Love Hina belongs to Ken Akumatsu.
This fic belongs to me
Haruka almost swallowed her cancer stick in horror. Changed the dorm to Coed? After just announcing that he was evicting them and rewriting their leases so they could come back as long as they signed and agreed to everything written.
He really had cracked – it was the only logical explanation for this Haruka could think of (though a pit forming in her stomach seemed to not agree). Maybe the annex really was influencing him? It wouldn't be the first time the Inn had made one of its manager's lose their gourd; she clearly remembered hearing about a person who watched over it for their great-great grandfather when he had to take care of family emergency. When he had returned, the man was convinced toothbrushes were trying to take over Tokyo to lead way for a codfish invasion.
But she still didn't sense its presence in Keitaro.
The elder Urashima clutch the paper in her hand Keitaro, I've seen you play with fire when it comes to the girls a million times over – but this, this is practically shoving a gun down your throat! You know the girls won't go through with this, especially Naru!
And the redhead in question was making that refusal known as her feral screams went up in volume, as did the ferocity of her attacks. It wasn't enough she had to be on guard for Keitaro's perverted intentions – now he was bringing more of him! "You bastard! First you lock us out, then you say you're evicting us, and now you're saying your bringing more of your disgusting pervert male friends here unless we sign your stupid lease!"
"Disregarding your language, yes." Keitaro said, almost sounding bored "And not unless you sign – regardless of whether you sign."
"B-But you can't do that!" Motoko sputtered, nearly dropping her sword "Bringing males into an all-girl dorm is absurd! When did you even have time to do this?!"
"I actually can do this Motoko," He replied "There's a reason Granny gave me the deed. As for when I had time – Well, once I figured out a way to keep you guys out of my office, I made some calls, asked friends if they knew anyone or had friends or relatives coming to Tokyo for school with nowhere to stay, and brought posters to put up around downtown and stopped by the legal offices for the documents every time you and Naru there shot me through the roof." And lets out a bitter laugh "I actually should thank the two of you – this is the first time in years your disregard for my safety actually did something good for me!"
"B-but why?" Shinobu whimpered, shaking as she began squeezing the metaphorical life's blood out of her grocery bag "Why kick us out? Why remake our leases? Why…bring boys here?
The girls heard a creak and thought it was the door giving away before they realized Keitaro was probably just leaning on it "Ever heard of the phrase "Spare the rod and spoil the child"? Granny brought me here three years ago to help you guys get over your mistrust, hatred, and fear of men by having her "sweet-old" grandson show you girls that all guys weren't that bad." Keitaro gave a light bitter chuckle "And we can all see how that little venture's working out, so I decided to change my approach."
"By letting in stupid boys and kicking us out!" Sarah growled
"Pretty much," He said simply "Figure if any of you are ever going to fully get over your issues in dealing with the opposite sex, giving you more exposure to them would do you good. Plus this way you can also realize that those days of you being allowed to run wild and walk all over me are long gone. Think of it as my version of "Tough Love"."
Mutsumi looked rather pale "And you decided the best time to do and say all this was right now?"
"Yes," He said "Be happy I'm even telling you guys this stuff before having you sign the new lease – I came here walking blind without knowing any of you were here, or that the Inn wasn't even an Inn anymore."
Naru felt her blood boiling into overdrive "And what makes you even think we're even going to sign your stupid new lease! For all we know, you probably written it to make us your slave girls or something?"
Keitaro let out an exasperated sigh "If you're that worried about it then just read it and decide what you want to do. There are enough copies for all of you to go over the new policies."
Naru grumbled as she stuck the door twice more before taking the paper Haruka handed out to her and the rest. There were grunts, whimpers, and gritting of teeth as they looked over every single detail: In addition to the basic changes Naru, Haruka, and Motoko read, there was apparently going to be a point system in place in the occurrence of violations, a chore system, and new requirements for dorm leasing to residents not enrolled in school. There was also on each of their papers a section dedicated specifically to each girl, informing them of the restrictions now put on their previous schedules.
