Chp4: Prologue to chp5

Thanks for making it this far. Yes, chapter 4. In this chapter I'll introduce the other characters in the story. Say hello to the members of the Market Avenue neighbourhood. For those of you who get bored easily by 'slice of life' style descriptions of the Market Avenue community, feel free to skip the 'first case' flashback prologue and jump straight to the next chapter, where I have added a summary version of what happens in the prologue. I didn't intend to make the prologue this long…but that's how it turned out. It was actually a lot of fun to write the 'slice of life' account of the lives of the people in Keitarou, Shinobu, and Nodoka's neighbourhood. BTW, in this story, Haruna Saotome is given the title 'Honya-chan' instead of Nodoka. Also, BTW, I wish to apologize, I added a Shana cameo in this chapter.

Now, to reply to reviews:

Wonderbee31: Thanks for yet another review. yeah, I tried to keep Motoko and Tsuroko as natural as possible. Though I think I probably made Tsuroko a little too 'gentle' but I kinda like her that way. Thanks again for the review.

BigFics2: Thanks for yet another positive review. That's good to hear, that you'll be continuing Gundam Hina. That's great. I haven't read Elope a Dope but I think I'll take a look at it. Thanks again for the review.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything here except for the story. I do not own Love Hina, Mahou Sensei Negima, or anything else I might inadvertently (or possibly, purposely) add into the story.

Please review, all reviews are highly appreciated.

Totemo totemo, taisetsuna hibi hagarimashta, Shinobu raire, Keitarou rairu, sannin no hibi….

Don't ask me why, that phrase has become so natural to us…sannin de… and I can't imagine life any other way…

It was around 2 years ago…

I can still remember that day clearly…it was the day we got our first case. It was quite late in the morning. The three of us where eating one of Shinobu-chan's occasional cakes. Whenever there was cake, all three of us would be eating it together. Whenever there was music, all three of us would be listening together. That day, there were both. Shinobu-chan was strumming away on her guitar…she had been playing since we were kids. I personally never had the patience for learning. It was moments like this that were most memorable to me.

Then someone knocked on the door. Keitarou-kun got up and answered it. A young woman greeted the three of us cheerfully. It was Narusegawa-san, at the time 17 year old owner of the small grocery store in front of our agency. She had come asking for help. Apparently her cat (You can't imagine how many times we run into cat-related cases as detectives) had run off with her cell and now she couldn't find it. She offered us 20.000 yen and wouldn't hear of the service being free of charge. She insisted on paying.

So we searched for it. While Keitarou-kun tried to call the cell repeatedly off his own cell while going around the area trying to listen for the ring, we tried one of Shinobu-chan's ingenious ideas…we gave the cat an empty cell and followed it wherever it went.

We went far and wide that day. It was actually a fun if not frustrating experience. First through Market Avenue where our agency happened to be located…the black and white ball of fur went through Lee's garage and carpentry store. Lee who was repairing (strangely) something that looked like a mobile suit was quite (ironically) amazed to see us following a cat. Then the cat decided to take a detour through the local Chinese restaurant and nikuman take away store, the Chao Bao Zi restaurant. The owner, Chao Rin Yen, who was about to go out on another nikuman delivery run when we arrived, greeted us and gave the cat a quick hug before blasting off down the road (yes, 'blasting'. Her delivery scooter has some sort of nuclear powered rocket strapped on).

We went out through the restaurant's backdoor into a back alley and entered the Happy Dragon Pub's backdoor which was right beside it. The cat climbed onto the bar counter and nuzzled Konno-san(who incidentally was sleeping hugging a wine bottle), the (nocturnal) bartender and owner of the pub, who instantly gave it a hug and placed it outside the pub while sleep walking.

The cat then made its way up Market Avenue towards Market Avenue square. Up on the hill, at the end of the street, stood Hinata Sou, watching over the entire Market Avenue. The cat stopped by the local antiques store where the owner, Noriyasu-san, and his twin assistants, Narutaki Fumika and Fuuka, were washing the windows. The cat sauntered up to them and was cordially greeted by the three. They wished us luck as the cat continued on its way. It seemed as if the cat was going to stop at every single store…and yes…it made a quick turn into the local stationary store and newsstand. The owner, Kagurazaka Asuna, who was about to go out on her usual (yet rather late, today) morning newspaper and magazine run, took the time to give the cat a stroke and greet us, before running off.

