don't like being dishonest with Motoko…or any of you girls." He looks away as a bit of pain flashes in his eyes. "It's been a long time since I've felt this comfortable around women and I don't want to do anything that would make you girls think any less of me."

Kitsune reaches forward and caresses his cheek. "Trust me hun," she gently whispers, "you keep bein all nice and sweet and yourself and you'll never have to worry about that ever happenin…" she pauses to lean in and give Keitaro a chaste kiss on the lips, "…especially to me."


Nearly two hours later, the entire gang is sitting down at the dining room table, all enjoying another spectacular meal courtesy of their young resident chef. Though nobody can see Su's face with how fast she is shoveling her giant pile of food into her mouth, her smile is just a tiny bit wider then usual. Motoko has filled them all in about her class kendo trip and the progress of both herself and the rest of her club. The other three all listen in and chat idly here and there. They are about halfway through their meal when all of a sudden they all hear someone knocking at the front door. The small group all look at one another in confusion, neither expecting anyone to come anytime soon.

With a shrug, Keitaro stands up and walks over to the front door and opens it, expecting it to possibly be his aunt or even Naru…though they wouldn't have needed a reason to knock and would have just normally walked in while announcing their entrance. The lovely young woman who is standing on the other side definitely is not someone he had expected to see…at least not until he started classes again back at Tokyo U. "Kei-kun?" the spacey anemic begins, not quite believing her eyes. She suddenly shouts, "Kei-kun!" as she lunges forward and tackles the young landlord in a warm embrace, a large smile gracing her pretty face. "Oh Kei-kun, I'm so happy to see you again!"

The young man is of course completely stunned by this unexpected turn of events. He doesn't return the embrace but does manage to mutter out a strangled, "Mu…Mu-chan?"

To be continued…
Author's notes: Hello to all you extremely patient fans. I have been gone from this story and many others for a long time. I majorly suck ass, I know. I've been trying to write as often as I can, but I can't find that old fire, that old passion I used to have. I remember being able to write at least two full stories and have them posted all in a single day. Nowadays I'm lucky to get even half a page done a week. sigh I'm not as good as I used to be…not nearly as good at all. I'm gonna get back to work on my Inu-Yasha fics…I've been reading through the manga again and all my old stories to get back in touch with the characters and their personalities. I can't promise that I'll have anything posted soon, but I'll do the best I can.

Now to Love Hina business: well boys and girls, I'm sure you weren't expecting mr to bring in Mutsumi so soon now didn't you? And they both remember each other and their childhood names as well! What a twist! You'll find out more…much more in the next chapter. – lighthawkdemon

Questions or comments? E-mail me at: lighthawkdemon(at)Y!