All that was going through Naru's mind was coed coed stupid pervert boys in my dorm coed coed coed bet they'll try peek in on me when I'm changing coed coed can't let him get away coed with this coed he's only bringing them so he can coed and coed against us coed with his coed he'll probably give my room away to some fat coed otaku who likes scratching his coed and has fifty coed stashes COED!
Motoko's thoughts were no calmer; Stupid Urashima coed, putting in all these ridiculous rules coed! Sword use is prohibited outside of dojo! Violation will result in either ban on weapon being carried or removal of items! Violence will be met with police action if injury occurs to the victim and charges are asked to be brought! How are supposed to keep the others safe with these coed restrictions? Also, why does the dojo have to be coed communal now, no one here coeds except maybe coed! Security camera's in halls and entrances for safety, what coed was this! Probably wants to use it to coed at us while we coed, the coed! Will contact guardians if coeds persi – contact guardians! D-does that means the elders coed? Big sister Tsuruko Coed?!
Shinobu seemed to be taking it in a bit more stride, though was shocked at the rules created for house cleaning – T-there are so many! Due to the increase of residents; dorm keeping duties will be shared. To accommodate for school schedules and such, an hour and fifty minutes at a specified time to be discussed once all residents arrive will be asked of to complete chores, with weekends and holidays having an extended cleaning time time. Chores will be split into categories and distributed amongst residents. For more large scale duties, teams of 2-3 people or more will be created. All residents must assist in maintenance of the dorm hot springs. Refusal or abandonment of chore duties will result in point violation, restrictions on dorm privileges (i.e. hot spring use, TV, dojo use, etc.), and a doubling of cleaning duties to make up for missed ones…
Mutsumi had finished going through most of it and was now going through what he had written on health, Residents must inform the landlord on any prior existing health issues or special dietary needs so that proper steps can be taken to insure wellbeing while living in the dorms. Residents that require daily hospital visits or in-home nurses must provide emergency contact numbers. Residents that require medication are responsible for getting prescriptions and other necessities and must make sure they are on them at all times. Oh my, he really is serious.
Suu seemed to be glossing over everything rather quickly and wasn't sure what was written, but she did know she didn't like the parts that had her name
Su's robots must be built small scale and for non lethal purposes. If that can not be done, the must be restricted to Su's room or she will be prohibited from continuing their construction. Su's currently built robots have been dismantled and/or donated to TokyoU's Engineering and Robotics Departments for their research. Any other robots built as previous will meet the same fate. Su is prohibited from kicking. Su will not use Molmollian forms of greeting on other male dorm mates….
Kitsune was having an eternal meltdown.
I can't sign this thing – Look at all this! No alcohol past four! Residents must adhere to the newly introduced curfew! Residents must announce ahead of time if they are bringing guests over and must inform landlord of reasons for! Gambling is prohibited within the dorms! Accusations against other residents of crimes or acts related to in a criminal nature (i.e. sexual misdemeanors, theft, vandalism, harassment, etc.) require evidence before they can be pursued and will result in an investigation if possibility of guilt is found! It is advised that elder residents use more appropriate language around younger residents! Damages to dorm or residents items will result in fees to account! And worst of all, she had to pay rent – on time!
Sarah was this close to throwing a clay statue through the front door. Where does that dork get off! Assaulting other residents is prohibited! Inappropriate conduct will result in timeouts or stricter punishments! Guardians will be contacted if behavior persists! Younger residents are subject to the same expectations of elder dorm mates and subject to the sa – this is so stupid! Naru can't let this dork get away with this!
Haruka was rather impressed with the forethought her nephew put into the contract, it was almost like someone else had written it; Smoking is prohibited within dorms, residents must show respect and proper behavior towards other dorm mates, residents are responsible for their conduct within the dorms, all residents must adhere to the consequences that are to come of violations or further penalties may be dealt…Did he really consider all of this in the past few months?