The cat sauntered into Market Avenue Square. The small fountain was off as usual to conserve water. The cat leaped up onto the lap of a certain Yukihiro Ayaka, owner of the Yukihiro Flower Emporium, who was sitting on one side of the square, painting a panoramic view of Market Avenue. She was in her usual long skirt and cotton vest and shirt. She had always been the leader of Market Avenue's chamber of commerce as well as unofficial head of community (with the probable exception of Grandma Hina and Yakuza Big Boss Haruka), and it seemed like she always will be(which is why she was unanimously proclaimed Incho-san by the neighbourhood, even outside of school). I personally couldn't stand her sometimes…but oh well. She was being particularly agreeable today so I let her snide comments go. The cat spent some time in Ayaka's lap before leaping off and continuing on its way.

The cat then stopped in front of the local second hand bookstore and sat there for quite some time until I started moaning to Shinobu-chan to stop the search. But Shinobu-chan, as usual, told me to be patient and to persevere…and right enough, as soon as the small hand on the watch reached 8, the owner of the bookstore, Yue Ayase, came out, crouched down, and placed a saucer of milk in front of the cat before opening up her store. She noticed us and we had a little chat while waiting for the cat to finish up its milk. I had half a mind to give it a kick to hurry up but Shinobu-chan again asked me to be patient. Shinobu-chan then slipped off for a bit to buy some bread from Shana's bakery across the street. Shana the baker was already laying today's bread on the store's front, fresh from the oven. She was, as usual, munching on one of her own melon breads for breakfast. Shinobu bought some sandwiches and Shana slipped in some melon bread for free. For dessert, she said, no one can live without melon bread.

When the cat finally finished, it picked up its empty cell again and ambled off up the sloping street. We followed it closely, observing its every move…well, almost…we stopped observing for a moment as it relieved itself on an electric post…on which, not surprisingly, our local freelance reporter was hanging with some sort of harness, taking photos of yet another neighbourhood scandal. She took a moment to greet us before sliding down (we couldn't warn her in time) into the pool of piddle. The cat again stopped by the local martial arts dojo where it waited for the dojo master, Ku Fei, to bring out yet another saucer of milk. We sat and had tea together with Ku under the shade of the dojo's great oak tree while we waited for the cat to finish its second saucer of milk. Ku told us alls sorts of things about disturbances in the force and other weird stuff we couldn't really make heads or tails out of.

Next stop…the local library…where the librarian, Haruna Saotome, was searching her pockets for the library keys, a tuna sandwich hanging from her mouth. She took a moment to take a small piece of the sandwich and give it to the cat which meowed happily in gratitude and ate up the small morsel quickly. She lived alone in a small cottage by the library so she was glad for the unexpected company. We sat together on the steps in front of the library while we waited for the cat to start on its way again.

We bid Honya-chan (The whole neighbourhood had unofficially agreed to give her a fitting nickname) goodbye and followed the furball up to Market Avenue's infamous charms and curios store…run by its infamous owner, Evangeline A.K. Mcdowell. It quickly scampered past but was promptly caught the owner who came out of nowhere. When we asked, Eva-chan explained that the cat had been stealing stuff from her store for a long time and that she was going to let it feel hell today. We promised to find her the missing items if it turns up with the missing handphone and she decided to let it go, as long as we report back to her by the end of the day…and she didn't want to hear no for an answer (I was going to give her one for ordering us around…but…as usual, Shinobu-chan told me to be patient). People in the neighbourhood say that she's a witch or sorceress of some sort…though I find that quite comical. At least she offered to pay for the return of the items, at 500 yen per item returned…not bad.

The furball was really getting on my nerves…It scampered across the street and right under a passing tram. When we got around the tram, we found it had climbed onto the tram itself. We started running to keep up with the tram as it went uphill. I got close enough, grasped the rear entry bar, and leaped on. I turned around and held out a hand to Shinobu-chan and pulled her in. We searched under all the seats…and of all places, the cat was lying around behind the legs of our school teacher, Takamichi-san, who decided to decided to give us a long lecture on the importance of the cheese making industry (!) (strangely, Shinobu-chan seemed genuinely interested).

