Chapter 2

This is the Hinata Inn‽

(The All-Girls Dorm with the Hot Springs - Part 2)

§

Previously...

Keitaro is in a slump. His parents relatively kicked him out of the house before going to cram school. However, he's not going to do this alone, as Naruto (or Ruto for short) decided to go to the Hinata Inn with him, to which their grandmother gave the boys an open invitation to help with their studies. Little did they know that they were getting more than they were bargaining for when they decided to take a soak in the onsen and found a girl named Naru Narusegawa walking in completely unaware of the upcoming trouble (with a cute wink in her smile).

Let's just hope that there isn't going to be murder...

-LNH-

And now...

|The Former Hinata Inn, Onsen|

Naru is stretching her arms as she is enjoying a midday bath (while giving the boys the unintentional free shot, courtesy of her bare C (almost D)-cup breasts). "Mmm! Nothing like a good bath to wash all your worries away."

Keitaro can't help but gawk at Naru's naked beauty while Ruto uses the steam to try to at least look away from the excitement and wonder to himself, ::Yabai (Uh-oh)... We're in trouble if we get caught.::

As Naru moved blindly closer to Keitaro, she mistook the elder Urashima for one of her friends in the misty terrain and said, "Say, my breasts seem to be getting bigger recently. Care to have a look?"

Oh-oh! Keitaro's manhood is getting harder to hide behind the waist-covered towel as the antennae student is skin to skin to the hapless idiot and murmurs, "Aw, but mine just can't quite compare to yours, I'll let you touch them." And that's when things go totally south as she touches the wrong spot...on Keitaro. "Kitsuné?" the farsighted woman questioned the wrong person while Keitaro just couldn't utter a sound during the big rush. So Ruto explained in the mist, "Ano... Nee-chan? That's not Kitsuné-oneechan."

Naru puts on her eyeglasses to fix her vision and sees clearly that this is not her roommate and learns that there are 2 men in the bath with her, in a truly compromising position. Keitaro tries to explain to the disillusioned woman, but...

"Eeeeeek! Somebody!" Naru shouted in fear as both brothers got out of the water; Keitaro with only a towel on while Ruto had a pair of swimming trunks on. (The younger brother wore them for just such an occasion.)

Keitaro tried to apologize, but was socked with a left jab by Naru, sending the victim flying towards the wood and glass shoji door. Then she turned to Ruto, who was surprised by the aggressive impact coming from Naru's fists. The angry woman then says, "Well? What do you want, you little sneak?"

And she bashed him with a well-aimed Hammer Arm on his head, but something went a bit odd. Instead of the impact of hitting bone, she hit a substitution; a towel that Naruto has in his hand instead. Ruto said from behind the attacker, "Sorry, but I got to find Aniki before anything else happens, 'ttébayo. Bye-bye." And the 'ninja' made good his escape, via Shunshin (Body Flicker).

Naru growled in frustration and muttered, "I'll get that little s*** later. Right now, I'm too mad with that no-good m********** and smash his n***!*"

(*A/N: - Intentionally censored for comedic reasons.)

-LNH-

Ruto is racing down the long halls of the inn, searching for his wayward brother until he comes upon the kitchen area and finds... "Shinobu-chan?"

"Ruto-kun?" the meek girl named Shinobu gasped as she recognized her friend from school, wearing a swimsuit and was bare-chested. She blushed so much, she panicked and fainted while dinner was cooking on the stove.

"Great," Ruto interjected, "She's unconscious again..."

And he takes over Shinobu's cooking with his doubles while the original cools off the shy girl's fainting. He can't help but remember how many times that he found Shinobu collapsing and had to pick up the slack that the love-struck classmate had done, and the times when she had run away from her problems, just like a track & field star. He hopes that she can get over her personal issues soon.

That was when Shinobu finally woke up and saw 3 Rutos (with shirts on) finishing the cooking and then saw the original holding her in his arms and that was when she stammered, "Ru-Ru-Ru-Ruto-kun! How did you get here?"

"Would you believe that Hina-obaachan invited me and Aniki to come over to this place, but I haven't seen her yet," he explained, "Anyhow, how are you doing, Shinobu-chan?"

"Just doing fine, Ruto-kun, thank you very much," she answered, but then Shinobu gasps as she is worried about the food being overcooked.

Ruto calmed her down and said, "Take it easy. Don't worry yourself. Your dinner is just about ready to eat."

"You're too kind, Ruto-kun," she meekly thanked and hugged her good friend.

"You're welcome, Shinobu-chan," he said while being embraced, "Oh, just a minute. I still have to find Aniki."

"Can I come with you, Ruto-kun?" she asked as she put away her apron.

"You're welcome to come," he answered, "I just hope that Aniki doesn't run into Kaolla-chan and those machinations of hers." And he and Shinobu made their way around the halls.

-LNH-

The two Junior High students later found Keitaro downstairs in the foyer, still half-naked with a towel covering his pride, as he faces off with their senpai and close friend, Kaolla Su (who is wearing militaryish clothes and goggles) and her army of small toy tanks. She was playing Army with her toys when the hapless wet fool ran into her and was about to walk towards her when Ruto came shouting, "Aniki! Don't step on it!"