But the most important rule was in big bold print – Any and all decisions, complaints, changes, and additions to the rules or other issues must be addressed to, by way of, and together with the landlord/manager, one Keitaro Urashima.
Naru crumpled the document in her hands "Are you nuts! There's no way we're signing this!"
The others could almost imagine Keitaro shrugging as he plainly responded "Then don't, means more rooms open for the new residents."
"But you can't just end our leases like that!" she argued "We pay you rent and everything! This isn't fair!"
"Landlord," He said coolly "And sorry to correct you, but I believe your parents are the ones who pay your leases. Which reminds me, if you honestly don't plan on living here anymore I should probably call them – otherwise they won't happy to hear why they don't have to send any payments this month, though I promise to reimburse them."
While Naru argued with their former landlord, Mitsune was thinking. She remembered Naru usually having more free time a week after this month, so they had…almost five weeks before the new residents came and the door to the Hinata closed on them for good. But who knew exactly when these guys were coming, and while she'd never consider it with the way Keitaro usually was, there was a chance he'd simply decide that waiting for them to sign wasn't worth and just let in the new residents early – it's what she'd do, and many a manager and bookie have attempted to pull that on her before.
She looked to the other Hinata girls in hopes of one of them having an idea, until she had her eyes on Su, Shinobu, and Sarah
Motoko was about to ask what was wrong when the silvernette started grinning "Hold it right there Kei-chan! You can evict Me, Naru, and Motoko maybe –" she then pointed a triumphant finger to the elder Urashima and youngest residents "But Su, Sarah, and Shinobu are minors! That's practically child abuse and endangerment! Plus Haruka needs to run her teashop, so you can't get rid of her!"
Naru stopped her yelling when she overheard and smiled. Oh course, he couldn't do that! How could she have forgotten – poor Seta was too busy to watch Sarah 24-7 and needed her here, Shinobu couldn't go back home with her parents still fighting over the divorce, and Su…she wasn't sure how the situation with Su worked, but she was certain whatever it was made this illegal too! And while Haruka said she couldn't take over the dorms because of the teashop, running it meant being here!
Now if she could just get the door to come down she'd–
"I already called Seta to get Sarah," He answered quite dryly, causing the girls to blink and Sarah to feel torn between joy and fear "I informed him some time yesterday that Sarah was no longer going to be able to stay at the Hinata Dorms and told him earlier this morning to come pick her up in half an hour from now. Had a hard time explaining it to him though, he was fussier about it than when I turned in my resignation form to him."
If Naru and Haruka had been sitting they would have fallen over "Wait – you QUIT your job with Seta!? When?! How?! WHY?!"
"Last week, gave the resignation letter and form in person. I realized I didn't like the job – among other things." Naru's next punch sounded a lot more painful against the wood that time "Now where was I – Oh yes, kids. Like I said, Seta is coming for Sarah. In regards of Shinobu and Su; Su is Motoko's charge according to her old lease, so she's responsible for her now and I have no legal responsibility to house either of them now that I have served the eviction."
Motoko gripped her sword while Su peered down at her feet sadly, like she was an abandoned puppy who was just told Santa didn't exist
"And Shinobu's old lease put her on as legally independent awhile after we got her parents to agree to let her stay here, so I technically don't have to do anything for her." Shinobu looked heartbroken. She had already left one home and was now being forced to leave her new one (again), this time by her beloved Senpai, who was acting like he didn't care!
"As for Haruka though, you're right. The teahouse is her's to come and go from, so I can't stop her in that respect." Haruka felt like the huge weight that had settled on her shoulders when they had arrived had briefly lifted until what he said next
"BUT – she's still forbidden to step a foot inside here. Even if she isn't a technical resident, she spends enough time here to be considered one. Also, you're all banned from using the steps into the dorm from the teahouse. If you even think about trying to get inside while you're still on eviction notice, I'll have everyone arrested for trespassing."