After successfully excusing ourselves from Takamichi-san, We decided to go up to the tram driver/conductor, Natsumi Murakami, who also worked part-time in the local theatre, and pay our fare. We did get on the tram, after all. She laughed when she heard about our case. Then she looked up at the sky and commented on how everyone in market street was always working hard. Then I realized…everyone in market street (with the exception of Noriyasu-san) were still kids…barely teenagers…and most of them had already inherited their parents businesses and had started working for themselves…what's up with this town?

We got off as soon as the cat had leaped off…and found ourselves on a small lane off the main street…by the local junkyard. The cat trotted into the junkyard and made its way through, as if it already knew where it was going. We followed it through the towering masses of scrap metal and discarded junk until we reached an open warehouse. The cat leaped onto the shoulder of the perpetually greasy junkyard owner/junk mechanic/mad scientist Satomi Hakase. She was in her usual oil stained blue overall and white shirt, with her mechanic's cap tilted in a weird angle. Her double tool belt boasted professionalism that seemed to rival that of Lee's, but she wasn't for repairing any small time appliance as Lee was…she was into inventing. Most of the neighbourhood folks find her and her mad inventions scary, but I personally find her quite interesting.

The cat decided to take a nap on her cap for some time, so we decided to have a chat with Hakase-chan. Shinobu-chan was always rather scared of her, even from when we were all still kids. She was working on yet another invention…some sort of atomic cook-master 9000…we decided to leave as soon as the cat woke up. When it finally did, it made its way out of the junkyard, through the forest beside it, until we reached the Tatsumiya temple. Priestess Tatsumiya was in her usual priestess garb, sweeping up the front courtyard. And yes…there was a saucer of cream out on the porch for the cat. Tatsumiya-san invited us for some tea and senbes while we waited for the cat to finish up its third saucer of milk of the day.

Tatsumiya-san told us that the cat would usually climb up the hill to Hinata Sou afterwards…and so it did. We followed it up the arduous flight of stairs up to the famous former inn, now an orphanage run by the Aoyamas and grandma Hina. After their Shinmei school mysteriously burned down, grandma Hina offered the Aoyamas to stay at the Hinata Sou, and they have done so until now, helping her run the orphanage. The orphans joined us in following the cat as it climbed over the rooftops of Hinata Sou. Most of these orphans already have businesses ready waiting for them in Market Avenue or the rest of the city when they are finally discharged from the orphanage. Strangely enough…there were so many orphans in the city. All of the Market Avenue store owners were all kids who had once lived in the Hinata Sou orphanage until they were old enough to inherit their parents' business. It seemed as if dying prematurely was a trend for the parents in the town, for some unknown reason. It had also become a trend to entrust the business deeds to Grandma Hina, who would ensure that the business is passed on to the children when they are of age should their parents die…which meant every single deed of every single property within the Hinata hotsprings region was inside the Hinata Sou.

We finally went back down to the main street, where the cat again made a short stop, this time at the local church. Sister Misora had already prepared a dish of tuna and a small bowl of cream for the cat. This time, I was really going to give the cat a good motivation to continue moving, but Shinobu-chan again somehow convinced me to be patient and wait for the cat. Sister Misora herself was about to sit down for lunch on the church steps and invited us to join her. We decided to break open our own lunch boxes (sandwiches and melon bread from Shana's bakery) and watched the clouds going lazily by as we chatted about many different things, everything from the orphans to our first case.

We bid Misora goodbye and left the church, hot on the cat's trail as it went down Market Avenue…and into the local public bathhouse. What were we to say…and it had to enter the male's section. Shinobu-chan merely sighed, while I pulled up my sleeves and charged in. The owner, Akira Ookouchi was quite understanding, though she was sniggering a lot as she regarded us, me in particular. I think I can spare you the details, people's imaginations tend to fare better when left to wander.

I was getting quite frustrated over the chase and was ready to just join Keitarou in his search, when Shinobu-chan pointed out that the cat had entered yet another building…we followed it in and found the clinic's nurse/doctor-in-training, Ako Izumi, frantically trying to shoo it away with a feather duster from atop her desk. We came in and tried to calm her down, explaining that it was nothing more than a cat. She finally calmed down and even gave the cat a cautious pat. The cat seemed to like a corner of the clinic where all the linens were stored, though Ako-chan said she'd never seen the cat come in before. It seemed quite accustomed to the clinic.