But too late; Keitaro just did and the crushed toy tank suddenly exploded, knocking him back from the blast.

"Whaa~‽ Mega Pervy Monster, feel the wrath of the Hinata SDF! Uté-ya (Fire)!" Kaolla declared as she commanded her tanks to open fire on Keitaro and their shells bounced off him, while some caps hit him below the belt and then exploded around him.

Kaolla giggled as she escaped outside and Ruto was carrying Shinobu - bridal style, as the hall blew up from the blast of a bomb...

*Ker-plow!*

...sending Keitaro flying and tumbling in the dirt. Just as the Ronin managed to get up, he sees the fully-dressed and very angry Naru and Kitsuné on one side and Kaolla (with her destructive toy tanks), Ruto, and Shinobu on the other side; Keitaro shrieked in fear, realizing that he… is a dead duck.

Naru then notices that her other foe is hanging around with the younger girls and exclaims, "Ack! You're that little blond sneak hanging with that pervert! Wh-what are you doing here, hanging with Su-chan and Shinobu-chan‽"

"Ruto-kun, long time, no see!" Kitsuné waved to her close friend from childhood.

"Kitsuné-oneechan! It's been too long!" the blonde responded with the same fox-like expression.

"What, what... What?" Naru stammered as she was stupefied from her friend's 'turncoat', "Et tu, Kitsuné?"

"You got me there, Naru-san," the Vixen said with a playful tease.

Ruto then said with resignation to Keitaro, "Aniki, we might as well tell them the truth..."

Then Naru got to the point and said to the brothers, "You two won't get away this time. First, you've been sneaking into the dormitory for women and then you saw... and felt... my breasts..."

"Dormitory for Women‽" Keitaro questioned and turned to see a sign in front of the former inn and it read,

[Hinata-sou, Dormitory for Women]

"What happened to the place after we've been away for so long?"

Kaolla turned to her classmate with a cat-like tease and asked, "Ruto-ya, your face looks pale and your nose is bleeding-ya. You've been a naughty boy, haven't ya?"

"N-not really, I was just taken aback from the unexpected meeting, 'ttébayo," Ruto tried to make an excuse from what had happened to his best friends.

"You do?" / "Ya do?" Shinobu and Kaolla gave their boy (space) friend the Baby Doll Eye treatment that he just CAN'T win with.

[[Cue: Piano Chords from Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki 1, Episode 4]]

"I'm very sorry for being naughty, 'ttébayo..." Ruto admitted with his head hung low.

"That's my pumpkin," / "Good boy, good boy-ya," Shinobu and Kaolla said as they patted his head, forgiving his mistake.

"Ahem! Ladies, stay on topic!" Naru called for attention.

"That guy is a panty thief," Kitsuné was talking about Keitaro, who is in a state of panic.

"So, so, what should we do with him-ya?" Kaolla asked while holding the tanks' controller.

"Wait, l-l-l-let's not be hasty about this..." Shinobu tried to object.

"We should hang this lout on a crucifix and torture him, cut out his tongue and sent him to Jigoku (hell)." Naru suggested while being imagined wearing a crimson, skin-tight, sexy suit with a hat saying in English, [DEATH] on its brim.

"No! Not that! Please!" Keitaro begged until somebody else came forward from the teahouse area stairs that said, "Oh, you've finally arrived. If it isn't my favorite nephews."

It's Haruka Urashima (27), co-manager of the Hinata-sou and the Teahouse Café owner that still has that habit of having a cigarette in her mouth. Then she asked an awkward question, "What happened to your clothes?," as she saw Keitaro wearing nothing but a towel around his waist and Ruto in his swimsuit and shirt. That was when the boys ran to the manager and cried, "Haruka-basan!" / "Oba-san!" and then they hugged her affectionately.

(Keitaro is hugging his 'aunt' in a rather perverted manner by putting his head on her chest and Ruto is about a head shorter than Haruka, so the fault isn't clearly his.)

Then she cobbed Keitaro on the head with her elbow, knocking him to the floor, and then gave Ruto a one-handed noogie with the other hand and said to them, "Just call me Haruka-san."

"Hai," Ruto replied.

-LNH-

|At the Manager's House|

Keitaro and Ruto managed to get dressed in clean clothes after going through the big hullabaloo with the girls of Hinata-sou. They've considered themselves lucky to be able to come to the former inn, but...

|At the lounge|

The boys, the manager, and the girls are sitting on the couches, facing each other on 3 sides; Naru and Kitsuné are on the love seat, Kaolla, Ruto, and Shinobu are on the long couch, and Keitaro is on the lounging chair (with Haruka behind him). At first, Naru objected about the Urashima boys being here after they peeped at the girl's bodies and touching their breasts, Keitaro stealing their underwear and doing shameless things and Ruto was hanging around with Kaolla (who is 13½ and caressing his cheek with her cheek) and Shinobu (who is only 12½) and was worried that they would get emotionally hurt.

But Shinobu naively said, "I am okay, Naru-senpai. Ruto-kun was wearing his swimsuit at the time. But his brother, his was so small, I couldn't really see it..."

Keitaro is utterly crushed about his pitiful manhood. Ruto cringed from that low blow done to his brother's pride and he chided, "Now I wouldn't say that, Shinobu-chan, because I think it really did hurt his 'testimony', 'ttébayo."