Haruka sat in the middle of the semi-circle formed by the boxes of the currently former-Hinata Dorm residents, sipping from a teacup that had long since been emptied. Shinobu sat across from her sobbing miserably with an unconscious Mutsumi leaning on her shoulder while Naru, Motoko, and Sarah tried to break the door leading to the stairs that went up into the Inn. Apparently, whatever Keitaro did to reinforce the door to the Inn outside was done to her own as well, but the trio was determined to see it fall. Kitsune had disappeared into the far end of the shop, liquor in hand, and Su was searching her boxes to see if what he had written about her machines was true.
Sounds of her nephew's last words to them echoed in her mind while reels of the past few weeks flew by – Keitaro coming home early, Keitaro locking himself in his office, Keitaro avoiding her and the girls, the odd occurrences in the house and the noises from the Annex Shinobu heard...
"You all have five weeks to make your decision, plenty of time I'm sure." He explained, floorboards creaking as he walked away "I suggest you leave now before I have to call the police on you for loitering."
"Wa-wait," Haruka croaked, words almost trapped in her lung as she tried to figure out what to say "H-how long did you…This, all of this! Did you always…"
There was only silence though as his, foot steps disappeared up the stairs.
They were all connected, all of it. It was all one big web designed to get rid of them.
No wonder he didn't show up to join them this morning, he was planning this from the get go! All that coming home early, all that locking himself in the office, all to get himself ready for this day. How did he even…
Haruka then started laughing bitterly, startling Shinobu from her crying a bit. Frankly, she didn't care what she thought of it because at the moment she was slapping herself upside the head for being so clueless. She had been so worried about the Inn causing trouble she never considered it'd use Keitaro to do it. But what was worse was that it didn't even have to do much – just probably gave him the idea and motivation, then sat back and watched the fireworks. Just how long had her nephew been waiting to do this…?
"I should have seen this coming…" She murmured emptily
She was broken out her reverie by the sound of flesh, clay, and sword on wood, turning to see fist, pottery, and blade joining their powers once more, only to be repelled.
It was frustrating Motoko to no end "What black magic is this?! Why aren't any of our attacks doing anything to this door?!"
"Just keep hitting it!" Naru cried, fists turning raw red as she continued her assault "It has to give eventually! Then we're going to give that bastard a piece of our minds!"
Sarah had eventually given up on her ancient treasures and thrown herself at the wooden barricade, kicking and hitting the door screaming savagely as her tiny fists bounced off too "You can't do this to us! First you take daddy away from me, and now you're taking the dorm?! You stupid dork! I'm gonna-!"
Haruka turned to see Mitsune shoot off a round of nervous giggles as she sat in the corner, nursing two beers at once. She was used to landlords and a roommate telling her this was the final straw but it never made the realization less painful. But this was ten times worse, especially since the eviction was coming from the guy she had grown to see to be no more harmful than a stuffed plushie, or any less frightening as she was seeing now.
"This can't be happening, this can't be happening! Kei-chan wouldn't do this to me!" she pushed her sliver hair back, desperately wishing she had her favorite sake bottle with her but chose to instead continue downing the beers she bought "I must be having another black out dream or something? Probably drank too much at the store and now Kei-chan and the others are dragging my sorry drunk ass home. There's no fucking way this is happening…"
Su was shaking another box empty, horrified that not a single bot or Mecha Tama could be found. All that was in there were her clothes, bundles of bananas, and her tool box "Big brother couldn't have gotten rid of them, he wouldn't! He knows how much Su loves her Mecha Tamas! Why did he do this? Why is he acting so strange?! D-did Su do something wrong…" the blonde tanned girl picked up her tool box and held it tight before a look of inspiration struck "Su knows – maybe Su can make a machine to make him act normal again; Su bets she could find some parts here if she tried!"