It went into a large townhouse slightly off the main street that belonged to the Sakurazakas. Kanako had a hard time trying to pry Konoka off the cat, just so we could get back on our case. After leaving Kanako and a teary eyed Konoka, we followed the cat down the road to…of all places…the yakuza HQ, which was an abandoned department store on an intersection someway off the main street. Well, we weren't as much their enemies as we are now…but the idea of going through the corridors lined by unsavoury men was not to my taste…Shinobu-chan just treated it as a walk in the park. Kotarou offered to lead us through the HQ as we followed the cat along…thanks to him nothing unwanted happened. Now that I look back…we were always friends with Kotarou…though we get into scraps now and then, us being detectives and him being a yakuza.

Afterwards we followed the cat further down the street…it was already 1 o'clock in the afternoon and we were still following a cat up and down Market Avenue. We went past the local theatre and found…Narusegawa-san (?) sweeping the street in front of it. We went up to her and told her the details of our search and she merely smiled and nodded…and we found that the cat was completely uninterested in her. It even hissed in anger. I cautiously went up to her and pulled her cheek…yep…it was a rubber mask. The Narusegawa laughed and pulled off her mask. It was the manager of the theatre, Nagase Kaede, masquerading as others as usual. Some people say Kanako's learning the art of disguise from her…some say vice versa. Who knows? As soon as she took of the mask, the cat snuggled up to her and purred….that's one strange cat.

Finally we continued on our way…the detective agency was already in sight. The cat decided to halt and assault our local ditz, Sasaki Makie, who was going home to her café with an armload of groceries and supplies. She was in her usual uber-cute maid uniform that was a trademark of her café. She greeted us and handed the groceries over to Shinobu-chan before letting the cat leap up into her arms and snuggle her. She giggled as she gave the cat cuddles and hugs, before setting it back down and taking back her groceries. Seems like the cat knew every single person on Market Avenue. Makie laughed when we told her in short what we were doing, wished us luck, and told us to come by to the café later on. After promising we will, we continued on our way…

And…we finally ended up….back at our agency…(I was seriously gonna kick the cat at this point…)

Well…not exactly our agency. It slipped into the old abandoned restaurant underneath the agency…which was once the Hinata Western…our home. We swept aside a lot of cobwebs until we finally found a small stash of items under a counter, presumably what the cat had nicked over the past few months. The cell was there, ringing off the hook. I picked it up and answered it, boy was Keitarou-kun surprised when he heard me on the other side.

As I flipped off the cell, I noticed that Shinobu-chan had gone missing. I searched around and found a trail of footsteps in the dust…it led to one of the rooms in the back where we once lived.

There…in what was once our living room and bedroom…was Shinobu-chan…kneeling on the dusty floor…crying…

I immediately went to her side and looked up at her face. I asked her what was wrong. She silently pointed at a Christmas card. In one corner was a small forlorn Christmas tree, now all laden with cobwebs. Under it, half hidden by the shroud of webs were a few Christmas presents…all forgotten in the rush when we left the house. All the old furniture and things were still left where they were…covered heavily in dreary dust and cobwebs, marking abandonment. On the wall opposite us hung a family photo, the last one we took together before the unfortunate event…

I never really understood why…why we left…and why we never ventured back in here after we returned…we were probably afraid…afraid of coming back and seeing remnants of the life that was now gone…

I read through the Christmas card and tears welled up in my eyes too, but I had made a promise…I will not cry…I will not shed tears that might blind my eyes and prevent me from protecting Shinobu-chan…

I wiped them off quickly and looked down at Shinobu-chan. I embraced her and held her close as she cried into my shoulder…I had made a promise…I will do anything to protect Shinobu-chan…from any dangers…any sorrows…I will do anything to make her happy, even if it meant…my life…

Welcome to Market Avenue. Hope you have a pleasant (and generally insane) stay here. Please mind the cats, dogs, turtles, and general mayhem that goes about here. And try not to infuriate any of the locals…it's not suggested by the Surgeon General. If you get lost, feel free to ask the nearest local. They'd be happy to point you in the wrong direction.