Kitsuné agrees with Naruto's advice while she drags an argumentative Naru away to calm her down.

"I'm sorry, Ruto-kun," Shinobu said, feeling ashamed, but Ruto pats her on the shoulder and says, "It's all right. It was kinda our fault for coming here at the wrong time, anyways."

Shinobu felt relieved from her close friend's comforting words. And Kaolla gave her support by hugging both of them guilelessly.

Keitaro shook off the depression and said, "This is not good. We came here when Obaa-chan called us from home. We were sure that she'd let us stay... So we don't have much money to bring with us. By the way, where's Obaa-chan at, anyway?"

"...She's just left recently," Haruka explained while puffing her cigarette, "She left this morning with Kanako-chan for a vacation around the world. They are probably in the plane by now. I'm sure they'll fax us sometime."

"Touring the world‽" Keitaro exclaimed, "You don't mean..."

"Yep. Obaa-chan is already passed the retirement age, but still wanted to seek out romance, or something, ever since Ojii-chan (dear Grandfather) passed on," Haruka casually stated, "So she took the opportunity to turn this place into a dormitory for women about 2 years ago."

Ruto saw his brother's spirit feeling drained from what their aunt had said. 10 hours and 28 minutes into their intended trip into their grandmother's place and now they had to go back home. What a drag...

Then Keitaro decidedly said, "I understand. It's not right for men to live in the women's dormitory. Forgive us for our intrusion..."

"Just a minute, Keitaro," Haruka objected, "You know, living here would save both of you rent money. It's just that the commute would be kinda hard, that's all."

Keitaro agreed with the proposition, somewhat.

"So, are you a 2nd Year in Tōdai University now?" the manager asked.

"Tōdai University‽" the tenants exclaimed.

(Kitsuné)»: "You go to Tōdai, buddy?"

(Kaolla, clinging to Ruto)»: "What's a Tōdai? Some kind of food-ya?"

(Shinobu, with her hand over her mouth)»: "That's amazing!"

"No," Ruto said and the girls looked at the younger Urashima as if they heard a record scratched, "No, he isn't. Can you tell them, Aniki?"

"Certainly, Nii-san," Keitaro said as he showed his school ID to the girls and confessed, "Actually, I'm a 2nd Year Ronin student trying to get to Tōdai, but so far, my luck is all bad. We were supposed to come over here because Obaa-chan invited us, but we didn't get a chance to even give her a big send-off for her trip."

That was when Ruto reminded himself to do one little errand, so he asked the manager, "Haruka-san, is it okay if I can use the house phone? I just remembered something that is rather urgent."

"Sure," Haruka obliged, "The closest phone should be at the front desk. You can't miss it."

Ruto thanked his aunt and headed towards the phone to call his parents. Haruka then slapped the back of Keitaro's head for his honesty and said to the tenants, "Hina-obaachan wanted to call these 2 guys to come over to arrange living quarters for the new landlord and tenant. Once my boneheaded older nephew gets his studies straight for his cram school session, he'll make a fine, good, new landlord. And Ruto will have to pull his weight, too.

"Manager‽" Naru objected to Haruka while pointing to Keitaro, "There's just no way a twerp like him could be the landlord of an all-girls' dorm and that little brat as my new neighbor! It's totally unacceptable!" And she stomps on the floor like a spoiled little kid, until...

"Hey, Aniki!" Ruto's voice reverberated in the hall, "Kaa-san would like to talk to you. Like, now!"

"Coming!" Keitaro said as he got up off the couch and politely spoke, "Would you girls please excuse me for a minute? It's my family..." And he walks to the phone and Ruto walks back to the couch with Kaolla and Shinobu.

Naru nearly sweatdropped from the embarrassment in front of the younger Urashima. So she then asked, "Can you please tell me the truth. Are you really that guy's younger brother?"

"Yes, that's right," Ruto answered as Naru sat back down on the couch, "I'm actually Aniki's adoptive younger brother. My full name is Naruto Urashima. I recently turned 13, and am in the 1st year in Junior High. My friends call me "'Ruto" because, at the time, there were a lot of kids named 'Naru' in grade school."

It's no surprise that she and Ruto shared the same given name, Naru thought to herself, and she then said, "Well then, 'Ruto-kun', my name is Naru Narusegawa." And they greeted each other in formality. "Can you tell me about how you managed to know about Kitsuné, Su-chan, and Shinobu-chan?"

Ruto explained that Kitsuné is his good older sister figure and baby-sitter when he was little. Shinobu was his classmate since before the 4th grade and frequently got stuck together in the same class in Junior High. And Kaolla met him and Shinobu when they were in 5th Grade; she had trouble speaking Japanese and English. They've been good friends ever since.

-Explanation-

Kaolla was assisted by Kitsuné in learning the Japanese language during her stint at the Hinata-sou when her friends weren't around to help her. Shinobu lived at the dorms a little later; right around at the start of her Junior High term when her parents had their personal issues. To avoid any further dragging into the argument, they sent their daughter away to start a new life.

-End Explanation-

Naru was somehow impressed with the blond Urashima's honesty. Maybe one day, he would be a fine husband to a lucky, yet wonderful, kind-hearted woman some day. But enough daydreaming. She then asked, "What is your current dream, Ruto-kun?"