All Haruka could do was look away from each one of them, dead eyed and tired. She wanted to tell them it was no use, the Inn had forsaken them and only wanted Keitaro now, but all she could do was sit there with a her empty teacup, taking numb sips ever second.
"I should have seen this coming…" she murmured emptily again as she looked on.
After all the crying and yelling was done (and Mitsune having a mini-panic attack mistaking the wails of the ambulance coming down the street for a police siren), Haruka managed to get the girls settled down enough to explain something she knew would be hard to hear given circumstances.
"You can't stay here."
Sarah was the first to speak up "What do you mean we can't stay here! That four-eyed dork won't let us back into the dorm and we don't have anywhere else to go!"
The rest looked at her with pleading eyes and she did her best to remain firm "I know that Sarah – but there's not enough room here to for any of you to stay, and even if there were, this is still a business, not a hostel. I can't take care of you guys and keep this place running."
"T-then we can work here!" Shinobu panicked, eyes wide with fear. Haruka could tell she was reliving her parents divorce right now as her pupils turned to pinpricks "Sweeping, dusting, cleaning, table wiping, garbage duty, anything you want! You don't even have to pay us! J-just, please don't…"
Haruka held up her hand, silencing the shivering brunette "Look, I love you girls like you were my own, and I want to help you; but it looks bad for the shop and to my employees having a bunch of underage girls, " she turned to Mitsune, who was still on her alcoholic high, sniffling drunkenly "and one drunken women, sleeping on the kitchen floor."
"Well you must know of somewhere we can stay?" Motoko pressed vexingly, knuckles still white from the one-sided fencing session she and her friends had with the entrance to the dorm "At least somewhere close enough to the dorms to keep an eye on that despicable Urashima."
"Not for free if that's what you're hoping for, especially considering the market right now."
Each girl gave the other a dubious look. Haruka was their only hope in finding somewhere to stay until Keitaro finally came to his senses again, and now they really did have nowhere go. Most apartments were already full up with tenets by this time of year, and the ones that weren't were either too expensive (especially when you're a college student that was on parental paid tuition), too far from their respective schools, or in such seedy areas that you'd only sign the lease if you really were that desperate.
None of them had friends outside the group (willing) to house them and the others either, and they certainly couldn't ask their parents – Naru focused more on her studies than socializing with her peers while Motoko's pride forbade her from asking her classmates nor her trio of adoring fans (who would probably sack an offshore village for her if she asked), and both would most likely jump into the Japanese Sea before calling their families to come get them as it meant having to deal with her step family for the former and facing her elder sister's judgment for the latter.
Mutsumi could always go back to Okinawa but her classes (and Keitaro) were here and commuting would make things difficult. Not mention the thought of the airheaded sickly girl being left alone somewhere if she had one of her fainting spells was a bit unnerving.
Shinobu's parents would start fighting over who she'd stay with the second she arrived at their doorstep so they were not an option, and she was too scared to drag anyone else into the mess. She had made enough progress during her years in the Hinata to finally reach out to her schoolmates and acquaint herself with them – asking them to let her stay at their house for a five week slumber party (the other residents possibly included) seemed too bold and too soon.
Su's eccentrics kept most kids at school at bay enough that they forgot she was there, and going back home meant having to face both big sister Amalla and the whole inheriting the throne debate.
Kitsune had made one enemy too many out of acquaintances both old and new to be asking for favors, and she certainly couldn't go crawling back home after all these years.
Sarah had Seta, but he'd probably be too busy with work to watch her and try to find somewhere else she could stay so she could continue with school – but it wouldn't be the same as the Inn, and it didn't feel right being separated from Naru and the others.
Haruka sighed. She had a few friends in Tokyo she could lean on, but she wasn't sure they'd have enough space to house her and the girls, and some of them had boyfriends or male friends living with them so Naru and Motoko being there would be an issue. They were all literally between a rock and a hard place, and their only other option was one no one wanted to take "It's not the best plan, but maybe you should –"
Naru cut her off "We're not signing it."