Here is a basic map of what market avenue and the surrounding areas looks like, more or less, from Keitarou's point of viewwhen he soars over Market Avenue (occasionally). It's basically one long street going steadily up the hill towards Hinata Sou. All the store owners normally live in their own stores. A community gathering is held once a week, either at Hinata Sou or the local theatre. If you have the chance, why don't you attend one of the meetings? It's quite an experience, especially when the green grocer Narusegawa Naru cooks.

Hinata Sou

-------------------------(MO)--------- --------------------------(Tatsumiya Temple)-----(CN)----

Kira No Sora Lane Kira no Hoshi Lane

---------------------------------------------- -------------------------(NM)------------(Junkyard)----------

(Market Avenue Tsuki-West Side)

EV!II!PP

BH!II!MC

HS!II!KF

AI!II!AY

----------------------------(SY)-----------YA!II!SB--------------------------------------------

Mahoko StreetSouth (Square) Mahoko Street North

(To Mahora Academy)

--------------------------------------(Yakuza HQ)-(K&K)-----SN!II!AK-(KS)(GC)---------------------(Yakusoku Bridge)-------------

KA!II!CH

SK!II!SS

MT!II!n/a

SC!II!Mt

ZR!II!Ch

n/a!II!Le

NN!II!DA

(Market Avenue Amaterasu-East Side)

Note: Map not to scale. Some things shown may be bigger or smaller than they really are. For example, Hinata Sou's way bigger than that. Sorry the map's a bit simplistic. The MS Word version looked a lot better...but this is how it turned out. Well, hope you can make heads or tails of it.

Legend:

CN: Chizuru Nawa's house (and mini observatory)

NM: Natsume Murakami's house

GC: Yuna Akashi's minimart (You name it, we have it. If we don't, then go elsewhere)

Ks: Kaolla Suu and Sarah McDouggal's flat. Kaolla Suu is the local IT expert.

PP: Shirai and Haitani's police post(to serve and protect, 24/7, all for one and all for donuts)

MC: Misora's church (service at 9 every Sunday, confession secrecy guaranteed -o)

KF: Ku Fei's Dojo (Not liable for any broken bones, concussions, or deaths)

AY: Ayaka Yukihiro's flower store (Beauty and passion, flowers say it all)

SB: Shana's Bakery, also serves donuts. Definitely serves melon bread.

AK: Asuna Kagurazaka's stationery store and newsstand

CH: Chao Bao Zi Chinese Restaurant, owned by Chao Rin Yen. Yotsuba works here.

SS: Sakurano Shiina's Crepe stall

Mt: Mitsune's Happy Dragon Pub (24 hours Happy hour)

Ch: Chiisame Hasegawa's Internet Café

Le: Lee's Carpentry and Repair Store (You break it, we repair it.You break it again…)

DA: Detective Agency, also Hinata Western (now closed)

MO: Mutsumi Otohime's Hinata tea house and fruits stall(Watermelons always in stock!)

Ev: Evangeline's Charms and Curios Store (witch's hideout?)

BH: Market Avenue's Public Bathhouse, run by Akira Ookouchi

HS:Haruna Saotome's library.(Overdue books will be tracked down,those guilty will die!)

AI: Ako Izumi's Clinic and Pharmacy (no guarantees as yet)

YA: Yue Ayase's secondhand bookstore (cheap books for sale…what more can I say?)

SN: Seta Noriyasu's Antiques store (we've got even cheaper old books here)

KA: Kasumi Asakura's Office (Be the first to know!)

SK: Sakata Kentarou's electronics store(Kentarou, the most honest dealer on MA)

MT: Market Avenue's Movie/Drama Theatre, run by Kaede Nagase

Sc: Sasaki Makie's Café (General gathering spot for townspeople)

ZR: Zazie Rainyday's toy store (will open soon)

NN: Narusegawa Naru's green grocers (Fresh 'n' cheap, Always!)

K&K: Konoka and Kanako's house

SY: Satsuki Yotsuba's house (was once a pizza parlour, but now closed)

n/a: not yet decided. Will inform.