"My dream right now is to take the initiative before going to take the Tōdai test, Naru-senpai."

"Senpai?"

"Well, we all wanted to try to go to Tōdai some time in the future, hence why I called you 'Senpai'. Anyhow, I wanted to find ways to get scholarships to help waive the bill for tuition. And maybe, just perhaps, I may help you and Aniki be on your way to Tōdai this year."

Naru is thankful for the boy's vote of confidence, so asked Ruto to help make a promise as future students for Tōdai. He consented. And then, both students made a pinky-promise, vowing that they will find a way to Tōdai. The other girls, acting as witnesses, are in awe.

Soon after, Ruto noticed that there's one person missing from the dorm. "Naru-senpai, where did that kendo woman go off to?" he asked, "I heard about her in the letters from my friends."

"Motoko-chan? Oh, that's right. She went to training camp with Raika High's Kendo Club that morning," she answered, "Why'd you ask?"

"I didn't properly thank her and her sister for giving me the inspiration to join the kendo club in my school," Ruto replied. He loves to do sports to help burn off his excess energy, while he manages to complete his homework and keep up with good scores.

Just then, Keitaro returned from the phone, feeling a bit dejected. "Did everything go well, Aniki?" Ruto asked as his brother sat back down on the empty couch.

"Well, Kaa-san is a bit upset because of my recent failures, but she said that we'll pull through this year," the ronin answered.

Kitsuné then asked Keitaro, "So, what do you plan when you have for your major in Tōdai, buddy?"

"My plan? I was thinking pre-law," he reluctantly replied.

"Did you hear that, guys?" the vixen excitedly asked her friends, revealing her brown eyes, shining brightly, "The path to become a bureaucrat, a politician, or even a lawyer! Wherever he goes, he can be totally corrupt if he wants to, and make tons of money!"

"You must be joking," Naru rebutted while feeling annoyed by her former classmate's suggestion.

"Why not?" the vixen questioned, "We could let them stay and be our tutors."

"Come on, what's a Tōdai?" Kaolla asked from Ruto's shoulder and he whispered to his friend's ear that what they are talking about is the University nearby.

That's when Haruka made her decision, "Anyway, how about we let them stay for the night here while you talk this out. You see, I have my hands full at the teahouse, so we needed a dorm manager."

Naru understood what the manager had said, so she turned to Keitaro and asked, "Say, have we met before?"

Keitaro remembered the two girls years ago. He answered, "I'm not quite sure. All I remember was being friends with two girls that used to be here at this place years ago before it became a dormitory. When I was 5, there's this one girl who was about my age and another girl who's barely 3 years old that used to play with me. All I remember was a plushy named Liddo-kun that the older girl gave to the younger. The problem is that I just can't put my finger on who those 2 girls are."

(Naru is contemplating what Keitaro was talking about, as the suspense builds...)

-LNH-

|Some time later, in the Landlord's Room (Room 204)|

Keitaro is sitting at the corner near the window, thinking about whether he should take the job as the dorm's new landlord since Grandma Hina went on a globe-trotting trip with Kanako and if his little brother has to live in one of the empty rooms. But more importantly, it's just him living in a dormitory full of different varieties of women. Ruto, on the other hand, is sitting on a different side of the room, with his thoughts on which empty spot would be what he has to take; Room 202 (which is next to Shinobu's room) or Room 203 (next to the landlord's room). So he decided on a coin toss and, on the best of 5 tosses, he chose Room 202.

"I'm glad I made my decision," both brothers said at the same time.

"Glad because of what?" Kitsuné suddenly appeared at the room entrance.

"Oh, uh... nothing," he replied while trying to resist the vixen's temptation, "W-what is it, Kitsuné-san?" (Ruto's Special Sense is tingling… Trouble...)

"Oh? You must have heard about my name, didn't you?" she questioned as she sat next to Keitaro, "But that's just my nickname. You see, my real name is Mitsuné Konno. Pleased to meet you, Keitaro, future Tōdai Student."

Keitaro tried to talk, but then the vixen interrupted, "But you know, we haven't actually come to an agreement of you staying here and Naru Narusegawa hasn't agreed to it, yet."

"Ah, you mean the girl with the long hair and antennae?" Keitaro questioned as Kitsuné began to blush and made some small talk, "Keitaro-kun, you like girls with long hair?" And then the vixen clasps the elder Urashima's hand, while Ruto's senses are in overdrive when she cooed, "The truth is, I just can't wait any longer. And everything all started when you saw me naked."

(Earlier, when Naru smacked the hapless Keitaro through the glass shoji door, he landed near the towel-covered Kitsuné, who wanted to join her neighbor in the baths. Basically, what the vixen woman had said was practically a little white lie.)

-Explanation-

When Kitsuné was in Senior High, she used to have shoulder-length hair, put into twin pigtails, before she cropped it down to a manageable short fashion, hence why she was being flirty about the long hair part.

-End Explanation-

Then she moved Keitaro's hand towards one of her D-cup breasts. However, something seems to be a little off; Keitaro's hands aren't that small and gentle. That's when she heard a younger man's voice saying, "Gee, I'll bet you say that to all the boys, dattébayo." She looked down and blinked a couple of times before gloom set in as the vixen's hands were grabbing Ruto's hand instead of Keitaro's and then she saw a flash and a sound of a camera. And then, she gasps at the sudden surprise and loosens her hand from Ruto's.