The tall brunette clicked her tongue "I know you don't like it, but you don't have a lot of options, so maybe we should just –"
Then Mutsumi, suddenly awake and fresh as a daisy, piped in
"Why don't we call Granny – maybe she can do something."
Everyone seemed to brighten up at the prospect as Naru clapped her hands together ecstatically "That's an awesome idea! If Granny's here, she can make stupid Keitaro let us back in and make him pay for treating us like this! Maybe she might even take control of the dorm again!"
"Yeah," Haruka nodded nonchalantly "except Granny is still on her world trip, so it might take too long for her to get back. Plus, that also means bringing Kanako back with her…."
Everyone shuddered. Though it was rather long ago, the memory of Kanako Urashima's reign of terror over the Hinata dorms was still fresh in their minds – being forced to work like dogs, getting tied up and stuffed into barrels, the humiliation she brought upon them on a daily basis. Even when they fought back and joined their powers together to drive her off, she still managed to beat them down and only left because Keitaro returned from his trip with Seta in time and Granny's return. But even with her gone, the fear lingered. The girls would force each other into quizzes to see if they were really who they were when one of them acted odd, and Naru still to this day almost attacks Motoko whenever she entered the hot springs with her.
Kanako Urashima was…difficult to face, like the final boss that shows up right after beating what you thought was the last boss, and you realized you've used up all of your items and the game won't let you use a save spot before you fight them.
They trusted Granny to keep her in line were she able to come back, but at the same time they were hesitant on taking the risk.
"'Sides," She added quickly "I think we should hold off on Granny as a last resort – no sense bringing her in unless we really can't get Keitaro to reconsider. But until then, we should probably stay away from the dorms as much as possible until we can think of a better plan."
Everyone seemed to at least agree with Haruka's sentiments except for a certain little girl who kicked the floor begrudgingly
"But we can't just sit here and do nothing!" Sarah barked "That dork can't get away with this!"
"Fear not Miss Sarah,." Motoko said, blade raised nobly to the teahouse ceiling "He won't. If that vile Urashima thinks he can kick us out without a fight he has another thing coming!"
Naru crossed her arms huffily as she turned to the blonde America "You got that right – he says he's bringing more people, but we'll just see about that. Knowing that wimp, it was probably all just him talking big and trying to scare us. I bet you by the end of the term he'll be on his knees begging us to come back!"
"Y-ya shure'bout dat Nalu," Mitsune slurred, blue eyes glassy from her inebriation "H-hii shure shaunded serieosh tah meh."
"Trust me; he's never going to go through with it!"
Keitaro tried to drag himself to his room but ended up crashing in the hallway, blankly staring at the wooden ceiling. He had done it, he kicked the girls out, he was free!
It was finally over
No, he told himself, removing his glasses It's only the beginning
There was so much he had to do – get a new job to pay for the new changes he was going to have to make to the dorm, fix the roof, clean up the rooms, change the phone numbers (and block a few)….
But for now, that could wait – he just wanted to take the moment to enjoy the fact that for the first time in the three years he set foot in this place and the fourteen years that have past since he had first stayed in the Inn, he was alone.
No one yelling, no one conning him, no one calling him to fix holes in the roof they made or cussing him out or searching for him to beat the stuffing out of him – he was completely, utterly alone with just himself and his thoughts.
Soon his eyes grew heavy and he suddenly felt very tired.
I'll get started once I wake up he thought hazily as a soothing calm wrapped around him and the entire Inn
It was a bright sunny day in Tokyo, and Temari Hanezawa was oh so thrilled it was finally over as she headed back to her house. Classes were through for the week and she was eager use her weekend for some much needed fun.