-Explanation-

What really happened is that Ruto's built-in instincts are showing a 'trouble alert' and secretly planted a Polaroid camera that he has in his pack and the old-fashioned substitution art, switching his and Keitaro's places.

-End Explanation-

"Now I know I must be imagining things, but how did Nii-san..." Keitaro questioned after the sudden switch as Ruto removed the camera from the hidden location and took the developing picture.

"Ru-Ru-Ruto-kun! How did you- -" Kitsuné stammered while hugging her chest in utter embarrassment, just like a rat- - er... "fox" caught in a trap.

"Kitsuné-oneechan, how many times did your parents and I have to tell you not to go chasing men and let them grope you like that. You could get hurt or worse," Ruto said as the picture on his hand, showing the evidence in front of his former baby-sitter, "Now, here's the proposition: you must pay the rent in our humble family estate with legal tender, or else my brother and aunt will have to forcibly kick you out of the premises without most of your possessions to pay off your debt."

Kitsuné is behind the 8-ball and is at the risk of being black-balled out of her living quarters by her friend that she knew since he was in kindergarten and who helped him in the baths a few times, so she has occasionally seen him naked and vice versa. (She wondered how far Ruto had grown in the last few years.) Now, her mind games against the Urashima brothers have considerably backfired, so she pulls out one last trump card to save her goose, "What must I offer you, ototo-chan (little brother)? My body?" And she removed her shirt and pants, "My dignity?" Kitsuné removed her undergarments and kowtows in front of Ruto like a naked slave, "What do you want in return?"

Keitaro is NOT seeing this. 'Kitsuné' Konno (who is about his age) is pleading, butt-naked, in front of his little brother like he's the maharajah of a kingdom, until he sees Ruto lays his hands on her shoulders, telling her to look up and has a bedsheet that he swiped from the storage room, and said as he covered her innocence, "Nothing of the sort, Onee-chan. ::At least, not now.:: No, all I ask is to let us be friends like we once were, and you to be more honest in your upbringing and...", he confides in her ear, "...go a little less on the flirting and the booze. And please put some clothes on. You're in the presence of menfolk, dattébayo!"

Kitsuné blushingly covered her breasts with one arm and grabbed the sheet with the other as she admired her little brother-figure for his integrity. She knew that Ruto wouldn't stoop that low, especially since he's just 13. As she covered herself with the sheet and then asked with an honest smile, "Then, can you forgive your onee-chan?"

"Yes," Ruto answered as he put his hands on her shoulders, "And can you forgive your ototo-chan?"

Kitsuné agreed and then they hugged each other in a brotherly/sisterly manner; just glad that it's been said and done.

And Keitaro just sat there, absolutely lost in fantasy about the many things between his brother and his former baby-sitter. However, he managed to get back into reality and asked Ruto as he was about to leave the room, "Hey, Nii-san. I think we should go back to the teahouse and ask Haruka-ba... I mean, -san. and maybe have a look at the agreement papers."

"Sure," Ruto said as he returned Kitsuné's clothing, "But you may want to watch where you're..." Keitaro bumped his face on Naru and her breasts again, "...going."

Naru growled as the embarrassment after she and Kaolla were just about to enter the room and scolded, "What you do three think you're doing‽" And she slammed her fist on Keitaro, knocking him back, near the window. She ran towards him and demanded, "You realize what position that you're in?"

"Stop this, senpai!" Ruto commanded with the force flowing around him. Naru suddenly stopped and saw that her kohai (underclassman) was trying to make a point. "Kitsuné-oneechan was just trying to pull a fast one on us, but I managed to put a cork on that problem."

"Then tell me, Ruto-san. Why is Kitsuné wearing a bedsheet around herself?"

"She… *whisper*, Senpai. However..." Ruto whispered to Naru's ear, "I actually declined from letting her go too far. So we managed to settle the matter in a more reasonable and diplomatic way."

Naru blushed at what the boy had said. However, Kitsuné decided to take a different approach and pretended to sob, "Ruto-kun is innocent of all this, but his brother kept on saying, "Can I, can I?" when he grabbed my breast..."

"Why me‽" Keitaro screamed.

"Kitsuné, let's just go! Sakes alive, hanging around with a roisterer like him," Naru grumbled and the vixen left with her and Kaolla. She turned to Keitaro and said, "Sukébé (Pervert)! You loser!" And then the girls left the scene.

Keitaro is left bewildered as Ruto remarked, "A fine 'landlord' you turned out to be."

"What is this!" the older brother exclaimed, "They didn't even let me explain! What's with that Naru woman? Does she have a reason to hate me or something?" But then he's getting lustful ideas after seeing Kitsuné naked and sees a tissue box. Ruto sweatdropped on what his brother was going to do and said, "If you excuse me, Aniki, I'm going to move my luggage to room 202 while you go and... do your stuff."

And he left the landlord's room.

Keitaro was getting a bit too hot wearing his pants, so he took them off and folded them to the side. Just as he was taking the tissue out of its box, Naru walked into the opened room and said to the undressed man, "Excuse me, but I forgot to tell you about the toilet..."