She already had the whole thing planned out – once she had gotten home and changed into more casual clothes, she'd start out by hitting up her favorite restaurant with their friends Shizuru Futabi and Daiji Yamato to meet one of Daiji's old classmates (it was…Kentami, Kensuke, Kendomo?), followed some wild and crazy Karaoke. Then they'd head to downtown to give him a grand tour of Tokyo nightlife and, if they had time, stop by the arcades for a bit. Then she'd head home to finish it off with her favorite snacks and a nightlong marathon of Daylight Dreams and Sexy Glass! She couldn't wait!
"Weekend, weekend~! I can't wait for the–" she began to sing until the sound of police sirens interrupted her. She watched as a line of police cars streamed past her and turned the corner.
"Never seen the police go down that street before," She mused, eyes still glued to the scene "Wonder what happened?"
Temari gave a small sneeze and rubbed her arms as a cool breeze brushed pass her and her companions "Jeez it's getting cold – I thought spring meant warm weather!"
"Well it's not spring yet," the tall redhead to her left said, hands behind his head "That's why Shizu told you to dress warmly and asked if you wanted to leave early with her."
"I thought she meant warmly as in "wear stuff you'd wear outside in March"!" She whined, sneezing again before tugging at her friend's coat sleeves "Come on Dai-chan, let me have your coat! You got muscles to keep you warm while I'm small and frail! I'll die in the cold!"
"You saved enough fat from all those burgers at the restaurant – use that." Daiji deadpanned, causing her to blush and grumble under breath about how someone eating 18 bowls of ramen shouldn't be talking about fat.
Suddenly her shoulders felt heavy, and she looked down to see a light blue scarf over her shoulder left by the tanned brunette to her right that was accompanying them.
He immediately looked away, eyes lowered a little shamefully when he realized she was staring "S-sorry. You said you were cold and…"
The small blonde-dyed girl blinked as she touched the scarf with a light smile, then suddenly started mischievously smirking before she wrapped it around herself "Now now Kentaro, no need to play white knight with me! If you really want a date that badly, just ask."
Kentaro blushed and began to chuckle nervously "Ah, w-well…"
Daiji responded with his own smirk as he slide over and clamped a hand on his shoulder "I wouldn't do that if I was you Ken – first it's a scarf, then next thing you know she's asking you to help housesit for a friend to get rid of their ex's Yakuza buddies."
Temari narrowed her eyes as she childishly stomped her feet "That only happened once, and I said I was sorry! She never told me anything about that!"
Kentaro's eyes went wide "Wait, that really happened!?"
Temari immediately stopped walking, forcing her companions to do the same as an unreadable expression appeared on her face.
"Yeah…" She said in an almost bitter tone before her bright smile forced its way back "But it's fine - those guys are in jail and I know better now! Nothing to worry about."
Kentaro looked like he was about to ask more, but Daiji quickly changed topics "So Ken, you decided if you want a apartment or a dorm while your getting ready for next term?"
"O-oh," he stammered "No, not yet."
The small girl blinked as she looked between the two "I thought he was staying with you?"
"No, I'm staying with someone else at the moment." The brunette explained,"I mean, it's nice seeing Daiji and the gang again and everything, but I don't feel comfortable freeloading off him like that."
"Plus I charge rent." The redhead joked, and the other two laughed with him
As they passed by the TV store though – a peculiar scene caught their eyes.
"Hey – isn't that girl in your class?" Daiji asked
On the screen was a redhead struggling against the Tokyo police as they dragged her away from a short haired brunette boy, who seemed to be stuck between being annoyed and being disappointed. She was yelling something at him, redfaced and teary-eyed while attempting to breakthrough the barricade of, oh, 35 policemen to try and throttle him. The sound was muted but there were subtitles going across the screen
"Ohmigosh you're right!" She gasped, nailpolished hands clutching her face in shock "It's…what was her name again? Narutarugesa? Norego? Wendigo?"
"Naruna," Daiji corrected "Naruna Narunarima I believe."
"Oh yeah," she said, arms crossed thoughtfully "And that boy's…Keigo Ramashike?Ke-"
"Keima Urashitaro" He said exasperatedly before giving her a tiny tap on the head "You really need to work on your naming skills – won't look good to your classmates if you can't call them by name properly."
Temari turned away with a pout "I-It's not my fault I can't remember! I have a short attention span is all! Besides, Naruna didn't talk a lot to anyone – I'm surprised you even know who she is!"
"Still helps to remember," Daiji said as Kentaro got closer to the screen, eyes wide as he quickly tried to read the title across the screen
"It says something about… trespassing" He murmured as the announcer silently spoke, watching the subtitles pop in and out "Let's see...Ah, she tried to break into her ex's apartment after he broke up with her to attack him, but a neighbor noticed her and called the police."
"Really?" Temari said, squinting to get a better look at the TV as well "That's…awful – I didn't know her that well, but she doesn't seem the type to do that. She was super shy and stuff, never went up to anyone."
"It's the ones you least expect," Daiji shrugged "Shizu said something about one of her classmates getting suspended from campus for the same thing. I'd seen her around before too - big old glasses and always has her face in a text book. Seemed too quiet for that stuff, but you never know till it happens..."
Kentaro blinked, staring at the angry crying girl on the TV being stuffed into a police car before it changed to today's horse race results and turned away from the screen "Tokyo's gotten a lot crazier since I went abroad."
As they walked away from the tvs, Daiji turned to him with an ambiguous smile that made him feel a bit unsettled "That's just how the start of spring is - it's the time of year that tends to bring out the crazy in everyone."
[4 weeks left until end of Winter term of Tokyo U]
A/N: Bet you thought the girl on TV was Naru didn't you?
Well, finally got the new chapter out (take that life – you can't keep me down!). Thanks for all the comments and suggestions!
Sorry if you didn't get a chance to see much of Keitaro's new attitude in real action yet, but it will be soon (and not Game of Thrones the dragons are coming soon).
Also yes, that was Kentaro Sakata from the anime. No, he's not one of the new residents (I considered it, but decided it was too predictable a move). But yes, we will see more of him as well as Temari and Daiji (and no, I'm not telling you who Temari's friend is – you have to guess).
Now then, it's time for…..MagnificentSoul's Headcannon!
I noticed that in some of the variations of this story, the girls always call Granny when Keitaro gets his new attitude , which is most likely because she's gotten them out of trouble enough times to make them consider her a sort of quick fix to the problems they can't smash or run away from. But now that she's currently handling a problem they don't want to face (Kanako – who will reappear sometime in the future) that requires her full attention, they're on their own. And Haruka's no help as she's limited to her actions as well (Because if she can't spare the time to take over the Inn, I doubt she'll have any to let them crash with her wherever she goes)
While some of the Hinata girls have options outside of returning to the dorm, the problem isn't putting aside their own preferences to take them (which in Naru and Motoko's case, is unlikely), but whether they all will – or in their case, Naru. She's the leader, their red ranger – while not true in it's own right, the girls believe they have to support her (most likely due to them all growing to become friends in the Inn and the unbalanced dynamics between them in that right before Keitaro's arrival), and they've grown to defer to her in issues regarding the dorm and later Keitaro (with the exception of the Love Hina again OVA and Molmol arc). Even when they think it's a bad idea, they'll go through with it because it's Naru leading the charge. Like Granny, she's "protected" them (or in Motoko's case, helped with "protection"), and like with Granny, not supporting her would be short of treason.
But the girls have their own minds too, and they will come to realize they're following her into a deadend. But the real question is whose going to crack first.
Comment response:
Zincat: Thanks for the advice! I'm actually in search in Beta-readers at the moment, so hopefully they'll help catch the grammar mistakes I missed.
SilentSinger948: I'm still considering whether the new guy residents will be all OCs or crossovers. I may just do both but we'll see. I will tell you that two of them will not be male.
Well, see you next time!