*smack!*

Naru chased Keitaro with a broom across the halls after seeing the wrong impression.

-LNH-

Ruto was about to enter the toilet room to relieve himself, but couldn't take the risk of entering the tight room so suddenly. So he politely knocked on the door to see if anybody was in there and heard Naru telling him to wait a minute. So he did and patiently waited until she was finished... That is, until Keitaro was about to go to the toilet when he saw Ruto waiting near the door and foolishly opened it and saw Naru on the seat (with her panties sticking out). Ruto shuts the door immediately to let her finish her 'business', while he tells Keitaro to stop sniveling and to hold still until Naru is properly ready.

And then Ruto asked Naru through the door, "Are you all set?"

"Yeah," she replied after cleaning her hands, grabbed her broom and opened the door and Keitaro is being chased by the dorm resident, who is swinging at him with the straw end, again.

-Explanation-

There is a washroom that is separated from the toilet room for obvious and cleanliness reasons, although it's technically one room. Ruto plans to add more proper restrooms in the near future.

-End Explanation-

-LNH-

Naru is stalking the annoyed Keitaro across the dorm for a while. "Why the heck are you following me?" he asked while catching his breath.

"Because it's my right to," Naru answered; she, too, is a bit exhausted from the running, "I have to make sure you're not doing anything lewd again."

Keitaro is thinking to himself, ::What's the matter with that woman? Why does she treat me like I'm her mortal enemy? Are all the girls the same way? And how did my brother manage to get out of that mess?:: He was feeling a bit down when he saw Ruto hanging around with Shinobu, helping with her math homework. "Hey, Aniki! Would you come over for a bit? I need a little help verifying her work."

And Keitaro did.

After everything's straightened out, Shinobu gives the brothers some homemade cookies. "They're great," Keitaro said after he ate one.

"Scrumptious," Ruto cheerfully said, "Thank you, Shinobu-chan."

Shinobu blushes joyfully as she is complimented as she feels the words of encouragement. Keitaro was glad that some girls aren't really all that bad... That is, until Naru got his attention with the straw end of the broom on his head.

"What are you doing here, senpai?" Ruto asked Naru who was behind him and Keitaro.

"To make sure that you, Shinobu, and your perverted brother aren't getting any wrong ideas," Naru explained.

"What do you mean 'pervert'?" Keitaro exclaimed, "I didn't do anything wrong!"

(Naru)» "Well, you did a lot of things!"

"Naru-san!" Shinobu said to her neighbor, "Ruto-kun and Senpai are really teaching me."

Then Naru got an idea that can be used to her advantage. "Then, why don't you boys help teach me, too?" She shows a book for this year's Tōdai Study Guide. Keitaro didn't believe it; she is studying for the upcoming Tōdai Exams alongside him. "If you wanted to go to Tōdai, this should be a piece of cake, right?"

Keitaro sees Shinobu giving her a dreamy look at him, so why not give it a try? So he looks at the guide, in the mathematics section that Naru had her finger on. After a few seconds of reading, the ronin gave out the answers, "Alright. Question 1 is 3, Number 2 is 2 and then number 3 is 4 and the fourth question is 1. How's that?"

Ruto, Naru, and Shinobu checked the guide and much to their surprise, Keitaro had them absolutely correct and he didn't even look at the questions. And Keitaro... he hit his head on the wall for his awful, dumb luck; he just had his answers out on a whim. Shinobu wants to call her studying senpai as a teacher, but Naru pointed at the bald end of the broom at the hapless ronin and said, "However, that doesn't mean that you should be hitting on Junior High girls."

"I'm... sorry," Keitaro choked just as Kaolla popped by next to Shinobu.

"What? You already lost?" Kaolla curiously asked Naru.

"Shut up!" Naru denied.

During the commotion, Shinobu took the brothers to the roof access, where the laundry is hung out for drying. "This is my favorite place," she said.

"Wow, you can see the whole city from here," Keitaro declared.

"Yeah, I haven't seen the view from here for a long time," Ruto said while remembering the last time he was here.

Then Shinobu walked along the rooftop without much of a care and Ruto soon followed. "Senpai," Shinobu asked Keitaro while balancing on the roof, "I know it sounds silly, but I want to ask you a question. Ano... What does it feel like if we make it into Tōdai on the first try?" Keitaro wondered about that himself as Shinobu continued talking while making his way to the railing, "You would be very happy. But I... I'm so stupid... Even if I were to study my whole life, I would never make it into the university."

Ruto looked at Shinobu who was feeling humbled at what she had said about the hardships of being a college student. So he put his arms around his classmate and said, "No, Shinobu-chan, you can do it. We believe in you."

"But you and your brother are very smart. You wouldn't understand," Shinobu doubtfully replied.

"No, it has nothing to do with just being smart, really," Keitaro explained, "You can't begin the test with a mental aptitude like that. If you try hard enough, just about anybody can make it into Tōdai! Even people like me can do it!"

Ruto helped Shinobu over the railing as the latter said, "Thank you. The truth is that I've been having trouble with my grades in school and I was very nervous about it. But you two gave me hope. Thanks again."

And she and Ruto walked hand-to-hand down the stairs. He then said to Keitaro, "I'll see you in a little bit, Aniki." And the Junior High students left.

As for Keitaro... His big mouth seems to be getting him into trouble again. In the fact of that matter, he should be getting back into his paperwork for studying.

-LNH-

|Room 202|

Meanwhile, Ruto is in his temporary room with his doubles as he unseals his scroll, revealing his luggage and futon. The original and one of his doubles are double-checking his homework and found that everything is in order. Being able to stay here has its advantages, but now and then, he can be a bit homesick from his parents' home in another part of town. At least the rent is reasonable. However, he wants to do his part for the former family inn, so his brother wouldn't have to do all the work. Whether to clean the halls, repair broken areas, help with the cooking, coach his brother, Naru, Shinobu, and Kaolla with studying, and keep Kitsuné from getting into or starting trouble. But with that and juggling with his schoolwork and attending his kendo club, Ruto's going to have his work cut out for him and there's little rest for the weary.

That was when Keitaro knocked on his door and asked him if he could come with him to the teahouse. "Sure, Aniki," Ruto said, but then he made one of the strangest looks when his brother accidentally stepped back and felt something... soft. Keitaro weakly asked, "Don't tell me, I bumped into some girl from behind me, right?"

Ruto nodded, answering his question.

True to his word, Keitaro started to cry when Naru came by at the wrong time and his fingers accidentally groped her breast, and he weakly exclaimed, "Not again..."

Naru is in a state of high tension and she clobbered the hapless pervert out of the nearby window and into the courtyards. By the time the now dubbed "Amazon" calmed down, she looks into Ruto's room and finds that it's already filled up and organized, as if he's starting to live here. But for some strange reason, the boy left; only a letter was left on the squared table with an unusual pattern of a circle with a whirlpool drawn inside (more specifically, an Uzumaki (spiraled) pattern) and it read,

To Naru-senpai,

We're off to the teahouse to have a briefing with Oba... I mean, Haruka-san. What really happened is that my poor older brother, whom I addressed as Aniki, is feeling a bit down. Our parents literally kicked him out, his test scores were dismal, and our grandmother called us to come over, but she just left us in the dark. Please don't treat Aniki so badly. He may be a pervert at times, but he's trying hard to make a living. So, please try to give him some respect as a future landlord.

Regards from your kohai,

Naruto 'Ruto' Urashima

Naru felt sorry that she somehow ill-treated Keitaro, since he was just a simple man trying to make his way into Tōdai and he's becoming the new landlord in his grandmother's place. Maybe if she wasn't so high-strung, then she would understand him and Ruto better.

But then, she noticed the postscript on the letter.

P.S. - This message will self-destruct in 30 seconds after you read the last word. I suggest you crumble it and throw it outside immediately. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Then the letter started to smoke and heat up as Naru quickly crumbled up the hot letter and threw it outside far enough and then it exploded, just like one of Kaolla's prank explosives.

The other girls went to where Naru was and saw part of the grounds blackened from the blast. Shinobu was surprised that her classmate has the capability to do such tricks, Kitsuné is glad that her roommate is still in one piece, and Kaolla is somehow enthused that she has a rival in her line of work.

Trying not to get off track, Naru decides to find Ruto and Keitaro at the annex.

-LNH-

|Nightfall, at the Teahouse (Annex)|

Haruka met the boys at the stairs; Keitaro still has a bruise on his cheek from earlier and Ruto is putting some ice in a container to let his brother hold it.

Keitaro told his aunt that he was trying hard to try to handle the exam tests and thought of confessing the whole truth to the girls. He has never meant to do any harm, let alone any deception towards them.

But then, Haruka said, "I don't know if they (the girls) are going to take the news very well. It'll be hard for them to trust you about being an examinee for the university. And if you returned back home so soon, your parents weren't going to let go any further on your journey there and had to make you get a job. It'll be a shame to do that, for when we needed you for being a landlord to manage the dorms, or else we might end up losing this building and property. Sometimes, it's just important to just let things go and let people believe what they will about you and your brother." Ruto nodded in agreement to what his aunt had to say while Naru overheard what Haruka had said from outside the door when the Café manager continued, "If you put your mind on your studying for Tōdai this time around, then it would never be such a bother, now would it?"

Naru then noticed that Keitaro is the same man that she met in the cram school.

-LNH-

Keitaro and Ruto (wearing his homemade headband) decide to start cleaning the halls, windows, and the onsen while the tenants are getting ready for bed. They have a promise to keep their family's legacy alive. While they were brushing the onsen grounds, Keitaro is lost in thought as he sees a towel-covered Naru begging him not to leave. But then, reality sets in and the boys see the peculiar geeky girl with the same fashion from the exams calling for Keitaro's attention.

"What are you doing here, Senpai?" Ruto asked the woman.

"Senpai‽" Keitaro questioned as he was stumped on who that woman with the coke-bottle eyeglasses was, when she was holding the test results in her hand.

"In the Sasaki Preparatory School, out of 200 people, you were 27th from the bottom ranks (173rd place)," the geeky girl explained, "I'm surprised that your brother saw through my incognito appearance."

And she let her twin braided hair down and removed her eyeglasses.

(Ladies and gentleman, 'the mysterious geeky girl' is... Naru Narusegawa.)

Keitaro was in utter disbelief; the same geeky girl that he met in the cram school was the resident of the dorms. And Naru said, "You weren't being completely honest with us."

"Sorry," Keitaro apologized, "But it's never my intention nor my brother's to deceive you for this to happen, so I wanted honesty to be the best policy!"

"And you expect us to forgive you if you clean this place?" she objected.

"No," Ruto answered, "It's the least we can do for our transgressions toward you and the girls. Besides, we had cleaned up the floors and the windows around the dorms in record time, 'ttébayo. But the real problem is that we may have to leave this place."

(Naru)» "Leave? You don't mean..."

(Keitaro)» "Aunt Haruka said that not lying is that bad, but it just doesn't seem right at all."

"But, wait! What's going to happen if we don't have a landlord?" Naru questioned, but then Ruto shouted, "Be careful! The ground's not dry yet!"

And just as he warned, Naru slipped on a wet area, while wearing her house slippers, and fell forward and crashed into Keitaro and both landed on the ground... hard. And what Ruto had witnessed is rather tantalizing; Naru is on top of Keitaro, just close enough to be kissed. Keitaro's glasses were knocked off, but he is blushing from the closeness of the situation. "Can... you move?" he stammeringly asked Naru.

She smiled and said, "You know, when you remove your glasses, you're actually pretty cute. So, how does the real world compare to?"

Keitaro just couldn't believe his eyes. He wanted to fantasize, but this is as romantic as it gets. So, just to be sure, the ronin inadvertently grabbed Naru's arm in the wrong manner... and made a boneheaded mistake.

Naru reactively asked, "What the hell do you think you're doing‽" And she lands a hit to Keitaro's face like she was in the MMA.

Then suddenly, Kitsuné and Kaolla came to the scene after hearing the ruckus. While the latter is riding on Ruto's back (to his brief dismay), the former asks Keitaro and Naru what they have been doing.

(Shinobu is fast asleep in her room.)

"It's not what you think!" Naru denied as she got back on her feet, away from Keitaro.

"Then, Naru, what were you doing behind our backs?" Kitsuné argued.

While they were talking, Keitaro was worried that if he stays here, he'll just cause more unnecessary trouble for everybody else. Ruto can handle living in the dorm, but he'll be alone in the realm of women. So then, just as he was about to speak, Naru spoke up first and said, "The truth is... I was asking them about helping me get into Tōdai. We can learn many sorts of useful things from somebody who tries to go there. I was lost in thought, I somehow slipped and fell."

"Yeah, that's what happened, 'ttébayo," Ruto agreed to this little white lie. (Eh, more or less.)

Keitaro wondered why Naru sold the girls the story as she winked at her 'classmate' and said, "Lying is bad... Right?"

-LNH-

|The next morning, at the upstairs bath|

There was a sign saying:

[Temporary Men's Bath]

"You men stay right here!"

- Narusegawa

Keitaro is relaxing in the wooden tub full of hot water. Ruto had just finished his bathing without the need of a swimsuit and had a towel around his waist and dried off with a dry, clean towel. They were watching the sun rise, since the corner room is facing east.

"So, the outdoor bath is girls-only, huh?" Keitaro wondered about the situation.

"Well, it's better than no bath at all, Aniki," Ruto retorted as he was drying off.

(Keitaro)» "Oh, well. We should be thankful for letting us stay. But come to think of it, that was probably the first time in my life that a girl has helped us out."

Ruto agreed as he drank his carton of milk that he grabbed from the vending machines in the dorm. (The residents use them for their convenience that was paid for as part of their rent agreement and with limitations, that is. They also recycle their used containers to help cut the costs.)

Then Keitaro remarked about a certain person, "I just wish that Naru woman wasn't so violent. She should try to be a little bit... vulnerable, as in she needs somebody to protect her."

(Ruto)» "Aniki, you know, I wouldn't say that..."

"Is that any way to treat a girl who saved your skin?" Naru said from out of nowhere. Keitaro looked around to where the voice was from, but Ruto hollered at his brother and Naru with a comedic tone borrowed from a certain person, "Don't look, Eseru (Ethel)!"

Ruto mapped the landscape from his observing doubles and learned that the women's onsen is facing southwest of the corner bath hall. And it was too late, both practically naked subjects saw each other from there; Keitaro's been mooned while Naru was incensed and she threw a rock and knocked the unintentional peeper out cold.

Ruto hollered to Naru, "Gomen'nasai (I'm very sorry), Senpai, We'll leave while you and the girls do your own thing, dattébayo." And he drags his brother by the ankle, across the hall. He then says to himself, "I think that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, believe it..."

§

To be continued…-»


A/N: There you have it. Keitaro and Ruto are now residents of the Hinata-sou. The dormitory for women was established about more than 2 years prior to the story. Naru and Kitsuné were the first residents, followed by Kaolla, then Motoko, and then Shinobu. More of their origins will be determined at a later date.

Motoko was away during the school's kendo club event, and Shinobu was living in the dorm contrary to the anime scenario. Ruto had told the other roommates that he is already close friends with the youngest residents. Kitsuné can empathize with that, but we're not so sure about Naru the 'Amazon'.

Hopefully, they'll get along in the end.

-blukmage19